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United States Representative Gabby Giffords leaves hospital in Tucson, Arizona for rehabilitation in Houston, Texas less than two weeks after the 2011 Tucson shooting. | HOUSTON - She rode to the airport in an ambulance Friday, an Arizona flag-embossed helmet protecting her exposed brain. But that didn't stop wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from recognizing the applause from constituents on the Tucson streets.
The Arizona congresswoman smiled, according to those riding with her, and then appeared to tear up, causing an emotional moment for her husband, mother and doctors on their way to a Houston rehabilitation center.
The rest of the trip from Tucson - a two-hour flight, followed by a quick helicopter ride to the Texas Medical Center - went just as well, according to one of the passengers, Randall S. Friese, associate medical director at Tucson's University Medical Center. The transfer went "flawlessly," he said at a crowded news conference after Giffords checked into the intensive care unit at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
"She looked spectacular in all ways. Neurologically, she was alert, awake, calm and looked comfortable," added Dong Kim, director of the neuroscience department at Memorial Hermann.
Giffords will remain in intensive care until doctors are sure that they have relieved fluid in her brain that caused swelling several days ago. That swelling led doctors, shortly after she was hospitalized in Tucson, to remove a portion of her skull to ease the cranial pressure. They said they will replace that piece of skull once they see no more threat of swelling - a process that could take several weeks.
Even so, doctors stressed that they expected her to begin physical therapy Friday afternoon. Eventually, she will be transferred to the nearby TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation center, where a treatment plan is being discussed.
Friese said of the applause Giffords received on her way out of Arizona, "It was very heart-wrenching, so wonderful to see the support from Tucsonans. We're going to miss her while she's here. But this is the place she should be."
Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot above the left eye during the Jan. 8 shooting rampage in Tucson that killed six and injured 13. Kim said the congresswoman has good movement on the left side of her body and "good tone in her leg, which is a precursor to a more full recovery." Her right leg, however, is in worse condition and might not be able to support her body weight, he said. Her arms also have less movement.
Overall, Giffords "has great rehab potential. She will keep us busy and we will keep her busy," said Gerard Francisco, the rehabilitation center's chief medical officer.
While Giffords was traveling to Houston, the Pima County sheriff's deputies who responded to the scene of the shooting recounted for the first time the frantic moments upon their arrival. They described a scene of "silent chaos" and said the carnage likely would have been much worse without the help of a $99 first-aid kit that recently became standard-issue.
It was devised by David Kleinman, a Pima County SWAT team medic, who cobbled together the "First Five Minutes" kit out of simple tools used by combat medics in Iraq and Afghanistan: an emergency bandage pioneered by the Israeli army, a strip of gauze that coagulates blood on contact, a soft tourniquet and other inexpensive materials.
It is unusual for police officers to carry such medical equipment, but the gear proved crucial, officials said. "It would have been a lot worse" without those tools, said Sheriff's Department Capt. Byron Gwaltney. | Famous Person - Sick | January 2011 | ['(Washington Post)'] |
Gunfire and a mutiny take place at a military base in Kati, Koulikoro, Mali. Soldiers arrest senior military officers as the government deploys troops to the area. | BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s president announced his resignation late Tuesday, just hours after armed soldiers seized him from his home in a dramatic power grab following months of protests demanding his ouster. The news of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by anti-government demonstrators and alarm by former colonial ruler France, and other allies and foreign nations.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled a closed meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the unfolding situation in Mali, where the U.N. has a 15,600-strong peacekeeping mission.
Speaking on national broadcaster ORTM just before midnight, a distressed Keita, wearing a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said his resignation — three years before his final term was due to end — was effective immediately. A banner across the bottom of the television screen referred to him as the “outgoing president.”
“I wish no blood to be shed to keep me in power,” Keita said. “I have decided to step down from office.”
He also announced that his government and the National Assembly would be dissolved, certain to further the country’s turmoil amid an eight-year Islamic insurgency and the growing coronavirus pandemic.
Keita, who was democratically elected in 2013 and reelected five years later, was left with few choices after the mutinous soldiers seized weapons from the armory in the garrison town of Kati and then advanced on the capital of Bamako. They took Prime Minister Boubou Cisse into custody along with the president.
There was no immediate comment Wednesday from the troops, who hailed from the same military barracks where a coup was launched more than eight years ago, allowing the Islamic insurgency to take hold amid a power vacuum.
The political upheaval unfolded months after disputed legislative elections. And it also came as support for Keita tumbled amid criticism of his government’s handling of the insurgency, which has engulfed a country once praised as a model of democracy in the region. The military has taken a beating over the past year from Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked groups. A wave of particularly deadly attacks in the north in 2019 prompted the government to close its most vulnerable outposts as part of a reorganization aimed at stemming the losses.
Tuesday’s developments were condemned by the African Union, the United States, and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which had been trying to mediate Mali’s political crisis. Former colonizer France and the United Nations, which has maintained a peacekeeping mission in Mali since 2013, also expressed alarm ahead of Keita’s speech.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought “the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
But news of Keita’s detention was met with celebration throughout the capital by anti-government protesters who first took to the streets back in June to demand that the president step down. “All the Malian people are tired — we have had enough,” one demonstrator said.
The detention was a dramatic change of fortune for Keita, who seven years earlier emerged from a field of more than two dozen candidates to win Mali’s first democratic post-coup election in a landslide with more than 77% of the vote.
Regional mediators from ECOWAS, though, had failed in recent weeks to bridge the impasse between Keita’s government and opposition leaders, creating mounting anxiety about another military-led change of power.
Then on Tuesday, soldiers in Kati took weapons from the armory at the barracks and detained senior military officers. Anti-government protesters immediately cheered the soldiers’ actions, and some set fire to a building that belongs to Mali’s justice minister in the capital.
Cisse urged the soldiers to put down their arms.
“There is no problem whose solution cannot be found through dialogue,” he said in a statement. But the wheels already were in motion — armed men began detaining people in Bamako too, including the country’s finance minister, Abdoulaye Daffe.
Keita, who tried to meet protesters’ demands through a series of concessions, has enjoyed broad support from France and other Western allies. He also was believed to have widespread backing among high-ranking military officials, underscoring a divide between army leadership and unpredictable rank-and-file soldiers.
Tuesday marked a repeat of the events leading up to the 2012 coup, which unleashed years of chaos in Mali when the ensuing power vacuum allowed Islamic extremists to seize control of northern towns. Ultimately a French-led military operation ousted the jihadists, but they merely regrouped and expanded their reach during Keita’s presidency into central Mali.
Keita’s political downfall closely mirrors that of his predecessor: Amadou Toumani Toure was forced out of the presidency in 2012 after a series of punishing military defeats. That time, the attacks were carried out by ethnic Tuareg separatist rebels. This time, Mali’s military has sometimes seemed powerless to stop extremists linked to al-Qaida and IS.
Back in 2012, the mutiny erupted at the Kati military camp as rank-and-file soldiers began rioting and then broke into the camp’s armory. After grabbing weapons, they later headed for the seat of government under the leadership of Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo. Sanogo was later forced to hand over power to a civilian transitional government, which then organized the election Keita won.
Mediators this time around have urged Keita to share power in a unity government. He even said he was open to redoing disputed legislative elections. But those overtures were swiftly rejected by opposition leaders who said they would not stop short of Keita’s ouster. ___
Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | August 2020 | ['(AP)'] |
A Ukrainian court sentences two Russian nationals to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Moscow contends that the two Russians were no longer employed by the state when they were captured. | A Ukrainian court has sentenced two Russian citizens to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Shortly after the sentencing on April 18 of Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, the Kremlin said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed by phone the "fate" of the two Russians as well as Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, who Russia has imprisoned on murder charges.
While the Kremlin did not explicitly say so, many observers expect the Kyiv court's verdict against the Russians to open the door for a prisoner exchange.
Poroshenko has previously proposed swapping Savchenko -- who is a national hero and has denied the charges against her -- for the Russians. The Kremlin said the two leaders agreed that Moscow would "soon" allow Ukraine's consul-general in Rostov-on-Don to visit Savchenko in prison.
Poroshenko's office afterward said the Ukrainian leader urged Moscow to "immediately" free Savchenko. Citing her deteriorating health, he also urged Putin to allow Ukrainian and German doctors to examine her.
Ukraine's Holosiiv district court found the two Russian men guilty of conducting terrorist acts and aggressive military activities and sentenced them the same day.
The two, who pleaded not guilty, retracted video confessions made earlier in which they admitted they were active-duty Russian military personnel when they were captured in Ukraine's Luhansk region in May 2015. Both said the statements were made under duress.
Russia has said neither Yerofeyev nor Aleksandrov were employed by the military when they were captured by a volunteer Ukrainian militia. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it has provided weapons, training, and personnel to support separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine. Independent observers, journalists, and official monitors, however, have gathered a substantial body of evidence to the contrary.
The verdict by the Ukrainian court completes what the Kremlin has described as prerequisites before a prisoner exchange can take place, including official court verdicts against both the Russian prisoners and Savchenko.
A court in Russia's Rostov region last month found Savchenko complicit in the deaths of two Russian journalists covering fighting in eastern Ukraine in June 2014, and sentenced her to more than 20 years in prison.
Poroshenko has said several times that he would be willing to make a prisoner exchange with Russia to secure Savchenko's release, and the Kremlin has never rejected the possibility.
At least 11 other Ukrainians, including filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, have been prosecuted in Russian courts related to Russia's forcible annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Moscow has signaled that it might also consider releasing them as part of a possible prisoner swap.
An uneasy truce in the two-year-old conflict has held since a ceasefire was negotiated in February 2015, although international observers have recorded an uptick in fighting in recent months.
More than 9,100 people have been killed in the fighting, and some 21,000 wounded.
RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2016 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
At least 11 firefighters, who had gone inside a hash oil manufacturing building in downtown Los Angeles after an initial report of a fire, are injured following an explosion. | Follow NBC News LOS ANGELES — Eleven firefighters were injured, three critically, when an explosion erupted during a fire Saturday downtown, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
An additional firefighter was in serious condition, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "Good news is everybody’s going to make it," he said.
LAFD medical director Marc Eckstein said four of the firefighters were in an intensive care burn unit at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, a hospital affiliated with the University of Southern California. Two of them were on ventilators, he said.
#BREAKING DowntownLA ; An explosion on scene has caused a MAYDAY with approx 10 firefighters down and multiple buildings on fire per @LAFD #Telemundo52 (? courtesy: DannyFromLA) pic.twitter.com/UbxCQgM2RM
An initial assessment found the business might be a wholesaler of products used to make concentrated cannabis, a process that usually requires the use of highly flammable butane.
"The occupancy was doing business as Smoke Tokes Wholesale Distributor, reportedly a supplier for those who make butane honey oil," the LAFD said.
"There is butane in that building," Chief Ralph Terrazas said late Saturday. "We saw butane [canisters] out on the street."
The area also includes multiple vape supply stores that sell vitamin E acetate. The address was listed in a 2018 fictitious business name statement as "Smoke Place."
"My thoughts are with our brave @LAFD firefighters," Garcetti tweeted Saturday evening. "Closely tracking this situation as we continue to get more information."
Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Twitter, "Grateful for the brave firefighters and first responders on the scene battling these flames tonight."
The first report of a fire was recorded at 6:26 p.m., according to the department.
After firefighters arrived, an explosion was reported, a "mayday" call went out and the blaze might have spread to "multiple buildings," according to a subsequent LAFD statement.
? #LosAngeles #losangelesfire #dtla pic.twitter.com/AoedfFbF2W
Terrazas said "things didn’t seem right" to the senior official at the scene, who told the first responders to retreat.
"The smoke pressure was escalating, the heat was increasing," he said.
A witness described the exodus to officials, Terrazas said. "Our firefighters came down the aerialladder from the roof with their turnout coats on fire," he said.
Pamela Sisson, 43, was on her way to her home in the nearby Arts District when she spotted the fire and used her cellphone to capture video.
"It started to feel a little bit dangerous because ash was coming down," she said. "It was becoming increasingly dangerous to stay anywhere near there."
The blaze was put out in less than two hours, the department said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and Dennis Romero from San Diego. | Fire | May 2020 | ['(NBC News)', '(The Associated Press)'] |
US President Barack Obama nominates Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez to be the next United States Secretary of Labor. | President Barack Obama on Monday highlighted the professional experience as well as the background of Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, as he announced Perez's nomination as the next secretary of labor.
Obama noted that Perez, son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, learned early on in life that it "doesn't matter who you are or where you come from," you can succeed in America. Perez fought to "open pathways for all hardworking Americans," the president said.
A longtime public servant, Perez joined the Justice Department in 2009 after serving as secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which works to protect consumers and employees.
Obama noted on Monday some of the myriad issues that Perez faces should he be confirmed, including the raising of the federal minimum wage, the need to assist veterans and the reforming of the country's immigration system.
The president has faced criticism for a lack of diversity in top administration nominations in his second term. If confirmed, Perez would replace Hilda Solis, who resigned in early January and was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a Cabinet member.
Perez's potential nomination has already drawn criticism from lawmakers, including Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican pushing a congressional investigation into an alleged deal the Justice Department made with the city of St. Paul, Minn., to withdraw from a housing discrimination case before the Supreme Court.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | March 2013 | ['(Yahoo! News)'] |
Primaries elections for the presidential candidate from Green Party and Conservative Party also take place. | Colombia heads to the polls on Sunday to elect a Congress and representatives to the Andean Parliament as well as to select two top-tier Presidential candidates in a primary. With some four million plus Colombians living outside Colombia, the 1991 Constitution allows for Colombians of the Colombian diaspora to elect their own representatives to Congress.
As such, I will be voting and I've made my decision as to where to throw my support. Colombian elections are noisy, raucous, and above all colorful affairs. Historically, one would dress up to vote in the color of one's party but with the decline of the two longstanding traditional parties that fashionista voting may be a thing of the past.
Choosing which primary to participate in has been a more vexing question for me, however, especially after the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled that President Alvaro Uribe could not run for a third term. Uribe's forced retirement does cloud the Colombian political panorama. Two parties will hold open primaries: the Conservative party (the world's third oldest party still in existence) and the recently formed Partido Verde, a progressive Green party established in October 2009. My quandary is first of all which of the two primaries to participate in and then which candidate to support. The decision impacts how the first round general election scheduled for May 30th may play out.
The Green Party is led by three former progressive mayors of Bogotá Antanas Mockus, Luis Eduardo Garzón and Enrique Peñalosa. I'm partial to Enrique Peñalosa, in part because I share his penchant for building sustainable cities and his disdain of cities built around automobiles.
While each of the three mayors had an instrumental role in transforming Bogotá out of wretchedness into a modern, innovative, and more democratic city, Peñalosa, in my view, was the most impactful in that during his three years (1999-2001) as mayor he led a transportation revolution so complete that he single-handedly transformed Bogotá from a traffic-clogged mess into one of the most transit and bike friendly cities in the world. The Transmilenio Bus Rapid Transit System, which he copied from Jaime Lerner's Curitiba, remains the world's most efficient and greenest urban transportation system which has, in turn, become a model for BRT systems from Brisbane to Lagos.
The main knock on Peñalosa is that he is "autocratic". Though I prefer the adjective "forceful", the reality is that Peñalosa's visionary projects were rammed through ruffling feathers and disturbing the comfortable sensibilities of various gatekeepers (political mafias is the Colombian term) in Bogotá. Though his projects have proved wildly successful and now much adored, his style of leadership proved caustic and he has failed to win another election since. The other problem for the technocratic Peñalosa is that he lacks a power base outside Bogotá.
Moreover, Antanas Mockus is likely the winner of the Green primary and as such a vote for Peñalosa, perhaps a sentimental one, is likely a wasted one. I have no problem with Antanas Mockus who is in my estimation one of the most revolutionary and visionary politicians anywhere in the world today. As we in the United States have discovered to our dismay, enacting change isn't easy nor straightforward. As Mayor, Mockus brought change in the most unusual of ways in a country where change has long been elusive. Change is ultimately about changing values and changing behaivour and that's what Mockus set out to do.
Mockus, whose parents were Lithuanian immigrants, is not a traditional politician but an academic who has fashion together one of Latin America's largest civic movements. He's the former Rector of the National University, the country's largest and state-financed. He came to national attention in the early 1990s when in front of disruptive assembly of students, he got up and mooned the audience. They shut up, he got elected mayor.
As mayor, Mockus proved most unorthodox, endearing but most of all impactful in getting Santa Ferreños to think twice before aggrieving their city. Famous initiatives included hiring mimes to make fun of traffic violators, because he believed Colombians were more shamed by being ridiculed than by being levied a fine which they tend not to pay anyway. Within months, the mimes helped increase the proportion of pedestrians obeying traffic signals from 26 percent to 75 percent. Traffic fatalities declined by over 50 percent. He sponsored a "Women's Night Out" to dramaticize female safety on the streets of Bogotá. Three quarters of a million women participated in the first night out and the number has increased since then. Under his tutelage, Bogotá's homicide rate fell 70 percent. His water conservation campaign, which featured an ad of him showering, reduced water use by a third even as the city added nearly a million inhabitants over the course of a decade.
All notable achievements but the one that impresses me most was his fiscal policy. He tackled corruption relentlessly and instituted a programme whereby citizens could pay an extra 10 percent in taxes and determine where to spend that money. To the surprise of many, 63,000 people voluntarily paid the extra taxes in the first year alone with two-thirds of the contributors coming from the lowest economic strata. A dramatic indicator of the shift in the civic attitude of Bogotanos during Mockus' second stint as mayor is that as of 2002 the city collected more than three times the revenues it had garnered in 1990. Change indeed.
Luis Eduardo Garzón, nicknamed Lucho, hails from the Colombian left. He was once a member of the Colombian Communist Party and a former union leader but has come to accept the "pragmatic socialism" model that combines the building of a social safety net atop a free-market capitalist system. Under his leadership, Bogotá invested heavily in its public education, health and housing system transforming the city into Latin America's most progressive city. His Bogotá sin hambre ("Bogotá without hunger") program has been hailed as a model by the United Nations.
Here's a web ad for the Partido Verde, the copy of Hicimos ciudad, haremos país translates as "we built a city, we'll build a country" that highlights the accomplishments of these three progressive mayors now seeking the presidency.
With Mockus' victory in the primary likely a foregone conclusion, voting in the rather competitive Conservative primary looks more appealing. The Conservatives have five candidates in their primary and they run the gamut from an octogenarian who last served in government in the 1950s to a thirty-something Uribe wannabe. Three stand no chance of winning. The other two do and whoever wins affects the voting choice of the pro-Uribe faction come the May 30th first-round presidential election.
With Uribe ineligible to serve as President ever again, the Uribistas too face a quandary. Though Uribe hails from the Liberal party, he ran for office as an independent. Indeed, he is the first politician in Colombian history not to be elected president from either one of the two long dominant traditional parties (the Conservatives were founded in 1830, the Liberals in 1848). As President, Uribe was forced to forge his own bipartisan governing coalition. Uribe's government was effectively a national unity government with a mandate to stablize the security situation. He secured almost the whole of Conservative party which in 2002 was in tatters anyway and a large segment of dissident Liberals. Out of this group, a new political party called the National Social Union party - or more simply La U - was formed in 2004 to support Uribe's initiatives.
In what has turned out to be a grave political miscalculation, La U refrained from running a candidate having presumed that popular sentiment and deep pockets would secure Uribe a third term. With those hopes dashed by the Court, La U has selected Juan Manuel Santos, a former Defense minister and a scion of one of Colombia's most powerful families (the majority shareholders in the country's largest media group). But the problem for the Uribistas is that their movement largely revolved around Alvaro Uribe and with him out of the picture, factionalization has crept in and the Uribistas may be facing a split as the country heads to the polls.
Three of the five Conservatives running served in the Uribe Administration. The first of the two main contenders is Andres Felipe Arias, a former Agriculture Minister and known as "Uribito" or little Uribe. Arias is probably Uribe's preferred choice to succeed him because Uribe might well be able to be the power behind the throne should Arias win the general election. Arias, who bears an uncanny physical resemble to Uribe and since they are both from Antioquia speak with the same regional accent, makes no secret of his admiration for Uribe and his unflinching commitment to the security policies that Uribe has put in place.
An Arias candidacy, however, has its limitations. At 38, he would become the youngest President in Colombian history. He is seen as inexperienced and often derided in the press as a sycophant but his biggest problem is that he is tied to one of the still unfolding corruption scandals of the Uribe era during his tenure as Minister of Agriculture.
The other contender for the Conservative nomination is Noemí Sanín, twice a former Foreign Minister. An unconventional politician (she's run for President twice before once with Antanas Mockus as her running mate which demonstrates that in Colombia political labels no longer have the weight they once did), she's political force in her own right and universally known as Noemí. Though she, like Juan Manuel Santos, would largely follow Uribe's security policies, their stature alone suggests that there would be modifications especially in the economic realm.
Even at this late hour, I have not been able to reach a decision. Should I vote for Arias in hopes of splitting the Uribistas in the general election? Should I vote for Sanín to prevent a man I think simply odious from having a chance at the presidency? Or should I vote my conscience and vote for the man I most admire, Enrique Peñalosa being comfortable with either a Mockus or Garzón victory.
I do know that I'll be wearing green tomorrow when I go vote. May my grandfather forgive me my eschewing the red of the Liberal party that his grandfather helped to found. | Government Job change - Election | March 2010 | ['(for the upcoming presidential election)', '(3 candidates)', '(5 candidates)', '(Direct Democracy)'] |
The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, Heinz Fromm, resigns due to a series of blunders in an investigation about a neo–Nazi cell. | The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, Heinz Fromm, has resigned after a series of blunders in an investigation into a neo-Nazi cell. The group is believed to have killed at least 10 people, most of them Turkish immigrants, over a seven-year period and then evaded capture. A woman, Beate Zschaepe, is awaiting trial over the murders.
Mr Fromm's agency came under fresh fire last week when it emerged it shredded key documents relating to the case.
The 63-year-old has headed the Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2000, the year the murders began.
He announced his decision to take early retirement to Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich.
Mr Friedrich said Mr Fromm had been "surprised and distressed about the mistakes by employees in his authority".
"He is, like me, deeply worried about the resulting loss of confidence in the domestic intelligence agency," the minister said.
The failure of the German security services to halt the string of murders seemingly carried out by the trio who called themselves the National Socialist Underground shocked the German public when it emerged last December.
The case only surfaced when two of the three were found dead in an apparent suicide pact and Beate Zschaepe blew up her rented flat in the east German city of Zwickau and then handed herself in to police.
In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the case as "a disgrace".
She appealed for forgiveness from the families of the victims - eight businessmen of Turkish origin, one businessman of Greek origin and one German policewoman.
The group also injured more than 20 people in two bomb attacks on people of Turkish origin, as well as carrying out over a dozen bank robberies.
Authorities including the police have admitted making critical mistakes in investigating the case, and have vowed to improve regional and national intelligence co-operation.
Last week it emerged at an intelligence oversight committee that an agency official had shredded key documents about the activities of far-right informers, just one day after it was revealed that the cell was involved in the murders. Germany's new breed of neo-Nazis
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | July 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Egyptian army launches a major operation against Islamist militants in North Sinai killing at least 30 people. | At least nine Islamist militants have been killed in a major offensive by the Egyptian army in Sinai, security officials have said.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that tanks and troops, backed by Apache helicopters, had struck the militants in towns along the Gaza Strip border.
The operation is said to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai.
Meanwhile, Egyptian soldiers defused mortars and other explosives found on a railway line near the Suez Canal.
There have been frequent attacks on pipelines and security forces since the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. | Armed Conflict | September 2013 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, notorious for the banned "God Save the Queen" single, dies in Switzerland. | Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of the Sex Pistols and impresario, has died from cancer, aged 64.
He died in hospital in Switzerland with his partner, 37-year-old Korean- American Young Kim by his bedside, along with his son Joe Corre. Ms Kim told The Independent: "We were there with him when he passed away. He was diagnosed with cancer in October. He was very active until the end of February when his tumour became very aggressive. He just went very quickly. He said he wanted to be buried at Highgate cemetery. We are now taking steps to try to make that happen."
McLaren had kept his illness quiet. In February he had travelled to New York in February for the launch of an art book before returning to Switzerland to be treated at a clinic.
Best-known as the manager of the punk band the Sex Pistols, he achieved the notoriety he sought – and which never left him – when the band's anti-establishment single "God Save The Queen", released during the Queen's Silver Jubilee, was banned from the airwaves by the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
He was raised by his grandmother in Newington Green, north London, after his war-deserter father left home when he was two. After having been expelled from several art colleges, he opened a clothes shop on the King's Road, with his then girlfriend Vivienne Westwood in 1971. The couple's son, Joe Corre, went on found the lingerie company Agent Provocateur.
Last night Miss Westwood said: "When we were young and I fell in love with Malcolm, I thought he was beautiful and I still do. I thought he was a very charismatic, special and talented person. We hadn't been in touch for a long time. The thought of him dead is really something very sad."
The shop became a focal point of the fledgling punk movement. It was here that he first encountered a young John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. Last night Mr Lydon said: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you."
| Famous Person - Death | April 2010 | ['(The Independent)', '(BBC)', '(The Guardian)', '(Sky News)'] |
Stevo Pendarovski is sworn in as the President of North Macedonia after winning the election, the first after the Prespa agreement. | Anger against Albanian prime minister Edi Rama mounted on Saturday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in the capital city of Tirana, some of whom hurled petrol bombs at his office gate.
For the past three months, protests have erupted all over the country calling for Rama to quit over his alleged involvement in corruption and election fraud. Protesters have been calling for snap polls after their lawmakers cut ties with the parliament.
The demonstrators have often harked back on the popular slogan "We want a European Albania", which had been used during pro-democracy demonstrations when the Balkan country ditched communism in 1990.
Opposition leader Lulzim Basha has urged his supporters to protest relentlessly until Rama relinquishes power. Basha said they were “determined to keep waging a bigger and more resolute battle as long as the government was keeping Albania apart from Europe”.
On Saturday, the protests grew violent as demonstrators, some of whom wore masks, threw petrol bombs and firecrackers at the entrance of the government building. Some also used paint to desecrate the office gate.
Both, policemen and protesters were injured in the violence, reports said.
Protesters also threw petrol bombs at the parliament building where the police responded with water jets and tear gas.
“We are here with a mission, to liberate Albania from crime and corruption, to make Albania like the rest of Europe,” Basha told a raging public.
A few hours later, the crowd descended upon the Tirana police precinct to protest the arrest of a Democratic party official.
The European Union and the US have called the current government legitimate, urging opposition to return to parliament and take part in local elections on June 30.
“The opposition’s stated objective to make Albania’s democracy stronger runs counter to the violence currently being perpetrated by protesters,” the United States Embassy said in a statement, condemning the violence and calling for restraint.
Rama called the opposition's policies "blind", saying he was saddened to hear an opposition leader begging his government to quit. "Their fire harmed not the government, but the country," he said.
Republic of Northern Macedonia
Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as North Macedonia's new president in an inauguration ceremony in Skopje on Sunday in the presence of senior government officials, including outgoing president Gjorge Ivanov.
Pendarovski, a 56-year-old law professor, defeated nationalist candidate and university professor Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova last week.
Government-backed candidate Pendarovski had received roughly 436,000 votes as of Monday. There were 1.8 million eligible voters.
Pendarovski supports North Macedonia’s June 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia after a long dispute over the term “Macedonia.” Greece has a province that borders North Macedonia called Macedonia.
The newly elected president’s support for the agreement will help North Macedonia move ahead in accession to the European Union and NATO, experts say.
WASHINGTON — If New Hampshire Democrats voted today, and the most recent polling is correct, the only candidates who would get any delegates at all from the first-in-the-nation primary would be Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
The two are not only leading the packed field of 2020 presidential contenders, but are the only contenders who have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the crowd in polling and surpassed the crucial 15 percent threshold that candidates need to hit to be awarded delegates.
Of course, the election is not today. And it may look very different when Granite State voters actually head to the polls in February.
But the dynamic between Biden and Sanders is the most important relationship in the 2020 primary at the moment.
And for all their differences, Sanders and Biden have mutual interest in preserving their duopoly and using each other as foils. Sanders needs an establishment antagonist, while Biden, 76, may prefer running against the 77-year-old Sanders than 20 younger options.
"With Biden in the race, it gives (Sanders) someone to contrast with," said Mark Longabaugh, a former top aide to Sanders' 2016 campaign. "I still think one of Bernie Sanders' central challenges is being able to adjust to a frontrunner's position and ultimately building a coalition that makes him the nominee."
Longabaugh added, "Biden has the opposite challenge. He has the ability to build a broad coalition, but his challenge is being able to consolidate really core support and enthusiasm. It seems that a lot of people are for Biden, but are they really for Biden?"
Sanders thrilled supports four years ago as the scrappy underdog taking on Hillary Clinton. But the Vermont independent entered the 2020 contest at the top of a field that had largely adopted his worldview. Fancy fundraisers with corporate titans were out, Medicare for All was in.
Then along came Biden, showing little interest in kowtowing to progressive activists and holding a high-dollar fundraiser at the home of a top executive of Comcast (which owns NBC) on his very first night as a candidate.
Sanders began attacking Biden almost immediately on issues like trade, which he wielded effectively against Clinton four years ago, as his poll numbers slipped and Biden's rose.
"If you add the job loss as a result of NAFTA, which Joe voted for — Joe was a friend of mine and we're going to have this discussion in a very civil way — but Joe voted for NAFTA, he voted (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) with China," Sanders told MSNBC's Chris Hayes. "Add those two trade policies together — you're probably talking about the loss of more than four million jobs."
On CNN, Sanders added, "Joe and I have very different pasts in terms of how we have voted and very different visions for the future."
Meanwhile, his campaign mentioned Biden in at least three fundraising emails to supporters, including one with a subject line, "The political and financial establishment are plotting against us."
"Bernie Sanders is trying to make this into a two-person race to recreate the 2016 campaign where Joe Biden becomes a foil for his candidacy," said Zac Petkanas, a former Clinton aide and Sanders critic.
Other Democrats think Biden stands to gain from conflict with Sanders, too.
Alan Kessler, a Philadelphia lawyer and Democratic fundraiser who attended the first Biden fundraiser, said he knows lots of party donors who worry about Sanders.
"Both from the standpoint of who's strongest to beat Trump and who's strongest to stop Bernie, it's Biden," said Kessler. "Bernie's running strong in the polls and there's a real concern that if we nominate him, we lose."
One senior Democrat, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about a subject that Biden allies would not engage on on the record, put it more bluntly: "Bernie attacking Biden is the best thing that ever happened to (Biden)" because it makes it appear that it's already narrowed to a two-person race.
Biden has so far avoided saying anything critical of Sanders, his campaign and allies note. The former vice president told a Las Vegas TV station, "The last thing the Democratic Party needs now is for there to be a fight among the Democrats that gets into something that's unseemly."
And Biden has invoked the 15 percent delegate threshold, which some Democrats saw as a signal to donors and others that the race could come down to him and Sanders.
"This field is going to be winnowed out pretty quickly," Biden told reporters in Los Angeles last week. "In order to get any delegates from congressional districts, you've got to get 15 percent of the vote. To come out of Iowa, you need 15 percent of the caucus. This is going to work it's way through relatively quickly for all of us."
Sanders allies don't disagree with that analysis.
"I think people will flirt with new exciting voices and will be hopeful for them in the future, but ultimately they will want someone who has experience and can also bring change," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Sanders' campaign co-chair. "I've always believed that this race would come down to Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren."
But Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager, issued a warning for both Biden and Sanders, though he acknowledged it's still very early.
"Right now, with so many candidates in the race, it's a luxury to have the spotlight," Mook said in a text message. "But candidates need to be careful: You don't want the kind of knock down drag out dynamic that (Howard) Dean and (Richard) Gephardt had in Iowa in 2004 that created space for John Kerry to surge up." | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | May 2019 | ['(Euronews)'] |
Spain and the United Kingdom reach an agreement to keep Gibraltar in the European Union's Schengen Area as freedom of movement between the EU and UK is due to end. | A last-minute deal between the UK and Spain – agreed just hours before Gibraltar was poised to become the only frontier marked by a hard Brexit – will allow for free movement between the British overseas territory and much of the EU. “Today is a day for hope,” Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, said on Thursday as she announced that an agreement in principle had been reached. “In the long history of our relations with the UK, related to Gibraltar, today we’re facing a turning point.”
As part of the deal, the British overseas territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula would be able to join EU programmes and policies such as Schengen with Spain acting as a guarantor, González Laya told reporters.
“Schengen will be applied to Gibraltar, with Spain assuming responsibility as a member state,” she added. “This will allow for the abolishment of controls between Spain and Gibraltar.”
Gibraltar’s airport and port will become the EU’s newest external border, with checks undertaken by the EU’s Frontex border agency. The arrangement will be in place for an initial four-year period.
When pressed on whether this would entail the presence of Spanish security forces in Gibraltar – a point that had proved to be a major sticking point in the negotiations – González Laya said the technical details would be published in the new year.
The agreement will now be sent to Brussels, where the European commission will enter into negotiations with London to turn it into a treaty, a process González Laya estimated would take around six months. In the meantime, she said Spain would work to ensure that mobility at the border would be “as fluid as possible”.
The deal was hailed by the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson. “I wholeheartedly welcome today’s political agreement between the UK and Spain on Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU,” he wrote on Twitter. “The UK has always been, and will remain, totally committed to the protection of the interests of Gibraltar and its British sovereignty.”
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said it marked the start of “a new era” that would allow for “the removal of barriers”.
The Brexit deal announced on Christmas Eve between the UK and EU did not cover Gibraltar. Instead the fate of the territory was the topic of months of parallel negotiations that focused on preserving free movement across the shared border with Spain while steering clear of the centuries-old sovereignty dispute between London and Madrid.
With just hours left before the UK was to leave the 27-member bloc, negotiations over the future of the territory had come down to the wire. “The final countdown” is how Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister, had started off the day on Twitter. Hours later, Picardo struck a cautious note. “I think it’s important to temper this moment with understanding that what we have is an in-principle agreement, not a treaty,” he told reporters. “When we go to the European Union, we need to ensure that the European commission shares our enthusiasm for this to happen.”
He warned that the treaty would entail tough negotiations, including jurisdiction issues and import duties. “There will be complexity to come,” he said. “We may end up with a deal on the movement of people but not goods.”
Picardo had long advocated for Gibraltar to join the Schengen area of abolished border controls – a move that would establish closer ties between the British overseas territory and the EU just as Britain left the bloc.
On Thursday he defended the idea, even as he acknowledged that it would allow nationals from Spain and other countries that were part of the Schengen area to cross freely into Gibraltar while those arriving from the UK would be subject to passport controls.
“This is the beginning of us building a stronger relationship with the European Union and with our neighbour Spain, in a way that doesn’t in any way cleave us away from the United Kingdom, which is our principal relationship,” said Picardo.
In the 2016 referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. Still, the territory had come incredibly close to crashing out without a deal, noted Picardo. “The alternative is that, in about eight hours from now, without these arrangements, Gibraltar would be the only part of the European continent that would be suffering a hard Brexit.”
The UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, hailed the UK’s “warm and strong relationship with Spain” in a statement, noting that the agreement would now seek to be formalised. “In the meantime, all sides are committed to mitigating the effects of the end of the transition period on Gibraltar, and in particular ensure border fluidity, which is clearly in the best interests of the people living on both sides.”
Despite ceding Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, Spain has long sought to reclaim the tiny territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula.
On Thursday, Gibraltar and Spain stressed that the deal did not impinge upon their respective sovereignty claims. “There are no aspects of the framework that has been agreed that in any way transgress Gibraltar’s positions on sovereignty, jurisdiction or control,” said Picardo, echoing earlier remarks by González Laya. | Sign Agreement | December 2020 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Alassane Ouattara is inaugurated as President of the Ivory Coast. | Alassane Ouattara has been inaugurated as the president of Ivory Coast in the capital, Yamoussoukro, after months of violence and political turmoil.
The ceremony was attended by many African heads of state, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Mr Ouattara thanked the international community for its support and said the will of the people had triumphed.
He said the day represented a "historic moment" for the people of Ivory Coast.
He said: "This day is, for all Ivorians, the start of an era that marks our common will to write a new page in the history of our country. The grave crisis that Ivory Coast went through... is now behind us.
"This has been achieved by the victory of democracy, in other words respecting democracy and the will of the Ivorian people."
Mr Ouattara won the November presidential election but was prevented from taking office after incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to give up power. Mr Gbagbo was arrested last month after a military raid on the presidential compound where he had based himself. He and the former first lady are under house arrest awaiting trial, as are many of his ministers and advisers.
Hundreds of civilians died in the fighting that erupted after both men declared themselves the winner of the poll. Representatives from across the political spectrum were invited to the inauguration, including members of Mr Gbagbo's party.
The BBC's Barbara Plett said the ceremony was designed to reinforce Mr Ouattara's legitimacy as president after a violent power struggle with Mr Gbagbo, and to symbolise the beginning of a reconciliation process regarded as key to the country's recovery.
She adds that Mr Ouattara is keenly aware that he won only a little more than half the vote, and the presidential stand-off reignited festering ethnic tensions, with human rights groups accusing both sides of killings, rape and other crimes. Mr Ouattara, who took the oath of office two weeks ago, has promised to promote reconciliation in the country.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | May 2011 | ['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
Egypt's interim foreign minister Nabil al–Arabi vows to permanently open the country's Rafah Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip, branding the Mubarak regime's support for the previous blockade and assisting of Israel in implementing it as "disgraceful". | Egypt says it will open its Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on a permanent basis. The interim Foreign Minister, Nabil al-Arabi, said the blockade would be eased over the next few days. He described the support of the previous Egyptian government for the blockade as disgraceful. The blockade was imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza, four years ago. Israel says it is necessary to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.
The announcement marks a significant shift in the foreign policy of Egypt. Under former President Mubarak the Egyptian government opposed the Hamas administration in Gaza and helped Israel to enforce the blockade.
The blockade of Gaza was a very controversial policy. It was widely viewed as a form of collective punishment of the population of the strip because of the hardships it caused. The International Committee of the Red Cross said in 2010 that the blockade was a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The current Egyptian government may only be an interim one, but it is implementing the greatest shift in Egypt's foreign policy for three decades, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Cairo. Under Mr Mubarak Egypt strongly upheld its unpopular peace treaty with Israel, and opposed Hamas in the internal Palestinian power-struggle.
The new government, though, has already helped broker a reconciliation agreement between the two Palestinian factions. The Rafah crossing is the only entry and exit point into Gaza that bypasses Israel. This decision will alarm Israel, which has already condemned the deal with Hamas, our correspondent says. Egypt is also talking about repairing its frosty relations with Iran, and upgrading ties with African countries which share its dependence on the waters of the River Nile. A recent opinion poll showed most Egyptian respondents in favour of ending the peace treaty with Israel - but the new government has said on many occasions that it will honour existing international agreements. | Government Policy Changes | April 2011 | ['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
Six current and former Gold Coast Titans players are charged with supplying cocaine including Greg Bird, Dave Taylor, Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling and Kalifa Faifai Loa with all players stood down for the coming Australian National Rugby League season. , | A TOTAL of five Titans and one former Titans player have now been named as part of a Crime and Corrupton Commission investigation into the supply of cocaine.
Greg Bird, Dave Taylor, Kalifa Fafai, Jamie Dowling and former player Joe Vickery have all been given notices to appear in court next month in relation to supplying cocaine for personal use or on-supplying cocaine to friends and colleagues between August and December last year.
Titans CEO Graham Annseley fronted a media pack in Evandale this afternoon to discuss the matter and how it would impact on the club.
He made it clear that the three players named today, like Falloon and Dowling, who were charged on Friday, would be stood down immediately.
THE lawyer representing four Titans players and a former player charged with supplying and possessing cocaine said his clients denied any wrong doing and would vigorously defend all charges.
Campbell MacCallum is representing State of Origin stars Greg Bird and Dave Taylor, Kalifa Fafai and Jamie Dowling and former player Joe Vickery.
“We believe that the allegations the police are making are that my clients have been involved in supplying and possessing to themselves small amounts of recreational cocaine,” Mr MacCallum said.
“I must say in relation to that, all four or five of those clients emphatically deny that they have any involvement in the distribution of cocaine.
“None of them have been found with any cocaine in their possession, none have been seen or alleged to have been seen supplying any member of the public with any cocaine.
“Each and every one of those that have been charged with the offences
will definitely be defending those in court.
“We’re very confident that we will be successful in that defence.”
A solitary Graham Annesley was left to face a media pack at Evandale this afternoon after the three players were given notices today to appear in court over drug related charges.
“The three players involved will also be immediately stood down from all playing and training duties,” Mr Annesley said.
“Whilst all these players are entitled to a presumption of innocence in the courts until they have the opportunity to defend the charges the club intends to run a separate contractual process.”
Annesley did not deny that the players involved may face sacking over the incidents but stressed that Titans officials did not have the information to make a decision on the players’ fates.
TITANS stars Greg Bird and Dave Taylor have been stood down while a drug investigation is ongoing.
Club CEO Graham Annesley just announced the two high-profile players would sit out the season until there charges are finalised.
Bird and Taylor join other current Titan Kalifa Faifai Loa and former player Jamie Vickery who were also charged this afternoon.
Faifai Loa will also be stood down.
It follows a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation which also led to now Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt being charged with cocaine supply along with Titans Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling.
News of Bird and Taylor’s alleged involvement came as the Titans’ key management team and board members were locked in a meeting this afternoon.
A frustrated Mr Annesley said this afternoon that the legal case was damaging to the club.
“There is no question ... it was damaging on Friday,” he said.
“It is more damaging today.”
Mr Annesley admitted to having to rely on the media for details of the case in the past few days.
He claimed the team, while having nowhere to train from tomorrow, had strong support from the NRL that would ensure its future.
The club issued a statement later quoting Mr Annesley saying that while the players were entitled to the presumption of innocence, they would need to explain themselves in front of the Titans board.
“ ... Given the serious nature of the charges against the players and the reputational damage caused to the club, we will require all of the charged players to appear before the Titans board to explain why action should not be taken by the club under the provisions of their playing contracts,” he said.
GOLD Coast Titans and State of Origin stars Greg Bird and Dave Taylor are the latest players to be issued with notices to appear in relation to a cocaine investigation, according to legal sources.
The Bulletin has been told the two senior players will face Southport Magistrates Court in coming days on the matters.
GOLD Coast Titans management is locked in a meeting preparing for at least two more of their players to become embroiled in the drugs scandal that’s crushing the club.
The Bulletin can reveal two of the club’s highest-profile players are being interviewed with the view of being charged in relation to the cocaine crisis that’s rocked the sport.
This comes on the back of winger Kalifa Faifai Loa and ex-Titan Joe Vickery being charged today.
The Gold Coast club was blindsided on Friday when it emerged reigning player of the year Beau Falloon and utility Jamie Dowling were charged on Thursday night with supplying cocaine.
Four figures related to the club, including three current players, have now been charged.
The Titans arrived at Gold Coast Airport at 12.30pm from Cairns where they lost a trial match 30-10 to North Queensland last night.
About 10 Titans fans greeted the team with loud cheers while attempting to block the view of cameras from the waiting media contingent.
TITANS board members have arrived for a Sunday afternoon crisis meeting.
CEO Graham Annesley and Chairwoman Rebecca Frizelle walked in to the meeting at Evandale council building about 1.30pm.
Mr Annesley said it was just a management meeting and would not comment on what would be discussed.
“We are not meeting with the players, it’s just a management meeting,” he said.
Paul Donovan turned up a few minutes later saying he had no details of how long the meeting would take. Darryl Kelly was the last to arrive after flying in from Cairns for the meeting.
Mr Annesley said the board would comment after the meeting.
TWO more Titans players have been connected to the cocaine crisis engulfing the NRL club.
Outside back Kalifa Faifai Loa and former squad member Joe Vickery have both been served with notices to appear in court over the scandal.
Titans players arrived back on the Gold Coast this morning, and are heading to a crisis meeting at Bundall.
Most refused to comment as they left the airport.
FANS have gathered at Gold Coast Airport to meet the embattled Gold Coast Titans, who have just landed at Coolangatta on a flight from Cairns.
Up to seven Gold Coast Titans players are understood to be embroiled in a cocaine supply scandal which has rocked the club.
Titans player of the year Beau Falloon and utility Jamie Dowling were stood down from the club yesterday after it was revealed the pair had been charged with supplying cocaine.
The two players combined are facing 11 counts of supplying a dangerous drug.
Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt has also been charged with supplying cocaine with the trio set to face court next month.
The scandal has left the club homeless and searching for a training paddock just 14 days from the start of the NRL season after they decided to leave elite college The Southport School after news of the charges broke.
The Bulletin understands TSS was under immense pressure from irate parents and stakeholders to cut ties with the Titans in wake of the scandal.
Up to five other players are understood to be under investigation.
The charges follow a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into a cocaine trafficking syndicate operating in southeast Queensland.
The league stars were allegedly busted by the CCC contacting the syndicate to arrange for the supply of cocaine.
The CCC will allege the players were supplying cocaine for personal use or to on-supply cocaine to friends and colleagues between June and December last year.
Titans CEO Graham Annesley, who wasn’t aware of the charges until media reports yesterday, said it was a “black day” in the history of the club.
He said it was disappointing it took so long for the matters to be raised with the club.
“It is a bit like banging your head against a brick wall at times and it’s very difficult to keep fronting up and talking about these sorts of matters,” he said.
Mr Annesley said he didn’t know whether other players were involved in the scandal.
Falloon, Hunt and Dowling have been served notices to appear and the matter will first be mentioned in the Southport Magistrates Court on March 5.
Falloon, of Mermaid Waters, has been charged with four counts of supplying cocaine while a 22-year-old woman from the same suburb has been charged with two counts of supply.
Dowling, who lives at Burleigh Waters, has been charged with seven counts of possession and two counts of supply.
Former Gold Coast Suns turned Queensland Reds player Hunt, 28, has been charged with four counts of supply.
Dowling’s solicitor Campbell MacCallum said he’d spoken at length to his client who was “obviously distressed at the allegations”.
“He is distressed about the club’s decision to stand him down but he certainly understands from the club’s point of view,” Mr MacCallum said.
“They need to be seen taking action when such criminal charges are being alleged against one of their players.”
Mr MacCallum said Dowling intended to defend the charges in court.
Criminal lawyer Chris Nyst confirmed he would be representing Titans forward Beau Falloon who was yesterday served with a notice to appear.
“As yet police have not been able to provide us with particulars of what’s been alleged,” Mr Nyst said.
“We’re given to understand it relates to alleged relatively minor drug use unrelated to Mr Falloon’s football activities.”
Mr Nyst said the matter would come before the Southport Magistrates Court on March 5 and he hoped to have more detail then.
The recent spate of drug charges adds to an already appalling year for rugby league stars past and present. Former NRL players Matt Seers and Jason Smith were arrested last month on drug charges.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | February 2015 | ['(Gold Coast Bulletin)', '(AAP via Sportsfan)'] |
A match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore is postponed amidst a breach of the IPL's biosecure bubble as Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, as well as a senior coach, all tested positive for COVID-19. | The Indian Premier League’s biosecure bubbles have been breached, with two players and a senior coach testing positive for Covid-19, raising further questions over this year’s tournament which is being played out against a backdrop of humanitarian disaster.As Covid continues to rampage through India, with more than 368,000 new cases recorded on Sunday, Monday’s fixture between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challenges Bangalore was postponed after two KKR players, Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, tested positive for the virus.
The two bowlers became the first players to record positive tests since this year’s competition began and players were restricted to secure locations. They were quickly followed by reports that the chief executive of the Chennai Super Kings, Kasi Viswanathan, and the team’s bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji, had also been found positive.
Chakravarthy and Warrier were isolating from their teammates on Monday night pending the results of a second round of testing. The rest of the KKR players are now to be tested daily in the hope that the team can fulfil their next fixture, scheduled to be against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Greater uncertainty surrounds the Super Kings, however, with Indian media reports suggesting a second test had confirmed Balaji’s positive result. He was in the CSK dugout during the team’s last match, Saturday’s defeat by Mumbai Indians.
IPL rules require close contacts of anyone testing positive to isolate for six days and produce three negative test results before returning to action. CSK are currently scheduled to play on both Wednesday and Friday before the IPL moves en masse from its current bases in Ahmedabad and Delhi to Bengalaru and Kolkata on Sunday. With more movement likely to heighten the risk of infections, there are fears that more cancellations could follow.
The IPL has received criticism for continuing to play while more than 3,000 people a day are currently dying from the virus in India. Concerns over the feasibility of finishing the tournament by the intended final date of 31 May are also rising but reports suggest that the Board of Control for Cricket in India are not considering alterations to the tournament at present.
Eleven English players are taking part in this year’s competition, including England’s one-day captain Eoin Morgan, who is a teammate of Chakravarthy and Warrier at KKR. While India is on the UK’s travel red list, elite sportspeople are offered exemptions and on Monday the England and Wales Cricket Board said it would not be calling on players to come home.
“We continue to monitor and communicate with our players and staff currently in India”, a spokesperson said. “In terms of continued participation, it will be a decision that will be taken by each individual. We acknowledge these are challenging times and our thoughts are with the people of India.” | Sports Competition | May 2021 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
At least 39 people are killed in clashes between rival communities in Kenya. | At least 32 killed and several wounded in clashes between communities along Tana Delta region in country’s southeast.
At least 32 people have been killed and several wounded in an attack on a village in southeast Kenya, where deadly tribal violence erupted last summer, the Kenyan Red Cross has said.
“Unknown people raided Kipao village at dawn and unleashed terror,” a police officer said on Friday.
An earlier report had put the death toll at six.
Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Kenya’s Central Province, said the victims include at least five children, five women and 10 men. Some of the attackers were also reportedly killed.
Another 16 people were airlifted for treatment, she said.
In August and September more than 100 people were killed in violence between rival communities along the Tana river – the Orma who are herders and the Pokomo who are mainly farmers.
According to police sources, tensions between the two communities have risen in the past few days during a disarmament operation.
Aggrey Adoli, the Coast Provincial Police chief, confirmed the attack but declined to give a death toll.
“This is a remote and arid area,” Al Jazeera’s Moshiri said. “It’s part of the reason the two ethnic groups have clashed in the past.”
With elections set on March 2013, there are fears that the violence could spill over, she said.
“This violence is extremely worrying for Kenya right now,” Moshiri said. | Riot | December 2012 | ['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
The Catalan parliament elects hard-line separatist Quim Torra to become the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia after obtaining 66 votes in favor, 65 against and four abstentions. | Catalonia's parliament has sworn in a new separatist leader who has pledged to continue the region's battle for independence from Spain. Catalan MPs elected Quim Torra, 55, as president by the narrowest of margins - 66 votes to 65.
The vote had been blocked for nearly five months - yet it remains unclear when Spain will lift its direct rule over Catalonia.
Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has offered talks with Mr Torra.
The prosperous region has been under Madrid's direct rule since the Catalan separatists held a referendum in October and declared independence unilaterally - moves declared illegal by Spain.
Separatist leader Carles Puigdemont and five of his allies fled Spain during the crackdown and remain in self-imposed exile. Four others are in pre-trial detention, and 25 in total face charges of rebellion, sedition and corruption.
Addressing the parliament on Monday, Mr Torra said "Carles Puigdemont is our president".
He said he would "implement the mandate from the October referendum". He said his new government would "build an independent state in the form of a republic".
Unionist leader Ines Arrimadas of the anti-independence Ciudadanos party called Mr Torra a mere "puppet for Puigdemont". Mr Puigdemont nominated Quim Torra on Thursday as a candidate for Catalan president, in a video from his self-imposed exile in Berlin.
Mr Torra has been criticised by opponents for writing what some have called an inflammatory article in 2012, in which he said some Catalans from Spanish-speaking backgrounds were "animals in human form who spew out hate".
Mr Torra worked as an executive for a multi-national insurance company, before he entered politics by joining the pro-independence civil society pressure group Òmnium Cultural. | Government Job change - Election | May 2018 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
Marchers march in a dozen Spanish cities, including thousands in Madrid, to support Judge Baltasar Garzón who has been told he may face a trial for launching an inquiry into the acts of General Francisco Franco. Falange arranges a smaller protest in Madrid in opposition to Garzón. | Marches are being held across Spain in support of a high-profile judge accused of overreaching his powers by launching an inquiry into the Franco regime.
In 2008, Baltasar Garzon opened the probe - later shelved - into atrocities committed during the four-decade rule of General Francisco Franco. A magistrate has ruled that the judge had acted without jurisdiction, and he now faces the prospect of a trial. Protests took place in a dozen cities and thousands gathered in Madrid. There was also a small anti-Garzon protest in the capital by members of the fascist Falange Espanola, which supported the Franco regime. The case against Mr Garzon followed complaints by several Spanish right-wing groups. They claimed he had knowingly exceeded his official remit in launching an investigation into tens of thousands of disappearances during Spain's 1936-1939 Civil War and under the Franco regime that followed. 'Artificial arguments'
Mr Garzon had ordered the immediate exhumation of civil war-era mass graves.
In February, Supreme Court investigating magistrate Luciano Varela ruled that Mr Garzon had ignored a 1977 amnesty that covers crimes committed during the civil war. The amnesty law pardoned politically motivated crimes committed by both sides. By guaranteeing that the past would not be raked over, it underpinned Spain's delicate transition from dictatorship to democracy, correspondents say. Mr Garzon appealed against the ruling. But earlier this month, Mr Varela asserted that Mr Garzon had been aware of his lack of jurisdiction due to the amnesty law. "Conscious of his lack of jurisdiction... he constructed artificial arguments to justify his control of the penal proceedings," he said in a written ruling. Mr Garzon, who is highly popular among the Spanish political left and international human rights campaigners, has strongly denied that he broke the law. But some on the right accuse Mr Garzon of launching cases that are politically motivated. Mr Garzon is famous for targeting international figures including Augusto Pinochet and Osama Bin Laden. | Protest_Online Condemnation | April 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(CBC)'] |
Protests against American president-elect Donald Trump continue in his hometown New York City. | Thousands of demonstrators filled public squares, parks and streets in the country’s three largest cities on Saturday to protest President-elect Donald J. Trump, part of a wave of dissent that has swelled since the presidential contest last week.
They were transgender people, the children of immigrants, and parents toting infants on their back. They were families, students, and men and women of all ages and races. Many carried cardboard signs — “Show the world what the popular vote looks like,” read one, “Putin Won,” said another. As throngs marched through city streets, the participants joined in a cry of “Not my president!”
Thousands have turned out to protest in at least 52 cities across the United States in the days since the vote.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | November 2016 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
Authorities in Brandenburg, Germany, cull 14,000 turkeys due to an outbreak of H5N8 bird flu on a farm in the Uckermark area. | HAMBURG (Reuters) - An outbreak of bird flu on farm in the eastern German state of Brandenburg has forced authorities to begin slaughtering about 14,000 turkeys, the state government said on Wednesday, reporting the third outbreak there in recent weeks.
Type H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a farm in the Uckermark area, the Brandenburg state government said.
A series of outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in Germany and elsewhere in Europe in past months with wild birds suspected to be spreading the disease.
Sweden planned to cull around 1.3 million chickens after bird flu was found on a farm in the country, Swedens Board of Agriculture said on Jan. 25.
Risk to humans from the disease is considered low, but past outbreaks among farm birds have resulted in extensive slaughtering programmes to contain the spread.
| Disease Outbreaks | February 2021 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Icelandic voters elect 30 women to parliament, the most ever for the island nation. Voter turnout was under 80 percent, the lowest ever. | Birgitta Jonsdottir of Iceland's Pirate Party speaks to the media after her party won 10 seats in Parliament. Women now hold nearly half of the seats in the country's Parliament.
Frank Augstein/AP
Birgitta Jonsdottir of Iceland's Pirate Party speaks to the media after her party won 10 seats in Parliament. Women now hold nearly half of the seats in the country's Parliament.
If they were a political party, women would need only two more seats to form a majority government in Iceland, after winning a record 30 seats in this weekend's national elections. Voter turnout was just under 80 percent — local media say that's a record low for Iceland.
With female candidates winning nearly half (48 percent) of the 63 seats, Iceland now has the "most equal Parliament in the world" without a quota system, according to the country's Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
For comparison, in the U.S. women currently make up nearly 20 percent of Congress. Worldwide, Nordic countries lead the way in electing women to legislatures, with an average of more than 41 percent, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson — whose Progressive Party finished a distant fourth — resigned after the results became clear. Iceland now faces the daunting task of assembling a three-party coalition, six months after its political scene was thrown into chaos by revelations that Johannsson's predecessor had hidden millions of dollars in off-shore accounts while Iceland weathered a deep financial crisis.
One of the most famous female politicians in Iceland is Birgitta Jónsdóttir, whose Pirate Party more than tripled its seats. Like its namesakes in Sweden, Norway, and elsewhere, the four-year-old party stands for online freedoms, direct democracy and transparency. Ahead of Saturday's vote, the Pirates had captured both momentum and headlines. But the Pirates faded a bit at the finish, and their unique party platform could make the party a tough fit for a coalition government.
Iceland's Parliament is called the Althing, an anglicized form of the Alþingi. According to final election results quoted by Iceland Review, five parties drew support of more than 10 percent:
As the Two-Way's Scott Neuman reported when Iceland became the first country to elect Pirate Party MPs back in 2013, the new members of Parliament included "a WikiLeaks volunteer, a university student and a computer programmer."
The national vote comes six months after the Panama Papers — a database of millions of documents that detail secret financial dealings — sparked scandals in Iceland and other countries. Then-Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned his post just days after information about off-shore tax accounts was made public.
While advocates for women's equality in Iceland will likely welcome Saturday's election results, they're still working on another common problem: gender pay equity. Last Monday, Icelandic unions and activists urged female workers to leave their jobs at 2:38 p.m. — to reflect the time after which they're working for free, when compared to their male counterparts. | Government Job change - Election | October 2016 | ['(NPR)', '(New York)'] |
Sixteen people are killed in northern Nigeria as demonstrators protest the cartoons by storming and burning Christian churches and businesses. | LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Sixteen people were killed and 11 churches were burned Saturday in Nigeria as part of the continuing violence over cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammed. The violence comes a day after at least 10 people were killed in Libya and another in Pakistan, where five deaths have been reported in the past week.
Demonstrations and skirmishes broke out Saturday in the Muslim-dominated northern Nigerian cities of Maiduguri and Katsina. The cities also have significant Christian populations.
Maiduguri bore the brunt of Saturday's violence. Fifteen people were killed, 11 churches were burned and 115 people were arrested there, a national police spokesman said. There also were reports of attacks on businesses owned by Christians. In Katsina, one person was killed, two police officers were injured and 25 were arrested, a police spokesman said. The Nigerian army was en route to the region late Saturday to assist police in keeping the peace, and the northern Nigerian state of Borno was considering imposing a curfew.
A Danish newspaper first published the cartoons in September, but protests over the caricatures -- one of which depicts the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb -- have escalated in recent weeks after several other publications, mostly European, reprinted the drawings. Muslims consider depictions of Mohammed blasphemous.
Though demonstrations on the continent have been commonplace in recent weeks, Friday's demonstrations in Libya brought the first reports of widespread violence in Africa. (Watch how protests in Libya turned deadly -- 1:49)
Protesters torched the Italian consulate in the port city of Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city. "It was peaceful, then it became violent," said Francesco Trupiano, Italy's ambassador to Libya. Though Trupiano speculated that the consulate was targeted because it was the only Western consulate in Benghazi, many of the protesters said they were angry because Italian Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli recently flaunted a T-shirt displaying one of the controversial cartoons on Italian state TV.
Calderoli stepped down from his post Saturday under mounting pressure, including from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who asked him to resign.
In an attempt to stem the violence that has led to five deaths in Pakistan in the past week, the government arrested leaders of the country's religious six-party alliance and some 200 other members of the right-wing Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or MMA. The MMA had planned to march on the capital, Islamabad, on Sunday to protest the cartoon, but the Pakistani government is sealing off the city to buses and vans as a precaution. As the sun was rising Sunday, police and paramilitary forces raided the homes of the MMA'S top two leaders and detained them, police sources said. Officials now are concerned that MMA supporters could clash with police over the detentions. Violent protests have rumbled through cities across Pakistan in the past five days. Pakistan announced Saturday it would not permit the march to take place.
An angry but peaceful protest in the British capital Saturday drew more than 15,000 people to Trafalgar Square. They prayed before marching through Hyde Park. Many carried placards.
"Europe lacks respect for others," stated one placard. "Don't they teach manners in Denmark?" asked another.
There were no arrests or reports of violence Taji Mustafa, a spokesman for the Muslim Action Committee, said the protests are sparked by the Muslim people's reverence for the prophet.
"So when he is demonized, the young and old are deeply affected," Mustafa said. "As long as the abuse is ongoing we will continue to rise up in protest." The general anger over the cartoons was stoked when several newspapers reprinted the cartoons and by Calderoli revealing the T-shirt on television, he said.
Mustafa added that the cartoons were reminiscent of attacks on Jews in European publications in the 1930s. "Now there is a demonization of the Muslim community, so we have to speak up to prevent something like the Holocaust from happening," he said. | Protest_Online Condemnation | February 2006 | ['(CNN)'] |
Gennady Yanayev, who briefly declared himself to be the President of the Soviet Union in the August Coup of 1991 that deposed Mikhail Gorbachev, dies in Russia. | Former Soviet Vice-President Gennady Yanayev, who led an abortive coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991, has died in a Moscow hospital aged 73.
Russia's Communist Party said he had died on Friday after a lengthy illness.
Yanayev famously appeared at a news conference with shaking hands to announce he was replacing Mr Gorbachev.
The 12-member State Emergency Committee held power for only three days but the coup was widely seen to have hastened the fall of the Soviet Union.
Mr Gorbachev was on holiday in the Crimea, in Ukraine, when the group announced it was seizing power, with Vice-President Yanayev becoming president.
They said Mr Gorbachev was "very tired after all these years" and would "need some time to get better".
Yanayev - and the other coup leaders - were all arrested when the coup failed, but he was pardoned in 1994.
Russia marks coup's 10th anniversary
1991: Hardliners stage coup against Gorbachev
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.
The ethnic armies training Myanmar's protesters. VideoThe ethnic armies training Myanmar's protesters
Tokyo Olympics: No fans is 'least risky' option
Asia's Covid stars struggle with exit strategies
Why residents of these paradise islands are furious
The Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care. VideoThe Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care
Troubled US teens left traumatised by tough love camps
Why doesn't North Korea have enough food?
Le Pen set for regional power with eye on presidency
How the Delta variant took hold in the UK. VideoHow the Delta variant took hold in the UK | Famous Person - Death | September 2010 | ['(AP via Google News)', '(BBC)', '(Reuters via Gulf News)'] |
Thai troops retreat after thousands of "red shirt" protesters demand fresh elections. | BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of Thai protesters surrounded the office of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday, raising fears of a confrontation after repeated threats to expel troops guarding Bangkok’s old city.
Red-shirted demonstrators seeking new elections pulled down barricades and threatened to force their way into the heavily guarded Government House compound. Neither Abhisit nor his government were present.
After negotiations with security chiefs, the protesters returned to their encampment, fearing Abhisit would declare a state of emergency that would allow security forces to break up their mass rally.
“We don’t want them to use this as a reason to impose an emergency decree,” Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader, said. He had earlier said the demonstrators had reached “breaking point.”
The “red shirts” back twice-elected former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and have taken aim at the military and so-called bureaucratic elites they say are meddling in politics and conspired to overthrow Thaksin in 2006.
Their fiery rhetoric represents a more confrontational approach and a level of brinkmanship not seen in the two weeks of peaceful rallies, which analysts say have won the protesters support but brought them no closer to toppling the government.
The lack of violence combined with Abhisit’s steadfast military backing has encouraged foreign investors lured by cheap shares with high dividend yields to pour into Thailand’s stock market in recent weeks.
On Friday, foreigners bought Thai stocks for a 24th straight session, spending a net 1.01 billion baht ($31.2 million). They have purchased about 47 billion baht ($1.5 billion) since February 22 as hot money continues to flow into regional bourses.
Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Friday capital inflows into the Thai bourse should continue for the foreseeable future, although any escalation in political tension could trigger outflows.
Anupon Sriard, an analyst at BFIT Securities said on Saturday the increased tensions were not likely to affect Thailand’s financial markets when then reopen next week.
“As long as it is peaceful enough, everything should already be priced in, unless of course, we see some violence,” he said.
Analysts say protest leaders are facing a dilemma: either maintain their non-violent approach and fail to rattle the government, or up the ante and risk sparking clashes that could cost them their gains in support and credibility.
The threat of unrest has left the city of 15 million people on edge, compounded by a slew of mysterious blasts and grenade attacks causing only minor damage. The latest came on Saturday evening when a bomb exploded near the army-run Channel 5 television, injuring two soldiers and two civilians.
Additional reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Michael Roddy
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. | Protest_Online Condemnation | March 2010 | ['(Bangkok Post)', '[permanent dead link]', '(Reuters)'] |
Former Vice President Joe Biden wins the South Carolina primary. | Joe Biden's win was helped by an endorsement from influential congressman U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, whom Biden repeatedly credited in his speech.
Joe Biden's win was helped by an endorsement from influential congressman U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, whom Biden repeatedly credited in his speech.
Updated at 10:37 p.m. ET
Joe Biden has run for president three times, and yet until Saturday, he had failed to ever win a primary or caucus.
The 77-year-old former vice president has now notched an expected yet much-needed victory in the South Carolina primary, according to The Associated Press's projection.
"Just days ago, the press and the pundits had declared his candidacy dead. Now, thanks to all of you — the heart of the Democratic Party — we just won and we've won big because of you, and we are very much alive," an energized Biden said at event with supporters in Columbia, S.C.
The crucial win has the potential to resurrect Biden's campaign after a series of poor finishes in the other early voting states (fourth place in Iowa, fifth place in New Hampshire and a distant second in Nevada).
"This result totally resets the race. The fact that Joe Biden won big — and the result was clear early in the evening during prime time in the eastern time zone — provides an enormous boost to his campaign. If Joe Biden can ultimately defeat Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, we will look back on this night as a key moment in American political history," Republican strategist Whit Ayres told NPR.
A majority of Democratic primary voters in South Carolina are African American. And pointing to polls, Biden has long insisted that he has more support from black voters than any other presidential candidate does and that the Democratic nominee will need strong backing from African American voters to win the general election.
Biden's win was not a surprise. For months, polls had shown him with a double-digit lead over his opponents, but in recent weeks, the race tightened. In a sign of how vulnerable he was, Biden campaigned exclusively in South Carolina this week, even as a number of his opponents traveled to states that will vote in coming days.
Biden also received a last-minute public endorsement from the most influential black Democrat in South Carolina politics, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn.
"I've known for a long time who I was going to vote for," Clyburn said at a press conference on Wednesday. "I'm voting for Biden. South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden."
Biden made a point to credit the congressman with injecting his campaign with a huge jolt at his post-vote event: "My buddy Jim Clyburn — you brought me back!"
Supporters cheer as the polls close for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at his primary night event in Columbia, S.C.
Supporters cheer as the polls close for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at his primary night event in Columbia, S.C.
Still, Biden's victory does not put to rest some underlying questions about the health of his campaign and his ability to translate this victory to other states.
Hours before Biden's victory was official, Clyburn was already calling for a "retooling" of his campaign.
In an interview on CNN on Saturday, he said he had earlier avoided publicly analyzing the operation because he had held off officially backing Biden. That's changed. "I'm all-in and I'm not going to sit back idly and watch people mishandle this campaign," Clyburn said.
Biden has tried to draw parallels between his campaign and that of Bill Clinton, who got a key win in the South Carolina Democratic nominating contest in 1992, en route to the presidency.
But as this year's primary season quickly turns into a national fight, with 14 states voting on Tuesday, there are questions about whether Biden has the grassroots energy or the money to compete with the likes of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Sanders is seen as the front-runner, and he has spent far more energy and resources in the states voting on Super Tuesday.
Bloomberg is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising, while competing for the same moderate voters that might be attracted to Biden's message on gun control and health care.
Minutes after television networks projected Biden as the winner, Terry McAuliffe, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Virginia, endorsed Biden on CNN. McAuliffe said it came down to "an electability issue" for him.
"I think Joe Biden has the best chance of winning Virginia in the general election," McAuliffe said.
Sanders, speaking at a rally in Virginia Beach, Va., congratulated Biden.
"I am very proud that in this campaign so far we have won the popular vote in Iowa, we have won the New Hampshire primary, we have won the Nevada caucus — but you cannot win them all," Sanders said.
Sanders said there will be other contests he doesn't win in the next round of primaries. But he reiterated his argument that the same playbook from the Democratic establishment won't work in November.
"The 'same old, same old' type of politics – that is not going to be the campaign that defeats Trump," Sanders said.
Biden didn't mention Sanders directly Saturday night, but he took a swipe at his status as an independent.
"If the Democrats want a nominee who's a Democrat — a lifelong Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat — join us," he said to voters in the upcoming primaries.
Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Ind., who was slated to finish fourth in South Carolina, campaigned in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, one of the states holding a primary on Tuesday.
He congratulated Biden on his victory, but looked ahead, saying, "I am proud of the votes we've earned and I'm determined to earn every vote on the road ahead."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another candidate who fared poorly in South Carolina, was courting voters in a state with a large prize of delegates on Super Tuesday — Texas.
At her Houston rally she argued she was a better candidate than Sanders, who she said had some good policy ideas, but can't get things done.
She also took aim at Biden, saying about the political moment: "This crisis demands more than a former vice president" who is "eager to cut deals" with Republicans.
McAuliffe urged several Democrats in the race to consider dropping out before Super Tuesday. Tom Steyer, the billionaire entrepreneur who spent over $23 million on advertising in South Carolina, ended his bid after finishing third there.
"I said if I didn't see a path to winning, that I'd suspend my campaign," Steyer told supporters, "and honestly, I can't see a path where I can win the presidency."
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was trailing in sixth place on Saturday night.
| Government Job change - Election | February 2020 | ['(NPR)'] |
At least ten people die and another 35 are wounded in a suicide attack on a hospital in Quetta. | Aftermath of the bomb blast at a hospital in Quetta
A suicide attack at a hospital in the south-west Pakistani city of Quetta has killed at least 10 people and injured 35 more, police say.
The attacker detonated a bomb in a waiting room at the Civil Hospital where people had gathered following the fatal shooting of a Shia businessman. Two police officers and a local TV cameraman were among the dead. Police say they suspect sectarian violence between the majority Sunni and minority Shia communities. In February, suspected Sunni militants carried out a double bomb attack on Shia pilgrims in the city of Karachi. The militants hit a bus carrying the pilgrims and then targeted a hospital treating the victims of the first attack, killing 33 people and injuring dozens more. Insurgency
Friday's blast happened at the entrance to the hospital's emergency ward. The cameraman was at the hospital covering the aftermath of a fatal shooting of a Shia businessman. The room was full of the man's friends and family when the bomb was detonated, said police officials. A member of parliament from the ruling Pakistan People's Party was among the wounded. Pakistan's President, Asif Ali Zardari, has condemned the incident and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. Mr Zardari said the government was determined to defeat terrorism and such gruesome acts could not deter the resolve of the nation, the agency reported. Quetta is the capital of Balochistan - Pakistan's poorest province. There have been several insurgencies by Baloch nationalists over six decades that have been brutally crushed by the military. Whereas previously Baloch nationalists demanded greater autonomy within the federation of Pakistan, today many Baloch are demanding a separate country for themselves. Quetta is also believed to be a major base for the Afghan Taliban. | Armed Conflict | April 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(The Times of India)', '(Al Jazeera)', '(Sky News)'] |
Norihiko Akagi resigns as Japan's agriculture minister after scandals involving him adversely affected the Liberal Democratic Party's performance in the Japanese House of Councillors election, 2007. | He is the latest casualty of the weekend election result that saw Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Government lose control of the Upper House of Parliament.
Norihiko Akagi has been Agriculture Minister for exactly two months, appointed after the incumbent committed suicide amidst a financial scandal.
But Mr Akagi brought controversy of his own, with questions raised about his use of office finances, and a bizarre appearance in public with facial injuries he refused to explain.
Now, three days after the Government was comprehensively defeated in an Upper House election, Mr Akagi has tendered his resignation.
"The reports about me affected the election result," he said."And it's clear it's one of the reasons why we lost."
Mr Abe says Mr Akagi will not be immediately replaced as he has already flagged a Cabinet reshuffle in response to the election result. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | August 2007 | ['(ABC News Australia)'] |
The National Society of Film Critics names contemporary western film Nomadland as the recipient of 2020's National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film. | Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” has been named the best film of 2020 by the National Society of Film Critics, which conducted its annual voting in a virtual meeting on Saturday.
The film starring Frances McDormand as a woman who takes the road after falling on hard economic times won a narrow victory over Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” scoring 52 points to 50 for the runner-up. Zhao also won the Best Director award in a wide margin over Steve McQueen (“Small Axe”) and Reichardt, while McDormand won the best-actress award and cinematographer Joshua James Richards won in his category as well.
The best-actor award went to Delroy Lindo for “Da 5 Bloods” in a narrow victory over Chadwick Boseman for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” McDormand’s runner-up was Viola Davis, also from “Ma Rainey.”
In the supporting categories, the NSFC went with more unexpected winners in Maria Bakalova for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and Paul Raci for “Sound of Metal.”
Also Read: Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' Series Named Best Picture of 2020 by LA Film Critics
The screenplay award went to writer-director Eliza Hittman for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always.”
The documentary “Time” won the award for best nonfiction film, and another doc, the Romanian film “Collective,” was given the award as the year’s best foreign-language film.
This year, in a rule change prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, any film that opened in 2020 in theaters or on streaming platforms was eligible for awards.
The National Society of Film Critics consists of 60 critics from around the country, though a handful opted not to vote if they hadn’t seen enough films. The organization was established in 1966 and for much of its history has made more idiosyncratic choices for its top awards than Oscar voters have.
Last year’s choice of “Parasite” was only the eighth time in 54 years that the NSFC and Oscars agreed on the year’s best film — but four of those eight matches have come in the last 11 years, with “The Hurt Locker,” “Spotlight,” “Moonlight” and “Parasite.” Other recent winners have included “The Rider,” “Lady Bird,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Amour” and Jean-Luc Godard’s “Goodbye to Language.”
Also Read: New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Chadwick Boseman, Maria Bakalova, Delroy Lindo Win Acting Prizes
The win for “Nomadland” gives Zhao two NSFC best-picture wins in the last three years, after “The Rider” in 2018. The second win ties her with Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, Mike Leigh, David Lynch and Lars von Trier for the second-most wins ever. (Ingmar Bergman has the most, with three.)
Voting was conducted in a weighted ballot system in which members rank their top three choices. The balloting continues for as many rounds as necessary until one film receives the most points and is mentioned on a majority of ballots.
The awards, with point totals:
Best Picture: “Nomadland” (52 points)
Runners-up: “First Cow” (50); “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (41)
Best Director: Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland” (58)
Runners-up: Steve McQueen, “Small Axe” (41); Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (30)
Best Actor: Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods” (52)
Runners-up: Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (47); Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal” (32)
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (46)
Runners-up: Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (33); Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (29)
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal” (53)
Runners-up: Glynn Turman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (36); Chadwick Boseman, “Da 5 Bloods” (35)
Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (47)
Runners-up: Amanda Seyfried, “Mank” (40); Youn Yuh-jung, “Minari” (33)
Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (38)
Runners-up: Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (35); Charlie Kaufman, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” (29)
Best Cinematography: Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland” (47)
Runners-up: Shabier Kirchner, “Lovers Rock” (41); Leonardo Simoes, “Vitalina Varela” (34)
Best Foreign-Language Film: “Collective” (38)
Runners-up: “Bacurau” (36), “Beanpole” (36), “Vitalina Varela” (32)
Best Nonfiction Film: “Time” (46)
Runners-up: “City Hall” (28); “Collective” (22)
Film Heritage Award: Women Make Movies
Film Heritage Award: Film Comment
Film Heritage Award: The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA | Awards ceremony | January 2021 | ['(The Wrap)'] |
Houthi forces claim to have shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Yemeni capital Sana'a. Footage released by Saba News Agency appears to show crowds gathering around the wreckage of an aircraft. | DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen’s Houthi forces shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the capital Sanaa on Sunday, the Houthi-controlled state news agency SABA reported.
The Houthi movement and its ally former president Ali Abdullah Saleh control much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, and are battling a Saudi-led coalition that is trying to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The United States backs the Saudi-led coalition by providing it with intelligence and weapons.
“A military source said (Houthi) air defense shot down a U.S. MQ-9 surveillance drone in Jader area in the Sanaa province,” SABA reported.
A Reuters photographer said the drone came down at around 11 am local time in a crowded area on the outskirts of the capital, but there were no reports of any casualties.
The charred wreckage of the aircraft was carried out by the Houthis aboard a Toyota pickup truck.
The Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen’s civil war. It began in March 2015 when the Houthis advanced on Hadi’s interim headquarters in the southern port city of Aden, forcing him to flee the country and seek Saudi help.
The war has caused a humanitarian disaster in the country, where more than two million people have been displaced while around 750,000 are suspected to have been infected with cholera. | Armed Conflict | October 2017 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Both Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Marriott International shareholders approve Marriott's acquisition of Starwood, which will create the world's largest hotelier. The deal has cleared the pre–merger antitrust reviews in the United States and Canada; approvals from the European Union and China is pending. Last week, Anbang Insurance Group topped Marriott's bid, then withdrew their offer three days later. | (Reuters) - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc HOT.N and Marriott International Inc MAR.O said on Friday the stockholders of the companies voted to approve Marriott's acquisition of Starwood to create the world's largest hotel company. Holders of more than 97 percent of Marriott shares and over 95 percent of Starwood shares voted in favor of the cash-and-stock deal, which was valued at $12.41 billion as of Thursday.
China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co last week abandoned its $14 billion offer for Starwood Hotels, clearing the way for Marriott to buy the owner of Sheraton and Westin hotel brands.
Marriott raised the cash portion of its offer to $21 per share on March 21 from $2 per share, valuing the total bid at $73.42 per share as of Thursday.
Marriott said the deal was on track to close mid-2016.
“Our teams continue to plan the integration of our two companies,” Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said.
The deal has cleared the pre-merger antitrust review in the United States and Canada and awaits approvals in the European Union and China.
Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian
| Organization Merge | April 2016 | ['(Reuters)', '(UPI)'] |
A South Korean deep sea trawler sinks in the Southern Ocean two thousand kilometres south of New Zealand with at least five people dead and seventeen missing. | Seventeen fishermen are missing in icy waters following the sinking of a South Korean vessel in the Southern Ocean.
At least five of the 42-man crew died and 20 were rescued after the deep-sea trawler went down about 2,000km (1,250 miles) south of New Zealand.
Rescuers have scaled back the search, saying it was unlikely that any of those missing would survive for long.
The crew included nationals from South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia.
South Korea's foreign ministry said the 614-tonne ship, the Number One In Sung, sank at around 0430 South Korean time on Monday (1930 GMT on Sunday).
Twenty sailors were rescued by another fishing boat operating nearby, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
New Zealand rescuers said it was not clear why the boat sank. Conditions were calm and no SOS was sent. Survival times in the water in the area would be about 10 minutes without life-jackets or immersion suits, rescuers said after scaling back the search.
"It (is) becoming increasingly unlikely further survivors (will) be found," rescue controller Dave Wilson told AFP news agency.
Ross Henderson, a spokesperson for Maritime New Zealand, earlier said all vessels in the remote area had been told to go to the site to help search for survivors after the incident was reported. A helicopter was also sent to the area, he said.
| Shipwreck | December 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Yonhap)', '(CNN)'] |
Morocco and the Polisario Front agree to United Nations sponsored talks about the future of Western Sahara. | The UN Security Council said it had asked both sides in the 32-year-old dispute to negotiate unconditionally.
Morocco's sovereignty over the mineral-rich region is contested by Polisario, an Algerian-backed separatist movement.
The former Spanish colony was annexed by Morocco after Madrid left in 1975.
"We want negotiations to start unconditionally and I am happy that all sides have agreed to do that," US Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad told reporters.
Self-determination
But he said both sides had accepted the resolution, which also renewed the mandate of the 220-strong UN peacekeeping force, somewhat "reluctantly".
Morocco's ambassador to the UN, El Mostafa Sahel, said the resolution brought in, "a new process of negotiation, a new way to reach a negotiated political solution of this question".
Spain's foreign ministry expressed hopes that the talks would lead to "a politically just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution that includes the self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara".
Morocco recently offered partial control to the region through its own legislative, executive and judicial institutions.
But this proposal was rejected by the Sahrawis who said they sought "the right of the people to self-determination." Western Sahara was seized by Morocco and Mauritania in 1975 after the colonial power, Spain, pulled out. Fighting erupted the following year, and Morocco took over most of the region after Mauritania withdrew in 1978. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | April 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un is to arrive in Vietnam on February 25 ahead of the second summit meeting between the two leaders on February 27–28 in Hanoi. | - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on Feb. 25 ahead of a planned second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources with direct knowledge of Kim’s schedule told Reuters on Saturday.
Trump and Kim are due to meet in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28 following their historic first meeting last June in Singapore. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday Washington aims to “get as far down the road as we can” at the summit.
Kim will meet with Vietnamese officials when he arrives in Hanoi, said the sources, who requested anonymity citing the sensitivity and secrecy surrounding the movements of the North Korean leader.
He will also visit the Vietnamese manufacturing base of Bac Ninh and the industrial port town of Hai Phong, one source said.
Vietnam’s president and general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, will meet Kim ahead of a planned trip by Trong to neighboring Laos, one of the sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
A Reuters witness saw Kim’s close aide, Kim Chang Son, in Hanoi on Saturday visiting a government guesthouse and the Metropole and Melia hotels in the center of the capital.
Reuters was first to report last month that Hanoi was preparing to receive Kim for a state visit this month.
Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has embraced economic reforms and developed close diplomatic ties with its former foe the United States, has been widely touted as a model of reform for isolated and impoverished North Korea.
The former Cold War allies, which share a similar socialist ideology and exchanged military and political support during the Vietnam War, are eyeing a new chapter in relations following Hanoi’s opening up and embrace of the West.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | February 2019 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Libya shuts off access to the Internet. | BREAKING: Col Muammar Gaddafi's government in Libya has taken a series of measures, including blocking internet … http://bbc.in/gUVJNN
— BBC Global News (@bbc_global) February 18, 2011
Both the BBC and the AFP are reporting that Muammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya has begun to block user access to Facebook in the country’s capital of Tripoli and is sporadically shutting down electricity access and access to Internet connections in the rest of the country as a response to anti-govermental protests.
Effective Measure CEO Scott Julian has confirmed to TechCrunch that Internet access in Libya is indeed restricted, but not totally cut off. Effective Measure measures analytics tags on pages like arabia.msn.com within the MENA region.
Says Julian:
“At around 10pm local time, Internet traffic dramatically dropped across the board. Whilst not completely cut off it’s clear it’s a pretty concentrated effort, which in my opinion is unlikely to be the result of a random failure.”
“The profile of the change in traffic is very similar to what we saw in Egypt, and leads one to conclude that this isn’t the result of a group of random, unconnected events. It seems some ISP’s are still up and running, which follows the same pattern as the first shutdown in Egypt.”
Twitter user Ramy Raoof says that sources in Libya have cited the Facebook blocks, but that Twitter.com is still not blocked and Internet access is not yet down. I have contacted both companies for information and will update this post as soon as they respond.
You can follow the events in Libya on Twitter at #Libya and #Benghazi.
http://twitter.com/#!/RamyRaoof/status/38728894483927040
Al Jazeera is also reporting access to its Aljazeera.net site being cut off as well as access to select Facebook opposition groups. This is reminiscent of the steps former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak took to cut off Internet access in Egypt before popular uprisings lead to his resignation.
View the BBC’s video here.
As with Egypt, Telecomix is offering a free dialup number to Libyans who are having trouble connecting. | Government Policy Changes | February 2011 | ['(TechCrunch)'] |
The Latin American TV station teleSUR, backed by the Venezuelan government, has signed a co–operation agreement with the Arabic channel al–Jazeera. | Head of Telesur Andres Izarra said his channel felt inspired by the path which al-Jazeera had taken to become a reference point in the Arab world. Telesur says it seeks to promote regional integration and offer an alternative to US networks.
Telesur is also backed by three other left-wing Latin American governments - Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay - and can be seen in more than 20 countries.
It started its first broadcast from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, last year.
Both Telesur and al-Jazeera have been criticised by politicians in the United States. The Qatar-based Arabic channel is seen by Washington as being often critical of the US, particularly in its coverage of the "war on terror". And some in the US have branded Telesur a "propaganda tool" for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is seen by the White House as an unfriendly head of state in South America. Last year, the US House of Representatives voted to enable the Bush administration to begin broadcasting its own TV signals to Venezuela. | Sign Agreement | February 2006 | ['(BBC)'] |
Meles Zenawi, the long–term Prime Minister of Ethiopia, dies of a mystery illness after not having been seen in public for weeks. | Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's long-time ruler who held tight control over this East African country but was a major U.S counter-terrorism ally, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in public for weeks, Ethiopian state television said Tuesday. He was 57.
Meles died Monday just before midnight after contracting an infection, state TV announced Tuesday. Hailemariam Desalegn, who was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in 2010, is now in charge of the Cabinet, state TV said.
Meles hadn't been seen in public for about two months. In mid-July, after Meles did not attend a meeting of heads of state of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, speculation increased that his health problems were serious.
Ethiopian officials gave no details and said the prime minister was in "very good" health and would return to office soon, but international officials said quietly it was unlikely he would recover.
State TV on Tuesday showed pictures of Meles as classical music played in the background.
Born on May 8, 1955, Meles became president in 1991 and prime minister in 1995, a position that is both the head of the federal government and armed forces.
The US has long viewed Meles as a strong security partner and has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years. US military drones that patrol East Africa especially over Somalia are stationed in Ethiopia.
Though a US ally, Ethiopia has long been criticized by human rights groups for the government's strict control. Dissent is met with a strict government response.
During Meles' election win in 2005, when it appeared the opposition was likely to make gains, Meles tightened security across the country, and on the night of the election he declared a state of emergency, outlawing any public gathering as his ruling party claimed a majority win. Opposition members accused Meles of rigging the election, and demonstrations broke out. Security forces moved in, killing hundreds of people and jailing thousands.
In 2010 Meles won another five years in office while receiving a reported 99 per cent of the vote. Meles is the longtime chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front and has always identified strongly with his party.
"I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party. Whatever achievement there might have been, it does not exist independent of that party," Meles once said when asked what he thought would be his legacy.
Meles grew up in the northern town of Adwa, where his father had 13 siblings from multiple women. He moved to the capital, Addis Ababa, on a scholarship after completing an eight-year elementary education in just five. | Famous Person - Death | August 2012 | ['(AP via New Zealand Herald)'] |
Centrist Florin Cîțu is approved by the Parliament as the new Prime Minister, succeeding acting Nicolae Ciucă. | BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s parliament on Wednesday approved a new liberal government and prime minister, keeping out of power a left-leaning populist party that won most votes at a parliamentary election earlier this month.
Some 260 lawmakers in Romania’s 465-seat, two-chamber assembly on Wednesday voted for the new government, while 186 voted against.
Former investment banker and finance minister Florin Citu become the new prime minister at a time when Romania is struggling against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.
“I assure you that I will not deceive your trust," Citu told the parliament. “We will do everything we can to achieve the two objectives: to get over the health crisis as soon as possible and to get the economy back on its feet.”
Citu had stints as an economist for the New Zealand central bank and the European Investment Bank before entering politics in 2016. He studied in the U.S.
He is from the ruling National Liberal Party (NLP) whose leader and former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban resigned in the wake of the Dec. 6 vote. Citu was backed by three more parties, giving him a majority in Romania’s two-chamber parliament.
The opposition Socialist Democratic Party (PSD) won the most votes in the election — around 30%. But it could not muster support from more than half of lawmakers in the assembly to be able to form a government.
The PSD, which held power before the current administration, has faced accusations of populism and corruption that triggered months of street protests before the NLP took over a year ago.
sk.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | December 2019 | ['(Yahoo News)'] |
A third man dies in China from the H7N9 strain of bird flu. | A third man has died in China from a new strain of bird flu not previously known in humans. The death, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, follows the death of two others in Shanghai in March. A total of nine cases of the infection have now been reported across China, according to the Xinhua news agency. It is unclear how the H7N9 strain is spread but the men in Shanghai did not infect each other or any close contacts, officials say.
A woman of 35 who caught the virus in the eastern province of Anhui is said to be critically ill. According to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, the men who died in Shanghai became ill with coughs and fevers before developing pneumonia. Commission experts said on Saturday the cause had been identified as H7N9, a strain of avian flu not thought to have been transmitted to humans before.
There is no vaccine against the strain, the commission said, adding it was currently testing to assess its ability to infect humans.
Scientists around the world who are investigating the strain suggested the virus could be hard to track because it shows no symptoms in poultry but can be fatal in humans. "We speculate that when this virus is maintained in poultry the disease will not appear... so nobody recognizes the infection in animals around them, then the transmission from animal to human may occur,'' said Dr Masato Tashiro, director of the World Health Organization's influenza research centre. The bird flu outbreak coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak that killed at least 349 people in China. Media in China have called on authorities - who were criticised for their response to Sars, to openly release information on the spread of the disease. "The H7N9 bird flu is currently approaching," Yang Yu, a commentator with state broadcaster CCTV, said in a post on his microblog. "Ten years ago, the lesson learned in fighting SARS was: The greatest enemy is not the virus, but covering up the truth; the best medicine is not steroids, but transparency and trust." Another strain of bird flu, H5N1, has led to more than 360 confirmed human deaths since 2003 and the deaths of tens of millions of birds.
The World Health Organization says that most avian flu viruses do not infect humans and the majority of H5N1 cases have been associated with contact with infected poultry.
| Disease Outbreaks | April 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
In basketball, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games to win the 2016 NBA Championship. Cleveland, winning its first NBA title in the franchise's 45–year history, also became the first NBA team to rally from a 3–1 deficit and win the crown. Tonight's victory also ends the 52–year title drought of Cleveland's major sports teams; in 1964, the Cleveland Browns shut out the Baltimore Colts for the NFL title. Cleveland's LeBron James is unanimously voted the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals, his third such award. , | OAKLAND, Calif. -- LeBron James was unanimously named MVP of the NBA Finals for the third time following the Cleveland Cavaliers' 93-89 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 on Sunday.
Over the seven-game series, James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists with an effective field goal percentage of 53.3. He became the third player to record a triple-double in Game 7 of the Finals, joining Jerry West in 1969 and James Worthy in 1988.
"Best player on the planet," Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving said.
Later, Irving compared James to Ludwig van Beethoven: "I'm very thankful that I have a guy like that that's leading our team that I can continue to learn from. And when my time does come of being able to lead a franchise and see the landscape of how it's supposed to be composed, I watched Beethoven right now of LeBron James compose a game.
"He had a freakin' triple-double in Game 7 of an NBA Finals game. There will still be naysayers, but I know it doesn't matter to him. It doesn't matter to me. All that matters is we're champions, and our whole team is etched in history."
James won consecutive Finals MVPs in 2012 and 2013, when he notched his first two titles with the Miami Heat. He returned to Cleveland as a free agent in July 2014. In addition to delivering the city its first major sports championship since 1964, James led the Cavs in becoming the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the Finals.
"I came back for a reason," James said. "I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing. I knew what I learned in the last couple years that I was gone, and I knew if I had to -- when I came back -- I knew I had the right ingredients and the right blueprint to help this franchise get back to a place that we've never been. That's what it was all about."
James punctuated his historic Finals performance with a dramatic final two minutes of Game 7. With the game tied 89-89, James pursued the reigning Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala, on a Warriors fast break and recorded one of his trademark "chasedown" blocks as he rejected Iguodala's layup attempt.
Moments later, with the Cavaliers leading 92-89, James took a hard spill to the floor after being fouled by Draymond Green. He writhed in pain and held his right wrist before returning to his feet. Then he drained one of two foul shots to extend Cleveland's lead to four with 10 seconds remaining.
"You see his basketball talent, the way he can control a game," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "But the reason why he deserves this is because he has a great heart ... and great things happen to great people."
James is now 4-2 all time in Game 7s and 2-0 when the ultimate game comes in the NBA Finals.
LeBron James is the first player in NBA history in any series of any length -- regardless of round -- to lead outright or tie for the lead among all players from both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for an entire series. | Sports Competition | June 2016 | ['(The Guardian)', '(Ohio.com)', '(ESPN)'] |
Houthi militants say that they shot down a Saudi Arabian helicopter, killing both pilots. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the incident. | The members of the Houthi movement, operating in Yemen, have shot down a Saudi helicopter near the border with Saudi Arabia, Yahya Sarea, the group's military spokesman, said on Friday.
The incident is said to have occurred near the border with the Saudi region of Asir, which borders the northern part of Yemen.
Saudi Arabia hasn't confirmed the claims yet.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years now. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. | Armed Conflict | November 2019 | ['(Sputnik)'] |
Michael Clarke is announced as the captain of the Australia national cricket team in both test cricket and One Day Internationals replacing Ricky Ponting. | The batsman, who turns 30 on Saturday, had been the anticipated choice of Cricket Australia following Ricky Ponting's resignation on Tuesday. Clarke said: "What an honour it is to be named captain of Australia."
Clarke had served as vice-captain to Ponting, and in Ponting's injury-enforced absence he led Australia to a 6-1 victory over England in the one-day international series which preceded the World Cup. His deputy will be all-rounder Shane Watson, while Cameron White has been selected to captain the Twenty20 team. Clarke said: "It was a huge surprise to see Ricky stand down. "I was very much unaware of where he was at, and had no idea he was going to step down and that was a surprise to me. "I want to thank him for his help, support and guidance, and look forward to continuing our work together going forward." Ponting led Australia's one-day international team for nine years, and the Test side for seven years, but has opted to leave the role and return to the team ranks as he bids to rediscover his best form. Ponting has been included in Australia's squad for next month's series of one-day internationals in Bangladesh. Clarke rejected the suggestion that Ponting, given his stature in the game, could be "an elephant in the dressing room". "I don't think Ricky is an elephant in any room," Clarke said. "I know he'll let me do my job to the best of my ability." Watson is relishing his own increased responsibility. "I'd like to say how honoured I am to be awarded the vice-captaincy of the Australian team," Watson said. "It's a big thrill for me. I'm looking forward to working closely with Michael to build something big for the future. "I'm sure he's looking forward to it, I definitely am." Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke endorsed Clarke's appointment, saying: "Michael has shown himself to be excellent with his on-field tactics when heading the national side. "To captain your country is a great honour and responsibility and I congratulate Michael and wish him the best in what will be an exciting and challenging time." | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | March 2011 | ['(The Daily Telegraph)'] |
A large fire consumes the 24-storey Grenfell Tower apartment block in North Kensington, West London, with the entire building evacuated and over 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters battling the blaze. At least 17 people are dead and more people are treated for injuries, with more people possibly being trapped inside. , , , , | LONDON — Adib Abbas, an observant Muslim, was preparing an early morning Ramadan meal in a ninth-floor apartment at Grenfell Tower when he suddenly smelled gas. On the same floor, Hanan Wahabi woke up and realized that something was terribly wrong. The night air had the stench of smoke and ash.
From those terrifying moments, residents found themselves in a nightmare: Their 24-story building, with 120 apartments, was gutted by flames early Wednesday, in what authorities called London’s worst building fire in years.
| Fire | June 2017 | ['(BBC)', '(The Guardian)', '(NBC News)', '(New York Times)', '(ABC via Yahoo!)'] |
Voters in Azerbaijan go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the opposition raising concerns over candidates being prevented from registering. | Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are held by the majority system in 125 constituencies. Previous parliamentary elections were held in November 2005.
The CEC states that information about the voters' turnout will be delivered five times and voting results few hours later ending of the voting process to the CEC and its website via Automated Information System network.
Totally 46,639 local observers were registered for the parliamentary elections. 3,466 observers were registered at the CEC and 102 of them are from the political parties, 560 from the non-governmental organizations, three - on the initiative of the registered candidates and others - on the personal initiative. 43,173 of the local observers were accredited at the electoral district commissions to observe voting process in certain constituencies.
To date, 1,029 observers from 21 international (foreign) organizations, including PACE, Council of European Union, EU representation in Baku, European Parliament, TurkPA, OSCE PA, OSCE/ODIHR, CIS, GUAM, embassies of the US, UK, Kazakhstan, Norway, Bulgaria, Poland, Japan and Belgium, as well as European Election Monitoring Academy, were accredited at the CEC. There are citizens of 48 countries among the international observers.
Some 43 foreign journalists from nearly 20 foreign media organizations, including Reuters, BBC, Al-Jazeera, TRT, Associated Press, France Press, EPA, Anatolian news agency, Ihlas news agency (IHA), Dogan news agency (DHA), Daily Ettehad were also accredited at the CEC.
500 polling stations were equipped with web-cameras for online watching the voting process via Internet. According to the Electoral Code, ELS Independent Research Center was registered at CEC for conducting exit-poll on the voting day.
The CEC will use invisible ink and ultraviolet detectors (lamps) to ensure transparency in the election | Government Job change - Election | November 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Trend News Agency)'] |
The Walt Disney Company reports it is entering a US$5 billion unsecured credit agreement, possibly to make up for shortfalls in its theme park division. Citibank, N.A. is the main broker of the deal. | Walt Disney Co said on Monday it has entered an unsecured credit agreement for $5 billion, at a time when companies across industries are scrambling to bolster their liquidity to weather the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
Disney’s theme parks business has taken a particularly severe hit as lockdowns have restricted people’s movement and gatherings in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The company said in a filing here the credit agreement, which has terms similar to another one it entered on March 6, will mature on April 9, 2021, adding that the fund could be used for day to day operations.
The agreement can be extended for another year at the time of maturity if the lenders agree, it said.
Citibank N.A. served as the designated agent for the agreement, Walt Disney said.
| Sign Agreement | April 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Thousands of activists march to The Pentagon in Washington to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. | WASHINGTON, March 17 — Thousands of demonstrators marched to the Pentagon on Saturday to mark both the fourth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq and the 40th anniversary of the march along the same route to protest the Vietnam War. The march coincided with other demonstrations in Washington, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and elsewhere in advance of the March 20 anniversary of the invasion. The liberal group MoveOn.org has held many small protest vigils around the country. And in Washington on Friday night a coalition of liberal Christian groups, including Sojourners/Call to Renewal, led several thousand people in a march that began with a service at the National Cathedral. More than 200 participants were arrested praying in front of the White House, the police said. | Protest_Online Condemnation | March 2007 | ['(New York Times)'] |
The Kenyan electoral commission announces that President Uhuru Kenyatta has won re-election. Kenyatta leads ODM candidate Raila Odinga by more than 1.4 million votes. The opposition National Super Alliance rejects this finding as fraudulent. | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (center) shakes hands with supporters after casting his vote in the city of Gatundu on Tuesday.
Ben Curtis/AP
hide caption
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (center) shakes hands with supporters after casting his vote in the city of Gatundu on Tuesday.
Updated 5:50 p.m. ET
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has won a second five-year term, the country's electoral commission announced Friday. The official results show Kenyatta achieving re-election comfortably, with a lead of more than 1.4 million votes over his principal challenger, Raila Odinga.
"We are all citizens of one republic," Kenyatta said on national television after what was a bruising and bitter campaign.
"As with any competition," he continued, "there shall always be winners and there shall be losers. But we all belong to one great nation called Kenya."
Yet it's not clear that Odinga will readily accept the outcome, which he has vehemently protested since preliminary results for Tuesday's election began portending a Kenyatta victory. As recently as Thursday, Odinga's campaign manager, Musalia Mudavadi, declared victory for his candidate, saying that "a serious attempt to try to either doctor or alter the final results" had fraudulently swung the balance of the election.
At a news conference Thursday, Odinga's camp presented alternative figures showing him leading by several hundred thousand votes — but, as NPR's Eyder Peralta notes, it did not clarify where these figures were obtained.
After the mysterious murder and torture of a high-ranking elections official late last month, Odinga claimed that — in Eyder's words — "a hacker used that man's credentials to go into the electoral reporting system and changed the result."
Electoral commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati has rejected the opposition's argument, however, saying the evidence they provided is "obviously and plainly falsified and contains elementary errors."
Voters in Nairobi follow the latest election news on TV on Friday, waiting for the announcement of the final results.
Voters in Nairobi follow the latest election news on TV on Friday, waiting for the announcement of the final results.
And while Chebukati acknowledges that there was an an attempt to hack the country's voting system, he maintained that the attempt failed.
International observers, for their part, have lent their blessing to the electoral process in Kenya, saying that despite "minor variances" the election was conducted freely and fairly. And they cautioned that complaints with the process should be taken up through legal means, without recourse to the kind of violence that racked the country after its 2007 elections.
"It is important for all of the candidates to allow the process to be transparently put to the test," former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is observing the election on behalf of the Carter Center, told CNN. "And then if they have a concern, go through the rule of law, go to the court process and let the evidence be there for everybody to see."
Already, though, tensions have boiled over into violence in some of the slums of Nairobi. At least two people have been killed in protests led by opposition demonstrators.
Kenyan police officers clear debris from a barricaded road Friday after an opposition protest roiled a Nairobi neighborhood.
Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images
Kenyan police officers clear debris from a barricaded road Friday after an opposition protest roiled a Nairobi neighborhood.
The country has mobilized some 180,000 security officers to grapple with the potential for further unrest, according to the BBC.
The specter of the violence a decade ago still looms large in the memories of voters, officials and independent observers. More than 1,000 people were killed in a brutal bout of bloodshed that broke down largely along tribal lines.
And it's not the only role the past has played in the turmoil of recent weeks. As Eyder noted, this election marks something of a culmination for Kenyatta and Odinga, whose rivalry dates back to the 1960s, when their fathers — who once served as president and vice president themselves — had a bitter falling out.
Odinga has said this campaign, his fourth bid for president, will be his last.
"We do not want to see any violence in Kenya. We know the consequences of what happened in 2008 and we don't want to see a repeat of that anymore," he told CNN on Thursday.
But Odinga added: "I don't control anybody. What is happening is that people just want to see justice." | Government Job change - Election | August 2017 | ['(NPR)', '(Reuters)'] |
North Korea executes former railways minister Kim Yong Sam in connection with the Ryongchon disaster in 2004. | SEOUL - NORTH Korea has executed a former railways minister following a deadly explosion at a train station in 2004, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Monday. It quoted a Seoul government official as saying the execution of Kim Yong Sam was apparently in connection with the massive blast at Ryongchon station in the north-west. The explosion happened several hours after leader Kim Jong Il had passed through the station in a special train on his return from a visit to China, fuelling speculation of an assassination attempt. The North said at the time that ammonium nitrate fertiliser being shunted at the station had accidentally hit an electrical cable, triggering a blast that killed some 160 people and injured 1,300. Kim Yong Sam, who had taken over the portfolio in 1998, was last mentioned by official media in 2008. A media report last year also said he had been executed, but cited pilfering of scrap metal from trains as the reason. The official quoted by Yonhap spoke on condition of anonymity and did not say when ex-minister Kim was executed or what specifically he was accused of. -- AFP | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2011 | ['(Straits Times)'] |
Officials from North Korea and South Korea meet in Panmunjom for military–level talks. | (CNN) -- North and South Korea opened working-level military talks Tuesday at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea's Defense Ministry said, marking the first inter-Korean dialogue in months.
The talks are meant to help pave the way for higher-level military discussions.
Colonel-grade officers from both sides will lead the meeting, which began around 10 a.m., according to the ministry. The talks signal a change in tone after tensions between the two sides escalated sharply last year.
The South has previously said that it will demand that Pyongyang take responsibility for last year's military provocations and promise not to carry out any more attacks. Higher-level military talks will be held only if the North promises to refrain from further provocations.
The Seoul government also has proposed holding inter-Korean talks between high-ranking government officials to discuss denuclearization, something the North has not yet responded to.
Last month, South Korea's Unification Ministry said it had reopened communication channels with North Korea in the border area of Panmunjom.
It was the first time in eight months the two sides had reopened the hot line. North Korea cut it off May 26 to protest Seoul's response to the March sinking of a South Korean naval ship.
South Korea has blamed North Korea for the attack, which killed 46 sailors. Pyongyang denies any involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan.
Tension rose again in November, when North Korea shelled South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians. Pyongyang said the strike was in response to the South's navy firing into North Korean waters. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | February 2011 | ['(CNN)', '(Yonhap)'] |
A Chilean judge issues arrest warrants for 129 people for allegedly helping to purge critics of the country's former ruler General Augusto Pinochet. | The suspects all worked for the secret police agency, Dina
A Chilean judge has issued arrest warrants for 129 people for allegedly helping to purge critics of former ruler General Augusto Pinochet.
The suspects - the largest group so far to face arrest warrants - all worked for the secret police agency, Dina. They are accused of taking part in killings and disappearances of dozens of leftists and opposition activists. Since Gen Pinochet left power in 1990, arrests of his agents have been frequent - often dividing opinion. The warrants also name dozens of former military and security officials who had never faced charges before. Disappeared
Anti-Pinochet activists have broadly supported the move to punish those responsible for torture and murder. But many Chileans have questioned the wisdom of continuing to chase down suspects, saying many of those now being arrested were little more than foot-soldiers. Thousands of activists were killed or disappeared during the 1973-1990 rule of Gen Pinochet. Judge Victor Montiglio's latest warrants relate to operations when Dina agents purged opponents of the general. The first is Operation Condor - a long-running campaign launched in the mid-1970s to hunt down and kill left-wingers. Condor was a continent-wide operation, also backed by the rulers of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Another incident cited in the court papers is Operation Colombo, referring to the 1975 killing of 119 Chilean activists. And the judge also cited the case of 10 Communists who disappeared in 1976. The arrests are expected to begin on Wednesday. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | September 2009 | ['(BBC)', '(Bernama)'] |
PepsiCo announces its intent to buy SodaStream, a manufacturer of products for in–home soft drink production, for US$3.2 billion. The deal awaits approval by regulators. | Israel-based Sodastream makes a machine and refillable cylinders allowing users to make their own carbonated drinks.
The deal gives Pepsi a new way of reaching customers in their homes at a time when its signature sugary drinks are becoming less popular.
It is also the company's first big acquisition since chief executive Indra Nooyi disclosed she would step down in October after 12 years at the helm.
PepsiCo will buy all outstanding shares of Sodastream for $144 each - almost 11% higher than its closing price in New York on Friday.
The stock has soared 85% this year after rising by 78% in 2017. The takeover has already been approved by the boards of both firms.
PepsiCo president Ramon Laguarta, who will succeed Ms Nooyi on 3 October, said Sodastream was "highly complementary and incremental" to Pepsi's business.
"PepsiCo is finding new ways to reach consumers beyond the bottle," he added.
Sodastream has repositioned itself as a sparkling water maker to appeal to younger consumers who are more health and environmentally conscious and increasingly shun soft drinks.
"With sugary carbonates and juices struggling and no turnaround in sight, mitigating the losses through newer and healthier products will be essential for PepsiCo," said Euromonitor International analyst Matthew Barry. The market research firm says bottled water sales rose 6.2% annually in the five years to 2017, while carbonated soft drinks sales were flat. If regulators approve the deal, it is expected to be finalised by January 2019, subject to a vote by Sodastream shareholders.
Sodastream was originally founded in the UK in 1903 and went through various changes of ownership until it became a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes in 1985.
In 1998, it was bought by Israeli firm Soda-Club, with its UK manufacturing plant in Peterborough closing in 2003.
| Organization Merge | August 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
William C. Dudley is reappointed as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for another five years. | NEW YORK (Reuters) - William Dudley has been reappointed as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as expected, giving him another five years as one of the U.S. central bank’s most influential policymakers.
Members of the New York Fed’s board who are not affiliated with private banks voted to reappoint Dudley to a term beginning March 1. Dudley, a former Goldman Sachs economist and head of the New York Fed’s markets group, started the job in the depths of the financial crisis in January 2009.
Dudley is a dovish monetary policymaker with a permanent vote on U.S. interest rates. As a top financial regulator, his regional bank serves as the Fed’s eyes and ears on Wall Street.
The terms of presidents of all 12 district Fed banks expire at the end of February. They are all expected to stay on.
Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Marguerita Choy
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | February 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
The Attorney General for England and Wales is being asked to consider prosecuting a journalist who allegedly broke a privacy order on Twitter in respect of another footballer who has taken out an injunction. | A Scottish newspaper has named a footballer accused of being linked to a privacy injunction by users of social networking website Twitter.
The Sunday Herald is the first mainstream UK publication to do this. Its front page has an image of a man whose eyes are covered with a black bar which features the word "censored".
It comes after Twitter users reacted to a footballer's attempt to find out who is putting information about him on the website by posting new messages online.
The player, who an injunction says can only be identified as CTB, is involved in proceedings against former Miss Wales and ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and the Sun newspaper.
In recent weeks there has been heightened scrutiny of gagging orders such as injunctions and so-called super-injunctions - court orders that prevent the media from revealing even the fact that an injunction has been granted.
In its editorial explaining the move, the Sunday Herald said it named the sportsman being linked to the injunction on Twitter because it was "unsustainable" for newspapers to be prevented from sharing information which is easily available on the internet.
It said: "We should point out immediately that we are not accusing the footballer concerned of any misdeed. Whether the allegations against him are true or not has no relevance to this debate.
"The issue is one of freedom of information and of a growing argument in favour of more restrictive privacy laws."
Richard Walker, editor of the Sunday Herald, said: "It seems to us a ludicrous situation where we are supposed to keep from our readers the identity of someone who anybody can find out on the internet at the click of a mouse, and in fact many people have already done so."
He added that he had taken extensive legal advice and was not expecting any legal consequences because the injunction was not valid in Scotland - only in England.
His paper, he said, was not published, distributed or sold in England.
The newspaper's website is not carrying the name of the footballer or the picture used on the front page of its printed newspaper.
Paul McBride, the paper's legal adviser, said: "Every child in the country with a mobile phone can now access Twitter or the internet and find out who this individual is, and the idea that the media cannot report it is frankly absurd."
Asked whether the front page would increase newspaper sales, he said the decision to publish was "not taken on commercial grounds but on grounds of principle".
"We have the right of freedom of expression and the right to debate these issues. I think the publication in today's paper will bring the matter to a head." 'Out of control'
Media lawyer Mark Stephens said the floodgates had been opened by the naming of the footballer in Spain, Mauritius, and now Scotland.
"It's an exercise in futility to try and continue with this injunction," he said.
If judges did not want to make the law "look an ass" then the injunction had to be recalled and the player named, he added.
Meanwhile, there has been widespread speculation on social media websites in recent days naming high-profile individuals who have allegedly used the English courts to protect their identities. On Sunday it emerged that the attorney general is being asked to consider prosecuting a journalist who allegedly broke a privacy order on Twitter.
The unnamed writer allegedly named a footballer, who is accused of having an affair, known in court papers as TSE.
The attorney general's office said it would "consider the matter carefully" but had not yet received the request.
On Friday, the findings of a year-long inquiry by a committee of judges and lawyers into the use of injunctions and so-called super-injunctions were revealed. The committee's report said super-injunctions were now being granted for "short periods" and only where "secrecy is necessary".
Committee chairman Lord Neuberger, who is the most senior civil judge in England and Wales, said the internet "does add to difficulties of enforcement at the moment".
He said the internet had "by no means the same degree of intrusion into privacy as the story being emblazoned on the front pages of newspapers", which "people trust more".
However, he warned that modern technology was "totally out of control" and society should consider other ways to bring Twitter and other websites under control.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | May 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
A curfew is imposed on two villages in southeastern Nigeria's Cross River State following communal violence which killed 30 people. | A curfew has been imposed on two rural villages in Nigeria's Cross River state after deadly weekend clashes.
At least 30 people are reported to have been killed in violence between members of the Boje and Nsadop communities.
Youths armed with machetes, guns and explosives attacked rival villages, killing on sight and burning houses. The clashes are believed to have been sparked by a lingering land dispute, but some residents told the BBC the violence may be politically motivated.
They said some local politicians were engaged in a power struggle ahead of next year's elections.
The BBC's Fidelis Mbah in the region says three soldiers deployed to maintain peace in the area were among those killed.
Residents of both villages have fled, fearing for their lives, he reports.
More soldiers and anti-riot policemen have arrived to step up patrols.
Cross River state government spokesman Patrick Ugbe said some badly burnt corpses had been recovered in the aftermath of the fighting.
"About 90% of the houses in Nsadop were burnt down," he told the AFP news agency.
According to the authorities, a curfew has been imposed from 1800 local time to 0600 in the morning.
The villages are in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, which is notorious for its armed gangs.
Most of these so-called oil militants have now agreed to disarm as part of a government amnesty.
Niger Delta politicians originally created the gangs by arming young men to use as their private armies and to rig elections. | Armed Conflict | October 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Vanguard Nigeria)'] |
An Afghan National Army soldier kills two United States Army soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which local police suspect is an insider attack. The killer is believed to be wounded. | Two US service members have been killed by an Afghan soldier in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan, local police say.
The soldier opened fire on the Americans in Shawalikot district, Kandahar, the office of the province's police chief confirmed to the BBC.
US officials have only confirmed that two soldiers were killed on Monday.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan by 2020.
A news release by Nato stated only that the soldiers had been killed, and that in accordance with department of defence policy, their names would not be released until 24 hours after the soldiers' families had been notified.
It is believed the Afghan soldier was wounded.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Pompeo said President Donald Trump had directed him to decrease the number of US troops in the region by the 2020 presidential election next November.
"He's been unambiguous: End the endless wars," Mr Pompeo said, speaking at the Economic Club of Washington.
"Draw down. Reduce. It won't just be us. We hope that overall the need for combat forces in the region is reduced."
Reuters reported last week that Mr Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had agreed to "accelerate efforts" to end the war with the Taliban, and that Mr Pompeo was "optimistic" about peace negotiations.
There are around 14,000 US troops still in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan is America's longest. It began after US forces led a campaign to overthrow the Taliban in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
As the Trump administration looks at exit plans, US negotiators have been involved with peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan officials.
The talks have focused on a safe withdrawal of US troops from the country in return for the insurgents guaranteeing that Afghan territory would not be used by foreign militants, or pose a security threat to the rest of the world.
The Taliban - which once harboured Osama Bin Laden - have said they will not agree to a ceasefire until foreign forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan and have rejected the Afghan government as "a US-imposed puppet regime".
More than 2,400 American troops have lost their lives - at least 10 in hostile conflict so far this year - according to Department of Defence reports.
More civilians were killed last year in Afghanistan than at any time since records have been kept, with 3,804 civilians losing their lives.
Previous attempts at peace have failed in their early stages.
In 2015, talks in Pakistan between Afghan officials and the Taliban broke down after news emerged of the death of the Taliban leader Mullah Omar - with whose authority the Taliban team was supposedly meeting.
| Armed Conflict | July 2019 | ['(BBC)'] |
Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Abu Mazen, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, are invited by Egypt to attend a summit at Sharm el-Sheikh. A Jordanian delegation will also attend. | The meeting, hosted by President Hosni Mubarak and due to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, will also be attended by King Abdullah of Jordan. It will be the highest-level talks since Mr Sharon, who shunned the late leader Yasser Arafat, came to power. The announcement comes as the head of Egyptian intelligence visits Israel.
Egypt has taken on a key role in assisting Israel's plan to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip and is helping with security arrangements.
Both Mr Abbas and Mr Sharon have spoken of an "historic opportunity" to make progress in the peace process, following the death of Mr Arafat.
The two leaders met on several occasions in the summer of 2003 during Mr Abbas's brief spell as prime minister, including at the launch of the international peace plan known as the roadmap at Sharm el-Sheikh.
Freeze on pursuits
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel said it might suspend its pursuit of wanted Palestinian militants as a goodwill gesture towards Mr Abbas's leadership. We will give Abu Mazen [Mr Abbas] a chance by suspending our operations against the wanted Palestinians
Amos GiladIsraeli defence official Defence official Amos Gilad said it was a "freeze not an amnesty" lasting as long as militants laid down their arms.
Mr Gilad said a Palestinian-Israeli committee was planned to deal with the issue and could meet next week.
"We will give Abu Mazen [Mr Abbas] a chance by suspending our operations against the wanted Palestinians, but this is a freeze not an amnesty," Mr Gilad told army radio.
"If these wanted Palestinians start up their terrorist activities again, we will resume our offensive operations against them," he added.
About 300 Palestinians are thought to be on Israel's wanted list. In the past four years of violence, hundreds of suspected militants - and smaller number of bystanders - have been killed in what Israel terms targeted killings. Correspondents say the fate of fugitives is one of the most sensitive issues in current truce talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Peace efforts
Israel's security cabinet is expected to meet on Thursday to approve a series of gestures toward the Palestinians, including prisoner releases and a gradual troop withdrawal from several towns in the West Bank.
Palestinian security forces have destroyed a weapons smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border, in another sign Mr Abbas is serious about stopping anti-Israeli violence.
Jewish settlers are determined not to be removed from occupied land
Condoleezza Rice will make her first trip to the region as US secretary of state next week, to encourage the two sides to make progress on the roadmap.
Israel's military administration in the West Bank meanwhile says Jewish settlers are continuing to build in four illegal West Bank outposts scheduled to be removed. So far only a few such outposts have been removed, which is an obligation for Israel under the terms of the roadmap.
Israel put the brakes on its planned West Bank pullout after a day of violence on Monday, which was triggered, Palestinians say, by the killing of a Gaza schoolgirl by Israeli troops. Israel says stray bullets fired by Palestinians may have caused the fatality.
Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - home to about four million Palestinians - during the 1967 Six Day war. It plans to pull out all 8,000 Israeli settlers and the troops who protect them from 21 fortified enclaves in Gaza by the end of 2005, but its military will keep control of Gaza's borders, coastline and airspace. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | February 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
Tanzania's opposition Chadema party presidential candidate Edward Lowassa calls for a recount of Sunday's election for the presidency before official results are announced tomorrow. Meanwhile, the election commission chief of semi-autonomous Zanzibar nullifies their results, which opposition presidential candidate Seif Sharif Hamad of the Civic United Front announced he won on Monday. The United States said it's "gravely alarmed" and called for reversal of the annulment. (Mail & Guardian Africa) | 28 Oct 2015 14:30AFP and M&G Africa Writer Poll boss says Zanzibar electoral commissioners were partisan and even exchanged blows because of differences among them.
Supporters of the Civic United Front (CUF) party gather outside the CUF headquarters in Zanzibar on October 26, 2015 as the party's presidential candidate declared victory in the polls.
ZANZIBAR’s electoral commission on Wednesday annulled elections on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago citing “violations of electoral law”.
Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairman Jecha Salim Jecha, in a statement broadcast on public television, said the polls on the Indian Ocean archipelago were “nullified” and must be carried out again.
Jecha says he annulled the polls for violations including double-voting, vote tampering and cheating, at some polling stations, especially in Pemba island, the votes cast were more than the registered voters.
Jecha also said the vote had to be cancelled because some Zanzibar electoral commissioners were partisan and even exchanged blows because of differences among them, some party agents were thrown out of polling stations, and youths invaded polling stations “with the view of causing chaos.”
The main opposition alliance Ukawa, which fronted Edward Lowassa as its candidate, now says that since the poll has been nullified in Zanzibar, it should be nullified on the mainland as well as the total count is now in jeopardy. So far, the ruling party CCM’s candidate John Magufuli is maintaining a lead over Lowassa.
Lowassa said at a press conference in the main city Dar es Salaam Wednesday that the election was marred by fraud counting was rigged, and the results released by the electoral commission were null and void.
On Monday, Zanzibar’s main opposition presidential candidate declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced.
Seif Sharif Hamad from the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), the vice-president in the previous unity government, told reporters he had won Sunday’s polls, claiming to have seen official documents of final voting figures.
Security forces on Tuesday surrounded the islands’ main tallying and results centre, after Hamad repeated warnings that he, “will not concede defeat if robbed of my victory.”
Shots firedTroops left the centre later Tuesday, but an AFP reporter in Zanzibar’s capital said shots were heard overnight, and that the streets were largely empty on Wednesday, with many shops closed and people saying they were fearful of going out.
Police on the Indian Ocean islands fired tear gas to break up crowds, while foreign embassies warned visitors to the popular tourist destination to avoid large crowds.
Zanzibar has experienced sectarian and political tensions in recent years—including several grenade explosions—with the unrest affecting the islands’ key tourist industry. There have also been wider tensions around Zanzibar’s union with the mainland, with some opposition political parties wanting to break ties and return to independence.
The long ruling CCM has vowed to maintain the status quo, but the CUF promises to campaign for full autonomy if it wins.
In mainland Tanzania, votes are being counted following Sunday’s presidential, general and local elections. Zanzibaris also voted for the national president. | Government Job change - Election | October 2015 | ['(AP via ABC News)', '(Reuters)'] |
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia kills eight people in two separate attacks. | The authorities in Colombia say left-wing Farc rebels have killed eight people including an infant in two separate attacks. In the first the rebels killed five soldiers in an army patrol in the south-west of the country.
Later a baby and her parents died after home-made mortars were fired at a police station in Puerto Rico in Caqueta state, also in the south.
The mortars missed their target, hitting the family's house.
The government said a sergeant and four other soldiers died in the attack against the patrol.
Earlier this month one of the Farc rebel leaders, Ivan Marquez, said the group remained ready for battle, despite earlier suggestions that it was ready for talks with the government.
The Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said last month that recent military strikes had weakened the guerrilla movement. More than 60 rebels were killed in attacks in eastern Meta and Arauca province in March. The attacks were part of a new strategy by the security forces aimed at eliminating the rebels' regional commanders and hitting their logistics and supplies. President Santos had ordered the new strategy after the killing over the past two years of the rebels' top two commanders, Mono Jojoy and Alfonso Cano.
Farc leader: 'We're not weakened'
Does Farc's end to kidnaps herald a new start for Colombian rebels? | Armed Conflict | April 2012 | ['(FARC)', '(BBC)'] |
Voters in Switzerland go to the polls for a federal election, with the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland gaining the most seats compared to the 2007 election, and the Swiss People's Party losing eight seats but remaining the biggest party in the Federal Assembly. , | Swiss voters backed moderate forces in a general election on Sunday in which nationalists failed in their effort to break through the 30% barrier with a campaign heavy on anti-immigrant sentiment.
The nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP) was projected to take 25.9% of the vote for the lower house, a drop of 3 percentage points on four years ago, according to public television station SF. It is the first time in 20 years that the SVP has failed to increase its share of the vote.
In second place, the centre-left Social Democrats are expected to win 18.9% of the vote, 0.6 percentage points below their 2007 showing, though they were set to increase by one their number of seats in parliament
"We didn't achieve our election goal," SVP president Toni Brunner conceded as results trickled in.
The party's rise was stalled by the Conservative Democratic Party, whose members split from the SVP in 2007, and the centrist Green Liberal Party, which successfully rode a wave of anti-nuclear sentiment following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant in March.
Both are expected to receive about 5.3% of the vote for the 200-seat national council. Voters are also deciding on 45 of 46 seats for the upper house, or council of states. The BDP, founded to support popular finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf after she was expelled from the SVP, also ate into the traditional parties' share of the vote.
The panoply of political parties in Switzerland results in intense haggling after every election, as each group demands fair representation in the country's cross-party government.
The result is a unique "magic formula," designed to condense complex electoral results into a seven-member cabinet capable of governing by consensus in spite of their differing views.
Despite its worse-than-expected result, the SVP retains the biggest share of the vote and immediately laid claim to two cabinet seats.
The party has built up a strong base of voters with campaigns warning of immigrants spoiling a country that has been an oasis of relative stability within stormy Europe.
The SVP has won referendums in recent years to ban the building of new minarets and to expel immigrants convicted of serious crimes, but its policies have angered some Swiss people. In one incident, the party mascot, a goat named Zottel, was kidnapped and painted black in protest against the party's anti-immigration stance.
In its campaign, the SVP accused foreigners, who make up about 22%t of the 7.9 million population, of driving up Switzerland's crime rate and called for those convicted of crimes to be deported. It also wants to reintroduce quotas on immigration from the 27 countries of the European Union, of which Switzerland is not a member, illustrating the point with striking posters of black boots stamping on the Swiss flag with the message "stop mass immigration."
Daniel Boschler, assistant professor in comparative politics at Zurich University, said the SVP's election campaign had focused less on migration than in previous years. "Immigration is still a really important concern, and they're still the strongest party. But there is no discussion on the EU and immigration at this time."
The number of foreigners living in Switzerland rose to 1.7 million over the past year. Along with Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, it has one of the highest proportions of foreigners in Europe.
The seven-seat, multi-party cabinet will be selected by parliament on 14 December.
| Government Job change - Election | October 2011 | ['(Global Post)', '(The Guardian)'] |
An earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale occurs in the Pacific Ocean near Chile sparking a tsunami warning. At least five people die. , , | Contribute to citizen science. Please tell us about your experience. Significant area affected Limited population exposed Little or no area affected Limited population exposed To view any current tsunami advisories for this and other events please visit https://www.tsunami.gov. The September 16, 2015 M 8.3 earthquake west of Illapel, Chile, occurred as the result of thrust faulting on the interface between the Nazca and South America plates in Central Chile. At the location of this event, the Nazca plate is moving towards the east-northeast at a velocity of 74 mm/yr with respect to South America, and begins its subduction beneath the continent at the Peru-Chile Trench, 85 km to the west of the September 16th earthquake. The size, location, depth and mechanism of this event are all consistent with its occurrence on the megathrust interface in this region.
While commonly plotted as points on maps, earthquakes of this size are more appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area. Events of the size of the September 16, 2015 earthquake are typically about 230x100 km in size (length x width).
Chile has a long history of massive earthquakes, including the 2010 M 8.8 Maule earthquake in central Chile, which ruptured an approximately 400-km-long section of the plate boundary south of this 2015 event (and to the south of the Juan Fernandez Ridge, which enters the trench immediately south of the 2015 earthquake). This subducton zone also hosted the largest earthquake on record, the 1960 M 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile. Over the century prior to the September 16, 2015 earthquake, the region within 400 km of this event has hosted 15 other M 7+ earthquakes. 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 | September 2015 | ['(AP via ABC News America)', '(USGS)', '(CNN)'] |
Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announce the discovery of another cave that used to have Dead Sea Scrolls. |
Over 60 years after the first excavations at Qumran, researchers from Hebrew University said Wednesday that they identified a twelfth cave near Qumran they believe contained Dead Sea Scrolls until it was plundered in the middle of the 20th century.
The latest excavation was conducted by Hebrew University and the Israel Antiquities Authority under the auspices of the IDF’s Civil Administration.
It yielded no new scrolls, but archaeologists found a small scrap of parchment in a jar and a collection of at least seven storage jugs identical to those found in the other Qumran caves.
Altogether there was “no doubt we have a new scroll cave,” Oren Gutfeld, head archaeologist from the dig, told The Times of Israel. | New archeological discoveries | February 2017 | ['(The Times of Israel)'] |
Two African-American men are killed in separate incidents near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a third home is shot at in what local and federal officials call racially-motivated crimes. A local man is arrested on suspicion of the murders. (U.S. News & World Report) | Updated on: September 19, 2017 / 2:10 PM
/ CBS/AP
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Authorities say a 23-year-old white Baton Rouge man has been arrested and will be charged with murder in the fatal shootings of two black men.
Interim Police Chief Jonny Dunnam said Tuesday that Kenneth James Gleason was accused of killing a homeless man and a dishwasher. Bruce Cofield, 59, was killed last Tuesday. Two nights later, Donald Smart, 49, was fatally shot as he was walking to his job at Louie's Cafe.
Gleason is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder, officials announced Tuesday. He's also accused of firing on a black family's home. Gleason was led away from the police department in handcuffs just before authorities there held a news conference.
In both shootings, the gunman fired from his car, then walked up to the victims as they were lying on the ground and fired again multiple times. Neither victim had any prior relationship with Gleason. Police have said there was a "strong possibility" the shootings were racially motivated but in the press conference Tuesday didn't detail Gleason's alleged motive.
"Had there not been a swift conclusion in this case, I feel confident this killer probably would have killed again, and could have potentially created a tear in the fabric that holds this community together," Dunnam said Tuesday.
A law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said a copy of an Adolf Hitler speech was found at Gleason's home.
Gleason's attorney, J. Christopher Alexander, said his client "vehemently denies guilt, and we look forward to complete vindication." Alexander declined to say anything else.
Officials had been searching for a red car linked to the investigation when they spotted Gleason driving the vehicle and pulled him over Saturday, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said in a press conference. Gleason was arrested on drug charges, but he was bailed out of jail late Sunday even though authorities considered him a "person of interest" in the murders.
Gleason was arrested again on Monday by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office on a charge of stealing a book -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" -- from a Baton Rouge bookstore as authorities awaited test results from the state crime lab. Those results linked DNA on shell casings found at one of the scenes to Gleason, Moore said.
The ATF's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network determined on Friday that shell casings found at both scenes were fired from the same weapon, Moore said.
Moore said it was highly unusual for DNA to be found on spent shell casings and praised the work of local law enforcement and the quick turnaround from federal and state forensic investigators that helped them secure the arrest warrant.
Gleason is also expected to be charged by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office with firing at his neighbor's home Sept. 11. The home was occupied, but no one was injured. Moore said an African-American family lived in the home, but did not say whether he believed hate was a motive.
It's not clear if Gleason knew the family.
Moore said Gleason "made statements" to investigators but wouldn't detail what he said. Moore said his office could seek the death penalty.
"It appears to be cold, calculated, planned (against) people who were unarmed and defenseless," he said. "We don't need to prove motive. There are a lot of things that are unanswered."
Sgt. L'Jean McKneely, a spokesman with Baton Rouge police, told CBS affiliate WAFB-TV detectives still believe the crimes were racially motivated, but the investigation is ongoing to determine for sure.
Authorities are still searching for the weapon used in the crime. | Armed Conflict | September 2017 | ['(CBS News)'] |
Israel has carried out a successful test of its Arrow missile, the defence ministry says. | One of the missiles was fired at night and destroyed what Israeli media said was a target similar to Iran's long-range Shahab-3 missile.
The test took place as Iran celebrated the 28th anniversary of its Islamic revolution.
Israel has considered Iran its greatest threat since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, analysts say.
'Message to Iran'
"This evening's successful test reinforces Israel's readiness... against external threats at the extremes of its operational envelope," said Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz.
The Arrow missile was fired from a base south of Tel Aviv at a missile launched from an aircraft over the eastern Mediterranean at a high altitude.
This was the first test of the Arrow missile to be conducted at night.
Israeli public television called the test a "message to Iran".
The anti-ballistic missile system was developed jointly with the United States after Israel came under attack by Iraqi Scud missiles during the first Gulf War. | Military Exercise | February 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Fleabag wins Outstanding Comedy Series and Game of Thrones wins Outstanding Drama Series at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. | Amazon's "Fleabag" stole the show Sunday at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, bringing home four awards, including those for best actress in a comedy, directing and best comedy series.
The show, which centers around a dry-witted, grief-riddled and promiscuous British woman living in London, earned writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge the outstanding writing award. However, it was her win for lead actress that was unexpected.
Many had anticipated the award would either go to Rachel Brosnahan from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" or to Julia Louis-Dreyfus from "Veep." Had Louis-Dreyfus taken home the prize she would have had the most wins of any performer in the history of the Emmys. She currently is tied for this honor with Cloris Leachman. Both actresses have eight Emmys for their acting performances.
One of the biggest questions of the night was how many trophies "Game of Thrones" would bring home. Heading into the ceremony the HBO show had 32 nominations for long-running drama. The show earned 10 Emmys during the Creative Emmy Awards ceremony earlier in the month and tacked on another two during the broadcast.
Peter Dinklage won for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister and the show won the outstanding drama prize.
In the category for limited series and TV movies, "Chernobyl," "A Very English Scandal," "When They See Us" and "The Act" took home awards.
Notably, Jharrel Jerome won the Emmy for lead actor for his performance in Netflix's "When They See Us," a limited series about the Central Park Five.
When accepting the award Jerome said, "This is for the men that we know as the Exonerated Five."
Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam, the five men who were convicted and later exonerated for the 1989 assault and rape of a female jogger in Central Park, were in the crowd when Jerome won.
Throughout the night, a number of speeches were peppered with calls to action. During Patricia Arquette's acceptance speech for best supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie, the actress spoke about the death of her sister Alexis and about rights for transgender people.
"I'm in mourning, Alexis, and I will be the rest of my life for you until we change the world, until trans people are not persecuted," Arquette said. "And give them jobs. They're human beings, let's give them jobs. Let's get rid of this bias that we have everywhere."
Prior to the broadcast, actress Laverne Cox, who is transgender, used her time on the Emmys red carpet to discuss an upcoming Supreme Court case that will decide whether federal employment law, which bans discrimination based on sex, also bans discrimination based on transgender status.
Additionally, Michelle Williams, who won the award for lead actress in a limited series or TV movie, used her acceptance speech to discuss the gender pay gap in Hollywood.
"I want to say thank you so much to FX and to Fox 21 Studios for supporting me completely and for paying me equally, because they understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value, and then where do they put that value? They put it into their work," she said.
Williams added, "And so the next time a woman — and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart — tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her. Believe her. Because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it."
Other notable wins throughout the night were "Chernobyl," which took home the prize for outstanding limited series, as well as "Saturday Night Live" and "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," which each won two awards in the variety category.
Like the Academy Awards ceremony earlier this year, the Emmys did not have a host. Instead, Fox invited pop star Halsey, known for her songs "Now or Never" and "Bad at Love," to perform the tribute for the In Memoriam segment.
In addition, comedian Adam DeVine, whose credits include "Workaholics," introduced the variety genre with a special performance, and Thomas Lennon, of "The State" and "Reno 911," provided commentary during the ceremony for audiences at home.
Here are the winners of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards:
Tony Shalhoub — "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon) (WINNER)Alan Arkin — "The Kominsky Method" (Netflix)Anthony Carrigan — "Barry" (HBO)Henry Winkler — "Barry" (HBO)Stephen Root — "Barry" (HBO)Tony Hale — "Veep" (HBO)
Alex Borstein — "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon) (WINNER)Anna Chlumsky — "Veep" (HBO)Betty Gilpin — "GLOW" (Netflix)Kate McKinnon — "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)Marin Hinkle— "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon) Olivia Coleman — "Fleabag" (Amazon)Sarah Goldberg — "Barry" (HBO)Sian Clifford — "Fleabag" (Amazon)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge — "Fleabag" (Amazon) (WINNER)Alec Berg and Bill Hader — "Barry" (HBO)Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle — "PEN15" (Hulu)Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler — "Russian Doll" (Netflix)Allison Silverman — "Russian Doll" (Netflix)Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan — "The Good Place" (NBC)David Mandel — "Veep" (HBO)
Harry Bradbeer — "Fleabag" (Amazon) (WINNER)Alec Berg — "Barry" (HBO)Amy Sherman-Palladino — "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon) Bill Hader — "Barry" (HBO)Daniel Palladino — "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon) Mark Cendrowski — "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
Bill Hader — "Barry" (HBO) (WINNER)Anthony Anderson — "Black-ish" (ABC)Don Cheadle — "Black Monday" (Showtime)Ted Danson — "The Good Place" (NBC)Michael Douglas — "The Kominsky Method" (Netflix)Eugene Levy — "Schitt's Creek" (CBC Television)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge — "Fleabag" (Amazon) (WINNER)Christina Applegate — "Dead to Me" (Netflix)Rachel Brosnahan — "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon)Julia Louis-Dreyfus — "Veep" (HBO)Natasha Lyonne — "Russian Doll" (Netflix)Catherine O'Hara — "Schitt's Creek" (CBC Television)
"RuPaul's Drag Race" (VH1) (WINNER)"The Amazing Race" (CBS)"American Ninja Warrior" (NBC)"Nailed It" (Netflix)"Top Chef" (Bravo)"The Voice" (NBC)
Patricia Arquette — "The Act" (Hulu) (WINNER)Marsha Stephanie Blake — "When They See Us" (Netflix)Patricia Clarkson — "Sharp Objects" (HBO)Vera Farmiga — "When They See Us" (Netflix)Margaret Qualley — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)Emily Watson — "Chernobyl" (HBO)
Johan Renck — "Chernobyl" (HBO) (WINNER)Stephen Frears — "A Very English Scandal" (BBC)Ben Stiller — "Escape at Dannemora" (Showtime)Thomas Kail — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)Jessica Yu — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)Ava DuVernay — "When They See Us" (Netflix)
Ben Whishaw — "A Very English Scandal" (Amazon) (WINNER)Asante Blackk — "When They See Us" (Netflix)Paul Dano — "Escape at Dannemora" (Showtime)John Leguizamo — "When They See Us" (Netflix)Stellan Skarsgard — "Chernobyl" (HBO)Michael K. Williams — "When They See Us" (Netflix)
Craig Mazin — "Chernobyl" (HBO) (WINNER)Russell T. Davies — "A Very English Scandal" (BBC)Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin — "Escape At Dannemora" (Showtime)Brett Johnson, Michael Tolkin and Jerry Stahl — "Escape At Dannemora" (Showtime)Steven Levenson and Joel Fields — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)Ava DuVernay and Michael Starrbury — "When They See Us" (Netflix)
Jharrel Jerome — "When They See Us" (Netflix) (WINNER)Mahershala Ali — "True Detective" (HBO)Benicio Del Toro — "Escape at Dannemora" (Showtime)Hugh Grant — "A Very English Scandal" (BBC)Jared Harris — "Chernobyl" (HBO)Sam Rockwell — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)
"Bandersnatch: Black Mirror" (Netflix) (WINNER)"Brexit" (Amazon)"Deadwood: The Movie" (HBO)"King Lear" (BBC)"My Dinner with Herve" (HBO)
Michelle Williams — "Fosse/Verdon" (FX) (WINNER)Amy Adams — "Sharp Objects" (HBO)Patricia Arquette — "Escape at Dannemora" (Showtime)Aunjanue Ellis — "When They See Us" (Netflix)Joey King — "The Act" (Hulu)Niecy Nash — "When They See Us" (Netflix)
"Chernobyl" (HBO) (WINNER)"Escape at Dannemora" (Showtime) "Fosse/Verdon" (FX)"Sharp Objects" (HBO)"When They See Us" (Netflix)
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" (HBO) (WINNER)"Documentary Now!" (IFC)"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" (TBS)"Late Night with Seth Meyers" (NBC)"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)"The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (CBS)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC) (WINNER)"At Home with Amy Sedaris" (truTV)"Documentary Now!" (IFC)"Drunk History" (Comedy Central)"I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman" (Hulu)"Who Is America?" (Showtime)
Don Roy King — "Saturday Night Live" (NBC) (WINNER)Alex Buono and Rhys Thomas — "Documentary Now!" (IFC)Derek Waters — "Drunk History" (Comedy Central)Paul Pennolino — "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" (HBO)Jim Hoskinson — "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (CBS)Sacha Baron Cohen, Nathan Fielder, Daniel Gray Longino and Dan Mazer — "Who Is America?" (Showtime)
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" (HBO) (WINNER)"The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" (Comedy Central)"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" (TBS)"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)"The Late Late Show with James Corden" (CBS)"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (CBS)
Peter Dinklage — "Game of Thrones" (HBO) (WINNER)Alfie Allen — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Chris Sullivan — "This is Us" (NBC)Giancarlo Esposito — "Better Call Saul" (AMC)Jonathan Banks — "Better Call Saul" (AMC)Michael Kelly — "House of Cards" (Netflix)Nikolaj Coster-Waldau — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Jesse Armstrong — "Succession" (HBO) (WINNER)Peter Gould and Thomas Schnauz — "Better Call Saul" (AMC)Jed Mercurio — "Bodyguard" (Netflix)David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Emerald Fennell — "Killing Eve" (BBC)Bruce Miller and Kira Snyder — "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu)
Julia Garner — "Ozark" (Netflix) (WINNER)Fiona Shaw — "Killing Eve" (BBC)Gwendoline Christie — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Lena Headey — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Maisie Williams — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Sophie Turner — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Billy Porter — "Pose" (FX) (WINNER)Jason Bateman — "Ozark" (Netflix)Sterling K. Brown — "This is Us" (NBC)Kit Harington — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Bob Odenkirk — "Better Call Saul" (AMC)Milo Ventimiglia — "This is Us" (NBC)
Jason Bateman — "Ozark" (Netflix) (WINNER)David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)David Nutter — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Miguel Sapochnik — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Lisa Bruhlmann — "Killing Eve" (BBC)Adam McKay — "Succession" (HBO)Daina Reid — "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu)
Jodie Comer — "Killing Eve" (BBC/AMC) (WINNER)Emilia Clarke — "Game of Thrones" (HBO)Viola Davis — "How to Get Away with Murder" (ABC)Laura Linney — "Ozark" (Netflix)Mandy Moore — "This is Us" (NBC)Sandra Oh — "Killing Eve" (BBC/AMC)Robin Wright — "House of Cards" (Netflix)
"Fleabag" (Amazon) (WINNER)"Barry" (HBO)"The Good Place" (NBC)"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon)"Russian Doll" (Netflix)"Schitt's Creek" (CBC Television)"Veep" (HBO)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO) (WINNER)"Better Call Saul" (AMC)"Bodyguard" (Netflix)"Killing Eve" (BBC/AMC)"Ozark" (Netflix)"Pose" (FX)"Succession" (HBO)"This is Us" (NBC) | Awards ceremony | September 2019 | ['(CNBC)'] |
Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigns after deadly protests against fuel price rises. | The Prime Minister of Haiti, Jack Guy Lafontant, has resigned after days of violent protests against fuel price rises. In a speech in the lower house of Congress in the capital, Port-au-Prince, he said President Jovenel Moïse, had accepted his resignation.
There had been calls for a vote of no-confidence in Mr Lafontant in Congress during the riots.
At least four people were killed with shops and buildings burnt and looted. The unrest started after the government unveiled a proposal to remove fuel subsidies. Haiti protests in pictures
This would have increased the price of petrol by 38% diesel by 47% and kerosene by 51%.
The capital, Port-au-Prince, was immobilized and dozens of shops and businesses attacked.
The government responded by suspending the reforms.
In February, the country signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to carry out structural reforms to promote growth. The IMF argued getting rid of the fuel subsidies would free up cash for other things like education, health and job creation.
But many of the protestors accused the government of being out of touch with their economic difficulties in one of the world's poorest countries. A government spokesman said the suspension of the fuel price rises was temporary while the political crisis was tackled.
But opposition MPs in Congress warned that if the price increases were reinstated there would be more violence and protests on the streets. The IMF suggested on Thursday "a more gradual approach" to ending fuel subsidies which were expected to generate around $300m (£226m).
There were also fuel protests in 2015 where demonstrators demanded a reduction in prices.
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | July 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
A man opens fire at a mall in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States, killing eight before committing suicide. |
OMAHA, Neb., Dec 5 (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire inside
a crowded shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday,
killing eight people and then himself, police said.
Five other people were wounded in the rampage, including
two critically, according to hospital spokesmen. One man with a
chest wound was in surgery.
Police had few details of the shooting, but witnesses said
the gunman shot one man in the head from a third-floor balcony
of the Westroads Mall and others were shot at point-blank
range.
Police arrived at the mall, which was crowded with
shoppers, and encountered victim after victim, though it was
not clear when the gunman killed himself, police Sgt. Teresa
Negron told reporters.
Negron said most of the victims were shot inside one
department store and that the motive for the rampage was still
being investigated.
"There was breaking glass ... it was horrible, just
horrible," one woman told KETV in Omaha, saying she hid under a
clothes rack when the shooting started.
Another witness said she heard someone shout, "It's a
gunman, run!" and saw bullet casings cascading off the mall
balcony.
| Armed Conflict | December 2007 | ['(Reuters)'] |
The UEFA European Football Championship gets underway in Poland. | Last updated on 7 June 20127 June 2012.From the section Euro 2012
After weeks of anticipation, speculation and debate, Euro 2012 gets under way on Friday when co-hosts Poland take on Greece in Warsaw.
The tournament sees 16 of Europe's best footballing countries compete for the Henri Delaunay Trophy, with the final taking place in Kiev on 1 July.
England start their campaign against France on 11 June - while Republic of Ireland are also in action.
There will be 31 games over three weeks, as Spain defend their title.
Winners: Germany
Runners-up: Spain
Semi-finalists: Netherlands, France
Eight stadiums across Poland and Ukraine are being used for the tournament, from the smallest in Lviv which holds just under 35,000 fans, to the colossal 70,000-seater Olympic Stadium in Kiev which hosts the final.
BBC Sport's pundits have backed Germany to win this time around, with only former captain Alan Shearer backing England to make the last four.
As well as France, Roy Hodgson's England will come up against Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D, while Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland are in a tough group consisting of Croatia, Italy and defending European and world champions Spain.
Other fancied teams this time around are the Netherlands - who are in the 'group of death' alongside the Germans, Portugal and Denmark - while Russia could spring a surprise from Group A.
England - who failed to qualify for the last tournament in Austria and Switzerland four years ago - have never won the European Championship, with their best result in recent memory a semi-final defeat by Germany at Wembley in 1996.
Their build-up to the tournament this time has been hampered by the loss of several first-team players to injury and suspension.
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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will miss the first two matches of the tournament after he was sent off against Montenegro last year, while Frank Lampard, Gary Cahill and Gareth Barry all picked up injuries in the last few weeks.
As well as players missing out on the trip, the usual hordes of England fans may be absent after thousands of tickets were returned to Uefa.
The Football Association was given around 7,500 tickets for the games against France and Ukraine, and 9,000 for the Sweden fixture.
But only 3,000 tickets were sold through England's official membership group for each of the group games.
It is believed that the current economic climate, coupled with the high costs of travel and accommodation, have put many off, while after a Panorama programme highlighted incidents of racism in Ukraine.
All 31 matches will be covered on BBC Radio 5 live/5 live sports extra, with live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website.
Television coverage of the tournament is shared with ITV, with the tournament's opener between Poland and Greece live on BBC One and BBC One HD from 16:15 BST on Friday, 8 June. | Sports Competition | June 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
At least 12 people die in flash flooding on the Spanish island of Mallorca, including nationals of at least 3 countries. A five-year-old child is missing. , (El País) | The search continues for missing people following flash flooding in parts of Spain, Italy and France.
Twelve died - including a British couple - when torrential rain lashed eastern Majorca in Spain. An eight-year-old local boy is still missing. Three Germans and a Dutch woman were among those who lost their lives.
A flash flood on France's south coast killed two people in Sainte-Maxime while a woman was found dead after a storm in Sardinia, Italy.
The two British victims of the Majorca floods were named as Anthony and Delia Green, a pair of holidaymakers in their 70s, from Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway. They were discovered in their submerged taxi, which had been swept away in Sillot, near the tourist town of Sant Llorenç. The body of the taxi driver was discovered nearby. Police in Sant Llorenç say they are dealing with many incidents of looting and have increased patrols. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said it will take months to return the disaster-hit towns to normality.
More than 100 rescue workers searched through the night for the missing eight-year-old boy. He is believed to have been in a car with his mother, who is among the victims. His sister, who was also in the car, survived and was rescued.
The world's number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, has opened the doors of his tennis academy in Manacor, near Sant Llorenç, and was photographed taking part in the clean-up effort as a volunteer.
Nadal was born in Manacor. He tweeted his condolences to victims' families, calling it a "sad day for Majorca".
In southern France the rise of the River Garonnette in Saint-Maxime swept five cars towards the nearby sea.
Two bodies were found in one of the cars, which had been tossed upside down in the water. Saint-Maxime lies in the Var region, where local authorities had urged people not to take to the flooded roads and to seek shelter during the heavy rainfall.
According to the BFMTV news site, 210mm (8in) of rain fell on Wednesday night - two months' worth of normal rainfall. In Italy, the Cagliari area of Sardinia was also hit by bad weather, and one woman was found dead on Thursday. Her car had got trapped by the flooding. Italian news agency Ansa named her as 45-year-old Tamara Maccario and said she and her family had left their home near a river over fear of the impending floodwater. The vehicle was swept away at about midnight on Wednesday.
Ansa reports that one of the woman's daughters was found clinging to a tree, while two other children and their father were found in two separate homes nearby.
Ms Maccario's body was found on Thursday morning. Another man was also reported missing.
Large parts of Cagliari remain underwater, demonstrated in a video posted by Italian firefighters. #Cagliari #10ott, continua il lavoro dei #vigilidelfuoco per il #maltempo. Maggiori criticità nelle loc. Poggio dei Pini e Torre degli Ulivi nel comune di Capoterra. Nella clip il sorvolo del #dragovf nelle zone maggiormente colpite #soccorsiquotidiani pic.twitter.com/hUbbwdOgzm
Roads and bridges have also been damaged.
Dozens of people have been evacuated, and several roads have been closed due to either collapse or dangerously high water levels.
Two Britons confirmed dead in Majorca flood
Nadal opens centre to Majorca flood victims
'There were dozens of cars in the ocean'
| Floods | October 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
Anthony Foley, coach of Irish rugby union team Munster, dies suddenly at the age of 42 in a hotel near Paris. Officials postpone Munster's European Rugby Champions Cup match against Racing 92. | Last updated on 16 October 201616 October 2016.From the section Rugby Union
Munster head coach Anthony Foley has died suddenly at their team hotel in Paris.
Foley, 42, died overnight at the hotel, where the team were staying prior to Sunday's game against Racing 92.
The European Champions Cup game was postponed following the former Ireland international's death.
A statement by the Irish Rugby Football Union said: "The IRFU and Munster Rugby pass on our deepest sympathy to all of Anthony's family and friends."
It added: "We ask for privacy for the family at this sad time."
Foley is survived by his wife Olive and two children.
Foley, whose father Brendan also played for Ireland, made 201 appearances in the back row for Munster in a playing career that spanned 13 years.
He made his debut in 1995 against Swansea in the province's first match in the Heineken Cup - a competition in which he would later captain his side to victory in 2006, having twice finished as a runner-up (in 2000 and 2002).
He would also captain Ireland three times in winning 62 caps, having made a try-scoring debut in the Five Nations defeat by England in January 1995.
He was replaced as Munster captain by Paul O'Connell for the 2007-08 season, at the end of which he announced his retirement and joined their coaching staff.
Foley initially took over as Munster forwards coach in 2011 - a role he briefly undertook with Ireland during the 2012 Six Nations - before graduating to head coach in 2014 after the departure of Rob Penney.
Munster appointed South African Rassie Erasmus as the club's director of rugby in July but Foley's job title remained head coach.
BBC Sport's Tom English: This is hard to comprehend. Incredibly sad. One of Munster's all-time greats.
Glasgow Warriors coach and former Scotland international Gregor Townsend: A sad day for rugby. Hugely influential figure in the game. A good man gone too soon. RIP Axel.
Welsh Rugby Union: Unbelievably sad news. Thoughts and prayers with all Anthony's family, friends and colleagues. RIP
Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan: It is hard to get your head around what has happened, a young man in the prime of his life taken away so suddenly.
Former Scotland international Craig Chalmers: Can't believe the shocking news about Anthony Foley. One of our games truly great guys and always a Munster and Irish rugby legend.
Former England international Brian Moore: Just heard the terrible news of the death of Munster's Anthony Foley - thoughts with his family - very sad indeed.
England international Mike Brown: Absolutely terrible and sad news. Thoughts are with all his family, friends and everyone at Munster.
World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper: Shocked by the tragic news of Anthony Foley. All at World Rugby send our heart-felt condolences and thoughts to family, friends and Munster. | Famous Person - Death | October 2016 | ['(BBC)'] |
Argentina announces a deal with its creditors, allowing a way out of its ninth sovereign default. |
Argentina has defused fears of a messy default after it gained backing from creditors, allowing it to exchange 99 per cent of the bonds involved in a $65 billion (€54 billion) restructuring, a deal that could set a precedent for future sovereign crises.
After months of winding and tense negotiations, framed by the coronavirus pandemic, bondholders tendered 93.55 per cent of the eligible bonds in the exchange, economy minister Martin Guzman said at a news conference on Monday.
“In recent days we have worked on the conditions of an offer that gained massive acceptance by our creditors as a result of the dialogue process in past months,” Guzman said.
A strong deal is a major win for Argentina, Latin America’s third largest economy, as it looks to escape from its ninth sovereign default and revive an economy in its third year of recession and expected to contract around 12.5 per cent this year.
Reuters reported on Friday, when the deal deadline closed, that the government was confident of high creditor support after winning over its main three creditor groups to a deal in principle earlier in August.
Center-left president Alberto Fernandez, who took power in December, said Argentina had been in a “labyrinth” of debt that had now been solved. He thanked allies, including Pope Francis, an Argentine, and Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The government said the deal and a separate restructuring of local law dollar debt combined would bring financial relief of $37.7 billion over the 2020-2030 period, and help cut average interest payments on foreign law bonds to 3 per cent from 7 per cent.
“Now there are other challenges, the first of which is to reactivate the domestic market,” Fernandez said at the Casa Rosada presidential palace.
Guzman said Argentina now needed to turn attention to sealing a new programme with the International Monetary Fund to replace a defunct $57 billion facility agreed in 2018, as well as tackling provincial debt amid various smaller regional restructurings.
He said the government planned to send a 2021 budget bill to Congress in mid-September, which would include a forecast for a primary fiscal deficit next year of around 4.5 per cent. A new deal with the IMF is unlikely before March next year, said Guzman.
The 1 per cent of bonds that did not meet collective action clause (CAC) thresholds of support for a restructuring indicates there were some pockets of holdouts on individual bonds, though Guzman told reporters it was not a major issue and would be resolved.
The bonds being restructured have CACs that mean the government needs a certain level of support to restructure them. Older 2005 indenture bonds require a combined 85 per cent of creditor support, with two-thirds of support needed on each individual series.
The strong support and few holdouts stands in contrast to Argentina’s 2005 debt restructuring, which saw creditors holding around a quarter of bonds reject a deal, leading to over a decade of legal battles.
“I was expecting them to easily clear the CAC threshold on most of the bonds, but this result was on the high side of my expectations,” said Ajata Mediratta, president of Greylock Capital Management in New York, which was involved in the talks.
Eduardo Levy Yeyati, an economist at Torcuato Di Tella University, said the good result underscored the important role of CACs, similar to what had happened with a recent successful restructuring in Ecuador. “Once the government made a realistic offer acceptable to creditors, the CACs induced the rest to get on board, dissuading holdouts and avoiding costly litigation,” he said. We now have four years ahead of us to implement the policies that make this swap a sustainable solution.” | Sign Agreement | August 2020 | ['(Irish Times)'] |
The Development Bank of Japan announces plans to establish a 50 billion yen fund to assist auto parts manufacturers hurt by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. | The Development Bank of Japan plans to raise 50 billion yen to establish a fund in June to assist auto parts manufacturers hit by the March earthquake and tsunami, it has been learned.
It will ask major financial groups and the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association to invest in the fund. The auto parts industries association will also help the fund select which manufacturers to assist, according to sources.
The fund is designed to finance major auto parts manufacturers, and these makers are expected in turn to invest in subcontractors. The aim is to infuse money into small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers, which the DBJ and major financial groups do not have regular business contacts with. The DBJ hopes this will speed up the rehabilitation of the auto parts industry.
A delay in rehabilitating domestic auto parts makers could affect the recovery of the whole Japanese economy, observers say.
In some cases, the fund will directly finance subcontractors and lower-tier subcontractors, according to the sources. In such cases, the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association and other groups will help rate the manufacturers in such areas as technological capability.
Atop the pyramid of the nation's automobile industry are 14 major automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. Just below them are about 800 major auto parts manufacturers that supply the automakers with interior equipment and parts such as air conditioners. They purchase smaller parts from about 4,000 companies that are below them on the pyramid, which do business with about 20,000 companies below them--the smallest in the industry.
After the March 11 disaster, some foreign automakers began sourcing their auto parts in other Asian countries. | Financial Aid | May 2011 | ['(Daily Yomiuri)'] |
A zircon crystal, thought to be the oldest piece of Earth at about 4.4 billion years old, goes on a one–day display at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. | The 4.4-billion-year-old zircon crystal, barely two human hairs wide, was brought out at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Saturday.
The day's festivities also featured the Rock Concert, which was to include jazz from a band using rocks as percussion.
The zircon, found in Australia in 2001, led to a reappraisal of early Earth.
Analytical work by geophysicist Professor John Valley at the university in Madison, Wisconsin, showed the crystal could only have formed in a low-temperature environment.
That suggested the early Earth was much cooler than previously thought, meaning life-forming elements such as oceans were formed earlier, too.
Computer beats
Saturday's accompanying music included jazz composed especially for the day to try to answer the question of what 4.4 billion years old sounds like.
Roy Nathanson, who composes for the performing New York-based Jazz Passengers, said his rock banging, jazz and computer beats would trace the crystal's origins. "The whole thing is something that captures your imagination," he told the Associated Press news agency.
Professor Valley said: "This is our first glimpse into the earliest history of the Earth. The miraculous thing about the crystal is that we've been able to make such wide-ranging inferences about the early Earth."
The festivities also included a lecture from the man who decided the age of the crystal - Professor Simon Wilde of the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. | New archeological discoveries | April 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
The 54th Grammy Awards for music are held at the Staples Center in the U.S. city of Los Angeles, with some of the show being re-worked to commemorate Whitney Houston. | What time are the 2012 Grammy Awards? It's a seemingly simple question, since the show starts at 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. But unless you have a ticket to the show or access to the East Coast feed, if you live in Southern California, you'll have to wait till 8 p.m. to see the Grammys on TV. Just like the East Coast, which gets to see the show live on CBS.
Got it?
Regardless of the time, Adele, Kanye West, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne and Skrillex are among the nominees, and country music legend Glen Campbell is being honored with a lifetime achievement award.
PHOTOS: Grammy Awards: 10 burning questions
LL Cool J will host the 54th Grammy Awards, the first time in seven years that the Grammys have opted to have a host.
| Awards ceremony | February 2012 | ['(Los Angeles Times)'] |
Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá and twelve others are charged with electoral fraud. | SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila and 12 political associates in the Caribbean island and on the U.S. mainland were charged with election funding fraud in an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
Puerto Rico's eighth elected governor Anibal Acevedo Vila delivers remarks after taking the oath of office in San Juan, Puerto Rico in this January 2, 2005 file photo.
The charges said Acevedo Vila collected illegal contributions and spent far more than he reported during his election campaigns from 1999 to 2004.
A group of Philadelphia-area businessmen solicited contributions from relatives and staff and illegally reimbursed the donors, the indictment alleges. The governor then helped them get government contracts in Puerto Rico, it says.
Before taking office as governor in January 2005, Acevedo Vila was the U.S. territory’s resident commissioner, its non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress.
Charges in the 27-count indictment include conspiracy, making false statements to the FBI, wire fraud, defrauding a federal election funding program and tax crimes.
Acevedo Vila, who faces 19 counts, issued a statement saying he would turn himself in on Friday and called the charges politically motivated.
“It’s the result of three years of leaks, rumors and a spectacle designed to harm me,” said Acevedo Vila, who faces re-election in November.
“Because the federal authorities have decided to stretch their jurisdiction and twist the truth, I am going to defend my rights and protect the dignity of my family and the people of Puerto Rico who support me.”
He is a member of the Popular Democratic Party, which favors maintaining Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. commonwealth rather than seeking full U.S. statehood.
Acevedo Vila is the third well-known Democrat to get into trouble with the law this month. Elliot Spitzer resigned as New York governor amid reports that he hired a $1,000-an-hour prostitute. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged with perjury and other offenses stemming in part from a sex scandal.
Acevedo Vila, who endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as the Democratic contender in the U.S. presidential race, is also a superdelegate, one of the party insiders and elected officials who may hold the deciding votes in the contest between Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Puerto Rico’s 4 million residents cannot vote in the November election but they help choose party nominees and will hold a presidential primary election on June 1. Puerto Rico will send 55 elected delegates and eight superdelegates to the Democrats’ nominating convention in August.
Acevedo Vila was secluded inside La Fortaleza, the historic governor’s mansion in Old San Juan, as prosecutors held a news conference on Thursday to announce the charges.
Investigators said Acevedo Vila routinely supplemented his income with campaign funds, in amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000. They said he also used campaign cash to pay for family vacations in Orlando, Florida, and to send his children on a trip to China.
The other 12 defendants were arrested and included campaign donors and staff and some of Acevedo Vila’s current and former aides in Washington and San Juan.
They are accused of making and collecting illegal contributions, mostly funneled through the campaign’s public relations and media company.
If convicted, the defendants face from three to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $6.4 million. The governor himself faces up to 20 years if convicted on all counts.
Additional reporting by Jane Sutton in Miami, editing by Michael Christie and Mohammad Zargham
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | March 2008 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr is sentenced to 90 lashes of the cane and a year's jail in Tehran for appearing in the film My Tehran For Sale which criticises the Government of Iran's harsh policies on the arts. | An Iranian actress has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year's jail in Tehran for her role in an Australian-produced film that criticises Iran's hardline policies on the arts.
Marzieh Vafamehr appeared in 2009's My Tehran For Sale, which was shot in the Iranian capital and tells the story of a young actress whose stage work is banned by the authorities.
The feature premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival two years ago, but is banned in Iran.
The actress and another Iranian filmmaker were both arrested in July when black market copies of the film reportedly began circulating illegally.
Vafamehr has now been sentenced to a year in prison and 90 lashes of the cane.
An Iranian opposition website says her lawyer has already lodged an appeal.
Adelaide Film Festival director Katrina Sedgwick says she is shocked and distressed at what she believes is a harsh sentence.
However she admits the content of the movie is sensitive.
"There is always somewhat of a risk for filmmakers in that country when they're exploring ideas that are complex and even quite subtly political," she said. "It certainly makes one very aware of the amazing freedom that we have and the rights that we have in Australia, and we can never take them for granted. "It also reminds one of the amazing courage of artists around the world working in places where they do take risks."
The Australian Iranian Community says Vafamehr's imprisonment is a bid by Tehran to suppress freedom of expression.
Community chairman Siyamak Ghahreman says he was surprised to learn of the sentence, given the film was made legally.
"Sometimes they do that to stop other people or other filmmakers [making] movies about Iranian problems. So by doing this they probably prevent other people do this," he said.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | October 2011 | ['(ABC News Australia)'] |
Bangladeshi politician Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury is sentenced to death for war crimes including murder, torture, and genocide for his atrocities in the Bangladesh Liberation War. | An MP for Bangladesh's main opposition party has been sentenced to death by a war crimes court for charges including murder and genocide during the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, the first member of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to be tried by the court, was found guilty of nine out of 23 charges.
The BNP and his lawyers argue that the trial was politically motivated.
Previous verdicts against Islamist leaders have been followed by protests.
After the sentencing, Chowdhury's supporters attacked governing party activists and smashed and burned vehicles in Chittagong and in Dhaka, police said.
At least one person was injured in Chittagong. The war crimes tribunal was set up by the Awami League-led government in 2010 and opposition parties have accused it of pursuing a political vendetta against its opponents. Tribunal chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said: "We are of the unanimous view that the accused deserves the highest punishment for committing such crimes that tremble the collective conscience of mankind." The judge said that Chowdhury should "hang until death". But human rights groups and the BNP have both said that the tribunal fell short of international standards. In a statement after the sentencing, Amnesty International called for Bangladesh to overturn all five war crime death sentences imposed this year. Chowdhury's wife, Farhat Quader Chowdhury, said after the verdict that she and her legal team "would do whatever we need to do to show the world that this is a farce". His son accused the court of ignoring a letter written by a judge who said that he and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury were at university together during the 1971 war of independence.
Chowdhury's lawyers say that they will appeal against the conviction at the Supreme Court.
The BBC's Mahfuz Sadique - who was in court - says that Chowdhury, 64, repeatedly interrupted the tribunal judges as they delivered their two-and-a-half hour verdict.
"This judgement came from the [law] ministry. A copy of the verdict has been available on the internet since yesterday," Chowdhury cried out after the announcement of his conviction and sentencing had been finally completed.
Our correspondent says that Chowdury's lawyer also claimed that the verdict was a foregone conclusion - but allegations that it was available online beforehand are impossible to substantiate. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has dismissed the allegations as "out of the question, incorrect... and merely an assumption". Lawyers sympathetic to the BNP meanwhile are reported to have threatened to "try everyone connected" with the war crimes tribunal once the party returns to power.
Senior BNP official Khandker Mahabub Hossain said: "Everyone related with the trial will be tried some day on this soil."
Security was tight in Dhaka where the verdict was heard in a packed courtroom. A crowd gathered outside the court to welcome the verdict.
But there was anger in Chittagong, the home district of Chowdhury where he has been re-elected six times. Troops were deployed to confront marauding opposition supporters.
Chowdhury's party called a day-long general strike in Chittagong on Wednesday.
Analysts say the tribunal's verdicts have exposed profound divisions in Bangladeshi society. Last month when the Supreme Court gave the death penalty to a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Abdul Kader Mullah, there were demonstrations both for and against the decision. The sentences handed down to its leaders over the last few months have unleashed a wave of unrest, pitting supporters of Jamaat against pro-government groups.
But this rupture goes back to the very origins of Bangladesh when some groups, including Islamist groups like Jamaat, opposed the struggle for independence from Pakistan. The special court was set up in 2010 by the government to deal with those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop East Pakistan (as Bangladesh was then) from becoming an independent country.
It has tried nine Jamaat leaders and two members of the BNP - they have always denied any role in war crimes committed by pro-Pakistan militias.
Chowdhury is the first of those BNP members - and the first sitting MP - to be sentenced. Prosecutors accused him of genocide, abduction, committing atrocities against Hindus and forcefully converting a number of Hindus to Islam.
During the war his father was an influential politician who worked to prevent Bangladesh breaking away. The prosecution also said that his father's residence in Chittagong was turned into a torture cell at that time. Bangladesh government figures estimate more than three million people were killed during the war. Other researchers put the figure at between 300,000 and 500,000. Bangladesh war crimes trial: Key accused
Bangladesh strike over war sentence
Scars of Bangladesh war
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | October 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
Clashes between rebels and government troops in the Kokang region of northeastern Burma continue, with around 30,000 refugees fleeing across the border to China. | YANGON: The situation in Myanmar's Kokang region or Shan State Special Region-1 in the northeastern part of the country remained tense with some small clashes between the Kokang ethnic army and the government forces going on Friday, reports reaching here from the border area said.
The splinter group of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), led by Bai Xuoqian, who is former deputy to the MNDAA chief Phone Kyar Shin, has in fact taken control of the situation with Bai becoming the top leader of the army, supported by the government forces, thus replacing the former chief Phone, the sources said.
So far, neither official media nor private ones reported the clashes which had lasted for days and the government did not make any comments about the Kokang situation.
The armed clashes began on Thursday with three battles taking place in the Kokang region, the sources also said.
The tense situation originated from a move-in of the government troops in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang region, on August 8 when Phone Kyar Shin's residence as well as an arms factory were raided on suspicion of producing drugs and the standoff between the two forces have triggered large outflux of border inhabitants into the neighboring Yunnan province's Nansan area, according to local sources.
The MNDAA, formerly led by Phone Kyar Shin, ceasefired with the government on March 31, 1989 but was allowed to retain arms and establish the northern Shan state special region-1, enjoying self- administration on condition.
With an area of over 10,000 square-kilometer, Kokang region is located in Myanmar's northeastern part connecting China's Zhen Kung, Geng Ma, Meng Ding and Long Ling areas and has a population of about 150,000. | Armed Conflict | August 2009 | ['(China Daily)', '(The Times)', '(Reuters)'] |
An explosion at a public health school in the city of Kano in northern Nigeria kills at least 12 people. | An explosion has struck a public health college in Nigeria's second city of Kano, in the north, killing at least eight people, police say.
At least 20 others were wounded in the blast at the Kano School of Hygiene. The city has been targeted in the past by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which aims to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
Three states to the east of Kano are under a government-imposed emergency after years of militant attacks.
Kano State police spokesman Magaji Majiya, who confirmed the attack, said eight people had been killed and many others with horrific injuries had been taken to hospital for treatment. The BBC's Mansur Liman, in the capital Abuja, says the blast occurred as students were struggling to meet a deadline to register for the new academic session.
He says the area has been cordoned off and emergency services are continuing to take the injured to hospital. One person has been arrested, according to the police. A teacher at the college told the AFP news agency that the blast seemed to originate from a car park next to the post-secondary training school. The latest incident comes less than a week after some 21 people were killed in a bomb blast outside a shop in Yobe state where people had gathered to watch a World Cup match.
Public screenings of the World Cup in some parts of Nigeria have been banned because of threats by Boko Haram, who want to overthrow the government.
Boko Haram - which means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language - captured international attention in April after it abducted more than 200 girls in Chibok in Borno state.
The states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been under a state of emergency since May 2013. Thousands have died in the north-east since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009.
Nigeria's military has promised increased security but there are still daily reports of attacks on villages in parts of the north-east.
Kano is the largest city in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.
In January 2012, about 150 people died in a series of co-ordinated attacks in the city by Boko Haram. | Armed Conflict | June 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
Super Typhoon Yutu makes landfall on Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands as a category 5 storm. The typhoon becomes the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike any part of the United States since 1935. , | Typhoon Yutu’s 180 mph winds overturned cars, knocked down hundreds of power poles and left an island of thousands without a medical center and another without an airport. Buildings were reduced to haphazard piles of tin and wood; if a structure wasn’t made of concrete, one resident said, it was probably wiped out by the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit any part of the United States since 1935.
Yutu spent roughly seven hours thrashing the small islands of Saipan and Tinian, the most populous part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, early Thursday morning local time. Residents of the islands north of Guam are accustomed to typhoons but quickly attested that this was the worst they’d seen.
Yutu’s gigantic eye enveloped much of Saipan and all of Tinian, leaving the islands “mangled,” as one local official told The Washington Post. Rescue and relief operations have begun, but officials say their efforts are being hampered by dangerous weather and widespread destruction, which includes “extensive damage to critical infrastructure,” according to an update Thursday from the governor’s office. One woman on Saipan, who took shelter in an abandoned building that collapsed on her, died during the storm.
“We just went through one of the worst storms I’ve seen in all my experience in emergency management,” local emergency management official Gerald J. Deleon Guerrero said in a statement.
The Thursday update cited hundreds of downed power poles and a “significantly large number of downed transformers and conductors” on Saipan and Tinian. It said that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had been asked for “700 to 800 power poles, transformers, and additional materials to begin power restoration,” which will have to be done before water service can be restored.
According to figures released by the Weather Underground website, Yutu was tied with the fifth-highest wind speed of any storm on record as it made landfall. Only a few storms, including 2013′s Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines, have been stronger, and even then not by much. For the United States, just one storm — the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys — is believed to have been more powerful.
The Northern Mariana Islands are the most recent U.S. territory to have been pummeled by a strong hurricane in the past two years. The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico suffered calamitous strikes in the 2017 hurricane season, and Guam was recently struck by Typhoon Mangkhut.
Overall, the escalating impacts on U.S. island territories in the Pacific and Caribbean underscore that as seas rise and storms worsen with climate change, small islands face some of the most extreme risks on Earth. Many have organized into the Alliance of Small Island States to push for strong action to curb global warming. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa are affiliated with the organization.
John J. Marra, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s regional climate services director for the Pacific islands, said in an interview that in the short term, natural variability will play a greater role in determining where typhoons hit and how intense they are.
“It isn’t this steady march. It’s really waves of change,” he said by phone, adding that the intensity of typhoons in the Pacific will vary. “But each time it’s going to be worse because the baseline is shifting up over time. The sea level’s a little higher; the sea surface temperature’s going to be a little warmer.” Nikolao Pula, who directs the Interior Department’s Office of Insular Affairs, said in a phone interview that Secretary Ryan Zinke heard Pacific leaders' concerns about climate change during his recent tour of the region. Zinke noted that there are other large greenhouse gas emitters besides the United States but that the department is focused on addressing the territories' immediate needs.
“Hey, how can we help fix those issues we need to fix, and we will leave the science to the scientists,” Pula said, describing the secretary’s approach.
At the moment, there are plenty of items in need of fixing.
Jose Mafnas, a resident of Saipan, told The Post in a phone interview that he lost his roof.
“We heard the tin fly out. It got stripped,” the 29-year-old attorney said, describing the moment Yutu took his roof. “Water was coming in through the wooden ceiling, and then eventually the whole ceiling just collapsed down to the floor. My house and my neighbors' houses are pretty much destroyed. … There’s just tin roofing all over the place.” The National Weather Service in Guam had warned residents that the winds would be so strong that “most homes will sustain severe damage with potential for complete roof failure and wall collapse. Most industrial buildings will be destroyed.” Still, Mafnas said, he was “at a loss for words” when he first saw the havoc Yutu wreaked on his island. “I knew the damage would be significant, but coming out in the morning, even with that knowledge, I was still surprised by how devastating it was." Frank Camacho, a photographer from Saipan who was on Guam, about 135 miles to the south, stayed in touch with family members and friends via WhatsApp and relayed to The Post what they were experiencing.
“Massive flooding in homes, roofs being blown off, storm shutters flying off concrete buildings, buildings being leveled, and the storm is still hitting in the 70-100 mph range,” Camacho said in an email as dawn broke Thursday on the islands. (The islands are 14 hours ahead of Eastern time.) “My sister just lost her whole house on Saipan. … [People] hiding in their bathrooms as the eye passed over the islands.” The full extent of the damage is not known, Nadine Deleon Guerrero, an external affairs officer with the commonwealth’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told The Post in a phone interview. Preliminary assessments cannot be carried out until the weather improves, but speaking on the basis of “windshield assessments,” Guerrero said the devastation caused by Yutu is “five times worse” than that from Typhoon Soudelor, which slammed the islands in 2015. Soudelor was the strongest tropical cyclone in the 2015 Pacific typhoon season.
In general, the northwest Pacific, where tropical cyclones are referred to as typhoons, not hurricanes, has the most numerous and strongest storms on the planet.
“It’s so much damage,” Guerrero said. “This is the worst storm that I’ve ever seen." Nola Hix, another Saipan resident, told The Post via WhatsApp that she lived through Soudelor and had “prayed we’d never experience [that] again.” Unfortunately, Yutu was Soudelor “x 20,” she wrote.
“We are all grateful to God to be alive,” Hix added, noting that her brother’s and mother’s homes were destroyed. “It was very scary. I had never heard wind and rain like that, and it went on for a long time.” On Tinian, conditions were equally grim.
“Tinian has been devastated by Typhoon Yutu,” Mayor Joey San Nicolas said in a video on Facebook. “Many homes have been destroyed. Our critical infrastructure has been compromised. We currently have no power and water at this time.” San Nicolas said that rescue operations were underway but that access to several areas throughout the island remained very limited. “Tinian has been destroyed … but our spirits have not,” he said. “We are in the process of recovering from this typhoon, and we ask for your continued prayers.” Emergency shelters on Saipan and Tinian are full, Robert Schwalbach, a spokesman for Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D), the islands' representative in Congress, told The Post in an email. Saipan’s health center is running on emergency power, and the one in Tinian, which has no patients, “sustained major damage,” Schwalbach said.
On Saipan, Guerrero said the government’s main priority is providing aid to those who lost their homes. It is not yet clear how many lack shelter, but the number is likely in the hundreds, she said. The plan is to work with local and federal agencies to distribute tents that can survive winds of up to 60 mph, she said.
President Trump declared a disaster in the Marianas before the storm made landfall, and dozens of FEMA personnel were positioned on Saipan and Tinian because they had been working on Guam because of Mangkhut. On Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency in the territory.
FEMA spokesman Marty Bahamonde said in a phone interview Thursday that agency officials on the ground in the Northern Marinanas had sheltered in place and started working with local officials Thursday to assess the damage. He added that the agency activated its national response coordination center to operate on a 24-7 basis Wednesday night, allowing all of the federal agencies involved in the response to start planning and moving supplies that are needed in the region.
“We are synced with the Saipan government and are working to understand what the damages are and what the needs are going to be,” Bahamonde said.
The Interior Department’s Pula — who said his field representative on Saipan was texting updates Thursday as he hid under his table and part of his roof blew off — reported that many of the roofs at the island’s community college had blown off, and other schools had sustained serious damage. With ports closed, Saipan’s airport shut down and major power outages taking place, he added, the islands' vibrant tourism sector had suffered a severe blow.
“Now with this hurricane, they’re going to have to rebuild again,” he said. “It’s going to take months to get up and running.” The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | October 2018 | ['(Saipan Tribune)', '(The Washington Post)'] |
Leader Muammar Gaddafi addresses a crowd of supporters in the capital Tripoli. , | Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday vowed defiantly to triumph over his enemies, urging his supporters in Tripoli's Green Square to protect Libya and its petroleum interests. He told supporters he would open arsenals "when necessary" to arm the Libyan people against the "enemy"."We can crush any enemy. We can crush it with the people's will. The people are armed and when necessary, we will open arsenals to arm all the Libyan people and all Libyan tribes."
This was Gaddafi's third statement this week. He previously called on his followers to crush the rebellion against him that began last week and later said al-Qaeda was behind what he called "drug crazed mobs" of youth trying to unseat him. Addressing cheering supporters from the old city ramparts looking over Green Square, Gaddafi, wearing a winter jacket and a hunter's cap that covered his ears, said: "If people do not love Gaddafi then he does not deserve to live. If the Arab peoples do not love Gaddafi, than Muammar Gaddafi does not deserve to live.""Get ready to fight for Libya, get ready to fight for dignity, get ready to fight for petroleum." The Libyan leader, who has lost swathes of his country to protesters, said: "Respond to them, put them to shame" and "we can triumph over the enemies." Blowing kisses to his supporters and then shaking his fist in the air, Gaddafi said: "This nation, we are the nation of dignity and integrity, this nation has triumphed over (former colonial power) Italy." Becoming more and more animated, Gaddafi said: "Muammar Gaddafi is amongst you. I stand among the people and we will fight and we will kill them if they want." "Look at the people's force. This is the people's force that cannot be defeated." Gaddafi on Friday delivered another robust and pugnacious speech, excitedly urging supporters to fight and celebrate: "You must dance, sing, and prepare yourself ... this spirit you have is stronger than any other attempt by the foreigners and the enemies to destroy us." Gaddafi shouted: "Muammar Gaddafi is among you. I stand among the people and we will fight and we will kill them if they want ... Look at the people's force. This is the people's force that cannot be defeated." To the outside world, Gaddafi said: "Look Europe, look America, to this Libyan people. Here is Muammar Gaddafi among the people, among the youth. This is the Libyan people, this is the fruit of the revolution. The youth are enthusiastic. They want the revolution, they want dignity and glory.&ddafi | Famous Person - Give a speech | February 2011 | ['(Al Jazeera)', '(Al Arabiya)', '(USA Today)'] |
At least 13 people are missing or dead after the cargo ship MV Ibn al–Battuta sinks near Port Safaga, Egypt. | (CNN) -- Fourteen people were missing after a cargo ship sank Monday in Egyptian waters, Red Sea Gov. Majdi Al Qubaisi told Egyptian television. Nine survivors and the bodies of two crew members aboard the Cypriot-flagged Ibn Battuta cargo ship were recovered in separate operations Monday, the Nile TV News Web site said. A rescue boat was headed out to retrieve a 10th survivor. The survivors were "on their way to the naval base, and preparations had been taken to carry out a medical check as soon as they arrive," the Web site said, citing an unnamed Egyptian official.
The Ibn Battuta's crew members are of Indian, Pakistani, Bengali, Somali, Iraqi and Sudanese nationalities, Nile TV News said.
The Ibn Battuta was carrying 6,500 tons of sand for use in the glass industry and was on its way from the Port of Abu Zenima in Egypt to the United Arab Emirates, the TV station reported.
The ship had experienced bad weather in the Red Sea, with low visibility and high waves.
The commercial ship Susan K retrieved the two bodies, while the survivors were rescued by the boat Sultan and an aircraft from an Egyptian Search and Rescue team, Nile TV News said. | Shipwreck | March 2009 | ['(AFP)', '(CNN)', '(Xinhua)'] |
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service issues an emergency warning for a bush fire located to the east of Dunedoo in New South Wales, Australia. The warning comes amidst "unprecedented" fire conditions across the region, deemed to be worse than the conditions precipitating the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. | ROLLING UPDATES: THERE are now 87 fires across NSW, with five at the most serious emergency warning status and the RFS warning that a southerly change expected to sweep across the state in the next few hours could make conditions far worse.
THERE were 87 fires across NSW yesterday, with five at the most serious emergency warning status and Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned that a southerly change ethat swept across the state could have made the conditions far worse.
However there were hundreds of firefighters in action and thousands more at the ready from a total pool of some 2500 firefighters, with no firefighters needing to be called in from inter state.
There were earlier emergency warnings in place for fires at Binalong Rd Boggabri, White Cedars Rd, Kains Flat north east of Mudgee and Spring Hill Rd Dondingalong southwest of Kempsey. MONDAY: LATEST NEWS ON THE NSW BUSHFIRES
The Baptist Church at Aberdare was destroyed by fire. The evening service reportedly had only finished five minutes earlier. No one was hurt.
One person as suffered burns in an out-of-control blaze which threatened homes near Boggabri.
A member of the public was injured yesterday afternoon and flown to Sydney for specialist treatment for the burns, the NSW Rural Fire Service said.
A man was arrested yesterday afternoon after two fires were deliberately lit at the Dargavilles Road area at Nabiac, on the NSW north coast.
The 32-year-old was taken to Forster Police Station to help detectives with their investigation.
RELATED: Pair charged over lighting bushfires
Firefighters worked hard to contain a large grass fire at Mangoola, north of Denman in the Hunter region.
A third @NSWRFS firefighter taken away in ambulance from Lower #Pappinbarra bushfire
Kains Flat (NE of Mudgee): Fire is burning under catastrophic conditions towards houses. Crews undertaking property protection. #NSWRFS
Several large fires were also burning around Bulahdelah in the Hunter Region.
Authorities also warned local roads may be closed at short notice, with police blocking off Thunderbolts Way between Scone Rd and Nowendoc Village. A large grassfire at Binalong Rd, Boggabri, in the Narrabri also caused issues for firefighters. The fast moving fire had crossed the nearby Kamilaroy Highway and the Namoi River and the RFS urged locals to take shelter as the blaze approaches.
The extreme conditions came as NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said yesterday’s weather conditions were “unprecedented” and potentially stood to be “worse than the Black Saturday forecast”.
The state is today on the highest emergency alert “ever”, with strong winds forecast and a series of record-breaking temperatures.
.@RFSCommissioner briefing: "These conditions are unprecedented not just in NSW but Australia, worse than Black Saturday forecast"
The NSW Rural Fire Service had previously advised there were 76 bush or grass fires burning across the state and 26 of those were classed as not being contained.
While more than 1000 RFS firefighters were in the field, it was feared that fires could rapidly spread given the extreme fire conditions.
Mr Fitzsimmons described the expected situation as the “worst possible”, with the danger rating “off the old conventional scale”.
“These conditions are unprecedented not just in NSW but Australia, worse than Black Saturday forecast,” he told reporters.
He warned: “It is not another summer’s day. It is not another bad fire day. This is as bad as it gets.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier arrived at RFS headquarters without staff for a low-key visit to be briefed by Mr Fitzsimmons, with deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers and Fire And Rescue acting commissioner Jim Hamilton.
EVACUATIONS IN CENTRAL WEST
THOUSANDS of people were forced to flee in the NSW Central West after a huge bushfire broke its containment lines.
The fire broke through RFS containment lines and has burnt through 8583ha of bushland.
“The fire is burning in catastrophic fire conditions. In these conditions, the fire will spread quickly. It will be difficult for firefighters to contain the fire,” he said.
The warning followed unconfirmed reports a property in the region had been lost to the 2000 hectare fire. RFS building impact analysts are on their way to the site. EMERGENCY WARNING - Sir Ivan #Leadville If in Uarbry Turill & Cassilis seek shelter too late to leave #NSWRFS #Alert
Firefighters estimated the blaze moved at 12km/h.
The Westpac Lifesaver helicopter was dispatched to the area, following a request from Fire and Rescue NSW, and was on standby last night.
The Golden Highway was been closed between Vinegaroy Rd and Black Stump Way and was expected to remain closed as the fire burns out of control.
Smoke from Sir Ivan fire near Dunedoo visible on latest satellite image.Fireys attempted to fight the blaze in 42C conditions, while contending with wind gusts of up to 60km/h.
“Emergency alert telephone messages are being sent to people in the area,” the RFS said.
“The fire was burning in catastrophic conditions and would spread quickly. “It will be difficult for firefighters to contain the fire.”
“That is a dangerous, fast-moving fire that has broken containment lines,” RFS spokesman Paul Best told the ABC after the advice was upgraded.
Premier @GladysB receives briefing on worsening fire conditions across NSW. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/bpwCUC3es4
“We need to be clear that in catastrophic conditions are the most dangerous conditions,” Mr Fitzsimmons said. “Fires will start easily and they will spread very quickly. Unless we are there in the most early stages of a fire starting, it is most likely that we will simply not contain it and the fire will take hold and spread and simply consume whatever is in its path. “We are talking about the highest order of risk when it comes to fire danger ratings. The risk is real.”
A watch and act warning was also activated for Mount Pleasant Rd, Wherrol Flat, near Taree, with the RFS telling residents “If you’re not prepared to highest level — leave now, if safe”.
EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS
Fires could erupt and move so fast that residents should not expect a fire truck to arrive if they call. It may also move too fast for an alert to be sent out. The RFS said it was the first time the state had experienced such “extraordinary” conditions, with the risk not expected to ease until late tomorrow. The last time the state had a catastrophic rating was in 2013, but it was restricted to the Shoalhaven and Illawarra. To reduce the risk, the government began closing national parks while urging campers, hikers and off-roaders to change their plans. | Fire | February 2017 | ['(The Daily Telegraph)', '(NSW Rural Fire Service)'] |
The Kremlin arrests four people, Kaspersky Lab's Ruslan Stoyanov, and three officials in the Federal Security Service Center for Information Security, reportedly on treason charges for passing information to America's CIA. , , , | Russian spy officials have been accused of treason because they were cooperating with the CIA, according to a report.
The arrests of Sergei Mikhailov and his deputy Dmitry Dokuchaev, who worked for the KGB successor FSB's Center for Information Security, were first reported by Russian media earlier this month.
Unidentified officials confirmed to Interfax, one of Russia's major news agencies, on Tuesday that the two men were accused of working with the CIA.
It was not immediately clear what the exact alleged conduct was, though U.S. intelligence agencies have accused the FSB of hacking U.S. targets and Russia's other agency, the GRU, of releasing information to help the election of President Trump.
A report from Novaya Gazeta said that Mikhailov is accused of passing on information regarding a breach of election systems in Arizona and Illinois last summer, which is not attributed in the U.S. intelligence hacking explainer released earlier this month.
He was taken out of an FSB meeting in December with a bag over his head and has not been heard from since, the independent newspaper reported.
Beyond Mikhailov and Dokuchaev, private cybersecurity expert Ruslan Stoyanov and one other person have reportedly been arrested, with Interfax saying that up to eight people were being spoken to as possible witnesses.
A source told the agency that some of those people were involved in cyber attacks, and that others were not involved in the hacking but accused of working with foreign powers.
The arrests come amid a flurry of attention to the Russian security services, which beyond hacking were accused in a former British spy's unsubstantiated dossier of holding "kompromat" on Trump.
A former FSB officer and close associate of Russian oil company head Igor Sechin, who was named in the documents, was found dead behind the wheel in late December
Police told Russian media that Oleg Erovinkin, 61, died of a heart attack.
Multiple reports have also cited possible connections between Mikhailov and hacking group Shaltai-Boltai (Humpty Dumpty), which has previously leaked information about Russian government figures and is believed to be linked to a faction of officials inside the government. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | January 2017 | ['(FSB previously KGB)', '(New York Daily News)', '(The Washington Times)', '(The New York Times Jan 25)', '(AP)'] |
Thai Police say they have arrested a further eight activists, including two popular rappers, in an increased crackdown on protestors who demand a change to the country's monarchy. All eight were later released on bail, according to one of their lawyers. | BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police said on Thursday they had arrested eight more activists, including two popular rappers, in a crackdown after more than a month of protests against the military-backed government that have also challenged the powerful monarchy.
The eight arrested overnight and on Thursday are charged with breaching internal security laws over a July 18 protest and defying an emergency decree that banned public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, police said.
“The arrests of the leaders that organised such activity are being processed based on the law,” Jirapat Phumjit, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau told reporters. He said there were warrants for another four activists over that protest.
Among those arrested on Thursday was Dechathorn “Hockhacker” Bamrungmuang, 30, from the Rap Against Dictatorship group, which surged to popularity online last year. The other rapper held, Thanayut Na Ayutthaya, 19, also known as Elevenfinger.
All eight were later released on bail, a lawyer said.
Protests have been held almost daily since mid-July to call for a new constitution, the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha - a former junta leader - and an end to the harassment of government opponents.
Some protesters have also called for curbs on the power of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, until recently a taboo.
Prayuth rejects protesters’ accusations that last year’s election was manipulated by the army in his favour. He has said he is ready to speak to the students, but that criticising the monarchy goes too far.
Three other activists had been arrested earlier. They include Anon Nampa, a human rights lawyer who was the first to call openly for reforms at the palace. He was arrested on Wednesday for the second time this month over different protests and also released on bail.
Six arrest warrants have also been issued over a demonstration last week at which students set out 10 demands for reform of the monarchy.
The return of protests to Bangkok streets has unsettled investors by reviving memories of more than a decade of colour-coded clashes between supporters of they establishment and their populist opponents before Prayuth took power in a 2014 coup.
The Thai baht fell to a three-week low of 31.44 per dollar on Thursday and though the move was exacerbated by gains in the greenback it was the sharpest daily drop in a month.
A small group of supporters of the detainees gathered at the criminal court in Bangkok where the activists pre-trial detention and bail requests were being processed.
Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Martin Petty and Alex Richardson
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.
Exclusive: Fed’s Neel Kashkari opposes rate hikes at least through 2023 as the central bank becomes more hawkish | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | August 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
The Czech Republic experiences its worst flooding of the decade with huge volumes of water surging towards Prague. | Cities in southern and eastern Germany are on high alert as heavy floodwaters swell rivers including the Elbe. In Halle, an appeal has gone out to residents to help reinforce flood defences while Dresden is preparing for water levels 5m higher than normal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised 100m euros (£78m; $130m) in emergency aid for flood-hit areas. Meanwhile, river levels in Prague have begun to fall, say the Czech authorities, as floodwaters move north.
Overnight, flood barriers on the River Vltava in the south of the country were raised, releasing a torrent of water.
However, Prague's flood defences appear to have held, and the risk of severe flooding in the city centre seems to be receding, says the BBC's correspondent there, Rob Cameron. The city of Regensburg has declared a state of emergency, while in the state of Saxony - which includes Dresden - officials were warning of higher water levels than during the record floods of 2002. The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found separately around the southern town of Guenzburg. At least seven people have died in the Czech Republic and two in Austria after days of heavy rain. Hungary has also declared a state of emergency. Floodwaters on the Danube are expected to peak there on Thursday. Germany has drafted in the army to help with flood defences. In the Bavarian town of Passau, floodwaters reached a level not seen since the 16th Century, but have now begun to recede. Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the worst affected regions on Tuesday, flying over Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia by helicopter.
She promised 100m euros in immediate aid, of which 50m euros will go to Bavaria. In the Czech Republic, a nationwide state of emergency is still in force. Water levels are expected to peak in the north later on Tuesday.
Around 3,000 people have been forced to leave their homes across the west of the country.
As a precaution, Prague's metro system and central sewage treatment plant were closed, metal flood defences were erected and sandbags built up along the banks of the Vltava. The Charles Bridge - normally packed with tourists - was shut and tigers at the city's zoo were tranquilised and moved out of an enclosure thought to be at risk.
A system of nine dams called the Vltava Cascade was found to be dangerously full, and the floodgates were opened at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Monday night. North of Prague, further downstream, the River Elbe is rising to levels approaching those seen in 2002, the last time Europe experienced similar floods.
Seventeen people were killed in the Czech Republic in August 2002 and the cost of the damage across the continent was estimated at 20bn euros (£17bn). Main roads in many areas of central Europe have been closed and rail services cut. Thousands of homes are without power.
In Austria, the meteorological service said two months of rain had fallen in just two days. One man was found dead near Salzburg and another in the western state of Vorarlberg. Three people remain missing.
More than 300 people were moved from their homes in Salzburg and the neighbouring Tyrol as the army worked with the civil authorities to clear landslides and make roads passable. Parts of the Pinzgau region have been declared a disaster zone.
In Germany, the army said it had sent 1,760 soldiers to southern and eastern areas to help local authorities reinforce flood defences.
Towns and cities in Saxony, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg have also been inundated. Shipping was halted on parts of the Danube and Rhine rivers in Germany, and the entire length of the Danube in Austria. The rivers are used heavily to transport commodities such as grain and coal.
The European Union has said it stands ready to help the three countries as they tackle the devastating floods.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico also warned that there was a risk of flooding as water moved down the Danube, which flows through Bratislava.
"We are getting bad news from Germany and Austria. We have to do all we can to protect... the capital," he said.
The head of Hungary's National Disaster Authority, Gyorgy Bakondi, said 400 people were working on flood defences in the capital, Budapest, where he said the level of the Danube might reach or even exceed the height seen in 2002.
In pictures: Central Europe floods
Prague flood defences put to test
Fatal floods hit central Europe
Prague battles flood waters
Prague floods surge to new peaks
Bavarian Flood Alert Service (German)
Government of the Czech Republic
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (German)
Salzburger Nachrichten (German)
| Floods | June 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
The internationally-acclaimed environmental campaigner Marina Silva replaces Eduardo Campos, who died in a plane crash on August 13, as the presidential candidate of the Brazilian Socialist Party, with polls suggesting she could surpass Aecio Neves in the first round and current president Dilma Rousseff in the second. | The Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) has formally named the internationally-acclaimed environmental campaigner Marina Silva as its new presidential candidate. Ms Silva replaces the late Eduardo Campos, who was killed in a plane crash last week.
She was Mr Campos's running mate and served as environment minister.
She is seen as a leading challenger to President Dilma Rousseff, who's seeking re-election in the 5 October poll.
"I will give the best I have in me," said Ms Silva, 56, after the announcement, which was widely expected. PSB President Roberto Amaral told a news conference she had been chosen unanimously.
Congressman Beto Albuquerque was named the party's new vice presidential candidate.
Ms Silva will test President Rousseff's status as favourite to win October's election and make this a much more interesting process than it looked like being barely a week ago, the BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio de Janeiro says.
In the last presidential election, standing as the Green candidate, Ms Silva polled a credible 20% of the vote and is already a recognisable and much-admired figure across this continent-sized nation, our correspondent adds.
The first test of public opinion after Mr Campos's death suggested she could surpass the main opposition PSDB candidate Aecio Neves in the first round and beat current President Dilma Rousseff in the second, although both outcomes were within the poll's margin of error.
But analysts caution that, with the strong emotional reaction to last week's events, a bounce in the polls was inevitable and the picture could change substantially.
A devout evangelical Christian who overcame poverty, Marina Silva only learnt to read and write when she was 16.
Correspondents say she appeals mostly to young voters who are unhappy with the Brazilian political establishment.
On Sunday, more than 100,000 people in Brazil paid their last respects to the late presidential candidate, Eduardo Campos, a former governor and rising political star.
They attended a funeral Mass and filled the streets of the city of Recife to follow the passage of his coffin.
Mr Campos's jet crashed on 13 August in bad weather in the port city Santos, near Sao Paulo, killing six other people.
Investigators are still trying to establish the exact causes of the accident.
Profile: Marina Silva
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | August 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
South Korean golfer Jang Ha–na makes first albatross on par–four in LPGA history. | South Korean Jang Ha-na made history with an albatross, as Swede Anna Nordqvist and English teenager Charley Hull earned a share of the third-round lead at the Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday (AEDT).
Jang hit a three-wood at the short 218-yard eighth hole, and her ball bounced in front of the green before rolling into the cup for the first albatross on a par-four in recorded LPGA history.
Jang, 23, said she did not see the ball go into the hole, but realised something good had happened when her father standing near the green thrust his arms into the air.
As Jang approached the hole, she dropped to her knees and kissed the ground at the Ocean Club course on Paradise Island.
"Oh my God, it was so unbelievable," she told Golf Channel. "Right now, my heartbeat is a little fast."
Despite her excitement, Jang was disappointed a car was not on offer for an ace at the hole.
"A new car, please, a car, please," she pleaded. "I need a car."
Jang's 5-under-par 68 left her five shots behind co-leaders Nordqvist (68) and Hull (69), who were at 12-under 207 on a crowded leaderboard, with five others bunched within two shots. | Break historical records | January 2016 | ['(ABC)'] |
Thousands of people are evacuated from the Philippines island of Luzon ahead of Typhoon Noul . | By Reuters Published: 06:07 BST, 9 May 2015 | Updated: 06:07 BST, 9 May 2015 MANILA, May 9 (Reuters) - The Philippines on Saturday evacuated thousands of people in the northeastern part of its main island of Luzon on Saturday, less than 24 hours before a powerful typhoon was expected to make landfall.
Typhoon Noul, a category 4 storm with winds of 160 kph (99 mph) and gusts of up to 195 kph, was about 210 kms (130 miles) north northeast of Catanduanes island in the central Philippines.
It was expected to hit the rice-producing provinces of Cagayan and Isabela at around 5 a.m. [2100 GMT] on Sunday before weakening as it moved across the Sierra Madre mountains and into northeastern Luzon.
The weather bureau raised storm alerts in 19 areas on Luzon, warning that strong winds and intense rain could produce a 2.5 metre high storm surge along the coast areas and landslides in mountainous areas.
Raben Dimaano, a disaster official in Sorsogon province, said more than 11,000 people were moved to temporary shelters in two towns around Mount Bulusan, a volcano which erupted twice this week, because of the danger of mud flows.
Alexander Pama, head of national disaster risk reduction and management council, said Noul's intense rainfall within a 300-km diameter area could topple power lines, uproot trees, blow roofs off thatched houses and damage crops like rice and corn in the region. (Reporting By Manuel Mogato; Editing By Kim Coghill) | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | May 2015 | ['(Dodong)', '(Reuters via Daily Mail)'] |
A 7.5 MMS quake rattles New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Police Sergeant Frank Kilaur says that the quake was "very, very violent" but no immediate reports of major damages or casualties have been reported. A tsunami alert is issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The tsunami threat has now largely passed. | Power is still out in Papua New Guinea's East New Britain province after last night's magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
The magnitude 7.5 quake hit near Rabaul in Papua New Guinea's remote New Britain island. Photo: United States Geological Survey
The shallow quake hit about 50 kilometres offshore from Rabaul, triggering violent shaking and widespread panic.
It triggered an initial tsunami warning, though local officials said no waves were observed nor any casualties yet reported, with a full assessment of damage not possible until daybreak.
Namatanai district on New Ireland is the populated area closest to the epicentre.
The MP for Namatanai, Walter Schnaubelt, says preliminary reports from his district indicate the violent shaking caused numerous houses in Konoagil sub-district to fall over.
He says no deaths have been reported, but is waiting for a more extensive report from a district team that has been dispatched to assess damage.
Meanwhile, MP Jelta Wong for Gazelle district in East New Britain, some 33km to the west of the quake epicentre said he was waiting on a rapid assessment but there had been a lot of damage from the quake.
The districts close to the epicentre have all experienced power outages.
"It was very, very violent," said Frank Kilaur, a sergeant at the Rabaul police station said after the quake. "It was very strong and shook the whole place up.
"At the moment there's no damage, but we have to wait until daylight, we're in pitch black right now."
"We will have some more reports, probably in the morning, so we will wait. We are okay here."
In an update this afternoon, the national provider PNG Power says electricity has not yet been restored to the East New Britain grid.
The company said two power stations suffered minor damage and will need to be repaired.
It said work is under way to check generators and power lines.
Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
Mr Kilaur said the earthquake had sent panicked residents fleeing into the streets, although he said the town quietened down again soon after. There had been violent aftershocks through the night, he said.
An initial scan by torchlight showed no significant damage in the town, he said, adding that authorities were waiting for daylight to conduct a more thorough assessment.
The police were yet to hear from remote areas outside of the town, and from small islands closer to the epicentre, he added.
A spokesperson for the district's Nonga Hospital said no one had been taken there needing treatment.
There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the M7.7 NEW BRITAIN REGION PAPUA NEW GUINEA earthquake. Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will pose a threat to NZ. https://t.co/ccVFYQQoBr
The shallow earthquake trigged an initial tsunami warning for Papua New Guinea and nearby Solomon Islands, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre forecasting a surge as high as one metre.
But early on Wednesday, the centre said the threat had largely passed with no reports of tsunami waves.
Don Tokunai, a disaster official on Rabaul, said villagers close to the epicentre had reported the ocean receding, but there was no tsunami wave.
"They said they just woke up and felt the shake, but that they are still okay there," he said.
"As yet we haven't received any information about damage," he said.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, sitting on the Pacific's Ring of Fire. Tuesday's tremor was the third earthquake in three months with a magnitude higher than seven.
Rabaul itself is no stranger to natural disaster either, with much of the town buried by ash in a 1994 volcanic eruption.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake has struck Papua New Guinea, the US Geological Survey says, and has knocked out power to parts of the northern coast.
While the Asian Development Bank expects an economic upturn in Papua New Guinea, a veteran economist has a different view.
A year on from a major earthquake in Papua New Guinea, the worst-affected communities are still struggling for basic needs. Audio
Disaster authorities in Papua New Guinea are advising people in some parts of the earthquake affected Highlands region to continue boiling their drinking water.
The words of Richard Don - a village leader from a remote earthquake-affected village in Papua New Guinea's Highlands region - have an unmistakable desperation. | Earthquakes | May 2019 | ['(Pacific Tsunami Warning Center)', '(Radio New Zealand)', '(Daily Express)'] |
Kim Jong–un, the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong–il, is appointed to two party posts in a move seen as a gradual transfer of power. | September 29, 2010 07:36 The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been given senior posts in the ruling communist party and commissioned a four-star general in Pyongyang's armed forces. North Korea's state-run news agency announced Wednesday that Kim Jong-un was named to the central committee of North Korea's Workers' Party. He also was appointed vice-chairman of the party's powerful central military commission, which his father heads. Analysts who study the reclusive North Korean state say the senior positions given to Kim Jong-un are a sure sign that he is being groomed to succeed his father as the country's supreme leader. Kim Jong-un is believed to be about 27 years old. Kim Jong-il's younger sister, Kim Kyong-hui, also was commissioned a four-star general this week, and the party conference elected her to full membership of the Workers' Party Political Bureau. Kim Kyong-hui's husband, Jang Song-taek, was elected an alternate or non-voting member of the Political Bureau. Kim's sister and her husband have been seen as supporters of Kim Jong-un, who had never before been identified by North Korea's state-controlled media until this week. The Workers' Party meeting and leadership election, which apparently ended after Tuesday's session, was the communist group's highest-level gathering in 44 years. Official news media reported that thunderous applause welcomed Kim Jong-il's re-election as the party's general secretary, the top leadership position. Some analysts said the Kim Jong-un's rapid rise to such senior positions suggests there are serious concerns about the health of his father, who is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008. In the event of Kim's death, it is believed that Kim Kyong-hui and her husband Jang Song-taek would help to ensure a smooth succession. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | September 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Chosun Ilbo)'] |
6 died, 7 ill after eating poisonous plants in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. | URUMQI - Six people have died and seven others are seriously ill in hospital after they mistakenly ate poisonous plants Sunday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the local government said Monday.
The victims were all workers at an iron mine in Toli County, Tacheng Prefecture, a county government spokesman said.
He said the workers fell ill after they ate potherbs they had mistaken for celery.
Four of the victims died on the way to hospital. Two others failed to respond to emergency treatment and died Sunday night. | Famous Person - Death | May 2010 | ['(China Daily)'] |
President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont gives a speech regarding independence from Spain where he proposes to suspend the effect of the independence declaration in order to hold talks with Madrid. | Regional president, Carles Puigdemont, to set out independence plans for first time since referendum that provoked standoff with Spanish government.
11 Oct 2017
19:16
19:04
Very little has been resolved by Carles Puigdemont’s speech. El Pais opinion writer Jorge Galindo jokes Spain could still use article 155 of the Spanish constitution to take control of Catalonia’s regional government, and the radical pro-independence CUP party could break from the coalition it has with Puigdemont’s party indefinitely.
11 Oct 2017
18:53
The key points of Puigdemont’s speech:
11 Oct 2017
18:45
Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has proposed further dialogue in order to work toward independence.
He says:
I want to follow people’s will for Catalonia to become an independent state.
The parliament erupts with applause. But he says the government wants to delay any formal declaration. He continues: We propose to suspend the effect of the independence declaration... in order to work towards putting into practice the result of the referendum... Today, we are making a gesture of responsibility in favour of dialogue.
11 Oct 2017
18:37
Carles Puigdemont has switched from Catalan to Spanish, and is now addressing the Spanish people.
We are not criminals, we are not mad. We are normal people, and we just want to vote. We have been ready to talk and have dialogue. We have nothing against Spain. We want to have a better understanding with Spain. The relationship hasn’t been working for many years, and now it’s unsustainable.
11 Oct 2017
18:31
The Catalan leader is giving a long history lesson on the province and the Catalan independence campaign. He has been speaking for around 20 minutes, and there is still no detail on what he plans to do.
11 Oct 2017
18:26
Puigdemont condemns the police violence that was seen during the referendum. He continues:
I want to explain now why we are here. I think we should explain ourselves. Since the death of the dictator Franco, Catalonia has contributed massively to Spanish democracy.
Catalonia thought the 1978 Spanish constitution could be a good platform for democracy, and got involved. But later, we realised that the Spanish authorities were seeing this as the final target, but for us, it was a transition. In 2005, 85% of this parliament, following the procedures that the constitution establishes, approved a new statue for Catalonia, and that triggered a massive anti-Catalan campaign by the people that want to govern and dominate Spain at any price.
11 Oct 2017
18:21
The Catalan leader continues to speak about the integrity of the referendum, and thanks those who made the vote possible. The chamber applauds in agreement. 11 Oct 2017
18:19
The Catalan leader starts: I am not planning any threat, any insults. We are all responsible for this. We need de-escalate the situation, not feed it any longer. I want to address everyone about the issue. We are all part of the same community and we need to go forward together. We will never agree on everything, but we have proved many times that the only way to move forward is with democracy and peace. That requires dialogue.
11 Oct 2017
18:14
Carles Puigdemont has started speaking. He greets the assembly, then says he is here to lay out the consequences of the independence referendum.
11 Oct 2017
18:12
The pro-independence supporters outside the Catalan parliament fall silent as the session begins. The Catalan leader looks relaxed. 11 Oct 2017
18:05
The chamber in the Catalan parliament is filling up again, and Carles Puigdemont has just arrived. He’s taken off his glasses and he’s reading over the speech one last time.
11 Oct 2017
17:58
Spanish media are reporting Carles Puigdemont asked for the postponement because the radical pro-independence CUP party is unhappy with the wording of his declaration.
Two minutes to go until the Catlan leader is due to speak. The parliament is still empty... 11 Oct 2017
17:49
With just 15 minutes to go until Carles Puigdemont is due to speak, there lots of rumours flying around about the reasons behind the postponement.
11 Oct 2017
17:38
A Catalan government spokesman has told the Guardian that some kind of talks are under way to resolve the crisis, saying: “There is a mediation effort going on and that’s all we are gong to say for now.” | Famous Person - Give a speech | October 2017 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Thai King Vajiralongkorn commutes the death sentence of two Burmese nationals convicted of the rape and murder of two British backpackers in 2014 in Ko Tao. The royal decree was issued to commemorate the birthday of the King, on July 28, to "illustrate the king's clemency". The pair now serve life in prison. | Two men given the death penalty for killing two British backpackers in Thailand have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
The bodies of David Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, were found on a beach on the Thai island of Koh Tao in 2014. Burmese nationals Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were convicted in a Thai court and sentenced to death in December 2015.
Lin and Phyo will serve life sentences instead following a royal decree. Ms Witheridge, a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey, were bludgeoned to death.
A post-mortem examination showed Ms Witheridge had been raped. Lin and Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun) were sentenced to death for the murder of Mr Miller and the murder and rape of Ms Witheridge.
The two men were convicted and sentenced in 2015 and the verdict was upheld by an appeals court in 2017 and the Supreme Court in August 2019.
The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress.
A royal decree said the sentences had been reviewed to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday on 28 July and to "illustrate the king's clemency".
It is unclear how many prisoners were eligible for any pardons or reduction of sentences under the different criteria listed in the decree.
Correction: An earlier headline on this story referred to the killers being "pardoned". This was later changed to clarify that their death sentences had been commuted to life imprisonment.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | August 2020 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Richmond Times-Dispatch of Virginia is first to endorse Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for president and the first newspaper media endorsement of a third-party nominee in this election cycle. | — -- A prominent Virginia newspaper has endorsed Libertarian Gary Johnson for president, giving a rebuke to the deeply unpopular major party candidates while trying to boost the third party contender's long-shot bid just weeks before the first presidential debate.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch's endorsement is the first from a major newspaper for the former New Mexico governor, who is running out of time to reach the polling threshold necessary to join Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on the main debate stage this fall.
"Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton meets the fundamental moral and professional standards we have every right to expect of an American president," the editorial begins. "Fortunately, there is a reasonable -- and formidable -- alternative."
The paper, which has endorsed the Republican nominee for president every year for the last three decades, hailed Johnson's stances for limited government, social tolerance and individual freedom.
"More important, he's a man of good integrity, apparently normal ego and sound ideas," the editorial reads.
Proud to have the endorsement of #Virginia's newspaper of record, the @RTDNEWS https://t.co/l5GKAQNmIm via @RTDNEWS— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) September 4, 2016
Proud to have the endorsement of #Virginia's newspaper of record, the @RTDNEWS https://t.co/l5GKAQNmIm via @RTDNEWS
Still, Johnson must reach an average of 15 percent support in major polling in order to make the debate stage -- a threshold that Johnson himself has framed as make-or-break for landing his third-party candidacy in the White House.
"If the Commission on Presidential Debates wants to perform a real service to its country, it will invite Gary Johnson onto the big stage," wrote the paper's editorial board. "Why not take this chance to reject the binary choice between Clinton and Trump that was created by our two-party system?"
Johnson is currently polling around 10 percent in an average of polls that the debate commission will use.
Johnson has the backing of only one sitting member of the U.S. House -- with no sitting senators or governors. Other potential supporters like former Republican nominee Mitt Romney have remained on the sidelines. | Government Job change - Election | September 2016 | ['(ABC)'] |
A court in Sicily orders former Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial accused of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for his role in a standoff with a Spanish-flagged migrant rescue ship operated by Proactiva Open Arms that he refused to allow to dock for nineteen days in 2019. A court order allowed the ship to dock after some migrants jumped overboard. |
A judge in Sicily has ordered the former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial for refusing to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019, keeping the people at sea for days.
Judge Lorenzo Iannelli set 15 September as the trial date during a court hearing in Palermo, LaPresse news agency reported.
Salvini, who attended the hearing, confirmed the outcome and said he was only doing his job and his duty by refusing entry to the Open Arms rescue ship and the 147 people it had rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.
Citing the Italian constitution, Salvini tweeted that defending the country was the “sacred duty” of every Italian. “I’m going on trial for this, for having defended my country?” he said. “I’ll go with my head held high, also in your name.”
Palermo prosecutors have accused Salvini of dereliction of duty and kidnapping, for keeping the migrants at sea off the coast of Lampedusa for almost three weeks in August 2019. During the standoff, some people threw themselves overboard in desperation as the captain pleaded for a safe, close port. Eventually, after a 19-day ordeal, the remaining 83 migrants still onboard were allowed to disembark in Lampedusa.
Salvini had maintained a hard line on migration as interior minister during the first government of the then prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, from 2018-19. While demanding that EU nations do more to take in migrants arriving in Italy, Salvini argued that humanitarian rescue ships were only encouraging Libyan-based traffickers and that his policy saved lives by discouraging further risky trips across the Mediterranean.
His lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, said she was certain the court would determine that no kidnapping was involved.
“There was no limitation on their freedom,” she told reporters after the indictment was handed down. “The ship had the possibility of going anywhere. There was just a prohibition of going into port. But it had 100,000 options.”
The group behind Open Arms welcomed the decision to put Salvini on trial. “We are happy for all the people we have rescued … in all these years,” it tweeted.
Salvini is also under investigation for another, similar migrant standoff involving the Italian coastguard ship Gregoretti, which Salvini refused to allow to dock in the summer of 2019.
The prosecutor in that case, Andrea Bonomo of Catania in Sicily, advised against a trial, arguing that Salvini was carrying out government policy when he kept the 116 migrants at sea for five days. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2021 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
South Korea's cabinet, led by Prime Minister Han Seung–soo, offers to resign following widespread protests at decisions to resume US beef imports in South Korea. | SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and the South Korean Cabinet offered to resign Tuesday amid an uproar over an unpopular deal to resume importing U.S. beef, the Yonhap news agency reported.
It was unclear how many of the offers President Lee Myung-bak would accept, South Korean media reports said, but a major Cabinet reshuffling was expected, possibly claiming the prime minister and the ministers of agriculture and foreign affairs.
The move follows a similar resignation offer last week by top Lee aides.
The offers are attempts to defuse a volatile situation that has brought tens of thousands of protesters into the streets of the South Korean capital, Seoul. Watch South Koreans protest U.S. beef imports »
The eight staffers said they hold themselves responsible in the collective resignation offer, which was delivered to Lee by his chief of staff, according to Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman for the president's office.
Washington and Seoul reached an agreement in April that would clear the way for South Korea to resume importing beef from the United States after a ban that lasted several years. South Korea halted imports amid concerns over a case of mad cow disease in the United States.
The two sides agreed that the United States would not export high-risk materials, like tonsils, brains, spinal cord marrow and a section of the small intestine. It put no age restrictions on the cattle.
But last week, the South Korean government put off the final administrative step needed to resume imports. Without that step taking place, no beef will be imported from the United States.
Animals more than 30 months old are considered at a greater risk for mad cow disease, which can be transmitted to humans.
A South Korean delegation arrived in the United States Monday to discuss the situation with Bush administration officials.
Scientists believe the disease spreads when farmers feed cattle recycled meat and bones from infected animals. The U.S. banned recycled feeds in 1997. In humans, eating meat products contaminated with the illness is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2008 | ['(BBC News)', '(CNN)'] |
Three people on a rescue mission are killed when Storm Miguel, with max winds of 129 km/h , overturned their National Society of Sea Rescue boat off the west coast of France in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm, unusual at the start of the summer tourist season, hit Spain, the Netherlands and southern England and Wales yesterday and is heading north toward England, Wales and Scotland. | A rescue boat has overturned in the Atlantic off the west coast of France leaving three crew dead, amid winds of up to 129 km/h (80 mph).
They were part of a crew of seven who had gone to the aid of another boat which had got into difficulty as Storm Miguel struck the area.
Winds of up to 147km/h hit northern Spain earlier, swirling around the Bay of Biscay and moving on to France.
The storm is unusual, coming at the start of the summer tourist season.
Photographs of the National Society of Sea Rescue rescue boat captured it rolling in large swells in the moments before it capsized, after which the vessel ran ashore upside down.
Four of the seven crew aboard the rescue boat managed to swim to shore. Three helicopters and around 60 firefighters were attempting to find the bodies of the three dead.
The strongest winds were recorded in the north-western Spanish region of Asturias late on Thursday while earlier there was damage to some buildings in Galicia.
As the storm hit land on the Ile d'Yeu in western France on Friday, forecasters recorded wind speeds of 129km/h. Down the coast of the Vendée area, off the beach resort of Les Sables-d'Olonne, a crew from the SNSM sea rescue service went to the aid of a fishing boat in trouble and capsized some 800m off shore.
"The sea was quite atrocious," mayor Yannick Moreau told news channel BFMTV. "The boat had a crew of seven and three rescuers have died. It's a big shock for us and a big shock for the whole town."
Ten French departments were placed on orange alert and warned of potential damage, particularly to trees. Rail travel in the west was disrupted by the storm and forecasters said such images were rare in June.
Alerts were also in place further north, with warnings of heavy rain and wind speeds of up to 100 km/h in the western half of the Netherlands.
High winds had already ravaged the Dutch coast in the early hours of Thursday, leading police in the coastal province of Zeeland to stumble on a cocaine laboratory.
When they were alerted to a tree that had fallen during the night, they saw some suspicious men loitering around a barn and noticed a strange smell. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | June 2019 | ['(80 mph)', '(BBC)', '(AccuWeather)'] |
Voters in France go to the polls for local government elections with initial polling suggesting favorable results for former President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP. | France's conservative UMP Party and its allies appear to have come first in the final round of departmental elections.
The UMP, led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy, appeared set to secure at least 65 local councils, exit polls suggested, up from 41.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front also appeared to have made gains, while the ruling Socialists and their allies may lose about 30 departments.
These elections are seen as a test case ahead of 2017's presidential election. Paris and Lyon, France's two biggest cities, were excluded from Sunday's election. The National Front appeared to have won a significant number of seats in Sunday's second round of elections, but did not appear to have gained control of any councils, the exit polls said.
Nonetheless, leader Marine Le Pen hailed a "historic" day for the FN, saying: "I thank all our voters for this magnificent success."
"The goal is near, reaching power and applying our ideas to redress France."
French Prime Minister Manual Valls admitted it was "incontestable" that the Socialist Party had lost ground.
"The French have declared... their anger at a daily life that is too difficult," he said. He vowed to redouble efforts to boost the economy, and said his focus was "jobs, jobs, jobs".
He added that the rise in the National Front's popularity was "a sign of a lasting upheaval of our political landscape and we will all need to draw lessons from it".
Mr Sarkozy said voters had "massively rejected" the policies of his successor as president, Francois Hollande.
"Never has our political family won so many councils," he told supporters. "The repudiation of those in power is without question."
Mr Hollande has suffered from slumping personal ratings, boosted only briefly by his response to January's terror attacks in Paris.
One presidential adviser told AFP: "Everyone is scared they will be eliminated in the first round in 2017."
Bastions of the Socialists like the Nord department around Lille have swung to the right, as has President Hollande's own fiefdom of the Correze in central France, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris reports.
However, as ever in France's two-round elections, voters from left and right united in round two to keep the National Front from power, our correspondents adds. Turnout on Sunday was 41.94% at 17:00 (15:00 GMT), three hours before polls closed. Surveys suggested about 50% of those eligible took part in the polls, Le Monde reported.
Voters have been electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, in the two rounds of the local elections. The departments are charged with issues like schools and welfare. | Government Job change - Election | March 2015 | ['(BBC)'] |
Burma's Supreme Court rejects an appeal by detained National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against an 18 month extension on her house arrest. | Singapore said Friday it was disappointed that Myanmar's Supreme Court had rejected an appeal by democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her extended house arrest.
"It is of course very disappointing that her appeal did not succeed," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Singapore said a dialogue between Myanmar authorities, Suu Kyi and other political groups before planned elections this year would offer "the best prospects for national reconciliation and the long-term political stability."
Myanmar's military rulers have promised to hold a vote this year under a "roadmap to democracy" but have not set a date.
They have repeatedly rejected international appeals for Suu Kyi to be released ahead of the elections.
Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the last two decades locked up, had her incarceration lengthened by 18 months in August after being convicted over a bizarre incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | February 2010 | ['(Times of India)', '(CBC)', '(MSN Philippines)'] |
The United Nations reduces its estimate of how many people are infected with HIV in 2007 from nearly 40 million to 33 million. | But the rate of new cases and mortality levels are declining, although figures still show that there are 6,800 new cases each day and over 5,700 deaths.
Africa has by far the most number of cases, while parts of Asia have the fastest growing rates of infections.
Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment
Dr Peter Piot, of UNAids
HIV menace remains
Some 22.5m in sub-Saharan Africa have HIV but the number of new cases - 1.7m a year - is a smaller increase than in previous years.
In Asia there are 4.9m people with the condition with Vietnam seeing a doubling of cases since 2000.
And the number of people living with HIV in Europe - including parts of Asia - has gone up from 1.25m in 2001 to about 2.4m, figures show.
UNAids executive director Dr Peter Piot said: "The improved data presents us with a clearer picture of the Aids epidemic, one that reveals both challenges and opportunities.
"Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment.
"But we must expand our efforts in order to significantly reduced the impact of Aids worldwide."
The figures show there were 2.5m new cases in 2007, down from a peak in the late 1990s when there was over 3m new infections a year.
The fall in annual deaths to 2.1m has been put down to wider access to antiretroviral drug treatments.
It means some 33.2m have HIV, down from 39.5m in 2006. UNAids said the figures for 2006 were likely to be inaccurate after an intensive assessment exercise in India showed fewer cases than estimated. Other countries, including Nigeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, also had their figures reduced.
Prevention
Experts say the true 2006 figure was likely to be about 32.7m.
Professor Brookmeyer, a US public health expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said having accurate figures was important in combating HIV.
"More accurate estimates and trends will ultimately lead to improvements in the design and evaluation of prevention programmes."
But Michael Weinstein, of the US group, the Aids Healthcare Foundation, questioned how accurate the latest figures were.
"Because the vast majority of people who are infected with HIV don't know it, there is actually no way to know if this new WHO figures is any more reliable than the previous estimation."
And the Terrence Higgins Trust said more needed to be done to tackle HIV in the UK as recent figures suggest the rate of new cases is rising. Chief executive Nick Partridge said: "There is too little local investment and too little national focus on HIV which means our prevention efforts are not enough to keep it at bay. "We need to refocus on HIV in the UK and reinvest in prevention, rather than stand by and watch the spiralling costs of treatment as ever more people test HIV positive." HIV PREVALENCE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 2003-7
22.5m (68%) out of 33.2m people globally with HIV
61% are women
| Disease Outbreaks | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter secures the release of US citizen Aijalon Gomes from North Korea. | Former US President Jimmy Carter has secured the release of an American citizen detained in North Korea.
Aijalon Mahli Gomes, 31, was sentenced to eight years' hard labour in April, after being found guilty of illegally entering the country from China.
Mr Carter, who spent two days in Pyongyang, has now left with Mr Gomes.
North Korea's state media said officials told Mr Carter of Pyongyang's willingness to re-enter talks on its nuclear programme.
The North's Deputy Prime Minister Kim Yong-nam "expressed the Republic's commitment to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and resume the six-way talks," the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Mr Carter is flying to Boston with Mr Gomes, where he will be reunited with his family later on Friday.
Mr Carter met senior North Korean officials after arriving in Pyongyang on Wednesday on what was described as "a private humanitarian trip".
On his arrival, Mr Carter was met by North Korea's nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, KCNA said.
Later he held "cordial" talks with the country's deputy leader, Kim Yong-nam, the agency said. Six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions have been stalled for several months. Mr Carter's visit comes at a time of heightened tension between North Korea and the outside world, in the wake of the sinking of a South Korean warship.
International investigators say a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, which went down near the disputed inter-Korean border on 26 March with the loss of 46 sailors.
Since then, the US and South Korea have embarked on a series of joint military exercises - sparking an angry response from Pyongyang.
South Korea refuses to re-enter new talks until it has secured an apology from the North for the ship sinking - something North Korea has refused to offer as it denies any role in the incident.
But North Korea has come under pressure from Beijing to rejoin the talks.
Mr Gomes, a devout Christian who had entered North Korea in January, had been teaching English in South Korea.
He reportedly crossed into North Korea in January. He is thought to have gone there on a one-man peace mission.
Pastor Simon Suh at the Every Nation Church of Korea which Mr Gomes attended in Seoul said he had no idea he was planning the trip.
"He was a gentle and spiritual man," Pastor Suh told the BBC's World Today programme, adding that North Korean refugees Mr Gomes met at the church would have given him reports of the lack of religious freedom in the North. Pastor Suh said members of church "felt like their prayers were answered" when they heard about Mr Gomes release.
He had been visited by a US official and two doctors in a hospital in Pyongyang earlier this month. North Korea said in July that Mr Gomes had tried to commit suicide.
A spokeswoman for Mr Carter said Mr Gomes was expected to be back in his hometown of Boston by Friday afternoon.
In visiting North Korea, Mr Carter is following in the footsteps of another former US President, Bill Clinton, who last year secured the release of two US journalists detained in North Korea for crossing the border.
The journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were pardoned and returned to the US with Mr Clinton. Tension grips Korean peninsula | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | August 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Yonhap)', '(Xinhua)'] |
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