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British horror writer James Herbert dies at the age of 69 in Sussex, England. | His publisher, Pan Macmillan, confirmed that he died at his home in Sussex this morning. No cause of death was given.
Jeremy Trevathan, his editor for 10 years, described him as "one of the keystone authors in a genre that had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s".
He is survived by his wife, Eileen, whom he married in 1967, and their three daughters Kerry, Emma and Casey.
Herbert's first novel, The Rats, depicted London overrun by mutant flesh-eating rodents and sold 100,000 copies within two weeks of being published in 1974.
Since then, he has published 23 novels in more than 30 languages, selling 54 million copies worldwide. His latest book, Ash, was published last week.
Herbert was appointed an OBE by the Queen in 2010 - the same year he was made Grand Master of Horror by the World of Horror Convention.
Mr Trevathan described Herbert as "one of the giants of popular fiction in the 20th Century".
"It's a true testament to his writing and his enduring creativity that his books continued to be huge bestsellers right up until his death.
"He has the rare distinction that his novels were considered classics of the genre within his lifetime," he added.
Born in London's East End on 8 April 1943, Herbert won a scholarship to St Aloysius Grammar School in Highgate at the age of 10.
After a college course in graphic design, he went on to work at an advertising agency.
He started his first novel, The Rats, at the age of 28 and completed it within 10 months. He submitted the manuscript to six publishers, three of whom replied.
Of those, two rejected the novel and one accepted it.
The Rats was one of four Herbert novels made into films, along with The Survivor, Fluke and Haunted.
His novel The Secret Of Crickley Hall was adapted for television and broadcast on BBC One in December, while The Magic Cottage was dramatised for BBC Radio 4.
One of his friends, Gordon Giltrap, paid tribute to the author on Twitter: "Received some sad news this morning that my good friend James Herbert has passed away. Am in no mood for music, that's for sure. RIP Jim."
Another, Peter James, wrote: "Deeply saddened to hear today that my dear friend, writer James Herbert, died last night. Will miss you lots, Jim, you were a diamond."
City literary festival bill revealed
James Herbert: 'I've seen a ghost'
Herbert spine-chiller set for TV
James Herbert | Famous Person - Death | March 2013 | ['(BBC)', '(The Bookseller)', '(The Guardian)'] |
Former Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond is charged with two attempted rapes and indecent assault. | Follow NBC News LONDON A former leader of Scotland appeared in court on Thursday charged with two attempted rapes.
Ex-First Minister Alex Salmond is also accused of indecent assault.
Salmond told reporters he was "innocent of any criminality" as he arrived at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
"I refute absolutely these allegations of criminality and I will defend myself to the utmost in court," Salmond said, adding that he was unable to discuss the case for legal reasons.
Salmond, 64, served as the country's first minister for seven years until 2014.
He is a member of the ruling Scottish National Party and was a key proponent of Scottish independence from the U.K. in the 2014 referendum campaign. The country eventually voted decisively to stay with 55 percent backing remain and 45 percent supporting independence.
Last year, Salmond was accused of two instances of inappropriate behavior dating back to 2013 when he was still the leader of the country's devolved government.
The complaints were made in January in the wake of "wider concerns about harassment" in British politics, the Scottish government's most senior official, Leslie Evans, said in a statement released last August.
Salmond has denied those accusations made against him as well as any criminal conduct.
Earlier this month, he won a legal case against the Scottish government’s handling of its investigation into the harassment claims. The government admitted acting unlawfully while investigating the claims.
His victory was only to do with the fairness of the inquiry. The police investigation into the allegations is separate. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | January 2019 | ['(NBC News)'] |
Storms in the US state of Michigan lead to the loss of power to 100,000 houses. | A series of fast moving storms knocked out the lights for over 100,000 residents throughout Michigan tonight.
A tornado watch was issued earlier today for 34 counties, including Wayne, Oakland, Monroe, Macomb and St. Clair counties as the storms rolled through the region. The weather service is investigating a possible tornado touchdown in Shiawasssee County. In Battle Creek, a fast moving and powerful storm knocked down hundreds of trees and damaged buildings across the city but did not causing any serious injuries, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported.
As night fell, teams of emergency workers moved through neighborhoods checking damaged homes and vehicles. A temporary shelter was established by the Red Cross at a high school and a command post for police, fire, and search teams was set up at W.K. Kellogg Airport.
Statewide, Consumers Energy reported nearly 96,000 customers without power with Calhoun County being hardest hit with nearly 28,000 affected. Spokesman Jay Jacobs said the southern portion of the state was hit the hardest.
“We’ve got lots of wires down all over the place,” said Jabobs. He said crews would be working all night and through the day Monday using full staffs to restore power.
Nearly 22,000 DTE customers throughout southeast Michigan were without power. The numbers included 8,000 residents in Livingston County, 5900 in Oakland County 4500 in Ingham County, 2600 in Monroe County and the rest scattered throughout various counties.
John Austerberry, a spokesman for DTE Energy said crews had been dispatched throughout the problem areas and would continue working through the night to help restore power. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | May 2011 | ['(Detroit Free Press)'] |
Tens of thousands of people protest in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, calling for Prime Minister Najib Razak to step down amid an ongoing corruption scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad. | KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters, undeterred by the arrests of opposition leaders, marched in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday demanding that Prime Minister Najib Razak step down.
Protesters clad in yellow shirts marched through the heart of Kuala Lumpur bringing traffic to a standstill in several tourist spots, wrapping up peacefully in front of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers after an initial plan to assemble at Independence Square was thwarted by police.
Najib has faced criticism since the Wall Street Journal reported last year that around $700 million from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was diverted into the personal bank account of the prime minister.
Najib ran into further trouble when lawsuits filed by the U.S. Justice Department in July said over $3.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, which was founded by Najib, and that some of those funds flowed into the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1”, whom U.S. and Malaysian officials have identified as Najib.
The demonstration is unlikely to shake the prime minister, who has denied wrongdoing and weathered the crisis, consolidating power by cracking down on dissenters.
Eleven activists and opposition leaders were arrested on Friday and at least two more were detained at the rally. The deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said there could be more arrests in the coming days.
Maria Chin Abdullah, the chair of pro-democracy group Bersih that organized the rally, was detained under Malaysia’s Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, or Sosma, her lawyers said. The law was introduced in 2012 to protect the country from security and extremist threats.
Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the United Nations Human Rights Office in South-East Asia, said the use of Sosma was very concerning.
“Security legislation should not be used against peaceful demonstrators. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Maria Chin Abdullah and other activists,” Meillan said.
Another Bersih leader, Hishamuddin Rais, and artist Fahmi Reza were also arrested.
“We are not here to bring down the country. We love this country! We are not here to tear down the government, we’re here to strengthen it,” Bersih deputy chair Shahrul Aman Shaari told the crowds gathered at the National Mosque.
Najib has taken steps which critics say aim to limit discussion of the scandal, such as sacking a deputy prime minister, replacing the attorney-general, suspending newspapers and blocking websites.
Najib retains significant support within UMNO and from the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
‘ARREST US ALL’
Turnout was lower than a similar rally last year, with police saying that about 15,500 Bersih supporters took part, while news portal Malaysiakini estimated around 40,000. As many as 200,000 people showed up last year at one point.
Police had said the rally is illegal and that they would not hesitate to use tear gas or water cannon if things got out of hand. State news agency Bernama said about 7,000 policemen would be on duty near the protest areas.
Still, spirits were high among those that gathered, with drums heard along with speeches, songs and chants by participants calling for a clean Malaysia and people power.
Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, Najib’s fiercest critic, joined protesters in front of the Twin Towers.
“Let him come and arrest us all. We will stand up for our leaders including Maria Chin who has been arrested for the wrong reasons,” said 91-year-old Mahathir.
Muhyiddin Yassin - the former deputy premier who was sacked and now leads a new party chaired by Mahathir - was also present, leading the crowds in chants of “Step down Najib!”
“Our country is being governed by clowns and crooks. So I’m here to protest against our prime minister,” said the artist Reza before being arrested.
Azalina Othman Said, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, on Saturday said it was unlawful for any party to try to unseat an elected government via street protests.
Fears of clashes between Bersih and a pro-Najib group called Red Shirts mounted earlier this week after the latter threatened to target Bersih supporters, though no major clashes were reported on Saturday.
The pro-Najib group also rallied on Saturday and police estimated that about 2,500 supporters of Najib turned up.
Jamal Yunos, an UMNO member and leader of the Red Shirts, was arrested on Friday. He had warned of a repeat of racial riots in 1969 that killed hundreds in clashes between Malays and ethnic Chinese.
Ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities formed the bulk of the Bersih rally, similar to last year.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | November 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
A suicide bomber kills eleven and injures thirteen in an attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. | Jalalabad (Afghanistan): A suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint Thursday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, killing at least 11 people and wounding 13 others, an official said.
The Afghan arm of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was committed by an assailant on foot, said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
There was at least one child among the fatalities, while three others were wounded.
The area around Jalalabad is home to fighters from both the Taliban and the IS group's Afghan affiliate.
Last month, three blasts in rapid succession in the center of Jalalabad left three people dead and 20 wounded.
Until then, this city near the border with Pakistan had largely been spared from attacks and fighting, mainly with IS, in far-flung parts of the surrounding province.
However, in March, at least 16 civilians were killed in a suicide bombing followed by gunfire targeting a construction company near the city's airport. The Taliban said they were not behind that attack.
A wave of violence across Afghanistan in recent weeks has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and security forces.
After 18 years of conflict, the Taliban are in negotiations with US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad for some sort of peace settlement.
A resolution still seems far off, with the two sides struggling to agree on several key points.
Khalilzad is in the country now meeting with political leaders and members of civil society in the hope of launching intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban.
The EU envoy for Afghanistan, Roland Kobia, is also here to support the process.
In a gesture of goodwill, the government announced Thursday it has released 490 Taliban prisoners who are ill or have less than a year left to serve.
They are among 887 prisoners that President Ashraf Ghani promised to free in early June as he marked the end of Ramadan.
Khalilzad is due to travel to Qatar in coming days for a new round of talks with the Taliban.
The goal of the negotiations is to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops in exchange for a Taliban pledge to keep the country from being used as a staging ground for terror attacks.
| Armed Conflict | June 2019 | ['(Reuters)', '(News18)'] |
European Union leaders approve the proposed Brexit deal, at a summit in Brussels. | EU leaders have approved an agreement on the UK's withdrawal and future relations - insisting it is the "best and only deal possible". After 20 months of negotiations, the 27 leaders gave the deal their blessing after less than an hour's discussion.
They said the deal - which needs to be approved by the UK Parliament - paved the way for an "orderly withdrawal".
Theresa May said the deal "delivered for the British people" and set the UK "on course for a prosperous future".
Speaking in Brussels, she urged both Leave and Remain voters to unite behind the agreement, insisting the British public "do not want to spend any more time arguing about Brexit". The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March 2019. The EU officially endorsed the terms of the UK's withdrawal during a short meeting, bringing to an end negotiations which began in March 2017. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said anyone in Britain who thought the bloc might offer improved terms if MPs rejected the deal would be "disappointed". But European Council President Donald Tusk, who broke the news of the agreement on Twitter, said he would not speculate on what would happen in such a situation, saying: "I am not a fortune teller."
The UK Parliament is expected to vote on the deal on 12 December, but its approval is far from guaranteed. Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP, the DUP and many Conservatives MPs are set to vote against.
Mrs May has appealed to the public to get behind the agreement - saying that although it involved compromises, it was a "good deal that unlocks a bright future for the UK". At a news conference in Brussels, she said the agreement would:
The agreement, she added, would not remove Gibraltar from the "UK family" - a reference to a last-minute wrangle with Spain over the territory.
The EU leaders have approved the two key Brexit documents:
There was no formal vote on Sunday, with the EU proceeding by consensus.
Mr Juncker said it was a "sad day" and no-one should be "raising champagne glasses" at the prospect of the UK leaving.
While it was not his place to tell MPs how to vote, he said they should bear in mind that "this is the best deal possible...this is the only deal possible".
His message was echoed by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar who said "any other deal really only exists in people's imagination".
But Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite suggested there were a number of possible outcomes if the UK Parliament rejected the deal, including an extension of the negotiations, or another referendum. By Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor
It's a compromise. It was always going to be. It's not a happy compromise either. People on both sides of the Brexit argument are already screaming their protests.
And although the prime minister must be relieved, she didn't exactly say that she was pleased about the deal when I asked her at a news conference this lunchtime.
Instead, she said she was sure the country's best days are ahead.
But however she really feels about it - and with this prime minister it is hard to tell - her strategy for the next couple of weeks is crystal clear. Her case? This is all there is.
No member states raised objections to the Brexit withdrawal deal and it was approved in a matter of seconds, according to a senior EU official. Around seven leaders spoke in the session of the 27 member states, mostly to say this was a sad day and they wanted the future relationship with the UK to be as close as possible.
After Mrs May's address, roughly half of the leaders spoke. Several wished her good luck with the meaningful vote in Parliament. No "what ifs" were discussed.
Mrs May will now need to persuade MPs in the UK Parliament to back it.
She is expected to spend the next fortnight travelling the country trying to sell the deal before a parliamentary vote in the second week of December. If MPs reject the deal, a number of things could happen - including leaving with no deal, an attempt to renegotiate or a general election.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the parliamentary arithmetic was "looking challenging" and warned "nothing could be ruled out" if Mrs May lost the vote, including the government collapsing. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr that the UK was getting "between 70% and 80%" of what it wanted, while the agreement "mitigated" most of the negative economic impacts.
Asked if the UK would be better off than if it stayed in, he said the country would not be "significantly worse or better off but it does mean we get our independence back".
The agreement will also have to go back to the European Council, where a majority of countries (20 out of 27 states) will need to vote for it.
It will also need to be ratified by the European Parliament, in a vote expected to take place in early 2019.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn responded to Sunday's summit by calling the deal "the worst of all worlds".
He said his party would oppose it, but would work with others "to block a no deal outcome" and ensure "a sensible deal" was on the table.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said he would find it "very, very difficult" to support the agreement as it stood.
"I don't believe that, so far, this deal delivers on what the British people really voted for," he told Sky's Sophy Ridge show. "I think it has ceded too much control."
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon - who wanted to stay in the EU - said it was a "bad deal" and Parliament should consider "better alternatives", such as remaining in the single market and customs union permanently. And Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster - who wants to leave the EU - said her party's parliamentary pact with the Conservatives would be reviewed if MPs approved the deal.
She told the BBC's Andrew Marr show the agreement as it stood would leave Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK "still within European structures with no say in its rules".
Former PM Tony Blair, who backs another referendum, said the deal was "a dodo". 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
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How the Delta variant took hold in the UK. VideoHow the Delta variant took hold in the UK | Withdraw from an Organization | November 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
George Vella is sworn in as the new President of Malta succeeding Marie–Louise Coleiro Preca. | Updated 1.15pm
President George Vella delivered a unifying speech at his inauguration on Thursday, saying that one of his priorities would be that of seeking to heal divisions, including those caused by the blots on Malta’s character caused by the murders of Karin Grech, Raymond Caruana and Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The former foreign minister was sworn in at a special sitting of Parliament, taking over from his former Cabinet colleague Marie-Lousie Coleiro Preca.
Dr Vella, said his would be a silent, impartial presidency that would also seek to be a moral compass, a mirror of the people’s needs, giving a voice to those who were not heard and solace to those who needed it.
Dr Vella said he was assuming the office with deep humility, gratitude and pride.
He said he had accepted to assume the role of President in order to serve the people and to promote Malta’s values, including a fair distribution of wealth.
The concept of charity had unfortunately been eroded, he said, but those who needed help should receive it as a right not as charity.
Economic wealth did not mean there was no material poverty, and he would therefore seek to maintain the social commitment demonstrated by his predecessor.
He would promote social welfare and a decent quality of life everyone was entitled for, including migrant workers.
As a doctor, he would interest himself in developments in the health sector and continue to see that there was respect for medical and moral ethics ‘including respect for life from its very beginning.’
He would also closely follow the sector of the elderly, where it needed to be ensured that there was no deterioration of living conditions.
In a mixed liberal community, Dr Vella said, Malta needed to be proud of its moral values, including charity and solidarity.
He would also commit himself to education, whether academic or utilitarian, but also an appreciation of art and culture.
Highlights importance of the environment
Dr Vella recalled that the environment had been among his first ministerial responsibilities in 1996. Much had changed since then, he said, but Malta’s size remained the same.
Malta, he said, faced strong pressure on the natural and built environment, and he would be recommending enforcement of the rules to ensure environmental sustainability.
He would also promote measures for better quality of air and the sea and measures to avoid global warming.
Absolute importance would be given by the presidency to strengthen national unity. Having different points of view was a sacred right but there needed to be dialogue that was mature and respectful, with no personal attacks.
National unity also meant dialogue between the state and the various churches and religions.
There was also a need to rekindle respect for national symbols such as the flag, the anthem, the language, history and culture, the constitutional structures and their laws, and especially, respect to the Constitution.
Differences remained on issues such as the rule of law, administrative powers and the blots on Malta caused by the murders of Karin Grech, Raymond Caruana and Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Dr Vella also spoke about his role as guardian of the Constitution and insisted that the process for a revision of the constitution should be as broad as possible, including MPs, experts, NGOs and civil society in general.
But even more important than updating the Constitution was the need for a commitment to respect what was agreed upon.
The President also spoke briefly on foreign affairs and said that Malta, despite being small, would remain relevant and would be respected as long as it showed itself to be competent.
Cites concerns with right-wing extremism, populism
His concerns, he said, included populism, right-wing extremism, climate change, organised crime, human and arms trafficking and organised crime. Malta could play an important role in international fora in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Malta should be proud of its values and morals even in international fora, he said, including in the UN Security Council if it was elected to it in 2023-24. “We need to be clear in our condemnation of exploitation of workers from other countries, human trafficking, arms trafficking and organised crime.
Read the full address in Maltese on pdf below.
Dr Vella was sworn in by the Speaker of the House, Anġlu Farrugia.
A resolution for his appointment was approved by the Labour and Nationalist members of parliament on Tuesday.
The ceremony was preceded by Mass led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna at at St John’s Co-Cathedral.
Dr Vella then walked to the Palace, where the parliamentary sitting was held in the Grand Council Chamber.
As soon as the oath of office was administered, the AFM fired a salute from Pope Pius V Street in Valletta using vintage guns. Trumpeters sounded a fanfare in the Chamber.
The new President read a proclamation declaring that he has assumed the new duties and then delivered his inaugural address.
The new President waved to the crown on St George Square from the Palace balcony.
READ: 'Defend Malta's heritage' - Archbishop's call to the new President
His first official function was to pay tribute to the fallen by laying a wreath at the foot of the War Memorial in Floriana.
He then proceeded to San Anton Palace – his home for the next five years - where the staff will be introduced.
President Vella will receive courtesy calls by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Adrian Delia.
The role of the President
The President of Malta is the head of state and has a largely ceremonial role.
However, it is the President who decides who to appoint as prime minister after a general election, basing his decision upon who in his judgement commands a majority of the members of the House of Representatives.
The President summons and dissolves the House of Representatives and calls a general election on the advice of the prime minister.
He/she may, however, act upon his own judgement to dismiss the prime minister or dissolve the House if the government loses a confidence vote. Conversely, if the prime minister recommends dissolution of parliament (before the end of its term) and the President considers that the government can be carried on without dissolution and that dissolution would not be in the interests of Malta, he may refuse to dissolve parliament.
The President is a key part of the legislative process. Draft financial legislation first needs to be presented to the President who then recommends it to the House. The President also has to give his assent to all Bills approved by the House before they become law.
In cases of public emergency, if the House is not in session, the President may by proclamation summon it.
Despite this important legislative role, the President only addresses the House of Representatives upon his/her appointment and at the summoning of parliament. Only one President has addressed the summoning of parliament twice – Ugo Mifsud Bonnici did so when Alfred Sant’s Labour government was elected in 1996 and when the PN government was elected 22 months later.
Among other roles, the President receives the diplomatic credentials of new ambassadors to Malta, chairs the Commission for the Administration of Justice and, acting on the advice of the government, appoints judges and the heads of constitutional bodies.
The President may grant a pardon to convicted criminals as well as reduce or nullify court sentences, acting on the advice of the Minister of Justice.
The President has a right to be informed by the prime minister and ministers of all affairs of state.
While judges and other holders of constitutional offices such as the Auditor-General and the Ombudsman enjoy security of tenure and cannot be removed without a two-thirds majority of the House, the President is appointed and may be removed by resolution of the House backed by a simple majority. Removal of the President can only take place on the grounds of inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or inappropriate behaviour.
The term of office the President otherwise lasts for five years. There is no second term.
History of the presidency
The presidency came into being on December 13, 1974 when Malta was declared a republic.
The first President was Sir Anthony Mamo, the only President who did not come with a political background. He was previously Chief Justice and Governor-General.
The other Presidents were Anton Buttigieg, Agatha Barbara, Censu Tabone, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, Guido de Marco, Eddie Fenech Adami, George Abela and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. Paul Xuereb was acting president for just over two years. All previously served as ministers except George Abela, who was deputy leader of the Labour Party and Paul Xuereb who was an MP and later Speaker. Dr Fenech Adami was previously prime minister.
Biography: George Vella
George Vella, born on April 24, 1942, is the oldest person ever to have been appointed President and the second to come from the medical profession, the other being Ċensu Tabone.
He has lived all his life in Zejtun and is best known there as a dedicated family doctor. He graduated as a doctor in 1964 and later also specialised in aviation medicine, serving as a consultant to Air Malta and the Civil Aviation Department.
He first stood for election with the Labour Party in 1976 but was elected, by casual election in 1978. He was then elected during the general elections of 1981, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013.
In 1992 Dr Vella turned down an invitation from then Labour leader Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici to be nominated party leader, but was then elected party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs while Alfred Sant was leader.
He was deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the Sant government between 1996 and 1998 and then in his role as shadow foreign minister along with Dr Sant, spearheaded the campaign against Malta joining the European Union, until the matter was decided by referendum.
Dr Vella is credited as having been the one to push Joseph Muscat into seeking the leadership of the Labour Party when Dr Sant resigned after losing the 2008 general election.
When Labour was returned to power in 2013 Dr Vella became Joseph Muscat’s foreign minister, focusing on broadening Malta’s relations with non-EU countries, particularly those around the Mediterranean, the United States and China. He did not seek re-election in 2017.
Dr Vella is married to Miriam (née Grima), has two daughters and a son and seven grandchildren. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | April 2019 | ['(The Times of Malta)'] |
The death toll of a capsized ferry MV Mutambala on December 12 in Lake Tanganyika, Democratic Republic of the Congo rises to 129 with authorities continuing to search for bodies or survivors. | At least 129 bodies have been recovered from Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry capsized on Friday.
Local transport minister Laurent Sumba Kahozi said the search for survivors was continuing.
Rescue workers found passengers in the water on Sunday, clinging on to petrol cans and other objects.
Correspondents say such accidents are fairly common in the region as ferries are often overloaded.
Life jackets are also often missing and many people cannot swim.
Officials in Katanga province said strong winds and overloading caused the boat, the MV Mutambala, to capsize.
A number of women and children were among the victims in the disaster, which happened in the early hours of Friday morning.
Initial reports said 26 people had died.
The number of survivors stands at 232, mostly men, the provincial minister for transport said.
| Shipwreck | December 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
Scores of flights are cancelled after a fire devastates part of terminal three at Rome's Fiumicino Airport. The fire was triggered by an electrical fault. | Rome - Scores of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers had their travel plans wrecked Thursday after a fierce fire devastated part of a terminal at Rome's Fiumicino airport.
The city's main airport was closed to passengers for several hours after a blaze triggered by an electrical fault in a bar broke out in terminal three, which is used for international flights.
When the airport reopened, there were scenes of total chaos with thousands of people trying to find out what was happening and frantic airport staff desperately attempting to deal with the backlog and match disorientated and frustrated passengers to seats on waiting planes.
The first departures of the day involving planes carrying passengers did not take place until after 14:00 (12:00 GMT) and some carriers saw their entire day's schedule in and out of the airport wiped out.
Three airport employees were treated for smoke inhalation but there were no serious injuries.
The fire erupted shortly after midnight and was not brought fully under control until more than five hours later, by which time the authorities had decided to cancel most of the morning's flights and close the airport to passengers.
A shopping area in the terminal which is home to a string of upmarket boutiques was devastated.
"The bit beyond the security gates where the shops are has been completely destroyed but the rest is usable," said Lorenzo Lo Presti, the head of Airports of Rome, the private company which runs Fiumicino.
The chaotic scenes prompted calls for a probe into why a fire limited to one terminal had caused such disruption over the entire airport for hours.
"You have to ask why the company that runs the airport did not have adequate plans in place to deal with an event of the kind that happened overnight," said Michele Anzaldi, a member of the National Assembly.
"If it had to resort to closing everything it means something has gone wrong," the centre-left deputy added. "There was no plan B."
Anzaldi and other lawmakers said the day's events showed Rome was far from ready to cope with an anticipated surge in tourist arrivals as a result of the jubilee year declared by Pope Francis from December 8.
Huge queues Firefighters said it could take several days to make the area hit by the fire safe.
The terminal is one of four at the airport and serves flights to European countries outside the Schengen no-borders zone and destinations further afield with the exception of Israel and the United States.
Vito Riggio, president of the national civil aviation authority, told reporters at the airport that the cause was "probably a short circuit."
Police do not suspect any foul play.
As tempers frayed at the airport on a swelteringly hot day, there were also angry scenes at Rome's main railway station where thousands of passengers arrived to discover all trains to the airport, which is on the coast around 30km west of the city, had been cancelled.
The express train link resumed mid-morning but that only served to exacerbate the congestion at the airport.
With passengers being switched from the fire-hit building, huge queues built up at the other terminals.
One of the companies which flies in and out of terminal three, British Airways, had to cancel seven of its eight flights from London Heathrow to Rome and reschedule the other one to Naples, which is a 95-minute train ride or two-hour drive south of Rome.
Intercontinental flights arriving after overnight trips from the United States and elsewhere were able to land on Thursday morning and some planes took off before midday with only crew on board to ensure they could meet schedule commitments elsewhere.
Alitalia, the airline which has the most flights to and from the airport, advised passengers they could switch to alternative flights up until Sunday or have the price of their tickets reimbursed.
Other airlines made similar commitments, in line with European Union regulations in such situations.
| Fire | May 2015 | ['(AFP via News24)'] |
Hundreds of thousands of left wing Italians march in Rome putting increased pressure on the Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi. | Hundreds of thousands of left-wing Italians have marched through Rome, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Romano Prodi's Government.
One cabinet minister has predicted that Mr Prodi's Government will collapse in coming months.
Waving red flags and Che Guevara banners, protesters arched through the capital to tell the Government, which includes several communists, to move further to the left on issues such as welfare reform and pensions.
The rally came a week after rightists, including a minority of black-shirted neo-Nazis, staged an anti-Prodi march.
The leftists said their rally was not aimed against Mr Prodi, who recently clinched a compromise with unions on raising the retirement age and is resisting calls to repeal a labour law which makes it easier to hire and fire.
"It's not against the Government, which we are a part of, that would be self-harm," the head of the Italian Communist Party, Oliviero Diliberto, said.
"It's to ask the Government to do better."
When asked whether Mr Prodi had anything to fear from the far left, Mr Diliberto said Mr Prodi should worry more about the other wing of the Coalition which could switch support to the centre-right bloc of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Justice Minister Clemente Mastella, who heads his own small centrist party, said Mr Prodi no longer had a Parliamentary majority and predicted there would be a general election by spring, three years ahead of schedule.
Mr Prodi played down such speculation, dismissing a newspaper article which reported he admitted to leaders of the march his Government was likely to collapse in October or November due to defections in the Senate.
"It's absolutely all invented," Mr Prodi said.
Mr Prodi's slim election victory in April 2006 gave him a wafer-thin majority in the Upper House where every major policy vote risks defeat.
Mr Prodi has already resigned once, in February, after leftists deserted him in a Senate vote, but he returned to office after winning a vote of confidence.
Mr Prodi has said he intends to serve his full five-year term and then retire, but many pundits say he is unlikely to hold his fragile Coalition together for that long. | Protest_Online Condemnation | October 2007 | ['(Reuters via ABC News Australia)'] |
The French centrist and pro–European Union leader of the Union for French Democracy François Bayrou announces the foundation of the Democratic Party in the run–up to the 2007 legislative election after his strong showing in the presidential election. | He said he could not back either candidate as their current policies would not be good for the country.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who took 31.2% of the vote, and Segolene Royal - 25.9% - are both standing in the second round of the election on Sunday 6 May.
About 6.8 million voters backed the centrist candidate in the first round of the election and could swing the run-off. "I will not give any advice on how to vote," Mr Bayrou said at a long-awaited news conference.
When asked what his personal vote would be, he said he had not yet made up his mind.
Mr Bayrou made it clear that he would not take up any offers of ministerial posts in a Segolene Royal government.
New party
He criticised Mr Sarkozy for his closeness to big business and French media barons, and what he called his "taste for intimidation and menace". As for Ms Royal, he said she might be more of a democrat, but her reliance on the state as the answer to all France's many problems was "not for him". "Our country has a problem with democracy, a problem of a broken society, a problem of the economy, a problem with debt. "Nicolas Sarkozy, I believe, will aggravate the problems with democracy and the fractured society. Segolene Royal, through her programme, is going to aggravate the economic problems, and one as much as the other is going to unbalance the deficit and the debt." Mr Bayrou also criticised both candidates for their plans for higher state spending, at a time he said France could ill afford it - and in the midst of what he called a crisis of government, the economy, the media and the justice system in France. Mr Bayrou said he had accepted Ms Royal's offer to hold a televised debate, and would do the same with Mr Sarkozy if he asked.
He also announced he would create a new centrist Democratic Party, which will put up candidates in the forthcoming general elections in June. | Government Job change - Election | April 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Japan's Kagawa Prefecture will cull 850,000 chickens at two poultry farms after the country reported its first bird flu outbreak in more than two years. It will be the sixth and seventh cases of avian flu in the prefecture and the biggest culling to be done at once. | Japans Kagawa prefecture will cull 850,000 chickens at two poultry farms after detecting a bird flu outbreak earlier in November.
Reuters reports that these will be the sixth and seventh cases of the avian flu in western Kagawa prefecture and the biggest culling to be done at one time since the country's first bird flu outbreak in more than two years was found in the poultry this month, an official at the prefecture said.
Chickens at the two farms in Mitoyo city tested positive in a preliminary examination for avian influenza on Thursday 19 November, after the farms had notified the prefectural government of an increase in the number of dead chickens.
The local government said it has confirmed the infection was a highly pathogenic strain of H5 bird flu from genetic tests on Friday 20 November.
The prefecture has already culled about 460,000 chickens for the past four cases, the official said.
Japan's last outbreak of bird flu occurred in January 2018, when 91,000 chickens at a farm in Sanuki city, also in Kagawa prefecture, were culled due to the H5N6 strain of bird flu, according to the agriculture ministry.
| Disease Outbreaks | November 2020 | ['(The Poultry Site)'] |
10 people are reported shot dead around the Israel-Lebanon border , as a crowd try to enter Israel through a border fence. Protesters also pelt Lebanese security forces and Israeli soldiers with stones. Over a hundred enter the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, with 4 shot dead, after Palestinians and Syrians crossed the de facto Israel-Syria border. Over 45 are injured in total. | Israeli officials have warned in recent weeks that 'radical' Islamist groups and Iran are trying to leverage the unrest in the Middle East to expand their influence and pull Israel into the conflict.
May 15, 2011
During nearly four months of turmoil around the Arab world, Israel has tried its best to say little lest the revolutionary fervor morph into anger toward the Jewish state. But deadly clashes Sunday with Arab demonstrators who challenged Israeli forces at the Lebanese, Syrian, Gazan, and West Bank borders showed it may be difficult for Israel to remain above the fray.
Israeli officials have warned in recent weeks that "radical" Islamist groups and Iran are trying to leverage the unrest in the Middle East to expand their influence and pull Israel into the conflict.
Now, the unprecedented breadth of Sunday's border protests, which marked the anniversary of Israel’s independence in 1948 known to Palestinians as the "nakba’’ or "catastrophe" are likely to strengthen Israel’s anxiety that the so-called Arab Spring will destabilize its neighborhood. And that will make the Jewish state less likely offer concessions for peace, security and political analysts say.
"For decades, the Arab leaders used Israel as an alternative focus. In my view, this is a return to the era of trying to divert internal dissent into attacks against Israel," says Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political science at Bar Ilan University. "It is possible that if Egypt and Syria were replaced by more open, pluralist regimes, they would be more focused on dealing with the internal issues, and less capable of diverting the population to targeting Israel, but this is still a long way off.’’
Destabilization ahead of Netanyahu's US visit
The clashes come on the eve of a trip by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US to meet with President Obama and address a joint session of Congress, where he is expected to lay out Israel’s vision of the peace process and how the Jewish state sees the turmoil engulfing its neighbors.
Although there were dozens injured when demonstrators marched toward Israeli positions on the Gaza and the West Bank borders, the Lebanese and Syrian border clashes which, together, killed at least 10 protesters risk a destabilization.
Dozens of Palestinians infiltrated the cease-fire border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday in the most serious border incident with Syria since a 1974 disengagement agreement monitored by the United Nations. Did Iran and Syria play a role?
Israeli analysts speculated the incident occurred with the blessing of the Syrian government, but was actually a sign of the weakness of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has maintained a quiet border for decades.
On Sunday, the chief spokesman of Israel’s military, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, argued that the border protests in Lebanon and Syria bore the "fingerprints of Iranian provocation."
"[Israeli officials] are going to see this as a plot to pull Israel in as a scapegoat. This will not be the first time that many countries have tried to blame things on Israel,’’ says Meir Javedanfar, a Middle East analyst based in Tel Aviv. "Israel needs to be careful in terms of protecting its security, but it has to be careful in how it reacts, because it could hurt its diplomatic position.’’
| Armed Conflict | May 2011 | ['(near Maroun al-Ras in Lebanon)', '(Christian Science Monitor)', '(Voice of America)', '(The Jerusalem Post)', '(Nowlebanon)', '(Haaretz)'] |
Approximately 60,000 people in Mozambique are evacuated in the Zambezi River valley due to floods caused by three weeks of heavy rain. | The army has used boats and helicopters to rescue people cut off by what officials are calling the worst flooding since 2001.
Rescue officials say another 100,000 people are still at risk.
Rising waters have cut road access to relocation centres already short of drinking water, food and shelter.
International aid agencies have launched an urgent appeal for funds and supplies for the flood victims.
'Worse than 2001'
Heavy rainfall across neighbouring Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi has poured into the reservoir of Mozambique's main hydro-electric dam, the Cahora Bassa, filling it to capacity.
Water has already been released, but officials say more flood gates must be opened to prevent the dam wall from bursting.
The situation is worst in the country's central region where the Zambezi River and its tributaries - the Shire and Revubue - have become swollen with surging waters.
Officials said 46,000 homes have been destroyed. Roads and bridges have been washed away, thousands of hectares of crops have been flooded and there are reports at least 29 people have been killed
The head of Mozambique's relief agency, Paulo Zucula, said they were expecting worse floods than those that devastated the country in 2001, killing 700 people. However, this time they were better prepared.
But many people arriving in the crowded relocation centres on higher ground have found them short of supplies and shelter.
And access roads have been cut by flooding.
One woman told Reuters news agency that the water struck her home at night last week and her family had lost everything.
"But now we are here without food and shelter and the government is saying there are no access roads to bring the food," said Julita Dinala.
Mozambique's Prime Minister Liusa Diogo has ordered the forcible evacuation of thousands of people in low-lying areas as more rains are expected to fall this week.
Some people have been reluctant to leave their homes, animals and crops.
The UN World Food Programme says that more than 250,000 people in Mozambique alone may need food assistance in the coming months because of the damage to crops and property. | Floods | February 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Fights break out between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture. One person is killed and several people are injured after a man drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. | Mayor of Charlottesville blames Donald Trump for inflaming racial tensions; authorities declare a state of emergency and ban 'Unite the Right' rally; two die as police helicopter crashes in unexplained circumstances
A 32-year-old woman was killed and dozens of others injured amid violent clashes between white supremacists and anti-fascists ahead of a rally protesting against the removal of a statue to a Confederate general in Charlottesville, Virginia.
A police helicopter also crashed, killing two people, with officials saying this was connected to the events on the ground, although it was unclear in what way.
A state of emergency was announced by the local and state governments with police declaring the "Unite the Right" rally an unlawful assembly and ordering the crowds to disperse. The state police were deployed, with riot police and the National Guard waiting in the wings.
Some of the far-right group members were seen carrying assault rifles and wearing paramilitary clothing, while others had large shields, helmets and gas masks in apparent anticipation of violence ahead of the demonstration against plans to take down the statue to General Robert E Lee from a local park.
The 32-year-old woman was killed when a car crashed at speed into anti-fascist protesters, leaving a crowd of people lying injured on the ground. Police said they had opened a homicide investigation.
Officials said the pilot of the police helicopter that crashed had been killed, along with a passenger. They said the crash was connected to the violence but it was unclear whether this was simply because the officers had been involved in the police operation or because of some other reason.
Police were investigating the cause of the crash, which happened while the aircraft was hovering low over some trees near a golf course.
Hospital officials said a total of at least 41 people had been hurt in the violence, including 26 as a result of the car crash and 15 others from the fighting in the streets. Some were said to have life-threatening injuries.
Graphic video showed a grey Dodge Challenger speeding up a side street into a group of people and crashing into another car.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | August 2017 | ['(CNN)', '(BBC)', '(The Independent)'] |
A gunman opens fire at a Kuomintang political rally in Taiwan; prominent member Sean Lien is shot in the face. | A gunman opened fire on a campaign rally near Taipei yesterday, killing one man and critically wounding the son of a former vice-president on the eve of key local elections. A suspect is in custody and may belong to a gang.
Police said the men were hit when the assailant rushed the stage at a primary school in the gritty town of Yung Ho, on the outskirts of the capital. A candidate for city council was apparently the intended target.
Lien Sheng-wen, the son of the former Vice-President Lien Chan and a politician in his own right, was shot in the face and temple, but hospital officials said his life was not in danger.
Violence is unusual in election campaigns in Taiwan, and violence by gangs is also limited, although the gangs exercise considerable political influence, particularly at the county level. | Riot | November 2010 | ['(Focus Taiwan News Channel)', '(The Independent)'] |
Romania and Georgia report their first cases. | Health minister Ekaterine Tikaradze said an infected Georgian citizen, who was traveling from Iran, crossed the border from neighboring Azerbaijan.
He was immediately taken to hospital from the border check-point, she said.
Tikaradze said the infected man, who traveled by mini-bus with other 12 passengers, crossed the Georgian border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
All of them had been checked by bodyguards and taken to hospital, the minister said.
Coronavirus positive was only in one case, Tikaradze said.
Other members of the group tested negative, but remain in a quarantine, she said
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has created a group to coordinate actions to try to prevent a disease outbreak in the country, the premiers press service said.
The group has decided to suspend travel between Georgia and Iran for two weeks.
Georgia, a South Caucasus country of 3.7 million, suspended direct flights to and from China on Jan. 29 for two months and took the same decision for Iran on Feb. 23, warning its citizens to refrain from traveling to both countries.
The novel coronavirus originated in China late last year and has infected about 80,000 people, killing more than 2,700, the vast majority in China.
| Disease Outbreaks | February 2020 | ['(Reuters)', '(Reuters)'] |
Dias Kadyrbayev, a college friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is sentenced to six years for obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges after Kadyrbayev removed incriminating evidence from Tsarnaev's college dorm room. | WBZ News BOSTON (AP) — A college friend of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison after he apologized to the victims and their families for not calling police when he recognized photos of Tsarnaev as a suspect.
Dias Kadyrbayev, 21, pleaded guilty last year to obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for removing items from Tsarnaev’s dorm room after recognizing his friend in photos released by the FBI days after the bombing.
Prosecutors say Kadyrbayev exchanged text messages with Tsarnaev, then went to his room with two other friends. There, he and another man agreed to remove Tsarnaev’s computer and a backpack containing fireworks that had been partially emptied of their explosive powder. Kadyrbayev also threw the backpack into a garbage dumpster.
Dias Kadyrbayev in U.S. District Court, June 2, 2014. (Sketch by Jane Flavell Collins)
Kadyrbayev said Tuesday that he had no explanation for his actions.
“I can’t find an answer. I really can’t believe that I acted so stupidly,” he told Judge Douglas Woodlock before his sentence was imposed.
Kadyrbayev had faced up to seven years in prison. His lawyer had sought a three-year sentence.
He will get credit for the 26 months he’s been in custody and will be deported to his native Kazakhstan when his prison term is up.
In sentencing memos filed in court, prosecutors said Kadyrbayev had the power to help law enforcement identify Tsarnaev and prevent additional violence, possibly including the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed by the Tsarnaev brothers as they tried to flee after the FBI released their photos. Dzhokhar’s older brother, Tamerlan, died after a shootout with police.
“Hours before (Dzhokhar) Tsarnaev murdered Officer Collier, the defendant (Kadyrbayev) recognized that his friend Tsarnaev was the fugitive bomber. Any reasonable, decent person possessed of the information the defendant had would have recognized that immediate apprehension of Tsarnaev was a public-safety imperative,” prosecutors wrote.
Collier’s sister had been expected to speak Tuesday, but at the beginning of the hearing, prosecutors informed the judge that she had decided not to. A prosecutor did, however, quote from a letter written by Collier’s stepfather in which the family said they believe if Kadyrbayev had reported Tsarnaev’s identity to authorities, he could possibly have prevented Collier’s death.
Kadyrbayev’s father, Murat, traveled from Kazakhstan to attend his son’s sentencing hearing. He said his son didn’t fully understand in the moment how serious his actions were.
“Had he known what he was doing and had he understood what he was doing, we wouldn’t be standing here,” Murat Kadyrbayev said through a translator outside court.
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured in the bombing April 15, 2013, near the marathon’s finish line. Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for the attacks. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | June 2015 | ['(CBS Local)'] |
The United Nations estimates that four million people have become homeless as a result of the 2010 Pakistan floods; Secretary–General of the United Nations Ban Ki–moon, speaking in New York, states that the floods are a "slow–motion tsunami" as he calls for more funds to assist those affected. | ISLAMABAD, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and a senior U.S. senator warned on Thursday that Taliban insurgents are trying to exploit rising anger over the country's worst floods to promote their cause.
More than four million Pakistanis have been made homeless by nearly three weeks of floods, the United Nations said on Thursday, making the critical task of securing greater amounts of aid more urgent.
Eight million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and many may not care where they get it.
The floods began washing away villages and destroying roads and bridges just after the government had made progress in stabilising the country through offensives against Taliban.
Islamist charities, some with suspected links to militant groups, stepped in to help victims, possibly boosting their image at the expense of the U.S.-backed government, which is still accused of being lax nearly three weeks into the crisis.
U.S. Senator John Kerry, who visited flood-hit areas with Zardari, said action must be taken to prevent anyone from exploiting frustrations.
"We need to address that rapidly to avoid their (Pakistani's) impatience boiling over, and people exploiting that impatience and I think it's important for all of us to understand that challenge," Kerry said, in a clear reference to the Taliban. "We also share security concerns."
For a graphic on Pakistan's floods, click
here
For a story on agricultural costs of floods
About one third of Pakistan has been hit by the floods, with waters stretching tens of kilometers from rivers.
In a small town in Punjab, people waved empty pots and pans at a military helicopter, wondering, like millions of others, when food supplies will arrive.
Aid agencies have been pushing for more funding as they try to tackle major problems such as food supplies, lack of clean water and shelter and outbreaks of disease.
The U.S. needs a stable Pakistan, which it sees as the most important ally in the war against militancy, especially in neighbouring Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency is raging.
In a sign of growing concerns over the ramifications of the floods, Kerry said $200 million from the $7.5 billion U.S. aid package for Pakistan over five years, which he co-authored, would be diverted to the relief effort.
The bill was unpopular in Pakistan as it ties some funds to fighting militancy, to cooperation in stopping nuclear proliferation and ensuring Pakistani civilian government dominance over the military.
Kerry said he was shocked after seeing miles of destroyed homes and displaced people in camps in sweltering heat.
Floods have ruined crops over more than 1.6 million acres, hammering the mainstay agriculture industry. Aid workers say water could stagnate on the surface for months, making planting difficult.
The government also faces the prospect of food riots and social unrest.
Zardari, who drew a hail of criticism after he left on a trip to meet the leaders of Britain and France as the disaster unfolded, also said militants could capitalise on the floods.
"There is a possibility that some, the negative forces, would exploit this situation, this time of need," he told a joint news conference with Kerry, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"They would take babies who become orphans and then put them in their own camps, train them as the terrorists of tomorrow." (Additional reporting by Faisal Aziz and Sahar Ahmed in Karachi, Zeeshan Kaider and Kamran Haider in Islamabad, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Rosemarie Francisco in Manila and Jonathan Thatcher in Singapore) (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Alistair Scrutton) | Floods | August 2010 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
German convicted serial killer and former nurse Niels Högel begins his third trial , this time in Oldenburg, for additional patient murders by administering fatal doses of medication between 1999–2005 which may include his assignment as one of Germany's worst serial killers since World War II. At the beginning of the trial, Högel confesses to the murder of 100 of his patients. , | An ex-nurse in Germany has admitted at the start of his trial that he murdered 100 patients, making him one of the world's most prolific serial killers.
Detectives say Niels Högel administered fatal doses of medication to the people in his care - causing cardiac arrest - at two hospitals in northern Germany.
His motive, prosecutors say, was to impress colleagues by trying to revive the very patients he had attacked.
Högel, 41, is already serving a life term for six deaths while in his care.
He is now said to have killed 36 patients in Oldenburg and 64 in nearby Delmenhorst between 1999 and 2005.
When asked by the judge in the Oldenburg court if the charges against him were true, the 41-year-old confessed to "more or less" all of them. The current trial, which started with a minute's silence for the victims, is expected to last until May. It follows years of toxicology tests on 130 sets of exhumed remains. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | October 2018 | ['(previous convictions were in 2008 and 2015)', '(BBC)', '(Deutsche Welle)'] |
Ethiopia withdraws its military forces from Somalia after two years of helping the Transitional Federal Government combat insurgents. | Ethiopian military forces have begun pulling out of Somalia after two years helping the transitional government fight insurgents.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's spokesman said the withdrawal would take several days.
A convoy of about 30 Ethiopian vehicles loaded with troops and equipment left the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Hours earlier a roadside bomb killed two Ethiopian soldiers and a number of civilians died when troops opened fire.
"The withdrawal of our troops from Somalia has entered the implementation phase," Bereket Simon, special adviser to the Ethiopian premier, told Reuters news agency.
"The withdrawal is not an event that can be completed within a day. It will be finalised as quickly as possible."
Ethiopia has suffered a steady drain on its resources and a constant trickle of casualties but has received much blame and scant praise for its deployment, the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt reports from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Bomb attack
About 3,400 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers from the African Union in Somalia are taking up positions vacated by the Ethiopians.
Witnesses say the start of Friday's withdrawal passed without incident as a convoy of trucks loaded with troops, mattresses and other equipment left Mogadishu.
A long column of vehicles left the capital for the small town of Afgoye, south-west of the capital, on the road to Baidoa and the border.
But at least four civilians died earlier in the day when Ethiopian troops on patrol opened fire after two of their number died in a roadside blast at a busy junction in the south of the capital.
"A bomb exploded near a group of Ethiopian soldiers at the K4 crossroads," Somali police colonel Ali Hasan told AFP news agency.
"There were many civilian victims."
Addis Ababa announced late last year that it would fully withdraw from Somalia by the first days of 2009.
There are fears the withdrawal of the 3,000-strong Ethiopian force could lead to a power vacuum and that violence will continue despite a peace deal between Somalia's transitional government and one of the main opposition factions.
Others say the pullout, together with this week's resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf, could make it easier for a new government to be formed, including moderate Islamist forces.
The president's critics had accused him of obstructing of a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.
One hard-line opposition group, al-Shabab, seen as key to any prospect of a lasting peace, is snubbing the idea of power-sharing and has said Somalia risks a new civil war.
Our correspondent says its involvement in Somalia has not been a happy one for Ethiopia.
The first push, at Christmas 2006, went like clockwork. Opposition melted away before the Ethiopians and the transitional government was saved from imminent collapse.
But our correspondent says that the government has not managed to use the time the Ethiopians bought it to establish a soundly based administration while the insurgency has revived in a more extreme form. | Armed Conflict | January 2009 | ['(BBC)'] |
Turkey says that it has reached an in-principle deal with the United States to give support to some elements of Syrian opposition. Over a million Syrian refugees live in Turkish territory, including many Syrian opposition figures. | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The United States and Turkey have agreed "in principle" to give air support to some forces from Syria's mainstream opposition, Turkey's foreign minister said, in what if confirmed could mark an expansion of U.S. involvement in the conflict. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on the assertion -- though Washington has so far refrained from committing to enforcing a "safe zone" for Syrian rebels, as it could be seen as a declaration of war on the Syrian state. The air support would protect Syrian rebel forces who have been trained by a U.S.-led program on Turkish territory, said minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The long-delayed scheme is meant to send 15,000 troops back to Syria to fight Islamic State militants. Cavusoglu did not go into details on what "in principle" meant or what kind of air power would be provided or by whom. "They have to be supported via air. If you do not protect them or provide air support, what is the point?," Cavusoglu told the pro-government Daily Sabah during a visit to Seoul. "There is a principle agreement on providing air support. How it is going to be provided is in the responsibility of the army." The U.S-led program has been mired in delays amid media speculation of disagreements between the two NATO allies. Turkey has said that any support program must be part of a comprehensive strategy which includes battling forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Washington has maintained its opposition to Assad but said that the goal of training is only to defeat Islamic State militants. Cavusoglu reiterated that while fighting Islamic State is prioritised, the "regime must also be stopped". The minister also dismissed media speculation that Turkey and Saudi Arabia had agreed on a joint operation in Syria. | Armed Conflict | May 2015 | ['(Reuters via Yahoo! News)'] |
Spanish voters go to the polls in local and regional elections. | With virtually all the votes counted, the Popular Party had 36% support, one percentage point more than the Socialists, who won more seats.
Correspondents say Sunday's poll provided few pointers to the likely result of next year's general election.
The vote is seen as a first real popularity test for the Socialists.
They came to power in March 2004, following an election three days after train bomb attacks in Madrid that killed 191 people.
National issues such as violence in the Basque region and urban planning corruption have loomed strongly.
For the first time, many British and German expatriates have put themselves forward as anti-corruption candidates.
New parties
The political make-up of more than 8,000 town councils and most of the country's regional governments is being decided in Sunday's polls. The Socialists retained Seville and Barcelona, while the Popular Party (PP) held onto Madrid and Valencia. But the PP's majority in Navarra was threatened by a surge by Basque nationalists.
In the Basque region, the moderate nationalist party, the PNV, remains the main political force. The ANV, the party supported by Batasuna, the illegal political group linked to the militant separatists Eta, had moderate success in one Basque province, winning 15% of the vote.
The vote follows the national government's first major setback, says the BBC's Danny Shaw in Madrid. In December, an Eta bomb attack put an end to the peace process led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The Popular Party had wanted to capitalise on that failure, our correspondent says, but the election result seems conclusive. Corruption in town planning is another big issue. A number of new political groups have been influenced by the issue.
For the first time, independent political parties with more non-Spanish than Spanish candidates, including many Britons and Germans, are taking part in elections. | Government Job change - Election | May 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Denny Hamlin wins his second consecutive Daytona 500, and his third overall, becoming the first driver to win the race consecutively since Sterling Marlin did so between 1994 and 1995. Ryan Newman is hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries after an airborne crash coming to the finish. | NASCAR driver Ryan Newman has been released from a Daytona Beach hospital after a horrific crash on Monday during the final lap of the Daytona 500. "Ryan Newman has been treated and released from Halifax Medical Center," a tweet from Roush Fenway Racing said. Ryan Newman has been treated and released from Halifax Medical Center pic.twitter.com/J0twhGgQm7
Best sight ever!!! https://t.co/g1G3VDwpi1 pic.twitter.com/kMs4u8LjOL
While Newman has been released from the hospital, Roush Fenway officials said he will not be getting back in the race car this week. The team said Florida-native Ross Chastain will fill in for him.
Roush Fenway said there is no timetable for Newman's return. “First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover,” said Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark.
Roush Fenway Racing had released a statement earlier Wednesday morning saying Newman is showing "great improvement" and walking around the hospital.
Ryan Newman and his daughters pose with some of the @HalifaxHealth staff that took care of him after a terrifying Daytona 500 crash. He was released from the hospital today: https://t.co/esfEFXQCjS pic.twitter.com/CLamQFJXDF
"The veteran driver is fully alert and walking around Halifax Medical Center. True to his jovial nature, he has also been joking with staff, friends and family while spending time playing with his two daughters," the statement said.
Ryan Newman Continues Great Improvement pic.twitter.com/xIZRiaRApi
The 42-year-old Newman's car flipped, rolled, and was hit on the driver’s side by another car, before it slid across the finish line upside down.
Still waiting for an update on Ryan Newman's health after this terrifying wreck on the final lap of the #Daytona500 pic.twitter.com/dxy33mMbo6
Newman was taken to Halifax Health for treatment. For roughly two hours after the crash, race fans anxiously awaited an update on Newman's condition. NASCAR officials eventually read a statement from Roush Fenway Racing that said Newman would survive. "Safety has come a long way in this sport," four-time NASCAR champion and Fox NASCAR announcer Jeff Gordon said Monday after Newman was taken to the hospital. "But sometimes we are reminded that it is a very dangerous sport."
Everyone breathing a bit easier at Daytona Internarional Speedway. Hard to see but it looks like that FedEx team finally getting a chance to celebrate their second straight #Daytona500 winWaited until they had information about Ryan Newman’s health #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/xbL3jtTwcF
Drafting, blocking and bumping are essential elements of racing on NASCAR's fastest tracks.
When Ryan Blaney pushed fellow Ford driver Newman in the final lap of the Daytona 500, it was something both men have done hundreds of times on superspeedways. The maneuver is delicate, and a few inches can turn victory into chaos.
Blaney's push sent Newman angling back into traffic, setting off the most violent wreck in Daytona since Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001.
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During the wait Monday night for an update on Newman's condition, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his concern. Trump a day earlier attended the race as the grand marshal, gave the command for drivers to start their engines and made a ceremonial pace lap around Daytona International Speedway before rain washed out the race.
“Praying for Ryan Newman, a great and brave @NASCAR driver! #PrayingForRyan,” Trump tweeted. Newman was one of several NASCAR drivers who attended a 2016 rally for Trump in Georgia when he was a candidate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. | Famous Person - Sick | February 2020 | ['(WESH)'] |
An Ilyushin Il-76 military plane crashes shortly after take-off from Boufarik Military Airport in Algeria, killing all 257 passengers on board. | An Algerian military plane has crashed near the capital killing 257 people on board, officials say.
The aircraft came down just after taking off from Boufarik military airport, west of Algiers.
An inquiry is under way into the cause of the crash - Algeria's worst-ever air disaster. The government has declared three days of national mourning.
Most of the dead are army personnel and their families, the defence ministry says. Ten crew members also died.
Passengers from Western Sahara, a disputed territory annexed by Morocco after Spain withdrew in 1975, were among the fatalities.
The Polisario Front, which is seeking independence for the territory and is backed by Algeria, says 30 Western Saharans, including women and children, died. A senior member of Algeria's ruling FLN party said those killed included 26 Polisario members.
The plane, an Ilyushin Il-76, was travelling to Bechar and Tindouf in the south-west of the country. The Tindouf region, which borders Western Sahara, is home to refugee camps and serves as a base for the Polisario Front.
Rana Jawad, North Africa correspondent
As one might expect in the immediate aftermath of such incidents, there are more questions than answers over this latest deadly plane crash in Algeria.
For now, it is not known whether the cause was due to safety or mechanical problems, pilot error or interference - but these are elements that will likely be examined during the course of the investigation.
The country's maintenance record of both military and commercial aircraft will also likely come under close scrutiny in the coming days. But for Algeria, and its military institution, the loss of life is a tragedy on a scale not seen before in its modern aviation history. Witnesses say they saw a wing catch fire as the plane took off. It then went down, avoiding a highway and crashing into a field.
A military aviation observer told the BBC that, based on how intact portions of the plane were, they believed the pilot had tried to crash-land.
Dozens of firefighters and rescuers worked around the smouldering wreckage. One eyewitness told local television: "We saw bodies burned. It is a real disaster". Officials are quoted as saying some survivors were taken to hospital, but it is unclear how many there were or what their current condition is.
Wednesday's plane crash is the deadliest in the world since July 2014, when all 298 people on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 died when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine. It is also the second-deadliest plane crash since 2003.
Four years ago a plane carrying military personnel and family members crashed in Algeria, killing 77 people.
Algeria plane crash scene footage emerges
. | Air crash | April 2018 | ['(BBC)', '(sbs.com)'] |
James Holmes, a former University of Colorado neuroscience student, is found guilty of first-degree murder in relation to a mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, which killed 12 and injured 70; he had plead not guilty by reason of legal insanity. (Reuters, via MSN) | CENTENNIAL, Colo., July 16 (Reuters) - Colorado movie massacre gunman James Holmes was found guilty on Thursday of multiple counts of first degree murder, a verdict that enables prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the former graduate student who killed 12 people and wounded 70 at a midnight premiere of a Batman film in 2012.
After a three-month trial in which hundreds of witnesses testified and thousands of pieces of evidence were presented, jurors deliberated for about a day and a half, then found Holmes guilty on all 165 counts against him. The panel of nine women and three men rejected the defense's claim that he was legally insane.
Before the jury was called in at around 4:00 p.m. local time (1800 EDT), Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour warned the packed public gallery to refrain from emotional outbursts. In a hushed courtroom, he began reading the guilty verdicts and did not finish until more than an hour later.
Families of the victims who were in court smiled as one guilty verdict after another was read, clasping hands and clapping each other on the back.
Holmes showed no reaction. Wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt and tan slacks, and tethered to the floor, he stood beside his court-appointed attorneys, looking straight ahead with his hands in his pockets.
Outside, Jansen Young, whose 26-year-old boyfriend Jonathan Blunk was killed in the theater, told reporters, "I felt so much relief. I just felt closure." Young said she was pushing for Holmes to get the death penalty.
Photos: Looking back at the Colorado theater shooting
Monday is the third anniversary of the massacre, and some people hailed the verdict on social media, many using the Twitter hashtag #AuroraStrong.
"My community and I can breathe a little more easily now," said one message.
"Justice is served," read another.
Samour told the jurors to return on Wednesday. The trial now enters the punishment phase, when they must determine whether Holmes, 27, should be put to death or serve a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole.
That process is expected to last until late August, with both sides bringing a fresh round of witnesses.
Prosecutors are likely to call survivors or relatives of those killed, some of whom had called for Holmes to be executed.
The defense team could call witnesses including more mental health professionals, and possibly even Holmes' parents, Arlene and Bob, who have attended court for most of the trial.
The defense had conceded that Holmes was the shooter, but presented expert witnesses who testified that the former neuroscience student was not in control of his actions because he suffered from schizophrenia and heard voices ordering him to kill.
The prosecution called two court-appointed psychiatrists who concluded that Holmes was legally sane when he plotted and carried out the rampage at a multiplex in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
"HE DID THIS"
District Attorney George Brauchler said the gunman was unusually intelligent but socially inept, and harbored a long-standing hatred of humanity.
He said the defendant could not take it when he did poorly on exams at the University of Colorado, and broke up with the only girlfriend with whom he had ever been intimate.
The prosecution argued that Holmes' detailed preparations for the attack showed that he knew what he was doing, and knew it was wrong. They presented evidence about his purchases of guns, and showed how he conducted online research into bomb-making so he could booby-trap his apartment before he left for the cinema.
Holmes rigged the bombs and turned loud music on the stereo, hoping someone would open the door and trigger a deadly blast. The devices were later defused by a police bomb squad.
During the trial dozens of wounded survivors testified about how they hid behind plastic chairs from the hail of bullets, and stumbled over the bodies of loved ones as they tried to flee.
Brauchler's voice broke as he showed photographs of the dead during his closing argument.
"That guy, sitting right there," he said, pointing at Holmes. "He did this."
Holmes bought a ticket for the screening at Aurora's Century 16 multiplex before slipping out to his car behind the building and changing into what prosecutors called a "kill suit" of ballistic helmet, gas mask, and head to toe body armor.
Colorado Judicial Department via AP, Pool
In this image taken from video, accused Colorado theater shooter James Holmes, standing on the far left, listens as the verdict is read during his trial, in Centennial, Colo., Thursday, July 16, 2015. Holmes was found guilty of murder in the deaths of 12 people in July 2012. In the center, lead prosecutor George Brauchler, puts his hands up to his face as the counts are read.
He returned and lobbed a teargas canister into the theater, then opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle, pump action shotgun and pistol. He was listening to loud techno music on headphones at the time, "to block out the screams," the prosecution said.
Holmes declined to testify in his own defense, but jurors did watch more than 22 hours of a videotaped sanity examination conducted by one of the two court-appointed psychiatrists.
In the video, Holmes confirmed most of the details of the mass shooting, including his weapons purchases and his plan to draw police and other first responders away from the theater by blowing up his apartment.
The jury also heard emails that Holmes sent to his parents discussing everyday topics, including the weather and a savings account, all while he was steadily amassing "overwhelming" firepower, including steel-penetrating rounds.
Holmes, who graduated with honors from the University of California, Riverside, had no previous criminal record.
He had been seeing a school psychiatrist and dropped out of a graduate program at CU's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora just weeks before the attack. | Armed Conflict | July 2015 | [] |
The President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma sacks two senior ministers on charges of corruption. | Below is a press release from the Anti Corruption Commission in Sierra Leone highlighting the names of top government officials that have been recently charged to court on various alleged corruption offences. The latest is the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Mr. Sheiku Tejan Koroma, who having spent more than thirty years in America, Texas returned home in 2007 to partake in the election. After the 2007 elections he was nominated by President Koroma to serve as minister at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
Mr. Sheiku Tejan Koroma’s performance at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation up to the time he was relieved of his duty and charged by the Anti Corruption Commission to court was nothing impressive.His arrest and subsequent charge to court yesterday came as big news to most people, especially those who are not aufait with the Global Fund Malaria project scandal and other administrative problems he was unable to resolve on behalf of his government. His inability to upgrade and introduce reforms at the Ministry of Health may have contributed to his present predicament.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ANTI CORRUPTION COMMISSION The Anti-Corruption Commission today charged SHEIKU TEJAN KOROMA, Minister of Health and Sanitation on a three count indictment. The charges are abuse of office contrary to Section 42 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, abuse of position contrary to Section 43 of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008 and willfully failing to comply with the laws, procedures and guidelines relating to the procurement of property, tendering of contracts and management of funds, contrary to Section 48 (2) (b) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008.
The Commission alleged that the accused, SHEIKU TEJAN KOROMA on a date unknown between March 2009 and May 2009 at Freetown in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, being the Minister of Health and Sanitation, and being a Public Officer, abused his position as Minister, in respect of the award of a contract for the supply of medical consumables and reagents to the Ministry, by contravening the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2004, through the improper award of the said contract. The Accused was arraigned this morning before the Honourable Ms. Justice Mary Sey and he pleaded not guilty to all three counts. The Accused was granted bail and the case was adjourned to 2nd December 2009.
This is the first time the Commission is charging a public official for the offences of abuse of office and position since the new Anti-Corruption Act was passed in September 2008. As part of its renewed commitment to ensure that public officers comply with the procurement laws of Sierra Leone, the Commission had for the first time earlier this month charged SARAH FINDA BENDU, former Acting Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority with the offence of willfully failing to comply with the laws, procedures and guidelines relating to the procurement of property, tendering of contracts and management of funds, contrary to Section 48(2) (b) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008.
SARAH FINDA BENDU was charged together with HAMZZA ALUSINE SESAY, Managing Director of Mabella Industries Limited on a 10 count indictment for several corruption related offences including misappropriation of public funds and making an excessive payment from public revenue for sub-standard or defective goods contrary to section 48 of the of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008. Both Accused has appeared before the Honourable Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke. The matter stands adjourned to 6th November 2009. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | November 2009 | ['(BBC)', '(Standard Times)', '(Reuters Africa)'] |
Boko Haram militants kill dozens of people in fresh attacks on villages in Borno state. | Suspected Boko Haram militants have killed dozens of villagers in fresh attacks in Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria, the BBC has learnt.
In one attack, gunmen disguised as soldiers fired on a crowd in a church compound, local MP Peter Biye said.
He said he had warned the army that the area was at risk after troops stationed nearby were withdrawn three months ago.
The latest attacks come as the army denied that several generals had been found guilty of aiding the militants.
Nigerian media reported on Tuesday that 10 generals and five other senior military officers had been tried before a court martial for supplying arms and information to the Islamist militant group.
However, a military spokesman called the reports "falsehoods".
This contradicted Interior Minister Abba Moro who in a BBC interview on Tuesday said it was "good news" that the army had identified soldiers who were undermining the fight against the insurgents, and that it sent a strong message to other serving officers. Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 in an attempt to create an Islamic state in Nigeria. The BBC's Will Ross in Nigeria says the attacks on six villages over the last few days have been near the Mandara Mountains - a known Boko Haram hideout by the border with Cameroon.
Residents who managed to flee Attagara said that their village church first came under attack on Sunday when reportedly 20 people died.
Villagers retaliated and some militants were allegedly killed.
This seemed to prompt a revenge attack on Tuesday when militants dressed as soldiers pretended they had come to protect the village, Mr Biye said.
"They came in mass in military uniform with about 200 motorcycles… they said they came to rescue them [and] they should not run away," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.
Villagers were urged to come to the church, and people gathered believing it was the military, the MP said.
"They surrounded them - they started shooting them," Mr Biye said, adding that the gunmen then burnt many buildings.
Those who had fled into nearby hills reported seeing many dead bodies, he said.
When troops were based in nearby Chinene village, the area was calm but since their withdrawal three months ago the area had become the insurgents' "base", Mr Biye said.
Nigeria's government has been facing growing pressure both at home and abroad to do more to tackle the group and bring about the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the group in April.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013 in the three northern states where Boko Haram is most active - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Boko Haram retaliated by stepping up its bombing campaign in cities and launching mass attacks on small towns and villages. Correspondents says since the kidnapping of the girls, the attacks have become an almost daily occurrence. | Armed Conflict | June 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
Two militants are killed in the woods near Serzhen–Yurt in Shali, Chechen Republic. | On Sunday night a special operation was launched against a terrorist group, discovered in the woods near the village of Serzhen-Yurt, in the Shali district of Chechnya. The militants refused to surrender and put up armed resistance, opening fire on law enforcement officers. During the ensuing firefight two members of the illegal armed group were liquidated. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said, “Their identity has been established as residents of Shali.” He noted that there were no dead or injured among law enforcement members. Kadyrov also stressed that the special operation, was coordinated by him and the first deputy chairman of the Russian government of Chechnya Muhammad Daud, who holds the title “Hero of Russia.” "The operation took place during the darkness of the night. At dawn the area will be combed. Steps have been taken to prevent whatever remaining militant fighters there may be from leaving the area, if they have not already done so.” added the president of the republic. Please rate: | Famous Person - Death | May 2010 | ['(Voice of Russia)'] |
The European Union and leading member states such as Belgium, France and Germany, criticize the Turkish government's decision to re-run Istanbul's mayoral election, which was won by underdog Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition multi-party Nation Alliance. | The EU and leading member states have sharply criticised a decision in Turkey to re-run Istanbul's mayoral election, after a shock opposition win.
An EU spokesperson called on Turkey's electoral body to explain the controversial decision "without delay".
Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Mass called the re-run "incomprehensible".
The move was also criticised by the French government and by leading MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who said Turkey was "drifting towards dictatorship".
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month lost the mayorship of Turkey's biggest city by a narrow margin, but Mr Erdogan refused to accept defeat.
The AKP claims that there were irregularities that invalidate the vote. The decision to hold a new poll on 23 June sparked protests across Istanbul on Monday. Hundreds of people gathered in several districts, banging pots and pans and shouting anti-government slogans.
"Ensuring a free, fair and transparent election process is essential to any democracy and is at the heart of the European Union's relations with Turkey," the EU's diplomatic chief, Federica Mogherini, said in a statement.
The French government called on Turkish authorities to show "respect for democratic principles, pluralism, fairness [and] transparency".
Mr Verhofstadt, the Belgian leader of the liberal group in the European parliament, said on Twitter that the Istanbul rerun threatened to make continuing EU accession talks "impossible".
Opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the mayoral election but has now been stripped of his duties, described the move as "treacherous". His CHP party has accused election authorities of bowing to pressure from Mr Erdogan.
An AKP representative on the electoral board, Recep Ozel, said the re-run was called because some electoral officials were not civil servants and some result papers had not been signed.
But CHP deputy chair Onursal Adiguzel said the re-run showed it was "illegal to win against the AK Party". Mr Adiguzel said on Twitter that the decision was "plain dictatorship".
"This system that overrules the will of the people and disregards the law is neither democratic, nor legitimate," he wrote.
In a speech broadcast on social media, Mr Imamoglu condemned the electoral board and said they were influenced by the ruling party.
"We will never compromise on our principles," he told the crowd. "This country is filled with 82 million patriots who will fight... until the last moment for democracy."
A supporters' group for Mr Imamoglu urged restraint, saying: "Let's stand together, let's be calm... We will win, we will win again."
Speaking at a parliamentary meeting of the AKP, Mr Erdogan said that re-running the vote was the "best step" for the country.
"We see this decision as the best step that will strengthen our will to solve problems within the framework of democracy and law," he said.
He claimed that there was "illegality" in the vote and said a re-run would represent "an important step to strengthen our democracy".
But the re-run decision is said to have split the AKP, alienating some of its leading lights. Abdullah Gul, Mr Erdogan' predecessor and one of the founding party members, is reportedly preparing to form a new party.
Municipal elections took place across Turkey on 31 March and were seen as a referendum on Mr Erdogan's leadership amid a sharp economic downturn. Although an AKP Party-led alliance won 51% of the vote nationwide, the secularist CHP claimed victory in the capital Ankara, Izmir, and in Istanbul - where Mr Erdogan had once been mayor.
In Istanbul, more than 8 million votes were cast and Mr Imamoglu was eventually declared the winner by a margin of less than 14,000.
The ruling party has since challenged the results in Ankara and Istanbul.
| Government Job change - Election | May 2019 | ['(BBC)', '(Reuters)'] |
An Iranian Red Crescent plane is blocked by bombing of Sanaa International Airport's runway by Saudi Arabian F-15 fighters, which unsuccessfully intercepted and issued warnings to the plane to turn back. | Bombing by aircraft that had ignored warning to turn back intended to prevent Iranian plane landing in Sana’a airport
Last modified on Fri 23 Dec 2016 15.17 GMT
Planned aid flights to Yemen have been blocked after Saudi Arabian jets bombed the runway at Sana’a airport on Tuesday.
Aircraft belonging to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition carried out the bombings on Tuesday afternoon to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the Yemeni capital, a spokesman for the coalition said.
Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said the plane had not coordinated with coalition authorities and the pilot had ignored a warning to turn back. The bombing of the runway made it unusable for planned aid flights, he said. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Saudi jets tried to force what it said was an aid plane back after it entered Yemeni airspace, but the pilots had ignored these “illegal warnings”. The jets then bombed Sana’a airport as the plane was making an approach to land, forcing it to turn back, IRNA added. It said the plane, belonging to the Red Crescent, was carrying food and medical aid to Sana’a. IRNA said the plane had been given permission to fly the route by Oman, whose airspace it passed through, and the Houthi militia which controls Sana’a airport.
A month of Saudi-led air strikes have targeted the Houthi militia, which is supported by Iran and controls most of western Yemen including Sana’a. The air strikes and ground fighting between the Houthis and forces loyal to the government in exile in Riyadh have worsened an existing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, aid agencies say.
Relief workers warned on Monday that the situation in Yemen had become catastrophic, as Saudi-led aircraft pounded Houthi militiamen and rebel army units, dashing hopes for a pause in fighting to let aid in.
“It was difficult enough before, but now there are just no words for how bad it’s gotten,” said International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Marie Claire Feghali. “It’s a catastrophe, a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Fighting between Shia rebels and loyalists killed dozens more people across Yemen on Tuesday, as Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using cold war-era tactics by air dropping leaflets warning of “Persian expansion”.
A Saudi-led coalition has carried out air strikes for seven days straight since announcing a halt to its aerial campaign, hitting Sana’a airport among other targets.
Riyadh said last week that it was ending its nearly five-week-old bombing campaign, except in places where the Houthis were advancing, to allow access for food and medicine.
A coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, rattled by what it saw as expanding Iranian influence in the Arabian peninsula, is trying to stop Houthi fighters and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Salah taking control of Yemen. But the air campaign has had little success and vital aid was reported to be being held up by both sides. Asseri said the coalition would help to repair the runway if the Houthis lifted their control of the airport. | Armed Conflict | April 2015 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Chibombo bus crash: At least 53 people are killed in a crash involving a bus and truck in Zambia. . | At least 53 people have been killed in a crash involving a bus and lorry in Zambia, police say.
The death toll could rise as rescuers were still trying to get into the bus wreckage hours after the crash, police reportedly said.
The accident occurred about 100km (60 miles) north of the capital Lusaka on a two-lane highway known for heavy traffic.
Poorly maintained and overloaded vehicles are commonplace in Zambia.
Nonetheless, this is said to be one of the worst traffic accidents in the country's history.
According to reports, the bus was operated by the Zambia Postal Service, which provides passenger services on buses which carry post, and was full of people.
It crashed into a lorry - and according to Zambia's information minister Kennedy Sakeni a sports utility vehicle was also involved in the crash, the Associated Press news agency reported. The wreckage of the bus was so mangled that hours later emergency workers were still trying to get into it to check for victims, police spokeswoman Elizabeth Kanjela was quoted as saying. There was serious speeding by all the vehicles involved, Harry Kalaba - an official in the vice-president's office - told AFP news agency from the crash site.
A survivor was quoted as saying the bus had been swerving to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
Some 22 dazed or unconscious survivors were being treated in a nearby missionary hospital, AFP said, while more seriously injured casualties had been taken to hospital in Lusaka.
President Michael Sata conveyed his government's "deepest condolences" to families of the victims.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
In 2005, 44 schoolchildren were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in crashed in northern Zambia. | Road Crash | February 2013 | ['(BBC)', '(Irish Independent)'] |
Al-Nusra Front's (Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria) leader Abu Suleiman al-Masri is reportedly killed in the Aleppo province during clashes with the Syrian Army. | Opposition figures told The Independent that three senior members of Jabhat al-Nusra had been killed, but could not confirm if any of them were the jihadist group's leader Abu Suleiman al-Masri.
Russian state media reported that al-Masri, leader of Jabhat al-Nusra or the al-Nusra Front, was killed by the Syrian army. However, a report on the Daily Mail said that he had been killed in a gun fight with rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Russia is a key ally of the Syrian regime, backing President Assad's forces with air strikes against rebel groups in the country.
Pictures posted online showed what appeared to be the body of a bearded man wearing glasses with a bloody head injury.
The al-Nusra Front is part of the Jaysh al-Fatah group, which translates as the Army of Conquest, who are fighting the Syrian regime as well as Kurds and secular rebels.
Jaysh al-Fatah does not include Isis, who are separate and compete with al-Nusra for control over Syrian territory.
It is believed Isis controls almost half of Syria.
Two members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRG) were killed fighting against Isis in Syria today. Iran is a main ally of the Syrian government.
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Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. | Famous Person - Death | October 2015 | ['(Independent)'] |
A lawsuit brought against Google by Oracle Corporation accusing Google of using copyrighted code for the Android operating system is decided in Google's favor. | A jury ruled in favor of Google on Thursday in a long legal dispute with Oracle over software used to power most of the world’s smartphones.
Oracle contended that Google used copyrighted material in 11,000 of its 13 million lines of software code in Android, its mobile phone operating system. Oracle asked for $9 billion from Google. Google said it made fair use of that code and owed nothing. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | May 2016 | ['(The New York Times)', '(The Guardian)'] |
Malaysia's Royal Police quell demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur against the use of the English language in schools. | Riot police in Malaysia have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of people in Kuala Lumpur, who protested against the use of English in local schools.
Some 124 people were reportedly held, as the demonstrators tried to march to the royal palace in the capital.
The ethnic Malay protesters demanded a return to Malay as the teaching language for maths and science.
Both subjects have been taught in English since 2003 to improve pupils' poor language skills, officials say.
Language - along with race and faith - remains a sensitive issue in the multi-ethnic Malaysia, correspondents say.
'No choice'
The demonstrators chanted "Long live the Malay language!" as they marched through Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Protesters said police started firing tear gas when they tried to march from a mosque to the royal palace, several kilometres away.
"It was a peaceful march. They shot without any warning," protester Hatta Ramli was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Police said they had no choice but to use tear gas, saying the organisers had agreed that there would be no gatherings or rallies in the capital.
Police added that the organisers had also agreed beforehand to send representatives into the palace to hand in a petition against the use of English in schools. | Protest_Online Condemnation | March 2009 | ['(BBC)'] |
Five British ISAF personnel are killed in a military helicopter crash in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. | Four of those on board, three soldiers and an airman, were stationed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. The fifth, an Army reservist, was based in London.
The Ministry of Defence said the crash near Kandahar air base appeared to have been a "tragic accident".
It represents the third single biggest loss of life of British troops in Afghanistan since the conflict began.
The families of all five servicemen have been told.
Three of the soldiers on board the helicopter were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the MoD said late on Saturday.
A fourth member of the crew was serving with the Royal Air Force and was also based at Odiham, while the fifth man was an Army reservist from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion, in London.
Maj Gen Richard Felton, Commander Joint Helicopter Command, said: "It is with great sadness that we must confirm that five UK service personnel have been killed in this incident which, at this early stage, would appear to have been a tragic accident.
"Events like this, whilst mercifully rare, remind us of the risks our personnel face in their work in Afghanistan as we approach the conclusion of the combat mission later this year.
"Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives."
Prime Minister David Cameron said his "heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy".
Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was "tragic and poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by our armed forces in serving our country with bravery and distinction".
It is the first fatal accident involving a UK military helicopter in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said sources had suggested the cause of the crash may have been "technical problems" on board the helicopter, despite claims by the Taliban that its fighters had shot it down.
She said the location of the crash - close to the border with Pakistan - has also led to speculation that the helicopter could have been taking part in a special forces mission.
It is understood the helicopter was a Westland Lynx Mk 9.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We can confirm that a UK helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today.
"The incident is under investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further until families have been notified."
The crash is understood to have happened around 30 miles from the Pakistan border, near Kandahar air base in the Takhta Pul district.
The deaths bring the number of British forces killed in the conflict in Afghanistan to 453.
The fatal crash comes after a Nimrod surveillance aircraft exploded in mid-air while supporting Nato ground operations near Kandahar, killing all 14 servicemen on board, in September 2006.
This incident remains the biggest single loss of UK life at one time in Afghanistan.
In 2012, six British soldiers were killed when a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle in Kandahar province was hit by an explosion.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition of international forces said it was still in the process of reviewing the circumstances of Saturday's helicopter crash.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends affected by this tragic event," it said in a statement.
Defence analyst Paul Beaver said all the indications are that the crash involved a Lynx helicopter, which he said has an "exceptional record".
He said the light utility helicopter is likely to have been operating in "fairly mountainous areas", or in "challenging" terrain.
"The key now will be looking at the weather," Mr Beaver told the BBC.
"If enemy action is not suspected, which is what the MoD is saying, then you have to look at whether this might well be weather-related."
The crash brings the total number of international troops killed in Afghanistan in April to seven.
It comes after the last major helicopter crash took place in December last year, when seven Americans and four Afghans died.
In August 2011, the Taliban shot down an American Chinook near Kabul, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans in the deadliest single incident for US troops since the war began.
| Air crash | April 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
A New Delhi court sends climate activist Disha Ravi to jail for allegedly sharing a "toolkit" on social media in connection with the ongoing farmers' protest against three farm bills as it investigates further. Ms. Ravi, a resident of Bangalore, was arrested on February 4 and flown overnight to New Delhi. | Climate activist Disha Ravi is escorted to a court in the Patiala House Courts complex in New Delhi on February 19, 2021.
PTI A Delhi Court on Friday sent climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested for allegedly being involved in sharing a ‘toolkit’ on social media in connection with the ongoing farmers’ protest against three farm laws, in three-day judicial custody.
The court gave the decision after the Delhi Police said it wanted three days judicial custody as, during the course of investigation when the 22-year-old was put under five-day police custody, she had been evasive and and tried to shift the blame on the co-accused.
Disha Ravi case: Delhi Police deny leakage of documents
The police said that her custodial interrogation was not required for the time being but they may seek her further interrogation once co-accused Shantanu Muluk and Nikita Jacob joined the interrogation.
Mr. Muluk and Ms. Jacob have been asked to appear before the investigating agency on February 22. Ms. Ravi’s bail application is likely to come up for hearing before a sessions court on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the Delhi Police to ensure that there is no leakage of any documents relating to its investigation into the FIR against Ms. Ravi. It, however, said the police could conduct press briefings in relation to the case “as per law” so long as no rights of her are violated.
The court direction came on Ms. Ravi’s plea seeking to restrain the police from leaking any investigation material relating to her case to the media.
Ms. Ravi has claimed that after her arrest, various messages were leaked by the police to the media, resulting in a large number of programmes, news bulletins and online dissemination of various private messages and interventions which were broadcasted.
“Some of the bulletins also made allegations that she is associated with various illegal and unlawful groups,” she stated. She pleaded for action against News18, India Today and Times Now for publishing contents or extracts of her private WhatsApp chats, claiming it to be “violative of fair trial rights and right to privacy”.
Taking note of the facts of the case, Justice Prathiba M. Singh said, “Recent coverage by the media definitely shows that there is sensationalism. While police briefings and the happenings in court proceedings etc. can also be broadcasted and disseminated, leaked investigation material ought not to be disseminated so as to prejudice the investigation”.
The court said, “Media houses shall also ensure that the telecast/broadcast by them is from verified/ authenticated sources, though the sources need not be revealed...The channel editors shall ensure that the channels exercise proper editorial control so that the Petitioner’s [Ms. Ravi) investigation is not hampered, in any manner.”
In this case, the police had taken an unequivocal position that they were not responsible for leaking the messages or the investigation material to the media houses, while the media houses, both in the online articles as also in the videos, claimed to the contrary.
The court remarked that this contradictory stand “would require a little more detailed examination”. It said that the question of removal of content, which was already in public domain would be considered at a later stage.
Ms. Ravi, a permanent resident of Bangalore, was arrested in connection with an FIR registered on February 4. The plea claimed that she was flown overnight to New Delhi without obtaining a transit remand in flagrant violation of her constitutional rights. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | February 2021 | ['(The Hindu)'] |
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovi urges Polish authorities to "immediately release" an LGBT rights activist detained on Friday. The activist was arrested on charges of hooliganism and vandalism. Yesterday, 48 pro-LGBT protesters were also arrested when they tried to stop police from detaining the activist. | Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovic on Saturday appealed to Poland to "immediately release" Michal Sz. aka 'Margo,' an LGBT rights activist detained by a court order on Friday. Michal Sz. claims a female identity.
In her opinion, the arrest sends a disturbing signal concerning freedom of speech and LGBT rights in Poland.
"I call for the immediate release of LGBT activist Margot from @stopbzdurom (an anti-homophobia group - PAP) detained yesterday for blocking an anti-LGBT hate van & putting rainbow flags on #Warsaw monuments. Order to detain her for 2 months sends very chilling signal for #FreedomOfSpeech & #LGBT rights in #Poland," Mijatovic wrote on Twitter.
According to the Polish prosecutor's office, Michal Sz. (surname withheld under Polish law) is suspected of committing an act of hooliganism on June 27 by taking part in a brutal attack on a pro-life activist and destroying property belonging to a pro-life foundation, for which he faces up to five years in prison.
Commenting on the Mijatovic post, Polish Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta tweeted on Saturday: "He's not an activist, but a criminal. Stop spreading #FakeNews," and posted a video recording of the incident.
He also referred to his earlier Facebook post in which he warned his readers that "European leftism" would be defending "the hooligan Michal Sz."
On Saturday, Polish police said they had detained 48 people after protesters tried to stop them arresting Michal Sz.
On Sunday, Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro also slammed Mijatovic's appeal.
"If someone forcibly threw you out of a car, beat you and pierced the wheels of the car with a knife, would you think that arresting the perpetrator by the court is an attack on freedom? Be ashamed of your appeal in defence of the aggressor and apologise to a defenceless man beaten by an LGBT activist!" Ziobro tweeted.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | August 2020 | ['(The First News)'] |
Seven people, including six foreign tourists, are killed and 100 others injured during a violent storm that swept across Thessaloniki, Greece. | Seven people, including six tourists, have been killed in a violent storm that swept across a region of northern Greece on Wednesday night.
Gale-force winds, heavy rain and hailstorms lashed Halkidiki, near the city of Thessaloniki.
A Czech couple died when their caravan was blown away, and two Romanians and two Russians also died. A seventh body was later found in the sea.
Officials say at least 100 others were injured, with 23 people hospitalised.
A state of emergency has been declared, with dozens of rescue workers dispatched to help. Charalambos Steriadis, head of civil protection in northern Greece, described the storm as an "unprecedented phenomenon".
It followed a spell of very hot weather in Greece with temperatures soaring to 37C (98F) over the past two days.
Winds of more than 60mph (100km/h) were recorded in the region, Reuters news agency reports.
Images and video posted on social media show trees toppled, cars overturned and buildings damaged.
Emily Kishtoo, from Surrey in the UK, was at a beach party with her family when the storm hit on Wednesday night. "It literally came out of nowhere," she told the BBC. "The lights cut out on the beach that we were in - it was chaos.
"People running, screaming and just trying to basically get off the beach."
She says staff at the resort where she was staying with her children, aged three and five, directed the family to a bar area - which then began to flood.
"We've got two young children, there were lots of children crying, obviously very upset, very, very scared."
Electricity access at the resort has been intermittent since, she said, with no running water on Thursday morning.
Witnesses say the worst of the freak storm lasted only about 20 minutes.
The Romanian woman and her child were killed when the roof of a restaurant collapsed at Nea Plagia, officials say, while the Russian man and his son were killed by a falling tree near their hotel in the seaside resort of Potidea.
A seventh body was later found in the sea on Thursday. Formal identification is yet to take place, but a 62-year-old Greek fisherman was reported missing in the area. Those injured are mostly tourists, officials say.
"It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived through something like this," said Athansios Kaltsas, director of the Nea Moudania Medical Centre which treated many of the injured.
"It was so abrupt, so sudden."
The country's newly elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cancelled his schedule and is being briefed on the situation, officials say.
Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos was quoted as saying the army was ready to clear debris and would offer generators - amid reports up to 80% of the area lost its power. This is the latest in a series of other extreme weather events across Europe in recent weeks. A heat-wave brought record June temperatures to several countries.
Golf ball-sized hail has been reported in parts of the south of France and Italy and there were forest fires in Sicily on Wednesday, including in popular beach resort areas. Hail batters south-east France
. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | July 2019 | ['(BBC)'] |
A court in Egypt confirms the death sentences of over 180 Islamists, including Mohamed Badie, the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. | The Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader and over 180 others were sentenced to death Saturday by an Egyptian court in the latest mass trial following last year's overthrow of the country's Islamist president.
The ruling by the southern Minya Criminal Court is the largest confirmed mass death sentence to be handed down in Egypt in recent memory and comes from Judge Said Youssef, who earlier presided over the mass trial. It is the second death sentence for the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie since the crackdown against his group began.
The court acquitted more than 400 others in the case and family members of the accused wailed or cheered the verdicts.
The case stems from an attack on a police station in the town of el-Adwa near the southern city of Minya on Aug. 14 which killed one police officer and one civilian. Similar revenge attacks swept across Egypt following a security force crackdown on Cairo sit-ins supporting toppled President Mohammed Morsi that killed hundreds. The charges in the case ranged from murder, joining a terrorist organization, sabotage, possession of weapons and terrorizing civilians.
Initially, Youssef sentenced some 683 people to death over the attack, then sent the case to Egypt's Grand Mufti, the country's top spiritual leader. The Mufti offered his opinion, then sent the case back to Youssef to confirm his sentence.
Lawyers for the accused said they planned to appeal. Of the initial 683, all but 110 were tried in absentia, a defense lawyer said, meaning they will receive new trials once apprehended as guaranteed by Egyptian law.
The mass trials have drawn worldwide rebuke. However, the trials have continued with many Egyptians appearing to approve of the heavy-handed measures as a way to end the turmoil roiling their country since its 2011 revolt against autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
"There has been an excess in using the death sentences recently, which will only lead to more violence in society because people are now used to the idea of execution, killing and blood," prominent rights lawyer Negad el-Borai said.
Saturday's hearing lasted for less than 15 minutes, a security official said. Only 75 prisoners were brought to a prison attached to the court but didn't attend the session. Badie, held in a Cairo prison, did not attend, the official said.
Youssef arrived to the court in an armored vehicle and security officials escorted him inside.
Female relatives to those who were acquitted ululated, clapped and chanted the pro-military slogan: "The army and the people are one hand."
Those whose relatives received death sentences screamed in grief and shouted insults to the brother of the police officer slain in the Aug. 14 attack. They believe police shot the officer themselves as part of a conspiracy against their loved ones.
Ashour Qaddab, the brother of the slain police officer, broke into tears after the verdict.
"This is God's justice ... to my brother's five orphans," Qaddab said. On hearing him, relatives of other defendants screamed: "Your brother was killed by police!" | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | June 2014 | ['(ABC News)'] |
Marwan Barghouti launches a new party called al–Mustaqbal , splitting from the Fatah movement in the Palestinian National Authority. | The rebel list is headed by a jailed activist, Marwan Barghouti, under the new name al-Mustaqbal (the Future).
The split is seen as a blow for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and the so-called Fatah "old guard". The 25 January poll will be only the second since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1995.
The rebel list of Fatah was filed before the midnight deadline (2200 GMT) by the wife of Barghouti at the election headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Barghouti's campaign manager, Saeb Nimr, later told reporters: "We have registered an independent party under the name 'The Future', headed by Marwan Barghouti."
Barghouti is serving five life terms in an Israeli prison over militant attacks.
'New dawn'
He is joined in al-Mustaqbal by the powerful minister of civil affairs, Mohammed Dahlan, and the former security chief in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub.
"This is a new dawn," Dahlan told reporters.
"We will remain loyal to this movement, and Fatah will come out victorious."
The Abbas-approved Fatah list was submitted later by Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa.
Surprisingly, Barghouti's name was at the top of the official list too.
It also included Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who resigned on Wednesday as required by law for cabinet members who run for parliament. Divisions
Tensions within Fatah turned to violence on Wednesday when three people were injured in clashes at the party headquarters in Gaza.
President Abbas insists January's election will be held on schedule
The clashes began after gunmen from Fatah's new guard stormed the building and demanded the party's primary results be respected. President Abbas had decided to appoint candidates for the 25 January parliamentary election after the primaries were marred by violence and electoral fraud.
Ever since the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, divisions have been growing within the Fatah, the BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem reports.
The so-called old and new guard have disagreed for some time over the direction the party should take, our correspondent says.
There are fears that the in-fighting could throw Palestinian politics into chaos and could even threaten the election process itself, he says.
Hamas 'optimistic'
Fatah is expected to face a strong challenge in January's poll from the militant Islamist group, Hamas.
Hamas - which has issued a list of its 62 candidates on Wednesday - boycotted the first parliament.
Its electoral list includes its top two leaders in its Gaza Strip stronghold, Mahmud Zahar and Ismail Haniya.
"We are optimistic that our people will go to vote in this historical event," said Mr Haniya after the Hamas delegation he was leading presented its list at Gaza's central election commission office.
Local elections
Hamas is also expected to perform well in Thursday's local elections in the West Bank, having been successful in the three previous rounds.
The Islamists have attacked Fatah for corruption and incompetence while leading the Palestinian Authority.
Around 148,000 Palestinians are entitled to vote for 414 local councillors in the West Bank.
The first few hours of voting passed peacefully.
But in the Gaza Strip, Israel launched further air strikes on Palestinian militant groups.
One person was wounded in an attack on the house of the Popular Resistance Committees in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
A second strike hit the offices of a charity associated with the militant group, Islamic Jihad, in the southern city of Rafah. No casualties were reported.
The air strikes came just hours after four members of the Popular Resistance Committees were killed when their car was hit by an Israeli missile near Gaza City. An Islamic Jihad official was wounded in a similar attack. Israel has stepped up targeted strikes on members of Palestinian militant groups following a suicide bombing in the town of Netanya earlier this month. | Organization Established | December 2005 | ['(The Future)', '(BBC)'] |
The Syrian Army recaptures the strategic town of Tadef from ISIL, south of al-Bab, securing key transportation routes in eastern Aleppo Governorate. | Syrian army captured a key town in northern countryside of Aleppo province on Sunday, following battles with Islamic State (IS) group, according to state news agency SANA.
Capturing the town of Tadef enables the Syrian army to secure transportation routes in eastern Aleppo, and constitute a base for launching attacks and undermining the presence of the IS militants in that part of the province, a general-command of the Syrian army said in a statement.
The town is also located southeast of city al-Bab, which has recently been captured by Turkish forces and allied rebel fighters.
The Syrian army unleashed a wide-scale offensive in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, after succeeding to wrest control over the city of Aleppo last December.
The offensive enabled the military forces to become in control of 600 km east of Aleppo.
Also, the army has laid a siege on the southern rim of al-Bab city, to secure the eastern part of Aleppo city from the IS attacks, or the possible advance of the Turkish-backed rebels.
Observers believe that there was a Russian-Turkish understanding for splitting the battles in al-Bab.
For the Turks, capturing al-Bab cuts the way in the face of the growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria, a red line drawn by Turkey.
For the Syrian army, laying a siege to al-Bab from its southern edge prevents IS fighters to withdraw toward other stronghold in eastern province of Deir al-Zour, or northern city of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of the terror-designated group.
The Syrian government has always looked to the Turkish moves in northern Syria as an encroachment upon the sovereignty of the country, claiming that Ankara is capturing areas in northern Syria to build a wall, which could be a prelude to setting Ankara's long-demanded safe zones in northern Syria, near the Turkish borders.
DAMASCUS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Syrian army captured a key town in northern countryside of Aleppo province on Sunday, following battles with Islamic State (IS) group, according to state news agency SANA.
Capturing the town of Tadef enables the Syrian army to secure transportation routes in eastern Aleppo, and constitute a base for launching attacks and undermining the presence of the IS militants in that part of the province, a general-command of the Syrian army said in a statement.
The town is also located southeast of city al-Bab, which has recently been captured by Turkish forces and allied rebel fighters.
The Syrian army unleashed a wide-scale offensive in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, after succeeding to wrest control over the city of Aleppo last December.
The offensive enabled the military forces to become in control of 600 km east of Aleppo.
Also, the army has laid a siege on the southern rim of al-Bab city, to secure the eastern part of Aleppo city from the IS attacks, or the possible advance of the Turkish-backed rebels.
Observers believe that there was a Russian-Turkish understanding for splitting the battles in al-Bab.
For the Turks, capturing al-Bab cuts the way in the face of the growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria, a red line drawn by Turkey.
For the Syrian army, laying a siege to al-Bab from its southern edge prevents IS fighters to withdraw toward other stronghold in eastern province of Deir al-Zour, or northern city of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of the terror-designated group.
The Syrian government has always looked to the Turkish moves in northern Syria as an encroachment upon the sovereignty of the country, claiming that Ankara is capturing areas in northern Syria to build a wall, which could be a prelude to setting Ankara's long-demanded safe zones in northern Syria, near the Turkish borders. | Armed Conflict | February 2017 | ['(Xinhuanet)'] |
Blasts and gunfire are reported in Tripoli. | TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Several loud explosions followed by heavy gunfire were heard over Tripoli in the early hours of Wednesday, a Reuters reporter said.
The cause of the firing was not immediately clear, but the Libyan capital has been on edge amid speculation that a U.N.-backed unity government was about to travel to Tripoli from Tunisia.
The self-declared government in Tripoli and some armed factions in the city oppose the unity government and have warned it not to move.
The Tripoli government was brought to power after armed brigades backing it won a battle for the capital in 2014. A rival government moved to eastern Libya.
The unity government is the result of a December deal to heal Libya’s divisions and end its armed conflict, but the new government has faced opposition from hardliners in both the east and west of the country.
On Sunday and Monday Tripoli’s airspace was closed for periods of several hours, a move that the unity government’s Presidential Council said was designed to prevent it traveling into Libya.
Tripoli Prime Minister Khalifa Ghwell said in a statement late on Tuesday that the airspace had been closed to “protect the souls of the people following the Presidential Council’s inappropriate behavior”.
| Riot | March 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Seven students and two teachers are killed and 21 others are wounded in a mass shooting at a school in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. The attacker has been arrested. | At least seven children and two adults killed in attack in Kazan, Tatarstan’s capital city, local official says.
At least nine people, including seven children, were killed on Tuesday morning after a lone teenage gunman opened fire at a school in Russia’s southwestern city of Kazan, local authorities said.
Four boys and three girls were among the victims, said Rustam Minnikhanov, head of the Tatarstan republic, of which Kazan is the capital.
He said the children were in the eighth year of school, which in Russia would make them about 14 or 15 years old.
A teacher and another school employee were also killed.
At least 21 others were hospitalised with wounds, including 18 children, according to local authorities. Six are reportedly in intensive care.
The attacker, identified only as a 19-year-old, was arrested, officials said. They gave no immediate details on a motive.
But Russian media reports said the gunman was a former student of the school who had called himself “a god” on his account on the messaging app Telegram and promised to “kill a large amount of biomass” on the morning of the shooting.
Tuesday’s attack began at around 9:30am local time (06:30 GMT).
As gunshots sounded out, two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 in a video filmed by an onlooker.
Footage released by Russian media also showed students running out of the building, andmultiple emergency service vehicles gathering at the scene.
Witnesses offered chilling accounts of the tragedy.
“We heard the sounds of explosions at the beginning of the second lesson. All the teachers locked the children in the classrooms. The shooting was on the third floor,” said one teacher, quoted by Tatar Inform, a local media outlet.
Elena, a Kazan resident who said she was outside the school, told the Echo of Moscow radio station that police were clearing people from outside the premises.
“Parents are crying,” she told the radio station. “People are hysterical.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case into the shooting and that the identity of the detained attacker had been established.
Footage posted on social media showed a young man being pinned to the ground outside the school by police officers.
“The terrorist has been arrested, (he is) 19 years old. A firearm is registered in his name. Other accomplices haven’t been established, an investigation is under way,” Minnikhanov said in a video address.
He added there was no evidence that anyone else had been involved.
State TV later broadcast a separate video showing what it said was the suspect, a young man stripped to the waist and under restraint, being questioned by investigators.
He could be heard saying that “a monster” had awoken in him, that he had realised that he was a god, and had begun to hate everyone.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded, ordering the government to give them all necessary assistance.
The Kremlin sent a plane with doctors and medical equipment to Kazan, and the country’s health and education ministers also headed to the region.
Putin also ordered Victor Zolotov, head of Russia’s National Guard, to revise regulations on the types of weapons allowed for civilian use in light of the attack.
Russia has strict restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, but some categories of guns are available for purchase for hunting, self-defence or sport, once would-be owners have passed tests and met other requirements.
Zolotov was expected to urgently look into the status of weapons that can be registered for hunting in Russia but are considered assault weapons elsewhere.
The suspected attacker had been issued a permit for a Hatsan Escort PS shotgun on April 28, Alexander Khinshtein, a legislator in Russia’s lower house of parliament, wrote on social media, without providing further details.
Khinshtein also said School Number 175 had no security aside from a panic button.
Local authorities meanwhile announced a day of mourning on Wednesday and canceled all classes in schools throughout Kazan, a city home to about 1.2 million people which sits roughly 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital, Moscow.
School shootings are rare in Russia.
Tuesday’s incident was the deadliest of its kind in the country since a student at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea killed 20 people before turning his gun on himself in 2018.
Rights activists and residents urge independent probe into deadly Brazilian police operation in Jacarezinho favela.
Brazil’s police said crackdown on drug trafficking was justified but residents denounce ‘execution-style killings’.
A lawyer for the New York attorney general’s office argued a US bankruptcy judge should reject the NRA’s filing.
Indiana governor takes part in memorial hosted by Indianapolis Sikh community, still reeling from attack last month.
| Armed Conflict | May 2021 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
Thousands of demonstrators protest unemployment in Berlin, Germany. | Thousands of German workers marched through Berlin today to demand the government do more to protect jobs, highlighting popular concerns about unemployment in the run up to September's federal election.
Germany is facing its deepest recession since World War Two and unemployment has risen for the last six months running. Trade unions, aware of the looming election, are pressing the government to do more to safeguard jobs.
Franz Muentefering, chairman of the Social Democrats and a leading government figure, joined today's protest.
"We are here to oppose international financial capitalism. We must do all we can at the moment to protect jobs," said Mr Muentefering, whose Social Democrats share power in an awkward coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
The DGB trade union federation, which organised the protest, said 100,000 people took part. Police put the total at "several tens of thousands."
The demonstration, which was peaceful, followed protests across Germany on the May 1st Labour Day holiday, when people vented their anger over the financial crisis.
"Fight the crisis, put people first," DGB chairman Michael Sommer cried out over a loudspeaker at Saturday's demonstration.
Many German workers are angry a crisis they see as being rooted in the excesses of capitalism now threatens their jobs.
"Capitalism: its time is over," read one banner.
Close to 300,000 jobs have now been lost in Germany since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in September set off a new wave of financial and economic turmoil.
The global economic downturn has sapped foreign demand for German goods, sending the export-orientated economy into a deep recession. The government expects the economy to contract by 6 per cent this year, and for unemployment to rise into 2010.
To combat the recession, the government has launched twin economic stimulus packages it says are worth a combined €79 billion. One protest organiser called for a third such package, but Mr Muentefering dismissed the idea. | Protest_Online Condemnation | May 2009 | ['(The Irish Times)'] |
Chinese truck drivers stage a second day of protests in Shanghai at rising inflation. | Lorry drivers in the Chinese city of Shanghai have staged a second day of protest over rising fuel prices they say are crippling their businesses. Drivers began a three-day protest on Wednesday, when they blockaded two cargo ports in the city. On Thursday about 2,000 people held another protest at a road junction near one of the ports, the drivers said.
China has raised fuel prices several times in the past year, blaming the rising cost of crude oil.
In April petrol and diesel prices hit a record high after the government raised prices by up to 5.5%.
There are reported to have been a number of arrests on both days but so far the authorities in Shanghai have refused to provide any information about the incidents, says the BBC's Chris Hogg in Shanghai.
On Wednesday protests took place at Baoshan and Waigaoqiao ports, with strikers reportedly trying to overturn a car and smash the windows of lorries that had not joined their protest. Images on Thursday from another demonstration at a road junction near Waigaoqiao port showed police trying to drag at least one man away. As well as the cost of fuel, drivers have also been angered by new fees introduced by warehouse operators. "Some people who don't have a lot of business cannot make money or will even lose money," driver Zhao Feng told the Associated Press news agency. The drivers say their strike will continue, although our correspondent says it is not clear if they will be able to mount a third day of protests on Friday. Chinese officials have warned that inflation is likely to remain high for the rest of the year. Consumer prices rose 4.9% in February from the same month a year ago, above the maximum target of 4%.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | April 2011 | ['(Al Jazeera)', '(BBC)'] |
Over 3,500 people are detained in Russia amid nationwide protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Moscow officials say 29 people have received medical assistance in hospitals, while a female protester in Saint Petersburg is currently in intensive care after being kicked by a riot police officer. | The Kremlin on Sunday accused the United States of interfering in Russia's domestic affairs and downplayed the scale of the weekend's protests, when tens of thousands rallied in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
More than 3,500 demonstrators were detained in protests across the country on Saturday, with several injured in clashes with police in Moscow, following Navalny's call to rally against President Vladimir Putin's 20-year rule.
The West has widely condemned the "harsh tactics" used against demonstrators, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian saying Sunday the mass arrests of protesters was "an intolerable affront" and a "slide towards authoritarianism."
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said the bloc would discuss "next steps" on Monday.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday accused the U.S. embassy of interfering in Russia's domestic affairs after the mission distributed a "demonstration alert" to U.S. citizens in Russia recommending they avoid protests.
"Of course, these publications are inappropriate," Peskov told a state TV channel. "And of course indirectly, they are absolutely an interference in our domestic affairs."
A U.S. mission spokeswoman said U.S. embassies and consulates around the world routinely issue safety messages to U.S. citizens.
"This is a common, routine practice of many countries' diplomatic missions," she told AFP on Sunday.
The U.S. embassy in Moscow on Saturday said that Washington supported "the right of all people to peaceful protest, freedom of expression."
Peskov also accused protest organizers of seeking to "rock the boat" and said the number of people who had demonstrated paled in comparison to Putin supporters.
"A lot of people vote for Putin," Peskov said, pointing to last year's constitutional plebiscite that allowed 68-year-old Putin to remain in power until 2036.
Navalny, Putin's most prominent critic, was arrested on returning to Moscow last weekend following months of treatment in Germany for a near-fatal poisoning with a Soviet-designed Novichok nerve agent.
He then called for Saturday's unauthorized protests, which took on an unprecedented geographic scale, spanning more than 100 cities.
Around 20,000 people protested in Moscow and more than 10,000 in Saint Petersburg, according to estimates from AFP journalists, with rallies also held in numerous countries including France and Lithuania.
Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny's regional network, praised the turnout.
"I am certainly proud, very impressed and inspired," Volkov told AFP. Navalny's team is hoping to stage another rally next weekend.
Many at the protests said they were angered by the findings of a Navalny investigation into an opulent Black Sea property allegedly owned by Putin.
The two-hour report, which claims that Putin owns "the world's most expensive palace" allegedly financed through a massive corruption scheme, has been viewed nearly 80 million times on YouTube.
Peskov said the luxury mansion on the Black Sea was "private" property and had nothing to do with Putin.
Moscow officials said that 29 people received medical assistance in hospitals and were released, while a female protester in Saint Petersburg was in intensive care after a policeman kicked her in the stomach.
Saint Petersburg prosecutors said they were probing violations on "the part of law enforcement" and the use of force against a woman.
The statement was released after local media published a video showing a middle-aged woman falling to the ground after being kicked by riot police.
The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it has launched criminal inquiries in Moscow over the use of violence against law enforcement, hooliganism and property damage.
In a separate statement, investigators said a 36-year-old man was detained after hitting two policemen at the Saint Petersburg protest.
The OVD Info monitor said police seized at least 3,521 protesters, with 1,398 people detained in Moscow and 526 in Saint Petersburg.
The head of the Kremlin's human rights council, Valery Fadeyev, said most of those detained in Moscow had been released.
He also defended the detentions, saying the protests were illegal and took place during a coronavirus pandemic. "I see no violations whatsoever," he said.
Navalny, who rose to prominence a decade ago, accuses the FSB security agency of seeking to poison him on Putin's orders.
He is the target of several criminal probes and supporters fear authorities are planning to sentence him to a long prison term. | Protest_Online Condemnation | January 2021 | ['(DW)', '(Sky News)', '(The Moscow Times)'] |
Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi personally accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, 21 years after she was awarded the prize in absentia. | Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared Saturday that the Nobel Peace Prize she won while under house arrest 21 years ago helped to shatter her sense of isolation and ensured that the world would demand democracy in her military-controlled homeland.
Suu Kyi received two standing ovations inside Oslo's city hall as she gave her long-delayed acceptance speech to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in front of Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja and about 600 dignitaries. The 66-year-old champion of political freedom praised the power of her 1991 Nobel honor both for saving her from the depths of personal despair and shining an enduring spotlight on injustices in distant Myanmar.
"Often during my days of house arrest, it felt as though I were no longer a part of the real world," she said to a silent chamber, which was lined with rainbows of freshly cut zinnias and towers of orchids and gladiolas. "There was the house which was my world. There was the world of others who also were not free but who were together in prison as a community. And there was the world of the free. Each one was a different planet pursuing its own separate course in an indifferent universe.
RECOMMENDED: What Europe can learn from Aung San Suu Kyi's visit
"What the Nobel Peace Prize did was to draw me once again into the world of other human beings, outside the isolated area in which I lived, to restore a sense of reality to me. ... And what was more important, the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. We were not going to be forgotten," she said during her 40-minute oration.
Suu Kyi, who since winning freedom in 2010 has led her National League for Democracy party into opposition in Myanmar's parliament, offered cautious support for the first tentative steps toward democratic reform in her country. But she said progress would depend both on maintaining foreign pressure on the army-backed government — and on carefully managing the ethnic tensions threatening to tear apart the country.
"If I advocate cautious optimism, it is not because I do not have faith in the future, but because I do not want to encourage blind faith. Without faith in the future, without the conviction that democratic values and fundamental human rights are not only necessary but possible for our society, our movement could not have been sustained throughout the destroying years," she said, referring to the past two decades since Myanmar's military leaders rejected her party's overwhelming triumph in 1990 elections, one year after Suu Kyi's own imprisonment.
Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, introduced Suu Kyi as a leader of "awe-inspiring tenacity, sacrifice and firmness of principle."
"In your isolation, you have become a moral leader for the whole world," he said from the podium, turning to the seated Suu Kyi.
"Your voice became increasingly clear the more the military regime tried to isolate you. Your cause mobilized your people and prevailed over a massive military junta. Whenever your name is mentioned or when you speak, your words bring new energy and hope to the entire world," Jagland said to applause.
Suu Kyi, in a traditional Burmese gown of purple, lilac and ivory, offered only a stoic Mona Lisa smile at the end of her speech, greeted with a 2-minute ovation. As on her previous public events this week in Switzerland and Norway, she spoke with a voice of unerring crisp diction but a physical presence bordering on exhaustion.
Yet Saturday's schedule offered no letup. She left the city hall for the neighboring Nobel Peace Center where artists had designed an interactive display called "Mother Democracy" chronicling the highlights of her life. She chatted in Burmese with about 300 refugees from Myanmar granted asylum in Norway.
Then she addressed a public rally that attracted about 10,000 Oslo locals and tourists, many from foreign cruise liners docked along the capital's nearby shoreline. Many waved Norwegian flags and leaflets bearing Suu Kyi'simage as she thanked the Norwegian people for giving so many of her countrymen and women sanctuary from oppression.
Smiling with delight as church bells tolled, she also led the crowd in Burmese chants wishing everyone peace and happiness.
"Suu Kyi is such an incredible person. It's a blessing to be here, to get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see her, to hear her," said Javier Rodriguez, 50, an airline steward from Los Angeles who happened to be on an Oslo layover and staked out the peace center before Suu Kyi's arrival.
"There's so few people in the world willing to sacrifice everything for justice and peace. She's in the same league as Nelson Mandela. Everyone should cherish and honor her," he said.
In her Nobel speech, Suu Kyi related her long experience of state-ordered isolation to key precepts of her Buddhist faith, particularly two forms of suffering: Being forced to live apart from loved ones, and being forced to live among those one dislikes. She referred only fleetingly to the Myanmar authorities' refusal to permit her husband, the Buddhist scholar Michael Aris, to see her from 1995 until his death from cancer in 1999.
Instead she emphasized the continued suffering of others. She won spontaneous applause from the crowd as she appealed for foreign governments to understand that many hundreds of political prisoners remain in Myanmar.
"It is to be feared that because the best known detainees have been released, the remainder, the unknown ones, will be forgotten. I am standing here because I was once a prisoner of conscience. As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often repeated truth that one prisoner of conscience is one too many," she said.
She said it was unrealistic to expect the world ever to reach a state of "absolute peace," yet mankind must be compelled to pursue the goal "as a traveler in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation. Even if we do not achieve perfect peace on earth, because perfect peace is not of this earth, common endeavors to gain peace will unite individuals and nations in trust and friendship, and help us to make our human community safer and kinder."
And Suu Kyi praised the value of simple, every-day acts of human kindness as the most powerful force in promoting peace anywhere. " Every kindness I received, small or big," she said, referring to her 15 years of house arrest or imprisonment, "convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world."
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On Sunday she heads to the Norwegian city of Bergen to meet charities and members of Norway's Burmese refugee community, then on Monday speaks alongside U2 singer Bono before the pair fly to Dublin, Ireland, for a celebrity-studded concert in her honor. On Tuesday she starts engagements in England, including a visit to her Oxford University alma mater and a speech to the joint houses of Parliament.
RECOMMENDED: What Europe can learn from Aung San Suu Kyi's visit
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About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:
“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”
If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.
But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.
The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.
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. | Awards ceremony | June 2012 | ['(BBC)', '(Christian Science Monitor)'] |
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is formally referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct amid allegations of corruption during his tenure as Mayor of London. Johnson is alleged to have awarded a close friend, American technology entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri, "thousands of pounds" in public business funding, according to the The Sunday Times. | Boris Johnson has been formally referred for potential investigation into whether he committed the criminal offence of misconduct in public office, over allegations about a conflict of interest with a US businesswoman while he was mayor of London.
An official from the Greater London Authority, the city’s devolved government, has written to the prime minister noting claims he had “on more than one occasion” used his position as mayor to “benefit and reward” Jennifer Arcuri, a tech entrepreneur.
“Subject to any explanation provided by you, these matters give rise to a suggestion that there has been a failure to safeguard the public purse and if so that amounts to a significant breach of public trust,” said the letter, from the office of the authority’s monitoring officer.
“These are the ingredients of the offence of misconduct in a public office.”
Johnson has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which investigates complaints of misconduct connected to police in England and Wales.
The matter has been sent to the IOPC because, as mayor, Johnson was also the head of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, a role equivalent to police and crime commissioner for the capital.
A senior government source said Johnson was given no warning of the announcement: “This is a politically motivated attack. Due process has not been followed and the timing is overtly political.”
The legislation that created the role decrees that the mayor of London, a job Johnson held from 2008 to 2016, is subject to a special standards framework, and that claims of alleged wrongdoing are thus passed to the IOPC.
The referral follows allegations first reported by the Sunday Times that when he was mayor he failed to declare close personal links to Arcuri when she received thousands of pounds in public business funding and places on official trade trips.
Johnson has declined to comment in detail on the claims, including that a company run by Arcuri received access to money to assist her business, as well as places on trade trips, at times following the intervention of mayoral officials. The prime minister has said only that he rejects any wrongdoing.
The Sunday Times also reported that Johnson was, at the time, a regular visitor to Arcuri’s east London apartment, and that she described him at the time as “one of my best friends”.
Separately, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investigating how Arcuri’s most recent company won a 100,000 government cyber skills grant intended to assist UK firms, even though she has now returned to live in the US.
The letter informed Johnson that Michael Lockwood, director-general of the IOPC, would assess “whether or not it is necessary for the matter to be investigated in accordance with the relevant regulations”.
It went on: “The conduct matter relates to your time as mayor of London between 2008 and 2016. During this time it has been brought to my attention that you maintained a friendship with Ms Jennifer Arcuri and as a result of that friendship allowed Ms Arcuri to participate in trade missions and receive sponsorship monies in circumstances when she and her companies could not have expected otherwise to receive those benefits.”
The letter details the allegations, saying there was an obligation to examine any indications “that a relevant office holder may have committed a criminal offence”.
The referral does not mean a full investigation, or a prosecution, will take place, and misconduct in public office is known as a complex area to prosecute. A criminal offence under common law, it penalises official wrongdoing that can be deliberate, deceitful or simply amount to excessive neglect of duty.
The government source said no evidence had been provided by the monitoring officer, “nor was the PM given any opportunity to respond to the monitoring officer prior to the publishing of a press release late on a Friday night”.
They added: “The public and media will rightly see through such a nakedly political put-up job.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister as mayor of London did a huge amount of work when selling our capital city around the world, beating the drum for London and the UK. Everything was done with propriety and in the normal way.” | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | September 2019 | ['(IOPC)', '(The Guardian)'] |
At least 26 people have been killed in tribal clashes in Nigeria's Plateau State over the past week. | No fewer than 26 persons have been killed and 80 houses burnt in attacks on communities in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in the past one week.
The national leader of Berom Youth Movement, Rwang Dantong, who disclosed this in a statement in Jos, said houses burnt by the attackers included that of the late Senator Gyang Dantong.
“On behalf of the entire Berom youths, we condemn in strong terms, the persistent and systematic attacks on our communities by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen as this is a declaration of war.
“These consistent attacks have been on a daily basis, from Thursday, October 2. The attacks were launched on Lwa, Shonong, Fang, Dum Chengy, Rakweng, Diyan Rachi and Sharubutu villages of Bachi district of the local government area.
“Over 60 homes were burnt down on Tuesday and a few days later, 20 more were burnt in Lwa village, including a church.
“Among those killed in the past few days were a pregnant woman in Lwa and a lady whose wedding was scheduled to take place today (October 11),” the statement said.
The youth, who said it was worrisome that the insurgents had been identified as Fulani herdsmen living within the communities, said that the firearms used in the attacks showed that the intention of the masterminds was to annihilate the entire district.
They called on the Special Task Force (STF) posted to restore law and order in the district to fish out the perpetrators.
| Riot | October 2014 | ['(Nigeria Tribune)'] |
Japan states that it is seeking to verify a video that claims the killing of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa by Islamic State militants. | Japan's prime minister has condemned as "outrageous and unacceptable" a video declaring the murder of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa by Islamic State. Shinzo Abe demanded the release of a second hostage, purported to be Kenji Goto, shown in the video. Japan says it is trying to verify the footage.
On Tuesday, Islamic State (IS) said it would kill the two men unless Japan paid $200m (130m) within 72 hours.
But IS now appears to be demanding an exchange of captives instead. Mr Goto appears to say IS would swap him for Sajida al-Rishawi - an Iraqi militant held in Jordan.
After the latest tape, Mr Abe said Japan would not bow to terrorism.
"This act of terrorism is an outrageous and unacceptable act of violence," he said. "I again strongly demand the immediate release of Mr Kenji Goto unharmed."
In a statement, President Barack Obama said the US "strongly condemns the brutal murder of Japanese citizen Haruna Yukawa by the terrorist group ISIL [or IS]".
Mr Obama said the US would stand "shoulder to shoulder'' with Japan.
The video apparently shows Mr Goto holding a picture of what appears to be the body of Mr Yukawa.
US National Security Council official Patrick Ventrell said the US was also trying to establish the authenticity of the video and was closely co-ordinating with Japan.
Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said the video image "showing a killed Japanese person" was "an abominable and unforgivable act of violence".
There is some uncertainty over whether the video released on Saturday actually comes from Islamic State.
Unlike similar previous videos, the latest recording does not carry the logo of any IS media arms, and consists of an audio message with a still image. Other official videos have shown moving footage.
Haruna Yukawa, 42, was seized by militants in August after going to Syria to set up a private military contracting company, according to reports.
Kenji Goto, 47, is a well-known freelance journalist and documentary film-maker who went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to get Mr Yukawa released.
In a video released on Tuesday, a masked man was shown standing over kneeling hostages named as Mr Yukawa and Mr Goto and demanding the ransom.
The previously announced ransom is the same amount as that pledged in non-military aid for countries fighting IS by Prime Minister Abe during a recent tour of the Middle East.
Who are Islamic State (IS)?
| Armed Conflict | January 2015 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Grand National Assembly starts voting to select a new President of Turkey. The frontrunner Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül fails to achieve a necessary two–thirds majority in the first round with 341 out of 550 but is highly likely to be elected in later rounds when a simple majority of 50 per cent is required. | The frontrunner to be Turkey's next president, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, has failed to secure election in a first round parliamentary vote, but remained virtually assured of victory in a later ballot.
Mr Gul, whose Islamist past has fanned concerns that his presidency would undermine Turkey's secular system, garnered 341 votes from the 550-seat house, 26 short of the two-thirds majority needed on the first ballot.
The second round on Friday is expected to produce a similar outcome, but Mr Gul should easily win in the third round on August 28, when a simple majority of 276 is required.
Mr Gul's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) commands 340 parliamentary seats.
The other two candidates, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu from the right-wing Nationalist Action Party and Tayfun Icli from the centre-left Democratic Left Party, received 70 and 13 votes, respectively.
It is Mr Gul's second bid for the presidency this year. His first attempt was blocked by opposition groups who employed a boycott to deny parliament the quorum needed to select a new president.
That sparked a political crisis in April and forced snap general elections on July 22 in which the AKP won a huge majority that it took as a popular mandate to re-nominate Mr Gul.
The main opposition Republican People's Party, which argues that a former Islamist has no place as secular Turkey's president, again boycotted yesterday's ballot, but the quorum was assured after other opposition groups decided to participate.
Shortly before the balloting began, Mr Gul reiterated promises to adhere to "the basic principles of the Republic" -- secularism prominent among them - after visiting the Union of Bar Associations (TBB) as part of a campaign to win support from civic groups.
The TBB, however, remained sceptical.
Mr Gul's decision to run again shows he has "failed to learn any lesson from past tensions," chairman Ozdemir Ozok said, adding that he would have "a historic responsibility" to uphold the secular system when elected.
The liberal daily Milliyet wrote that Mr Gul's "unfortunate" past criticism of secularism had fuelled concerns that his presidency would cause "irreparable damage" to the separation of state and religion.
While acknowledging that his election would reflect the democratic will, it urged Mr Gul to keep his promises to respect secularism, arguing that "everyone must tolerate each other."
Turkey's president is a largely ceremonial figure, but has the authority to name senior bureaucrats and judges and to return legislation to parliament.
Opponents say that with Mr Gul in the presidential palace, the AKP, the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement, will have a free hand to erode the separation of state and religion - an intention the party strongly denies.
For hardline secularists, the fact that Mr Gul's wife, Hayrunnisa, wears the Islamic headscarf is also a source of irritation.
At the climax of the crisis over Mr Gul's first presidential bid, millions took to the streets to protest against his candidacy and the Turkish military, which has toppled four governments in as many decades, said it considered the secular system under threat and vowed to defend it.
Ten years ago, the military did not hesitate to unseat Turkey's first Islamist-led government, of which Mr Gul was a member.
It has remained silent since his re-nomination last week.
The AKP has disowned its Islamist roots, pledged loyalty to secularism and conducted far-reaching reforms that stabilised the economy and ensured the start of Turkey's EU membership talks. | Government Job change - Election | August 2007 | ['(AFP via ABC News Australia)'] |
The British and Irish governments set a provisional date of 26 March 2007 for restoring devolution to Northern Ireland through the St Andrews Agreement. | It contains a target date of 26 March 2007 for a new executive to be up and running.
The parties have until 10 November to respond to the plan. If they agree to it, a first and deputy first minister would be nominated on 24 November.
The plan follows three days of multi-party talks at St Andrews in Scotland.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said there would have to be some form of electoral endorsement of the plan - either an election or a referendum. TIMETABLE TO GOVERNMENT
10 November - parties respond to proposals24 November - first and deputy first minister nominated Electoral endorsement of plans14 March 2007 - nomination of executive26 March 2007 - executive up and running
Reaction to NI plan
He said the two key components of a plan were that all parties accept the police and courts and have a clear agreement on power-sharing.
"So those are the two essential parts of it," Mr Blair said. "We've been through different parts of this process many times over the past few years but I think this is a sound basis to proceed."
The government's plan also envisages the devolution of policing and justice powers in two years from the creation of the executive. HAVE YOUR SAY
This is long overdue for the people of Ulster. I pray that devolution will finally take hold and that peace and goodwill can be restored between both the Catholic and Protestant communities. Good luck to you all.
Peter Alsop, Calne, Wiltshire, England Send us your comments
However, this would be subject to a cross-community vote in the assembly.
A financial package is also included in the draft agreement. One of the proposals is a cap on domestic rates under the new capital value system if the governments' plans are accepted by the parties. READ THE AGREEMENT
Text of the proposals to restore devolution in Northern Ireland(131KB)
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here
It also suggests the possibility of further rates relief for pensioners on lower incomes. Speaking after the governments revealed their plan, DUP leader Ian Paisley said Northern Ireland was at a crossroads and republicans had a choice and "delivery to make".
"Delivering on the pivotal issue of policing and the rule of law starts now," Mr Paisley said.
He said the DUP negotiators had dealt with a number of issues during the talks and that in the delivery of an overall package they "had retained the retention of academic selection" in the province's post-primary sector.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said that the plans needed to be consulted on, but restoring the political institutions was an "enormous prize".
"Common-sense political realism and the interest of all our people demand we achieve this," he said.
'Mexican standoff'
Where the key players stand
Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said what had been agreed was the "Belfast Agreement for slow learners". | Sign Agreement | October 2006 | ['(BBC)'] |
Four people are killed in the crash of a Cessna 210 into rugged terrain on Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. The plane had been traveling from Scottsdale, Arizona to Telluride, Colorado. Victim was identified as Scottsdale attorney Eric Falbe along with his wife, Carrie, and his two daughters from a previous marriage. | Searchers in Arizona found the bodies of four members of a family Tuesday in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed on a flight from Scottsdale to Telluride, Colorado, officials said.
Debris from the single-engine Cessna 210 was spotted north of Payson on the rugged Mogollon Rim, Gila County Sheriff Adam Shepherd said.
The plane had been reported missing Monday night. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, authorities said.
The sheriff's office verified the plane's tail number matched Federal Aviation Administration records identifying the owner as Eric Falbe of Scottsdale.
Falbe, 44, was a lawyer who specialized in real estate mediation.
His law partner confirmed that Falbe was aboard the downed plane along with his wife, Carrie, and his two daughters from a previous marriage.
The girls — 14-year-old Victoria and 12-year-old Skylar — attended Cicero Preparatory Academy in Scottsdale.
"Our sincerest condolences go out to the Falbe family for their tragic loss," school officials said in a statement. "Grief counselors will be available when school returns Monday."
The sheriff's office was notified about the missing plane by Scottsdale police.
According to the police report, a man told authorities his 31-year-old daughter, son-in-law and two girls didn't check in after planning to fly to Telluride.
The four were on a yearly trip they always take around the Christmas holidays, according to relatives.
Police started a search for the family's cellphone signal, and one was detected near Payson. A state police helicopter, the Civil Air Patrol and sheriff's searchers on the ground worked together to find the plane.
Rescuers had to hike nearly an hour to the site, Shepherd said.
"The terrain up there is just really super rugged," he said. "It's pretty rough, steep, straight up and down." | Air crash | January 2017 | ['(ABC News)', '(Arizona Republic)', '(Fox Spokane)'] |
American scientists announce an ice sheet has broken from Greenland's Petermann Glacier. | A giant block of ice measuring 260 sq km (100 sq miles) has broken off a glacier in Greenland, according to researchers at a US university.
The slab of ice separated from the Petermann Glacier, on the north-west coast of Greenland.
It is the largest Arctic iceberg to calve since 1962, said Prof Andreas Muenchow of the University of Delaware.
The ice could become frozen in place over winter or escape into the waters between Greenland and Canada.
If the iceberg moves south, it could interfere with shipping, Prof Muenchow said.
Cracks in the Petermann Glacier had been observed last year and it was expected that an iceberg would calve from it soon.
The glacier is 1,000 km (620 miles) south of the North Pole.
A researcher at the Canadian Ice Service detected the calving from Nasa satellite images taken early on Thursday, the professor said.
The images showed that Petermann Glacier lost about one-quarter of its 70km-long (43-mile) floating ice shelf.
There was enough fresh water locked up in the ice island to "keep all US public tap water flowing for 120 days," said Prof Muenchow.
He said it was not clear if the event was due to global warming.
Patrick Lockerby, a UK engineer with a background in material science, told the BBC he had predicted the calve on 22 July, posting images on the science2.0 website.
"I was watching the floating ice tongue wedged between two walls of a fjord for three quarters if its length with the last part at the outlet end wedged by sea ice. I thought once the sea ice was gone, the pressure would be too great and the tongue would calve."
He said there could be a beneficial outcome if the calving drifts to block the Nares Strait and effectively prevents the loss of more ice from the Lincoln Sea.
| New wonders in nature | August 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(The Guardian)'] |
Voters in Myanmar head to the polls. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is expected to win the election, despite international accusations of genocide and persecution of the Rohingya minority, who were also stripped of their voting rights in 2015. | Vote counting is under way in Myanmar following Sunday's general election, with Aung San Suu Kyi expected to win comfortably. Millions voted in the election, just the second since military rule ended in 2011. Ms Suu Kyi won the last election with a landslide victory and entered into a power-sharing agreement with generals who still hold huge power. The results of the election are not expected until at least Monday. Late on Sunday thousands of her supporters gathered outside her party's headquarters waving flags and chanting. Despite Ms Suu Kyi's popularity, the Nobel Prize winner and global icon has dramatically fallen from grace internationally for her response to the Rohingya crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas fled an army crackdown in 2017 in what the UN described as ethnic cleansing. The army in Myanmar said it was targeting militants.
Observers have questioned the credibility of the election because of the disenfranchisement of virtually all Rohingya. Voting was cancelled in large parts of conflict-hit states including Rakhine, Shan and Kachin - home to many ethnic minorities - as officials cited security concerns.
Ms Suu Kyi, 75, cast her ballot last week when the country held advance voting for the elderly in a bid to protect them against the coronavirus.
The main challenger to her National League for Democracy (NLD) party is the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which along with 23 other opposition parties had called for the vote to be postponed because of a surge in Covid-19 cases.
But in an October broadcast Ms Suu Kyi said the election was "more important than Covid". She has urged people to vote as she tries to defend her party's absolute majority.
Polls opened at 06:00 local time (00:00 GMT) and closed at 16:00 (10:00 GMT), though people still queuing to cast their ballots at that time were allowed to vote. Myanmar's minority Rohingya population was stripped of voting rights ahead of the 2015 general election after the temporary documents many held were invalidated. More than 740,000 have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since the 2017 army crackdown, but several hundred thousand still live in western Rakhine state.
In September the UN human rights investigator to Myanmar said the election would fail to be free and fair because of the disenfranchisement of the mostly Muslim minority. The Rohingya, who trace back their ancestry in Rakhine for centuries, are described as one of the world's most persecuted minorities. But the government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise the word Rohingya, denies the minority citizenship and derides them as "illegal immigrants" from Bangladesh.
In January the UN's top court ordered the country to take measures to protect the Rohingya from genocide. Ms Suu Kyi has rejected the genocide accusations while saying that war crimes may have been committed.
Earlier this year six of at least a dozen Rohingya who applied to run as candidates in the election were barred from standing.
Polling stations opened on Sunday with extra measures in place to prevent virus transmission - such as temperature checks and the provision of hand sanitisers.
Elections are under way for the upper and lower houses of the national, state and regional governments.
A total of 1,171 seats are being contested, said the US-based Carter Center, under the first-past-the-post system.
Voters can choose from more than 6,900 candidates from 92 political parties and independent campaigns, it added.
But a quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for the military under a controversial 2008 constitution drawn during junta rule.
The constitution also gives the military control of three key ministries - home affairs, defence and border affairs.
In October, Myanmar's election commission cancelled voting in large parts of Rakhine state - where fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, comprised mainly of the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands.
It also cancelled the election in parts of other conflict-hit states including Shan and Kachin, saying that some areas were "not in a position to hold a free and fair election".
The mass cancellations have outraged ethnic minority parties and means a total of nearly two million people are disenfranchised in a nation with some 37 million registered voters.
| Government Job change - Election | November 2020 | ['(BBC)'] |
Venezuelans continue their march against President Nicolás Maduro with thousands flocking into the streets of Caracas for a second day. , | Thousands of activists take to the streets in Caracas as opposition lawmakers say security forces have used excessive force to halt the marches
Last modified on Thu 16 Apr 2020 12.34 BST
Venezuela’s opposition renewed nationwide protests on Thursday to pressure the government of President Nicolás Maduro to hold elections and improve a collapsing economy, a day after three people were killed in similar demonstrations.
However, crowds were smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who flooded the streets of Caracas and provincial cities on Wednesday, the latest and largest in several weeks of protests against what Maduro’s opponents condemn as a lurch toward dictatorship.
Government officials dismiss the protests, characterized by street barricades and clashes with security forces, as violent and lawless efforts to overthrow Maduro’s leftist government with the backing of ideological adversaries in Washington.
The opposition counters that Maduro, deeply unpopular as Venezuelans grapple with triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and basic consumer goods, is seeking to stay in power indefinitely by barring opposition leaders from office and quashing independent state institutions.
At about midday on Thursday, a few thousand people protested in Caracas, although opposition lawmakers accused security forces of using excessive teargas and force to block the marches.
“It’s time for the armed forces to realize that they’re protecting corrupt leaders and not the Venezuelan people,” said Jorge Millán, an opposition lawmaker who represents part of the poor hilltop Caracas neighborhood of 23 de Enero, once a government stronghold.
The opposition had called on its supporters to gather at about two dozen points around Caracas and march to the office of the state ombudsman, a human rights activist, just as they tried to do on Wednesday.
The current wave of marches, the most sustained protests against Maduro since 2014, has sparked regular melees in which youths and national guard troops exchange volleys of rocks and teargas. There were also late-night barricades and some looting in Caracas’ middle class neighborhood of El Paraíso on Wednesday night.
Two students and a national guard sergeant were killed in Wednesday’s demonstrations, bringing the death toll in demonstrations this month to eight. The rights group Penal Forum said more than 500 people were arrested in relation to Wednesday’s protest and 334 remained in detention.
“We are concerned about the latest developments in Venezuela and urge that all efforts be made to lower tensions and prevent further clashes,” a spokesman for the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said in a statement on Thursday.
Maduro, 54, called on his backers to stage counter-demonstrations in Caracas on Wednesday. Supporters of the president, who was elected in 2013 and assumed the socialist mantle of late leader Hugo Chávez, say the opposition’s street protests are violent disruptions of public order that exceed the rights of free assembly and would not be tolerated in any other country.
The renewed wave of protests was sparked by a supreme court move in March to assume the powers of the opposition-led congress, a move that it largely reversed a few days later. They were further fueled when the government barred the opposition’s best-known leader, the two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, from holding public office.
“This is the moment,” said Raquel Belfort, a 42-year-old protester in wealthier eastern Caracas on Thursday, sporting a hat in the yellow, blue and red colors of the Venezuelan flag.
“People are sick of this … we’ve touched rock bottom. I think if we take to the streets every day, we’ll end this government.”
The push to keep up constant demonstrations increasingly mirrors protests in 2014 in which Maduro’s critics barricaded streets and battled police for close to three months. That effort ultimately faded amid protester fatigue and a heavy state crackdown.
But the sharp deterioration of the economy, which has put many foods and medicines out of the reach of the average citizen, and a more organized and united opposition coalition have injected fresh energy into the current protests.
Maduro critics increasingly doubt that the ruling Socialist party, which was soundly defeated in 2015 legislative elections, will allow for free and fair elections. The ballot for state governors has been delayed since last year and elections authorities have not announced when it will be held. … as you’re joining us today from Korea, we have a small favour to ask. Tens of millions have placed their trust in the Guardian’s high-impact journalism since we started publishing 200 years ago, turning to us in moments of crisis, uncertainty, solidarity and hope. More than 1.5 million readers, from 180 countries, have recently taken the step to support us financially – keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent.
With no shareholders or billionaire owner, we can set our own agenda and provide trustworthy journalism that’s free from commercial and political influence, offering a counterweight to the spread of misinformation. When it’s never mattered more, we can investigate and challenge without fear or favour.
Unlike many others, Guardian journalism is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe in information equality. Greater numbers of people can keep track of global events, understand their impact on people and communities, and become inspired to take meaningful action.
We aim to offer readers a comprehensive, international perspective on critical events shaping our world – from the Black Lives Matter movement, to the new American administration, Brexit, and the world's slow emergence from a global pandemic. We are committed to upholding our reputation for urgent, powerful reporting on the climate emergency, and made the decision to reject advertising from fossil fuel companies, divest from the oil and gas industries, and set a course to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.
If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you. | Protest_Online Condemnation | April 2017 | ['(The Miami Herald)', '(The Guardian)'] |
British Sports Minister Tracey Crouch resigns amid controversy over a delay on regulating fixed odds betting terminals. | Tracey Crouch says it is "unjustifiable" the cut to the maximum stake on betting machines is not taking place until next October.
By Aubrey Allegretti and Alan McGuinness, political reporters Friday 2 November 2018 10:58, UK
Tracey Crouch has "absolutely no regrets" about her decision to resign as sports minister amid a row about government action to slash the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
The Chatham and Aylesford MP, a leading campaigner on the issue, stepped down on Thursday following an announcement in the budget that the cut from £100 to £2 will not take place until October 2019.
Several backbenchers claimed they had been assured it was due to happen at the beginning of May.
Speaking to reporters in her constituency on Friday, Ms Crouch said: "I have absolutely no regrets about my decision whatsoever. I'm perfectly comfortable with my decision."
And, despite quitting the government, Ms Crouch offered her backing to Theresa May.
"The prime minister has an absolutely important job to do to deliver on Brexit, and I look forward to being a supportive member of her backbenches," she added.
Ms Crouch's departure is more bad news for Mrs May, who has had to contend with several ministers leaving their posts since the 2017 election.
FOBTs, on which users can gamble away up to £100 every 20 seconds, have been dubbed the "crack cocaine" of betting machines by campaigners, who say they are dangerously addictive.
The betting industry has warned that thousands of people could lose their jobs as a result.
In her resignation letter, Ms Crouch claimed "implementation of these changes are now being delayed until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests".
"From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its implementation over £1.6bn will be lost on these machines, a significant amount of which will be in our most deprived areas including my own constituency," she said.
"In addition, two people will tragically take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and for that reason as much as any other I believe this delay is unjustifiable.
"The alignment of the stake reduction with an increase in remote gaming duty was a condition put on by the Treasury to provide fiscal neutrality but is not a technical necessity, so there is no reason why implementation cannot come in sooner than October."
It is with great sadness I have resigned from one of the best jobs in Government. Thank you so much for all the very kind messages of support I have received throughout the day. Politicians come and go but principles stay with us forever. pic.twitter.com/rD8bEbCQcK
In response, Mrs May insisted there had been "no delay".
She said: "We listened to those who wanted it to come into effect sooner than April 2020 and have agreed that the changes should be in place within the year - by October 2019."
The PM defended the time-frame, saying "we must ensure that this change can be implemented in an orderly and effective manner to make sure it delivers the results we all want to see".
In her letter responding to Tracey Crouch’s resignation, Theresa May insists there has been “no delay” in reducing the maximum stake on FOBTs: pic.twitter.com/whqfBWeF0T
Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, told Sky News he was "desperately sorry" to see Ms Crouch go, adding that the machines are "very addictive" and cause "massive problems".
Conservative MP Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign secretary in July over Brexit, wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations to @tracey_crouch who deserves huge credit not just for her campaign but for sticking up for her principles."
Shadow culture secretary Tom Watson told Sky News: "This is one of those of those occasions - rare these days - where a minister has genuinely resigned with integrity and on a point of principle.
"We're very sad to see Tracey Crouch go over this very serious issue."
Sign our petition to force party leaders to hold televised debates ahead of elections
Mr Watson claimed Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright had "sold his colleague down the river and should have stood up to big gambling".
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said: "These machines are a blight on our society and undeniably damaging to vulnerable people.
"Tracey Crouch knows this, so why doesn't the prime minister? Theresa May should come to the floor of the House and explain why this will not be implemented for another year."
Mr Wright defended the government, adding betting companies' profits was not a consideration over the timing of the cut to FOBT stakes.
He repeatedly refused to confirm whether Ms Crouch had resigned during an urgent question in parliament earlier on Thursday, but did praise her for doing an "outstanding" job. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | November 2018 | ['(Sky News)'] |
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein asks Israel to refrain from using lethal force as protests enter their fifth week. The Israeli Defence Forces open fire again, including use of live ammunition. | Demonstrators killed include a 15-year-old. 174 of the wounded at the 'rebellious youth' themed protest were said to be by live Israeli fire
UPDATE: Palestinians: Teen shot by Israeli forces during Gaza protest dies of wounds
Three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces Friday as thousands participated in the "March of Return" along the Israel-Gaza border for the fifth week in a row, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 174 Palestinians were wounded by live fire, said the ministry.
. | Protest_Online Condemnation | April 2018 | ['(Haaretz)', '(The Washington Post)'] |
Zimbabwe denies reports that President Robert Mugabe suffered a health scare. | HARARE – President Robert
Mugabe arrived in Harare on Tuesday from Dubai where unconfirmed reports
suggested the 85-year-old Zimbabwean leader had gone for treatment for an
undisclosed ailment.
Government sources,
speaking strictly on condition they are not named, said Mugabe touched down at
Harare International airport late on Tuesday. Vice President Joice Mujuru
was acting president while Mugabe was away. Those privy to the Dubai
visit said Mugabe travelled with a small group of 16 trusted aides and security
staff, plus four “other” people. His wife Grace accompanied him.
“He had gone there for some
(medical) injections,” said a source. “He does that all time except that this
time around he sought treatment from Dubai instead of Malaysia where he usually
seeks medical treatment,” added the source.
Mugabe’s health is a
closely guarded secret and senior government officials were on Wednesday quick
to dismiss reports that the veteran leader was not feeling well, insisting his
Dubai trip was just a “short break” from work. Presidential spokesman
George Charamba was not immediately available to comment with his office saying
he was locked up in meetings.
Mugabe and his coalition
partners are due to meet South African President and regional chairman Jacob
Zuma who is expected in Harare tomorrow.
Zuma hopes to use the talks
with Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara to try to break a deadlock threatening Zimbabwe’s fragile
power-sharing government. – ZimOnline | Famous Person - Sick | August 2009 | ['(The Guardian)', '(Zim Online)', '(Daily Nation)'] |
A New Year's Eve celebration stampede in Shanghai kills at least 36 people and injures 49 others. | People injured in stampede during New Year celebration in the Bund get treatment at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, Jan 2, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]
SHANGHAI - Thirteen people sustained severe injuries in a stampede during New Year celebrations late Wednesday in Shanghai, including four in critical condition, local authorities said Friday.
As of 11 am on Friday, 31 people were receiving treatment at local hospitals, including 13 with severe injuries and 18 with slight injuries, according to the municipal health and family planning commission.
The commission has organized eight experts from the municipal mental health center and summoned another 40 in preparation to offer counseling service to the stampede victims at three hospitals.
Thirty-six people died in Wednesday's incident. The municipal government on Friday released the identities of those who lost their lives. Among them, were 21 women in their 20s and the youngest was a 12-year-old boy.
By Friday, 18 of 49 injured had been discharged from hospital. All of those that remain hospitalized have had their next of kins informed.
Police are investigating the cause of the stampede and the municipal government has set up a working team for rescue operations and to deal with the aftermath.
There was no official New Year celebrations in the Bund, a stretch of riverbank on the west side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai.
The municipal government has been caught in the backwash of criticism for not making effective preparative measures to cope with the crowds that flock the Bund, although it did close the nearest subway station to the area.
| Riot | December 2014 | ['(BBC)', '(China Daily)'] |
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao holds talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. | ANKARA - China and Turkey would establish a strategic cooperative relationship for better economic and political ties, Chinese and Turkish leaders said Friday.
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement at a press conference following their meeting during Wen's visit here.
Wen said he and Erdogan reached broad consensus during the talks, noting the decision to set up the strategic cooperative relationship would have an important effect on world peace and development.
China and Turkey both faced the threat of the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism and shared common interests in safeguarding the integrity of territory and sovereignty, Wen said.
Related readings: China, Turkey sign pacts on economic, cultural co-op Wen's visit to Turkey to boost bilateral relations Turkey to hold Chinese culture events China-Turkey relations
China would encourage investment by Chinese enterprises in Turkey and facilitate cooperation in various economic fields, such as power projects, bridge construction and the financial sector, Wen said.
Erdogan said he had very successful talks with Wen and Turkey and China would take a new step in bilateral relations.
"China and Turkey have a long history of friendship. Our relations are now entering a new stage of development," Erdogan told reporters.
Turkey wanted closer cooperation with China in international organizations, Erdogan said.
In the economic field, the two countries agreed to increase their annual trade volume to $50 billion by 2015 and 100 billion dollars by 2020, Erdogan said.
Trade volume between China and Turkey exceeded 10 billion dollars in 2009, according to official statistics.
He also said Turkey hoped the two countries could use their own currencies in bilateral trade.
China and Turkey signed eight pacts on cooperation in areas that included trade, railway construction, infrastructure, communications and cultural exchanges before the press conference.
Erdogan said Turkey planned to build 4,500 to 5,000 km of railways and wanted China's cooperation in those projects.
China had agreed to provide financial support for the railway projects when conditions were appropriate, he said.
Erdogan said Turkey also intended to build a railway connecting Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, and the Chinese capital, Beijing.
There were other multiple fields where Turkey and China could further cooperate, such as energy, air transport, culture and tourism, Erdogan said.
Wen said better cultural communication would also serve to improve China-Turkey ties, saying the two ancient civilizations should have more dialogue and exchanges.
A cultural event named "Experience China in Turkey" will be held in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and Istanbul after Wen's visit, which Wen said would enhance the Turkish people's understanding of China.
Wen arrived here Thursday night after visiting Greece, Belgium and Italy. He will travel to Istanbul later Friday.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | October 2010 | ['(China Dialy)'] |
A British television commentator is sacked after tickets used in the alleged 2010 FIFA World Cup "beer miniskirts stunt" are traced to him. | A British television commentator at the World Cup has been sacked after he was found to have passed on tickets, which were allegedly used by a group of young women as part of an ambush marketing effort.
Robbie Earle lost his job with ITV, after the station said a substantial number of tickets allocated to him for the Netherlands-Denmark match were used by beer company Bavaria Beer.
Some 36 women dressed up as Dutch supporters entered the stadium and stripped off their Dutch outfit to reveal the Orange miniskirt designed by Dutch beer brewer Bavaria.
Budweiser, an official sponsor, is the only beer company allowed to advertise within the stadiums at the World Cup. FIFA fiercely protects its marketing interests, which are a major cash spinner for the organisation.
FIFA lawyers are looking into the effort, in which 36 women wore orange miniskirts.
Caught in a storm ... these Netherlands fans were two of 36 female supporters questioned.
"We will be consulting our lawyers to check if such action falls under ambush marketing," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said.
It is understood that between 35 and 40 tickets allocated to Earle ended up in the hands of the marketing company said to have orchestrated the ambush marketing effort on behalf of the beer brand Bavaria via a third party, The Guardian reported.
Earle, the former Wimbledon and Jamaica midfielder, has denied doing anything wrong, saying he was just naive.
"Call me naive but I didn't think I was doing anything wrong," he said.
Stunt ... the "offending" tag.
"I hope when people hear the full story they will see me in a different light."
The women were detained for several hours and questioned after they were seen in the stands at Soccer City stadium.
Sacked .. Robbie Earle, seen here playing for Wimbledon
The dresses were sold with Bavaria Beer packs in the Netherlands in the run-up to the World Cup.
"We were sitting near the front, making a lot of noise, and the cameras kept focusing on us," Barbara Kastein told a South African newspaper.
"In the second half, about 40 stewards surrounded us and forced us to leave the stadium," she said.
They were taken to a FIFA office where police quizzed them about the dresses and asked if they worked for Bavaria Beer.
More than three hours later, they were released and police said they would continue investigating, The Star reported.
The Dutch embassy in Pretoria "made inquiries this morning with South African authorities about the grounds on which our citizens were held", foreign ministry spokesman Aad Meijer said in The Hague.
Three of the women were Dutch, he said, adding that no explanation had been forthcoming by Tuesday afternoon.
"We are not aware of any South African legislation that allows people to be detained for wearing an orange dress."
FIFA said the women were "used by a large Dutch brewery as an instrument for an ambush marketing campaign", although the dresses had no branding on them. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2010 | ['(The Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
At least 15 people die after a bus falls into a ravine in the western region of Ancash, in Peru. | LIMA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed in Peru on Sunday after a bus fell into a ravine in the western region of Ancash, police said.
The accident occurred in the Sihuas-Quiches highway, in an area known as Arenapampa, when the bus plummeted into a 100-meter deep ravine. The causes are still being investigated.
Rescue teams, aided by local inhabitants, were able to transport the injured to hospitals nearby. Chinese research ship completes 49th ocean expedition | Road Crash | August 2018 | ['(Xinhua)'] |
A senior diplomat in charge of relations with Japan at the United States State Department is replaced for allegedly making disparaging remarks about the people of Okinawa. | TOKYO -- A senior U.S. diplomat supervising Japan affairs has been replaced for allegedly making disparaging comments about the inhabitants of a southern Japanese island where U.S. troops are based, the U.S. Embassy and an assistant secretary of state said Thursday.
Kevin Maher caused an uproar by reportedly telling a group of American University students in December that Okinawans were lazy and used their hosting of U.S. bases to extort benefits from Tokyo.
The comments have been widely reported in the Japanese media, and Japan's foreign minister called them hurtful and deeply regrettable.
Maher has been replaced by Rust Deming, the deputy chief of mission in Tokyo, as director of the State Department's Office of Japan Affairs, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. Maher will continue to work for the State Department.
Visiting Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell refused to say whether the State Department had confirmed what Maher said. But he said the decision to replace him was made for the sake of the overall bilateral relationship.
Okinawa hosts tens of thousands of U.S. Marines and other troops, more than any other part of Japan. Okinawans have often complained that they bear too much of the burden for Japan's security alliance with Washington.
The issue is particularly sensitive now because Tokyo and Washington are negotiating a plan to move about 8,000 Marines off Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam. To do so, they plan to relocate a Marine base on Okinawa to a less crowded part of the island, but many Okinawans oppose that option and want the base closed down.
Campbell said that he has conveyed his deep regrets over the comments to the Japanese government and that the U.S. has "the utmost respect for the Okinawan people."
He said the U.S. ambassador to Japan, John Roos, had been dispatched to Okinawa Thursday to personally apologize to the Okinawan people. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | March 2011 | ['(AP via Washington Post)'] |
Several people are killed or injured in a blast in Syria's second city of Aleppo. | A blast on the outskirts of Syria's second city Aleppo has killed at least five people, opposition activists say.
The blast went off in a car wash in the Tall al-Zarazeer district, the Syrian Observatory for Humans Rights said. Activists say the business was linked to pro-Assad militias.
At least four people were killed in the city on Thursday when security forces raided a student hall of residence.
In Damascus, two blasts on Saturday caused damage but no-one was hurt.
It is not known whether the people hurt in the Aleppo explosion were civilians or members of the security forces, an Observatory spokesman said.
An activist of the rebel Free Syrian Army in Aleppo told Reuters news agency that the group carried out the attack on the car wash, which it said was being used by a pro-regime militia.
"We placed a bomb inside a car," the activist Ali al-Halabi said, adding that he had seen seven dead bodies and several more wounded at the scene of the blast.
Earlier reports said the explosion had targeted a passing bus.
One of the explosions in Damascus was caused by a bomb planted under a car in al-Thawra street, a key thoroughfare.
The blast damaged nine nearby vehicles and left a crater in the street. However, there were no casualties either from that blast or another one in the capital.
Bomb attacks are now a regular occurrence in Damascus and Aleppo, which have otherwise been spared the worst violence of the Syrian conflict, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from Istanbul.
Violence has continued in Syria despite a ceasefire between government and the opposition forces which forms part of a peace plan mediated by the UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan.
An advance party of UN monitors is already in the country to supervise the truce, and the UN's peacekeeping chief, Herve Ladsous, has said he hopes 300 observers will be on the ground by the end of May.
While the violence not as intense as it was before the plan came into effect, there seems little hope the full-strength monitoring team can bring about sufficient calm for any kind of political talks to start, our correspondent says. | Armed Conflict | May 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
Ammar Badei, son of Mohammed Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood's leader, is killed in the clashes in Cairo. | Freedom and Justice Party media outlets, Rasd Facebook page, and the FJP online portal announced the death of Ammar Mohamed Badie, 38, son of the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie.
According to Rasd, the 38-year old Engineer died due to the violent clashes between security forces and protesters in Ramsis Square on Friday.
Ammar is one of Badie's three daughters and sons.
Ammar's corpse is currently at Ghamra Military Hospital where he was being hospitalized, according to Rasd.Hospital sources said that the cause of death were two bullets in the head and eye.
He is married with two sons. Working as a manager in a computer engineering company, Ammar was described by one of his employees, Muhammad Gyoushy, who worked closely with him, as "one of the most respectable, smart and honest persons [he] has every come to know," adding that if all the Brotherhood's leadership "had the same "mentality and decency, they would have been the best leadership for Egypt. He was a really good guy."
Ahmed Sobhi, a journalist affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and works for their Beni Suef regional website, told Egypt Independent that Badei's villa in Beni Suef has been set on fire on Friday night after it was searched. Badei and his family have not been residing in this house since the violence escalated after 3 July when Mohamed Morsy was ousted. | Famous Person - Death | August 2013 | ['(NBC News)', '(Egypt Independent)'] |
The American state of California prepares for its worst storm in five years with schools closed in the San Francisco Bay Area. | A ferocious storm is forecast to batter California with drenching rain, heavy snow, pounding surf and howling winds through Friday.
The National Weather Service said the barrage is "expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain" since storms in October 2009 and January 2008.
Moderate rain and gusty winds began hitting Northern California late Wednesday. Officials in San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County said schools would be closed Thursday because of expected heavy rain and winds. San Francisco closed the Great Highway, a road that runs along the far western side of the city, next to the Pacific Ocean, also because of the risk of high winds and heavy rain.
Southern California saw dark clouds move in Wednesday afternoon. Los Angeles County officials closed a pair of main roads around Castaic Lake, a state recreation area in mountains north of Santa Clarita, in anticipation of mud flow.
A system fueled by the "Pineapple Express" is delivering a steady stream of moisture directly from Hawaii to the West Coast starting Wednesday. Meteorologists describe the Pineapple Express as a long, narrow plume that pipes moisture from the tropics into the western United States.
About 3-6 inches of rain is possible in parts of Northern California, including much of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, AccuWeather said. Some spots could see as much as 9 inches of rain.
The rainfall could overwhelm waterways and road drainage systems, possibly leading to flash floods.
In the Sacramento area, strong winds expected with the storm — gusts as high as 60 mph — could take down outdoor holiday decorations.
"I'm not putting any of it up until after the storm because even though it's pretty durable, it will just blow over," Sacramento resident Tim Adams said.
People were advised to take down their holiday lights, especially inflatable decorations that are not properly anchored.
Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, issued a warning that the storm will present a risk of flash flooding and debris slides, particularly in the northern and southern areas of the state that had wildfires this year.
"Burned areas are especially at risk for debris slides. Even regions that don't experience regular seasonal flooding could see flash flooding during this intense storm system," he said in a statement.
The intense rain from this storm still won't end the region's drought, although it will be a major step in the right direction, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Runoff from the storm could cause streams to surge with high water before eventually emptying into lakes and reservoirs.
As much as 4 feet of snow could fall in the Sierra Nevada. A blizzard warning was posted for portions of the northern Sierra, where winds could rage to 80 mph with heavy, swirling snow. A winter storm warning is also in effect for the southern Sierra.
In some communities, groups opened shelters.
The weather service warned that travel in the northern Sierra will be "extremely dangerous" because of blizzard conditions: "Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded ... stay with your vehicle."
The storm is expected to dump enough snow on California's mountains that the state's snowpack — currently only 35% of average for this time of year — could be at 75% or higher by this weekend.
Oregon and Washington were the first to see the storm's effects Wednesday. At least 24,000 customers had lost power by Wednesday afternoon because of the rain and wind in western Washington, with more outages and rough weather forecast through Thursday.
Oddly, along with the rain in Washington came warmth, as Sea-Tac Airport hit 66 degrees, the highest December temperature ever recorded there, according to the weather service. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | December 2014 | ['(USA Today)'] |
Countries of the European Union attempt to work out a deal to end the "bra wars", the Chinese textile import row. | As he began talks with member states, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson vowed to do everything in his power to end the deadlock.
He also played down fears that the row could lead to a clothing shortage that may leave retailers with empty shelves.
But Chinese state media has demanded an immediate end to quotas, accusing the EU of protectionism.
As he began a round of one-to-one negotiations with EU members Mr Mandelson refused to give details about how he planned to clear the backlog of goods such as trousers and bras.
I have set in motion procedures to unblock the goods that have been caught
Peter Mandelson
Experts believe he could put forward two solutions - one would allow China to bring forward some of its 2006 quota allowance to this year. The other involves raising overall quota limits - but that is likely to be opposed by EU members with large textile industries.
Stranded goods
Mr Mandelson has insisted fears that holding goods at EU ports would lead to a shortage of winter stocks for retailers were far-fetched.
"I cannot accept that EU retail businesses should be penalised unfairly by the agreement with China," he added.
"I have set in motion procedures to unblock the goods that have been caught," he told a press conference in Brussels.
With the co-operation of EU member states, Mr Mandelson said he hoped the goods "stranded" at European ports could be released by the middle of September.
However, the EU's retailers representative, Xavier Durieu, accused Mr Mandelson of doing too little too late and condemned EU blocks on Chinese goods - adding the move was penalising retailers.
Millions of items are held up in European customs warehouses
Mr Durieu accused Brussels of failing to foresee the problem - which had forced companies to either pay out extra for new goods to fill their shelves amid fears empty shops would scare off customers, or lose their profits as their stocks remained locked in warehouses. Retailer fears
With around 50 million sweaters and 17 million pairs of trousers detained at European ports, stores across the continent are anxious that the clothes are released in time to prepare for the Christmas rush. "It is very possible that towards November or December you will see prices rising across the UK simply because there is not enough capacity now to produce the kind of cheap goods that China has excelled in," said Alisdair Grey, from the British Retail Consortium.
But despite widespread claims that China is flooding western markets with cheap goods - some manufacturers worst hit by the quota system are actually owned by European firms, BBC Beijing correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes has found.
One British-owned factory, which produces high-quality cashmere sweaters for customers including Burberry and Jaeger, says it has been thrown into disarray.
The owner told Mr Wingfield Hayes he is now hunting for factories in South Asia to take up the extra work. | Sign Agreement | August 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
A large fire continues to burn at the Peter Pan Seafoods fish processing plant in Port Moller, Alaska, on the Alaska Peninsula. Much of the facility has been destroyed, and the plant is out of commission. Power is out in the village. | A remote processing plant operated by Seattle-based Peter Pan Seafoods near Alaska's Aleutian Islands has been heavily damaged by fire.
Peter Pan spokesman Dale Schiffler confirms a fire at the Port Moller plant, but declines to provide further details.
But Bob Murphy, a state Fish and Game fisheries biologist assigned to the area for the summer fishing season, says the fire broke out Tuesday night and continues to burn as of Wednesday afternoon. He says no one was injured.
Murphy says the plant offices, the processing section and the facility's large freezer were destroyed. Still standing are housing quarters for about 150 workers, the egg processing house and part of the dock. | Fire | August 2017 | ['(King 5)'] |
Delegates at the 2015 Climate Change conference in Paris reach a draft agreement. | Delegates at a UN climate conference in Paris have approved a draft text they hope will form the basis of an agreement to curb global carbon emissions.
The 48-page document will be discussed by ministers on Monday.
They will try to arrive at a comprehensive settlement by the end of next week. The French climate ambassador warned that major political differences still needed to be resolved. Delegates from 195 countries worked through the night at the conference centre in Le Bourget, conscious of a midday Saturday deadline imposed by the French presidency of this meeting. The weighty document will now go forward to ministers who will have to take the many political decisions still required, if the text is to be turned into a long-term agreement. "Nothing has been decided and nothing will be left behind," said French climate ambassador Laurence Tubiana. "This text marks the will of all to reach an agreement. We are not at the end of the route. Major political issues are yet to be resolved," she warned.
Many delegates were relieved that they had at least reached this point, as it marks a critical point after four years of negotiations. The document lays out a range of options for ministers on what the long-term goal of the deal should be, as well as the scale and the methods of raising climate finance for poorer nations. Among the many tricky issues they will have to deal with is differentiation: many countries are reluctant to change the way that nations are divided into developed and developing, based on where they were in 1992, when the UN Convention was signed. Many richer countries want this to change, and want a greater number of emerging economies to take on emissions reduction targets and become climate finance donors.
South Africa's climate ambassador struck a note of warning on this issue.
"The Paris outcome must be under the convention and in accordance with its principles and provisions and must not rewrite or re-interpret its decisions," said Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, who speaks on behalf of more than 130 developing nations.
Negotiators had hoped to be much further forward at the end of the week. They started out with a 50-page document and by Friday had reduced it to 36 pages of text.
"We now need to summon the political will needed to make the hard decisions required for an effective and durable agreement that protects the most vulnerable among us," said Thoriq Ibrahim of the Maldives and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States.
Many countries had reservations about the Friday document, so what has now been agreed contains these concerns added as an annex - pushing the document to 48 pages.
There are worries that far too much has been left to ministers to agree, and that in an effort to reach a deal, too many compromises will be made. "We're hoping that in the rush to the end, ministers do not trade ambition for expediency, and remain true to the science," warned Tasneem Essop from WWF.
COP 21 - the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties - will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities. | Sign Agreement | December 2015 | ['(BBC)'] |
Belgian authorities arrest 14 people the government calls Islamic extremists, who they say were plotting to free an alQaeda member from prison. | BRUSSELS The Belgian authorities detained 14 people they described as Islamic extremists on Friday, saying they planned to use explosives to free a Qaeda sympathizer jailed for plotting an attack on an American air base. They said raids in 15 locations, mostly in Brussels, had turned up explosives and arms. In a speech, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt warned, “Other acts of violence cannot be ruled out,” and security was stepped up in airports, rail stations and other public places. The United States Embassy in Belgium said in a statement that there was “a heightened risk of terrorist attack in Brussels,” but that it had no information on any specific targets. Europe in general is on alert for possible terrorist attacks during the holiday season. The recent bombing in Algiers has raised further concerns, particularly in Belgium and France, which have large north African populations. Terrorist cells linked to Al Qaeda are believed to have used Belgium as a recruiting ground and a source of fake passports and other documents. Experts have said that because if its sizable immigrant population and because it lies within a short drive of four other countries, it can be difficult for security services to track suspects.
Under Belgian law, the authorities have five days to formally arrest the 14. According to the Belgian Interior Ministry, they intended to try to free Nizar Trabelsi, a former professional soccer player from Tunis who was arrested in Belgium shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. Mr. Trabelsi was tried and convicted of planning an attack on the Kleine Brogel, a Belgian air base where about 100 American military personnel are stationed. He was sentenced in 2003 to 10 years. At his trial, Mr. Trabelsi claimed he had met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and said he intended to kill American soldiers. Didier de Quévy, a lawyer who represented Mr. Trabelsi at his trial, said he no longer acted for him and had not spoken to him for about nine months. Mr. Trabelsi’s location was not made public, but an Interior Ministry spokesman, Peter Mertens, said he was “moved regularly.”
Jail breaks are not unknown in Belgium. In October 2007, Nordin Benallal, a man convicted of several violent crimes, escaped from a high security prison in Ittre, some 20 miles south of Brussels, after a stolen helicopter crash landed inside the jail. In April 2007, two men posing as tourists hijacked a helicopter and flew into the yard of a prison near Liège, in the east of the country, to pick up an inmate. And in 1998, Marc Dutroux, who became infamous in 1996 when he was arrested and accused of abducting six young girls and killing four, escaped briefly from custody while being taken to court. A review of his handling revealed weaknesses in coordination between different arms of the police, and reforms were instituted. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | December 2007 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
In golf, South African Branden Grace shoots 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale, becoming the first golfer ever to do so at a men's major championship. | Michael Collins recounts his conversation with Branden Grace, who admitted that he didn't know he was the first golfer to shoot 62 in a major round. (0:52)
SOUTHPORT, England -- Two years ago, Jack Nicklaus was asked about golf's greatest scoring barrier. At the time, there were 26 rounds of 63 at a major -- five more have since been added -- but never a 62. The most accomplished player in the game's history quickly offered a reason for why it had never happened.
"Why do I think it hasn't? Because I missed a 2-foot putt at Baltusrol to break it," he said of the final hole in his opening round at the 1980 U.S. Open, obviously still disturbed by the memory. "I choked."
Nicklaus then looked ahead to an inevitability. "It just hasn't happened, but it will. It used to be 64. Then it became 63. And it will become 62."
He was right, of course.
On Saturday afternoon, under a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds, after 157 years of major championships, at the 442nd ever contested, it finally happened. A golfer broke the proverbial four-minute mile.
Branden Grace carded eight birdies, 10 pars and no bogeys in impeccable conditions at Royal Birkdale, completing his round by making a final 2-foot putt, just like the one that eluded Nicklaus a generation ago. And he finished with a 62.
"Obviously, what a special day," he said afterward. "And to do it at a special place at one of the events that I actually like playing, at The Open. ... What a special place to get myself into the history books."
This bit of history was served with a side dish of irony. While Grace didn't know the record for which he was aiming, the entire world watched him try to break it.
The ever-growing list of players who have posted 63 in a major can only be described as eclectic. There's Nicklaus, sure, and Tiger Woods, players we'd expect to reach such lofty heights. Then there are Jodie Mudd and Michael Bradley and Hiroshi Iwata -- hardly names littered throughout the game's record books.
By the time Grace stood over that final putt, 110,346 major championship rounds had been completed in the Masters era. There was never anything lower than 63 -- not that he knew it.
As soon as Grace knocked in that 2-footer on the final hole, his caddie, Zack Rasego, approached him.
"You're in the history books," Rasego told him.
Branden Grace finally broke through the barrier, shooting the lowest score in a major with a 62 at The Open on Saturday. Prior to that, 31 golfers had shot 63 in a major, with Johnny Miller being the first to do it in 1973.
"What are you talking about?" Grace responded.
He would find out soon enough.
"I didn't know what was going on, on 18, I promise you," Grace later admitted. "I honestly didn't. You know, I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole. I knew I was obviously playing really well, and making the turn in 5 under was pretty special. And I thought if I could make a couple more on the back nine, then it's going to be a great score. I had no idea that 62 was obviously the lowest ever."
Until now, there were 9-under 63s on par-72 courses, there were 8-under 63s on par-71s, and there were 7-under 63s on par-70s. All of which can make a compelling case for being the most desirable target score.
Upon Grace's finish, there was immediate debate as to whether his 8-under 62 was "better" than a 9-under 63. Specifically, whether it topped the famous 1973 U.S. Open final round of Johnny Miller, who was in the commentating booth to watch the record breaker.
Grace's answer was, well, graceful.
"Talking about this can go on forever," he explained. "Whether you shoot 63, 62 or 60, you have to do something right and things have to go your way to be able to do that. I'm not going to take anything away from a guy shooting 63 on a [par] 72 or anything of what I did today. All in all, some great golf."
As he spoke about the first 62, it appeared the record that was 157 years in the making might be matched -- or even broken -- within a few hours. Dustin Johnson was close for a while. Henrik Stenson, too.
Neither could break that barrier, though, nor could anyone else.
There is a new benchmark now, one that will also fall someday.
Just as Nicklaus knew that a 62 was inevitable, Grace immediately understood that his mark won't last forever. He will always be the first to break golf's four-minute mile, but that only means he's opened the gates for others.
"Sooner or later somebody is going to break 62," Grace insisted. "But hopefully it takes a while." | Sports Competition | July 2017 | ['(ESPN)'] |
Two students die and three others are injured after a school bus is struck by another vehicle and swerves off an Interstate 610 overpass in Houston, Texas. , | Mariya Johnson, 17, was killed in the school bus crash along the South Loop on Tuesday morning.
A woman and a child place candles at a memorial along the South Loop near Telephone Road, the site of the deadly school bus accident on Tuesday.
Three people pray at the memorial honoring the bus crash victims on Tuesday.
Cody DutyShow MoreShow Less
Two students died and two others were hurt along with their bus driver Tuesday morning when a collision caused a school bus to plunge from Loop 610 in southeast Houston, officials said.
The bus landed on the eastbound frontage road of the South Loop near Telephone Road about 7 a.m., Houston police said. It appears to be the first death of a student in a public school bus accident in Texas since at least 2008, according to state data.
The dead students were identified as a 14-year-old Furr High School freshman Janiecia Chatman and Mariya Johnson, a 17-year-old student at REACH charter school, a dropout recovery school on the Furr campus. The freshman died at a hospital and the older student at the scene. The bus was en route to the Furr campus, school officials said.
The other two students, both who attend REACH, had serious injuries, officials said. An HISD official identified one of the injured students as Lakeshia Williams; the other was her twin brother, Brandon.
The bus driver was identified as Luisa Pacheco, was taken to Ben Taub Hospital. She had non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The bus was equipped with seat belts, HISD said.
As police continue their investigation, Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said the driver of a Buick LaSabre told investigators she thought another vehicle near her was drifting into her lane. She veered away and hit the side of the bus. Pacheco apparently over-corrected and the bus careened from the overpass, Senties added.
An HPD news release issued on Tuesday said the Buick driver made an "unsafe lane change" that caused the accident. The driver, who was not injured, showed no signs of impairment. She was questioned and released at the scene and has not been charged, HPD said.
HISD chief of staff Jason Spencer said the driver of the LeSabre is a teacher in the district.
School, city and state officials sent messages after the fatal collision, calling for prayer.
"We are deeply saddened by this tragedy," said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who is vacationing this week and who announced last week that he will resign in March. "I ask all of the HISD community to join me in praying for all of those involved."
On Tuesday afternoon, Houston Mayor Annise Parker took to Twitter, calling the students' deaths "an incomprehensible loss."
"We offer prayers for the victims of the terrible school bus accident this morning," she said, in the tweet.
HISD trustee Juliet Stipeche spoke at the school shortly before dismissal.
"This place, this school, these buildings are a home for these children," she said. "It's a devastating loss."
Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement as well, offering his condolences.
"The State of Texas mourns the loss of Texas students today in a tragedy no parent should ever have to experience," he said. "Cecilia and I send our thoughts and prayers to the families affected by this heartbreaking incident, and I ask all Texans to support and keep Houston ISD and its community in their thoughts and prayers as they heal from this loss."
On Tuesday afternoon, the National Traffic and Safety Board said it was investigating.
Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 46 occupant fatalities from school transportation-related crashes from 2008 to 2013.
"It's a relatively rare event," said Gordon Trowbridge, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Counselors were at Furr, 520 Mercury Drive, to support students and staff, HISD spokeswoman Holly Huffman said.
Guardrails along the overpass were damaged when the bus plunged from the freeway and ended up below the bridge. The wreck forced officials to block the freeway while crews cleared the scene.
Traffic remained slow in the area during the afternoon rush hour as crews worked to repair pavement damage.
Spencer said that it has been at least 15 years since an HISD student on board a school bus was killed in a wreck.
Pacheco, the driver, has been with HISD since May 2013, according to HISD personnel records. She has a clean driving record, HISD officials said. She was from the district's central motor pool, said Wretha Thomas, head of the district's bus drivers' union.
"This is the worst I've ever seen in my 30 years as union president," she said, adding that many of the union's drivers were in mourning. She said she was asking HISD to send counselors to talk to district drivers before they head out on their afternoon route.
"We ask our drivers to pray, before they go out on their routes in morning and evening, for safety," said Thomas.
HISD Transportation General Manager Nathan Graf said later Tuesday that Pacheco was near the end of the route when the accident occurred.
District officials said that records show that the bus last underwent a maintenance inspection in July.
The vehicle was purchased new in 2008 and was equipped with lap belts for students. It also has seven security cameras, officials said, and footage from those cameras is being reviewed as part of the investigation.
At Furr, instruction continued as usual, as did a scheduled student-run food drive. In the late morning, some parents came by to pick up food. Chris White also came to check on his children.
"I woke up to it (news of the crash) and I came up here to check on them. They're OK," White said. "They called me but I missed the call. I already saw it on TV. It's really scary. It could be anyone's child. My heart goes out to those families."
On Tuesday afternoon, Bertie Simmons, principal of both Furr High School and REACH Charter High School, said that dozens of students visited grief counselors the district had brought in after the crash. Principals from schools across the district - and some as far away as New York - had called offering their condolences and support.
"I can't tell you heavy my heart is," Simmons said. "We've had other students killed on the street but never on their way to get educated."
She had just recently spoken with the slain 14-year-old, a girl Simmons described as "happy," and who she said couldn't "wait to get out and make something of herself." Of the 17-year-old, Simmons said the she "was doing her very best to get her diploma."
Houston Chronicle reporters Dale Lezon, Dylan Baddour, Dug Begley, Carol Christian, Craig Hlavaty, Emma Hinchliffe, St. John Barned-Smith and researcher Joyce Lee contributed to this report.
.
| Road Crash | September 2015 | ['(Houston Chronicle)', '(Reuters)'] |
The Saudi-led military coalition and the Houthis arrive at a ceasefire agreement effective as of 17 November 2016, as a result of talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry with the region's leaders. |
US secretary of state John Kerry has said that Yemen’s Houthi rebel group and the Saudi-led coalition fighting it had agreed to a ceasefire from Thursday, as Washington presses for an end to the war before Barack Obama leaves office.
The internationally recognised Yemeni government quickly rejected the move, complaining of being bypassed. But it may have little choice if leaned on by Saudi Arabia, on which it depends both militarily and financially.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced in the past 20 months in a war that has been overshadowed by the Syria conflict but which has created a humanitarian catastrophe.
Kerry, in what could be his last trip to the Gulf before Obama’s term ends in January, is seeking a breakthrough to end the fighting between the Houthis, allied to Iran, and the Saudi-backed government of Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Speaking after talks in Oman, which is close to the Houthis, and the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition, Kerry said he had presented Houthi delegates with a document outlining a ceasefire and peace deal.
He said the Houthis, whom he met in Oman on Monday night, had agreed to a ceasefire from Thursday, provided the other side implemented it. “And thus far the Emiratis and the Saudis ... they have both agreed to try to move forward with this,” he said.
The ceasefire would be on the same terms as an earlier one that ran from April until the end of August, when UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended in disagreement.
Kerry also said the parties “have agreed to work towards the establishing a new national unity government in a safe and secure Sana’a (the capital) ... as a goal towards the end of the year”.
But Yemeni foreign minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said Kerry’s announcement had not been coordinated with his government.
“The government was not aware of, nor is it interested in, what Secretary Kerry announced, which represents a desire to scuttle peace efforts by trying to reach an agreement with the Houthis apart from the government,” Mekhlafi wrote on his official Twitter page.
“I believe the current US administration is incapable of providing any guarantees to any party and what Kerry has said is no more than a media bubble at our people’s expense,” Mekhlafi told Qatar-based al-Jazeera television.
Yemen is a security concern for the United States, partly because al-Qaida has a strong local wing there. In August, Kerry proposed during a visit to Saudi Arabia that the Yemeni parties work simultaneously on setting up a unity government that would incorporate the Houthis while the armed group withdrew from cities it has captured since 2014.
UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been trying to build on the proposals and brought about a three-day ceasefire last month, but fighting resumed as soon as it ended.
In his remarks in Abu Dhabi, Kerry said the Saudis, Emiratis and Houthis had agreed publicly for the first time to send representatives to a de-escalation and coordinating committee and accept the envoy’s roadmap as the basis for negotiations.
Hadi’s government says the Houthis have illegally seized power in a coup backed by Iran, and demands that they quit the cities they have seized and hand over heavy weapons before any political settlement starts.
The Houthis say they seized power to end corruption and to get rid of Islamist militants they say expanded their influence during Hadi’s presidency. | Sign Agreement | November 2016 | ['(Ansar Allah)', '(The Guardian)', '(Arabian Business)'] |
Antonio Tajani has been elected as new President of the European Parliament. | BRUSSELS — Antonio Tajani was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday, and he won’t have much time to settle in.
Mr. Tajani, an Italian who beat out his countryman Gianni Pittella in the fourth round of voting, takes over as the European Union confronts an array of pressing issues. | Government Job change - Election | January 2017 | ['(BBC)', '(New York Times)'] |
According to general staff in Moscow, Russia has begun troop withdrawals from Georgia, following a pledge by President Dmitry Medvedev. However, 'Moscow saying it has the right to keep some troops as peacekeepers in a buffer zone around South Ossetia'. | There is disagreement between Moscow and Tbilisi over whether or not Russia has begun withdrawing troops from Georgia, as promised.
Announcing a "pull-back" from Georgia proper into South Ossetia, a Russian general made clear he did not regard the province as Georgian territory.
According to Russian media, some combat units inside South Ossetia were withdrawn to Russia during the day.
A top Georgian official said there was no evidence of any Russian withdrawal.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier promised to abide by the terms of a ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The conflict over South Ossetia erupted 11 days ago, when the Georgian army tried to wrest back control and Russia sent in its troops to drive them out.
Russian troops remain stationed near the Georgian capital Tbilisi, with Moscow saying it has the right to keep some troops as peacekeepers in a buffer zone around South Ossetia.
The West has repeatedly urged Russia to withdraw its troops and France has said it will call a special EU summit if Russia does not comply.
Mr Medvedev, who was in North Ossetia to decorate Russian soldiers for valour during the recent fighting, has promised to "do whatever is necessary" to maintain security in the region.
"If anyone thinks he can kill our citizens without being punished, or kill our soldiers and officers, who are peacekeepers, we will never allow this," he said.
He added that Russian soldiers had demonstrated that they had recovered from the crisis of the 1990s and were now a fighting force again.
'Pulling back - not withdrawing'
"The pull-back of peacekeeping forces started today," the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Col-Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said in Moscow.
Georgian TV has shown video of what it says is Russian armour pushing aside police cars in Igoeti, around 48km (30 miles) from Tbilisi, on 18 August
"We are talking about pulling back to the territory of South Ossetia. There should be no troops on the territory of Georgia."
Gen Nogovitsyn said that President Medvedev had agreed with President Sarkozy by telephone on Sunday on a "pull-back, not a withdrawal" of Russian troops.
Russian news agencies reported that several Russian military units, each mounted in five to 10 vehicles, left the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Monday for North Ossetia. The reports could not be confirmed independently.
A spokesman for the Russian defence ministry, Lt-Gen Nikolai Uvarov, told BBC News that troops were being withdrawn from Georgia and the process would take "days not weeks".
Confirming that Russia would retain its pre-conflict peacekeepers in South Ossetia, Gen Uvarov suggested that they would also be beefed up.
"We used to have there one light infantry battalion, less than 600 people, certainly it will be more soldiers but not just soldiers... [the] force must be credible to prevent any further escalation of conflict there," he said.
No move north
Alexander Lomaia, secretary of the Georgian National Security Council, told the BBC he had seen no evidence of Russian troops leaving Georgian soil on Monday.
As of Monday evening, there was no sign of a withdrawal on the highway from the Georgian capital Tbilisi to Gori, a town close to South Ossetia which Russian forces now control, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports.
The BBC observed five Russian armoured personnel carriers, each with around a dozen men, heading in the direction of the capital.
However, there was no suggestion that they ventured any further than the village of Igoeti, where the furthest Russian checkpoint is located.
Military hostilities may have ended, our correspondent adds, but the diplomatic war looks set to continue.
Earlier on Monday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appeared to take a conciliatory approach to Moscow.
"Let's then start thinking, negotiating, how can we prevent the definitive estrangement of our two countries," he said in a televised speech.
Previously, Mr Saakashvili and Russian leaders had engaged in a fierce war of words, accusing each other of atrocities against civilians during the fighting.
Several aid agencies have complained of difficulties in getting access to South Ossetia, where entry points are controlled by Russian troops.
This month's fighting devastated towns and villages and forced nearly 160,000 people to flee their homes, according to the UN refugee agency.
An official from the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said no agreement had yet been reached on increasing the OSCE's observer mission in Georgia.
Moscow has said it would support having more OSCE monitors deployed.
In another development, Russia has denied US reports that it has moved short-range SS-21 missile launchers into South Ossetia.
Nato foreign ministers are expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss the Georgian crisis. The US is backing efforts by both Georgia and Ukraine to join the alliance. | Armed Conflict | August 2008 | ['(BBC News)'] |
The National Transportation Safety Board concludes that pilot error and inadequate maintenance were behind the crash, which killed seven people, injured six others, and destroyed the historic aircraft. | This photo, provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows damage from a World War II-era B-17 bomber plane that crashed on Oct. 2, 2019, at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Pilot error was the probable cause of the 2019 crash that killed seven people and wounded six others, the NTSB said in a report released Tuesday that also cited inadequate maintenance as a contributing factor.
Damage from a World War II-era B-17 bomber plane that crashed on Oct. 2, 2019, at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
WINDSOR LOCKS — Investigators determined the deadly World War II-era B-17 bomber crash at Bradley Airport in 2019 was caused by the pilot’s actions, but maintenance issues, a lack of oversight and an ineffective safety management system were also contributing factors, a newly released National Transportation Safety Board report said.
The NTSB released its findings Tuesday in a report that indicated the investigation into the Oct. 2, 2019, crash that killed seven people and hurt seven others revealed the need for increased Federal Aviation Administration oversight and regulatory framework of living history flight experiences operations that allow planes like this to carry passengers.
In its 24-page report, the board said it found the cause of the fatal crash of the Boeing B-17 bomber to be the pilot’s “failure to properly manage the airplane’s configuration and airspeed after he shut down the No. 4 engine following its partial loss of power during the initial climb.”
Further contributing factors were the pilot’s “inadequate maintenance while the airplane was on tour, “which resulted in the partial loss of power to the Nos. 3 and 4 engines,” the Collings Foundation’s “ineffective safety management system, which failed to mitigate safety risks” and the Federal Aviation Administration’s “inadequate oversight” of the Collings Foundation’s safety management systems, the report said.
In a statement Tuesday, the Foundation said it is reviewing the NTSB’s findings.
“We knew Ernest ‘Mac’ McCauley to be the most experienced B-17 pilot in the world who was passionate about the care and condition of all aircraft,” the statement said. “Responsible flight and maintenance operations have always been a top priority of the Collings Foundation, reflected by over 30 years’ worth of a safe operating record, and always will be.”
McCauley, 75, of Long Beach, Calif., and his co-pilot, 71-year-old Michael Foster, of Jacksonville, Fla., were killed in the crash that day.
The others killed were passengers on the flight: David Broderick, 56, of West Springfield, Mass.; Robert Riddell, 59, of East Granby; Gary Mazzone, 66, of East Windsor; James Roberts, 48, of Ludlow, Mass.; and Robert Rubner, 64, of Tolland.
A statement issued by two law firms that represent nine of the 10 plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit, filed against the Collings Foundation in 2020, indicated the report is one more step in what will likely be a lengthy legal process.
“The NTSB report and findings will help our clients get some closure after this terrible tragedy and will offer protection to other families going forward,” the statement said.
The day of the fatal crash, the vintage aircraft was on a tour that took off with passengers from the Bradley airport through the living history flight experiences offered by the Collings Foundation. It was the aircraft’s first flight of the day.
During the initial climb, passengers were told they could leave their seats and walk around the aircraft, the report said. Soon after, a pilot got on the radio and told air traffic control the airplane had to return to the airport. Passengers were ushered back to their seats and told to buckle up.
The pilot recognized an issue with engine four and shut down power to that engine, the report said.
“Witness video showed that the landing gear had already been extended by that time, even though the airplane still had about 2.7 nautical miles to fly in the traffic pattern before reaching the runway 6 threshold,” the report said.
When investigators later examined engine four, the report said they found a short in the system that would have caused “rough engine operation and a partial loss of engine power that would have been exacerbated by the weak right magneto, which is likely what prompted the pilot to shut down the No. 4 engine and return to the airport.”
An examination of engine three led investigators to find evidence of “detonation on four of the nine cylinders.” Investigators also discovered that the spark plugs were worn and had gaps between the electrodes beyond manufacturer specifications.
“The pilot likely did not recognize, or recognized too late, the extent of the loss of engine power on the airplane’s right side,” the report said.
Investigators said if the pilots had been required to perform the engine ground test check at a higher rpm, they may have noticed the problems “and taken action before the flight to resolve the issues,” the report said.
As the pilot returned to the airport, he flew at 100 mph and below “and he allowed the airspeed to decay far below that required to minimize the loss of altitude over a given distance flown,” the report said.
It also indicated that the aircraft likely wasn’t able to maintain altitude at the lower airspeeds because “the pilot could apply only a limited amount of power to the left-wing engines.” The report also said the pilot should not have extended the landing gear early because it created additional drag.
“(T)he pilot did not appropriately manage the airplane’s configuration and airspeed after he shut down the No. 4 engine,” the report said. “The accident pilot was also the Collings Foundation’s director of maintenance and was responsible for performing the airplane’s maintenance while it was on tour. However, the teardown examinations of the Nos. 3 and 4 engines revealed maintenance issues that were not addressed during the airplane’s current tour.”
During its final approach, the aircraft hit approach lights about 1,000 feet before the runway, then hit the ground about 500 feet before the runway before traveling along the right edge of the runway and veering to the right, colliding with vehicles and a deicing fluid station. The aircraft caught fire after the crash.
The report said engine four had a 25-hour inspection nine days before the fatal accident, but that the check was “either not performed or was improperly performed.”
| Air crash | April 2021 | ['(The Connecticut Post)'] |
Malaysian police fire tear gas and arrest hundreds of people as more than 20,000 people march in the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally demanding electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur. | Police in Malaysia have used tear gas and water cannons against thousands of people assembling for a banned protest in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Police say they arrested some 1,650 people before the rally was broken up.
Activists called the protest to urge the government to implement electoral reform.
The police threw up a cordon around central Kuala Lumpur from midnight on Friday, blocking major roads and suspending public transport.
Riot police armed with batons confronted the thousands of people who had slipped through the security net, dispersing them with volleys of tear gas.
Crowds around the city's main bus station were also hosed down by water cannons.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was one of a small number of people who were injured. He was taken to hospital after he fell to the pavement after a tear gas attack.
A group calling itself the Bersih 2.0 coalition had been planning to hold the rally in a sports stadium but the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak said the location was unsuitable and instead suggested a venue outside of the capital.
"Merdeka Stadium, which they chose, is too close to the city centre and can create massive traffic jams and disrupt businesses," federal police chief Ismail Omar was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
Instead, with roads closed and some public transport suspended, most shops shut on Saturday and the city remained empty apart from police and protesters.
Several leaders of Bersih, including Ambiga Sreenivasan and Maria Chin Abdullah, were among the 1,401 people that police said were arrested.
Most were expected to be quickly released.
Organisers of the rally said 50,000 people had come out, but analysts put the number at closer to 10,000.
The demonstration came amid a police crackdown on activists.
Police have questioned more than 150 people in recent weeks, and 91 were barred from the city before the rally.
More than 30 activists remain in detention after being arrested almost two weeks ago.
Rally organisers say Malaysia's electoral system is plagued with fraud - they want longer campaign periods, automatic voter registration and equality of access to the largely government-linked mainstream media.
The authorities say the protesters are trying to promote communist ideology, thereby "waging war against the king".
Street protests are rare in Malaysia, but the police launched a crackdown after a similar demonstration in 2007.
Analysts say that protest helped the opposition win an unprecedented number of seats in the last general election.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | July 2011 | ['(Bloomberg via Business Week)', '(AP via Seattle Post–Intelligencer)', '(BBC)'] |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captures the border crossing at Al Waleed , the last remaining border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Government of Syria. ISIL reportedly advances to within 40 km of Baghdad after their victory in Ramadi. | Islamic State militants have seized the last Syrian government-controlled border crossing between Syria and Iraq, a Syria monitoring group says.
Government forces withdrew from al-Tanf - known as al-Waleed in Iraq - crossing as IS advanced, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. The loss of al-Tanf to IS follows the group's takeover of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday. The US says that fighting the militants will be a "difficult challenge".
Islamic State now controls "more than 95,000 sq km (36,679 sq miles)" of Syria, which is 50% of the country's entire territory, the UK-based SOHR said. The militants dominate the provinces of Deir al-Zour and Raqqa and have a strong presence in Hasakeh, Aleppo, Homs and Hama.
However, correspondents say there are large areas under IS control in the east that are not very significant strategically.
IS has also made significant gains in neighbouring Iraq, capturing the strategically-important city of Ramadi in Anbar province after weeks of fighting. The BBC's Jim Muir says that the militants, demonstrating the extraordinary momentum they have shown in the past, have not been content to sit and savour the major gains they have made in recent days.
The seizure of al-Tanf, in Syria's Homs province, enables IS to link up its positions in east-central Syria more directly with the ground they hold in Iraq's western Anbar province, he notes.
Militants in Iraq are reported to be pressing eastwards from Ramadi down the Euphrates Valley towards Habbaniya where pro-government forces are massing for a proposed counter-attack on Ramadi.
If they take Habbaniya, IS will be close to linking up directly with Falluja, a city close to Baghdad which has been held by the Sunni militant group for well over a year despite repeated attacks by government forces, our correspondent says.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq warned that fighting IS was no longer a "local matter", and called on the international community to act.
"All the world will face this danger if there is not a clear strategy to fight Islamic State," he said.
The US and its coalition partners are carrying out strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq - they have carried out 18 air strikes on targets in Syria since Wednesday, US officials said. The US has acknowledged recent IS gains are a "setback" for coalition forces, but President Barack Obama insisted the US is "not losing" the war with the group.
"There's no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time," he told The Atlantic magazine in an interview published on Thursday.
"The training of Iraqi security forces, the fortifications, the command-and-control systems are not happening fast enough in Anbar, in the Sunni parts of the country." White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the problem of IS was "not going to be solved overnight".
"Until we're able to build up local forces on the ground in Syria who can take the fight to Isil [IS] in their own country," he said, "this is going to continue to be a difficult challenge."
Meanwhile, the United Nations has expressed concern at reports that Syrian forces in Palmyra prevented civilians from leaving, ahead of its fall to Islamic State.
It said it was "deeply concerned" about the plight of those remaining in the area, amid reports of summary executions.
IS has also overrun the World Heritage site adjacent to the modern city, raising concerns about its future. The militants have previously demolished ancient sites that pre-date Islam.
| Armed Conflict | May 2015 | ['(alTanf in Syria)', '(BBC)'] |
Guinea announces that the second round of voting for the Guinea presidential election will be on October 24 after months of delay. | Conakry, Guinea (CNN) -- Guinea has decreed a new date, October 24, for its long-awaited presidential runoff election, despite a threat by one of the candidates to boycott the runoff if the recently appointed leader of the nation's election commission is not removed.
The decree -- signed by the military junta leader and transitional president, General Sekouba Konate, and read Tuesday night by the director of state TV Mohamed Kasse -- came after an initial date of September 19 was postponed because of technical problems and political infighting within the electoral organizing body.
The election is a runoff between two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde. Diallo won 44 percent of the first round, held June 27, while Conde polled second with roughly 18 percent.
"After a proposal from the CENI [National Independent Electoral Commission], the president of the republic decrees that voters are called to convene on Sunday, October 24 for the second round of the presidential election. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.," Kasse said.
But a dispute over the head of the CENI still stands in the way of the West African republic's first free and fair presidential poll in its 52-year history.
Diallo's campaign has accused commission President Louseny Camara of fixing results for Conde in the first round, in which he served as a polling administrator in the interior of the country, and called for his removal. Camara has denied the allegations.
The presidential decree did not mention the controversial electoral chief.
We have a date, that is a very good thing, but we also think there is a problem that has not yet been resolved ... we will not go to elections with Louseny Camara as the head of the CENI," Souleyman Bah, spokesman for Diallo's campaign told CNN.
Conde's campaign welcomed the new date without hesitation.
"If everything is done according to the schedule that was given to us, we believe that this date could be very good for the second round," Moustapha Naite, a spokesman for Conde's campaign, told CNN.
Campaigning, which was suspended in the wake of violence between supporters of Conde and Diallo that killed one and injured 51 last month, has yet to be resumed.
"The date has been set, so normally there should be a decree for campaigning to start again," Naite said.
The decree was prefaced by the appearance on state TV of Konate's chief-of-staff, Tibou Kamara, who called on Guineans to trust their commander-in-chief amid worries that the army does not want to leave power.
"I implore Guineans to have faith in General Sekouba Konate, who is not fond of the solitude of power and the ingratitude of the functions of the head of state, but who is destined to follow through on this historical task for Guinea," Camara said.
Guinea has been ruled by a military junta since the death of Lansana Conte in December 2008 ended his 24-year grip on power. Last September, security forces killed more than 150 peaceful protesters and raped dozens more during a rally against military rule, according to rights groups and the U.S. government.
Despite its reserves of gold, diamonds and bauxite -- the main ore of aluminum -- Guinea's 10 million people have a per capita GDP of just US $1,000, according to CIA data. | Government Job change - Election | October 2010 | ['(CNN)'] |
A Democratic Republic of the Congo protest calling for the resignation of President Joseph Kabila turns violent in Kinshasa, leaving at least 17 people dead, including three police officers. Opposition groups say that 50 people died. | At least 17 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo during protests calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down.
Three of them were police officers, one of whom was burnt alive, according to the Interior Minister, Evariste Boshab.
But opposition groups said 50 people died, with one witness saying police fired live ammunition into the crowd.
Protesters set up barricades and torched cars on one of the main roads in Kinshasa, the country's capital.
The bodies of people who had died were seen lying in the streets after protests ended.
The electoral commission was meant to announce a date for presidential elections, due in November, on Monday, but has said it will not be possible to hold them then.
The opposition says Mr Kabila is trying to delay the elections in order to remain in power beyond his two-term limit, which finishes in December. Police have made at least 10 arrests, with hundreds of protesters out on the streets, reports BBC Afrique's Poly Muzalia from the capital. Most schools and shops are closed in Kinshasa, with those not involved in the protests staying inside to avoid any trouble, our reporter adds. A government-backed effort to work out a solution to the political crisis, called a "national dialogue", has been boycotted by most opposition parties. Mr Kabila's second term, the maximum allowed under the country's constitution, is due to expire on 20 December.
Last year at least 12 people died in similar protests.
DR Congo has never had a smooth transfer of power since independence more than 55 years ago. | Riot | September 2016 | ['(Le Point)', '(DNA)', '(BBC)'] |
A fire in Brooklyn, New York kills seven children and leaves two others critically injured. | Orthodox Jewish boys near the scene of the fire.
Mayor Bill de Blasio in the Brooklyn home where seven children from an Orthodox Jewish family died early Saturday.
Orthodox Jewish men walked to synagogue on Saturday near the scene of the fire.
More than 100 firefighters were on the scene of the two-alarm fire, officials said.
On Saturday, the Fire Department handed out fliers titled “Fire Safety for Jewish Observances” with a list of tips to avoid fires while cooking.
Daniel A. Nigro, the New York City fire commissioner, said a hot plate left on a counter on the first floor of the Brooklyn home started the fire.
Damage on the upper floor in the rear of the house, where the children slept in five bedrooms.
Firefighters near the scene of a fire, in the Midwood neighborhood, on Saturday.
By Benjamin Mueller and Nate Schweber
A hot plate warmed food in the darkened kitchen in Brooklyn, allowing an Orthodox Jewish mother to feed her family while observing the Sabbath prohibition on lighting a flame. Upstairs, she and eight children slept.
That small convenience led to the city’s deadliest fire in eight years, after flames that began in the kitchen ripped through the home, trapping seven children ages 5 to 16 in their bedrooms, as their mother and a 15-year-old sister, cloaked in thick smoke, jumped out of second-floor windows. They were the only two survivors. | Fire | March 2015 | ['(The New York Times)', '(AP)'] |
In Morocco, authorities detain five supporters of Western Saharan independence for their alleged part in violent demonstrations last May. | The Moroccan authorities say they have detained five Western Sahara independence activists as part of an investigation into violent demonstrations in May. The detentions followed the arrest on Monday of another prominent activist campaigning for the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975. Earlier this month a Moroccan court handed down sentences of up to eight years in prison to 12 independence-seekers convicted on charges of criminal association, vandalism, resisting arrest and participation in an armed crowd. Crackdown Sources said 50 people were injured when police cracked down on demonstrations in Western Sahara's largest city El Ayoun in May, but Moroccan authorities have said they moved on criminals. Last year, Morocco rejected a UN-backed plan to resolve the dispute over the territory by granting autonomy to the region for five years and thereafter hold a referendum on self-rule. The Polisario Front, which has been fighting against Moroccan rule for three decades, approved of the plan drafted by former US secretary of state James Baker. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | July 2005 | ['(Al–Jazeera)'] |
The Islamist alShabaab rebels in Somalia pull out of the capital Mogadishu. | Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist rebels have pulled out of all positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, government and rebel spokesmen say.
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed declared the rebels defeated after they left overnight on trucks.
However, al-Shabab described the move as a "change of military tactics".
The conflict has hampered aid efforts in the famine-hit country, with the militia barring some aid agencies from central and southern areas it controls.
African Union peacekeepers and government forces have for years been contained to small areas of the capital but have recently been gaining ground.
The pull-out followed reports of gun battles in the capital on Friday night.
Sheikh Ahmed told a press conference: "The Somali government welcomes the success attained by the Somali government forces backed by Amisom [peacekeepers] who defeated the enemy of al-Shabab."
However, a spokesman for the al-Qaeda-linked rebels, Ali Mohamed Rage, told a local radio station there would be no withdrawal from other regions of southern Somalia.
"The retreat by our forces is only aiming to counter-attack the enemy. People will hear happy news in the coming hours," he said.
"We shall fight the enemy wherever they are."
A spokesman for the African Union peacekeepers in Somalia said the force was treating the rebel withdrawal with caution in case it was a trap.
Soldiers would not immediately deploy across Mogadishu, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda told the BBC.
Some analysts have suggested the Islamist insurgents withdrew because funding from the Arab world had dwindled and they had become militarily weaker.
Parts of the capital, where there are camps for displaced people, were last week among three areas newly declared by the United Nations to be suffering famine.
There are now a total of five famine zones in the country.
The UN says some 640,000 children are acutely malnourished in Somalia, while 3.2 million people are in need of immediate life-saving assistance.
. | Armed Conflict | August 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
A suspected drone attack in Pakistan's North Waziristan province kills six militants. | A US drone attack has killed at least six suspected militants in north-west Pakistan, intelligence officials say.
The men were in a compound near Miran Shah town in North Waziristan when the drone fired two missiles.
Drone attacks have focused on North and South Waziristan, where US officials believe many al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters find shelter.
The US says the region is home to several militant groups involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Drone attacks frequently target Pakistan's restive tribal areas, where many insurgents have taken refuge.
The frequency of the attacks has increased since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. More than 100 raids were reported in the area in 2010, and more than 60 have taken place this year.
The US does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say only American forces have the capacity to deploy such aircraft in the region. | Armed Conflict | November 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
Thailand arrests suspected Canadian child molester Christopher Paul Neil after an international man hunt. | BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai police have arrested a suspected Canadian pedophile following a global manhunt launched when computer experts unscrambled digital photos allegedly showing him sexually abusing young boys.
Canadian teacher Christopher Paul Neil is brought before the media by Thai police Friday.
Christopher Paul Neil was taken into custody early Friday in Nakhon Ratchafima, a town about 200 kilometers (130 miles) northeast of Bangkok, where he was allegedly attempting to contact underage boys, Maj. Gen. Wimol Pao-in said.
"Bingo! We've got him," the police chief told The Associated Press. Neil, 32, kept his head covered with a blue shirt as he was paraded in front of a throng of photographers as he arrived in Bangkok, however he was made to sit -- head uncovered -- at a news conference a short time later.
The suspect sat silently and without expression as police officials spoke about the case. Watch the suspect face the media
A police official explained that Neil did not want to speak at the news conference. Neil, with his head closely shaved but his beard apparently not shaved for several days, wore a T-shirt, jogging pants and sunglasses.
He will be extradited to Canada after being prosecuted in Thailand, police spokesman Pongsapat Pongjaren told AP. Interpol, the international police agency that issued a worldwide appeal for information in the case last week, said the suspect had been working as an English teacher in South Korea and flew from Seoul to Bangkok last Thursday.
An arrest warrant issued in Thailand was based on the testimony of a boy who said he was lured to Neil's apartment in Bangkok by a Thai man, Wimol said Thursday, according to AP. The boy said Neil paid them for sex acts.
Interpol also issued a worldwide alert after about 200 photographs showing a man sexually abusing 12 different young males were posted on the Internet.
The photos, which authorities believe were taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003, had been digitally altered to disguise the man's face. But German investigators were able to reverse the process and restore the images, and his picture was then distributed worldwide. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | October 2007 | ['(Reuters)', '(CNN)'] |
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is expected to call a special session on gun control following the deadly shooting Friday afternoon in Virginia Beach that killed 12 people plus the shooter. | Follow NBC News VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is summoning lawmakers back to the state Capitol to consider a package of gun-control legislation, saying Friday's mass shooting in Virginia Beach calls for "votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers."
Northam also said Tuesday that he wants every state lawmaker go on record for or against his proposals during the special session this summer, rather than let leaders shield them from tough votes by killing them subcommittees.
"I ask that the members of the General Assembly engage in an open and transparent debate and that the bills brought before the legislature are put to a vote by the entire General Assembly," Northam said. "The nation will be watching."
The Democrat said in an Associated Press interview ahead of his announcement that he wants the Republican-controlled legislature to hear from the public about the need for "common-sense" laws. A top GOP lawmaker signaled Monday that he's open to a legislative debate, but doesn't expect Northam's bills to pass.
"Show Virginians that it doesn't matter what party you are in, we all our Virginians first, and we care about the safety and security of every Virginian no matter who they are or where they live," he added.
Virginia Beach city employee DeWayne Craddock used two semi-automatic handguns, a silencer and extended ammunition magazines on Friday to kill 12 people, all but one them colleagues he had worked with for years. Craddock was mortally wounded in an intense gunbattle with police.
Northam's bills include legislation that directly relates to Friday's shooting, such as a ban on silencers and high capacity ammunition magazines, as well as broadening the ability of local governments to limit guns in city buildings. But he said other recent shootings, including the death last month of a 9-year-old girl who was shot at a community cookout in Richmond, are also driving his call for a special session.
"It's an emergency here in Virginia, and it's time to take action," Northam told the AP. "Every one of these pieces of legislation will save lives."
Northam said he also wants votes on mandating universal background checks before gun purchases, limiting purchases to one handgun per month and a so-called red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily seize someone's guns if they are a shown to be threat to themselves or others.
The governor has long advocated for stricter gun control. He made the issue a top priority of his 2017 gubernatorial campaign, drawing from his experience as a pediatrician and Army doctor who has treated children and soldiers wounded by firearms.
Most of the legislation already proposed by Northam and other Democrats has failed in Virginia, where Republicans hold slim majorities in the House and Senate. This is a closely watched election year in the state, when all 140 legislative seats are up for grabs.
Virginia law doesn't give a governor any say in how a special session is conducted. While GOP Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment indicated Monday that there's some willingness to debate whether to ban large-capacity magazines, according to the Virginia Gazette, he told gun-control advocates outside his office on Monday that "nothing would have helped us in Virginia Beach."
Craddock appeared to have had no felony record, making him eligible to purchase guns. Government investigators identified two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack and all indications are that he purchased them legally in 2016 and 2018, said Ashan Benedict, the regional special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Friday's shooting has been Northam's first major test since a scandal over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook nearly drove him from office four months ago. The governor has been active in helping coordinate the state's response and comforting victims, while also pressing the case for stricter gun control.
A top gun rights advocate denounced the special session as "political theater," and called it "pure baloney" that silencers mask the sound of gun shots. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said "there's really nothing other than allowing people to protect themselves until the police get there that would have worked." | Armed Conflict | June 2019 | ['(NBC News)'] |
New Zealand's government passes an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 to allow chronic and terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis without facing the possibility of prosecution. | New Zealand’s government has passed a law that will make medical marijuana widely available for thousands of patients over time, after years of campaigning by chronically ill New Zealanders who say the drug is the only thing that eases their pain.
The legislation will also allow terminally ill patients to begin smoking illegal pot immediately without facing the possibility of prosecution.
The health minister, David Clarke, said thousands of New Zealanders were living with chronic and end-of-life pain and the evidence that marijuana could safely help ease their suffering was sound.
The law would also pave the way for New Zealand companies to manufacture medicinal cannabis products for both the local and international market, an industry which is being touted as a potential game-changer for deprived Māori communities on the east coast of the North Island, who hope to turn the thriving illegal industry into a thriving legal one.
“People nearing the end of their lives should not have to worry about being arrested or imprisoned for trying to manage their pain,” Clarke said.
“This is compassionate and caring legislation that will make a real difference to people … they can use illicit cannabis without fear of prosecution.”
The measures come ahead of a planned referendum on recreational marijuana use, which the government has pledged to hold within two years, as part of their confidence and supply agreement with coalition partner the Greens.
The new law allows much broader use of medical marijuana, which was previously been highly restricted and subject to approval by the health minister.
The campaign to make marijuana legal applauded the government for passing the legislation within their first year in office.
“New Zealanders will take this as encouragement that we don’t need to be stuck in the past,” said Sandra Murray, campaign manager for the #makeitlegal campaign.
“We are now only two steps behind the rest of the world when it comes to sensible cannabis laws and with the upcoming referendum, we are on track to become an example of how to get it right.”
Marijuana use is common in New Zealand and police largely turn a blind eye to small, recreational use of the drug, with some politicians even admitting to using it in their youth.
Today Aotearoa New Zealand finally passed legislation to create a legal, local medicinalcannabis scheme. The opposition National party said the government had decriminalised cannabis “by stealth”, and slammed the move as “lazy and dangerous”.
“We support medicinal cannabis but strongly oppose the smoking of loose leaf cannabis in public. Smoked loose leaf is not a medicine,” said the Nationals’ spokesperson on health, Shane Reti.
Patients wanting to use marijuana for conditions like chronic pain will have to wait a year until a new set of regulations, licensing rules and quality standards are put in place. | Government Policy Changes | December 2018 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
The left-wing political party, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, which is part of the current government, asks Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate the recent vigilante killings of suspected drug pushers. | A militant group has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to look into the spate of killings of drug suspects over the past weeks.
While lauding the new administration’s campaign against illegal drugs targeting officials of the Philippine National Police, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) expressed concern on the deaths of alleged drug dealers.
The group described Duterte’s anti-crime and anti-drugs campaign as a positive move as the protectors of the biggest criminal syndicates have long been believed to be within the PNP itself.
Duterte has named retired Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo, retired Chief Superintendent Vicente Loot, who is now the mayor of Daanbantayan, Cebu; Director Joel Pagdilao, Chief Superintendent Edgardo Tinio, and Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz as allegedly involved in illegal drugs.
“The five officials named by Duterte should undergo appropriate investigation, in accordance with due process,” the group said.
It added that formal charges should eventually be filed if there is genuine accountability.
“We, however, express grave concern over the spate of extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers over the past few weeks,” it said.
“The Duterte adminstration, after making clear its stand on due process during the inauguration, should now look into the cause of the killings especially since many suspect that these are being carried out as part of the house cleaning being done by the big criminal syndicates to avoid detection by the new regime,” it added.
But while the group supported Duterte's anti-illegal drugs campaign, Bayan said it opposes the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in anti-narcotics police operations because of the AFP’s poor human rights record and because this does not fall within its mandate.
“The AFP’s involvement may bring about more problems than solutions,” it said. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News | Government Policy Changes | July 2016 | ['(GMA News)'] |
Protesters block all major roads leading to the capital Beirut amid continued unrest over the crash of the pound, increase in consumer goods prices, mass unemployment and delay of the formation of a new government. | Protesters closed all major roads leading to the Lebanese capital on Monday, causing traffic jams and triggering a call by the head of the hospitals union who warned that such moves are preventing oxygen supplies from reaching medical centers treating coronavirus patients. The dayslong protests come against the backdrop of a crash in the local currency, increase of consumer goods prices and political bickering between rival groups that has delayed the formation of a new government.
Since the early morning hours, small groups of demonstrators blocked the southern, northern and eastern entrances to Beirut with burning tires and by parking vehicles on the main roads. In other parts of Lebanon army soldiers briefly opened some roads only to have protesters close them again shortly afterward.
Sleiman Haroun, President of the Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon, told The Associated Press that after a two-day weekend when there is no oxygen distribution, some hospitals are running low and urgently need supplies, especially to treat COVID-19 patients.
“This is not a joke. It is a matter of life and death,” Haroun said urging protesters to allow vehicles carrying supplies of oxygen to pass. There are several oxygen plants around Lebanon and they supply hospitals throughout the country, including some in remote areas. Despite a weekslong lockdown in Lebanon, cases of coronavirus remain high in the tiny country, with 2,377 new cases registered on Sunday, raising the total cases since February last year to more than 395,000. The virus has also killed 5,047 people, including 33 on Sunday.
On Saturday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned that the country was quickly headed toward chaos and appealed to politicians to put aside their differences in order to form a new government that can attract desperately needed foreign assistance.
In October, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was named to form a new Cabinet but five months later, disagreements between him and President Michel Aoun on the shape of the Cabinet has stood in the way of a new government’s formation.
The local currency hit a record law against the U.S. dollar on Saturday getting to close to 11,000 pounds on the black market.
Lebanon has been hit by one crisis after another, starting with nationwide protests in October 2019 that revealed a severe financial and economic crisis. The situation was made worse by coronavirus and a massive blast at Beirut’s port in August that killed 211, wounded more than 6,000 and damaged large parts of Beirut. | Protest_Online Condemnation | March 2021 | ['(The Independent)'] |
The Minnesota Supreme Court orders that Al Franken be certified winner of the state's Senate election. | MINNEAPOLIS, June 30 (Reuters) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, which should give Democrats the 60-seat majority they need to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda.
Coleman has said in published reports he is unlikely to appeal the state court’s decision to the federal courts. Under state law, the court’s decision gives Franken the right to occupy the seat, which has been up for grabs since last November’s election.
Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will certify the election winner based on what the state court decides.
If the decision holds up, Democrats will control 60 of the 100 Senate seats -- enough to overcome Republican procedural roadblocks in a clear boost to President Barack Obama’s agenda.
Democrats hold a solid majority in the U.S. House.
However, Senate Democrats may not be able to count on Arlen Specter’s vote. Specter, a former Republican from Pennsylvania, switched parties in April but has said he will vote his own way and not necessarily along party lines.
The Minnesota contest has seen several switches. Coleman, seeking a second term, held a razor-thin lead after the Nov. 4 election over Franken, a well known satirist and a former writer and actor for the popular Saturday Night Live television show.
But the close vote triggered an automatic recount of the 2.4 million ballots cast for the two men, and Franken edged to a 225-vote lead. That result was challenged by Coleman, and a judicial panel agreed to add only a few hundred previously rejected absentee ballots. That tally expanded Franken’s lead to 312 votes.
Reporting by Todd Melby and Andrew Stern | Government Job change - Election | June 2009 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Okmok Caldera on the island of Umnak in the Aleutian Islands erupts, forcing the evacuation of the eastern side of the island to Unalaska Island. | ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian chain erupted on Saturday, sending a cloud of ash 35,000 feet into the air and prompting the evacuation of the 10 people who live on the eastern side of the island, officials said.
Okmok Volcano, located on Umnak Island, had an explosive eruption that started just before noon and was continuing through Saturday night, reported the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the joint state-federal agency that monitors Alaska’s volcanoes.
The volcano rises to 3,520 feet (1,073-metre) and is located about 65 miles southwest of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, a major fishing port with 4,300 full-time residents, and about 900 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Shortly after the eruption, the residents of the island’s cattle ranch, located close to the volcano, placed a call seeking evacuation, the U.S. Coast Guard said. A fishing vessel took the Umnak residents to Unalaska, the Coast Guard said.
In Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, residents have been showered with a light ashfall, said Jennifer Adleman, a geologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
“There have been reports of eye irritation and people being able to taste it, if you will,” Adleman said. “Some folks have seen it on their windshields.”
At least two airline flights into Unalaska/Dutch Harbor were canceled and advisories have been sent out to aircraft pilots and mariners, Adleman said.
Okmok Volcano is highly active, with about 16 eruptions occurring every 10 to 20 years since 1805, she said. The last eruption was in 1997, an event that produced ash clouds and a lava flow that traveled five miles across the volcano’s caldera floor, she said.
There is a small Aleut village, Nikolski, that is also located on the other side of Umnak Island. That village of about 40 people is to the west of Okmok Volcano and out of the southeasterly path of the ash cloud.
Editing by Daisuke Wakabayashi and Bill Trott
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. | Volcano Eruption | July 2008 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Weeks after the First Lady of Lesotho Maesiah Thabane was arrested and charged with the killing of former First Lady Lipolelo Thabane, it is announced that current Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane will also be charged with the murder in the upcoming hours. He also announced he will be stepping down at the end of July citing old age. | MASERU (Reuters) - Lesotho’s Prime Minister Thomas Thabane will be charged with the murder of his late wife, the deputy police commissioner said on Thursday, the latest twist in a love triangle murder case that has stunned the southern African highland kingdom.
Lesotho PM to be charged with murder of former wife
01:03
The 80-year-old Thabane took to the radio to announce that he would step down at the end of July, but he did not mention the case.
He instead cited old age as a reason for quitting as premier of the tiny, mountainous territory encircled by South Africa and which has a long history of political instability.
Thabane had been under mounting pressure over the death of former first lady Lipolelo, who was shot dead in June 2017 near her home in the capital Maseru two days before he took office.
The prime minister’s current wife, Maesaiah Thabane, was detained this month and charged with ordering the murder, but is currently out on bail.
“The prime minister is going to be charged with the murder. The police are preparing directives and he will probably be charged tomorrow,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Paseka Mokete told Reuters by telephone.
Both she and Thomas, who married two months after Lipolelo’s killing, have denied any involvement in her death.
His spokesman Relebohile Moyeye said by telephone that he could not comment because he had not yet seen the police charges.
Police say that Maesaiah, 42, hired eight assassins to kill the former first lady but that she was not present at the shooting.
Lipolelo, then 58, and Thabane were going through an acrimonious divorce at the time. An unknown assailant shot her dead in her car.
The prime minister’s resignation comes days after his party’s executive council called for him to step down immediately.
“I have served my country diligently,” Thabane said on state radio.
“I’ve worked for a peaceful and stable Lesotho. Today ... at my age, I have lost most of my energy ... I hereby retire as prime minister with effect from the end of July.”
Thabane is set to appear in court on the murder charges on Friday, the deputy commissioner said, adding that the charge sheet had already been prepared but that Thabane’s lawyers had requested an extra day.
“I think it’s high time he goes (from office) but I don’t know why it’s taking so long. He has to go for the sake of the nation,” Malineo Stoffels, a 30-year-old businesswoman who sells grilled meat and rice from a food van, said after listening to the announcement on a taxi radio in Maseru.
“Everyone is talking about us (Lesotho), the economy has gone down,” she said. “It has to end”.
Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Hugh Lawson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
More From Reuters
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U.S. Roman Catholic bishops vote to draft Communion statement that may rebuke Biden for abortion views | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | February 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
2010 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Hermine slams into northern Mexico near the border with Texas. | By Cyntia BarreraMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Hermine slammed into northeastern Mexico near the Texas border on Monday, dumping heavy rain on a region still recovering from Hurricane Alex's visit in June.Hermine, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to weaken as it moved ashore but could trigger deadly flooding and tornadoes, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.Authorities in Tamaulipas state where the storm made landfall evacuated 3,000 people from high-risk areas but had no immediate reports of damage or injuries.The storm's forecast path kept it away from major oil and natural gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico, and energy companies said there had been no affect on their operations.The Miami-based hurricane centre warned the storm could dump heavy rain on the coastal region and would pack a 2-to-4-foot (0.75-to-1.25-metre) storm surge that could cause deadly flash flooding and mudslides.Hermine made landfall at about 8:30 p.m. CDT (9:30 p.m. British time) around 40 miles (65 km) south of the Texas border city of Brownsville. After moving inland, its winds diminished to 60 mph (95 kph). The storm was forecast to weaken further on Tuesday as it kept moving over land.Hurricane Alex hit northeastern Mexico in July, killing 12 people and causing heavy flooding in the business capital of Monterrey. Damage from the storm was estimated at $700 million.Hermine was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches (10 cm to 20 cm) of rain over northeastern Mexico and south Texas, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches (30 cm) possible, the hurricane centre said.In the Mexican coastal city of Matamoros, residents braced for flooding as authorities remained on high alert. The drainage system is often clogged with garbage and prone to overflow during heavy rains."Every time there is a hurricane or a storm, we have problems," said Rene Polanco, 48, who works in a supermarket in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville. "It's because of poor drainage in the city."At least 30 residential areas could be in danger from floods, although no evacuations had started yet, an official for the city's civil protection said.In the Atlantic, the remnant of Tropical Storm Gaston continued to move westward and had a medium chance of reforming as a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.Storm models predicted Gaston would travel almost due west, which would take it very close to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.Energy traders keep a close eye on potentially violent storms approaching the Gulf because it is home to about 30 percent of U.S. oil production, 11 percent of natural gas production and more than 43 percent of U.S. refinery capacity.The hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 and is currently in its peak period. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | September 2010 | ['(Reuters via Swiss Info)'] |
The 75–year–old official who got a javelin in the throat at a junior athletics meeting, on Sunday in Düsseldorf, dies. | An official at an athletics event in the German city of Dusseldorf has died after being speared in the throat with a javelin.
The 74-year-old man was rushed to hospital after the accident on Sunday but died of his injuries.
The official, named locally as Dieter Strack, had gone to measure a throw but was hit by a javelin before it hit the ground, according to local media.
The competition was called off after the incident.
The 15-year-old competitor who threw the javelin is receiving psychological counselling, police spokesman Andre Hartwig told the Associated Press.
A statement on the website of the local athletics association identified the man as Mr Strack and said he was a "much-loved and experienced" sports judge.
"All of us who were there are horrified and in shock... We will always remember Dieter Strack," the statement said. Occasional accidents occur in athletics disciplines such as the javelin and the hammer, but deaths are extremely rare.
In 2007, French long jumper Salim Sdiri was speared by a javelin at an athletics meeting in Rome and had to be taken to hospital for his injuries. | Famous Person - Death | August 2012 | ['(Yahoo! Eurosports)', '(BBC)'] |
A prototype Transrapid Maglev train crashes into a maintenance vehicle on elevated track in Emsland, Germany, killing 23 people and severely injuring 10. | German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site of a German high-speed train crash on a test route in Emsland where 23 people died when the Transrapid train hit a maintenance vehicle.
Human error is though to have been the cause of the crash
Police involved in the 150-person rescue operation said they had recovered 15 bodies early Friday evening, adding that the others were still thought to be trapped in the wreckage of the magnetic levitation train. Ten people survived with serious injuries.
"There's little hope of finding anyone alive in the wreckage," said a police spokesman seven hours after the collision on an elevated test track in Emsland, northern Germany.
In addition to Merkel, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee interrupted a trip in China to return to Germany. The chancellor and German President Horst Köhler sent their condolences to the families of the victims and thanked those who took part in the rescue operations.
Transrapid crashed into maintenance train
A crane lifts parts of the destroyed train on Friday
The magnetic levitation train was reported to be traveling at some 170 kilometers (106 miles) per hour when it hit a maintenance train. What led to the accident remains unclear, but a spokesman for the operators of the track said initial investigations appeared to rule out a technical fault, indicating that human error was to blame. The maintenance train was tasked with the daily cleaning of the Transrapid's track and was supposed to be removed from the track before the Transrapid starts on the 31.5-kilometer-long test track, which is four meters above the ground between Dörpen and Lathen close to the Dutch border. "This accident would not have been possible if all regulations were adhered to," said Rudolf Schwarz, head of operators IABG, who additionally pledged to clarify the circumstances surrounding the accident "as soon as possible."
Some of the 29 passengers were family members and friends of employees who work for the firm that operates the track. Others worked for the energy provider RWE. Two people working on the maintenance vehicle were among the injured.
Private groups are often taken for pleasure trips on the maglev, which is capable of speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour.
Plans for a Transrapid in Germany
Maglev trains, called Transrapid in German, float on a magnetic field and are propelled by a linear induction motor and follow guidance tracks with magnets. The Transrapid was built by a Siemens and ThyssenKrupp consortium between 1980 and 1984. ThyseenKrupp just this week threatened to sell the technology to China should Germany not build its own Transrapid line in Munich in the near future.
Talks on a 38-kilometer-Transrapid link from Munich to its airport are stalled over who will foot the 1.85 billion euro ($2.35 billion) bill.
Transportation Minister Tiefensee said Friday's accident would not have any bearing on the outcome of the Munich project.
German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp has threatened to sell the high-tech magnetic levitation technology used by the Transrapid train to China if German authorities fail to approve a domestic rail link for it in Munich. Germany's Transrapid consortium is still negotiating the conditions for expanding a magnetic-levitation rail connection in China. But, several cities there are vying to be the first to produce a similar rail system.
China has mastered a key part of the German technology to build high-speed magnetic levitation trains and is now aiming to cut the costs of its new line by one third, according to state press. | Train collisions | September 2006 | ['(Washington Post/Reuters)', '(BBC)', '(Deutsche Welle)'] |
The outgoing speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria, Dimeji Bankole, is arrested on fraud charges. | Mr. Bankole, who had ended his term with the Nigerian parliament on Thursday June 2, has be
en arrested for economic crimes including the alleged mismanagement of a 10 billion naira (64.5 million dollars) bank loan obtained by the parliament prior to the country's elections in April.
Local media reported that Mr. Bankole had ignored two earlier writs for questioning by the anti-corruption agency and resisted arrest on Friday June 3rd. According to eyewitness reports, he was arrested after a four-hour blockade on his official residence in the highbrow Asokoro District of the Federal capital territory, Abuja at 7:00 GMT.He was later driven away to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Headquarters.
"The former speaker will remain in custody to enable him to have sufficient time to answer questions on the numerous fraud allegations against him," a statement released by EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi. According to him "the former speaker was planning to leave Abuja for Lagos on Sunday evening and thereafter flee the country through an illegal route".
Selfish and Fraudulent
Mr. Bankole, a businessman before being elected to the House at age 37, was accused of spending over N52b as travel expenses, an act many members of the House of Representative described as “selfish and fraudulent.”
A former Director of Freight Agencies Nigeria Limited from 1995 until 1998, Executive Director of Operations of West African Aluminum Products Limited from 1998 until 2003, and Director of ASAP Limited from 2000 until 2003, Mr. Bankole is the youngest Speaker in the history of the House. However, his career has been strewn with accusations of financial crimes. "There has been a pending allegation over a three-billion-naira cars purchase; there has been another pending over alleged misappropriation of nine billion naira budgetary allocation; and there is the latest allegation of misappropriation of 25 billion naira which is made up of 15 billion budgetary allocation and 10 billion naira which is a loan," Babafemi told AFP.
The administration of President Jonathan vowed to tackle endemic corruption in Africa's most populous nation. Meanwhile, observers say the Nigerian anti-graft police established to lead the battle against corruption have scored another point in its credibility register.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | June 2011 | ['(Daily Nation)', '(The Africa Report)'] |
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declares a state of emergency in Bangkok after clashes between groups of pro- and anti-government protesters resulted in one death and 43 injuries. | Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has declared a state of emergency in the capital Bangkok, after clashes left at least one person dead.
Dozens more were hurt in the worst violence seen in Bangkok for 16 years.
Mr Samak said he had "no choice" but to impose the measure in order to end the week-old revolt by supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
But the army commander has promised that his men will not use force to disperse the protesters.
Separately, in a fresh blow to the government, the Thai election commission recommended that Mr Samak's People Power Party be disbanded over claims of vote-buying in elections last December.
The recommendation will not lead to immediate action against the party, as it must now be considered by the public prosecutor's office, but correspondents say it piles further pressure on Mr Samak's government.
If the prosecutor submits the case to the Constitutional Court and the ruling is upheld, Mr Samak and other top party leaders would be banned from politics for five years.
PAD supporters say the government is a front for Thaksin Shinawatra - the former prime minister, now in exile, whom the PAD was instrumental in removing in a coup in 2006.
The PAD has a passionate following in various parts of the country, especially Bangkok, and some powerful backers among the elite.
But it has little support in most of rural Thailand, which voted strongly for Prime Minister Samak, and Mr Thaksin before him.
The street clashes began shortly after midnight, when a screaming crowd of government supporters - armed with sticks and slingshots - ploughed into a group from the PAD, who have been occupying the prime minister's office.
Amid the ensuing fighting, some gunshots were fired - both sides are now reported to possess some firearms.
One person died, and TV pictures showed some of the 43 people injured lying bleeding on the ground.
For much of the time, police officers simply stood on the sidelines, our correspondent says. But by daybreak, the situation was reportedly calmer, with unarmed troops trying to keep the two sides apart. Please turn on Thai PM Samak Sundaravej on Bangkok's state of emergency
The prime minister said that emergency rule would not last long.
"No-one has the right to do such a thing as they have done," said Mr Samak, in a televised news conference.
"I had no other choice but to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok in order to solve the problem for once and for all.
"The military and police will carry out the implementation."
The army commander, General Anupong Paojinda, now has special powers to:
But the BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says Gen Anupong appeared decidedly uncomfortable with his new role when he spoke to reporters.
He repeated his insistence that the conflict between the government supporters and opponents was a political one which the army could not resolve - leaving Prime Minister Samak with his hands tied, our correspondent says.
The PAD insists its supporters will not move from the government building, despite the state of emergency.
"There are not enough jails to put us all into," one of the alliance leaders, Chamlong Srimuang, told thousands of PAD demonstrators.
One anti-government protester, a trained doctor who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC he had treated some of the injured after the clashes last night.
"The major injuries were taken to hospital straight away but I looked after the people with wounds and lacerations on the head," he said. "They couldn't tell me anything about what happened - they were very confused."
But he added that people had been apprehensive since the state of emergency was declared.
"Our leaders have tried to call on all the people of Thailand to come out and join the protest so that we have enough people to prevent violence. We believe that the more people know and join, then we remain safe," he said.
Strikes called
This crisis began exactly a week ago when thousands of PAD supporters took to the streets of Bangkok and forced their way into government buildings.
Protesters went on to shut down airports and rail services. Public sector unions said they would begin a nationwide strike at 43 state enterprises on Wednesday unless the prime minister stepped down.
The State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation also threatened to cut off water, electricity and phone service at government offices and disrupt flights.
Our correspondent in Bangkok says there appear to be very few ways out of this crisis, with the country so bitterly divided. | Protest_Online Condemnation | September 2008 | ['(BBC News)'] |
Fernando Haddad is elected mayor of São Paulo, giving the governing Workers' Party control of Brazil's financial capital and biggest city. | Fernando Haddad of Brazil's governing Workers' Party (PT) has been elected mayor of Sao Paulo, the country's biggest city and financial capital. Mr Haddad, a former education minister, defeated Jose Serra of the Social Democratic Party (PSDB) by 56% to 44%. Mr Haddad had received vigorous backing from ex-president Lula and President Dilma Rousseff, both of the PT. The local elections are seen as a test of the parties' strength ahead of the 2014 presidential poll. From 1994 until 2002, the PSDB held the presidency with Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Since then the PT has been in the post, first with Lula and from 2010 with President Rousseff. Mr Haddad, who began his campaign with just 3% support, thanked Lula and President Rousseff for their role in his victory which saw the PSDB lose control of Sao Paulo after eight years. "We're going to reduce the huge inequality that exists in Sao Paulo. We're simultaneously one of the richest and most unequal cities on the planet," Mr Haddad said.
Sao Paulo, home to 11 million people, is Brazil's financial and business hub, but as a sprawling megacity suffers from chronic traffic congestion, inadequate infrastructure and security problems. Voting took place on Sunday in cities where no candidate had won an outright majority in the first round on 7 October. The PT did not enjoy success everywhere, losing by big margins in Salvador and Fortaleza, two of the biggest cities in Brazil's north-east.
In Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes of the Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) was re-elected mayor in the first round and will be in charge during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
| Government Job change - Election | October 2012 | ['(BBC)', '(Los Angeles Times)'] |
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