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At least 19 people are feared dead in Zimbabwe after a haulage truck and bus collide | Selous, August 25, 2011 - A sombre atmosphere engulfed the scene following an accident involving a Chawasarira bus which was side swapped by a haulage truck after it burst a tyre and lost control.
Onlookers and passersby could not stomach the sight of pieces of human flesh strewn all over the place. Bags full of shredded groceries were thrown far off the roadside.A cell phone rung for a long time in the pockets of one man, may be was already dead. Others victim’s bodies lay covered with jackets, blankets, plastic bags and newspapers.This was the scene of a horrific accident which claimed the lives of 19 people along the Harare-Bulawayo highway on Thursday. One of the survivors, Sani Musiwa, 21, was sitting under a tree, visibly disoriented. She sobbed uncontrollable and could not believe she and her seven month old baby had escaped the horrific accident.She was travelling to Shurugwi. The 19 people died on the spot and more than 20 others were left to fight for their lives at various hospitals in Harare.The scene of the accident, just a few kilometres before Selous, was a sorry sight which many people did not want to get close to. Police say say the bus was speeding at the time the accident occurred.“The Chivi bound Chawasarira was racked by the haulage truck and the Lefombo bus, which was headed for Gokwe overturned while trying to avoid the crush,” said Assistant commissioner, Kenny Mthombeni, the officer commanding Traffic Demonstration. The injured were taken to Parirenytwa hospital in Harare. | Road Crash | August 2011 | ['(Radio VoP)'] |
Reports from South Korea claim that prominent North Korean powerbroker Jang Sung–taek has been sacked as the Vice–chairman of the National Defence Commission. | A powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been removed from his post, South Korean media reports say. Citing South Korea's intelligence agency, they say Chang Song-thaek, 67, lost his position as vice-chairman of the North's top military body. Two close aides were also executed for corruption, according to the reports. If confirmed, Mr Chang's removal would be the biggest upheaval in North Korea's leadership since Mr Kim succeeded his father, analysts say.
Kim Jong-un took over after Kim Jong-il died in 2011. The latest reports emerged from an intelligence briefing given to South Korean lawmakers.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the assessment based on information provided by multiple sources, the South's Yonhap news agency said. It also quoted the intelligence service as saying two of Mr Chang's closest associates had been executed in public in late November.
'Power behind Kim'
The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul says the reports are difficult to verify, and South Korea's spy agency has been proven wrong before.
But if true, the development would mark a significant shift, she adds.
Mr Chang is married to Kim Jong-il's sister.
He has often been pictured beside the elder Kim's son Kim Jong-un and was seen by some observers as the power behind him.
Mr Chang climbed through the ranks of the secretive leadership of North Korea's Korean Workers' Party (KWP) in the 1970s.
In 1992, he was elected to the party's Central Committee. But, despite his senior status, he has been targeted by purges in the past.
In 2004, despite his place in the Kim family, he disappeared from public view.
One report at the time, citing South Korean intelligence, said Mr Chang had been placed under house arrest.
Others suggested he had been sent for "re-education". However, two years later he appeared to have been reinstated. He was regarded as an economic reformer and a major influence on Kim Jong-un.
He held key positions in both the KWP and the National Defence Commission.
Apart from chronic economic problem, North Korea is involved in a protracted stand-off with its neighbours and Western powers over its nuclear weapons programme.
Tensions between the two Koreas rose after the North's third nuclear test in February.
Angered by expanded UN sanctions and annual US-South Korea military drills, Pyongyang threatened attacks on Japanese, South Korean and US military targets in the region.
Profile: Chang Song-thaek
Planning for Pyongyang collapse
Secretive 'first family'
North Korea profile
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | December 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
One tourist is killed and several injured when Mt. Stromboli in Italy erupts. | A volcano has erupted on the Italian island of Stromboli, killing one person and sending frightened tourists fleeing. The victim is a male hiker who was hit by a falling stone, while other people were injured. The navy has been deployed for a possible mass evacuation, with 70 people already evacuated.
The volcano is one of the most active on the planet and has been under a regular state of eruption since 1932.
"Unfortunately one man is dead, there are a few injured, but none seriously," emergency worker Calogero Foti told Italy's Rai television.
The victim was a 35-year-old man from Sicily who was hiking when the volcano erupted twice. His Brazilian friend was discovered dehydrated and in a state of shock, the AGI news agency reported.
Firefighters are battling flames on the island. "We saw the explosion from the hotel. There was a loud roar," said Michela Favorito, who works in a hotel on the island.
"We plugged our ears and after this a cloud of ash swept over us. The whole sky is full of ash, a fairly large cloud," she said.
Fiona Carter, a British tourist on the island of Panarea, some 17 miles from Stromboli, heard the eruption. "We turned around to see a mushroom cloud coming from Stromboli. Everyone was in shock. Then red hot lava started running down the mountain towards the little village of Ginostra," she said.
Holidaymakers were reported to have run into the sea after seeing ash rising from the volcano. The island is a popular location for holiday homes of the rich and famous.
Stromboli is known as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean" and has a population of around 500. The last major eruption was in 2002, when a blast destroyed local buildings and piers, injuring six. Mount Etna erupts for first time this year
Setback for EU in legal fight with AstraZeneca
But the drug-maker faces hefty fines if it fails to supply doses of Covid-19 vaccine over the summer. | Volcano Eruption | July 2019 | ['(BBC)'] |
The President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, begins efforts at forming a coalition government, after three failed attempts by major political parties to reach a coalition agreement. | Greek President Karolos Papoulias has called the country's leaders to a meeting on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to forge a unity government.
If the president's bid fails, another election will have to be held.
Earlier, Pasok became the third party to fail in coalition talks when leader Evangelos Venizelos formally returned the mandate to the president.
Last Sunday, voters backed parties opposed to Greece's bailout deal, which requires deep budget cuts.
Greece's political turmoil has raised the possibility that it could default on its debts and be forced out of the eurozone.
Mr Papoulias said in a statement he would hold a meeting at 09:00 GMT on Sunday with the leaders of the three largest parties - the socialist Pasok, the centre-right New Democracy, and far-left bloc Syriza.
He will then hold talks with fringe parties including Golden Dawn, an extreme right-wing anti-immigration group.
Analysts say the president's bid is unlikely to succeed because the parties are so divided over the bailout.
Mr Venizelos abandoned efforts to form a new government on Friday, and met the president on Saturday morning to confirm his decision.
He had held talks with New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, whose party came first in the election, but could not find a third partner to give them a majority in parliament.
"I hope that during the negotiations chaired by Mr Papoulias everyone will be more mature and responsible in their thinking," Mr Venizelos said.
New Democracy also failed to form a coalition earlier in the week, as did Syriza, which came second in the election.
Syriza firmly rejects the terms of the most recent EU-IMF bailout, which requires tough austerity measures in return for loans worth 130bn euros ($170bn; £105bn).
Its leader, Alexis Tsipras, said on Friday he could not join any coalition that intended to implement the bailout deal.
"The bailout austerity has already been denounced by the Greek people with its vote, and no government has the right to enforce it," he said.
Analysts say Syriza could be hoping for another election after one opinion poll put them in first position in any new ballot, albeit without an overall majority.
Meanwhile, Germany has reiterated that Greece's exit from the eurozone would have dire consequences, and urged Athens to continue its deep budget cuts.
"For Greece the consequences would be much more grave than for the rest of the eurozone," said Jens Weidmann, head of Germany's central bank.
The Bundesbank chief told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that Greece must continue its austerity reforms to justify further loans from the international community.
"If Athens does not stand by its word, then that's a democratic decision. The result is that there is no more basis for further financial aid," he said.
Sunday's election saw a backlash against Pasok and New Democracy, the two parties that agreed the terms of the latest bailout.
The once-dominant Pasok, which was seen as the architect of austerity, came third with just 41 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The Greek crisis is continuing to create unease is global financial circles.
The Fitch ratings agency warned that if Greece did leave the euro, it would probably place all 16 remaining euro nations' sovereign ratings on "rating watch negative" - meaning they would be in danger of being downgraded.
"A Greek exit would break a fundamental tenet underpinning the euro - that membership of EMU [Economic and Monetary Union] is irrevocable," Fitch said.
| Organization Established | May 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
Indian communist patriarch Jyoti Basu, the longest–serving Chief Minister of West Bengal who declined the post of Prime Minister in 1996, dies at the age of 95. | KOLKATA, India, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Jyoti Basu, the patriarch of Indian communism whose pragmatic politics twice brought him close to becoming prime minister, died on Sunday. He was 95.
Basu’s death is seen as a possible blow to unity among a disparate group of communists facing a tough election next year in the eastern state of West Bengal, a traditional leftist stronghold.
“Jyoti Basu played the role of the elderly patriarch whose more mature, considered view and ability to retain the broad base of support were very important,” political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan told Reuters.
Basu died from multiple organ failure at a city hospital, where tens of thousands of his admirers gathered, many teary-eyed. Others raised their hands in a Soviet-style salute as Basu’s body was carried in a hearse to a city mortuary.
“The passing away of Basu from the scene marks the end of an era in the annals of Indian politics,” India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement.
A London-trained barrister, Basu entered politics as a union leader and gained fame leading West Bengal for almost a quarter century, the longest-serving chief minister in Indian political history. He stepped down in 2000 because of failing health.
He led the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) which is at the head of a ruling leftist coalition in West Bengal and which faces an election next year amid sliding popularity.
While Basu’s rule was credited with bringing stability to West Bengal, he was blamed for allowing the economy to stagnate, often at the hands of militant trade unions opposing even the use of computers in government offices for fear of job losses.
Basu retired from active politics a decade ago, but his towering stature retained its unifying influence among the leftist groups and he continued to play the role of crisis manager and political arbitrator.
Kshiti Goswami, a West Bengal minister and a coalition ally, said it would be difficult to maintain the leftist coalition without the charismatic leader.
Basu’s party and its allies, despite their long years in power, have often differed over policy issues such as acquiring farmland for industry as the communists struggle with the question of economic reforms to keep pace with rest of India.
But Basu’s brand of liberal communism ensured wide acceptability for him and he was offered the job of prime minister twice in 1996, but he had to decline because of opposition from within his party.
Basu described that decision as an “historic blunder” in an open criticism of a section of his party’s dogmatic ideologues.
His staid and sometimes brusque style earned him the sobriquet of “a field marshal in a gentleman’s garb”. Mostly seen in a flowing white shirt and Indian wraparound, he was the communists’ star poll campaigner, his personal charisma often drawing a million supporters to his public meetings. | Famous Person - Death | January 2010 | ['(Reuters)', '(Indian Express)', '(The Hindu)', '(Hindustan Times)', '(The Canadian Press)', '(BBC)'] |
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel for their work on multiscale models for complex chemical systems. | The Nobel Prize in chemistry has gone to three scientists who "took the chemical experiment into cyberspace".
Michael Levitt, a British-US citizen of Stanford University; US-Austrian Martin Karplus of Strasbourg University; and US-Israeli Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California will share the prize.
The trio devised computer simulations to understand chemical processes.
In doing so, they laid the foundations for new kinds of pharmaceuticals.
Today, scientists routinely use modelling to understand how different biological molecules interact, to probe the mechanisms of disease and to design novel drugs.
"The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2013 have made it possible to map the mysterious ways of chemistry by using computers," said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
"Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube.
"Detailed knowledge of chemical processes makes it possible to optimise catalysts, drugs and solar cells."
Warshel told a news conference in Stockholm by telephone that he was "extremely happy" to be woken in the middle of the night in Los Angeles to find out he had won the prize.
"In short, what we developed is a way for computers to take the structure of a protein and then to eventually understand how exactly it does what it does," he told reporters.
Marinda Li Wu, president of the American Chemical Society, said the award was "very exciting".
"The winners have laid the groundwork for linking classic experimental science with theoretical science through computer models.
"The resulting insights are helping us develop new medicines; for example, their work is being used to determine how a drug could interact with a protein in the body to treat disease."
Martyn Poliakoff, vice-president of Britain's Royal Society, said the award was "important recognition" for a major advance in theoretical chemistry.
"Their novel approach combined both classical and quantum physics, and now enables us to understand how very large molecules react," he explained.
"This prize highlights the increasing role that theoretical and computational chemistry are playing in this area of science."
All three men spent varying periods at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. Michael Levitt started his PhD at the Medical Research Council facility at the end of the 1960s.
Analysis by Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent
Persistence pays off. Michael Levitt did his physics degree at King's College London, and was then desperate to do a PhD at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. The LMB was where he could learn from "towering heroes" - the likes of Francis Crick, Max Perutz, John Kendrew and Aaron Klug. But the 19 year old's requests to join the intellectual hothouse were repeatedly, but politely, rebuffed. Thankfully for the world of science, Levitt wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He drove to Cambridge from London, and camped outside Perutz's office until the Nobel Prize winner would see him. Whatever Levitt said on that sunny Friday in April 1967, it clearly had an impact because the LMB relented and gave him his opportunity. The first thing the lab did was pack him off to Israel to work with Shneior Lifson and a student of his - Arieh Warshel. These men were using computer modelling to try to understand the behaviour of large biological molecules. Israel, Levitt says, had two profound influences on his life. The first - it was where he met his wife, Rina. The second - it was the place that set him on the research path that melds the worlds of computers and structural biology. Asked for some advice to give young scientists, Levitt says: "Believe in yourself. I tell this to all the students I see: 'If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?' Be passionate, and also be stubborn. Being stubborn is an important characteristic." The obstinacy of a young man 46 years ago is today rewarded with a Nobel.
Dr Richard Henderson, a current LMB scientist, said the trio's work was hugely important.
"They came at it from different angles but with a common goal," he told BBC News. "They developed computer mathematical models for the forces that hold together mainly proteins, but other biological structures as well. They listed all the forces between atoms, and then they put these into one big computer program and set it running. "In this way, they could simulate in the computer the behaviour of real proteins as they folded and unfolded, as they bind substrates and ligands. "They were really the first people to push this field forward, and today it has become a worldwide industry."
Michael Levitt himself said this success was due in large part to the spectacular performance of modern computing: "I've told people that the silent partner in this prize is the incredible development in computer power. "When we started this, no-one had any clue that computers were going to become so powerful; no-one knew about Moore's Law. "This incredible increase in computer power has taken everybody by surprise, and I think this is one of the reasons why our field has become so important. And it's just going to get bigger and bigger."
| Awards ceremony | October 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
Witnesses and Russia's Investigative Committee say the Winter Cherry complex's exits were blocked and there were no alarms during the disaster. | Russian investigators and witnesses say there was no alarm and exits were blocked when a fire engulfed a shopping and entertainment mall in Siberia, killing at least 64 people.
Many of the victims in the coal-mining city of Kemerovo were children.
Russia's Investigative Committee spoke of blocked exits and "serious violations" at the Winter Cherry mall.
Sunday's blaze started on an upper floor. The mall's shops, cinema and bowling alley were packed at the time.
Video on social media showed people jumping from windows to escape.
The Investigative Committee says a fire safety technician at the complex "switched off the alarm system" after being alerted about the fire. The committee says two other fire safety officials have been detained for questioning, along with the Winter Cherry complex's technical director and the manager of a business located where the fire started.
Ten people are still listed as missing. Local teachers are trying to trace their pupils, who were on holiday. They do not know how many were in the complex.
In a Facebook post (in Russian), Kemerovo politician Anton Gorelkin said that "fire exits were shut, turning the complex into a trap" and "there was no organised evacuation".
He also said a fire extinguisher that could have doused the flames at the start did not work.
The region's deputy governor, Vladimir Chernov, said "this is the question: why were the doors shut?"
Russian media said most of the roof had collapsed. The fire engulfed a children's trampoline room and a cinema on the fourth floor.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Firefighters said the building was still smouldering a day later, with smoke billowing out and the remaining structures at risk of collapse. The fire broke out at about 17:00 (10:00 GMT) on Sunday. Some 660 emergency personnel were deployed in the rescue effort.
Deputy governor Chernov was quoted as saying the fire probably began in the children's trampoline room.
"The preliminary suspicion is that a child had a cigarette lighter which ignited foam rubber in this trampoline room, and it erupted like gunpowder," he said. However, Rossiya 24 TV, a national broadcaster, said an electrical fault was the most likely cause - as in most previous deadly fires in Russia.
Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Anna Kuznetsova, has blamed negligence, and called for urgent safety checks at similar entertainment complexes. Two witnesses told BBC Russian that they had seen the fire blazing in the trampoline room on the fourth floor but had not heard any fire alarm. Meanwhile, witness Anna Zarechneva told Russian RBC News that "a woman burst into the cinema during the film and shouted 'Fire! Fire!', and we started running out".
"The lights didn't come on in there to help us escape. We got out by following the floor lighting. But at that point no alarm bells were ringing. I only heard an alarm when I reached the first floor."
The daughter of a shop assistant who was working on the second floor said "the alarm didn't go off... she learnt about the fire from a man who ran past her - there was no help from any staff".
2009 - 156 people die in a Perm nightclub inferno in the Urals region, Russia's worst fire in recent years (fireworks and lack of exits blamed)
2007 - Fire engulfs a rural old people's home in the southern region of Krasnodar, killing 63 (burning cigarette blamed)
2006 - 46 die in Moscow narcological hospital fire (arson blamed)
2003 - A hostel fire at the Russian People's Friendship University in Moscow kills 44 (lack of safety measures blamed)
1999 - Fire engulfs the police headquarters in the southern city of Samara, killing 57 people (burning cigarette blamed officially, but arson by criminals not ruled out)
Source: Interfax news agency
There are unconfirmed reports that some mall guards prevented children from fleeing down staircases.
Kemerovo region has declared three days of mourning, and locals are leaving flowers and cuddly toys at a makeshift memorial near the complex.
An Instagram post from Kemerovo showed a big queue of volunteers waiting to donate blood at a clinic.
At least nine of the bodies found so far are children.
As well as those killed, 11 injured victims are being treated in hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation. The most serious case is an 11-year-old boy whose parents and siblings died in the fire, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said. He reportedly fell from the fourth floor and is in intensive care with multiple injuries.
Russia's emergencies ministry says 58 bodies have been recovered, and so far just 17 have been identified. Kemerovo lies about 3,600km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow.
The shopping centre, covering 23,000 sq m (248,000 sq ft), opened in 2013. It includes a petting zoo, all of whose animals are reported to have died.
Yevgeny Dedyukhin, deputy head of the Kemerovo region emergency department, said the area of the fire was about 1,500 sq m. "The shopping centre is a very complex construction," he said. "There are a lot of combustible materials." | Government Policy Changes | March 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
Alcide Djédjé, the Foreign Minister claims that Gbagbo's forces have laid down their arms and he is negotiating with Ouattara over the terms of surrender. | (CNN) -- After days of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo laid down their arms Tuesday, and the self-declared president was negotiating the terms of his surrender, his foreign minister said.
Calm was reported Tuesday afternoon in Abidjan, the West African nation's largest city and the center of the battle between Gbagbo's military and those loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, who is recognized internationally as the legitimate president.
"We must now do what we can do to have lasting peace," said Alcide Djedje, the foreign minister, who participated in talks at the French ambassador's residence in Abidjan.
Two of Gbagbo's generals were in "the process of negotiating a surrender," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told parliament Tuesday. A U.N. official said that Gbagbo asked for U.N. protection for himself during the negotiations.
Ouattara's camp said it was sticking to a demand it has made all along: that Gbagbo recognize Ouattara's victory at the polls, said spokesman Patrick Achi.
"I think it is something very important," Achi said. "The military fight is almost over. As soon as he surrenders, all the fighting will stop."
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Ouattara wants Gbagbo to sign a letter saying he recognizes his rival as president. In a phone interview with French news channel LCI, a man claiming to be Gbagbo said he would not sign the paper because he does not acknowledge his rival's victory and that he demands "the truth of the ballot box." But, he said, he is willing to meet with Ouattara.
He also said the French have inserted themselves into the war.
"My problem is not to stay in a building or not," the man said. "My problem is that we find an exit from this crisis."
A key question is whether Gbagbo will remain in the Ivory Coast, said Choi Young-jin, head of the U.N. mission in the country. "Gbagbo had many options after the election, but he squandered his opportunities," said Choi, who has been speaking with Ouattara as well as Gbagbo's advisers. "I don't know what options he has now." "I think he (Gbagbo) knows everything is over for him," said Youssoufou Bamba, Ivory Coast's ambassador to the United Nations. "His military forces have been defeated. He is alone now."
Bamba said Gbagbo should go on trial "because he has committed so much crime" against civilian and peaceful demonstrators.
But Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who served as the African Union's main negotiator in Ivory Coast, said Ouattara and others should consider allowing safe passage for Gbagbo to Angola, South Africa or another country.
Choi said the combat is over and that only a few elements were out on the streets. An American resident of Abidjan, who did not want to be identified, said she could hear sporadic gunfire from her apartment but the heavy shelling and mortars had stopped. Choi said Gbagbo was hunkered down in the basement of his Abidjan residence with his family. He said there were still guards posted around the house, but not many. U.S. President Barack Obama called Tuesday for Gbagbo to "stand down immediately."
"Tragically, the violence that we are seeing could have been averted had Laurent Gbagbo respected the results of last year's presidential election," Obama said. "To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms."
Ouattara's forces entered Abidjan on Thursday after an offensive that swept across the country. When they arrived, the sporadic post-election violence that had plagued Abidjan for four months escalated into war.
By Tuesday, they had surrounded the presidential palace.
"We do not see why he shall not surrender," Achi said earlier, adding the new government may seek trial for Gbagbo in the International Court of Justice.
An Abidjan resident said state-run television, which has served as a powerful mouthpiece for Gbagbo, went dark Monday, a sign that Ouattara's forces had overrun the building.
Gbagbo's forces suffered a setback Monday when U.N. helicopters fired on one of its camps to prevent the use of heavy weapons against civilians and U.N. peacekeepers.
Djedje, the foreign minister, said the U.N. attack prompted Gbagbo's forces to stop fighting.
"Since there was no more ammunition and weapons, they decided to lay down the arms and negotiate a cease-fire," he said.
U.N. peacekeeping director Alain Le Roy told reporters the United Nations was not taking sides in the conflict, but had to act after three days of fire from Gbagbo's forces left four U.N. peacekeepers seriously injured.
"We are shooting at heavy weapons. We are not shooting at the presidency," Le Roy said. The political chaos and violence has claimed hundreds of lives in Ivory Coast. In one of the bloodiest incidents yet, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported the killings of 800 people last week in the western cocoa-producing town of Duekoue. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | April 2011 | ['(CNN)'] |
The former Soviet autonomous oblast of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia, heightening tension in the Caucasus. | Officials in the tiny former Soviet region of South Ossetia say more than 90% of voters have declared they want independence from Georgia.
The authorities see Sunday's referendum as a first step towards eventual union with Russia, but the result is unlikely to be recognised by any government.
South Ossetia has sought secession since the early 1990s but has failed to win international recognition.
Georgia terms the vote illegitimate and has vowed to win South Ossetia back.
The BBC's Matthew Collin in the region's capital, Tskhinvali, says the vote has further strained relations between Georgia and Russia.
Vote condemned
In a statement on Monday the European Union said it did not recognise the referendum, which "contradicts Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders".
The European human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, denounced the referendum as "unnecessary, unhelpful and unfair".
Meanwhile, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli told Reuters that the vote "can only increase the tensions in the region".
South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity, who wants union with Russia, was re-elected with an overwhelming majority, the officials said.
"We have won together today," he told a crowd of supporters in Tskhinvali after the polls closed. "When we're together and united, no-one can defeat us."
Earlier he appealed to the international community to accept the will of his people, insisting the referendum was not a futile gesture.
"It's not a symbolic referendum, it's an answer to those who won't recognise the will of the people of South Ossetia," he said.
But people in some of the ethnic Georgian enclaves, which lie within South Ossetia, voted in what they described as alternative elections, which seemed designed to undermine the credibility of the referendum on independence.
Earlier, South Ossetian forces killed four men they said were planning to carry out attacks on election day.
Georgian accusations
Georgia has accused Russia of backing South Ossetia's ambitions to undermine its pro-Western government.
Georgia wants the Russian peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia to be replaced by an international force.
But the South Ossetians see them as protection against what they believe are Georgian plans to invade. South Ossetia began its attempts to gain independence at the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, when hundreds died in fighting between Georgian and Ossetian forces.
Many in South Ossetia see Georgia's actions then as brutal and unforgivable.
Since then the region has effectively run its own affairs with economic and political support from Russia. | Government Job change - Election | November 2006 | ['(BBC News)'] |
Remains of the first plane taken to Antarctica in 1912 are discovered by Australian researchers. | Remains of the first plane taken to Antarctica, in 1912, have been found by Australian researchers. The Mawson's Huts Foundation had been searching for the plane, last seen in the mid-1970s, for three summers before stumbling on pieces of it on New Year's Day.
"The biggest news of the day is that we've found the air tractor, or at least parts of it," Dr Tony Stewart wrote on the team's blog from Cape Denison.
Australian polar explorer and geologist Douglas Mawson led two expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s, on the first one bringing a single-propeller Vickers plane.
Mawson's dream of staging the first human flight over the Antarctic ice cap, less than a decade after the Wright brothers made the first powered flight, was shattered even before his expedition sailed. The plane crashed in a demonstration flight in October 1911. No one was hurt, but the wings were damaged. With no time for repairs, Mawson removed the wings and took the rest of the plane to use as a flightless "air tractor".
Dr Stewart said the 1911-14 Australian Antarctic Expedition used the plane to tow gear on to the ice in preparation for sledging journeys. But the plane's engine could not withstand the extreme cold and it was eventually abandoned. | New archeological discoveries | January 2010 | ['(The Independent)', '(BBC)', '(AFP)'] |
In a 6-2 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States finds that a ban on affirmative action through a state constitutional amendment is permissible under the U.S. Constitution, overturning an appeals court ruling. | Every once in a while a great, conflicted country gets an insoluble problem exactly right. Such is the Supreme Court’s ruling this week on affirmative action. It upheld a Michigan referendum prohibiting the state from discriminating either for or against any citizen on the basis of race.
The Schuette ruling is highly significant for two reasons: its lopsided majority of 6 to 2, including a crucial concurrence from liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, and, even more important, Breyer’s rationale. It couldn’t be simpler. “The Constitution foresees the ballot box, not the courts, as the normal instrument for resolving differences and debates about the merits of these programs.” Finally. After 36 years since the Bakke case, years of endless pettifoggery — parsing exactly how many spoonfuls of racial discrimination are permitted in exactly which circumstance — the court has its epiphany: Let the people decide. Not our business. We will not ban affirmative action. But we will not impose it, as the Schuette plaintiffs would have us do by ruling that no state is permitted to ban affirmative action.
The path to this happy place has been characteristically crooked. Eleven years ago, the court rejected an attempt to strike down affirmative action at the University of Michigan law school. The 2003 Grutter decision, as I wrote at the time, was “incoherent, disingenuous, intellectually muddled and morally confused” — and exactly what the country needed.
The reasoning was a mess because, given the very wording of the equal-protection clause (and of the Civil Rights Act), justifying any kind of racial preference requires absurd, often comical linguistic contortions. As Justice Antonin Scalia put it in his Schuette concurrence, even the question is absurd: “Does the Equal Protection Clause . . . forbid what its text plainly requires?” (i.e., colorblindness).
Indeed, over these four decades, how was “equal protection” transformed into a mandate for race discrimination? By morphing affirmative action into diversity and declaring diversity a state purpose important enough to justify racial preferences.
This is pretty weak gruel when compared with the social harm inherent in discriminating by race: exacerbating group antagonisms, stigmatizing minority achievement and, as documented by Thomas Sowell, Stuart Taylor and many others, needlessly and tragically damaging promising minority students by turning them disproportionately into failures at institutions for which they are unprepared.
So why did I celebrate the hopelessly muddled Grutter decision, which left affirmative action standing?
Because much as I believe the harm of affirmative action outweighs the good, the courts are not the place to decide the question. At its core, affirmative action is an attempt — noble but terribly flawed, in my view — at racial restitution. The issue is too neuralgic, the history too troubled, the ramifications too deep to be decided on high by nine robes. As with all great national questions, the only path to an enduring, legitimate resolution is by the democratic process.
That was the lesson of Roe v. Wade. It created a great societal rupture because, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg once explained, it “halted a political process that was moving in a reform direction and thereby, I believe, prolonged divisiveness and deferred stable settlement of the [abortion] issue.” It is never a good idea to take these profound political questions out of the political arena. (Regrettably, Ginsberg supported the dissent in Schuette, which would have done exactly that to affirmative action, recapitulating Roe.)
Which is why the 2003 Grutter decision was right. Asked to abolish affirmative action — and thus remove it from the democratic process — the court said no.
The implication? The people should decide.
The people responded accordingly. Three years later, they crafted a referendum to abolish race consciousness in government action. It passed overwhelmingly, 58 percent to 42 percent. Schuette completes the circle by respecting the constitutionality of that democratic decision. As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the controlling opinion: “This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it.” And as Breyer wrote: “The Constitution permits, though it does not require . . . race-conscious programs.” Liberal as he is, Breyer could not accept the radical proposition of the Schuette plaintiffs that the Constitution demands — and cannot countenance a democratically voted abolition of — racial preferences.
This gives us, finally, the basis for a new national consensus. Two-thirds of the court has just said to the nation: For those of you who wish to continue to judge by race, we’ll keep making jesuitical distinctions to keep the discrimination from getting too obvious or outrageous. If, however, you wish to be rid of this baleful legacy and banish race preferences once and for all, do what Michigan did. You have our blessing. | Government Policy Changes | April 2014 | ['(Washington Post)'] |
Sixteen protesters are wounded after police use tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets on pro-democracy protesters near the residence of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in Bangkok. | Emergency services say 16 injured as police use tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets on pro-democracy protesters near residence of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha.
Thai police shot rubber bullets and used water cannon and tear gas against pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok on Sunday at a rally outside a military barracks housing the prime minister’s residence.
Protesters threw bottles at police and marched up to a barricade of shipping containers and barbed wire at the entrance to the base of the 1st Infantry Regiment in Bangkok, one of several army units that the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha transferred to the king’s control in 2019.
Erawan Emergency Services said 16 people were injured.
The Thai youth-led political movement was launched last year to demand Prayuth’s resignation and broke taboos by calling for reforms of the monarchy.
The movement lost steam when it took a break in December and January as Thailand was hit by a second wave of coronavirus infections.
However, the arrest of four prominent protest leaders recently has reinvigorated the pro-democracy protests.
The four are among 58 protesters facing lese majeste charges and the prospect of up to 15 years in jail per charge if convicted of insulting the monarchy.
Protesters also showed support for anti-coup demonstrations in Myanmar, which has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
Their action was linked to the informal Milk Tea Alliance of pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Myanmar, which on Sunday called for efforts in support of the protests in Myanmar.
Prayuth was targeted in part because he met Wednesday in Bangkok with the new foreign minister appointed by Myanmar’s military rulers.
“Prayuth welcoming a Myanmar official from their military government to Thailand earlier this week also show that he is supporting the dictator there,” Chukiat Sangwong, a Thai protest leader told Reuters news agency.
“This is not ok with the Myanmar people, so they have joined us here,” he said.
On Sunday, a crackdown on protesters in the Myanmar’s largest city Yangon by security forces left at least 18 people dead, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
F | Protest_Online Condemnation | February 2021 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Yukiya Amano heads for Tehran to convince the Iranian government to co–operate with the agency. | The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator have been "positive", according to Iranian state TV.
Yukiya Amano, of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met Iran's nuclear energy head Saeed Jalili.
"We held expanded and intensive negotiations in a good atmosphere," Mr Amano is quoted as saying.
His visit to Tehran came ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between six world powers and Iran on Wednesday.
Iran denies claims by Western nations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.
It has refused to provide the IAEA access to relevant sites, officials and documents for more than four years.
A website for one of Iran's state news channels quoted Mr Amano as saying: "Definitely, the progress of talks will have a positive impact on negotiations between Iran and P5+1."
UK, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany - the so-called P5 + 1 - are due to take part in the Baghdad talks. "I will not go into details but the agency has some viewpoints and Iran has its own specific viewpoints," he added. Western diplomats quoted by Reuters news agency said Mr Amano would only visit Tehran if he believed a framework agreement to grant inspectors greater access was close.
By promising co-operation with the IAEA, Iran might be looking for leverage ahead of Wednesday's talks, they say.
Mr Jalili also sounded a positive note after the meeting.
"We had very good talks with Amano and, God willing, we will have good cooperation in the future," according to reports by Iranian state television.
However, previous negotiations have ended in failure. In February, Iran refused the IAEA's request to let inspectors visit its military site at Parchin, south of Tehran, which is believed to be involved in the country's nuclear programme.
Western powers are concerned that Iran is using its civilian nuclear programme to mask efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. The UN, US, European Union, Canada, Japan and Australia are among those who have imposed sanctions on Iran to try to persuade the country to co-operate with the IAEA. Those measures target areas such as the sale of oil, arms deals, financial transactions and trade in technology that could be used for uranium enrichment.
US strike plan on Iran 'ready'
International Atomic Energy Agency
UN calls for end of arms sales to Myanmar
In a rare move, the UN condemns the overthrowing of Aung San Suu Kyi and calls for an arms embargo.
| Diplomatic Visit | May 2012 | ['(IAEA)', '(The Guardian)', '(Al Jazeera)', '(BBC)'] |
A mother and her three children are killed in a car fire in Brisbane, Australia, in a targeted familicide carjacking by former New Zealand Warriors player Rowan Baxter. He was the ex-husband of the woman and father of the children, and he committed suicide at the scene. | Queensland police have confirmed the mother of three children killed in a Brisbane car fire has also died of her injuries. Brisbane couple Rowan and Hannah Baxter - in a promotional video - have been identified the couple involved in the Camp Hill tragedy where 3 children were killed in a car fire
Hannah Baxter and her son Trey. Trey and his siblings were killed in a car fire. Photo: FacebookSource:Supplied
WARNING: Graphic content
The mother of three young children killed in a horrific car fire in Brisbane on Tuesday has also died of her injuries.
Hannah Baxter, 31, succumbed to her injuries at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital early this evening, Queensland Police said.
Ms Baxter was in a car with her three children, Laianah, 6, Aaliyah, 4, and Trey, 3, around 8:30am this morning when she was reportedly approached by Rowan Baxter, 42 in Raven St in Camp Hill.
MORE: Witnesses describe Brisbane horror
MORE: Doting mum loved her children
Mr Baxter – her husband with whom she owned a gym and had three children – reportedly approached the vehicle, dousing her in petrol before stabbing himself.
The two girls aged six and four along with a three-year-old boy were found dead inside the car, police said. Mr Baxter, 42, was also pronounced dead earlier today.
Hannah Baxter and Rowan Baxter with kids Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey Image from FacebookSource:Supplied
Rowan and Hannah Baxter with their children Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey outside their Integr8 gym. Photo: FacebookSource:Supplied
‘HE’S POURED PETROL ON ME’
Hannah and Rowan Baxter were reportedly undergoing a separation, with Nine News reporting Ms Baxter and her three children had been staying with her parents in Camp Hill.
Eyewitness Aaron Snell told The Courier Mail Mr Baxter was in “all manner of states’ and jumped into the flaming car to grab a knife while bystanders tried to help. | Fire | February 2020 | ['(News.com.au)'] |
A strong earthquake in Turkey kills dozens. | The injured were ferried to hospital with the help of relatives
A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said.
The 6.0-magnitude quake, centred on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 0432 (0232 GMT). It has been followed by more than 40 aftershocks. Officials said the nearby village of Okcular had been almost destroyed and several others badly damaged. A number of people were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings, many of which were built of mud-bricks. "Villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone," Elazig Governor Muammer Erol told CNN Turk.
At least 17 of the dead came from the hillside village of Okcular, where up to 30 houses collapsed, rescuers said. "The village is totally flattened," Okcular's administrator, Hasan Demirdag, told NTV. Television footage from Okcular showed rescue workers and soldiers digging among the rubble of collapsed buildings as villagers looked on. Ali Riza Ferhat, a resident, said he had been asleep in his home when the earthquake struck. "I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbours," he told NTV. "We removed six bodies." The nearby villages of Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik, Gocmezler and Yukari Demirci were also badly damaged and each reported several deaths.
"Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place," Yadin Apaydin, the administrator for Yukari Kanatli, told CNN Turk. At least 50 people have been taken to hospital, officials say. Some were reportedly hurt during the panic after the first earthquake, when they jumped from windows or balconies. Residents of the affected villages have been warned not to return to damaged homes while the area continues to be hit by aftershocks, the strongest of which have so far measured 5.1 and 5.5. The government disaster management centre and Turkish Red Crescent have set up tents to help survivors cope with the harsh winter weather, and are also distributing food and blankets. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers have travelled to the earthquake zone to provide assistance.
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lamented the lack of earthquake-safe buildings and said he had ordered the start of a reconstruction project in the area. "Mud-brick construction is undoubtedly a local tradition. But unfortunately, it has proved to have a heavy price," he said. A BBC News website reader who visited the village of Basyurt after the earthquake said its residents blamed the government for the destruction and loss of life. "This is a seismic area. We've experienced so many earthquakes in the last 20 years, yet no measures have been taken to strengthen the buildings," Volkan Durkal said. "Most houses are not made with cement, they are not well-built and the people are not well-educated about what to do and where to take cover during an earthquake." Turkey is plagued by earthquakes - generally minor - because of its location on the North Anatolian fault line. A 7.4-magnitude tremor which hit the western city of Izmit in August 1999 killed more than 17,000 people. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says poor quality buildings were also blamed for the high death toll then and there is still concern in Turkey's largest city, where seismologists predict a major earthquake will occur within the next few decades. | Earthquakes | March 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
Islamist party Hamas' landslide victory in Palestinian elections ends four decades of rule by the Fatah party. Hamas secures 76 seats in the 132–member legislature through parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei announces he will resign and Fatah declares it will not join a Hamas–led coalition, although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to continue negotiations with Israel through the Palestine Liberation Organization. | Preliminary results give Hamas 76 of the 132 seats in the chamber, with the ruling Fatah party trailing on 43. The win poses problems for efforts to restart peace talks with Israel, say analysts. Israel insists it will not deal with an authority including Hamas.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah party, says he remains committed to a peaceful settlement.
"Our main objective is to end the occupation and have an independent Palestinian state," he said at a news conference after the results were announced.
Israel will not conduct any negotiation with a Palestinian government, if it includes any (members of) an armed terror organisation that calls for Israel's destruction
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei of Fatah has offered to resign, and the party has said it will not join Hamas in government.
In Israel, interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after a three-hour emergency meeting on Thursday that Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian government including Hamas.
"Israel will not conduct any negotiation with a Palestinian government, if it includes any (members of) an armed terror organisation that calls for Israel's destruction," Mr Olmert's office said in a statement.
The BBC's Jeremy Bowen says Hamas' first big test will be an orderly transfer of power. If they can do it, Palestinians can at least hope for national unity, otherwise their immediate future is grim. 'Under occupation'
US President George W Bush said the poll was a "wake-up call" for the Palestian leadership, but he hoped Mr Abbas would stay in power.
He said the US would not deal with Hamas unless it renounced its call to destroy Israel.
But Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahhar refused to renounce violence.
"We are not playing terrorism or violence. We are under occupation," he told BBC World TV. "The Israelis are continuing their aggression against our people, killing, detention, demolition and in order to stop these processes, we run effective self defence by all means, including using guns."
Hamas and Fatah supporters clashed on Thursday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Shots were fired in the air and some injuries were reported.
The clash, which happened after Hamas supporters tried to raise their flag over the Palestinian parliament, was brought under control by police after about 10 minutes.
Arab concern
Election commission head Hanna Nasser said 95% of the votes had now been counted, and the results could still change slightly.
On top of the seats taken by Hamas and Fatah, the 13 remaining seats went to smaller parties and independents, some backed by Hamas.
The turnout was 77%.
A victory for Hamas is positive and unsettling at the same time
Mr Abbas will now have to discuss with Hamas the formation of a new government and the appointment of a prime minister.
Hamas leaders have said they want to open talks with other groups including Fatah about a political partnership.
The BBC's Richard Miron in Jerusalem says the mood in Israel is one of gloom.
Israel's Foreign Minister, Tsipi Livni, appealed to the EU - the biggest financial donors to the authority - to firmly oppose the creation of a "terrorist government". Who are Hamas?
European leaders echoed the call for Hamas to renounce violence.
"I think it is important for Hamas to understand that there comes a point and the point is now... where they have to decide between a path of democracy or a path of violence," UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet UN, European and Russian leaders on Monday to evaluate the result and decide how to proceed with peace efforts.
The BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo says the Hamas win will also cause Arab governments concern and boost Islamist opposition parties in Egypt and Jordan. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Jerusalem says there is no doubt that the Hamas showing has transformed the Palestinian political arena. But correspondents say Hamas seems unprepared for its own victory, and has not prepared itself to step neatly into government and assume immediate responsibility. | Government Job change - Election | January 2006 | ['(BBC)', '(Haaretz)'] |
Zhou Qiang succeeds Zhang Chunxian as the provincial party secretary of Hunan Province in China. | Xinjiang reshuffle carefully studied, vice-president says URUMQI - The former governor of Hunan province, Zhou Qiang, 50, has become the country's third-youngest provincial Party chief. Zhou was appointed Party secretary of Hunan on Sunday. He replaced Zhang Chunxian, who took over the position of Party chief of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Saturday from 66-year-old Wang Lequan. Wang, who headed Xinjiang for 15 years, was named deputy secretary of the Committee of Political Science and Law under the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Saturday. Zhou is the third provincial Party chief in the country born after 1960. Hu Chunhua, Party secretary of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Sun Zhengcai, Party chief of Jilin province, were both born in 1963. Zhou became Hunan governor in 2006 after Zhang was appointed Party chief of Hunan in 2005. Prior to that, Zhou served as the first secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. On Saturday, Zhang Chunxian was named Party secretary of Xinjiang at a meeting of top regional leaders in the regional capital of Urumqi. Vice-President Xi Jinping was also at the meeting. Xi said the Party's decision was "carefully studied" and the 56-year-old Zhang is suitable for the position because he is liberal-minded and innovative. He also praised Wang for "maintaining social stability in the region, safeguarding national unity and combating separatism". Wang was modest about the vice-president's praise and said he was just doing his job. Xinjiang's new Party chief, Zhang, who has visited the region four times, promised to make its development his top priority. "I am very confident about the region's future with the support of the central government," Zhang said. During Zhang's term in Hunan, many people knew him as the "Internet Secretary" because he valued public opinion online. He is known for looking to the Internet as a platform to link the government and the people. Zhang was also minister of transportation from 2002 to 2005 before he became Party secretary of Hunan. His appointment was announced one day after the CPC Central Committee's Political Bureau held a meeting to discuss plans to boost economic development and maintain long-term social stability in Xinjiang. The meeting, presided over by President Hu Jintao, stressed that economic and social development in Xinjiang should be pushed forward in a sound and speedy manner. Guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods should be given priority so that all ethnic groups in the region can live a more prosperous life, Hu said. The announcement of Xinjiang's new Party chief has become the top topic of interest in the region. "I hope Zhang brings something fresh to Xinjiang," said Uygur businessman Toksenjon. The organizers of the mega event have shifted to high gear to eliminate certain problems exposed during the trial operations.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | April 2010 | ['(China Daily)'] |
The People's Republic of China announces that the last surviving member of the Gang of Four, Yao Wenyuan, died on December 23, 2005. | Yao Wenyuan died of diabetes on 23 December at the age of 74, according to the official news agency Xinhua. Along with the other gang members, who included the wife of Communist Party founder Mao Zedong, he was jailed for the chaos wreaked in the 1960s and 70s.
Yao was released nearly a decade ago and spent his last years in Beijing.
He played a key role in the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long power struggle which turned Chinese society upside-down. A former propaganda official and Shanghai journalist, his political importance grew when he teamed up with Mao's third wife Jiang Qing and the two other gang members, Wang Hongwen and Zhang Chunqiao. Once dubbed "the killer with the pen" by the Chinese media, he wrote a famous article that signalled the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966.
Hundreds of thousands of people were driven to suicide after suffering mental and physical harassment by gangs of young Red Guards professing to follow Mao's teachings.
Long jail terms
The Gang of Four was officially blamed for the turmoil, and its members were arrested in 1976 following Mao's death.
They were all given long jail terms. Jiang and Zhang were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yao finished his 20-year sentence in 1996, and went on to live a quiet life. Jiang reportedly committed suicide in jail in 1991, while Wang died in 1992 and Zhang died in May 2005.
When it announced Yao's death on Friday, the Chinese government did not explain why the news was not broadcast immediately on 23 December.
But analysts say the delay is perhaps a measure of the extreme sensitivity that still surrounds the Cultural Revolution. Many feel the Communist Party has never allowed the suffering that China's urban intellectuals and others went through to be properly dealt with. To do so could gravely threaten the party's legitimacy and re-open the wounds of a group of people whose lives were so badly disrupted that they think of themselves as a lost generation. | Famous Person - Death | January 2006 | ['(BBC)'] |
Several explosions shake Mumbai, India, killing 20 and injuring over 100 persons. | Mumbai was struck by three powerful bomb blasts during the evening rush hour on Wednesday that killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more, including businessmen from the city's thriving diamond, gold and jewellery trade.
India's home minister, P Chidambaram, warned that the death toll could rise further. It is the fourth major attack by suspected terrorists on India's financial capital since 2003.
The chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, said 113 people had been hospitalised after suffering injuries in the blasts, which he said were caused by "powerful explosives ... planted in a scooter and a motorcycle".
Asked by television news if the state government had received any warning of the terror strike, he replied: "No comment."
Unlike earlier multiple bomb attacks on the city, no radical organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion fell once again on the Indian Mujahideen (IM), an underground terrorist group sworn to avenge the massacre of hundreds of Muslims in the neighbouring state of Gujarat.
A day earlier in Mumbai, the anti-terrorist squad had arrested two car thieves allegedly belonging to the IM who had supplied stolen cars used for planting bombs in 2008 in the Gujarat cities of Ahmedabad and Surat.
The fifth anniversary of the Mumbai train blasts that killed more than 180 commuters fell this week, on 11 July.
Officials were careful not to blame any organisation for the early evening blasts, but the choice of neighbourhoods in south and central Mumbai suggested that, as in the past, the attempt was to terrorise the city's businessmen, particularly from among its Gujarati community.
The first explosion at 6.54pm was in the crowded, bustling Zaveri bazaar, a British-era market packed with hundreds of gold and jewellery shops.
The second, a minuter later, was at the Opera House, which has become a major hub for India's prosperous diamond exporters.
The third blast at 7.05pm hit the central Mumbai neighbourhood of Dadar, at the Kabutar Khana (Pigeon House) junction, where businessmen on their way to the railway station often stop to feed grain to the pigeons. Dadar is largely a residential district, and is the stronghold of the opposition Shiv Sena, a militant political party whose headquarters were targeted during the 1993 bomb blasts following the demolition by radical Hindus of a Mughal-era mosque in northern India.
Television interviews revealed the anger that Mumbai's citizens felt at the latest attack, which comes less than three years after the deadly attacks on the city by Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) gunmen in November 2008.
Chavan appealed to the people of Mumbai to "remain calm". He said: "Please don't believe in rumours."
He was probably referring to speculation, which has proved incorrect, that 13 July is the birthday of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist from the 2008 attack.
After the latest attack, slogans were chanted on the streets against Kasab, an indication of the resentment people feel that the LeT gunman, who has been sentenced to death by a court, is still alive in jail as higher courts have still to hear his appeal against the verdict.
Anger was also directed against the failure of the authorities to anticipate and prevent Wednesday's serial blasts.
"Please wake up. It's high time you did something," said a an agitatedZaveri bazaar businessman, Hemant Mehta. "There is a question mark about the credibility of the home ministers of India and Maharashtra state."
Since the November 2008 attack, money has been poured into upgrading police and intelligence capabilities in Mumbai. Even so, the most basic measures get indefinitely postponed. A Mumbai police plan to set up a city-wide 5,000-camera surveillance network has been gathering dust in the state home department since January 2009. If such a police CCTV network had been in place identifying the perpetrators of the attack might have been made easier.
"We see a lack of political will to take this [protecting the city against terror attacks] on on an emergency basis," the media professional Prahlad Kakkad told the CNN-IBN news channel.
"Mumbai is a soft target, it will always remain a soft target. The only way to combat this is through good intelligence, and that's not there." | Riot | July 2011 | ['(NDTV)', '(Al Jazeera)', '(BBC)', '(The Guardian)'] |
Former President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, dies at the age of 83. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq. , | ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish leader and ex-Iraqi president Jalal Talabani died on Tuesday at age 83, Iraqi state TV said, a week after Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region held a referendum on independence.
Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, stepped down as president in 2014, after a long period of treatment following a stroke in 2012.
Talabani died in Germany, according to Erbil-based Rudaw TV, which reported earlier in the day that his health had deteriorated. He often went to Germany for medical treatment.
His wife and companion in political struggle, Hero, and his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party voiced only lukewarm support for the Sept. 25 referendum that delivered an overwhelming “yes” to secession from Iraq.
Unlike Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Massoud Barzani of the rival Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), the PUK has had traditionally good ties with Iran and Iranian-backed Shi’ite groups which are effectively ruling in Baghdad. The Baghdad government, Iran and Turkey all strongly opposed the referendum.
Talabani was born near Erbil, now the seat of the autonomous KRG in northern Iraq, in 1933. He lived in Sulaimaniya, a stronghold of his PUK, the main rival of Barzani’s KDP.
He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, elected in 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab.
Fuad Masoum, a Kurd from the PUK, replaced Talabani in the Iraqi presidency, a largely ceremonial post in the political system established after Saddam’s overthrow that concentrates power in the hand of the prime minister, now Haider al-Abadi, an Arab Shi’ite Muslim.
One of Talabani’s sons, Qubad, is the current deputy prime minister of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
| Famous Person - Death | October 2017 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
A right-wing Patriot Prayer rally in Portland, Oregon turns violent, with clashes reported between the group and the left-wing group Antifa. The Portland Police Bureau reports that four arrests were made for outstanding warrants, and that Patriot Prayer's permit to march was cancelled once the violence began. |
Saturday's clashes were not the first of their kind. Antifa counterprotesters fought with far-right Patriot Prayer supporters during a march in Portland, Ore., on June 3.
What began in downtown Portland, Ore., on Saturday as a permitted march by the far-right group Patriot Prayer was quickly declared a riot and halted by police after altercations with anti-fascist counterprotesters escalated, with reports of projectiles causing several injuries. Four people were taken to area hospitals by ambulance, one with a serious but not life-threatening injury and the other three with non-serious injuries. Additionally, a patrol vehicle escorted one police officer who experienced non-serious injuries to a hospital, according to a statement by the Portland police department.
Police arrested four individuals, though all were in connection to events prior to Saturday's events.
Supporters of Patriot Prayer, led by its incendiary leader Joey Gibson, who is also running for a U.S. Senate seat in Washington state, began to assemble in parks along Third Avenue in downtown Portland early Saturday afternoon. Far-left antifa protesters congregated in similar or greater numbers nearby. The two groups lobbed insults at each other across a heavy law enforcement presence, clad in riot gear, there to keep the two sides apart and screen for weapons.
Officers have made probable cause arrests in today's demonstration around Terry Schrunk Plaza and Chapman Square. Ofcs are also seizing weapons.
Around 6 p.m. local time, Patriot Prayer initiated its permitted march, working its way along Third Avenue. But projectiles quickly began flying. Police then cancelled the permit, used bullhorns to declare the situation a riot and deployed flash bangs and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
Portland police have officially declared a riot and are ordering people to leave immediately.
"We seized numerous weapons early on, and interceded and separated people when necessary. However, once projectiles, such as fireworks, eggs, rocks, bottles and construction equipment were thrown and people were injured, we ordered people to disperse," Deputy Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement.
Portland police disputed rumors that they had used tear gas.
They also said the four arrests made were not in relation to Saturday's protests, and all were connected to investigations that began in early June and, in one case, late May.
In its statement, the police department also said it is aware other "criminal behavior" was recorded that may include disorderly conduct, assault, theft, among other crimes. They encouraged tips and said there may be more arrests "at a later time."
The Federal Protective Service, among the law enforcement present Saturday, shut down the Terry Schrunk Federal Plaza as local police declared a riot.
Police are now declaring this event a riot. People must leave the area immediately.
Before Saturday, Eugene Antifa, a far-left group, posted on Facebook its intention to stymie groups like Patriot Prayer. "It is very important that antifascists keep up the pressure so that we can stop them once and for all," it wrote.
During the protests, one of the far-right protesters later arrested by police, Tusitala "Tiny" Toese told KGW that his commitment to his Patriot Prayer "family" was unflappable. "If I have to die next to my family, to my brothers and sister , that's standing up for freedom in America, I will have to," he said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote last year that Patriot Prayer had "trolled the Northwest with a series of rallies designed to provoke violence." The group was behind a rally in San Francisco last year that was cancelled before it took place, after many had anticipated violent clashes. Saturday's protests follow previous confrontations between Patriot Prayer and anti-fascist groups in Oregon's largest city.
Earlier last month, a "goodbye party for a prominent conservative activist transformed into a clash between the left and the right," according to the Portland Tribune. Last year saw thousands skirmish in fights between Patriot Prayer and counter-protesters at a rally following a stabbing on public transportation after a man reportedly harassed a woman wearing a hijab, as NPR's Maquita Peters reported. Separate "Families Belong Together" protests — decrying the Trump administration's now rescinded policy of separating families at the border — erupted in cities around the country Saturday. Another part of downtown Portland played host to one such rally Saturday. | Riot | June 2018 | ['(NPR)', '(CBS News)'] |
The Panamanian livestock transporter MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon while travelling from Uruguay to Syria with 83 people on board. | AFP - A major international operation was under way on Friday to search for more than 50 people still missing after a freighter capsized in stormy seas off Lebanon.
One of the survivors pulled from the Mediterranean after the Panamanian-flagged freighter went down off the north coast of Lebanon on Thursday said the British captain had been killed.
Rescuers have so far recovered 25 people from the Danny F II, which was on its way to Syria from Uruguay with more than 80 passengers and crew including Pakistanis and Filipinos, and a cargo of thousands of sheep and cattle.
A rescued crew member was quoted by a Lebanese security official as saying the captain had died. Two bodies recovered from the sea were being taken to the northern port of Tripoli, the official said, without giving more details.
Two of those pulled from the water were Philippine and Pakistani nationals, a rescue official said.
"They were very scared and cold when we pulled them out of the water," he told AFP.
UN, Syrian and Lebanese navy rescue boats continued the search early Friday along with three vessels sent by a UN peacekeeping force stationed off Lebanon. A British rescue helicopter also flew from Cyprus for backup on Thursday night.
But rescue efforts were hampered by severe rain and thunderstorms that lashed Lebanon Thursday and Friday.
"The sea conditions are rough and we need to find the survivors quickly because they run the risk of hypothermia," a Tripoli port official said.
"Rescue efforts are being hampered by the fact that we're operating in an area where the waves are as high as three metres (10 feet) and because of the floating dead animals," another Lebanese official told AFP.
A Lebanese military spokesman told AFP the crew apparently had time to put on their life jackets before the boat capsized.
The ship, transporting livestock from Uruguay to the Syrian port of Tartous, overturned about 11 nautical miles off Tripoli after sending a distress signal at around 3:55 pm (1355 GMT) Thursday.
It was trying to reach the Lebanese capital Beirut when it capsized.
The ship's operator, Agencia Schandy, told AFP in Montevideo that the Danny F II had a crew of 76 and six passengers -- four Uruguayans, one Brazilian and an Australian.
It had left Montevideo on November 23 with about 10,000 sheep and almost 18,000 cattle bound for Tartous, north of Tripoli, but was forced to change course because of the bad weather.
All of the animals were presumed lost.
A Togolese-flagged ship also sank off the southern coast of Lebanon last week. Several crew members were rescued by Israel but a number are still missing. | Shipwreck | December 2009 | ['(France 24)', '(The Times)'] |
The debate on a motion of no confidence against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government takes place at the Congress of Deputies, with a vote scheduled tomorrow. With an expected 180 votes against 176 needed, leader of the Opposition, socialist Pedro Sánchez, could immediately become the next Prime Minister. | MADRID (Reuters) - Pedro Sanchez was almost certain to become Spain’s new Prime Minister after his socialist party on Thursday secured enough votes to topple Mariano Rajoy in a confidence vote over a corruption case.
Sanchez has received the backing of six parties totaling 180 votes in parliament to become prime minister, more than the absolute majority of 176 votes needed to take power immediately if the no-confidence vote is held on Friday as scheduled.
Rajoy’s departure would trigger a second political crisis in southern Europe, further unnerving financial markets already wrongfooted by failed attempts to form a government in Italy three months after a national election.
With most Spanish parties in favor of respecting EU fiscal rules, however, investors appeared to see less risk of an abrupt policy shift than in Italy, where parties have thrown doubt on the commitment to the euro single currency.
Spain's blue-chip index Ibex .IBEX closed down 1 percent on Thursday but the news of Rajoy's likely downfall did not trigger a major sell-off and Spanish stocks were also hit by the trade war the U.S. started with Europe and other allies.
Rajoy, who did not attend the afternoon session of the debate on Thursday, ruled out resigning before the vote in a move that would have slowed down the transition.
Shortly before he secured the key support of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Sanchez had told Rajoy it was still time to leave and avoid the humiliation of becoming the first Spanish prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote.
“Are you ready to resign? Resign today and leave by your own will,” Sanchez told Rajoy. “You are part of the past, of a chapter the country is about to close.”
“FRANKENSTEIN” GOVERNMENT
The Basque PNV had backed Rajoy’s budget as recently as last week but it decided to remove its support after dozens of people linked to the ruling People’s Party (PP) were sentenced to decades in prison in a long-running corruption trial.
Sanchez said that if he took power he would stick to the budget approved by Rajoy, and would also seek to start a new dialogue with the restive region of Catalonia.
Defending his record on Thursday, Rajoy told deputies his center-right PP has a wide majority of members who are “decent and honest”.
“The Socialists have left us with a ruined country and we brought back growth and jobs,” he said, adding that Sanchez was trying to put together a “Frankenstein” government that would damage the economy.
Two Catalan pro-independence parties as well as leftist Podemos, a relative newcomer, another small Basque group and a party from the Canary Islands have said they will back Sanchez.
Jose Luis Abalos, the member of parliament in charge of formally presenting the motion on behalf of the Socialists, told PP deputies that the court ruling had triggered a wave of indignation across the country.
“While families were suffering the crisis, you were becoming millionaires,” he told PP members in parliament.
Rajoy, whose minority government has struggled after two inconclusive elections in 2015 and 2016 ushered in the most fragmented parliament since democracy returned to Spain in the 1970s, is also coming under fire for a perceived inability to solve a secession crisis in Catalonia.
| Government Job change - Election | May 2018 | ['(The Independent)', '(Reuters)'] |
75yearold author Alan Shadrake is arrested in Singapore while promoting his book about the use of the death penalty. He is charged with criminal defamation and faces two years imprisonment. | The British author of a book that seeks to expose "disturbing truths" about Singapore's use of the death penalty has been arrested on charges of criminal defamation.
Alan Shadrake, 75, was in the country to promote his book, Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, when police arrested him following a complaint by the government's Media Development Authority.
The attorney general's office in Singapore is also seeking contempt of court charges against Mr Shadrake because it alleges statements in the book, which includes an interview with a former hangman, call into question the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary.
Mr Shadrake, who was arrested at his hotel on Sunday, told reporters that he had been expecting trouble when he travelled to Singapore "If they do anything, it'll just draw more attention to it all, and they have no defence," he told the AFP news agency.
Mr Shadrake's lawyer, M Ravi, said police have not allowed him to speak to his client yet, and no bail has been set. The lawyer also said that Mr Shadrake has recently been treated successfully for colon cancer. The latest charges carry a maximum jail sentece of two years.
In a letter sent to the Criminal Investigation Department, Mr Ravi asked the authorities to grant him immediate access to Mr Shadrake. He said he was concerned about Mr Shadrake's health, as he has recurring colon and hernia problems as well as high blood pressure. "His condition can worsen if he is under intense pressure," he added.
Mr Shadrake, who divides his time between Britain and Malaysia, is an investigative journalist and author. He has written for international newspapers and his first major book in his 50-year career was Yellow Pimpernels, which detailed escape stories across the Berlin Wall.
His latest book includes an interview with Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison, who, according to the author, executed around 1,000 men and women from 1959 until he retired in 2006. It also includes interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former police officers. A flier promoting the 219-page book says it "cuts through the faade of official silence to reveal disturbing truths about Singapore's use of the death penalty", and "reveals the cruelty and imprudence of an entire judicial system".
In Singapore the death penalty is mandatory for murder, treason, drug trafficking and other crimes such as unlawful use of a firearm. Officials say it has helped to keep the crime rate low. Amnesty International said in a statement last year that Singapore was "estimated to have one of the highest per capita execution rates in the world".
"The city-state ... has executed at least 420 people since 1991," it added, but stated that the number was probably higher as "not all sentences and executions are reported publicly". Singapore officials consistently refuse to disclose any figures on executions.
Human rights groups have long criticised the Singapore government for using defamation suits to stifle political opposition. The government says restrictions on speech are necessary to preserve economic prosperity and racial and religious harmony among the population of five million. It says any statement that damages the reputations of its leaders will hinder their ability to rule effectively.
The British High Commission in Singapore said it had been informed about the detention of Shadrake and was "providing consular assistance".
The laws of Singapore
Chewing gum
Public mastication is taken very seriously in Singapore. The city-state banned gum chewing in 1992 as part of a long-standing drive against litter on its famously tidy streets. Not only is chewing gum in public banned, so too is its importation and sale. Police agents also roam the streets looking for miscreants chewing gum or littering.
Anyone brave or stupid enough to chomp on some spearmint chewy should be aware of the consequences. First time offenders can expect fines of between $500 (330) and $1,000. Repeat offenders get an ever harder time a fine of up to $2,000 and a Corrective Work Order, which requires the offender to clean public spaces, often while wearing a high-visibility jacket.
Homosexuality
Singapore remains rigidly backward-looking in its attitude to gay rights. Section 377A of the Singapore Penal Code bans consensual, private and adult homosexual acts and allows for such "gross indecency" to be punished with two years' imprisonment. The government allows movies with gay themes "as long as gay life is not depicted as desirable". According to the British High Commission, prosecutions under Section 377A are "relatively rare".
Smoking
Despite Singapore's reputation for social conservatism, when it comes to smoking other countries have followed where it has led. Smoking has been banned in hospitals, clinics, department stores, bowling alleys, offices and factories since the early 1990s long before it was outlawed in other countries. The ban has now been extended to all public spaces.
Driving
Very few cars in Singapore are more than 10 years old for the simple reason that owning a decade-old vehicle incurs a tax of 15,000 or more. The measure is designed to maintain air quality and limit the total number of vehicles on the roads. The city-state was one of the first places to introduce a congestion charge by setting up a zone where drivers must pay a daily fee to enter. However, it's cheap compared to London, costing only about 1 per day.
Corporal punishment
Beating with a rattan cane remains a sanction for a number of offences, including overstaying, drug misuse, rape, rioting, vandalism and the "outrage of modesty". Any man behaving inappropriately towards a woman, including touching, is liable to corporal punishment and/or a fine and/or imprisonment. Footage from surveillance cameras in nightclubs has been used in prosecutions for outrages of modesty. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(The Independent)'] |
A transport and a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collide north of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, en route to a play-off game against the Nipawin Hawks, killing 15 people. | Fourteen people are dead and 14 are in hospital after a bus carrying a junior hockey team to a game in Saskatchewan collided with a transport truck on a rural highway, according to RCMP.
The crash involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus occurred on Highway 335 near Gronlid, more than 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, late Friday afternoon.
The bus was T-boned by a transport truck, according to the president of the Nipawin Hawks, which was scheduled to play the Broncos Friday night.
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"It's a horrible accident, my God," team president Darren Opp told The Canadian Press. "There's uncles and moms and dads waiting to hear whether their sons and nephews are OK.”
"It's terrible. It's absolutely terrible."
More than 100 people, including parents and grandparents of some of the players on the bus, are gathered at a church in Nipawin, Sask. according to a local pastor.
"Lots of them are waiting for information," said Pastor Jordan Gadsby of the Apostolic Church. "Some of the families have gotten information and have gone to be with their kids. Some of them are waiting to hear if their kids are alive."
RCMP Insp. Ted Munro said “significant resources” have been deployed to the scene, and that emergency crews are still treating the injured. He would not confirm how many people were on the bus.
As for fatalities, Munro said next of kin are being notified and it would be “premature” for police to provide details of the number of deceased.
“At this time our primary focus is to treat the injured and get them to the required medical facilities,” Munro said at a press conference Friday night.
The team is part of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, which is open to players 20 years or younger.
Three air ambulance helicopters were dispatched to the scene, a spokesperson from STARS Ambulance told CTV News.
It is “rather unusual” to send three helicopters to a scene, STARS spokesperson Mark Oddan said.
“It is rather unusual but this is a very unusual case, and we really wanted to be able to help as best we could with this tragic accident,” Oddan told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Oddan could not confirm details on casualties but said each air ambulance is capable of carrying up to two patients.
The Nipawin Hawks were scheduled to play the team Friday night, but confirmed that the game has been cancelled due to the crash.
In a statement on Twitter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, in the Humboldt community and beyond.”
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called the collision “truly devastating” and offered condolences to family and friends of the victims.
“First responders are on the scene doing everything possible to help. Love + prayers to all,” Goodale said on Twitter. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he found the news “difficult to comprehend.”
“To the City of Humboldt, the entire Broncos organization, and the families impacted by this tragedy, please know you are in Saskatchewan’s hearts,” Moe said in a Facebook statement. “From a grieving province, thank you to every one of the first responders and medical professionals for your courageous response under the most difficult circumstances imaginable.”
With files from The Canadian Press
Derek Grayson and Nick bonding and healing in hospital I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, in the Humboldt community and beyond
I spent all night hoping the news would be better, but woke up to this. 14 dead, three in critical
The crash occurred on Highway 335 near Gronlid, Sask., north of Melfort.
Emergency crews block the highway near the site of a bus crash near Nipawin, Sask., Friday, April 6, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Matt Smith
The Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team poses for a photo March 24, 2018, after winning the Bourgault Cup. (Twitter/Humboldt Broncos)
The crash occurred on Highway 335 near Gronlid, Sask., north of Melfort.
Emergency crews block the highway near the site of a bus crash near Nipawin, Sask., Friday, April 6, 2018. | Road Crash | April 2018 | ['(CTV News)', '(CBC)', '(BBC)'] |
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is in "critical condition," according to Chinese doctors. | BEIJING — Tensions and uncertainty over the fate of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace laureate imprisoned for subversion, escalated on Monday, when Chinese doctors warned that he was in critical condition from liver cancer, a day after two foreign doctors said he appeared strong enough to travel abroad.
Calls for Mr. Liu to be allowed to go overseas for treatment were denounced by the Chinese government as meddling. And the German Embassy in Beijing strongly criticized the release, apparently with Chinese approval, of a video that showed the foreign doctors – one German, the other American – visiting Mr. Liu in a Chinese hospital, and the German doctor praising his treatment there.
The First Hospital of China Medical University in northeastern China, where Mr. Liu is being treated after receiving medical parole, sounded ominous in an online update on his condition. A team of Chinese doctors advising on his treatment said Mr. Liu’s stomach was increasingly bloated, his abdominal wall was inflamed, his blood pressure was falling, and his kidneys were faltering, the hospital said. Mr. Liu also had growing cancer lesions, the hospital said.
“Our hospital is following the consultative opinions of the national expert team and entering a state of active rescue,” the update said. “The family is aware of these developments.”
The prognosis seemed far graver than the one the foreign doctors had given Sunday, when they said Mr. Liu was well enough to go abroad for treatment, as he has requested. And comments from a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geng Shuang, on Monday seemed to offer little hope that Mr. Liu would be allowed to leave the country.
“We’ve answered many times that China is a country of rule by law, and everyone is equal before the law,” Mr. Geng said at a regular news briefing in Beijing, when asked about Mr. Liu’s request and the foreign doctors’ comments. “We hope that the countries concerned will respect China’s judicial sovereignty and don’t exploit so-called cases to meddle in China’s internal affairs.”
Asked repeatedly about Mr. Liu’s desire to leave, Mr. Geng repeated that vague formula and denied that there were precedents that would apply to Mr. Liu, although some other Chinese prisoners convicted on political charges have been given medical parole so they could seek treatment abroad.
“There have never been so-called precedents,” Mr. Geng said when asked about those examples. But when asked whether that position amounted to a “no” to Mr. Liu, Mr. Geng did not give a direct answer.
Mr. Liu is China’s most famous political prisoner, and now what is likely to be his short time still alive has become a source of contention with human rights advocates and Western governments.
Mr. Liu, 61, was sentenced late in 2009 to 11 years in prison on charges of inciting subversion, a year after he was detained on the cusp of issuing a bold democratic petition called Charter 08. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, infuriating the Chinese government.
The prison authorities revealed late last month that Mr. Liu had advanced liver cancer and had been given medical parole. He has been receiving treatment in the university hospital in Shenyang, a city 390 miles northeast of Beijing, guarded by the police. He and his wife, Liu Xia, have not spoken publicly or received well-wishers outside their immediate family.
But a lawyer for Mr. Liu and friends of the couple have said the couple wanted Mr. Liu to go abroad for treatment, apparently out of distrust of Chinese hospitals and to give Mr. Liu some freedom in his final days.
Their efforts received a boost over the weekend after the American and German cancer specialists examined Mr. Liu on Saturday and said he was well enough to travel.
Dr. Joseph M. Herman of the MD Anderson Cancer Center of the University of Texas and Dr. Markus Büchler of the University of Heidelberg were invited by the Chinese government to examine Mr. Liu. But they apparently departed from the government’s official script that Mr. Liu was not stable enough to travel.
“While a degree of risk always exists in the movement of any patient, both physicians believe Mr. Liu can be safely transported with appropriate medical evacuation care and support,” the two doctors said in a joint statement on Sunday. “However, the medical evacuation would have to take place as quickly as possible.”
But the two doctors were also used in Chinese propaganda. They were shown visiting Mr. Liu in a video that appeared to have been made and issued with the backing of the Chinese authorities. The video released Sunday showed them and a number of Chinese medical workers crowded around Mr. Liu, gaunt and motionless in a bed, while a woman with short hair — apparently his wife, Liu Xia — stood at his feet.
“They are very committed to the treatment of your man, of your husband,” Dr. Büchler says of the Chinese doctors. “They want us to help, and I think this is a very nice gesture.” Dr. Herman then comforts the woman with a gentle pat on her shoulder.
The German Embassy in Beijing denounced the video as an exploitative violation of promises not to record and distribute such images.
“These recordings were made against the expressed wishes of the German side, which were communicated in writing prior to the visit,” the embassy said on Monday, adding, “It seems that security organs are steering the process, not medical experts.”
China has given political prisoners medical parole to go abroad, although there seem to have been virtually no instances in the past decade.
John Kamm, the founder of the Dui Hua Foundation, an organization in San Francisco that has worked to free Chinese prisoners, said he could recall roughly a dozen such cases in all. The last one was Rebiya Kadeer, an imprisoned advocate for the Uighur minority who was released on medical parole in 2005.
The Chinese government, however, told Mr. Liu’s lawyer, Shang Baojun, in late June that Mr. Liu was not fit to travel. Chinese Foreign and Justice Ministry officials had also rejected suggestions that Mr. Liu could go abroad.
The Chinese government’s position on Mr. Liu appeared sure to anger Chinese human rights activists and international rights organizations that have called for him to be freed to choose his own treatment. And the issue has strained Beijing’s ties with the United States and the European Union.
For the past decade and more, Washington, Brussels and other Western capitals have become less vocal in pressing human rights cases with Beijing, and Beijing has become brusquely impatient with criticism of its harsh limits on expression and dissent. But the United States and European governments have spoken out for Mr. Liu in recent weeks.
The European Union urged China in late June to allow him to “receive medical assistance at a place of his choosing in China or overseas.” The American State Department said Mr. Liu should have “freedom of movement and access to medical care of his choosing.”
“We continue to ask that China immediately grant Mr. Liu parole on humanitarian grounds and allow him to receive medical assistance at a place of his choosing in China or overseas,” the European Union Delegation in Beijing said on Monday in an emailed statement.
Earlier, Global Times, a Chinese tabloid that often bluntly defends Beijing’s policies, said Ms. Kadeer, the prisoner who left China in 2005, showed why it would be dangerous to allow Mr. Liu to leave. She had plunged into political activism after leaving, an editorial in the English-language edition of the paper said in late June.
“If Liu is allowed to go abroad for medical treatment, as a ‘Nobel Laureate,’ he could motivate more Western public opinion attacks against China,” it said. But even that strident paper did not entirely close the door. It said: “It needs to be stressed that whether Liu is allowed to seek medical treatment abroad is within China’s own jurisdiction.” | Famous Person - Sick | July 2017 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
British Prime Minister David Cameron begins an official visit to the People's Republic of China. China, UK seek closer ties as economic dialogue opens in Beijing. | David Cameron has raised the issue of human rights during talks with the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, on a trade mission to Beijing. The UK prime minister did not refer directly to jailed dissident and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo. But BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Cameron was expected to talk specifically about this later in the visit, which aims to promote trade.
Premier Wen said that the UK's visit had been "fruitful".
Mr Cameron, who is joined by four cabinet ministers and 43 business leaders, called the trip a "vitally important trade mission". Engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a $1.2bn (£750m) contract - the biggest of the visit so far. Pressure had been mounting on Mr Cameron to raise the issue of China's human rights record.
The two men met at a formal reception in the Great Hall of the People, as Mr Cameron arrived on his first trip as prime minister to the country.
Mr Cameron said it was correct that human rights would be discussed.
"We have a really high-level dialogue with China on all sorts of issues, ranging from the economic and trade and business, and yes, of course, human rights, too," he told the BBC.
"Of course we shouldn't be lecturing or hectoring, but it's right we have a dialogue about these things, and that's what our relationship does."
But the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who says he was recently put under house arrest by the Chinese authorities, said Mr Cameron must make a public statement about China's human rights record.
He suggested that by avoiding the matter, the Prime Minister he was putting trade ahead of human rights.
"For anyone doing big business with China not to mention those universal values is putting money and short term profit before very important values. It's shameful."
The artist, whose work is currently being displayed in London's Tate Modern museum, added: "You have to do it publicly, not just privately. This is not going to work. Because privately we all know this is wrong and we don't even have to mention it."
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said the situation in his country had improved, telling reporters that Chinese people were "enjoying more extensive rights and freedoms".
Mr Cameron promised "closer engagement" with China, and said "banging the drum for trade" was key to UK foreign policy.
He said British goods currently accounted for only 2% of China's imports and this had to change. "Our message is simple: Britain is now open for business, has a very business-friendly government, and wants to have a much, much stronger relationship with China," he said.
The Chinese Commerce Minister, Chen Deming, said China was itself very keen to buy more goods from the West, including Britain, but was being held back by certain export restrictions. He told the BBC that China wanted to buy a lot more hi-tech equipment, but was prevented by prohibitions on the sale to China of items that could have a military purpose. He said China wanted the hardware and software for peaceful purposes. Among the most important deals signed so far is Rolls-Royce's $1.2bn contract, which is to supply a Chinese airline with Trent 700 engines for 16 Airbus A330 aircraft, along with long-term servicing. Business Secretary Vince Cable, who arrived in Beijing ahead of the prime minister, had previously signed an agreement that will allow the export of British breeding pigs to China, home to half of the world's pig population. That deal - and future business stemming from the agreement - is valued at about £45m to the British pig industry over the next five years. The Chinese and British authorities also reached a deal to ensure only whisky produced in Scotland would be marketed in China as Scotch, a move some estimate will increase sales by tens of millions of pounds. Mr Cameron's first stop after landing at Beijing airport was a Tesco supermarket, where he met staff and shoppers.
China has 99 outlets of the British store, which first opened in the country in 2004 and is planning a £2bn investment over the next five years.
Tesco's executive director Lucy Neville-Rolfe, who is part of the business delegation, said: "China obviously represents a huge opportunity for growth, with large numbers of consumers and a government which thinks that expanding internal consumption is important."
Chancellor George Osborne has said that this is not a new chapter in British relations with China, but that the country had reached a stage in its development where it was "more likely to want the things which Britain is good at".
These included financial services, insurance and luxury goods, he added.
Currently, exports to China, although growing fast, are relatively small compared with other markets. For example, the UK exports twice as much to the Irish Republic as to China.
| Diplomatic Visit | November 2010 | ['(Xinhua)', '(BBC)'] |
Zimbabwe summons the U.S. envoy for comments by U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien suggesting that Zimbabwe is among "foreign adversaries" that could face retaliation for trying to foment unrest in the U.S. over the killing of George Floyd. | Zimbabwe has summoned the U.S. ambassador in Harare to a meeting over comments by a White House official suggesting Zimbabwe is among “foreign adversaries” that could face retaliation for trying to foment unrest in the U.S. over the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as a police officer pressed a knee into his neck.
The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, has met with Zimbabwe’s foreign minister over comments Sunday by U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” O’Brien suggested, without citing any evidence, that Zimbabwe is one of several “foreign adversaries” — including China and Russia — he suggested were taking advantage of the protests in the U.S. to “sow discord and to try and damage our democracy.”
“So there will be a response and it will be proportional, but this is not something that -- that our adversaries are going to get away with for free,” O’Brien said.
Floyd was killed a week ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck even as he cried he couldn’t breathe. One officer has been charged with murder.
Floyd’s death has sparked a week of protests that turned violent in cities across the U.S.
The Trump administration has portrayed the violence as the work of outside groups and extremists. Officials are investigating whether foreign adversaries are behind a burgeoning disinformation campaign on social media. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has not made any official comment on the current crisis in the U.S., but his spokesman George Charambsa and other government supporters have criticized the U.S. on their personal social media accounts.
Following his meeting with Zimbabwe’s foreign minister, the U.S ambassador issued a statement Monday saying he used the occasion to ask Zimbabwe to end state-sponsored violence against activists, citing recent abductions of opposition officials.
“I again urged Zimbabwe’s government to end state-sponsored violence against peaceful protesters, civil society, labor leaders and member of the opposition in Zimbabwe and to hold accountable those responsible for human rights abuses,” wrote Nichols in a letter tweeted by the U.S. embassy.
In his unusually personal letter, Nichols said that “as an African-American I have known as long as I can remember that my rights and my body were not fully my own. I have also always known that America, conceived in liberty, has always aspired to be better — a shining city on a hill — and that is why I have dedicated my life to her service.” He said that in the U.S. a police officer has already been charged with murder for Floyd’s death, while in Zimbabwe there are government critics who have disappeared. He named the well-known cases of three Zimbabwean men who disappeared with no arrests made.
“Americans will continue to speak out for justice whether at home or abroad,” said Nichols. “We can meet the ideals of our founding, we can change this world for the better.” After meeting the U.S ambassador, Zimbabwe’s foreign affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo said his government noted “with astonishment and concern,” the U.S. national security adviser’s statement describing Zimbabwe as an adversary. Moyo described the allegation as “false” and “without any factual foundation whatsoever and that they are deeply damaging to a relationship already complicated by years of prescriptive megaphone diplomacy and punitive economic sanctions.”
He called for “more sincere and more practical dialogue” between the U.S and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s relations with the U.S. have been strained since 2003, when Washington imposed sanctions on several Zimbabwean government leaders over alleged human rights abuses and electoral fraud. The sanctions came after the often violent seizures of white-owned farms by former president Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s successor, is one of the more than 80 Zimbabweans who are sanctioned by the U.S. government, which prevents them from having U.S. bank accounts and traveling to the U.S. Mnangagwa has said he wants to normalize relations with the U.S., but reports of continued human rights abuses have led the U.S to maintain the sanctions.
Although the U.S. sanctions, and similar sanctions by the EU, are against individuals, the measures have prevented large multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the IMF, from extending large loans to support Zimbabwe’s faltering economy. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | June 2020 | ['(AP News)'] |
Rioting breaks out in Montreal after the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL win their first round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. Several police cars are torched, but there are no reports of any serious injuries. | Street celebrations following the seventh-game victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the Boston Bruins turned violent Monday night after vandals torched and smashed more than a dozen police vehicles and damaged local businesses.
Police spokesman Constable Laurent Gingras said at least 13 people were detained, including three minors - one 14-year-old and two 17-year-olds. They will face charges including break-and-enter, mischief against a police vehicle, assault against a police officer and numerous municipal bylaw violations, he said.
The riot started after a massive crowd celebrating the Canadiens victory started to disperse just before midnight.
Jean-François Hotte said he was taking part in the celebrations when the incident degenerated quickly as police started chasing people.
"One minute we were all hanging out and celebrating and then all hell broke out," said Mr. Hotte, who watched as a Foot Locker store was ransacked by looters. A liquor store was also hit.
"It didn't take five minutes before everyone was up on Ste-Catherine Street. It went really fast."
While the initial celebration was relatively peaceful, small groups milled around on several street corners even as riot police surrounded burning vehicles to allow firefighters to douse flames.
Constable Gingras said 16 police cars were damaged and had to be towed.
At least five vehicles were torched and possibly a sixth, Constable Gingras said, adding that an unknown number of businesses were also vandalized.
Television helicopter footage showed one instance where a pair of vandals on a darkened street set ablaze the interior of a damaged, abandoned police car while a third person recorded the act with his cellular telephone. A handful of others stood by watching.
Police spokeswoman Constable Anie Lemieux said "fortunately no one seems to have been injured". She said police "had things thrown at them."
Constable Gingras said police has the situation under control. The burned-out shells of at least five Montreal police cars littered the city's downtown early Tuesday morning.
"It's more calm now but we're still patrolling Ste-Catherine Street," Constable Gingras said just after 3 a.m.
Montrealer Ava Ball was advised by police to keep her car underground as the tension continued to escalate.
"I had to take my car back into the underground because police advised me they'd trash my car," Ms. Ball said.
"I had to go back and wait it out to go home," she added, as she debated whether it was safe to leave as the situation appeared to calm down around 1:30 a.m.
Police were on edge as they patrolled in helmets and with batons.
"It's not how you'd want the night to end," Ms. Ball said.
"I think we're all a bit sad about the result of the evening considering we had such a tremendous win."
Earlier in the evening, fans held vigil outside the Bell Centre. They were jubilant, erupting into cheers for every good play by their heroes inside.
Montreal recently had a spate of so-called anarchist violence, including the torching of six police cars in a station parking lot in March.
| Riot | April 2008 | ['(Canadian Press via Globe and Mail)'] |
The U.S. Department of Justice charges three Sri Lankan nationals with "providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization" in the Islamic State-claimed bombings. | Men accused of recruiting for Isis, killing a police officer and helping to make bombs used in the attacks
The US justice department has charged three Sri Lankans with supporting terrorism for their participation in the Islamic State-claimed Easter attacks on churches and hotels in 2019 that killed 268 people.
The department said the three were part of the “Isis in Sri Lanka” group behind the attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in three cities on the Christian holiday on 21 April 2019. Five Americans were among the dead.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility and called the well-planned attacks a retaliation for western coalition actions against the group in Syria.
The three charged are Mohamed Naufar, the “second emir” and a recruiter and trainer for Isis in Sri Lanka; Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan, who allegedly helped manufacture the bombs used in the attacks; and Ahamed Milhan Hayathu Mohamed, who killed a police officer in the attack, the justice department said.
All three are in custody in Sri Lanka, and the department said on Friday it would support their prosecution in that country while maintaining the US charges in the event they gain their freedom.
“This case clearly demonstrates that the United States will take decisive action to ensure terrorists face justice when they target Americans anywhere in the world,” said Nick Hanna, the US federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where the case was filed.
“The United States remains confident in the Sri Lankan authorities’ ability to bring the perpetrators to justice and this complaint makes clear that we stand ready with these charges in the event the defendants attempt to evade justice,” he said in a statement.
The three were charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, and Naufar and Milhan were charged with helping in military-type training for the Islamic State. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | January 2021 | ['(AFP via The Guardian)'] |
A bill allowing same-sex marriage in Malta gets approved by Parliament. | Parliament this evening approved the introduction of gay marriage through the new Marriage Equality Act with Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo voting against.
Malta became the 15th EU state to introduce same-sex marriage, just six years after the introduction of divorce.
Clarifying his vote, Mr Vassallo said he could not reconcile his principles with a Bill that was "immoral".
Although he agreed that the state and church should be separate, he said he was a Christian and could not abandon his religious beliefs on parliament's doorstep.
All other MPs voted in favour.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had said that this was a historic moment and invited allMPs to stand up and declare their vote. This proposal was not taken up by the Opposition, and a vote viva voce was taken.
Dr Muscat said the vote showed that society had reached "an unprecedented level of maturity. We can all say we are equal."
In a statement, the government said that the aim of the law was to modernise marriage law through the mainstreaming of equality for all.This means that the institution of marriage is now fully gender neutral to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and genderqueer (LGBTIQ) persons are free to contract a marriage with their loved ones, be they of the same or a different sex, and also to parent children without having unnecessary references to their gender or biological make-up on their children’s birth certificates.
The institution of marriage was now fully gender neutral to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and genderqueer persons were free to contract a marriage with their loved ones, be they of the same or a different sex, and also to parent children without having unnecessary references to their gender or biological make-up on their children’s birth certificates.
It also meant that all discrepancies between husband and wife had now been removed. Both were now free to adopt or take on their partner’s surname without distinction. Their siblings would then take on the family surname that the couple chose on their marriage day.
During the process towards the adoption of the Bill, a lot of the discussion centred on whether it was necessary to convert civil marriage to a fully gender-neutral institution.
The government insisted that this was necessary to respect the anti-discrimination provisions in the country’s Constitution adopted in 2014 relative to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Additionally, the government indicated that both the Civil Unions Act, and the Cohabitation Act adopted in 2014 and 2016 respectively were both gender neutral, and that marriage should not be an exception.
As the vote was being taken, people gathered at Castille Square, where the stage was set for celebrations. Auberge de Castille was later lit up in rainbow colours and sported the words "We made history" as fireworks lit the sky.
Those gathered cheered as Dr Muscat and Civil Rights Minister Helena Dalli approached Castille just before 9pm.
In a statement, the Nationalist Party said it welcomed this evening's vote as a step forward towards equality in Maltese society. It said the PN parliamentary group voted in favour of the law at all stages as Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had said.
Dr Busuttil thanked PN MPs for their vote and loyalty to the party.
"I understand there were a number of MPs who had objections to parts of the law but who still voted in favour in loyalty to the party's position and for the sake of party unity. I appreciate this and thank them for it."
The PN had been updating its policy to better reflect Maltese society today for the past years and had even voted in favour of the Gender Identity Bill.
It noted that although the law approved today had introduced the possibility of marriage between same-sex couples, this right has in practice been in existence for the past three years when civil unions were introduced.
In another statement, the Labour Party said this was another historic day for Malta.
From a country that was considered behind in civil rights up to only a few years ago, it had now become a beacon of hope and an example to other countries.
Love had won over intolerance, equality over segregation. Above all, Malta had won as it was giving all its people, whoever they were and whatever their beliefs, independently of their sexual orientation, the same opportunities.
A government led by Dr Muscat, it said, would continue working for equality to really become the country's foundation leaving behind a legacy for future generations. | Government Policy Changes | July 2017 | ['(Times of Malta)'] |
The United Kingdom joins the United States, Australia and New Zealand in halting defence foreign aid. | Britain has condemned the army coup in Fiji and said it was suspending military assistance to the South Pacific island nation.
Fiji army commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama took over the role of president in a bloodless coup last night, dismissing Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and dissolving Parliament.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman called for all those involved to respect democracy.
"As with all coups we condemn it," he said. "We are suspending immediately our bilateral military assistance to Fiji and we urge all parties to recognise the sovereignty of the elected government."
A government spokesman said the suspension would mean military training and support from Britain would be halted.
Britain is also talking to its Commonwealth partners, in particular Australia and New Zealand, about further action on Fiji, Blair's spokesman said.
Both Australia and New Zealand have said they will impose sanctions on Fiji's military and New Zealand said it would seek Fiji's expulsion from the Commonwealth.
In London, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett blasted the military takeover as "wholly unconstitutional". Finland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, called on coup leaders to return power to Fiji's elected government.
"This is a major setback to the process of democracy in Fiji and has damaged Fiji's economy, international reputation, as well as its relations with the international community, Ms Beckett.
Britain joins the US, New Zealand and Australia in cutting defence ties with Fiji.
The United States' $2.5million annual military aid program to Fiji mainly involves US training for Fijian officers and credits for purchases of military hardware.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has joined the chorus of worldwide condemnation with Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling for "the immediate restoration to power of the Pacific Island nation's elected government".
"The secretary-general strongly deplores the seizure of power in the republic of Fiji by the military leadership," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Mr Dujarric said the coup could have an impact on Fiji's future participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
There had been no word, however, on the fate of Fijian police and soldiers now working in various peacekeeping assignments under the UN banner.
Fiji has been a significant contributor to UN peacekeeping over the years, although it now has just 275 police and troops in peacekeeping missions, including 223 soldiers protecting UN staff in Iraq.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | December 2006 | ['(Fiji Times)'] |
The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, William Donaldson, announces that he will leave that post at the end of June. | Updated from 1:10 p.m. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson announced Wednesday that he will step down at the end of the month. The news comes as the agency faces other top-level upheaval. Enforcement chief Steve Cutler quit last month and was replaced by Linda Thomsen. Meanwhile, SEC Commissioner Harvey Goldschmid has indicated he too intends to leave this summer. Goldschmid is one of two Democratic commissioners on the five-member SEC commission. It takes a majority vote to bring about any SEC enforcement action. Donaldson, a Republican and longtime friend of President Bush's family, often has sided with the two Democratic commissioners on the SEC. Donaldson, a founder of the old Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette investment bank, took over the helm of the SEC at critical point in its history. He took over the top job at the SEC in early 2003, while the stock markets were being roiled by a series of corporate scandals. Bush tapped Donaldson to replace former SEC Commissioner Harvey Pitt, whose brief tenure was marked by criticism that he was slow to act on the collapse of Enron and on Wall Street's role in puffing up tech bubble of the late 1990s. During Donaldson's tenure the SEC levied some of its biggest fines in history, including a $750 million sanction against WorldCom, the beleaguered telecom giant that's now called MCI (MCIP:Nasdaq - news - research). Donaldson also has been an advocate of stronger regulation of hedge funds. Last year, the agency adopted rules that will require most hedge fund advisers to register with the government within two years, firming up oversight on an industry that has been linked to several high-profile financial blowups. But Donaldson's tenure also had its problems. While the SEC has moved faster in bringing enforcement actions, it continues to chase New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for the public limelight. Last week, a Government Accountability Office audit reported that the agency failed to institute some of the same financial controls it requires of the public companies it polices. That news came just as the SEC was dealing with the disclosure of a $48 million budget shortfall. The Bush administration has not named a successor. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2005 | ['(thestreet.com)'] |
Between 5,000 and 6,000 participants take part in the Critical Mass bicyclist ride as part of the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity. The monthly NYC Critical Mass ride usually attracts about 1500 riders. Police eventually arrested 264 people for deliberately blockading roads during the event. This is the first time the NYPD made any significant arrests of Critical Mass participants. | Gathering at Union Square in the middle of Manhattan at 7 p.m. and departing at 7:30, oil-free transportation stretched across all horizons around Union Square. First pedaling south down Broadway and then rerouting north on Madison and Sixth avenues, Critical Mass consisted of a 45 block long brigade of cyclists, skaters and pedestrians. The ride lasted about 2 hours, performed its traditional occupation of Times Square and rode past Madison Square Garden (MSG), site of the RNC.
Approximately 800 Critical Massers ended up at St. Mark's church in lower Manhattan, sanctuary for the protest and home to much of the organizing for the counter RNC mobilizing. Upon arriving at the church, the Critical Mass riders hoisted their bikes into the air, waving them overhead as they unleashed a long unified victory cry.
The celebratory mood at St. Mark's lasted only fifteen minutes though before police moved and began arresting participants. Critical Mass riders elsewhere were caught and arrested by New York City Police along the way. Several riders were taken down after passing MSG, dozens more were arrested at the Lincoln Tunnel.
Video of the evening being processed by the Indymedia Center right now shows the regrettably predictable violent nature of the arrests. Caught on tape are images of protesters being thrown off their bicycles, heads beaten into the asphalt, then cuffed with plastic flexi-cuffs. Pedestrians milling about also unfortunately fell victim to the cops, getting pulled off the street and arrested too. The latest reports put the total amount of arrested riders and bystanders at 250 people. | Protest_Online Condemnation | August 2004 | ['(NYC–IMC)'] |
The Pan–Malaysian Islamic Party defeats Barisan Nasional in Malaysia's Kuala Terengganu by–election. | KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia’s opposition won a key by-election on Saturday that was seen as a test of incoming premier Najib Razak.
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), one of three partners in an opposition alliance, beat the government National Front coalition by 2,631 votes, reversing a government majority of 628 in the 2008 general election.
Bridget Welsh, Malaysia politics expert at Johns Hopkins University
“This is a decisive win for the opposition as a whole, led by PAS and backed up by the other opposition parties.
“This was also a decisive defeat for Najib and this is the second defeat in his inbox.”
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“This puts him in a position of weakness if we assume he will become the next prime minister.”
James Chin, political science professor at Monash University in Malaysia.
“This is a major blow for Najib Razak as the defeat shows that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s star is still on the rise. More importantly, it shows that the Chinese have completely given up on the government.”
Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Niluksi Koswanage | Government Job change - Election | January 2009 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Four people are killed at the Zasyadko coal mine in eastern Ukraine where 101 people were killed twelve days earlier in the country's worst mining accident. | Ukraine's Mining Inspectorate said the four men were maintenance workers trying to clear the Zasyadko mine in the eastern Donetsk region. Thirty-seven miners were helping the maintenance team. One is missing.
Sunday's explosion at the mine followed another on Saturday in which more than 40 people were injured.
Ukraine has had a series of mining accidents since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In September 2006 a gas leak at the Zasyadko mine killed 13 miners and injured dozens more. | Mine Collapses | December 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Democratic presidential election nominee Hillary Clinton accuses Russian intelligence services of being behind recent hacks into Democratic National Committee computers, while also accusing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin. | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Russian intelligence services hacked into Democratic National Committee computers and she accused Republican contender Donald Trump of showing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We know that Russian intelligence services hacked into the DNC and we know that they arranged for a lot of those emails to be released and we know that Donald Trump has shown a very troubling willingness to back up Putin, to support Putin,” Clinton said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
The United States has not publicly accused Russia of being behind the hack of Democratic Party computers. Cyber security experts and U.S. officials, however, said they believed Russia engineered the release of the emails to influence the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
Asked if she believed Putin wanted Trump to win the White House, Clinton said she was not going to jump to that conclusion.
“But I think laying out the facts raises serious issues about Russian interference in our elections, in our democracy,” Clinton told Fox in the interview, taped Saturday.
The United States would not tolerate that from any other country, especially one considered an adversary, she said.
“For Trump to both encourage that and to praise Putin despite what appears to be a deliberate effort to try to affect the election I think raises national security issues,” she said.
The New York businessman has praised Putin, saying he was a stronger leader than U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Trump last week invited Russia to dig up tens of thousands of “missing” emails from Clinton’s time at the U.S. State Department. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump told reporters.
The Republican presidential nominee for the Nov. 8 election later said he was being “sarcastic” in his comments, which raised concerns among intelligence experts and criticism that Trump was urging a foreign government to spy on Americans.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Lunar Tet New Year holiday road accidents killed almost 300, injured 400 people in Vietnam. Most of the crashes involved alcohol. | HANOI Lunar New Year holiday road accidents killed almost 300 people in Vietnam, and most of the crashes involved alcohol, official media reported.
The deaths occurred over seven days since the holiday began on February 13, Vietnam News Agency said in a report late Friday.
Known locally as Tet, the Lunar New Year holiday ends Sunday and is Vietnam's most important annual festival. As part of their celebrations many people travel on the roads to make family visits.
More than 400 people were injured in traffic accidents during the one-week period covered by preliminary data from the railway and road police, Vietnam News Agency said.
Almost all the victims had alcohol in their blood, it added.
During last year's five-day celebration, an average of 50 people a day were killed in transport accidents throughout the nation of about 86 million people, state media reported at the time.
In 2007 the World Health Organization classified Vietnam's road death toll as an "epidemic".
| Road Crash | February 2010 | ['(Inquirer)', '(Vietnam News)'] |
Arvind Mahankali wins the 86th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. | FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Arms behind his back in his signature stance, Arvind Mahankali spells on his hand, looking up at the pronouncer as he correctly spells "tokonoma."
"Arvind, since you are the only speller left in this round, if you spell correctly this next word you will be declared the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion," head judge Mary Brooks says from the judges table.
Tracing letters on his hand with his finger, Arvind confidently looks up and spells a word meaning a small mass of leavened dough: "k-n-a-i-d-e-l."
German words have led Arvind, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., to his spelling-bee demise for the past two years, when he twice placed third at the bee.
"Arvind, you are the champion," Brooks announced as confetti shot over his head, covering the stage.
It was the first time since 2008 that a boy won the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
"The words were extremely hard," Arvind said. "The German curse has turned into a German blessing."
It was a stressful three days of computerized spelling and vocabulary quizzes and round after round of spelling on stage. It didn't make it any easier that ESPN was broadcasting.
Jumpy spellers had to pause for commercial breaks, ignore cameras in their faces and listen as anchors joked about struggling through the addition of vocabulary quizzes to this year's bee.
All the pomp and circumstance did little to calm the nerves of the final spellers. The "spellebrities," as they were dubbed by spelling bee staff, started with 281 contenders Tuesday morning. By Thursday's semifinals, 42 remained.
At 8 p.m. Thursday, in front of families, friends and the world, 11 finalists took the stage. When Arvind walked away the winner, he took with him a shiny engraved trophy and the title of "champion." He also received $30,000 in cash, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond from Merriam-Webster and $2,000 worth of reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica.
The bee, while often intense, wasn't all serious. ESPN taped fake AT&T commercials with the spellers and did short video bits on some of them. Spellers shared something about their lives and what is interesting about themselves, aside from being a world-ranked speller.
The champion isn't allowed to return to spell at the bee, but Arvind already knows how he will fill his time. "I will spend the entire day studying physics," he said, drawing a laugh from the crowd. "I am retiring on a good note."
As for the rest of the spellers? Back to studying in hopes of making it to next year's bee. | Sports Competition | May 2013 | ['(USA TODAY)'] |
Talks on North Korea's nuclear program stall in a dispute over verification. | The United States says that talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme have reached stalemate.
The US envoy to the talks, Christopher Hill, said the six nations involved had made no progress on how to verify North Korea's account of its atomic activity.
Mr Hill was speaking after the third and last day in the current round of discussions in Beijing. However some reports suggested he could extend his stay in the Chinese capital to try to make some headway.
The Chinese had earlier circulated a draft agreement to address the verification issue, but this reportedly failed to win the approval of all sides.
Tough, long day
In February 2007, North Korea agreed to disable its plutonium-producing reactor and disclose its nuclear activities in return for fuel aid.
In October, the US finally removed the North from a terrorism blacklist, and in return North Korea agreed to provide full access to its nuclear programme.
The two sides now differ on the terms of verification that were agreed as part of the deal.
North Korea insists it never said samples of atomic material could be taken away for examination, but the US asserts that the North did consent to the procedure.
Mr Hill said on Wednesday that after a "tough, long day" of haggling over a way forward, the six parties involved did not achieve their goal.
Significant progress in the talks would be a diplomatic victory for US President George W Bush before he leaves office in January.
But many analysts say Pyongyang is unlikely to strike a deal before President-elect Barack Obama takes over the White House.
The six-party process, begun in 2003, groups North and South Korea with China, Japan, Russia and the United States. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | December 2008 | ['(BBC)'] |
2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan: The 19 freed hostages return to South Korea. | ANYANG, South Korea (Reuters) - Nineteen South Korean Christian volunteers held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks returned home to an uncomfortable welcome on Sunday, thanking their government for saving them from death.
A senior Taliban leader told Reuters that Seoul had paid $20 million for their release, but the South Korean government denies paying any ransom -- although has been criticized internationally for striking a deal through direct negotiations.
“We went to spread God’s love and carry out his wishes,” freed hostage Lyu Kyung-sik said after arriving. “All of us returned from being on verge of death and have been given our lives back.”
The hostages -- heads bowed, looking somber and some fighting back tears -- stood behind Lyu as he made a brief statement at Incheon airport outside Seoul. He stood between framed pictures of the two hostages shot dead by the Taliban.
“All of us owe a big debt to the country and the South Korean people,” said Lyu. “When thinking about the trouble we have caused them, it is proper for us to bow deeply and ask for your forgiveness.”
The six-week standoff gripped the country, leading thousands to join candlelight vigils.
But many criticized the suburban Seoul Saemmul Church that dispatched the group as having a naive world view and for putting their government in a bind.
Web sites of the country’s main Protestant groups and largest Internet portals have been flooded with messages saying the group and church were to blame for ignoring government warnings and for making an ill-advised mission to an obvious danger spot.
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The hostages were taken to a hospital in Anyang, south of Seoul, where many collapsed into the arms of waiting relatives, who cheered when the group entered a reception room. A few of the group, overcome by emotion, had to be carried out of the room.
The former hostages, mostly women, were then admitted for medical checks and kept away from the media.
Seo Jeung-bae was reunited with a son and daughter. “I was given back the two children I had lost. By holding them in my arms, I now know it’s real,” the smiling father said.
About 1,300 crammed Saemmul Church for services on Sunday with a pastor saying it was not right for the government to seek compensation from it for costs incurred in securing the release.
“Saemmul Church is at the centre of a war against our will,” pastor Park Eun-jo said in a message to parishioners about the criticism of its Afghan mission.
The South Korean government said it had agreed to pull out a small contingent of military engineers and medical staff and to end South Korean missionary work in Afghanistan in return for the release of the hostages.
It said there were no other conditions to the deal, although the Taliban had demanded swapping the Koreans for its prisoners.
South Korea had already planned to pull all its non-combat troops out before the hostage ordeal.
The number of South Korea Christian missionaries working abroad is second only to those from the United States.
Often, dozens or even hundreds of Korean evangelicals can be found abroad in a single small city fighting one another for exposure.
Taliban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans in mid-July. They killed two male hostages as initial negotiations stumbled and last month released two women captives.
They have spoken of living in constant fear, split up into small groups and shuttled around the Afghan countryside to avoid detection.
South Korea is the second largest source of Christian missionaries, after the United States, with an estimated 17,000 abroad. For many Korean churches, the number of missionaries they send abroad is a reflection of the strength of their congregation.
Some church leaders said they would rethink their overseas missions but a leading group said the Afghan ordeal had only strengthened its resolve to send more missionaries overseas, even if it meant taking over negotiating hostage releases from the government.
With additional reporting by Lee Jin-joo, Cheon Jong-woo and Jon Herskovitz
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | September 2007 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Ahead of formal talks on the formation of a coalition government, Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio states he is willing to enter government with the Democratic Party and League but not with former President Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. | Luigi Di Maio, the leader of Italy’s 5Star Movement, has said the party is open to talks with the country’s center-left Democratic party (PD) and the far-right League but ruled out the possibility of governing with Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, ahead of formal consultations set to begin Wednesday.
“[Far-right League leader Matteo] Salvini needs to choose between the revolution and the restoration, whether to abandon Berlusconi and start to change Italy or remain attached to Berlusconi and not change anything,” Di Maio said in an interview with Italian broadcaster La7 late on Tuesday.
The right-wing alliance between Salvini’s League and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia won the most seats in last month’s election, followed by Di Maio’s 5Stars, which commands the biggest single part in parliament. The inconclusive election resulted in a hung parliament, with no group able to govern alone.
Salvini has so far refused to break with his coalition partner, and the PD has followed the hard line set out by Matteo Renzi — before his resignation as party leader after the election — to exclude the possibility of a deal with the 5Stars, a move Di Maio called “irresponsible.”
Instead of focusing on alliances and coalitions, Di Maio also said he would propose parties form a government contract “like they have in Germany.”
“The interest of the country is at stake. Let’s sit down around the table, decide the things to do with a government contract, sign it in front of the Italians, and change the country,” he said.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella will meet with party leaders Wednesday and Thursday to hear their proposals for forming a government.
Stephan Faris and Paola Tamma contributed reporting.
Teachers and experts warn of an increase in absences after months of school closures, especially in the south. Carabinieri raided the homes of 12 alleged members of an extremist group on Monday. New political force has poached 12 Forza Italia parliamentarians.
Some feminist and lesbian groups have joined the church and far right to oppose a homophobia ban, but even those on the left are divided.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | April 2018 | ['(Politico)'] |
Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, the suspect in last month's mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, faces more than 40 additional charges in relation to the incident. The new charges include attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and using a high-capacity magazine, which is illegal in Colorado. | BOULDER, Colo. (AP) The man accused of killing 10 people at a crowded Colorado supermarket last month armed himself with 10 high-capacity ammunition magazines, devices banned in the state after previous mass shootings, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty told reporters that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 22, possessed the magazines that hold more than 15 rounds unlawfully but that investigators don’t believe the magazines were purchased illegally. The high-capacity magazines were banned in Colorado after the 2012 mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Although the magazines can’t be sold, people in the state can still buy the parts for the magazines at some gun stores and assemble them on their own, at which point it is illegal to possess them. The magazines were found on Alissa and in a car parked outside the King Soopers store in Boulder after the March 22 attack, Dougherty said. He declined to say how many unused bullets investigators recovered and did not say how many bullets the magazines seized could hold.
Investigators have still not determined a possible motive for the attack. There is no indication that Alissa, who is from the nearby suburb of Arvada, had ever visited the supermarket before the attack, Dougherty said. Besides the murder charges Alissa was originally charged with, Dougherty said his office has filed more than 40 new felony charges against Alissa, including attempted murder charges involving responding police officers and shoppers. A court document made public Wednesday outlines the new charges and lists 19 new victims including 11 law enforcement officers that Alissa is accused of trying to kill during the attack.
Some of the victims have more than one count of attempted first-degree murder associated with them, specifying two different theories for how Alissa allegedly tried to kill them, either intentionally or through “extreme indifference” to human life. Dougherty said investigators have determined that nine people in the store were killed before responding police officers entered it. One of those officers, Eric Tally, was the 10th murder victim, the prosecutor said. A second wave of officers stormed the store within 30 seconds and took Alissa into custody after he was shot in the leg.
At least 115 people were in the store during the attack, and at least 25 more were in the lot where Alissa parked before entering the store, Dougherty said.
Colorado lawmakers in 2013 banned the sale of the high-capacity gun magazines. But an investigation by KUSA-TV found that some Colorado gun shops skirted the law by selling disassembled parts of the magazines.
High-capacity magazines allow a shooter using a semi-automatic weapon to fire more bullets before pausing to reload. The Sandy Hook shooter had several 30-round magazines, while the Aurora movie theater shooter used a 100-round drum magazine.
Eight other states have banned large capacity magazines, according to the Giffords gun safety advocacy group: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont. Only California has explicitly banned kits allowing buyers to build large capacity magazines from spare parts, the Giffords group says.
Dougherty did not say how or where Alissa obtained the magazines. Investigators are trying to determine whether they were sold whole or were “modified at a later point,” said Shannon Carbone, a spokeswoman for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.
Boulder investigators have said Alissa legally purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol used in the attack, which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock. He bought it six days before the shooting after passing a background check. Drew Eddy, an attorney for the Eagles Nest Armory gun shop where Alissa bought the AR-566 pistol, declined to comment when asked if Alissa purchased any parts from that store that could be assembled to make a large-capacity magazine.
Democratic state Rep. Tom Sullivan, a gun control advocate, said the 2013 high-capacity magazine ban clearly prohibits individuals from building their own devices. Sullivan said the issue of parts sales has been discussed at the state Legislature.
“Assault weapons get the attention. But it’s the magazines that are the greater problem,” said Sullivan, whose son Alex was slain in the Aurora shooting.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser argued that the law “clearly states that it applies to parts kits” in successfully defending the ban before the state Supreme Court in 2020, spokesman Lawrence Pacheco said. Be it tackling high-capacity magazines or homemade “ghost guns,” a national approach to gun violence would have the greatest impact, said Democratic Sen. Majority Leader Stephen Fenberg, who represents Boulder. “A state policy here won’t be most effective if you can drive an hour into Wyoming and be under another set of laws. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act as a state.”
Alissa’s next court date is May 25. He has not been asked to enter a plea yet. His team of public defenders has asked for time to evaluate what one of his lawyers cited as his “mental illness” without offering any details about the condition. ___ | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2021 | ['(NPR)', '(AP)'] |
The German train driver strike enters its third day. | Passenger train drivers at Deutsche Bahn began a 48-hour stoppage early on Thursday, joining freight counterparts who had walked out the day before. Goods transportation in eastern Germany has been badly hit, while Audi had to cancel a shift due to a lack of parts.
The union, GDL, wants a 31% pay rise, while Deutsche Bahn is offering 10%.
Rising rhetoric
GDL officials maintain their 34,000 members are paid much less than drivers in other European countries.
It is about time the GDL gave ground. They are asking too much
David Fekete
Deutsche Bahn says its offer is fair and refuses to single out drivers for special treatment, having agreed a 4.5% pay deal with 195,000 of its other workers in July.
The strike - which is due to end early on Saturday - has severely curtailed suburban and regional services in most of Germany's largest cities although inter-city services are running more normally.
Freight services in eastern Germany have come to a virtual halt while the disruption has caused a knock-on effect at major ports such as Hamburg.
And the rhetoric in the three-month dispute has become increasingly trenchant.
"What I cannot understand is that the country can be raped," said GDL chairman Manfred Schell, "just because Deutsche Bahn management simply refuses to take up negotiations".
Drivers say they are massively underpaid
Deutsche Bahn has insisted it will not "cave in" to the union's demands, warning that prolonged strike action will cause serious economic damage.
There are signs that the disruption of recent days is eroding support for the workers, with one poll in Bild newspaper putting backing for the action at less than 50%.
"I am pretty fed up with this," David Fekete, an employee with a car rental firm in Berlin, told Reuters. | Strike | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
An explosion near the IsraelGaza border fence kills at least four Palestinians. Hamas says terrorists from Islamic Jihad were killed. Locals claim the explosion was from the Israeli Defence Forces shelling Hamas. Israel denies any involvement. | Palestinian terror organization Islamic Jihad said Saturday that four of its members were killed in an accidental explosion near the Gaza Strip border with Israel.
The group said in a statement that the four died during “preparations,” without giving further details. Army Radio reported that the terrorists were killed while carrying explosives in an all-terrain vehicle, suggesting the blast may have been a “work accident.” AFP said they were riding a tuk tuk vehicle which exploded a few hundred meters from the border with Israel.
The four fatalities were named as Hisham Abdel Al, Elias Al Katrous, Ae’d Al Hamaydeh, and Mohammad Al Krinawi, according to Palestinian sources.
Islamic Jihad is an ally of terrorist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. The group, which is supported by Iran, has fought alongside Hamas against Israel in multiple wars, most recently in 2014.
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry initially claimed the blast east of Rafah in southern Gaza was caused by an Israeli strike. The IDF denied any involvement in the incident and said none of its forces had opened fire in the area. | Armed Conflict | April 2018 | ['(The Times of Israel)'] |
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta releases British hostage Robin Barry Hughes. | (CNN) -- A Nigerian militant group on Sunday released a sick British oil worker it had held hostage for seven months.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta released this image of men it claimed were British hostages.
The British High Commission and the militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, confirmed the release of Robin Barry Hughes, who was captured in September.
MEND issued a statement saying Hughes was "handed over to contacts who in turn handed him over to his employers" at Hydrodrive.
The group said no ransom was requested.
Hughes' spirits were "quite high" following the release, his brother, Simon Hughes, told Sky News. "He said it's been very difficult and he's not particularly well, but he's OK," Simon Hughes said.
MEND announced earlier in the day it would release Robin Barry Hughes based on "health and age considerations." His colleague, Matthew John Maguire, who also was abducted in September, was not released.
"The remaining hostage ... will remain in our custody until further notice," MEND said in the statement.
Simon Hughes said his brother reported Maguire is "actually quite fit and healthy ... which is good news."
Though the High Commission confirmed Robin Barry Hughes' release, it told CNN it wasn't handling the case.
MEND has captured American and European oil workers in the past, sometimes releasing them. The group is demanding more of the country's oil wealth be pumped into the region instead of enriching foreign investors. It also is demanding the release of prisoners it believes are being held for political reasons.
Violence in oil-rich Nigeria has been limiting crude supplies out of the country. MEND has attacked oil pipelines, limiting the amount of crude oil that can leave the country.
MEND had threatened to hold Hughes and Maguire until the Nigerian government released one of the group's members, Henry Okah who was taken into custody last year and, according to local reports, charged with treason.
The group credited Okah for requesting Hughes' release on "compassionate" grounds and said his request was "delivered through a reliable source."
CNN's Christian Purefoy contributed to this story from Lagos, Nigeria. All About Nigeria • Oil Prices • Niger Delta • Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | April 2009 | ['(CNN)'] |
Hundreds of Christian villagers are hacked to death with machetes by Muslim herders in DogoNahawa, Nigeria. | JOS, Nigeria, March 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s acting president on Sunday ordered the security forces to hunt down those behind clashes involving Muslim herders and Christian villagers in which more than 300 people may have been killed.
The latest unrest in Nigeria’s central Plateau state comes at a difficult time, with acting leader Goodluck Jonathan trying to assert his authority while ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua remains too sick to govern the oil-producing nation.
Villagers in Dogo Nahawa, just south of the state capital Jos, said Hausa-Fulani herders from surrounding hills attacked at about 3 a.m. (0200 GMT), shooting into the air before cutting those who came out of their homes with machetes.
A Red Cross official said at least two other nearby communities were also targetted, in an area close to where sectarian clashes killed hundreds of people in January, but that it was too early to give an overall death toll.
A Reuters witness counted more than 120 bodies -- most lying in Dogo Nahawa, others taken to mortuaries in Jos -- but Plateau State Commissioner for Information Gregory Yenlong said more than 300 people, including women and children, had died.
Jonathan put the security forces on red alert to try to prevent reprisal attacks spreading into neighbouring states.
“Reports reaching us indicated marauding bands launched a flurry of attacks on certain communities in the state, causing considerable death and injury,” Jonathan’s office said.
“The Acting President ... has directed that the security services undertake strategic initiatives to confront and defeat these roving bands of killers,” it said in a statement.
Some of the bodies seen by the Reuters witness -- including those of women and children -- were charred, others had machete wounds across their faces. Aid workers said some had been shot.
“The shooting was just meant to bring people from their houses and then when people came out they started cutting them with machetes,” said Dogo Nahawa resident Peter Jang, women crying behind him.
Four days of sectarian clashes in January between mobs armed with guns, knives and machetes killed hundreds of people in Jos, which lies at the crossroads of Nigeria’s Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
Jonathan deployed hundreds of troops and police to quell January’s unrest, in which community leaders put the death toll at more than 400. Official police figures estimated the death toll from the clashes two months ago at 326.
Yenlong said the state government may consider extending a dusk-to-dawn curfew still in place after January’s unrest.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the latest unrest, but thousands have died in religious and ethnic violence in central Nigeria over the past 10 years.
The tension is rooted in decades of resentment between indigenous groups, mostly Christian or animist, who are vying for control of fertile farmlands with migrants and settlers from the Hausa-speaking Muslim north.
The instability underscores the fragility of Africa’s most populous nation as it approaches the campaign period for 2011 elections with uncertainty over who is in charge.
Yar’Adua returned from three months in a Saudi hospital, where he was being treated for a heart condition, a week and a half ago but has still not been seen in public. Presidency sources say he remains in a mobile intensive care unit.
Fears of a debilitating power struggle between Yar'Adua's inner circle, a northern elite keen to maintain its grip on power, and Jonathan -- who is from the south -- sprang up in the OPEC member state of 140 million people when the 58-year-old leader was flown back late at night and driven off by ambulance. | Armed Conflict | March 2010 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)', '(The Washington Post)'] |
Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom resigns because of allegations he sexually harassed several women during his career. Israel's attorney general has started an investigation of Shalom, who also resigned his Interior Minister position and Knesset seat. | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, a veteran politician in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, resigned on Sunday following allegations that he had sexually harassed several women during his career.
The decision to step down by Shalom, who also served as the country’s interior minister and once held the post of foreign minister, was not expected to affect the stability of Netanyahu’s government.
Israeli media have reported in recent days that several women have complained that Shalom harassed them. Israel’s attorney general on Sunday instructed the police to investigate the allegations.
“I have decided to resign my position as minister and member of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament),” Shalom said in a statement, adding he was worried about the toll that recent events might take on his family.
Shalom is not the first high-level Israeli politician to be forced from office in a scandal regarding allegations of sexual misconduct.
Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav left office in 2007 and was later sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of twice raping an aide when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s, and sexually assaulting two other women who worked for him while he was president. Katsav denied any wrongdoing. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | December 2015 | ['(Likud party)', '(Reuters)', '(UPI)'] |
Argentine prosecutors announce that the home and offices of Diego Maradona's doctor have been raided as part of an investigation following his death. | The authorities searched the home and offices of the soccer hero’s doctor as part of an investigation into the circumstances of his death last week.
By Daniel Politi and Isabella Kwai
BUENOS AIRES — The authorities searched the home and offices of Diego Maradona’s personal doctor on Sunday as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the soccer star’s death last week.
Prosecutors requested a search warrant for the doctor, Leopoldo Luque, after collecting evidence and interviewing Mr. Maradona’s relatives, according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office in San Isidro, Buenos Aires Province. The statement did not provide more details.
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This is an offer for a Basic Digital Access Subscription. The Basic Digital Access Subscription does not include e-reader editions (Kindle, Nook, etc.), NYT Games (the Crossword) or NYT Cooking. Mobile apps are not supported on all devices. These offers are not available for current subscribers. Other restrictions and taxes may apply. Offers and pricing are subject to change without notice. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate | November 2020 | ['(The New York Times)', '(BBC)'] |
ISIL supporter, Terrence J. McNeil, of Akron, Ohio, pleads guilty to five counts of soliciting to commit criminal violence and communicating interstate threats in calls to kill U.S. military personnel. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces up to 20 years in prison. | An Ohio man who expressed support for the Islamic State has pleaded guilty to soliciting the murder of members of the U.S. military, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Terrence J. McNeil, 24, of Akron, Ohio, pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and five counts of making threatening interstate communications involving his call to kill military personnel.
McNeil “disseminated ISIL’s violent rhetoric, circulated U.S. military personnel information, and explicitly called for the killing of American service members in their homes and communities,” acting assistant attorney general Mary B. McCord said in a statement, using an acronym for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. “Now he will be held accountable.”
McNeil, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on Nov. 12, 2015. He professed his support on numerous occasions on social media for the Islamic State, according to documents filed in the case. In September 2015, using a Tumblr account, he reposted a file with the banner “Islamic State Hacking Division,” followed by “Target: United States Military” and “Leak: Addresses of 100 U.S. Military Personnel.”
[The Islamic State’s suspected inroads into America] According to the documents, one file that apparently sought to rally Islamic State followers to violence stated: “O Brothers in America, know that the jihad against the crusaders is not limited to the lands of the [caliphate], it is a world-wide jihad and their war is not just a war against the Islamic State, it is a war against Islam.”
McNeil went on to say it was necessary to kill the “kuffar” or disbelievers: “Now we have made it easy for you by giving you addresses, all you need to do is take the final step.”
According to case documents, the file said, “Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe.”
The file then displays several dozen photographs, purportedly of military personnel, along with their names, addresses and military branch, according to the government. The final image is a picture of a handgun and a knife with text that reads, “and kill them wherever you find them.”
McNeil’s case is an example of what FBI Director James B. Comey has repeatedly warned about in recent years Islamic State supporters taking to social media to call on supporters in the United States to kill people in the country.
McNeil posted other kill lists in late 2015, all of which repeated the call to commit murder, the Justice Department said.
“While we aggressively defend First Amendment rights, the individual arrested went far beyond free speech by reposting names and addresses of 100 U.S. service members, all with the intent to have them killed,” said Stephen D. Anthony, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Cleveland division.
McNeil’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces a sentence of between 15 and 20 years in prison. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2017 | ['(The Washington Post)'] |
The 2010 San Bruno, California fire begins with a massive explosion in a natural gas line destroying dozens of houses, killing at least 6 people, and continues burning in San Bruno, California near the US city of San Francisco. , , |
A huge fire ball on Glenview Dr., possibly generated by a gas leak, burns out of control in Daly City, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010. (Dan Honda/Staff)
An unidentified woman, right, is comforted by another person, who both of them did not give their names, wait for asssitance at Bayhill Shopping Center in San Bruno in Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010. (Ray Chavez/Staff)
A firefighter walks down the street toward a fire caused by a high-pressure gas line explosion, on Vermont Way in San Bruno, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010. (Karl Mondon/Staff)
Firefighters battle a fire possibly resulting from a high-pressure gas line explosion in San Bruno, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Bay Area News Group, Karl Mondon)
In a frightening conflagration fueled by a broken 24-inch gas main, a massive fire in San Bruno on Thursday destroyed 53 homes in the hillside community, killed at least six people, critically injured two dozen and sent scores of residents fleeing as firefighters battled the ferocious blaze.
Early this morning the fire chief said that at least six people have died and that authorities fear the death toll may rise as more homes are searched, according to according to ABC7-TV..
Motorists from nearby Interstate 280 and eyewitnesses described the towering flames reaching as high as 60 feet into the air more than an hour after the huge fireball ignited with a sudden explosion in the packed residential community, a few miles from the San Francisco International Airport.
Yasmine Kury, who lives in an apartment complex near the fire’s origin, saw black smoke drift over Interstate 280, after a thunderous explosion rocked the Crestmoor community in the area of Skyline Boulevard and Sneath Lane about 6:15 p.m.
“We heard it and felt it, and everyone ran out of the building,” Kury said. “It was just a huge explosion.”
The noise was so deafening that residents at first thought a plane had crashed, but Pacific Gas & Electric officials said one of its natural gas pipelines had erupted, fueling the flames that quickly began devouring homes and forced a wide-scale evacuation. PG&E, however, said the cause of the blaze had yet to be determined.
About 200 firefighters from across the Bay Area rushed to help control the huge fire that had already damaged 120 homes. As of 11 p.m. Thursday, fires continued to burn, turning the neighborhood into an apocalyptic scene. Only half of the fire had been contained.
Two brothers, Bob and Ed Pellegrini, live near the house at the center of the explosion, reported to have occurred at Claremont and Glenview drives. As the ground shook violently, they thought an earthquake had rattled the Bay Area. Then they saw the flames outside their window.
“It looked like hell on earth. I have never seen a ball of fire that huge,” Bob Pellegrini said.
It was too hot to escape out the front door, so the brothers ran out the back and up the hill, the fire chasing them. It felt like a blowtorch on the back of their necks, they said. Then they saw that their house and four cars were destroyed in the fire. “The house is gone,” Ed said. “I have nothing. Everything is gone. We’re homeless.”
As helicopters dropped water and fire retardant on the leaping flames, San Mateo County opened emergency centers and a shelter at the San Bruno Recreation Center while activating a reverse 911 message system to alert residents. Many of the injured victims were taken to San Francisco and Daly City hospitals. Fire officials confirmed one fatality, but there were late reports of two others dead. City officials declared the city a disaster area, as it seeks state and federal resources.
The California Public Utilities Commission, meanwhile, is investigating the cause of the explosion and fire, working with local officials and federal agencies as well as PG&E. Some residents in the neighborhood reported “a really strong smell of gas” last week, with PG&E responding at the time.
At Bayhill Shopping Center, residents huddled together in shock and tears as they watched the terrifying scene unfold on television.
Patty Blick, who lives on Claremont Drive, was driving home from work when she was suddenly met with flames and heat. “My house is gone. I’m just not really here right now,” she said, sniffling. “I just don’t want to leave even though I know nothing is there. I keep thinking I will find something.”
John McGlothlin, who lives on the same street, was at home when the explosion happened.
“To me, it felt like an earthquake. Hearing rumbling, movement, stuff like that,” said McGlothlin, who was buying a sweatshirt and other essentials at the shopping center where police initially directed many of the displaced residents.
In the San Bruno neighborhood where the explosion rattled the largely residential community, emergency vehicles blanketed the area. Marilyn Siacotos, a neighbor who lives at the intersection of Fairmont Drive and Concord Way, drove by and picked up a family of four who lost their cat in the fire.
Siacotos, 76, escaped through the back door because the flames were licking down the front of her street.
“I didn’t look back,” she said. “I just got out before anybody (emergency responders) came.”
Siacotos, and the family members, who did not want their names used, said the explosion originated at a home in the immediate vicinity of Fairmont Drive, a one-block road enclosed on both sides by Claremont Drive.
None of them had any time to grab any belongings before fleeing the scene.
Many described a chaotic scene, with residents scrambling for their lives, some suffering burns and cuts as they escaped the intense, radiating heat. Retired San Bruno Fire Battalion Chief Bob Hensel, who also had to evacuate, said it was the biggest fire he had seen in decades. When he left the house, with his two cats left behind, he saw his wife’s car bumpers melt from the heat.
“I heard a big whooshing sound and there was a boom. Stuff started hitting the house and then it got yellow outside and then real warm,” Hensel said.
Though Thursday’s explosion may have resulted from a possible ruptured natural gas main, it brought reminders of a similar incident in the Bay Area. In November 2004, a fuel pipeline killed five construction workers in Walnut Creek — the deadliest gasoline pipeline explosion since one that killed six people in Texas in 1983.
“What makes this fire so devastating and so difficult is essentially it creates the equivalent of an eight-alarm fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood,” retired Contra Costa Fire Battalion Chief Dave George said. “It behaves differently than most other fires because it grows in all directions at the same time. Whatever it wants to do, it does.”
George said the heat of the fire would be upward of 1,200 degrees, which could create radiant heat hot enough to burn a couch inside a brick home through the window.
“This is really a worst-case scenario,” he said. “The closest thing to something like this is when a wildland fire hits a residential neighborhood.”
Bay Area News Group staff writers Sean Maher, Aaron Kinney and Roman Gokhman contributed to this report. Contact Sandra Gonzales at 408-920-5778. | Gas explosion | September 2010 | ['(Marketwatch)', '(San Francisco Chronicle)', '(Silicon Valley Mercury News)'] |
Scottish Labour Party leader Iain Gray announces his resignation after his party loses key seats in constituencies across Scotland. | Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray has announced he will quit the job, after the SNP's stunning victory in the Scottish Parliament elections.
He said he would stand down from the post he has held since 2008 in the autumn, after instigating "root and branch reform" of his party.
Mr Gray held onto his East Lothian seat in the Scottish Parliament, but by just 151 votes.
The party lost seats in key Labour heartlands across Scotland.
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Andy Kerr and former minister Tom McCabe were among the casualties, losing to the SNP in the west of Scotland.
"These are very bad results," said Mr Gray, as the results came in, adding: "My heart goes out to colleagues who have lost their seats."
Later, Mr Gray said he had congratulated Mr Salmond on the result, adding: "The Scottish electorate has spoken and given a clear result which the Labour Party acknowledges. "There are many hard lessons we must take forward from this election, not least my own responsibility and role as the Scottish Labour Leader.
"After consulting with colleagues I have decided to stay on until the autumn as we conduct a fundamental and radical reappraisal of the structure and direction of Scottish Labour."
Mr Gray left a career in teaching and foreign aid work for a life in politics more than a decade ago.
He was first elected to the Scottish Parliament 1999, holding four ministerial posts for the Labour-led government, including enterprise, transport and lifelong learning.
After losing his Edinburgh seat to the Tories in the 2003 election, he spent four years working as a special adviser to the then Scottish secretary, Alistair Darling, before returning to Holyrood in 2007 following a successful election campaign in East Lothian.
He held the post of Labour's shadow finance secretary before taking over the party leadership from Wendy Alexander, during what was a torrid time for the party.
Ms Alexander had quit amid an on-going row over donations to her leadership campaign.
Before entering politics, Mr Gray taught maths and physics in Edinburgh, as well as teaching in an agricultural technical school in Mozambique during the civil war.
In one of the most infamous incidents of the Holyrood election campaign, Mr Gray was forced to cancel an election campaign event at Glasgow Central train station, after it was hijacked by rowdy protesters.
In an incident played out in front of the TV cameras, he took refuge in a sandwich shop, before later declaring at the time: "I've worked before for two years in a civil war. I've been in Rwanda just after the genocide. "I've walked the killing fields of Cambodia and I was in Chile three days after Pinochet demitted office.
"I've been a lot of places, seen a lot of things - that certainly wasn't the worst of them."
y
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | May 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Connecticut Huskies defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 63-53 to win their third successive NCAA Division I women's basketball championship. The title is the 10th for both the Huskies and their head coach Geno Auriemma, tying him with late UCLA men's coach John Wooden for the most championships by a Division I basketball coach. , , , | TAMPA, Fla. -- It wasn't the same kind of Breanna Stewart-takes-over-the-world performance we saw in the past two national championship games. In fact, Stewart was downright contrite Tuesday about winning most outstanding player in the Women's Final Four for a record third time. Stewart said her teammate Moriah Jefferson deserved it.
"I told her we could share it," Stewart said.
So we can add that heartfelt sentiment to Stewart's "assist" total. But let's give her credit: Even though she scored just eight points on 4-of-8 shooting, she still found big ways to impact Tuesday's 63-53 UConn victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA final.
Stewart, who averaged 17.6 points this season, had 15 rebounds -- one short of her career high -- and added four blocked shots in 39 minutes of play.
"If I can help through scoring, I'll do that," said Stewart, who joined the likes of Chamique Holdsclaw and Diana Taurasi as three-time champions. "But I want to make sure I'm having an impact in other ways -- whether it's rebounding or blocking shots, or just making the offense think about where I am defensively."
It wasn't the Stewie show quite like the 23-point, nine-rebound effort she had in UConn's victory over Louisville in the 2013 NCAA final. Or the 21 and nine she had last year in beating Notre Dame for the championship.
Still, considering she painfully rolled her ankle with about eight minutes left in the first half -- yet still missed just one minute of game action -- this effort will still go down in the Stewart chronicles as memorable. She showed toughness and resolve on a night when she faced a physical hurdle that could have affected her.
"It did hurt, and I haven't seen it. I'm sure it looked gross," Stewart said of the video of the ankle turn. "But it's the national championship game. My team is counting on me. I got taped as quickly as I could and got back in the game. I'm sure it will hurt tomorrow, but the season's over now."
And her junior season ended just as Stewart hoped it would back when, as a teenager signing with UConn, she said her goal was to win four national championships. She's three-quarters of the way there, and the tears she shed after Tuesday's game were of pride, happiness, relief and affection for her teammates.
Stewart wasn't expecting to be so overcome with emotion, but it was proof that Tuesday's title was anything but taken for granted by the 38-1 Huskies. Yes, the program has five perfect seasons and three others with just one loss, including this year. But there is a price to pay in practice and preparation in order to get all that winning.
"We make it look easier than it is," Stewart said. "The fact that we won three championships in a row is unreal. But it comes with a lot of hard work. We don't just step on the court and get the trophy. We have to get better. Each year, it seems there is someone else trying to test us and push us to our breaking point. We use our offseason to get better after we enjoy our national championship."
This is the 10th time the UConn program has had that trophy to enjoy, and there have been many stars and role players who've worked together to make all that happen over the past two decades. Coach Geno Auriemma has always given credit to every young woman who has put on the UConn jersey and helped him get to this milestone in championships. But Stewie is something special, and he definitely has loved having her around.
"She believes in herself so much that she thinks she was born for these moments," Auriemma said. "I don't even know that tonight she played a great game, but she does so many things for us.
"I told her [that] after the game, when she was kind of choked up. She wasn't really happy with the way she played. And I said, 'Sometimes it's the little things that matter. A blocked shot here or there. Another rebound over here. It's not always about getting 30 or shooting 10-for-15 every night.'"
All true, and that ability to impact the game even on less-than-outstanding nights is part of what makes great players great. No one in women's basketball had ever been named the most outstanding player of the Final Four three times before Tuesday, and now Stewart has a chance to earn four.
Stewart's ascendency to being the consensus national player of the year for the past two seasons has not been without a few little dramas. We say "little" because they never really amounted to much more than normal growing pains. She had some rough stretches during her freshman season while she was adjusting to the demands of not just college games, but also practices.
"She's learned to embrace how hard we make practice to help make the games easier," UConn assistant coach Chris Dailey said. "When she started here, she would try to make practice easy, which made the games more difficult. I think now she values playing at a high level, intensity-wise, for longer stretches in practice and being responsible for how our team operates."
This season, Stewart played just five minutes in a win over Memphis on Feb. 7, which was a message from Auriemma to essentially tell her not to let up on her effort, even in blowout victories. Not coincidentally, that "punishment" came right before the Huskies' game against South Carolina, which was then ranked No. 1.
Stewart had 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots in an 87-62 victory over the Gamecocks that put the Huskies back in the top spot of the rankings. Which is where they stayed -- all the way until the end of the season Tuesday. And No. 1 is where UConn will start next season, when Stewart will be a senior favored to again win the national championship.
"Every time you experience it, you want to enjoy it like you've never done it before," Stewart said. "I came here because I wanted to become the best player I can be and help my team win championships. To set my goals really high is something I've always done, but it's a lot easier to say it than do it. I'm pretty sure when I said it, I got a lot of looks like it wasn't going to happen. But I'm close." | Sports Competition | April 2015 | ['(New York Times)', '(CBS News)', '(ESPN)', '(USA Today)'] |
A commuter train from the Long Island Rail Road derails during the morning rush hour in Brooklyn, New York, injuring 103 people. | A packed Long Island Rail Road rush-hour train crashed at the end of a platform as it pulled into a major Brooklyn transportation hub on Wednesday, hurling passengers onto the floor and slamming them into each other.
The front of the slow-moving train hit a bumping block as it pulled into Atlantic Terminal, left the tracks and smashed into a small structure, apparently a work area; a rail pierced the floor of a train car, authorities said.
About 100 people were treated for minor injuries after the 8:30 a.m. crash; many had been standing as they prepared to get off the train at the last stop.
“I was getting up from my seat, and there was a loud impact, and I flew forward and then flew backward,” a passenger named Amanda told CBS New York station WCBS-TV. “It was total chaos. There was smoke on the train, and we were just sitting there in shock.”
Another passenger who said he was in the train’s first car told the station that the train seemed to be running at its usual speed before it suddenly jolted.
“I was sitting at the time, jumped out of my seat and then back down and up again,” the passenger named David told WCBS-TV. “The train jumped the end of the line and went right over the embankment and into a station office, and people who were standing up to exit the train all toppled on top of each other.”
Some people were removed on stretchers. Others sat, stunned, on the pavement outside - bleeding, holding ice packs on their heads, rising and limping away with help from rescuers.
“The entire structure started shaking,” said Steben Medina, who was having coffee at the terminal when he heard the crash and screams. “I thought a bomb had gone off or something.”
The most serious injury, though, appeared to be a broken leg, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Luckily ... all things considered, this was a relatively minor accident,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The terminal is beneath a shopping mall in downtown Brooklyn, adjacent to the Barclays Center, home to Nets basketball, Islanders hockey and major concerts.
A similar accident across the harbor in Hoboken, New Jersey, in September was much worse. There, a New Jersey Transit commuter train plowed off the end of a track, killing a woman standing in the station. Federal investigators are examining whether a more modern bumper or other barriers could have made a difference.
The train in Wednesday’s wreck originated in the Far Rockaway section of Queens and was carrying around 450 people, officials said.
“People just went flying,” passenger Donette Smith told The New York Times. “It was very scary.”
“I sort of slammed into the folks who were facing me,” said Audrey Foster, who was sitting in the second car and hurt her side.
Foster said there were a lot of familiar faces on her daily commute, and many of those people were injured. “It’s just sad,” she said.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Thomas Prendergast said there is “a signal system that controls it coming in at limited speeds. But when you’re getting to the end it’s the locomotive engineer’s responsibility. And the train’s brakes have to work. All those things have to be looked at in the investigation.”
Prendergast told reporters that he didn’t expect the incident to affect the evening commute.
| Train collisions | January 2017 | ['(CBS)'] |
The analogue television service in the Republic of Ireland is switched off at 10.00am. (RTÉ) | Ireland's analogue television network has been replaced by a digital signal in line with the rest of Europe.
The free-to-air television service, known as Saorview, will provide consumers with a greater choice of channels, better quality pictures and sound and digital Aertel.
Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said the switchover "heralds the dawn of the digital broadcasting era" in Ireland.
He said the closure of the analogue TV network frees up "space for mobile broadband services".
To receive Saorview, viewers will need to have purchased a set-top box or a Saorview-approved television.
Retailers around the country have reported a significant late surge in business.
For those who have not made the switch, their screens went blank at 10am.
Analogue Aertel will continue to be broadcast on UPC, and for Sky customers who are currently able to receive the signal.
Following today's switchover, Aertel will be available on Saorview and online in a new digital format on www.rte.ie/aertel.
For mobile users it is available as usual on m.rte.ie/aertel.
Saorview queries – 1890-222-012 or www.saorview.ie
Aertel has over 1.2m users on a weekly basis and around 5m page impressions online a month on www.rte.ie/aertel and m.rte.ie/aertel.
Director of Production and Operations at RTÉ Digital Tom Grealis said Aertel has an emotive appeal to teletext users who have grown up with the service.
"We've taken the best of the service and modernised it on www.rte.ie, while keeping a familiar look and feel that appeals to our traditional users," he said. | Organization Closed | October 2012 | ['(Irish Independent)'] |
American Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, manager, and coach Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, who played almost his entire 19–year baseball career for the New York Yankees, dies at the age of 90. | Follow NBC News Yogi Berra, the beloved baseball player who became known as much for mind-bending aphorisms like “It ain’t over till it’s over” as for his Hall of Fame career as a catcher, has died, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday. He was 90.
Berra, a fixture of 10 New York Yankees world championship teams who won three MVP awards and later managed pennant-winners for the Mets and Yankees, died late Tuesday, the league and his charitable organization said.
He played in more World Series games than any other player. But his cultural fame, which was so pronounced that it inspired a cartoon character, Yogi Bear, sprang from his seemingly endless supply of head-scratching catchphrases.
Berra held forth on economics: “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.” On time: “It gets late early out there.” On mathematics: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” And on the mysteries of life itself: “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Not all of the malapropisms were his, as he himself conceded when he remarked, “I really didn’t say everything I said.”
The New York Yankees and MLB both described him an an "American hero."
We are deeply saddened by the loss of a Yankees legend and American hero, Yogi Berra. pic.twitter.com/Bf8uXxUPzR
Lawrence Peter Berra was born in St. Louis to Italian parents. He quit school after eighth grade and served in the Navy, including as a ship gunner’s during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
He played for the Yankees between 1946 and 1963, a period when the team ruled baseball. The Yankees won five titles in a row, from 1949 to 1953. In another championship year, 1956, Berra leaped into the arms of Don Larsen after he tossed the only perfect game in World Series history.
Photo Gallery: Yogi Berra's Life In Baseball Berra managed the Yankees in 1964, then crossed town to play one season for the Mets before retiring as a player. He managed the Mets for four seasons in the 1970s and the Yankees again in 1984 and 1985.
His 1973 Mets lost to the powerful Oakland Athletics in the World Series, inspiring another Yogi-ism: "We were overwhelming underdogs."
“I love baseball, I really do,” he once said. “I always told my Dad, I'm not gonna make it working... I like to play ball too much. Which I did. We played hard. You gotta work at this game. You really do. And its fun doing it if you do it the right way.”
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Yogi Berra passed away Tuesday night at the age of 90. #YogiBerra pic.twitter.com/0BSctBzhTb
Berra devoted the later innings of his life to community service and charity work.
His Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center are on the campus of Montclair State University in New Jersey, not far from Yankee Stadium.
In March 2014, Berra lost his wife of 65 years, Carmen, often called "the woman beside the man behind the plate.” | Famous Person - Death | September 2015 | ['(1946–65)', '(NBC News)'] |
A two stage attack targeting police kills 5 officers and wounds 11 in the city of el-Arish. A later roadside bomb south of the city wounds a further 6 officers. | Islamic militants launched a series of attacks against Egyptian police in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Monday, killing five of them and wounding another 11, security officials said.
They say the militants opened fire on an armored vehicle before setting it ablaze in the city of el-Arish. When reinforcements arrived, the militants set off a roadside bomb. The two attacks killed a total of five policemen and wounded another five, the officials said. Another roadside bomb struck a third armored vehicle near the airport south of the city, wounding six police.
Earlier in the day, Egyptian F-16 fighter jets struck gatherings of suspected militants in different areas across northern Sinai, killing 30, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Egypt has been struggling to combat an insurgency in the northern Sinai that has gathered strength since the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Most of the attacks, including an assault on an army post earlier this month that killed 23 soldiers, have been claimed by an Islamic State affiliate.
On Sunday, Egypt's military said its fighter jets destroyed 15 all-terrain vehicles carrying weapons, explosives and "criminal elements" after they were detected getting ready to cross the Libyan border into Egypt. Authorities say militants use the porous border with Libya to smuggle fighters and weapons into Egypt. | Armed Conflict | July 2017 | ['(ABC News)'] |
United States Secretary of State John F. Kerry holds separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, his first on their home turf in over a year since Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke down in the spring of 2014, in a bid to curb the persistent wave of violence that erupted two months ago. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Nov. 24 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry held separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Tuesday in a bid to curb the persistent wave of violence that erupted two months ago.
This is Kerry’s first visit with the two leaders on their home turf in over a year since the last round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke down in the spring of 2014. The parties declare they remain committed to the two-state solution but neither side appeared to expect a big push to resume talks at this point.
“There can be no peace when we have an onslaught of terror, not here or not anywhere else in the world,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Kerry in Jerusalem ahead of their meeting, which took place in the aftermath of two fatal attacks this week.
Drawing a parallel between attacks on Israelis and those elsewhere as the “same assault by militant Islamists and the forces of terror,” Netanyahu urged the international community to support Israel’s efforts against militants. “It’s everyone’s battle,” he said.
Noting that he was arriving at a time that was “very troubled,” Kerry condemned the ongoing attacks.
“No people anywhere should live with daily violence, with attacks in the streets with knives or scissors or cars,” he said, adding that Israel has “every right in the world” to defend itself.
Kerry said he and the Israeli leader would discuss ways of pushing back against violence and to “find a way forward, to restore calm and to begin to provide the opportunities that most reasonable people” everywhere seek for themselves and their families.
In addition to the local unrest, Kerry referred to the turmoil engulfing the wider region. “We are deeply concerned about Syria, about Daesh, about regional unrest,” the secretary said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State militant group. It was in everyone’s interest to work together against the violence “interrupting too much of the daily life of too many nations,” he said.
Kerry later met for two hours with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for Abbas, said Kerry reiterated his country’s support for the two-state solution and called for restoring calm in the area.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas handed Kerry five files that have to do with the recent wave of violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel.
Kerry was met upon arrival in Ramallah with dozens of Palestinians who were demonstrating against his visit. They carried banners saying “Kerry is not welcome” and “The U.S. must stop its support to organized Israeli terrorism.”
The Palestinians were protesting statements Kerry made in Israel in which he described the Palestinian attacks against Israelis as terrorism.
In advance of the Ramallah meeting, Rudaineh said Palestinians were expecting Kerry to provide clear American and Israeli answers as to whether Israel remained committed to the two-state solution and to serious efforts on drawing future borders and resolving core issues including Jerusalem.
In his recent meeting with President Obama, Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to the two-state solution. However, he has also repeated in recent months that it is not on the table at this point.
In recent months, Israeli officials have indicated plans to improve economic and overall living conditions for Palestinians, including infrastructure projects such as the agreement signed last week to allow long-awaited 3G cellular network in the West Bank and Gaza.
Reportedly, the U.S. was pushing for more meaningful gestures, such as increasing the Palestinians’ responsibilities in the so-called Area C that constitutes around 60% of the West Bank and is under exclusive Israeli control, both security and civilian. The arrangement was part of the Oslo accords reaching during the 1990s.
According to the Hebrew daily Haaretz, in return for these and other gestures to the Palestinians, Netanyahu seeks U.S. recognition of construction in the Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank, areas that house the majority of settlers and which Israel seeks to keep in a future agreement.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
It was not clear if this suggests willingness to freeze construction elsewhere, or to signal which West Bank areas Israel would agree to part with. Even centrist doves in opposition to Netanyahu, such as Isaac Herzog’s Labor party, are largely in support of holding onto the main settlement blocks.
Responding to a question while addressing the Center for American Progress in Washington this month, Netanyahu did not entirely rule out a unilateral move as a “Plan B.” “I supposed that is possible,” he said, adding that this would have to meet Israeli security criteria, such as retaining security control in areas west of the border with Jordan.
After his remarks raised concern among hawks in his government, Netanyahu made clear that he did not support a unilateral withdrawal and did not intend to remove settlements.
Speaking in Jerusalem last week, Netanyahu reiterated his strong preference for bilateral, negotiated moves, but would not elaborate. “There are all sorts of unilateral moves … wait and see. And they are not necessarily in the direction you think,” the prime minister added.
This time his comment was interpreted by some as a hint at annexation, although others — such as Yossi Beilin, one of the Israelis involved in negotiating the Oslo accords — think Netanyahu will ultimately withdraw from much of the West Bank.
Responding to reports that Israel might grant the Palestinians a greater role in running affairs in Area C, hard-line Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel said the transfer of any land to Palestinian control, especially under terror, constitutes “a red line” that might merit his Jewish Home party to quit Netanyahu’s coalition.
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| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | November 2015 | ['(Los Angeles Times)'] |
Lobbying for the role of Nigeria's new vice–president begins after Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration and Umaru Yar'Adua's death. | The ceremony took place in the presidential villa in Abuja
Nigerian groups are lobbying for the post of vice-president after Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as president following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua.
Whoever is named vice-president could be a strong contender for presidential elections due in 2011, analysts say. It remains unclear whether Mr Jonathan will seek to stand for the governing People's Democratic Party. There is no deadline for him to name a new deputy but an announcement is expected within the coming days. Many shops and business in Nigeria remain closed as the seven days of official mourning continue. But the BBC's Caroline Duffield in the capital Abuja says politics ticks on - over the phone and in private meetings.
She says there are still no answers to the big questions about Nigeria's future. The political deal that has traditionally ensured peace between north and south is coming under strain, our correspondent says. The PDP has a tradition of alternating power between the mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south. Mr Jonathan is a southerner and Mr Yar'Adua died less than half-way through the north's "turn" of two presidential terms. To maintain regional balance, Mr Jonathan would be expected to name a northerner as his deputy, which could put that person in a strong position to contest the elections due early in 2011 on behalf of the PDP. However, there is strong speculation that Mr Jonathan may seek to defy political convention and stand himself. Thousands at funeral
Local media have been speculating about those who could be named vice-president. Some names suggested so far include former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, Aliyu Gusau, who Mr Jonathan recently named as his national security advisor, cabinet secretary Alhaji Yayale Ahmed and Mr Yar'Adua's nephew Murtala Yar'Adua.
Tens of thousands of men shoved and pushed their way into the stadium in Katsina to pay their respects to Nigeria's later President Umaru Yar'Adua.
Chants of "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) began as his body - on a bamboo stretcher and wrapped in a Nigerian white and green flag - was carried in by military men.
Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Babangida were among the mourners. Other dignitaries included Niger's interim prime minister. There was also a government delegation, but Mr Yar'Adua's deputy, newly sworn-in President Goodluck Jonathan, was not among them.
Security was tight during the prayers, which lasted about 30 minutes in the 40 degree heat; and the mood was sombre as the body was removed to the cemetery for a burial mainly attended by those close to the late president.
Mr Jonathan has been acting president since February and will serve out the rest of the current presidential term. Mr Yar'Adua died on Wednesday in the capital Abuja. Thousands attended the funeral in his home town of Katsina. Mr Yar'Adua's election in 2007 marked the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since Nigeria's independence in 1960. He promised a string of reforms in Africa's most populous nation, including tackling corruption and reforming the inadequate energy sector and flawed electoral system. Analysts say he made the most progress in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta by offering amnesties to rebels. His long absence and the lack of detailed information about his health led to a political limbo in Nigeria, which was only filled when Mr Jonathan was named as acting president. However, there was constant tension between supporters of Mr Yar'Adua and Mr Jonathan and in March the acting president dissolved the cabinet and later put his own team in place. During Mr Yar'Adua's absence, Nigerian Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka was involved in the campaign to resolve the power vacuum. On Thursday he said Mr Yar'Adua's illness had been manipulated by politicians who had concealed the fact he was in a vegetative state while making arrangements for the forthcoming election. He told the BBC the late president had been a victim of a macabre game over his succession and not been allowed to be ill in dignity. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | May 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
An outbreak of hepatitis B in Gujarat, India, kills at least 38 people. | NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The death toll from an outbreak of hepatitis B in India's western Gujarat state reached 38 on Sunday as authorities prepared to begin a vaccination drive against the disease.
Hepatitis-B patient Mahir Husain, center, is comforted at a hospital in Ahmedabad.
Malayappan Thennarasa, the top administrator of the affected Sabarkantha district, told CNN the toll had climbed to 38 and that shots would be administered free of cost starting Monday.
Health officials have recorded 125 cases of the infection in two weeks. Authorities were carrying out raids at medical stores for bogus drugs and recycled syringes.
Police have so far arrested five medical practitioners. One of them was charged Sunday with attempted murder. The doctor is accused of reusing syringes, Thennarasa said.
Hepatitis B is a contagious liver disease resulting from infection with the hepatitis B virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It usually spreads through blood, semen, or other bodily fluids, often through sexual contact or sharing needles or syringes with an infected person.
The disease can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, chronic illness resulting in long-term health problems or death, the CDC said. | Disease Outbreaks | February 2009 | ['(CNN)'] |
Pedro Santana Lopes becomes the prime minister of Portugal. | He replaces Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who resigned to take up an offer to head the European Commission.
Mr Santana Lopes, the mayor of Lisbon, was elected leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party this month.
President Jorge Sampaio rejected calls for an early general election, opting to ask the Social Democrats to form a new government.
He said continuity was in Portugal's best interests at a time when the country was still struggling to pull out of recession. EU leaders picked Mr Durao Barroso - who was halfway through his term - to be the next European Commission president at a special summit in Brussels last month.
Limited experience
"I have been appointed as prime minister and now I will
begin the necessary talks to form a new government," Mr Santana
Lopes, 48, told reporters after a meeting with President Sampaio lasting about 40 minutes.
In a political career spanning more than two decades, the new prime minister designate has had little experience of government at national level, having held only a number of minor offices. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | July 2004 | ['(BBC)'] |
Houthi shelling kills seven in Saudi Arabia; nine Yemenis from one family die from an airstrike by the Saudiled alliance. | RIYADH (Reuters) - Shells fired by Yemen’s Houthi group killed seven civilians in southern Saudi Arabia, Saudi state television reported, while an air strike by an Arab coalition destroyed a house east of the Yemeni capital killing nine family members, residents said.
Saudi Ekhbariyah television said projectiles fired by the Iran-allied Houthis landed at an industrial area in the southern city of Najran, close to the Yemeni border, in one of the deadliest attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s foes during more than a year of war, the Houthis are Yemen’s dominant political force and are fighting against Saudi-backed loyalists of the country’s exiled government in the Nehm district, where the strike occurred.
A spokesman for the coalition did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
It said four Saudi citizens and three expatriate workers died. A resident said the projectile landed some 500 meters (yards) from a local power station, causing panic in the city.
“Najran is sad this evening,” the resident, who asked not to be identified told Reuters.
Earlier in the day, residents in Nehm area, east of Sanaa, said a plane from the Saudi-led alliance struck the home of a local leader of Yemen’s armed Houthi group while he was out, killing his father and eight members of the family.
Saudi Arabia and its mostly Gulf Arab allies intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 to restore President Abd-Rabu Mansour Hadi to power and fight off the Iran-allied Houthis.
The conflict has killed at over 6,500 people and unleashed a humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said an air strike on Monday hit one of its hospitals northwestern Hajja province and killed 11 people and wounded several others. The charity said in a statement on Tuesday that three of those who were wounded had died, raising the death toll to 14.
UNICEF said a school was bombed on Saturday in neighboring Saada province, killing ten children mostly between the ages of six and eight. Coalition spokesman General Ahmed al-Asseri said the bombing had targeted a centre used by the Houthi militias as a training camp.
| Armed Conflict | August 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
FBI agents found an empty GoPro package, shooting targets, and tools inside a car belonging to the mother of San Bernardino mass-shooter Syed Farook. | By Ben Ashford In San Bernardino For Dailymail.com Published: 15:44 BST, 8 December 2015 | Updated: 00:59 BST, 9 December 2015 262
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FBI agents found an empty GoPro package, shooting targets and tools inside a car belonging to the mother of San Bernardino mass shooter Syed Farook, Daily Mail Online can reveal.
Authorities have repeatedly denied rumors that Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 27, strapped recording devices to their body armor as they stormed the Inland Regional Center, slaughtering 14 people and wounding 21.
However Daily Mail Online has a discovered that an empty GoPro box was one of dozens of items seized from a black Lexus IS300 in the wake of last Wednesday's massacre.
Documents confirm the car was insured by Farook's 62-year-old mother Rafia, who lived in the same home in Redlands, California, where he and Malik built pipe bombs and stored thousands of rounds of ammunition.
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Car link: Rafia Farook's car contained a series of items seized by the FBI when they searched it in the wake of the massacres
Family: Rafia Farook lived with her son Syed (right) and his wife Tashfeen Malik (left). She entered the states in July 2014 on a fiancee visa and was said to be deeply conservative. Even her male relatives did not see her face
Seized: This is the Lexis IS300 belonging to Rafia Farook which was searched by the FBI. They found GoPro packaging. The camera's whereabouts are unclear. Law enforcement said one was not used by the terrorists.
The discovery adds a chilling new dimension to the ongoing FBI investigation as helmet-mounted GoPros have been used by ISIS fanatics before to capture dramatic footage for online recruitment videos.
One such clip circulated by the terror network in June revealed the final moments of a Jihadi 'martyr' before he was shot dead by an Iraqi soldier.
The four-door sedan was located just a few minutes’ walk from the Farooks' apartment as FBI agents stormed the property last Wednesday afternoon to search for guns and explosives.
They smashed the driver's window to gain access before carrying out a pain-staking forensic examination and seizing a trove of potential evidence including paperwork, targets and tools.
An inventory left behind on the front seat read: 'Apple iPhone, multi-tool, key, business card, miscellaneous indicia, bank receipt, shooting targets, hammer, vice grips, U-Haul receipt, tire receipt, notebook, garment, GoPro packaging, vacuumings, legal documents'.
Syed Farook is also listed on insurance documents as a named driver but it is now known whether he or his mother drove the 2005 vehicle more, or who the GoPro and the items found inside belonged to.
Before embarking on last week’s mass shooting, he and Malik left their six-month-old daughter at home with Rafia, saying they had to go to a doctor's appointment.
Hours after the ensuing slaughter, cops pulled Rafia her over in her other son's SUV and held her for questioning.
FBI documentations: The receipt showing the items taken from the Lexus IS300 car owned by Syed Farook's mother.
Family vehicle: Insurance documents showed that Syeed Farook was not the main driver of the car, from which a series of items were seized by the FBI, including shooting targets
She was released early the next day without charge and has not been spotted by the media since, while the vehicle was kept for further investigation.
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the FBI was examining what Rafia knew about her son's plans and his massive weapons hoard.
'Obviously it's something that we're looking at very, very closely,' Lynch confirmed.
The family's lawyer David Chesley told CNN last night that Mrs Farook did not know her son was planning a massacre.
Rafi Farook divorced Syed Farook's father, also named Syed Farook, 67, in 2006 claiming in court papers that her husband of 24 years had been physically and verbally abusive.
Lawyers representing her and her three other children, Syed Raheel, Eba, 24, and Saira, 32, insist they had no inkling that two of their loved-ones were about to launch the worst terror attack on US soil since the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
However the older Syed Farook later told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that he was aware of his son’s extremist leanings, his hatred of Israel and his declaration that ‘Islam will rule the world’.
Mr Farook despaired at the choice his son had made and questioned why with a stable income, a new baby daughter and a seemingly happy marriage and life he appears to have become radicalized into following ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Family home: The murdering couple and Syed Farook's mother, Rafia, shared this home in San Bernardino
Other family: Eba Farook, the mass murderer's younger sister (left) and her father (right). He was divorced from his wife in 2006
Victims: Those whop died in the ISIS-inspired mass murders were from top left: Robert Adams, Isaac Amanios, Bennetta Betbadal, Harry Bowman and Sierra Clayborn. Second row from left: Juan Espinoza, Aurora Godoy, Shannon Johnson, Larry Daniel Kaufman and Damian Meins. Bottom row from left: Tin Nguyen, Nicholas Thalasinos, Yvette Velasco and Michael Wetzel.
'He said he shared the ideology of Al Baghdadi to create an Islamic state, and it was fixed with Israel,' said Mr Farook.
GoPro footage was also a chilling feature of the fatal shooting live on air of two journalists in Roanoke, Virginia, in August.
TV reporter Vester Lee Flanagan attached a camera to himself before gunning down 24-year-old Alison Parker and her cameraman Adam Ward, 27, at close range.
Flanagan posted the first-person footage onto social media as a blood-curdling final dispatch before escaping the scene and killing himself.
Authorities said his murderous bid for attention was sparked by a workplace grudge rather than terrorism.
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The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate | December 2015 | ['(Daily Mail)'] |
Actor Jussie Smollett is indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false hate crime police report in January in Chicago. | 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett hit with 16 count felony indictment by grand jury originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
An Illinois grand jury has indicted "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, according to the Cook County State Attorney's Office.
Several hours after the grand jury indictments were announced late Friday, Smollett's attorney issued a new statement, "adamantly" maintaining the actor's innocence and accusing law enforcement of leaking details of the probe.
Yet proving Smollett's innocence will be a tall order for celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, as the Chicago Police Department that investigated the alleged attack continues to publicly describes Smollett's alleged actions as "shameful, [and] if proven, an affront to the people of Chicago."
The grand jury returned two separate sets of charges, Robert Foley, a senior advisor in the state attorney's office told ABC News.
The first set is related to what Smollett told officers about the alleged attack, including that the attackers called him racial and homophobic slurs, struck him with their hands, put a noose around his neck, and poured some sort of chemical substance on him.
The second set of charges are related to the second interview Smollett had with police about the alleged attack later that day.
MORE: Timeline of the Jussie Smollett attack investigation)
In a statement released on Twitter Friday evening, Chicago Police Department (CPD) spokesman Anthony Guglielmi referred calls to prosecutors about the grand jury indictments.
“As Superintendent [Eddie] Johnson stated, allegations against Mr. Smollett are shameful & if proven, they are an affront to the people of Chicago who embraced him as a neighbor & respected him as a role model. We stand behind the work of detectives…”
Geragos, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense lawyer whose clients have included Chris Brown, Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder, is taking an aggressive approach to Smollett's defense -- calling the 16-count indictment "prosecutorial overkill" and a "desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal [CPD] investigation launched to investigate the ... leaking of false information" about the Smollett probe.
Geragos also launched a broadside at employees of the hospital where Smollett was treated after the alleged incident for the "shameless and illegal invasion of Jussie's privacy in tampering with his medical records."
Earlier this week, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the CPD had begun such an internal investigation into the leaks.
Meanwhile, dozens of employees at Northwestern Hospital where Smollett was treated after the alleged incident have been fired for improperly accessing the actor's medical records, according to CBS Chicago affiliate WBBM.
Smollett already pleaded not guilty to the first disorderly conduct charge. He was ordered to surrender his passport and taken into custody, after which he posted $100,000 bond to be freed.
Smollett told police he was attacked by two masked men near his apartment in Chicago at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29. The two men, Smollett initially said, shouted racist and homophobic slurs at him as a rope was wrapped around his neck and an unknown chemical substance was poured on him. The alleged assailants yelled "MAGA country," a reference to President Donald Trump's "Make American Great Again" slogan, Smollett told police.
(MORE: VIDEO: Jussie Smollett charged with felony, out on bond for allegedly staging hoax attack)
Police identified and questioned two "persons of interest" captured on surveillance video near the scene around the time of the alleged attack. The men, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, were arrested on Feb. 13 but then released without charges, with police saying they were no longer considered suspects.
While being questioned by investigators, the brothers claimed that Smollett paid them $3,500 to help orchestrate and stage the crime after he became upset that a threatening letter addressed to him and delivered on Jan. 22 to the Fox studio where "Empire" is filmed did not get enough attention, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
(MORE: How 'Empire' star Jussie Smollett relentlessly defended his story against a gathering storm of skepticism)
Smollett, who has consistently denied any role in staging the supposed crime, turned himself in last month.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | March 2019 | ['(Yahoo! News)'] |
Voters in Egypt go to the polls for a highly charged referendum on a new constitution with violent clashes reported in Alexandria the evening before. | Voting has closed in Egypt in the first leg of a referendum on a controversial new constitution, after a high turnout.
President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have endorsed the document, but critics say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists.
The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote.
The headquarters of the opposition al-Wafd party has been attacked, reportedly by extremist Islamists.
Two people are said to have been hurt during the attack in Cairo.
In other violence, a man was shot and injured in a clash between rival groups outside a polling station in the city of Dakahlia while, across Egypt, 18 people were treated for exhaustion. However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week's time, appears to have gone smoothly overall.
Saturday's ballot took place in Cairo, Alexandria and eight other provinces, a week before the rest of the country. Voting was extended to 23:00 (21:00 GMT) because of the high turnout.
Some 250,000 security personnel have been deployed to safeguard a referendum in which more than 51 million people are registered to vote.
Polling reportedly had to be spread out because few judges were willing to supervise the referendum. Human rights groups have expressed fears the results from the first round could sway the opinion of those voting in the second.
A constitution must be in place before elections can be held early next year.
Mr Morsi was elected president in June with just over half of the vote, more than a year after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in a popular revolt in Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world.
The simple ballot paper asks if Egyptians support or oppose the new constitution. Backers include President Morsi, who voted near the presidential palace in the Cairo district of Heliopolis, the Muslim Brotherhood and most other Islamists.
Opponents include liberals and others who want a more secular future for Egypt. Some of them say the new constitution would take away some of the new freedoms hard won in last year's revolution. Voters interviewed by Reuters news agency in Cairo were hopeful the vote would bring some calm to Egypt.
"I see this as a positive step for the country... a good base that we can start to work from," said one, Ahmed Gindy.
In the northern port city of Alexandria, where there were clashes on Friday between rival activists fighting with clubs, stones and other weapons, Mohamed Ewais explained why he was voting "No".
"I cannot accept a constitution with very limited... rights for minorities, rights for women, rights for even children," he told the Associated Press news agency.
BBC Arabic reporters covering the referendum from outside Cairo say the situation was calm amid a high turnout
The violence in Alexandria reportedly broke out after a cleric at a mosque urged worshippers to vote "Yes".
It continued late into the evening, with police firing tear gas, and at least 15 people injured in the fighting.
Supporters of the draft constitution have accused the opposition of sowing "lies and discord" about the referendum.
The opposition National Salvation Front had vehemently opposed the referendum but this week said its supporters should go to the ballot boxes to vote "No".
In a statement on Saturday, it expressed "deep concern... over the number of irregularities and violations in the holding of the referendum".
This, it alleged, pointed to a "clear desire for vote-rigging by the Muslim Brotherhood". However, the Egyptian army's chief of staff, Gen Sedky Sobhi, told the BBC he was satisfied with the situation inside and outside polling stations. | Riot | December 2012 | ['(BBC)', '(Sky News)'] |
Serbian Novak Djokovic beats Swiss Roger Federer 7–6 , 7–5 in final to win 2012 ATP World Tour Finals in singles. | Follow live game-by-game coverage of the ATP World Tour final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the 02 on Monday November 12, 2012. Scheduled to start 8pm GMT. DJOKOVIC BEATS FEDERER 7-6, 7-5 Fed has to go for winners now. He's 0-15 down and a 15-shot rally is playing to the hands of Djoko. Out comes a stop-in-time backhand winner from Fed. Djokovic's defence keeps him in it at 30-all now. And a backhand error gives him match point, would you believe it. Near hysteria at the 02. And what a way to finish! Federer has the rally, Djokovic is sliding all over the shop. He's sent wide - he's deep too - before lacerating a backhand beyond Federer, who will be fuming he couldn't win that one. Incroyable! The familiar hands go up, the racket's dropped and the Serbian's eyes point upwards. A breathless, magical end to the tennis year and surely one of the best matches over the last 12 months for good measure. Once again: Federer v Djokovic, bloody hell. "We pushed each other to the maximum today," says Djoko. And some. <noframe>Twitter: Simon Briggs - Incredible match point to end incredible match. Djokovic sliding BH pass down line to win 7-6, 7-5</noframe>
Federer* 6-7, 5-6 Djokovic A few more swings and momentum changes why don't we. Djokovic now noses in front 30-0, seemingly a few steps closer towards the end-of-year title. To 30-all we venture before a proposterous recovery from the Serb, running to the hoardings, sees pinpoint length. Suddenly Djokovic is one game away from the title. Federer 6-7, 5-5 Djokovic* Fed covers all bases brilliantly at the net first up, finishing with an incisive volley. 30-0 turns into two set points. Cue Djokovic brutality as Federer can only net. Nerves to the fore. The Serb realises it and counters quite magnificenty. Two huge, huge points ends as Federer goes long. Djokovic was off balance in that rally. He finishes it with a passionate outburst, quite possibly heard down the Blackwall Tunnel. Incredible resolve. DJOKOVIC BREAKS
Federer 6-7, 5-4 Djokovic* Fed doesn't want to exert himself too much in this one. Clearly happy to serve out for the set. Mind, there's not much he can do in this game as the Serb holds easily. Federer* 6-7, 5-3 Djokovic Don't say I didn't tell you. Djokovic ups the intensity and opens up a 15-30 lead. A brute of a forehand then has Djokovic scampering to no avail. Back comes Djokovic to earn a break. An ace from Federer in reply. Pure chess countering. To deuce we go. This is the Serb's rally: he's at the net ready to put away the volley only to send it wide! More ding dong tennis. More incredible work from Fed. He survives the test. Federer 6-7, 4-3 Djokovic* Both now able to hold out quite comfortably, Djokovic mustering his fifth ace of the night, holding to 15. Despite the break, this set still feels like it's not over for Fed. Key game looming. Federer* 6-7, 4-2 Djokovic The electicity of the opening hour has dwindled somewhat in the last 20 minutes, but it's still just as dramatic. Nothing in it as Fed keeps his nose in front with little trouble like only the top guys know how. Federer 6-7, 3-2 Djokovic* There is so little in it. As in Fed's service game, Djokovic just maintains the advantage but the momentum soon swings. A long backhand hands Fed a break point. He has to make it count but three unforced errors (forehand + wide) keeps the Serb in with a sniff. Federer* 6-7, 3-1 Djokovic The Swiss musters a 30-15 lead. But the Serb senses an opening, thanks to a midcourt forehand from his opponent. It's put away delightfully. Fed rallies to 40-30 but there is apprehension. Cue that first serve, which gets him out trouble to maintain that break. <noframe>Twitter: Infostrada Sports - <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Djokovic" target="_blank">#Djokovic</a> has never lost a final in his career after winning the first set - his record in those situations is 26-0 (via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/EldrickISB" target="_blank">@EldrickISB</a>).</noframe>
Federer 6-7, 2-1 Djokovic* The Serb's turn to dominate the service game. A drop in intensity from both perhaps, but we can forgive them this. And to Francesco Totti for taking his eyes off proceedings. Federer* 6-7, 2-0 Djokovic
The Swiss holds to 15. Can you forgive me the details for a sec? "Come on Roger; only you can do it," opines Judith Allport
. Federer 6-7, 1-0 Djokovic* How to follow that hour of magic? A Djokovic double fault. Statistics suggest that this finale is the Serbs now. But the old stager doesn't want to see his wife and kids just yet. He ekes out a 15-30 lead, which becomes 30-40 thanks to a rifled backhand (again it's deep and too good for Djoko). The Swiss lets out an anguish with a shanked backhand on his second break point. Errors, though, are the order thereafter from both players. Djokovic comes out on top - there's an almighty "come on" from the Serb entwined in all this when a Federer forehand goes long - but it's soon clear how key this game is. We hit deuce three times, both are pushing each other to the max. Federer even has a break point chance but his 16th error of the night on the forehand puts pay to that. But he keeps pushing - Djoko's now chatting away to no one in particular in his corner - and it does pay off after nearly 10 minutes. FEDERER BREAKS
Federer 6-7 DjokovicTiebreak: More swings in this final than the Sixties on heat right now. Djokovic opens up a 2-0 minibreak. Cue another 10-shot rally, ending with a peerless backhand winner which is graciously applauded by Djokovic. The Serb is loose in the next point - his 14th unforced error - before Federer aces to lead 3-2. That lead is, unsurprisingly, wiped out as Djokovic sniffs out a 4-3 lead. A costly error off the Swiss' backhand frame loops long and a mini break then ensues. Cue another helter skelter of a rally, won by Federer with another wickedly deep forehand. Then, a second set point to Djokovic on the Fed serve. But, what a set save! It's a sizzling serve, Djoko somehow returns, it's ding-dong thereafter, ending with a scarcely believeable crosscourt winner from the man who spent 300 weeks at world No 1. We're at 7-6 now and the Serb finally takes the set with a forehand winner out wide. Federer v Djokovic, bloody hell. Federer 6-6 Djokovic* Fatigue? These two? Yes, there are visible signs of it, but you'd hardly notice with the quality of this set. Federer latches on to a Djoko drop, which surprises the Serb, and the Swiss is at 0-30. Yawn! Back comes Djokovic thanks to a Federer forehand long and three brutal first serves in a row. Mammoth hold. <noframe>Twitter: Simon Briggs - Novak hurling himself around the court again, as he did against Tsonga. But it's not grass and he's taken the skin off his elbow. 6-5 RF</noframe>
Federer* 6-5 Djokovic At 30-15, Fed sends another directional forehand wide and Djokovic springs into action, diving left and landing with a semi-thud. Nothing a spot of pampering in Monaco over the next month won't do. For now, there's blood visible on his left arm. Federer holds. Federer 5-5 Djokovic* Djokovic races to 30-0 and suddenly it's like he playing a Wimbledon qualifier. Not that Federer's playing badly, just that the Serb is in the zone. Nothing will get past him seemingly. But are there nerves? Fed counters to 30-all before Djokoic garners his first set point. It's a lengthy one, surely benefiting the Serb, but he can't convert. Federer invests heavily in the next rally too and now it's the Swiss with a break. Talk about tables turned. Fed sends Djokovic wide and deep, ending with the Serbian netting. FEDERER BREAKS <noframe>Twitter: Simon Briggs - Much debate, little agreement this wk about standard of tennis, which were best matches. But this Fed v Djok final, surely, is genius sport</noframe>
Federer* 4-5 Djokovic More fizzling stuff from Federer, deep and directional, which forces Novak to hit behind him three times, creating a thud of the racket on the surface. But the Swiss maestro's forehand is a touch off in this one and Djoko rallies to deuce. It'a second break point a rally later as Fed advances to the net. Easy pickings for Djoko as he whips a forehand winner. What next? A big "Come on" from the Basle bomber thanks to a sizzling first serve. But he's in a fight now: five times we go to deuce before Djokovic, hitting off balance, back tracks and hits a looping forehand cross court. Federer nets and suddenly the Serb is leading from his early battering in the opening salvos. Federer 4-4 Djokovic* More respite after the frenetic start to this final. | Sports Competition | November 2012 | ['(8–6)', '(BBC)', '(The Guardian)', '(The Telegraph)'] |
Scotland's eight regional police forces are merged to create the nationwide Police Service of Scotland. | For nearly 40 years, the farming and fishing counties of Dumfries and Galloway have been home to the smallest police force in the UK. But now the tiny force of just 535 officers tucked away in the south-west of Scotland has been swallowed up in the largest policing merger of the modern era.
From Monday, all eight of Scotland's regional forces are being replaced by just one, Police Scotland, which is now the UK's second-largest force after the Metropolitan police.
Its 17,400 officers will cover a patch of more than 30,000 square miles and a population of 5.3m people; its beat is vast, ranging from the housing estates of east end Glasgow to the distant islands of Shetland and Fair Isle.
Stephen House, the tough, uncompromising former head of Strathclyde police and a former assistant commissioner with the Met, is the chief constable of Police Scotland. He says the new force will bring dramatic, much-needed improvements to Scottish policing – particularly on major, complex cases.
Appointed six months ago, House has already merged Scotland's numerous competing CID and specialist units into one national specialist crime division, staffing it with 2,000 detectives. His mission is to provide "highly visible and accessible policing, coupled with improved access to those specialist services which are needed when threat and harm exists in communities".
House, a leading candidate to be Met commissioner two years ago, also believes Scotland's single force will be a model for the "inevitable" mergers of England and Wales's 43 forces. It is a proposal which has been vigorously resisted by English and Welsh chief constables and local councils, but success for Police Scotland could embolden the Home Office to try again.
However, there are serious anxieties about the new force's accountability, its centralisation and the future of the 6,200 civilian staff believed to be most at risk from cuts and efficiency savings. Critics say the merger has been rushed by the Scottish government to save money, leaving it without any independent democratic oversight.
There are fears too about a long-running conflict between the new force's chief constable, Stephen House, and the head of the new Scottish Police authority, Vic Emery, over his quango's power to set the force's budgets and personnel policy.
Alison McInnes, the Scottish Liberal Democrats' justice spokeswoman, said the merger endangered the tradition of community-based policing and local accountability in Scotland.
Policy and strategy will be heavily controlled at national level, even though Scotland is a very varied, diverse country. Plans for local commanders to liaise with local councils and agree local policing plans was no substitute for direct oversight and authority, she said.
All eight independent police authorities, which were made up of local councillors and oversaw the previous forces, agreeing budgets and policing plans, have been scrapped. The new single police authority's 13 members are appointed by the justice secretary, Kenny McAskill, who also approved House's appointment.
McInnes questions House's decision to have armed officers on permanent patrol across the country.That might be necessary in urban Glasgow, she said, but outside major cities the policy is alien to Scotland's unarmed policing tradition.
"We're on a dangerous road here. With much greater control from the centre, the big decisions about what style of policing we have and what the major priorities will be set by a single police authority board, which is a group of 13 unelected people," she said. "There's a democratic deficit now, quite clearly."
The merger, which ministers insist should save £1.4bn over 15 years, has been supported by many, often younger senior officers. But several departing chief constables have been openly critical. One, Colin McKerracher, until Friday the chief constable of Grampian, said he was "horrified" when the merger was first proposed in 2011.
In his final interview with the Aberdeen Press & Journal last week, McKerracher said he believed policing had become a "political football" at Holyrood, and feared policing was becoming politicised.
"The government are saying that this new service will be locally focused," McKerracher said. "But the one thing that is changing is that there is no local police board able to select a chief constable and style of policing for the area. There will also be no power to hold their chief constable to account. So they are now fairly toothless policing committees."
Critics say the only genuine democratic oversight of the new service has been forced on the government by MSPs at Holyrood.
Graeme Pearson, a Labour MSP who was head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and an assistant chief constable at Strathclyde, oversaw a move by Holyrood's justice committee to set up a sub-committee specifically to monitor the new single force.
It plans to call House and Emery to give evidence in open hearings about the force's performance and question council leaders about local accountability. Even so, it has no legal authority over the police or the SPA. Pearson said he hoped a future government would make its role legally binding.
Pearson said he been an advocate of a single force for over a decade, and believes some English forces should be merged, but this model had been rushed by the Scottish government. It should have had greater independent oversight and been set up more slowly.
The SPA's control over the force's budgets and personnel could threaten House's operational independence, he said. "If something does go wrong with policing in Scotland, then who's to take responsibility for that? Certainly, it's a fudge."
MacAskill disputes those criticisms and insists the new structure was "overwhelmingly" approved by Holyrood. The SPA would hold House to account, while it was held to account by parliament. Each council has the statutory right to approve and scrutinise local plans, he said, and would liaise directly with area commanders.
"There will continue to be strong local accountability in the new landscape and the new arrangements will lead to more local scrutiny of police services," he told the Guardian.
Union leaders estimate up to 2,000 civilian staff, including highly experienced forensics experts, scene of crime officers and control room staff, will need to be cut to meet the government's £1.4bn to £1.7bn savings targets.
House agrees cuts "in the low thousands" will be needed, but has hinted police officer numbers might be cut – a political challenge as Alex Salmond, the first minister, has made having 1,000 extra police officers on the streets a priority.
More than 1,000 civilian jobs have already been cut in the last year. George McIrvine, the force's Unison branch officer, said: "For all Kenny MacAskill saying that they're not interfering with Scottish policing, but if you're handcuffing the force to keep 17,400 officers, then any cuts fall on civilian staff."
House openly argues that the 17,400 level could still prove unaffordable and is irritated by the SPA's high degree of control over his finances. But he insists the new force will be far more effective than its eight predecessors.
House has been openly critical of the often patchy, top-heavy system before, making enemies of other chief officers. He told the Guardian in 2011 that a single force would allow policing to be far decentralised, because local commanders would have more discretion and authority with one single national chief constable.
For years, Northern Constabulary covered the biggest area of any UK force – some 12,000 square miles – without its own forensics lab or autopsy facilities; it had to use Grampian's in Aberdeen.
While overall crime in Scotland is at a 37-year low, detection rates are varied. Some forces' records on solving complex crimes is poor.
"We have reformed from a position of strength, high performance levels and increasing public confidence," House said last week. "The principles of public service and a code of ethics which captures our approach to integrity, fairness and respect are at the core of our business." | Organization Merge | April 2013 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
A fire on the Russian Navy's Losharik submarine kills 14 crew members while the vessel conducts tests in Russian territorial waters. | Russian media claim the vessel was one of the country's most advanced and secret submarines - the nuclear-powered AS-12 Losharik.
Tuesday 2 July 2019 19:40, UK
Fourteen sailors have died after a fire broke out on one of Russia's deep-sea submersibles.
The defence ministry said the fire was extinguished due to the "self-sacrifice" of the crew, but did not give any cause of the blaze - or reveal if there were any survivors.
It said the incident happened while the unnamed vessel - intended for studying the seabed - was performing tests.
The underwater craft is now at the Arctic port of Severomorsk, the main base of Russia's Northern Fleet.
Submersibles are usually smaller than submarines - which unlike submersibles can operate over long distances, are autonomous and do not need surface support.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered an inquiry into what happened after cancelling a scheduled event and summoning his defence minister to be briefed on the situation.
Norwegian authorities said on Tuesday they have not detected abnormally high levels of radiation after the submersible caught fire in the area of the Barents Sea.
Per Strand, a director at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, said Russian officials had told his agency that a gas explosion took place on board.
Russian reports have claimed that it was one of the country's most secret submarines - the nuclear-powered AS-12 Losharik, designed for sensitive missions at great ocean depths - but there was no official confirmation of the claims.
The Losharik, which entered service in 2010, is named after a Soviet-era cartoon character - a toy horse made of small spheres.
The name is said to be explained by the unique design of its internal hull, which is made of several titanium spheres capable of withstanding high pressure at great depths.
Analysts suggested one of its possible missions could be disrupting communication cables on the ocean bed.
The Russian navy also uses Priz-class and Bester-class deep water vehicles, which have a hull built of titanium and are capable of operating at a depth of 1,000m (3,281ft).
Tuesday's fire marks the deadliest Russian naval incident since 2008, when 20 died when a firefighting system was accidentally initiated while the Nerpa nuclear-powered submarine of Russia's Pacific Fleet was undergoing trials.
In the deadliest naval incident in post-Soviet Russia, the Kursk nuclear submarine exploded and sank on 12 August 2000 during naval manoeuvres in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 crew members. | Fire | July 2019 | ['(Sky News)', '(RFERL)'] |
A crowd of over 500,000 gather in Washington DC, U.S., to advocate for women's rights and address the inauguration of Donald Trump | • Hundreds of thousands of women gathered in Washington on Saturday in a kind of counterinauguration after President Trump took office on Friday. A range of speakers and performers cutting across generational lines rallied near the Capitol before marchers made their way toward the White House.
• They were joined by crowds in cities across the country: In Chicago, the size of a rally so quickly outgrew early estimates that the march that was to follow was canceled for safety. In Manhattan, Fifth Avenue became a river of pink hats, while in downtown Los Angeles, even before the gathering crowd stretched itself out to march, it was more than a quarter mile deep on several streets.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | January 2017 | ['(The New York Times)', '(L.A. Times)'] |
Authorities of New South Wales issue a State Emergency Service for the towns of Murwillumbah and Lismore, and at least 12 flood rescues are underway as former Cyclone Debbie moves south from north Queensland. , | Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate areas of northern NSW, with the SES warning of "unprecedented" flooding in the region, including in the city of Lismore and around Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads."At the moment there are about 40,000 people subject to an evacuation order across about 18,000 properties, mainly on the Tweed River but also on the Wilsons River at Lismore," Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Morrow told the ABC.The SES has ordered residents of Lismore CBD, North and South Lismore to leave immediately after the weather bureau advised overnight rain would push Wilsons River to 11 metres by Friday morning.At least 45 flood rescues have already taken place around the Lismore area."The Wilson's River is our biggest concern, that's risen so quickly we've gone straight to an evacuation order for about 6,000 residents [at Lismore]," Mr Morrow said."It's very dangerous conditions out there over the next 24 hours.""Do not delay your evacuation. Roads will be congested or closed. You could become trapped and need rescue," an SES warning said.There have also been serious concerns the Richmond River at Lismore could breach the levy wall built around the town.People who need assistance are advised to go to an evacuation centre at Southern Cross University on Military Road in East Lismore.Lismore has a population of more than 25,000.'We're all nervous'The SES has urged people subject to evacuation orders to leave early and make their way to local evacuation centres if they are not able to reach other family or friends.Local resident Donna Walker said she made her way to the evacuation centre at the Southern Cross University after she and her children were forced to leave their home at North Lismore."We're all nervous, we're all upset ... we're all not knowing where we're going," she said."[We don't know] what we're doing next, or what's going to happen to our belongings."Ms Walker said and her family were trying to make the best of a stressful situation."It's a bonding time ... I think there's a bit of bonding," she said."So, I said to the kids, we're all in the same situation, so you know take it easy on each other, so there's no fighting and things like that."Gale force winds likely for FridayEarlier, the SES issued a flood evacuation order urging residents within the South Murwillumbah, Condong and Tumbulgum areas to leave as soon as they could."Wherever possible, people should go and stay with family or friends or make other accommodation arrangements," the SES said.Becky Gollings from the NSW SES said an evacuation centre had been established at the Murwillumbah Sacred Heart Church Hall.There is also an emergency evacuation order for residents of Chinderah, Tweed Heads South and West, Kingscliff, Fingal Head and Bilambil. as the storm that was Cyclone Debbie continues along the east coast of Australia.The SES said the full extent of flooding in the area would not be known for some time, with heavy rainfall expected to continue."Of course it's going to take some time to move down the river system and the consequences of that are going to become obvious possibly tonight," Mr Morrow from the SES said."The other part of that is the wind associated with the back end of the cyclone in Queensland."Gale force winds are likely to pick up early tomorrow morning, the SES has also warned.Lismore flooding 'worse than 2001 and 2005'The weather bureau issued a major flood warning for the Wilsons River at Lismore for Thursday night.River levels are predicted to be higher than 2001 and 2005 floods, BOM said.Many of the main streets of Lismore are under water.Lismore Council's emergency management officer Scott Turner said the levy gates had been closed."We've closed all of the flood gates on the creeks et cetera and the stormwater drains that run into [the] river so our pump stations are now pumping that water that's falling and that would normally drain directly into the river and having to pump that over the levy and into the river."'Leave early'The SES urged people in affected areas not to wait for evacuation orders, but to make a decision to leave early."You don't need to wait for an evacuation order," Mr Morrow said"Secure your property and then you can do it in your own time, as opposed to a short time if we're forced to issue an evacuation order with short turnaround."Go to a family or friend's place."Mr Morrow warned there was more rain expected overnight.Mr Morrow urged residents to keep up-to-date with changing weather conditions, particularly rising river levels around the Tweed River down to Chinderah." | Floods | March 2017 | ['(Weatherzone)', '(9 News)'] |
Flooding from Michigan to the south damages homes and sends the Mississippi River to a 157-year high in Davenport, Iowa. |
Deadly flooding from heavy rains and snow melt continued to plague areas from Michigan to the South on Saturday.
The Mississippi River ticked above levels reached in the historic 1993 flood in Davenport, Iowa, making it the highest level there in 157 years. The city's downtown remained under water Friday, days after a temporary levee gave way and flooded the city that does not have a permanent levee or floodwall, the Associated Press reports. Jon Erdman, weather.com senior meteorologist, noted that the Mississippi River at Rock Island, Illinois, across the river from Davenport, first rose above flood stage on March 15 as water from melting snow in upstream tributaries flowed into the Mississippi River.
"Rounds of additional rain in Iowa and Illinois and a melt of snow cover from some April storms pushed the river higher since late April," Erdman added.
On Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard closed a five-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near St. Louis to boat and barge traffic, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. “The Mississippi is closed to all vessel traffic due to extremely high water levels and fast-moving currents," U.S. Coast Guard public affairs officer Brandon Giles told the newspaper.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Thursday for Wayne County after this week's heavy rains left widespread flooding, the AP reports.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said an estimated 3,000 homes in the county, including homes in Detroit, have been damaged by the flooding that also forced authorities to close a stretch of the Southfield Freeway in both directions.
(MORE: Next: Severe Thunderstorms, Isolated Tornadoes)
In other areas throughout the Midwest and the South, flooding has made roads impassable and forced the closure of two Mississippi River bridges in Quincy, Illinois, and Louisiana, Missouri.
All along the Mississippi River, communities continue to sandbag in an attempt to stave off floodwaters.
Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin told reporters roads were closing around the town that is 40 miles north of St. Louis and has no flood walls or levees. He noted that waters were beginning to encroach the town hall, the AP reported.
"We are at our wits end," Eberlin said. "We are totally unprotected."
About 40 miles northwest of St. Louis, the towns of Winfield and Foley saw flash flooding after a levee overtopped, according to emergency personnel.
In Hannibal, Missouri, the Mississippi is expected to crest Friday afternoon at the third-highest level on records, the Hannibal Courier-Post reports. The city, which issued a state of emergency declaration Wednesday morning, plans to raise the height of flood gates and the levee will be raised as a precaution. The town of West Alton, Missouri, home to about 500 residents, is under a voluntary evacuation order. "We've been through this before," West Alton Emergency Management Director Gary Machens told the Associated Press. "It's part of living in a floodplain."
At least seven deaths are attributed to this week's flooding and severe weather. The body of Martha Patricia Torres-Regalado, 44, was found in a drainage ditch Friday after her car became stranded in high water. A second woman traveling with Torres-Regalado left the vehicle to seek help but returned to find Torres-Regalado gone from the vehicle. Her body was found several blocks away in the drainage ditch, the AP reports. Police recovered the body of 23-year-old kayak paddler Alex Ekern from a flooded Missouri creek Thursday after he and another paddler went missing. | Floods | May 2019 | ['(Weather Channel)'] |
Nine die in floods in central Vietnam. Four people have been killed in Hà Tĩnh Province, one in Quảng Bình Province and one in Quảng Trị Province, while two individuals were injured in [à Tĩnh and Quảng Bình Provinces. | The road connecting Trieu Giang and Trieu Phong districts to National Highway 1A in the central province of Quang Tri is submerged and impassable. — VNA/VNS Photo Ho Cau
The floods have threatened thousands of hectares of rice fields and isolated thousands of households.
The latest figures from the central region show that four people have been killed in Ha Tinh Province, one in Quang Binh Province, three in Quang Tri Province and four in Nghe An Province. Four more people were injured and three remain missing.
The National Hydro-Meteorology Forecast Centre said rivers from Quang Tri to Thua Thien-Hue provinces would continue to rise. The water levels in Quang Binh Province's rivers had reached their peaks and were receding slowly.
Meteorologists warned of possible flash floods and landslides in submerged and low-lying areas from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue.
Director of the centre Bui Minh Tang said a low pressure, which had slowly moved west-northwest, was likely to increase in the next few days and would continue to bring heavy rainfall to the region. Heavy downpours were forecast from Nghe An to Quang Tri and a cold spell was likely to occur in northern provinces in the upcoming days.
Reports from Quang Binh Province said the water level at Ho Ho Hydroelectricity Dam in Tuyen Hoa District was 1m over its peak and at risk of breaching the dam.
Chief of the secretariat of the district People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Tan said the committee had requested permission to drain some of the excess water to minimise the dam breach. The floods submerged around 8,000 houses, 1,000 of which by more than 1m deep. Five houses collapsed and 80 per cent of schools and agencies in the area were underwater. Heavy downpours blocked roads in many areas and isolated Tuyen Hoa, Minh Hoa, Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts.
More than 370 households located on the flood plain had been relocated.
In Ha Tinh Province, hundreds of soldiers were sent to help evacuate nearly 2,000 households from low-lying areas with orders to pack food for at least eight days.
As many as 18 landslides along Highway No8A had occurred, blocking traffic and drainage systems in Huong Son District for hours.
Nearly 100 workers were mobilised to clear the roads and keep watch around the clock to ensure people's safety.
In Quang Tri Province, heavy rainfall destroyed 36 houses, seriously damaged two drainage systems and blocked main roads including Highway No9 and Ho Chi Minh Road.
More than 1,000ha of subsidiary crops in Thua Thien-Hue Province were swept away and hundreds of hectares of aquaculture breeding facilities flooded.
About 20,000 people may have to be evacuated from the flood-prone areas if the torrential rains do not stop in the next few days. Currently, more than 3,000 houses are submerged. At least five fishing vessels have sunk and three fishermen are missing due to heavy rainfall and strong winds in Nghe An Province.
The Central Steering Committee for Floods and Storms told localities to re-examine residential areas in low-lying areas and relocate them if necessary. It also asked the provinces to take control on flooded roads and instruct road users and vehicles.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade was requested to promptly take measures on the Ho Ho Dam to ensure the safety of surrounding households. — VNS VietNamNews 30th Anniversary | Floods | October 2010 | ['(Vietnam News)', '(Vietnamnet)'] |
Eight of the 15 current United Nations Security Council members call to hold an urgent meeting on the U.S. decision. The meeting is expected for December 8. | UN security council to meet to discuss US decision amid widespread international condemnation and violence in occupied territories
US missions across the Middle East are braced for a second day of violent protests over Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital after widespread clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces on Thursday.
American diplomatic staff and families are operating under tight security restrictions ordered by the state department as fears mounted that spreading protests could target US interests in the region after Friday prayers.
Israel deployed extra security forces in anticipation of more clashes in Jerusalem and West Bank cities. The increased security measures came as Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, echoed calls made by Hamas earlier in the day for support for a new Palestinian intifada. The most violent confrontations on Thursday occurred in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, where Israeli forces fired teargas and plastic-coated rounds as hundreds of protesters threw stones and set alight barricades.
In the Gaza Strip, dozens of protesters gathered near the border fence with Israel and clashed with Israeli troops. Two missiles reportedly launched against Israel later in the day both detonated within the coastal enclave.
Protests took place across the region: in Jordan, demonstrators near the US embassy in Amman torched the US flag and pictures of Trump. In Tunisia, thousands of people joined peaceful protests in Tunis and several other cities, and labour unions called for even bigger demonstrations after Friday prayers.
The UN security council called a meeting for Friday to discuss Trump’s decision, condemnation of which continues to mount across the Middle East and internationally.
Eight countries on the 15-member council requested the meeting, including the UK, Italy and France, amid claims from Palestine and Turkey that the recognition was in breach of international law and UN resolutions. The EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the bloc had a united position that Jerusalem must be the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state. France said it rejected the “unilateral” US decision, while the UK prime minister, Theresa May, and the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, both described Trump’s announcement as “unhelpful”.
The Russian foreign ministry said US recognition risked “dangerous and uncontrollable consequences”.
The Palestinian Authority announced that the US vice-president, Mike Pence, would “not be welcome in Palestinian Territories” when he travels to the region later this month. Pence had been scheduled to meet the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, during the trip, but Jibril Rajoub, a senior Fatah figure, said that the meeting would not take place.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hailed the US move as “historic” and claimed other countries were in contact about following Trump’s lead. But he was alone among regional leaders in praising the decision.
Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades.
Seventy years ago, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision. In the war of 1948 it was divided, like Berlin in the cold war, into western and eastern sectors under Israeli and Jordanian control respectively. Nineteen years later, in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side, expanded the city’s boundaries and annexed it – an act that was never recognised internationally.
Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. The unequivocal international view, accepted by all previous US administrations, is that the city’s status must be addressed in peace negotiations.
Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital puts the US out of step with the rest of the world, and legitimises Israeli settlement-building in the east – considered illegal under international law.
Saudi Arabia’s royal court called it “unjustified and irresponsible”, in a rare rebuke of the US, and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Trump had thrown the Middle East into a “ring of fire”.
Thursday’s confrontations on the West Bank took place during a widely observed general strike that closed Palestinian shops and schools. The presence of Palestinian police in plain clothes and armed security forces in uniform nearby suggested a degree of control by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
The scale of the protests and level of violence noticeably fell short of similar clashes at the height of the second intifada. At one large confrontation in Ramallah, a group of three teenage girls, their faces masked with headscarves, told reporters: “Trump can go to hell.” In Jerusalem’s Old City, where most Palestinian shops were shut, Salah Zuhikeh, 55, told Agence France-Presse: “By this decision, America became a very small country, like any small country in the world, like Micronesia. America was a great country for us and everyone.” Trump defied overwhelming global opposition by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday and directing the state department to start making arrangements to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv.
“While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering,” he said in a short speech at the White House. “My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
It later emerged, in a memo leaked to Reuters news agency, that the US had privately asked Israel to temper its response to the announcement.
The state department document, dated 6 December, stated in talking points for diplomats at the US embassy in Tel Aviv to convey to Israeli officials: “While I recognise that you will publicly welcome this news, I ask that you restrain your official response.” It continued: “We expect there to be resistance to this news in the Middle East and around the world. We are still judging the impact this decision will have on US facilities and personnel overseas.
“You know that this is a unique administration. It makes bold moves. But it is bold moves that are going to be needed if peace efforts are finally going to be successful.” The peace process has been at death’s door since the former secretary of state John Kerry’s peace mission ended in failure in 2014. But the international community – apart from the US – is united in saying recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is disastrous for any hopes of reviving meaningful talks. The status of Jerusalem is one of the pivotal issues that diplomats and peacemakers have said must be agreed between the two parties in negotiations.
Palestinians will see Trump’s announcement as the end of their hopes and demands for East Jerusalem as a capital of a future independent state. While few want a return to violence, many will feel diplomatic efforts have got them no closer to a state of their own.
The Israeli government will be thrilled. Ever since it captured (and later annexed) East Jerusalem in the 1967 six-day war, Israel has claimed the city as its “eternal and undivided” capital, and has longed for international recognition. Some 200,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements will also celebrate.
Abbas, the Palestinian president, was due to travel to Jordan on Thursday for talks with King Abdullah II, who has come out strongly against the move.
The United Arab Emirates and Iraq also condemned the decision. In Iraq, a prominent militia backed by Iran, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, said Trump’s decision could be a “legitimate reason” to attack US forces in the country.
Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and the city’s status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Its eastern side was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of a future independent state. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | December 2017 | ['(BBC)', '(The Guardian)'] |
An explosion occurs outside a stadium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, injuring four people. | A suspected bomb explosion has injured two police officers in the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, two days before a visit by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, who is due to arrive on Thursday.
The officers, who were only slightly hurt, were wounded in an explosion outside a sports hall being used as a court for a trial of officials of the country's former government that was deposed in the spring. The incident followed fighting yesterday between security forces and Islamist militants in the country's southern city of Osh.
Clinton's visit is intended to offer support for the new government in the former Soviet republic which provides an air transit stopover for troops and supplies travelling to Afghanistan.
It was during a visit to Kyrgyzstan two years ago that Prince Andrew was reported by the country's US ambassador as making "rude ... and cocky" remarks to British businessmen attempting to win contracts there. In a dispatch to Washington, released by WikiLeaks yesterday and published in today's Guardian,the ambassador, Tatiana Gfoeller, reported that the businessmen alleged that nothing got done unless the son of the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev - who is on trial in his absence - got a cut.
Officials believe the latest attack is part of a campaign of terror by Islamist insurgents. The government claimed three militants were killed and a fourth blew himself up in the fighting in Osh and that three more suspects who were detained were said to be members of the Islamic Movement of Turkestan.
Kolbay Musayev, deputy chairman of the national security service, claimed today that the militants had selected 33 targets for terrorist attacks, including eight in the capital. "Thanks to active efforts of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, their plans were defeated," he said, adding that the terrorist groups included citizens of several countries, including Russia and Uzbekistan.
The court is hearing the case against 28 former officials, including the self-exiled former president Bakiyev, on charges that they were complicit in ordering troops to open fire, killing many demonstrators during protests in April that brought down his government. Lawyers have complained that they and their clients have been subjected to threats and intimidation. Following the explosion, the hearing has been suspended for the day.
On the first day of the trial two weeks ago, relatives of the deceased broke through police lines and threatened the accused, demanding their execution. Three of the defendants subsequently fled their homes to avoid standing trial.
After elections last month, Kyrgyzstan is attempting to form the first parliamentary democracy in central Asia, a region otherwise governed by authoritarian presidents. Critics of the new parliament say it lacks authority. | Armed Conflict | November 2010 | ['(ITARTASS)', '(The Guardian)'] |
November 2007 strikes in France: The transport workers' strike enters its sixth day, but unions have agreed to restart negotiations with SNCF on November 22. | Six out of seven unions agreed to extend the walk-out to Monday, though more services are expected to run than at the beginning of the strike.
The number of strikers has reportedly been dropping since the strike began last Tuesday.
And unions have agreed to attend negotiations with the state rail company management on Wednesday.
"It has been agreed that the union federations will go there, bringing a joint platform of demands," said Didier Le Reste, head of the railway workers' section of the CGT union.
But the government has said it would not enter talks unless strikers return to work. The strike is seen as a key test of President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to reform the French economy.
On Monday around 300 TGV high-speed trains out of 700 and 40% of buses were set to run. One in five trains on the Paris Metro were scheduled to operate. Pension privileges
Union leaders are hoping to keep the transport strike going until Tuesday, when separate strikes are planned by civil servants, lawyers and magistrates.
'SPECIAL' PENSIONS SYSTEM
Benefits 1.6m workers, including 1.1m retirees
Applies in 16 sectors, of which rail and utilities employees make up 360,000 people
Account for 6% of total state pension payments
Shortfall costs state 5bn euros (£3.5bn; $6.9bn) a year
Some workers can retire on full pensions aged 50
Awarded to Paris Opera House workers in 1698 by Louis XIV
In pictures: French strikes
Can street protests succeed?
Solidarity amid French crisis
The strike, which began on Tuesday night, was triggered by plans to scrap "special" pensions privileges enjoyed by 500,000 workers, mainly in the rail and energy sectors, as well as by 1.1 million pensioners.
The French government last tried to overhaul "special" pensions in 1995. The move sparked three weeks of strikes that forced then-President Jacques Chirac to climb down.
But the polls have so far broadly supported Mr Sarkozy, who says France can no longer afford to let some public sector employees retire on a full pension as early as 50.
On Sunday thousands turned out for an anti-strike protest in Paris.
"The strikers are privileged people compared to the rest of the population. ... They have been holding back the country for the last 30 years," one demonstrator told France-Info radio.
However, one poll conducted during the first two days of the strike suggested confidence in Sarkozy had fallen by five points in a month. | Strike | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
The footage also shows Environment Minister Ricardo Salles calling for the deregulation of environmental policies while the press is "distracted" by the COVID-19 pandemic. | BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles called on the government to push through further deregulation of environmental policy while people are distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, in a video the Supreme Court ordered released on Friday.
The video of a ministers’ meeting surfaced in an investigation of whether President Jair Bolsonaro interfered in appointing leaders of the federal police for personal gain.
During the meeting, other ministers spoke, including Salles, with environmental groups saying his remarks prove that the Bolsonaro government is systematically seeking to dismantle environmental protections.
“We need to make an effort while we are in this calm moment in terms of press coverage, because they are only talking about COVID, and push through and change all the rules and simplify norms,” Salles said in the video.
Deforestation hit an 11-year high last year and has increased 55% in the first four months of the year, compared to a year ago, with environmentalists blaming Bolsonaro’s policies.
Bolsonaro has called for development of the Amazon, saying it is necessary to lift people out of poverty and that he is being unfairly demonized by the media.
Asked to respond to the video, the Environment Ministry issued a comment from Salles: “I have always defended de-bureaucratization and simplifying norms, in all areas, with good sense and all within the law. The tangle of irrational laws hinders investments, the generation of jobs and, therefore, sustainable development in Brazil.”
In the video Salles complained about legal challenges to proposed environmental rule changes, that the government needed legal “artillery” to defend the changes and should bypass Congress.
“We don’t need Congress. Because things that need Congress, with the mess that is there, we are not going to get passed.”
Greenpeace Brasil spokeswoman Luiza Lima said in a statement that “Salles believes that people dying in line at hospitals is a good opportunity to move forward on his anti-environmental project.”
Reporting by Jake Spring; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Gabriela Mello; editing by Grant McCool
| Famous Person - Give a speech | May 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina appoints Colonel Vital Albert Camille as the new Prime Minister, days after sacking former Prime Minister Eugene Mangalaza, who had been appointed as part of a power sharing agreement. | The leader of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, has appointed an army officer as his new prime minister.
The appointment of Col Vital Albert Camille comes just days after Mr Rajoelina sacked the PM he had named in a power-sharing deal in October. The former PM, Eugene Mangalaza, was dismissed as Mr Rajoelina said he could no longer work with him. Mr Rajoelina, a former DJ, came to power with military backing earlier this year. He overthrew Marc Ravalomanana after weeks of demonstrations that left dozens dead. New PM's call
Mr Rajoelina had agreed in November on appointing Mr Mangalaza after talks with his rivals that were mediated by African leaders. But the power-sharing deal has fallen apart, with Mr Rajoelina and three former presidents bickering over the division of key jobs in a government. In an address broadcast across the nation, Col Camille called on the opposition to work with the government. He said his priorities were to deliver security and organise elections. Mr Rajoelina has pledged to hold a general election on 20 March. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | December 2009 | ['(BBC)'] |
Nineteen Palestinian civilians are killed in the Gaza Strip from Israeli tank fire according to medical officers. , | SEOUL - North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test marks a major step in the isolated country's goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile that puts the U.S. mainland within range, experts say.
The BRICS group of emerging economies must promote trade liberalization and an open world economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a business meeting on Sunday at the start of a three-day summit being held in southeastern China.
Iran confirmed on Sunday that an appeals court had upheld 10-year jail terms against a U.S. citizen, two Iranian-Americans and a U.S. resident from Lebanon who had been convicted on spying charges.
One of Cambodia's most stridently independent newspapers, The Cambodia Daily, published its last edition on Monday with the headline "Descent Into Outright Dictatorship" as it closed amid a crackdown on critics of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's challenger in this month's German election attacked her on Sunday for failing to coordinate a better European response to the 2015 refugee crisis.
German explosives experts defused a massive World War Two bomb in the financial capital of Frankfurt on Sunday after tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes.
Walter Becker, co-founder of the influential jazz-rock band Steely Dan, died on Sunday at age 67, according to his website, which did not disclose the cause of death.
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Images taken by Reuters photographers around the world for the month of August 2017, including Hurricane Harvey, North Korea's missile tests, the violence in Charlottesville, and the solar eclipse over America. Produced by Canice Leung.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:
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The former security chief of Uber Technologies Inc. swore in a closed legal proceeding that he knew of no attempts to steal trade secrets from anyone, including Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit Waymo, and would be "shocked" if that had occurred.
U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley, a career diplomat and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, has resigned, saying he no longer felt able to serve President Donald Trump.
Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will not seek re-election to Walt Disney Co's board because of growing conflicts of interest between the media giant and the technology companies, Disney said on Friday.
A Singapore court on Saturday charged three men suspected of involvement in large-scale oil theft at Shell's biggest refinery, days after bringing charges against 11 under an extensive probe by authorities in the city state.
President Donald Trump's administration could pursue development of new nuclear weaponry and explicitly leave open the possibility of nuclear retaliation for major non-nuclear attacks, if a leaked draft policy document becomes reality.
Political danger signs are flashing, but conservatives in Washington are pushing forward with proposals to change America's social safety net, an agenda even fellow Republican President Donald Trump recently shied away from.
Rescue crews expanded their search on Friday for five missing people as the death toll rose to 18 from mudslides in Southern California that damaged hundreds of buildings and caked highways with sludge.
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Two roommates living in Brooklyn - who were brought illegally to the U.S. as small children - are closely watching the intense negotiations in Congress on whether to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. | Famous Person - Death | November 2006 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC News)'] |
President George W. Bush's nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Harriet Miers, has turned down the nomination made on October 3, 2005. The President has accepted her withdrawal. | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Thursday accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record.
In her withdrawal letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country." In a statement, Bush said he "reluctantly accepted" her withdrawal.
The White House said Miers had to withdraw over concerns that senators wanted documents of privileged discussions between the president and his top lawyer. (Watch video: Withdrawal accepted -- 1:38)
"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said in the statement. (Full statement) (Miers' letter)
Bush vowed to fill the vacancy "in a timely manner." (View potential nominees)
"Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers -- and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her," Bush added.
Bush's decision to nominate Miers, 60, White House counsel and a longtime adviser, had divided his supporters, many of whom wanted a nominee with a clear record of opposition to abortion and solid views on other legal issues important to conservatives. (Read more on why Miers withdrew)
The White House learned from a key Capitol Hill ally Wednesday night that opposition to the nomination was building, CNN's Ed Henry reported. (Watch an overview of what can be learned from Miers' nomination -- 1:53)
In a blunt assessment, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Miers' main advocate in the Senate, told high-level White House aides that the nominee faced stiff opposition from conservatives, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called White House Chief of Staff Andy Card to tell him that Miers did not have the votes to be confirmed, sources told Henry.
However, Ed Gillespie, a Republican strategist heavily involved in Miers' nomination and the previous one for Chief Justice John Roberts, maintained that the nomination process forced her to withdraw, not opposition from conservative activists.
"I don't think there was a mistake, and we're not red-faced at all," Gillespie said. "She, I think, rightly and in a principled manner came to the conclusion that there was about to be a conflict between her role as nominee and the principle she's espoused as White House counsel and counsel to the president."
Gillespie said if the White House released communication between Miers and the president it "would compromise the integrity for the ability of her staff to have a candid conversation with any future president."
But Democratic and Republican senators said that they hadn't asked for privileged documents.
"We were not asking for documents regarding attorney-client privilege -- or privileged communications," Judiciary Committee member Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, said. "We were saying, 'Show us documents of policy issues discussions,' so we could get some framework of her policy views."
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, said Miers' withdrawal was probably for the best.
"I think she made the right decision, and I think she deserves a lot of credit for realizing that this was going to be very difficult, particularly in view of her position as White House counsel," Lott said. (Watch video: Sen. Lott's statements -- 5:40)
"I just was concerned that she was not strong enough, dynamic enough and had enough experience in the constitutional area to be on the Supreme Court. It was not a philosophical, regional, religious thing with me." (Read more reactions to Miers' decision)
Miers' withdrawal also was applauded by conservative activists, many of whom opposed the nomination from the beginning. "The president did the right thing in withdrawing her and saving her from further embarrassment," the Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly said. "I now hope he'll deliver on his campaign commitment to pick a judge in the mold of [Clarence] Thomas and [Antonin] Scalia." (Read more reaction from conservative activists)
In a statement, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition said: "These have been a difficult few weeks as the Senate and the public measured Harriet Miers and her fitness to serve on our nation's highest court. ...
"As the president considers a new nominee for the court vacancy, I trust that he will find someone who, like him, is a person of strong and identifiable principles -- one who has participated fully in the important public policy debates." Some conservatives argued that Bush could have prevented this impasse over the nomination.
"It was avoidable had the president nominated someone who fit his own description of the kind of judicial philosophy he preferred. If he'd done that, this would not have happened," said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. "I don't think that anyone knew where she stood and that was the problem."
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who said he had recommended that Bush nominate Miers, blamed "the radical right wing of the Republican Party" for killing her nomination. (Watch video: Democrats' statements -- 3:40)
"Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues," the Nevada Democrat said. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said the questions about her lack of experience in constitutional law, her closeness to the president and conservative activists' unhappiness ultimately led to Miers' withdrawal.
"The Republicans would welcome an ideological fight," Toobin said. "The problem was Harriet Miers didn't present that sort of clean fight." Bush nominated Miers on October 3 to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, often a moderate swing vote, on the high court. (Profile) O'Connor will stay on the court until the Senate confirms her replacement. (Watch video on front-running nominees -- 3:42)
Days after announcing her nomination, Bush defended Miers against Democratic charges of cronyism and conservatives' questions about her record, saying she shared his legal philosophy.
"I picked the best person I could find," Bush said. "People are going to be amazed at her strength of character and her intellect." | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | October 2005 | ['(CNN)'] |
United States president Donald Trump announces lawyer Christopher A. Wray as his nominee to be director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. | WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday announced that he had selected Christopher A. Wray to be his F.B.I. director, turning to a former federal prosecutor who recently defended Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in the so-called Bridgegate scandal to lead an agency under a harsh political spotlight.
The president revealed his decision in an early-morning tweet without alerting members of Congress in advance. It came on the eve of a blockbuster congressional hearing scheduled for Thursday in which James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he ousted abruptly last month, was to testify about what he interpreted as improper attempts by Mr. Trump to pressure him.
Hours after the Twitter post, the White House followed up with an official statement in which Mr. Trump called Mr. Wray “an impeccably qualified individual,” citing his role in major fraud investigations and antiterrorism efforts at the Justice Department after the 9/11 attacks.
“I know that he will again serve his country as a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity once the Senate confirms him to lead the F.B.I.,” Mr. Trump said in the statement.
The selection may have been an attempt to inject credibility into an investigation of his campaign’s possible ties with Russia, one that has been rocked by accusations of presidential tampering.
Mr. Wray is a safe, mainstream pick from a president who at one point was considering politicians for a job that has historically been kept outside of partisanship. A former assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal division under President George W. Bush, Mr. Wray is likely to allay the fears of F.B.I. agents who worried that Mr. Trump would try to weaken or politicize the F.B.I.
“Christopher Wray knows the Justice Department, is not a politician, and has a background in federal law enforcement,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement, calling those his “minimum qualifications” for the next agency director. “Above all, he will need to show his commitment to protecting the bureau’s independence. That independence is more important than ever given the inevitable conflicts with the interests of the man who sits in the Oval Office.”
Those concerns were only stoked on Wednesday with the release of prepared testimony by Mr. Comey in which he recounted how Mr. Trump at one point asked him to shut down the bureau’s investigation of Michael T. Flynn, his former national security adviser, whose ties with Russia are under investigation. Mr. Comey also said that the president had repeatedly pressed for him to say publicly that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation.
“In light of the president’s constant efforts to block the truth,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, “the nomination of Christopher Wray should be subject to the utmost scrutiny.”
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Some civil liberties organizations expressed deep reservations about Mr. Wray, a litigation partner at King & Spalding, a law firm that advises Mr. Trump’s family real estate empire.
“Christopher Wray’s firm’s legal work for the Trump family, his history of partisan activity, as well as his history of defending Trump’s transition director during a criminal scandal makes us question his ability to lead the F.B.I. with the independence, evenhanded judgment, and commitment to the rule of law that the agency deserves,” said Faiz Shakir, the national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, referring to Mr. Christie and the Bridgegate case.
Mr. Shakir said Mr. Wray would also have to “come clean about his role” in legal justifications for the use of torture during the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks.
Mr. Wray, two administration officials said, is a hybrid selection for Mr. Trump: He is a seasoned criminal lawyer who bonded with Mr. Christie when both were young lawyers in the Justice Department, and a highly regarded criminal defense lawyer who represented Mr. Christie in the aftermath of the scandal over traffic jams that rocked his governorship.
That his political skills were honed in the crucible of scandal gave him an edge over the other finalist, John S. Pistole, a former deputy director of the F.B.I. and head of the Transportation Security Administration, the officials said. He managed to soothe and counsel the volatile Mr. Christie.
“Chris is a wonderful choice to lead the F.B.I. who cares deeply about the institution and already has strong relationships with the F.B.I.,” Alice Fisher, who followed Mr. Wray as chief of the Justice Department criminal division and was also interviewed to be F.B.I. director, wrote in an email. “His background at the helm of the criminal division offered an excellent experience working on national security, white-collar crime and a range of federal crimes.”
The pick caps an extraordinary period in which Mr. Trump has been buffeted by his own shifting explanations for why he dismissed Mr. Comey, allegations that he shared highly classified information with top Russian officials in the Oval Office and the naming of a special counsel to oversee the investigation into his campaign’s possible ties with Moscow.
The decision was being closely watched for signals about how the president will forge ahead amid the swirl of developments set off by Mr. Comey’s dismissal. Some Democrats have said impeachment proceedings should begin against him.
Mr. Trump met Tuesday with his two finalists, Mr. Wray and Mr. Pistole, the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, said. The president had hoped to quickly pick a replacement for Mr. Comey before he embarked on his nine-day overseas trip in mid-May but was dissuaded from doing so by many of his top advisers, including the chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel.
Mr. Wray played a pivotal role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, providing oversight of Justice Department operations as the country adjusted to a new reality and working alongside Mr. Comey and Robert S. Mueller III, then the F.B.I. director and now a special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation. As head of the criminal division from 2003 to 2005, Mr. Wray directed efforts to deal with fraud scandals plaguing the corporate world.
Mr. Trump, who fired Mr. Comey without having put in motion a plan to find his successor, conducted a lengthy search, at one point zeroing in on Joseph I. Lieberman, the former Democratic senator and vice-presidential nominee, as a preferred finalist, even as he considered F.B.I. veterans including Adam S. Lee, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Richmond, Va., field office; Richard A. McFeely, a former senior official; and Andrew G. McCabe, the acting director. Mr. Lieberman later withdrew from consideration.
“I’m encouraged that President Trump has nominated someone with significant federal law enforcement experience, rather than a career in partisan politics, as was rumored over the past several weeks,” said Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware and a member of the Judiciary panel.
It was during an interview with one of the prospective candidates at the White House that Mr. Trump received word of the appointment of Mr. Mueller as special counsel. Mr. Mueller is empowered to investigate a broad range of topics related to the Russia inquiry, potentially including the president’s own interactions with Mr. Comey.
While Mr. Wray’s reputation is not as a partisan operative, he has donated consistently to Republican candidates in recent years. Over the past decade, he has contributed at least $35,000 to Republican candidates or committees, according to data maintained by the Federal Election Commission. He did not do so during the 2016 election, but he has donated to Republican presidential nominees, including $2,300 to support Senator John McCain of Arizona in 2008 and $7,500 to back Mitt Romney in 2012.
Before joining the leadership of the Justice Department in Washington in 2001 as an associate deputy attorney general, Mr. Wray served as a federal prosecutor in Atlanta. He graduated from Yale University in 1989 and earned his law degree in 1992 from Yale Law School.
Republicans praised Mr. Trump’s choice even as they expressed surprise about the way in which it was unveiled.
“I learned about it from Twitter,” Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in a corridor in the Capitol. “But then, I learn a lot of things about the president from Twitter.” | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | June 2017 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
The second round of voting takes place to elect either Norbert Hofer or Alexander Van der Bellen as President of Austria. , | Austrians on Sunday may elect the European Union's only far-right leader, an outcome that would reflect a growing backlash over the recent flood of migrants entering Europe and rise of populist parties across the continent.
Recent polls indicate that Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer, 45, has a strong chance of defeating Green Party-backed Alexander Van der Bellen, 72, to win Austria's presidency.
Hofer, an aviation engineer who has carried his Glock handgun on the campaign trail, won 35% of the vote in the first round last month. Ex-economics professor and refugee descendant Van der Bellen received 21%. The outcome, a stunning defeat for the centrist parties accustomed to running Austria, prompted Chancellor Werner Faymann to resign.
While the presidency is a largely ceremonial post that does not directly affect government policy, Sunday's winner will occupy a position that has been dominated by Austria's two mainstream parties since World War II: the center-right People’s Party and center-left Social Democratic Party. With general elections expected before 2018, A Hofer victory could boost his Freedom Party's influence in Austria and encourage other European far-right political movements.
"It's possible that he would change the political atmosphere here and his supporters would feel they could demand tougher anti-immigration rules and policies that might help the Freedom Party gain votes at the next parliamentary elections," said Heinz Gärtner, a politics professor at the University of Vienna. "In the long run Austria would probably be seen as a right-wing populist country and that might send a clear signal to similar voters and parties all across Europe" that such views are acceptable, he said.
Anti-immigrant and stridently nationalistic parties have swept the continent recently. The far-right National Front led by Marine Le Pen has established itself as a major political force in France.
The Conservative Law and Justice party cast aside nearly a decade of centrist rule in Poland by appealing to the instincts of those who resent Europe's biggest wave of migrants since World War II, most of them Muslims fleeing war and poverty.
In March, Germany's EU-skeptic Alternative for Deutschland party made strong gains in elections that marked a repudiation of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy for migrants. Slovakia installed a right-wing government the same month.
Nationalist parties strongly opposed to the EU and liberal migration policies also are active in Denmark, Finland, Hungary and the Netherlands.
Right-wing parties threaten to upend EU's mainstream politics
Austria received 90,000 asylum applications last year, but the government has dramatically shifted from a policy of open borders to one of the EU’s most restrictive asylum regimes amid domestic discontent over the new arrivals. Hofer, who vows to further strengthen the nation's borders and migration controls, has run a slick campaign that obscured his party's Nazi roots and struck a chord with voters who feel their concerns are not being heard.
"I think both candidates love Austria and want the best for our country, so I really don't want to say who is better," said Marco Wagner, 27, a comedian who lives in Graz, Austria's second-largest city.
"Austria is going through a difficult period, we need jobs for our people. ... We also need jobs for the refugees," he said.
Arnold Kammel, director of the Austrian Institute for European Policy and Security in Vienna, said: "What we are seeing in Austria is similar to what is going on around the world, and that is the rise of anti-establishment movements. People are fed up and disappointed with traditional politics and are looking for alternatives."
Austria's chancellor Werner Faymann abruptly resigns
Kammel acknowledged that Hofer's rise displays parallels to the ascendance in the United States of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has challenged the party's establishment, but said the similarities may end there. "Hofer is not a typical Freedom Party politician. He's known for being calm, modest, not an outspoken critic, not a Trump," he said.
Gärtner, from the University of Vienna, said Van der Bellen is probably viewed as more experienced and trustworthy than Hofer but lacks his rival's charisma.
That may explain why Sabrina Watzenegger, 36, who works as a cleaner at a guesthouse in the western Austrian city of Götzis, said she would vote for Hofer even though she supports efforts to integrate refugees and has forged close bonds with some of them. "Hofner can help solve our problems," she said. | Government Job change - Election | May 2016 | ['(USA Today)', '(BBC)'] |
A presidential election takes place in Benin, after previously being delayed. | A presidential election is being held in Benin after being twice delayed over complaints about the registration of voters. The incumbent head of state Thomas Boni Yayi is running for re-election. He is challenged by 13 others, including the opposition leader Adrien Houngbedji. Voting comes two weeks after the brutal dispersal of an anti-government rally in the capital Cotonou. Police used tear gas against the demonstrators. | Government Job change - Election | March 2011 | ['(IOL)', '(Voice of Russia)'] |
Three American hikers detained on the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran are to be charged for espionage by Iranian authorities. | Iran's judiciary indicated yesterday that three young American trekkers who apparently blundered into Iran from neighbouring Iraq in July and who have been in custody since are to be tried for espionage.
The announcement came as efforts by the international community to nudge Iran into a truce over the future of its nuclear industry by agreeing to export its stock of low-enriched uranium for additional processing in third countries looks in danger of collapsing. After weeks of anxiety about the three Americans, graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, state radio in Tehran last night quoted the chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, saying they "have been accused of espionage" and that a formal "opinion will be given in the not distant future". That could mean that charges have been filed, or will be soon.
The families of the three insist that if they did indeed stray across the border it was only by accident. The news prompted a sharp reaction from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was in Berlin yesterday for the Berlin Wall celebrations and demanded that the group be freed immediately. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were arrested on the Iran-Iraq border on 31 July. "We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," Mrs Clinton said. "And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them, so they can return home." | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | November 2009 | ['(The Independent)', '(Fars News Agency)'] |
A 7.5–magnitude earthquake hits near Petatlán, Guerrero, Mexico. | The April 18, 2014, M 7.2 earthquake near the Pacific Coast of Mexico occurred as the result of shallow reverse faulting in the state of Guerrero, 265 km southwest of Mexico City. The initial location, depth, and mechanism of the April 18th earthquake are broadly consistent with slip on or near the plate boundary interface between the subducting Cocos oceanic plate and the North America plate. The broad-scale tectonics of the Pacific Coast of Mexico are controlled by the northeastward subduction of the Cocos plate beneath the North America plate at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr.
Earthquakes are a common occurrence along the Middle America subduction zone. The April 18th earthquake occurred northwest of the rupture area of the 1957 M 7.8 Guerrero earthquake, and since 1975, 23 events of M 6+ have occurred within 200 km of the April 18th earthquake, including events of M 8.0 and M 7.6 (September 1985), M 7.2 (October 1981), and M 7.5 (March 1979), all to the northwest of the April 18th epicenter. The 1981 and 1979 events caused nine and five shaking-related fatalities, respectively. The 1985 M 8.0 earthquake, 195 km to the northwest of the April 2014 event, led to more than 9,500 fatalities, mostly in Mexico City, and generated small, local tsunamis. That event was influential in initiating efforts to establish earthquake early warning systems in Mexico City.
The April 18th earthquake occurred within the “Guerrero Seismic Gap”—an approximately 200-km-long segment of the Cocos-North America plate boundary identified to have experienced no significant earthquakes since 1911 when a M 7.6 event occurred. The plate interface in this region is known to be locked, and an earthquake of M 8.1–8.4 is thought possible if the entire gap ruptures in a single event.
Hayes et al. (2016) Tectonic summaries of magnitude 7 and greater earthquakes from 2000 to 2015, USGS Open-File Report 2016-1192. (5.2 MB PDF) | Earthquakes | April 2014 | ['(USGS)'] |
Under pressure of sanctions by ECOWAS, newly appointed Prime Minister of Guinea–Bissau Faustino Imbali resigns. | BISSAU, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's newly appointed Prime Minister Faustino Fudut Imbali handed in his resignation on Friday after an ultimatum was given by West African regional bloc ECOWAS, the president said.
President Jose Mario Vaz named Imbali prime minister last week but his sacked predecessor Aristides Gomes refused to step down, triggering a political crisis in an already tensed context ahead of a presidential election.
Vaz, who is running again in the Nov. 24 poll, dissolved the government saying the political situation was undermining the normal functioning of state institutions in the West African country.
But regional bloc ECOWAS condemned the move, calling it illegal, and held an extraordinary summit on the Guinea-Bissau political situation in Niamey on Friday to pressure Imbali's government to resign, threatening to apply sanctions if it didn't comply.
ECOWAS also warned that any implication of the army or security forces would be considered a coup and also met with sanctions.
Instability in Guinea-Bissau has typically taken the form of military coups, led by officers drawn mostly from a narrow military elite who fought for independence in 1963-1974. (Reporting by Alberto Dabo; Additonal reporting by Moussa Aksar in Niamey; Writing by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Marguerita Choy) <i>Red</i> will seemingly include a 10-minute version of 'All Too Well'
Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence was booed at what should've been a friendly crowd at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Orlando.
Angels dual-threat Shohei Ohtani will participate in the 2021 Home Run Derby. He's third in the MLB in home runs and will be the first pitcher ever to participate.
The urine test could help detect brain cancer earlier than traditional scans, improving patient survival.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed the primary opponent of Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday, months after the Alaska moderate voted to convict him on a charge of incitement of insurrection.
Much to the surprise of a puzzled pundit corps, history may well conclude that, while President Joe Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin produced no big-deal breaking news headline, their summit may prove to be one of the 21st century’s pivotal events.
Former President Trump falsely claimed for months that Pence had the power to overturn the results of the 2020 election on January 6.
Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday he hopes Matthew McConaughey doesn't run for Texas governor as he might pose a "formidable" challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Former White House doctor Rep. Ronny Jackson and 13 other Republicans want President Joe Biden to take a mental cognition test and share the results.
The "Daily Show" correspondent Jordan Klepper confronted Mike Lindell about his conspiracy theories during the Frank Free Speech Rally in Wisconsin.
Why do stories like the baffling murder of two prominent residents bring nationwide attention to the Palmetto state?
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have lifted rules about crowds and distancing. Fireworks are coming back. But some changes will stick. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | November 2019 | ['(Yahoo! News)'] |
A US-led airstrike intended to kill ISIS soldiers mistakenly kills 18 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces. | WASHINGTON An airstrike by the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State killed 18 Syrian fighters allied with the United States, the military said on Thursday.
The strike, on Tuesday in Tabqah, Syria, was the third time in a month that American-led airstrikes may have killed civilians or allies, and it comes even as the Pentagon is investigating two previous airstrikes that killed or wounded scores of civilians in a mosque complex in Syria and in a building in the west of Mosul, Iraq.
| Armed Conflict | April 2017 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
Ukrainian forces recapture control of Debaltseve, Shakhtarsk, Torez, and Lutuhyne in Donetsk oblast from pro-Russian separatists. | The anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces have taken control of the town of Debaltseve in Donetsk region and the Savur-Mohyla heights, from which illegal armed groups constantly shelled the positions of Ukrainian law enforcers, the ATO press center reported on Monday, July 28.
Ukrainian government troops also entered Shakhtarsk and Torez in Donetsk region and Lutuhyne in Luhansk region. The fighting is currently underway for the complete liberation of Pervomaisk in Luhansk region and Snizhne in Donetsk region.
| Armed Conflict | July 2014 | ['(Kyiv Post)'] |
Synthetic cannabis containing rat poison kills three and injures over 100 across the United States according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. | Fake marijuana likely contaminated with rat poison has killed three people in Illinois and caused severe bleeding in more than 100 others, including a few in four other states.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has alerted doctors nationwide that patients with severe, unexplained bleeding may be additional cases.
The CDC is helping Illinois authorities investigate the outbreak in that state, which began in early March. Illinois reported seven more cases on Tuesday, bringing the nationwide total to at least 116.
Several patients and samples of so-called synthetic marijuana from Illinois have tested positive for a lethal ingredient often used in rat poison, the CDC and Illinois authorities said.
Symptoms include coughing up blood, blood in the urine, severe bloody noses, bleeding gums and internal bleeding. CDC’s alert says outside Illinois, emergency rooms in Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin and Maryland have treated affected patients since March 10.
Illnesses have been linked to fake marijuana before but this is the first outbreak involving rat poison contamination, said the CDC’s Renee Funk. Those sickened require hospitalization and treatment with vitamin K to control bleeding, she said.
“This is an unusual outbreak,” Funk said Tuesday, adding that is unclear how the contamination occurred.
Fake marijuana, also called synthetic cannabinoids, contains man-made chemicals that produce a high similar to marijuana. It is sold in smoke shops and other stores as liquids that can be used in e-cigarettes or in dried plant material that can be smoked. Nicknames include K2, Spice and Kush.
“The number of cases continues to go up each day,” Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Tuesday. “Synthetic cannabinoids in general are not safe and this is one example of not knowing what chemicals are in the product. We are telling people don’t use synthetic cannabinoids.”
The federal government and many states have banned some of these products or specific ingredients, but the CDC says manufacturers skirt these laws by creating new products or labeling them “not for human consumption.”
Tests on fake pot bought at a Chicago convenience store by undercover agents detected the rat poison ingredient, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release. Three store employees were arrested and face federal drug charges.
Illnesses from fake marijuana have increased in recent years; a CDC report noted at least 456 cases between 2010 and 2015. The products are up to 100 times more potent than the active ingredient in marijuana and severe reactions have included seizures, coma and delirium.
| Mass Poisoning | April 2018 | ['(USA Today)'] |
The President of the United States George W. Bush pleads for the Myanmar government to accept help from the United States and the rest of the international community. USAID donates an additional $3 million to cyclone victims. | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United Nations and the Red Cross began distributing relief supplies Tuesday to people affected by the devastating cyclone that killed at least 22,000 people in Myanmar on Friday.
The first relief delivered -- water, plastic sheeting, clothing and insecticide-treated bed nets -- came from stocks that were already in the country. Aid agencies abroad are struggling to transport supplies into Myanmar and to the neediest areas.
The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on members states to send aid to Myanmar -- traditionally known as Burma -- saying, "Given the frequency of such major natural disasters, ASEAN must ... intensify efforts in disaster management and emergency response." UNICEF deployed 130 workers to distribute medicine for 155,000 people, water purifying solution, oral rehydration salts, tarps, bleach and family kits that include cooking and cleaning tools and jerry cans. Lack of clean water and poor sanitation in the wake of the disaster increases the risk of diarrhea, especially for children. Floods can drive mosquito breeding, leading to outbreaks of malaria and dengue fever, according to UNICEF. "Time is of the essence," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said. "In situations such as these, children are highly vulnerable to disease and hunger, and they need immediate help to survive." President Bush joined a chorus of international leaders urging Myanmar's reclusive military government to allow the flow of aid. "Let the United States come and help you," Bush exhorted the junta on Tuesday.
The U.S. pledged $3.25 million and has promised to send Navy ships in the region to help if Myanmar's government requests it.
Relief workers are relying on helicopters to distribute supplies, the World Health Organization said in a statement. "This is proving slow and relatively inefficient. Clearing roads is a high priority in order to move supplies urgently to the population in need," the WHO said.
"The storm and a large tidal wave that traveled up the Irrawaddy River have flooded many roads, which make access to the affected area very difficult," said John Sparrow, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "The infrastructure of the region has been severely affected."
Much of the country is without electricity, communications and transportation, according to Myanmar state radio and opposition sources.
The cyclone is the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in recorded history, according to a U.N.-funded disaster database that includes figures from the past century.
"The situation is very bad and not getting better," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, said Tuesday. The World Food Programme handed out rice Tuesday in Yangon, the nation's main city. The organization indicated that the rice was the first of 8,000 metric tons of WFP food stocks available in the country.
But food is not the top priority for victims at the moment, said Richard Horsey, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
"Right now, water is much more important, and shelter," he said.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees focused on shelter, purchasing $50,000 of basic supplies, including emergency tarpaulins, plastic sheeting and canned food. The agency said it was "emptying" stockpiles of tents and plastic sheeting in neighboring Thailand for urgent dispatch to Myanmar. The supplies should be enough for 10,000 people, the agency said, and will be distributed through a disaster management committee that has been established by the Myanmar government. The Myanmar Red Cross handed out relief supplies, such as clean drinking water, plastic sheeting, clothing, insecticide-treated bed nets to help prevent malaria, and kitchen items, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. The groups also sent a round of shelter kits from Kuala Lumpur and released $189,000 to support the Red Cross' effort. Countries from China to the Netherlands have pledged aid. Thailand and Indonesia are using military transport planes to deliver supplies.
The U.S. Navy is making preparations to respond to any requests for assistance, U.S. military officials said. The Navy has calculated that it would take its nearest ships four days to get to the affected area. | Financial Aid | May 2008 | ['(CNN)'] |
The Supreme Court of the United States refuses to vacate a stay of execution issued by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Arkansas's highest court has also put on hold the execution of another inmate, Bruce Ward. The state had planned to execute eight inmates in eleven days. That schedule, as well as the use of the drug midazolam, sparked a broad range of legal challenges and humanitarian concerns about the executions. Today's planned execution of Don W. Davis would have been the state's first since 2005. | VARNER, Ark. — After a pair of court defeats, the state of Arkansas was forced late Monday to abandon its plan to carry out its first execution in more than a decade. The canceled execution of a condemned prisoner here was a significant setback for the state, which had sought to put eight men to death this month, before its stock of a lethal injection drug expired.
On Monday afternoon, the State Supreme Court stayed the execution of Don W. Davis, who was convicted more than a quarter-century ago of a murder in northwestern Arkansas. Then, about 15 minutes before Mr. Davis’s death warrant was due to expire, the United States Supreme Court refused to overrule the Arkansas jurists, who had voted 4 to 3 to halt the execution. | Government Policy Changes | April 2017 | ['(CNN)', '(The New York Times)'] |
In road bicycle racing, Daniel Martin wins 2013 Liège–Bastogne–Liège ahead of Joaquim Rodríguez and Alejandro Valverde. | Last updated on 21 April 201321 April 2013.From the section Cycling
Ireland's Daniel Martin won cycling's oldest one-day classic, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, in Belgium on Sunday.
Martin, nephew of former Tour de France champion Stephen Roche, won in six hours, 38 minutes and seven seconds, with Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez in second and Alejandro Valverde in third.
It was Martin's first classic win, in a race that was first contested in 1892.
"I can't believe it, I'm really in shock. It felt like one of the easiest races I've ever done," he said.
"I've never seen the team ride so strong - they kept me protected all day. It really is incredible, I'm so happy."
Martin, riding for Garmin-Sharp, attacked just before the final bend to come through and land the 99th edition of the 'doyenne' of the Ardennes classics, finishing three seconds ahead of Rodriguez.
Martin's mother is the sister of Roche, who won the Tour de France in 1987, and he rolled back the years for Irish fans as he gave his compatriots a first success in the race since Sean Kelly 24 years ago.
The 26-year-old came into the 261.5km race as one of the favourites following his fourth place in Wednesday's La Fleche Wallonne, but the victory is the biggest of his career to date.
Team Sky's Chris Froome was the first British finisher in 36th, one minute and 14 seconds behind the winner. | Sports Competition | April 2013 | ['(BBC)', '(Cycling News)'] |
Just before the Brooklyn, New York West Indian J'ouvert Labor Day Carnival, lawyer Carey Gabay is shot in the head and critically wounded, caught in crossfire between feuding gangs. Two others are wounded in shootings and one man is stabbed to death. , | -- The Harvard-educated first deputy counsel to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shot in the head in Brooklyn this morning, in what the governor called a "random event."
Around 3:45 a.m., Carey Gabay and his brother were walking by an argument where shots were fired, according to ABC station WABC-TV in New York.
Gabay, 43, was struck in the head, WABC-TV said. He was hospitalized in critical condition, according to the governor's office.
"This was a beautiful man. A sweet man. A man who was giving back to his community," Cuomo said.
Gabay is First Deputy General Counsel at Empire State Development, the state's economic development agency, and was formerly an assistant counsel to the governor, Cuomo's office said.
Gabay's wife is pregnant with their first child, Cuomo said.
“Carey is an outstanding public servant who joined our administration in 2011," the governor said in a statement. "He is a Harvard-educated lawyer who works for the State because he wants to give back to others and make a difference. He is just 43 years old and is a kind-hearted man. Carey is a friend to all who have the pleasure of meeting him. I ask that New Yorkers join us by keeping him, his wife Trenelle and his family in their prayers at this time.
This tragic shooting this one by another seemingly random bullet is the latest heartbreaking reminder that the crime of gun violence must stop. Enough young, innocent people have died, and it must stop now.” | Armed Conflict | September 2015 | ['(ABC News)', '(Breitbart)'] |
British airline Flybe collapses into administration with the loss of 2,000 jobs after failing to secure financial support. The airline says the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is partly to blame for its collapse. Flybe provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London. | UK airline Flybe has gone into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk, after a bid for fresh financial support failed. The Exeter-based carrier said the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on demand for air travel was partly to blame for its collapse.
Its website now advises customers to "not travel to the airport" unless they have arranged an alternative flight.
Flybe boss Mark Anderson said he was "very sorry" for the firm's collapse.
In a letter to the airline's staff, chief executive Mark Anderson said: "Despite every effort, we now have no alternative - having failed to find a feasible solution to allow us to keep trading."
In response to the collapse, the UK government said it was ready to help Flybe's workers find new jobs and would work with other airlines to replace services: "We are working closely with industry to minimise any disruption to routes operated by Flybe, including by looking urgently at how routes not already covered by other airlines can be re-established by the industry. "
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said everyone was "gutted" about the news but added: "We really tried to do everything we could back at the turn of the year.
"Unfortunately, with the situation that has developed with [coronavirus], an already weak company, I'm afraid, just hasn't been able to survive."
David Manners arrived at Exeter Airport this morning to find his Flybe flight to Paris had been cancelled. The trip had been planned as a surprise Christmas present for his wife and he said they were "absolutely gutted".
Mr Manners, who lives in Lyme Regis, said Flybe's collapse would also be bad for the area. "We use this airport quite a lot because it's so convenient," he said. "We know some of the staff very well… I feel for them."
Jessica, Abby and Robyn work for a recruitment agency and were due to return to Jersey via Exeter Airport after a business trip.
They described the airport as a "ghost town" on arrival. Abby said: "I use Flybe maybe once a month, and not having it now will be such a nightmare." The group said that other airlines such as EasyJet or British Airways did operate flights from Jersey, but they typically only flew into larger airports such as London Gatwick.
Ryanair has launched "rescue" fares for March and April on five routes following Flybe's collapse. They include flights between Bournemouth and Dublin, Belfast and Stansted and Belfast and Manchester.
Train operators across Britain are also providing free travel to customers and Flybe staff who are unable to travel over the next week, according to the Rail Delivery Group.
Flybe customers who bought tickets directly from the company will not be protected by Atol, the travel industry insurance fund
However, if you bought through a travel agent or other third party you might be covered. Some people might be able to get their money back if they paid by credit card or with some debit cards.
Thousands of jobs are at risk following the regional airline's collapse.
Katherine Densham, a Flybe cabin crew member, had been due to fly to London City Airport from Exeter on Thursday. She has worked for the airline for 13 years after joining the firm straight from college.
She told the BBC that staff were feeling "really sad" and that she was not sure what to do next.
Balpa, the pilots' union, said that pilots, cabin crew and ground staff "have done their jobs brilliantly" throughout its struggle.
The union questioned how staff "are going to find new jobs in the current climate", although companies such as South Western Railway have already been calling out for job applications from Flybe staff on social media.
Flybe ran into difficulties last year and was bought by a consortium that includes Virgin Atlantic. But its troubles persisted, and it narrowly avoided going bust in January this year. The new owners said they would pump £30m into the business to keep it afloat, but appealed to the government for additional support.
Flybe, which served destinations from the Channel Islands to Aberdeen, had also been hoping for a £100m lifeline from the government and changes to Air Passenger Duty taxes.
But the news that it may benefit from government help sparked a backlash from its rivals. British Airways-owner IAG filed a complaint to the EU arguing Flybe's rescue breached state aid rules.
Virgin Atlantic said it was "deeply disappointed" that Flybe had gone bust, adding that the consortium had invested more than £135m in keeping the airline flying for an extra year. While its financial problems were already apparent, a Flybe insider told the BBC the impact of the coronavirus on the travel industry had "made a bad situation much worse".
Air transport expert John Strickland added that the regional market was extremely challenging for any airline, but that Flybe had made matters worse some years ago through over-ambitious expansion.
"It's really too big for what it's trying to do," he said.
Although Flybe is small compared to the likes of British Airways, Ryanair or EasyJet, the loss of the operator has been described as "disastrous" for UK regions.
Mr Strickland said Flybe is "small in the scale of the UK market as a whole, but if you're flying out of Exeter, Newquay or specifically Southampton it really is one of the only airline choices... so a number of regional groups will risk not being served". Following last December's general election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to "level up" the UK's regions, after the Conservatives won seats in previous Labour strongholds. He appeared ready to intervene to prop up the airline, considered a key transport link to many parts of the country.
Shadow transport secretary Andy Macdonald said the airline had provided "critical connectivity for many locations" and its collapse would be "disastrous news for passengers and employees alike."
"The government has to answer how those vital links will be maintained following Flybe's collapse. Communities will be concerned about what this will mean for their local economies and the Secretary of State has to come up with answers to these questions as a matter of urgency," he said. Tim Jeans, chairman of Cornwall Airport, said that he "very much hoped" that other airlines would take up the routes. He said discussions with other airlines would "begin in earnest" soon and he hoped to reinstate services "on those routes hopefully within weeks rather than months".
For the past 15 years Flybe has been trying to join the big boys of aviation, and failing. The serious push came 10 years ago when it raised money with a stock market float, and set out a plan to become Europe's biggest regional airline, flying mid-sized planes between secondary cities. The model works brilliantly in America, where regional airlines, often flying as franchises of the larger network carriers, are a large and thriving business. It did not work - or at least Flybe did not make it work - in Europe. It retrenched, and was left in the farcical situation of paying for a fleet of Embraer aircraft that it could not fly. The remaining network was still too big, and cash resources dwindled. The airline came close to going under at the start of last year, but was bought by consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart, and a financial investor Cyrus Capital. They had conflicting objectives. Virgin was eager to preserve feed to its long-haul flights at Heathrow, and perhaps snaffle along the way some of Flybe's valuable Heathrow slots. Stobart was eager to keep flights at its main asset, Southend Airport. And Cyrus thought it might make money if the business was resuscitated. The trio were slow to act - a rebranding to Virgin Connect never happened, and losses continued to rise. A cold shoulder from the government and a rapid drop in bookings thanks to the coronavirus sealed the airline's fate.
For the airports most affected - Southampton, Exeter and Belfast City - this will be a worrying moment. There is not a queue of airlines wanting to pick up UK regional routes - and particularly not when the coronavirus has plunged the entire industry into uncertainty.
.
| Organization Closed | March 2020 | ['(BBC)'] |
Former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk becomes the second full–time President of the European Union. | EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy on Monday (1 December) is handing over the baton to Polish ex-prime minister Donald Tusk.
Quite the opposite of European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, who held numerous farewell speeches, interviews, and self-promoting events in his last weeks in office.
But Van Rompuy, a Belgian politician little-known outside his country and with no global ambitions, who once called himself "a grey mouse", remained true to his nature: no glam, no pomp, no big farewell.
The 67-year old is leaving politics altogether, looking forward to spending more time with his grandchildren and teaching a few classes at Belgian universities, including the College of Europe.
His legacy is not insignificant. It overlapped with the eurozone crisis during which the former Belgian prime minister chaired countless meetings of EU leaders quarrelling about bailouts, whether to keep Greece in the eurozone or not, or if printing money is a solution because austerity is too harsh. What ensued may not be a clear-cut success - unemployment is still very high in Greece and Spain, the economy is sluggish, euro-scepticism and nationalist scaremongering are still issues in several countries.
But the eurozone stayed intact, after several make-or-break moments. A permanent bailout fund - initially an "out-of-the-question" idea for Germany - exists. There is more scrutiny over national budgets - but as the latest case with France and Italy shows, the rules are quite "flexible" and now the focus is shifting on more investments rather than more austerity.
Unlike Barroso, who was already in charge of the EU commission for his second term, Van Rompuy had to start from scratch as his office was a novelty of the Lisbon Treaty which came into force on 1 December 2009.
He had been a Belgian prime minister only for a year, but was seen as a skilled negotiator, who managed to accommodate the clashing views of Flemish and Walloon parties. As he recalled in an interview with a Belgian newspaper, it was French president Nicolas Sarkozy who persuaded him to take up the job.
Three months later, he was already chairing the first summit, an informal gathering in a Brussels' library, where EU leaders for the first time discussed the idea of bailing out Greece.
"He was unassuming, he was interested in getting things done. Van Rompuy didn't care about protocol details such as who gets to speak first on stage, him or Barroso," one EU official recalls.
And yet it was Van Rompuy, not Barroso, who shaped the EU agenda, who managed to secure a deal on the EU budget after months of quarrels among leaders, and who was appointed several times to draft plans on how the eurozone architecture should look like to avoid future crises.
Because many of the deals brokered by Van Rompuy ended up more or less in line with what Germany wanted, Van Rompuy, who speaks German and who is a devout Christian, was criticised of being a pawn in the hands of chancellor Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Union.
"He was often accused of being buddies with Merkel, of rubber-stamping whatever came out of Berlin. This is not true, there were lots of tense moments," one of his close aides told EUobserver.
This was mostly because of the economy on which the Germans are "in complete denial", as the source put it.
But overall, leaders respected him for his discreet, behind-closed-doors diplomacy.
Except for Matteo Renzi, Italy's new prime minister, who came in this year and who made a point of publicly criticising Van Rompuy for "wasting" his time and not "preparing well enough" for a June summit, where leaders failed to agree on his candidate, Federica Mogherini, to become the next EU foreign affairs chief.
Mogherini got the job two months later, but the animosity between Van Rompuy and Renzi remained, also because the EU council chief had sought to build consensus around Enrico Letta as his successor, a move Renzi saw as a personal affront, since he had toppled Letta just months earlier.
The top posts deal, which in the end heralded Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk as council chief and Mogherini as foreign affairs chief, could have played out very differently had the French president, Francois Hollande, steered Renzi and not the other way around.
"Had Hollande rallied his troops in June and said 'we Socialists want the council post', they would have gotten it," the EU source said.
But Hollande hesitated on fully endorsing Danish prime minister Helle Thorning Schmidt for the job, because she was perceived as 'not a real Socialist' and by the time he realised that the Socialists were only going to get the foreign affairs post, it was too late.
Apart from high-level politics, Van Rompuy has also developed a passion for short Japanese-styled verses (haiku) such as "The sun is rising / sleeping yet in Europe / but still the same sun," which he recited at the end of a press conference in Tokyo.
His haikus were published in 2010, when he said: "I know that I am the only poet among the EU leaders. But I hope I won't just be remembered for being a poet."
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Van Rompuy and Barroso said goodbye to EU leaders Friday after attending their final summit as presidents of the EU council and commission. But the summit was marred by a budget row.
Europe should shift its focus from open borders to "protection", while avoiding interference in areas where national governments can better act alone, the EU's Van Rompuy has said.
Van Rompuy has published ideas on how to further integrate the eurozone, including a common budget and parliamentary assembly.
The new trio of EU leaders has a chance to make a difference on foreign policy after five years of stagnation despite the Lisbon Treaty's promises.
The EU’s new Polish chairman has urged Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine in his first official statement.
In some cases, the change is reason for celebratory singing. For others, the end of a mandate – including its perks – takes them by surprise.
The Belgian and Bulgarian prosecutors who were appointed had also not been the experts' first choice. Belgian prosecutor Jean-Michel Verelst has challenged the council's decision at the European Court of Justice.
Portugal's prime minister António Costa will on Wednesday discuss with European Parliament president David Sassoli and MEPs and try to resolve the issue of who will chair the conference. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | December 2014 | ['(EUobserver)'] |
In sled dog racing, Dallas Seavey becomes the youngest winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race run in the US state of Alaska. | Led by his team of nine dogs, Dallas Seavey made his way down a crowded Front Street in Nome, Alaska, to become the champion of the 2012 Iditarod, crossing under the famous "burled arch" -- and the banner reading "End of Iditarod Sled Dog Race" -- some 10 days after he left the ceremonial starter in Anchorage. Seavey, just 25, becomes the youngest champion in the history of the race, which celebrated its 40th running this year.
Ally Zirkle, who led for much of the first half of the race, was expected to finish second, followed closely by Ramey Smyth, who came all the way back from 30th place to finish third. Zirkle left Safety, the final checkpoint before Nome, 69 minutes after Seavey.
Seavey, son of 2004 winner Mitch Seavey, and grandson of an Iditarod pioneer, took control of the race as it made its way toward the Norton Sound, relying on his strategy he employed through the trail -- rest early and often, and use that stored speed to run away from everyone over the final few days, and that's exactly what he did. Seavey was even frequently seen running alongside his sled, allowing his dogs to push even faster. His athletic background certainly helped -- Seavey is a former state high school wrestling champion at 130 pounds and a former national champion at 125 pounds.
Dallas makes his final push toward Nome. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)
As the winner of the Iditarod, Dallas Seavey receives $50,4000 and a new pick-up truck. Second place takes home $46,500, and third gets $42,900. | Sports Competition | March 2012 | ['(SB Nation)'] |
The Rhode Island Marine Architecture Project claims to have found the wreckage of HMS Endeavour used by Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook on his voyage to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti between 1768 and 1771. The ship was scuttled in 1778 in Newport Harbor ahead of the Battle of Rhode Island in the American War of Independence. | Researchers say they believe they have located the wreckage of the Endeavour, the ship sailed by British explorer James Cook on his voyage to Australia, which was sunk off the United States during the Revolutionary War.
The ship was scuttled in 1778 leading up to the Battle of Rhode Island between American colonists and the British, and was part of a blockade during the Revolutionary War.
It now appears to have been located by the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) at one of nine sites containing 13 ships.
The ship, which Captain Cook sailed in the Pacific Ocean, passed through a number of hands before eventually being renamed the Lord Sandwich and was used in the Revolutionary War blockade.
RIMAP said it had pinpointed the wreckage at a site that included five other vessels, off the state of Rhode Island in Newport Harbor.
The association is launching a campaign to finance the construction of a storage facility to accommodate the objects that are likely to be found during excavation.
During his famous 1768 to 1771 voyage, Captain Cook helped map the south-west Pacific Ocean and took possession of Australia in the name of the Crown.
AFP
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
| New archeological discoveries | May 2016 | ['(AFP via ABC News Australia)'] |
The Venezuelan Army holds the biggest military exercise in its history, citing threats to national security, amidst opposition demands of a recall referendum on President Nicolás Maduro. | CARACAS • Venezuela is preparing for the biggest military exercises in its history today and is on high alert as the opposition pushes for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro.
"Venezuela is threatened," Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on state television on Thursday. "This is the first time we are carrying out an exercise of this nature in the country. In terms of national reach, it's going to be in every strategic region."
Mr Maduro announced the exercises last weekend, a day after pledging to prolong his government's special emergency powers.
In a rambling news conference on Tuesday, he said American spy planes, including a Boeing 707 E-3 Sentry early warning and control jet, had entered the country's airspace illegally this month.
The nation is already on an elevated state of alert after the US renewed a presidential decree that said the South American country is a threat to its national security, Mr Padrino Lopez said.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Tuesday said the "moment of truth" had arrived for the country's armed forces - to decide whether they are with the Constitution or with Mr Maduro - a day before security forces used tear gas to turn back anti-government protesters in central Caracas.
The opposition has pledged more demonstrations across the country to pressure the electoral board to process a petition to activate a recall referendum. Opposition leaders accuse the government of stalling the process to avoid early elections.
Rising political and economic tensions are gripping a country beset by record inflation, shortages of basic goods, and currency controls. Discontent over a sinking economy and rampant crime sparked months of anti-government protests that left dozens dead and hundreds injured two years ago.
Mr Maduro, speaking on state TV, said Unasur regional bloc head Ernesto Samper, former Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernandez, former Panama president Martin Torrijos and former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Zapatero will support a process of dialogue with the opposition.
The former leaders will help the opposition "respect the Constitution", he said. He said he hoped the opposition would "give way" and cooperate in a process of peace.
"The government is looking to victimise itself to both the international community and its own followers," said Mr Rocio San Miguel, director of Caracas-based non-profit security research firm Citizens' Control, in an interview.
"They're looking for a distraction to buy time, and there's no better distraction than the military one." | Military Exercise | May 2016 | ['(Bloomberg)', '(Stratis Times)'] |
At least three migrants die when their boat catches fire off the coast of Crotone, Calabria, Italy. Another five migrants are injured as well as two police officers who tried to help them. | CROTONE, Italy (Reuters) - At least three migrants, two men and a woman, died when a fire broke out on a boat carrying around 20 of them close to the southern coast of Italy on Sunday, police and health officials said.
Another five migrants were injured and taken to hospitals, health authorities in the Italian port city of Crotone said, adding that two of them were in a serious condition.
Two finance police officers were hurt as they tried to steer the migrant ship to safety, commander Emilio Fiora was reported as saying by AdnKronos news agency. He said the ship’s engine caught fire and there was an explosion.
Fiora added that searches were going on to make sure that everyone had been rescued.
Italy used to be a major route into Europe for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other migrants, but numbers fell sharply after a crackdown in Libya on smugglers.
However, there has been a pick-up in 2020 although Rome has closed its ports to migrant boats, saying it is impossible to help migrants due to the coronavirus crisis.
Some 18,000 migrants have reached Italy’s shores so far in 2020, interior ministry official data showed, compared to around 4,900 in the same period in 2019.
Reporting by Remo Casilli in Crotone and Angelo Amante in Rome; Writing by Angelo Amante; Editing by Andrew Heavens and David Evans | Fire | August 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Three Syrian tanks have entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights. Israel has launched a formal complaint to the United Nations. | Tanks cross into Beer Ajam village, only several kilometers away from Israeli border; IDF lodges complaint with UN.
Three Syrian tanks on Saturday crossed the demilitarized border in the Golan Heights, only several kilometers away from the Israeli border.
The tanks entered the buffer zone on Saturday afternoon, when Israel Defense Forces soldiers identified the Syrian tanks near Beer Ajam village in the Syrian-controlled central Golan Heights.
Following the unusual incident, the IDF heightened its alert level in the area and lodged a complaint with the United Nations.
The fighting in Syria has recently started approaching closer to the Israeli border.
In July and September, numerousmortar shells fired by the Syrian army landed in the northern Golan Heights.An IDF source said that the shelling was intended to hit the rebel forces, and it landed in the demilitarized zone as a result of a miscalculation of the Syrian forces, who are located in a village not far from the border.
At that time, the IDF also lodged a complaint over the violation.
Due to the heavy fighting in Syria, the IDF has recently reinforced its border fence along the Syrian border in the Golan.
In addition, the IDF dug a wide trench to prevent vehicles from approaching towns. The various areas that have been identified as sensitive fall within the sector of the IDF’s 36th Division.
The IDF fears that terror organizations will take advantage of events in Syria taking place in the Golan and will attempt to attack Israeli communities near the border. | Armed Conflict | November 2012 | ['(Haaretz)'] |
The Mauritanian government announces that Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah have won the most votes in the first round of the 2007 presidential election, and their runoff election will be held on March 25. (Xinhua via People's Daily) | Sunday's vote was the first fully democratic poll since independence in 1960 and marks the final transition to civilian rule after a 2005 army coup.
Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdellahi, who served in the ousted government, has just over 20% of the vote.
Opposition figure Ahmed Ould Daddah is said to be running very close.
Power has never changed hands at the ballot box in Mauritania before.
International observers said the poll, in which 19 candidates took part and which drew a turnout of 70% of registered voters, was free and fair.
Junta barred
A candidate would need more than 50% of the vote to avoid the run-off when final results are announced later on Monday or Tuesday.
PRESIDENTIAL POLL
19 candidates 2,400 polling stations
1.1m voters
300 observers
Sheikh Abdellahi is supported by a coalition of 18 groups previously loyal to the regime of President Ahmed Taya.
Mr Taya was deposed by Col Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, whose military council took power in August 2005. Mr Daddah, an economist, unsuccessfully ran against Mr Taya in 1992 and 2003.
Col Vall barred himself and other members of the junta from running for office.
He said: "We came to power for a specific purpose. We declared we would do specific things. We stayed only so long as it took to accomplish our goals." Although the voting was largely without incident, international observers said that overnight an unknown gunmen killed a security guard at a building in the southern town of Kaedi where counting was taking place. | Government Job change - Election | March 2007 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
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