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American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006 for Capote, is found dead in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 46. Authorities initially attributed the death to a drug overdose. | Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose — with a hypodermic needle still stuck in his arm and 70 baggies of the drug inside his Greenwich Village pad Sunday, authorities said. He was 46.
The acclaimed screen and stage star was discovered in his underwear on the bathroom floor of his $9,800-a-month rental after missing a morning appointment to pick up his three young kids from their mother, his estranged girlfriend, Mimi O’Donnell, law-enforcement sources said.
He was declared dead at the scene, a needle in his left forearm. A source said it was clear that the “Capote’’ star had been dead “for hours.”
Hoffman — a versatile and prolific actor famed for his vivid portrayals of troubled souls — had repeatedly struggled with substance abuse. He spent 10 days in rehab last year for abusing prescription pills and heroin after 23 years of sobriety.
Cops found five empty glassine envelopes in a garbage can, two more under the bed and one on a table in the apartment, along with a charred spoon in the kitchen sink, sources said.
“He was shooting up in the bathroom,” a law-enforcement source said.
The drug envelopes were marked “Ace of Spades,” which sources said is a brand of heroin that has not been seen on city streets since around 2008 in Brooklyn.
Police later executed a search warrant and found 70 glassine envelopes of heroin inside a desk. In addition to the “Ace of Spades,” investigators also found packages marked “Ace of Hearts” and one with a playing-card jack stamped on it.
Hoffman’s body was found at about 11:15 a.m. by a screenwriter pal, David Bar Katz, and Isabella “Bella” Wing-Davey, Hoffman’s personal assistant, who performed CPR. They called 911 at 11:36 a.m. Hoffman was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.
Reached by phone, Katz confirmed, “Yes, I was the one who found him . . . But, honestly, right now isn’t the time to talk about this . . . I apologize.”
Wing-Davey let Katz into the apartment after getting a call from O’Donnell, with whom Hoffman had lived until moving out three months ago, a law enforcement source said.
“They were apparently estranged. They were living separate lives. He was living over here, she was living over there. You do the math,’’ the source said.
Wing-Davey, according to her LinedIn page, has written and produced a number of short indy flicks, including “Candlesticks,” whose credits list Hoffman as an associate producer.
She is the daughter of Mark Wing-Davey, chairman of the graduate acting department at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a longtime friend of the troubled actor.
. | Famous Person - Death | February 2014 | ['(NY Post)'] |
British police arrest five people in the English town of Luton on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. | Five men have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard has said.
They were arrested at separate addresses in Luton, Beds, in an "intelligence-led" operation, the Metropolitan Police added.
The men, aged between 21 and 35, are being held at a London police station.
The BBC understands there was no imminent threat to the UK, but the arrests are described as significant. The arrests have been made under the Terrorism Act 2000 by unarmed Metropolitan Police officers assisted by Bedfordshire Police.
A statement from the Bedfordshire force said "there is no danger to the other nearby residents" and the families of those arrested have been advised to find alternative accommodation while the searches continue.
The BBC understands the arrests were made as part of a Met Police anti-terrorism operation codenamed Nimrod.
The operation in Luton is linked to searches at five addresses in the town on 2 September 2011, although they may not be the same five as those where the arrests took place on Tuesday morning.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
The death toll from the earthquake passes 7000 and is expected to rise much higher. | Updated 3 May 2015, 7:33pmSun 3 May 2015, 7:33pm
A police team from Nepal has pulled out the bodies of about 50 people, including some foreign trekkers, from an avalanche-hit area, officials say, as the death toll from last month's devastating earthquake climbed to more than 7,000.
None of the bodies have been identified, deputy superintendent of police in the northern district of Rasuwa, Pravin Pokharel, said.
Mr Pokharel, who led the police team, said the bodies were pulled out on Saturday (local time), a week after the earthquake, and rescuers would return to the remote area on Sunday.
At least 200 people are still missing in the area, including villagers and trekkers, said Uddhav Bhattarai, a senior bureaucrat in the district.
"We had not been able to reach the area earlier because of rains and cloudy weather," he said by telephone.
The government said the death toll from the earthquake had reached 7,040 and 14,123 people had been injured.
The finance minister said, however, the death toll would climb "much higher" as emergency workers reached remote villages.
"There are still villages where we know that all houses have been destroyed, but have not yet been able to reach. "The aftershocks have not receded and we expect the final casualty numbers to climb much higher," said Ram Sharan Mahat.
US military aircraft and personnel are due to arrive in Nepal on Sunday, a day later than expected, to help ferry relief supplies to stricken areas outside the capital Kathmandu, a US Marines spokeswoman said.
Marine Brigadier General Paul Kennedy said the delayed US contingent included at least 100 soldiers, lifting equipment and six military aircraft, two of them helicopters.
The team arrives as criticism mounted over a pile-up of relief material at Kathmandu airport, the only international gateway to the Himalayan nation, because of customs inspections.
United Nations resident representative Jamie McGoldrick said the government must loosen its normal customs restrictions to deal with the increasing flow of relief material pouring in from abroad.
But the government, complaining it has received unneeded supplies such as tuna and mayonnaise, insisted its customs agents had to check all emergency shipments.
"They should not be using peacetime customs methodology," Mr McGoldrick said. Instead, he argued, all relief material should get a blanket exemption from checks on arrival.
Brigadier General Kennedy also warned against bottlenecks at Kathmandu airport, saying: "What you don't want to do is build up a mountain of supplies" that block space for planes or more supplies.
Nepal lifted import taxes on tarpaulins and tents on Friday but home ministry spokesman, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, said all goods coming in from overseas had to be inspected.
"This is something we need to do," he said.
Nepalese government officials said efforts to step up the pace of delivery of relief material to remote areas were also frustrated by a shortage of supply trucks and drivers, many of whom had returned to their villages to help their families.
"Our granaries are full and we have ample food stock, but we are not able to transport supplies at a faster pace," manager at the Nepal Food Corp, Shrimani Raj Khanal, said.
Army helicopters have air-dropped instant noodles and biscuits to remote communities but people need rice and other ingredients to cook a proper meal, he said.
Many Nepalis have been sleeping in the open since the quake, with survivors afraid to return to their homes because of powerful aftershocks. Tents have been pitched in Kathmandu's main sports stadium and on its golf course.
According to the United Nations, 600,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged.
The UN said eight million of Nepal's 28 million people were affected, with at least two million needing tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months.
The top priorities now are getting aid and shelter to people before the monsoon season starts within weeks and adds to the difficulty in distributing relief supplies, World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin said.
"Our fear is the monsoon will come early," she said.
Disease is also a worry. "Hospitals are overflowing, water is scarce, bodies are still buried under the rubble and people are still sleeping in the open," Rownak Khan, UNICEF's deputy representative in Nepal, said in a statement.
"This is a perfect breeding ground for diseases."
Bhaktapur residents clear the rubble from their homes which were destroyed in the earthquake. (Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
People wait for aid, part of earthquake relief efforts, to be distributed in Dhunche on May 4, 2015. (Reuters: Olivia Harris)
An elderly woman sits outside a destroyed dwelling in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
A satellite dish sits on the outside of a house in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
Damage from the Nepal earthquake in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
People sort through the remains of a dwelling in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
Damage from the Nepal earthquake in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
Destroyed dwelling in Solu Khumbu. (Tenzin Khando Sherpa)
Nepalese military personnel try to salvage supplies among the debris at Arugat village in Gorkha, Nepal. (Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
Members of the Nepalese Armed Police Force work at the ruins of the hotel. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Earthquake survivor Pemba Tamang, 15, is rescued by the Armed Police Force from the collapsed Hilton Guesthouse after the earthquake in Kathmandu. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
CCTV footage shows a building collapsing when the earthquake struck Kathmandu. (YouTube: Setopati Online)
Villagers walk among debris in Asslang village in Gorkha. (Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
Nepalese riot police watch on as earthquake survivors show their anger after promised special bus services failed to materialise. (AFP: Philippe Lopez)
A man walks through the rubble of houses damaged by the earthquake in Bhaktapur near Kathmandu. (AFP: Menahem Kahana)
Nepalese people gather near temporary shelters set up in open areas. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
People hauling belongings from unsafe homes in Bhaktapur after an earthquake in Nepal. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
A woman sits among the rubble of her house in a village in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal. (Reuters: Danish Siddiqui)
The aircraft are carrying nearly 15 tonnes of Australian aid as well as two RAAF aero medical evacuation teams. (Facebook: Mark Binskin)
A woman walks by buildings destroyed by the earthquake in Nepal. (Supplied: Caritas Australia)
Collapsed buildings in Kathmandu after the earthquake. (Supplied: Caritas Australia)
Nepalese police help rescue injured people from collapsed buildings. (Supplied: Caritas Australia)
People evacuating into a public space in Nepal. (Supplied: Caritas Australia)
People camped on the grounds of a school in Nepal. (Supplied: Caritas Australia)
A man sits on the rubble of his damaged house following Saturday's earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal April 27, 2015. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
A man cries as he walks on the street while passing through a damaged statue of Lord Buddha a day after an earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Nepalese people shelter in tents in Kathmandu after the earthquake. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
People carry the body of a victim on a stretcher, which was trapped in the debris after the earthquake hit Kathmandu. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Nepalese rescue personnel help a trapped earthquake survivor in Kathmandu. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
A collapsed building in Kathmandu. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Nepalese people stay outside in tents on the outskirts of Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. (AFP: Prakash Singh)
A man runs in Bhaktapur, Nepal as aftershocks of an earthquake are felt. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
A family rushes for safety during a strong aftershock in Kathmandu. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
A mass cremation takes place for earthquake victims in Kathmandu. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
Rubble in Nepal's city of Patan following an earthquake. (ABC: Siobhan Heanue)
People gather near the cracks on the road in Bhaktapur caused by the earthquake. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar )
Rubble in Nepal's city of Patan following an earthquake. (ABC: Siobhan Heanue)
People look at collapsed buildings in Swatha Square, Patan, Kathmandu. (Supplied: Edyta Stepczak/Caritas Australia)
At least 50 people were killed when this hotel in tourist hotspot Thamel collapsed. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
An injured person is carried by rescue members at Everest Base Camp. (AFP: Roberto Schmidt)
A cloud of snow and debris flies towards Everest Base Camp. (AFP: Roberto Schmidt)
Rescue team personnel carry an injured person towards a waiting rescue helicopter at Everest Base Camp. (AFP: Roberto Schmidt)
Rescue team member works to dig out the trapped body of a woman from a collapsed house in Bhaktapur, a day after the earthquake. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
A Nepalese man and woman hold each other in Kathmandu's Durbar Square. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
A man wearing a face mask climbs down a pile of rubble. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
People sit with their belongings outside a damaged temple in Kathmandu. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Nepalese people wheel an injured man into an open area in Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
A collapsed building is pictured after an earthquake hits Kathmandu. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
A building collapsed on a car in Swatha Square, Patan, Kathmandu. (Supplied: Edyta Stepczak/Caritas Australia)
People search for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
People clearing rubble to search for survivors. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
A family checks on their children after the earthquake. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
People climb a mountain of rubble in the Patan district. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
A man stands surrounded by dust and bricks in the Patan district. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
People clear rubble in Kathmandu's Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was severely damaged by the deadly earthquake. (AFP: Prakash Mathema)
People search through rubble in the aftermath of the earthquake. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
An earthquake measuring magnitude 7.9 has caused devastation in Nepal. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
People take refuge at a school in Kathmandu after the earthquake. (Reuters: Navesh Chitrakar)
Volunteers clear away the frames of broken walls in the Patan district in Kathmandu. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
Ornate buildings reduced to rubble in the Patan district in Kathmandu. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
Onlookers survey the damage after buildings collapse in Kathmandu. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
A surviving building surrounded by others that have collapsed in the Patan district in Kathmandu. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
Statues lay among the rubble in the Patan district. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)
Reuters
Topics:
earthquake,
disasters-and-accidents,
avalanche,
community-and-society,
nepal,
asia
First posted 3 May 2015, 4:10pmSun 3 May 2015, 4:10pm
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| Earthquakes | May 2015 | ['(Reuters via ABC News Australia)'] |
Verizon Communications buys Yahoo! for $4.83 billion in cash, ending the latter's over 20–year run as an independent corporation. | NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc said on Monday it would buy Yahoo Inc’s core internet properties for $4.83 billion in cash, marking the end of the line for a storied Web pioneer and setting the stage for a big new internet push by the telecom giant.
Verizon VZ.N will combine Yahoo's YHOO.O search, email and messenger assets as well as advertising technology tools with its AOL unit, which it bought last year for $4.4 billion. Verizon has been looking to mobile video and advertising for new sources of revenue outside the oversaturated wireless market.
The No. 1 U.S. wireless operator is betting that it can take data on more than 200 million unique monthly visitors to Yahoo sites, many of them on mobile devices, and combine it with data on 150 million or so unique monthly AOL users and data on its own user base of over 100 million wireless subscribers to offer a more targeted service for advertisers.
Barclays said last month Verizon could save $500 million a year in costs of acquiring internet traffic and other expenses by buying Yahoo’s internet business.
The deal likely means more investment in popular content sites such as AOL’s Huffington Post and Yahoo Finance when they become part of a much larger entity.
“It now becomes somewhat easier to justify investing in content,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research.
Verizon said it would provide more detail on the strategy behind the acquisition when it announces second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
The deal came after activist investors led by Starboard Value LP lost faith in Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who was hired in 2012, and forced what became a protracted sale process.
Yahoo, founded in 1994, was a dominant player in the early days of the internet, but has long lost its leadership position in internet search and advertising to Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google, Facebook Inc FB.O and others.
Mayer said on a conference call with investors that she planned to stay at Yahoo through the deal’s close. Marni Walden, head of product innovation and new business at Verizon, will head the combined internet unit and said no decisions had yet been made on the management team.
“Yahoo gives us scale that is what is most critical here,” said Walden, adding that the company’s audience will go from the millions to the billions. “We want to compete and that is the place we need to be.”
Mayer, in an interview with Reuters, said she still saw a “path to growth” for Yahoo, especially in mobile. “What’s exciting about the Verizon transaction is that it brings us back to growth sooner,” she said. She said she was “open-minded” about a possible role with the combined companies.
But analysts expect AOL CEO Tim Armstrong - like Mayer a one-time Google executive - to be the driving force behind the combined companies.
Yahoo is still one of the largest properties on the internet, with hundreds of millions of customers using its email, finance and sports offerings, among others, and a heavily trafficked home page.
But Google has a stranglehold on the internet search business and built an industry-leading email service, while Facebook dominates in mobile and social media. Meanwhile, traditional web banner advertising, long Yahoo’s strength, has become much less lucrative in the age of mobile and video.
“It’s a decade of mismanagement that has finally ended for Yahoo,” said Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner. “It’s the continuation of an extension of Verizon’s strategy toward becoming a wireless internet player and a move away from (telecom) regulation for Verizon into an unregulated growth industry.
Under Armstrong, AOL has beefed up its advertising technology with a string of acquisitions, and launched the mobile video service go90. Verizon has not disclosed how financially successful the unit has been, but Armstrong, known as a formidable salesman, has clearly won the confidence of Verizon’s leaders.
The integration of Yahoo will not come without challenges. In its latest results, it reported a second-quarter net loss of $439.9 million as it wrote down the value of Tumblr, the microblogging and social media service it acquired in 2013 for $1.1 billion.
Even with AOL and Yahoo, Verizon would still be far behind s Google and Facebook. According to eMarketer, Yahoo is expected to generate $2.32 billion in net U.S. digital ad sales, while AOL is expected to make $1.3 billion in 2016. Facebook and Google are forecast to deliver sales of $10.3 billion and $24.63 billion, respectively, by the end of this year.
The Verizon deal would transform Yahoo into a holding company, with a 15 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N and a 35.5 percent interest in Yahoo Japan Corp 4689.T as well as Yahoo's convertible notes, certain minority investments and its non-core patents. Yahoo executives said the remaining company is structured to “indefinitely” hold its Yahoo Japan and Alibaba stakes. They are worth about $40 billion based on their market capitalizations, while Yahoo had a market value of about $37.4 billion at Friday’s close.
| Organization Merge | July 2016 | ['(Los Angeles Times)', '(Reuters)'] |
Turkish Airlines plane with 114 people aboard makes an emergency landing at Izmir, Turkey, after it was struck by lightning and one of its engines caught fire. | By Daniel Miller Published: 16:22 BST, 25 January 2013 | Updated: 18:03 BST, 25 January 2013 38
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This is the terrifying moment when a packed passenger jet's engine exploded into flames after it was struck by lightning. Sparks and flames are seen spouting from crippled engine as the Turkish Airlines plane with 114 people aboard is forced to make an emergency landing. Gasps can be heard around the cabin as the lights are switched off and passengers ordered to stay in their seats.
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Airline terror: Sparks shoot out of the crippled plane's engine after it was hit by lightning
Flames: The Turkish Airlines jet with 114 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing
One passenger sitting close to the wing captured footage of the burning engine on their mobile phone while footage from the ground shows the plane streaking through the night sky leaving trail of fire in its wake.
The airline said the jet was en route to Izmir from Istanbul, and had been preparing to land at Izmir when the lightning struck late Thursday. The pilot quickly activated the motor's own fire extinguishing gear, declared an emergency and landed safely. The company said no one was hurt. Amateur footage taken from the ground shows flames trailing from the plane as it hurtles through the night sky
Gasps can be heard around the cabin as the lights are switched off and passengers to ordered to stay in their seats.
Amateur video taken from the ground and broadcast by private NTV television showed a flame shooting in the night sky. The state-run Anadolu agency said residents in Izmir who witnessed the flame rushed to the airport for news of the plane.
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The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. | Air crash | January 2013 | ['(The Telegraph)', '(Daily Mail)', '(Voice of Russia)', '[permanent dead link]', '(Ynet)'] |
Pressure is raised in Hungary for authorities to arrest alleged former Nazi war criminal László Csatáry, 97, who was discovered living in Hungary. Csatáry is wanted in connection with his role in the deportation of Jews to death camps during the Second World War. | HUNGARY is under pressure to prosecute the world's most wanted surviving Nazi war criminal after France demanded that ''there can be no immunity'' for those accused of carrying out the Holocaust.
The French foreign ministry joined Nazi hunters and Jewish community groups in calling on Hungarian prosecutors to arrest Laszlo Csatary, 97, for his role in the deportation of 15,700 Jews to Auschwitz.
''We believe that Nazi criminals, wherever they are, must answer for their acts before justice,'' a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said.
Csatary, who tops the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's most-wanted list of Nazi war criminals, was discovered living in Budapest under his own name.
He had been living in Canada but left when he was found by investigators in 1995.
Csatary fled Europe after being sentenced to death in absentia in 1948 by a Czech court. He was found guilty of crimes committed while he was a police chief in Kosice, then part of Hungary.
He was renowned for his brutality and was said to have beaten women with a whip and forced them to dig holes with their hands. During the war, he deported thousands of Jews to death camps and is accused of complicity in the killing of at least 16,000 people.
Csatary has officially been under investigation by the Hungarian authorities since September 11, 2011. It was reported locally that he has been under police surveillance since April. Sources told The Daily Telegraph that the investigation was taking a long time because the crimes ''took place 68 years ago in an area that now falls under the jurisdiction of another country''.
Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem, handed more evidence to Hungarian prosecutors last week, highlighting Csatary's key role in the deportation of about 300 Jews. Almost all were murdered.
He said he was frustrated by the lack of action by Hungarian authorities. ''This man is healthy and he drives his own car,'' he said. ''Nothing has happened and I am very frustrated.
''The passage of time does not diminish his guilt and old age should not provide protection for the perpetrators of the Holocaust.''
Jewish students protested in the street where Csatary lives on Monday night, demanding his immediate arrest. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2012 | ['(Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
As protests enter its eighth day, President Michel Aoun in a televised address states he is willing to meet with protestors and offers support for various reforms, such as increasing transparency for banks and lifting immunity for government officials. He however states that changes “can only happen through state institutions" in response to calls to bring down the government. | President Michel Aoun says he is ready for dialogue with protesters to find the best solution for ongoing crisis.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has expressed willingness to meet protesters to find the best solution for the country’s worsening economic crisis, and suggested a government reshuffle was on the table.
Thursday’s call for dialogue came as anti-government protests in Lebanon entered an eighth day, paralysing the country despite Prime Minister Saad Hariri introducing a package of reforms, including cutting ministerial salaries.
The leaderless protests were triggered by new proposed taxes, and have escalated into a nationwide revolt against the country’s sectarian-based leaders whom the demonstrators accuse of corruption and mismanagement.
Aoun, in a televised address to the nation, called Hariri’s reform package “the first step to save Lebanon and remove the spectre of financial and economic collapse”.
He pledged to fight state corruption as demanded by hundreds of thousands of protesters, saying he would back new laws, including proposals for legislation that would lift bank secrecy and scrap immunity from presidents, ministers and legislators – moves that could pave the way for investigations.
Positioning himself as in solidarity with protest grievances, he said corruption had “eaten us to the bone”.
He pledged to exert every effort to implement radical reform, but also said that change can only come from within state institutions.
“I heard lots of calls for bringing down the regime,” he said. “The regime cannot be changed in the squares… this can only happen through state institutions.”
Both Hariri and Aoun have warned that a government resignation would lead to another vacuum, at a time the country desperately needs a government to enact reforms to help the struggling economy.
However, he did say there was “a need to review the current government”.
“My call to demonstrators: I am ready to meet your representatives that carry your concerns to listen to your specific demands. You will hear from us about our fears over financial collapse,” he said.
“Dialogue is always the best for salvation. I am waiting for you.”
Aoun’s comments are his first since the protests started on Thursday, but his speech was met with derision at demonstrations in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and other cities.
Dozens of protesters listening to the speech on loudspeakers outside parliament in Beirut booed it and resumed their calls for fundamental reform.
Among them, Rabah Shahrour said he was fed up with hearing the same speeches for years.
“We were looking for a little hope from him,” he told the AFP news agency. “But sadly the president today spoke in generalities. We’ve being hearing these generalities for three years, and they haven’t led to anything.”
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said Aoun’s pledges were not enough to sway protesters.
“The protesters don’t trust the people in power. They want a technocrat government, ministers who are not affiliated with the different political parties, who will work in the interests of Lebanon. They also want early elections – Aoun addressed that. “He said if you want change, it has to go through constitutional means, change cannot come from the street. What he means is the next election, the ballot box. So clearly he didn’t meet the demands of the protesters but he is reaching out to protesters.”
Commenting on Aoun’s address, Lebanese journalist Jamal Ghosn told Al Jazeera that the president’s speech appeared to be a government tactic to try to “defuse the protests”.
“They [the Lebanese government] will try to break up the protest by any means possible and they don’t seem open to change,” he explained.
Ghosn added that unless the protesters continue to demonstrate, it was unlikely the government will address their concerns.
“If they [the protesters] have the staima to keep things going [for more than one week] then we might see things change.
“Another option would be for the protests to escalate and put more pressure [on the state],” he added.
Standoff with troops and concerns over top brass’s link to gov’t prompt demonstrators to debate army’s role in protests.
After a week of mass demonstrations, protesters are refusing to leave the streets until the government steps down.
Much of central Beirut was at a standstill for almost a week after what started as protests over WhatsApp tax.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | October 2019 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
At least four people are killed in mudslides in southern Switzerland and northern Italy after days of heavy rain. | At least four people have been killed in landslides in southern Switzerland and northern Italy following days of torrential rain.
Two women died when a wall of mud destroyed a house near the Swiss town of Lugano on Sunday.
Over the border, a pensioner and his granddaughter were killed when a mudslide engulfed their home.
The heavy rain is expected to continue across the region, and both countries have issued major flood alerts. The levels of lakes Lugano and Maggiore, seen below, are already dangerously high.
Homes and businesses, such as this farm near Italy's Lake Maggiore, have been cut off by rising waters.
The region has had more rain in a few days than it would normally expect in a year.
The Ticino river burst its banks near Vigevano in northern Italy.
Further north, in the Ticino region of Switzerland, rescue workers were searching for survivors on Sunday after mud swept down a hillside and destroyed an apartment building.
Swiss authorities said two women, aged 34 and 38, had died when the mudslide hit the building in the village of Davesco-Soragno.
A third person, a 44-year-old Italian, was rescued from the rubble and taken to hospital.
Relatives were also mourning the deaths of a 70-year old man and his 16-year-old girl in Cerro di Laveno in Italy.
Their house, near Lake Maggiore, was hit by a landslide late on Saturday night.
A neighbour told AFP news agency he had been awoken during the night by a huge bang "like fireworks".
The weekend's landslides are the latest of many to have hit northern Italy and southern Switzerland amid incessant rainfall over recent weeks.
High volumes of water gushed down the Ticino river, seen here in the town of Giornico in southern Switzerland, last week.
At least 11 people have been in killed Italy because of extreme weather over the last month. | Mudslides | November 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
The government of Colombia and FARC rebels sign a ceasefire deal, putting an end to 50 years of conflict in the country between the two sides. | The Colombian government and the Farc rebels have signed a historic ceasefire deal, bringing them closer to ending more than five decades of conflict.
The announcement is seen as one of the last steps before a full peace deal is signed, which is expected within weeks.
Colombia's president and the Farc leader shook hands in celebration.
The longest-running insurgency in the Western Hemisphere left an estimated 220,000 people dead and almost seven million displaced.
The announcement in Havana caps formal peace talks that started three years ago in the Cuban capital.
The Farc in the 21st Century is a strange beast.
Gone is the bipolar vision of the Cold War, and gone too are most of the group's original intellectual architects, many killed in combat.
Today, somewhat anchorless, the rebels continue to go through motions of an armed insurgency but they know a new future is beckoning.
They remain primed for war - machine guns by their beds, handguns under their pillows, all night lookouts keeping watch for an enemy that no longer seems to be searching for them.
But it does not mark the start of the ceasefire, which will only begin with the signing of a final accord.
Colombia's President, Juan Manuel Santos, has previously said he hopes to sign that accord by the end of July.
Thursday's announcement includes:
"Let this be the last day of the war," Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, known as Timochenko, said at the announcement.
Both sides agreed to let the courts rule whether a popular vote can be held in Colombia to endorse the deal, which was a promise made by Mr Santos.
The president said at the ceremony that this was a "historic day".
"We have reached the end of 50 years of death, attacks and pain," he said. "This is the end of the armed conflict with the Farc."
The announcement of the Farc ceasefire dominated the headlines of the online editions of the main Colombian newspapers and other media outlets.
Centre-left newspaper El Espectador featured extensive coverage of the news of the agreement and a banner headline, which reads: "The guns went silent" along a striking image of two guerrilla fighters in action. It also covered the key points of the deal as well as the history of the conflict.
Conservative newspaper El Tiempo emphasised President Juan Manuel Santos's statement that the final agreement would be signed in Colombia, not Cuba. Medellin-based newspaper El Colombiano featured a commentary by former President Alvaro Uribe, who remains sceptical about the prospects for peace, saying "the word peace is wounded."
One of the main national radio networks RCN ran a story citing Farc leader Timochenko saying: "We are going to do politics without arms."
Both sides still need to establish how the peace deal in its entirety will be implemented, verified and approved.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and leaders of Latin American countries also attended the ceremony. More about the rebels
The agreement was welcomed elsewhere, with the EU's foreign representative Federica Mogherini calling it "a turning point in the Colombian peace process".
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that "although hard work remains to be done, the finish line is approaching and nearer now than it has ever been".
| Sign Agreement | June 2016 | ['(BBC)'] |
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem sends a letter to SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations Ban Kimoon in which he writes charges against three Israelis charged with spying for Syria are "baseless" and "fabricated". | Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem sent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon letter saying charges against three residents of northern Israeli villages are baseless.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Thursday sent United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter defending three Israelis charged one day earlier with spying for Syria, the country's Sana news agency reported.
Muallem said that the charges against the three residents of northern Israeli villages are baseless and said Israel fabricated them in order to intimidate the men. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | August 2010 | ['(Haaretz)'] |
China's Alibaba Group Holding Limited acquires Hong Kong's largest English–language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, in a deal reported to be worth about $100 million. | HONG KONG, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited has acquired Hong Kong's largest English-language newspaper in an bid to better communicate the country's prowess as a global economic power and refute negative portrayals of China in Western media, officials said Friday.
Alibaba agreed Friday to buy the media assets of the South China Morning Post -- a newspaper that for years has challenged state-run media with aggressive reporting on hot button issues.
"The agreement combines the heritage and editorial excellence of the SCMP with Alibaba's digital expertise to provide comprehensive and insightful news and analysis of the big stories in Hong Kong and China," Alibaba said in a news release Friday.
The agreement includes the acquisition of the magazine, recruitment, outdoor media, events & conferences, education and digital media businesses of SCMP Group, Alibaba said.
"With proven expertise, especially in mobile Internet, Alibaba is in an excellent position to leverage technology to create content more efficiently and reach a global audience," SCMP CEO Robin Hu said. "We welcome Alibaba's commitment to invest additional resources in its editorial and business operations to make the SCMP even stronger."
"The South China Morning Post is unique because it focuses on coverage of China in the English language. This is a proposition that is in high demand by readers around the world who care to understand the world's second largest economy," said Joe Tsai, executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group. "Our vision is to expand the SCMP's readership globally through digital distribution and easier access to content."
The deal is reported by The New York Times to be worth about $100 million. China's largest e-commerce company, Alibaba does approximately $12 billion in annual revenue and already owns assets in Chinese film and domestic media enterprises.
The Post, owned by the SCMP Group, has been criticized in recent years for toning down its aggressive reporting style.
"Some have suggested that ownership by Alibaba will compromise the SCMP's editorial independence. This criticism reflects a bias of its own, as if to say newspaper owners must espouse certain views, while those that hold opposing views are 'unfit'," Tsai wrote in a letter to readers Friday. "We think the world needs a plurality of views when it comes to China coverage. China's rise as an economic power and its importance to world stability is too important for there to be a singular thesis."
In an interview for the publication, Tsai said the acquisition will have another major impact on the paper's readership: the content will be free. | Organization Merge | December 2015 | ['(UPI)'] |
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, aged 90, announces that recent liver surgery revealed that he is suffering from an as–yet unspecified form of cancer which has spread to other parts of his body. | Aug 12 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Wednesday that recent liver surgery revealed he had cancer that had spread to other parts of his body.
"I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare," Carter, 90, said in a statement. "A more complete public statement will be made when facts are known, possibly next week."
Carter, a Democrat, served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981 after defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford. He was defeated for re-election in 1980 by Republican Ronald Reagan.
The Carter Center in Atlanta said last week that he had undergone elective surgery at Emory University Hospital to remove a small mass in his liver.
It added that the operation had proceeded without issues and that the prognosis was excellent for a full recovery.
© Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks at a press conference to open a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History on January 12, 2015 in New York City. The exhibit, titled "Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease," was developed in collaboration with The Carter Center.
Carter cut short a trip to Guyana in May after feeling unwell and returned to Georgia, where he served as governor and a state senator. He had traveled to the South American country to observe national elections. At the time, the center said only that Carter had departed after "not feeling well."
Republican Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and his wife issued a statement saying Carter was "in their prayers as he goes through treatment."
Carter received words of sympathy and encouragement via Twitter from former CNN host Larry King: "We go back many years. Stay strong Mr. President."
A Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist on a range of issues from global democracy to women and children's rights, as well as affordable housing, Carter published his latest book last month, titled "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety."
In July, he gave a wide-ranging interview to Reuters Editor-at-Large Sir Harold Evans on his life from his childhood on a Georgia peanut farm to his presidency. (http://tmsnrt.rs/1f8BND2)
Carter recalled growing up in a home without running water or electricity, at a time when he said the daily wage was $1 for a man, 75 cents for a woman, and a loaf of bread cost 5 cents.
He said the civil rights movement led to important progress toward racial equality in the United States, but lamented "there's still a great prejudice in police forces against black people and obviously some remnants of extreme racism." | Famous Person - Sick | August 2015 | ['(Reuters via MSN)'] |
Aftershocks continue to strike northern Italy in the wake of yesterday's earthquake, which killed 17 people and left over 14,000 homeless in the Emilia–Romagna region. | More than 50 aftershocks struck northern Italy overnight as thousands of people slept in tents or out in the open for fear of returning to their homes, a day after 16 people lost their lives and more than 300 were injured by a powerful earthquake.
The aftershocks rattled the nerves of the 14,000 people who have been left homeless by the earthquake which hit Emilia-Romagna on Tuesday and a previous one which hit the region on May 20. Rescuers were searching for one missing person – the employee of an electronics warehouse in the town of Medolla, one of the towns at the epicentre of the quake. Experts said the aftershocks could continue for days or even weeks, compounding the fear and uncertainty of the tens of thousands of people affected by the natural disaster in a triangle between the cities of Bologna, Ferrara and Modena. "The aftershocks could go on for several weeks, or even months," Andrea Morelli, the director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, told Corriere della Sera newspaper. The president of the institute, Stefano Gresta, said: "One cannot exclude the possibility that there could be more powerful earthquakes." Tuesday's earthquake hit towns and villages which were already battered from the quake of May 20. It caused further damage to some of the region's exquisite Renaissance churches, cathedrals and bell towers. In Mirandola, the roof of the cathedral collapsed, covering the floor in broken tiles and dust. Churches in the towns of Finale Emilia, San Giovanni del Dosso and San Felice sul Panaro were also badly damaged, their facades shattered. In Mantua, the Ducal Palace, which is famous for a stunning collection of frescoes, was also damaged. In the town of Cavezzo, rescuers managed to pull a 65-year-old woman out of the rubble of her home on Tuesday evening, after she had been trapped for 12 hours. The woman survived the collapse of the five-storey building by sheltering under a fallen cupboard. Surveying collapsed buildings and a piazza littered with bricks and other debris, a local man said simply "Povera Italia" – Poor Italy. Ten of the victims of Tuesday's quake were factory workers and union leaders said they should not have been allowed to return to workplaces that were not quake-proof. Many residents said that while they could understand why centuries-old buildings collapsed, modern buildings should have been able to withstand the quake, amid suspicions that some were shoddily built with cheap materials. The government called for an investigation into why the damage to modern structures was so extensive. "It is natural to have earthquakes, (but) it is not natural for buildings to fall down like this. It doesn't happen in other countries," said Elsa Fornero, the welfare minister. | Earthquakes | May 2012 | ['(Daily Telegraph)'] |
NATO and the government of Australia expel Russian diplomats. , | PM Malcolm Turnbull says his country 'cannot and will not stand by and watch when the sovereignty of our allies and partners is threatened'
Australia has become the latest country to expel Russian diplomats following the nerve agent attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury earlier this month in a gesture of solidarity with Britain.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the poisoning, which left Skripal and his daughter Yulia critically ill in hospital, “disgraceful” and “brazen” and said his country “cannot and will not stand by and watch when the sovereignty of our allies and partners is threatened”.
Earlier, Mr Turnbull and minister for foreign affairs Julie Bishop issued a joint statement saying two Russian diplomats identified as “undeclared intelligence officers” would be directed to leave the country within seven days.
More than 100 Russian spies are being sent home from more than 20 countries, including 60 from the US and intelligence officers operating in Canada, Ukraine, Norway, Macedonia and Albania, as well as in 16 European Union member states.
Mr Turnbull said the poisoning on Sergei and Yulia Skripal was “an attack on all of us”.
He added: “It was an attack on the sovereignty of every nation that respect the rule of law and that is why we are taking this action today with another 23 nations around the world, we are defining this recklessness, this lawlessness, from Russia and expressing in solidarity with the United Kingdom and other nations that share those values that we will not tolerate this type of reckless undermining of international law, this reckless assault on the sovereignty of nations.”
The co-ordinated move drew a furious response from Moscow, which accused Western allies of “blindly following the principle of the Euro-Atlantic unity to the detriment of common sense, the norms of civilised inter-state dialogue and the principles of international law”.
On Monday, Theresa May told the Commons it was the “largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history” and said more than 130 people could have been exposed to the Novichok nerve agent, with more than 50 people assessed in hospital.
“Together we have sent a message that we will not tolerate Russia's continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values,” she said.
“President Putin's regime is carrying out acts of aggression against our shared values and interests within our continent and beyond.
“As a sovereign European democracy, the United Kingdom will stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and with Nato to face down these threats together.”
Speaking at the start of a debate on national security and Russia, she added: “Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain critically ill in hospital.
“Sadly, late last week, doctors indicated that their condition is unlikely to change in the near future, and they may never recover fully.
“This shows the utterly barbaric nature of this act, and the dangers that hundreds of innocent citizens in Salisbury could have faced.”
Mrs May said the UK had information indicating Russia has investigated ways of delivering nerve agents, probably for assassination, and has produced and stockpiled small quantities of Novichok as part of this programme.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, hinted the Kremlin would respond with tit-for-tat expulsions, saying Russia would proceed from the “principle of reciprocity”.
Russia has already ordered 23 British diplomats to leave in response to the expulsion of a similar number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers from the UK.
The Russian foreign ministry said: “This provocative gesture of notorious solidarity with London, made by countries that preferred to follow in London's footsteps without bothering to look into other circumstances of the incident, merely continues the policy of escalating the confrontation.”
Last week EU leaders backed Mrs May's assertion that there was “no plausible alternative explanation” other than Russia was responsible for the poisoning of the former double agent and his daughter.
European Council president Donald Tusk said “additional measures” - including further expulsions - could not be excluded “in the coming days and weeks”.
The EU member states taking action include Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said countries of the world “have come together in numbers far greater than Putin could possibly have imagined and they are saying enough is enough”.
In addition to the expulsions, the White House said the US was also closing the Russian consulate in Seattle “due to its proximity to one of our submarine bases and Boeing”.
“Today's actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security," the White House said.
“With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences.”
Additional reporting by PA
| Government Policy Changes | March 2018 | ['(The Independent)', '(The Guardian)'] |
A series of car bombings around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, kills at least 38 people. | .
Sunni militants, including the local offshoot of al-Qaeda, are often blamed for the attacks, which usually target Shia areas.
The Shia-led government has been accused of failing to address grievances among the Sunni Arab minority, including allegations of abuses by security forces.
The wave of attacks in and around Baghdad on Sunday targeted areas including markets and bus stations.
As well as those killed, at least 100 people were injured in the attacks. | Armed Conflict | October 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
2008 Garamba offensive: Uganda's People's Defence Force accuses the Lord's Resistance Army of hacking to death 45 people in a church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. | The Ugandan army on Sunday accused Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of hacking to death 45 people in a church in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in an attack on Friday.
"We got information the rebels cut 45 people into pieces," army spokesman Captain Chris Magezi said.
"They were cut with pangas (machetes) and hit with clubs but some luckily managed to escape. Our forces came to know about the killings while pursuing the LRA yesterday (Saturday) and the pursuit is on for the killers," he added.
Magezi said the victims were mutilated in the style used by Hutu extremists during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Forces from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and south Sudan launched a joint operation against the LRA in northeastern DR Congo earlier this month.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | December 2008 | ['(France 24)'] |
NASA launches the Parker Solar Probe, an unpiloted spacecraft designed to study the sun. | US space agency Nasa has launched its mission to send a satellite closer to the Sun than any before.
The Parker Solar Probe rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The probe is set to become the fastest-moving manmade object in history. Its data promises to crack longstanding mysteries about the Sun's behaviour. It is the first space craft to be named after a living person - astrophysicist Eugene Parker, 91, who first described solar wind in 1958.
"Wow, here we go! We're in for some learning over the next several years," he said after watching the lift-off from the scene. The University of Chicago professor said he had been biting his nails in anticipation. The Delta-IV Heavy rocket - which was carrying the probe - launched at 03:31 local time (07:31 GMT). It came after a failed attempt the previous day, when a last-minute alarm caused the agency to miss its 65-minute window. Just under an hour after the launch, Nasa confirmed that the spacecraft had successfully separated and the probe had been released into space. The probe aims to dip directly into our star's outer atmosphere, or corona.
It will zip past Venus in six weeks and make a first rendezvous with the Sun a further six weeks after that. Over the course of seven years, Parker will make 24 loops around our star to study the physics of the corona, the place where much of the important activity that affects the Earth seems to originate. The probe will dip inside this tenuous atmosphere, sampling conditions, and getting to just 6.16 million km (3.83 million miles) from the Sun's broiling "surface". "I realise that might not sound that close, but imagine the Sun and the Earth were a metre apart. Parker Solar Probe would be just 4cm away from the Sun," explained Dr Nicky Fox, the UK-born project scientist who is affiliated to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. "It will also be the fastest man-made object ever, travelling at speeds of up to 430,000mph [690,000km/h] - New York to Tokyo in under a minute!" she told BBC News. Solar probe launches successfully
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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.
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Le Pen set for regional power with eye on presidency
How the Delta variant took hold in the UK. VideoHow the Delta variant took hold in the UK | New achievements in aerospace | August 2018 | ['(BBC)'] |
Foreign investment into Latin America grows by around 40%, with China named as the fastest growing investor in the region. (People's Daily) | Foreign investment in Latin America grew by about 40% in 2010 to $113bn (£69bn), a UN study has said.
The fastest growing investor in the region was China, which barely registered between 2006 and 2009, but now accounts for 9% of the total.
The report was released by the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Brazil received the most foreign direct investment (FDI), gaining $48.5bn, followed by Mexico, with $17.7bn.
Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of ECLAC, said the figures highlighted the growing involvement of Latin America and the Caribbean in economic globalisation.
She said that China's interest was expected to continue and contribute to further FDI growth, which is expected to be 25% this year. Foreign investors have been attracted to the region by its rich supply of commodities, something that is particularly of interest to fast-growing and commodity-hungry China.
ECLAC's report said that 90% of China's confirmed investment in Latin America targeted the extraction of natural resources.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund warned that although the region was growing at a healthy pace, high commodity prices and external financing was pushing growth at a faster pace than some economies were prepared for.
It warned that this was causing overheating in some areas. Last year, China overtook the US as Brazil's biggest trade partner with more than $56bn in trade.
However, the US still provides the biggest percentage of FDI in the region, accounting for 17% of the $113bn. The Netherlands is next with 13%, with China in third place. | Financial Aid | May 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
Latvia's president Vaira Vike–Freiberga has appointed Indulis Emsis, a Green party legislator, as the new Prime Minister, after the resignation of Einars Repše's cabinet on 5 February. | On the eve of the launch of a new European Green Party, Indulis Emsis, the Green former head of list for the European Elections in Latvia, has been made Prime Minister of his country. He has become the first Green Prime Minister in Europe.
The Co-Presidents of the Green Group in the European Parliament Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit sent their congratulations to Prime Minister Emsis. They said:
“Today we have lost the Head of the list for the European Elections in Latvia – but we have lost him to a good cause. Prime Minister Emsis has made history by becoming the first Green Prime Minister in Europe and we wish him every success with his new tasks.”
Short Biography:
Indulis Emsis, was born in 1952 and, until he became Prime Minister today was a deputy in the 8th Parliament of Latvia. He administrated the Commission of National Economy, Regional and Environmental Protection Policy. He is a co-chairman of Latvian Green Party, Latvijas Zala Partija, since 1995. Indulis Emsis has worked for a long time in a sphere of forest-farm in Latvia. He was a Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry. _______________________ | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | February 2004 | ['(BCC)', '(Greens–EFA)'] |
Syria accepts a United States invitation to participate in the 2007 Mideast peace conference. | Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad is due to lead the Syrian team at the conference, which begins on Tuesday.
Damascus has been offered talks on reviving Israel-Syria peace moves, which centre on the Golan Heights.
Meanwhile US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to try to agree a joint document for the conference.
The meeting in Annapolis is aimed at launching talks for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and for the creation of a Palestinian state. Ahead of the conference, US President George W Bush said he remained personally committed to achieving peace in the Middle East.
He said he wanted to see a democratic Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.
On Friday Saudi Arabia announced that it would attend, another boost to US efforts to win wide Arab support for the conference. Uncertainty
Damascus had previously said it would not attend the conference unless the Golan Heights were on the agenda.
It is by no means clear to what extent the Golan will indeed be up for negotiation in Annapolis, the BBC's Joe Floto in Jerusalem says.
Correspondents say Syria's decision to send a deputy minister - rather than the foreign minister like other Arab states - may be due to this uncertainty. Israel has welcomed the Syrian participation but has stressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be the main focus of the meeting.
Sources within the Israeli delegation say the issue of the Golan Heights will not appear on the main agenda. But they have suggested the territory could still be discussed. "There will be a plenary session which I will also attend and where issues pertaining to the comprehensive peace in the Middle East can be discussed, and that includes everything," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday. "The Golan could also be raised there," she said, according to the AFP news agency.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War.
Syria wants to secure the strategic plateau as part of any peace deal.
In Israel, the principle of returning the Golan Heights in return for peace is already established, but previous talks broke down in 2000 over Israel's demand to keep control of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee - Israel's main source of water. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Venezuela's Ambassador to Italy, Isaías Rodríguez, resigns, citing the government's lack of finances amid international sanctions on the Nicolás Maduro government. Rodríguez says, due to the sanctions, he has been unable to pay his staff or the rent for his office in Rome. | Isaías Rodríguez says US sanctions against Caracas means he cannot afford to carry out his duties
Last modified on Tue 21 May 2019 13.59 BST
The Venezuelan ambassador to Italy has resigned, saying his government’s financial difficulties have made his job impossible.
In a letter addressed directly to President Nicolás Maduro and posted on Twitter, Ambassador Isaías Rodríguez reiterated his “immense respect for Maduro’s battle” but insisted the sanctions imposed by the US mean he cannot carry out his duties.
Last week, at a press conference in Rome, Rodríguez said that – due to the sanctions adopted against Caracas – he no longer has the money to pay his employees’ salaries and the rent of his office in Rome, whose debt amounted to €9m.
The US government imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela’s president after the election of a new legislative body to redraft the country’s constitution in a vote described by Washington as a “sham”, as the Trump administration put its full backing behind the opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Rodríguez explained that the sanctions had heavy repercussions on the embassy’s financial budget and that they were no longer able to bear the expenses of the diplomatic headquarters in Italy. Rodriguez, 77, explained that he wanted to dedicate himself to “being a grandfather”.
“I leave without rancour and without money,” Rodriguez said, “my wife has just sold the clothes her previous husband gave her in order to survive in the face of the US embargo. I’m trying to sell the car I bought when I arrived at the embassy and as you know I do not have a bank account because the gringos have sanctioned me and the Italian bank has closed its doors to me.
“I want the president to know that I am and will be by his side”, said Rodríguez, who took office in Rome in 2011. “I wanted to be a faithful companion and not a fearful amateur flatterer. I clung to chavismo with absolute faith, but I have come to understand that I cannot turn water into wine, or raise the dead.”
The Venezuelan crisis has reignited tensions between Washington and Moscow. Two weeks ago, Russia’s foreign minister urged the US to abandon its “irresponsible” plan to depose Maduro. Any US attempt to topple Maduro through force would bring “grave consequences”, Lavrov reportedly warned on 5 May during a visit to Moscow by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | May 2019 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Iranian authorities execute once-exiled dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam over his online work that helped inspire the 2017–2018 Iranian protests. This comes after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence on Tuesday. | Authorities say journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was convicted of fomenting violence during the anti-government protests, has been executed. Human rights groups have expressed outrage at his death.
Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam speaks during his trial at a court in Tehran
Iranian authorities on Saturday morning executed once-exiled dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam over his online work that helped inspire nationwide anti-government protests in the Middle East nation in 2017.
The execution took place just months after he returned to Tehran under mysterious circumstances.
In June, a court sentenced 47-year-old Zam to death, saying he had been convicted of "corruption on Earth," a charge often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.
Iran's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence.
Zam's website AmadNews and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the mass protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran's Shiite theocracy.
Those demonstrations, which began at the end of 2017, represented the biggest challenge to Iran since the 2009 Green Movement protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest in November of last year.
The initial spark for the 2017 protests was a sudden jump in food prices, but they later morphed into broad demonstrations against the nation's ruling class.
Zam, who has said he fled Iran after being falsely accused of working with foreign intelligence services, denied inciting violence on Telegram at the time.
The details of his arrest still remain unclear. Though he was based in Paris, Zam somehow returned to Iran and found himself detained by intelligence officials. He's one of several opposition figures in exile who have been returned to Iran over the last year.
France slammed the hanging of the Paris-based journalist, which it called "barbaric and unacceptable."
The French foreign ministry said in a statement: "France condemns in the strongest possible terms this serious breach of free expression and press freedom in Iran. This is a barbaric and unacceptable act that goes against the country's international commitments."
The EU on Saturday condemned in the "strongest terms" Zam's execution, recalling "its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment under any circumstances," according to a statement from the EU's External Action Service.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounce Zam's execution.
"RSF is outraged at this new crime of Iranian justice," the organization tweeted, adding it had warned United Nations rights chief Michelle Bachelet in October that the death sentence was likely.
France previously criticized his death sentence as "a serious blow to freedom of expression and press freedom in Iran.''
sri/mm (AP, Reuters)
In Iran, nine out of ten female journalists say they experience sexual harassment in context of their profession. The patriarchal structure of newsrooms seems to create a work environment of intimidation.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | December 2020 | ['(DW)'] |
Palestinians carried out three stabbing attacks against Israeli citizens and police in Jerusalem today with two of the attackers shot dead as the wave of violence continues, police said. There have been a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank in recent days that have wounded several Israelis; nine attackers have been shot dead. Also, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during/after violent demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza. | A border police officerbeen wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem.
After some initial confusion and reports of a second casualty, police and paramedics clarified that the single victim was evacuated to hospital with light injuries, aftermanagingto fend off the terrorist and shoot her.
The terrorist who carried out the attack, an Arab woman from eastern Jerusalem,has been hospitalized and is in critical condition.
Police also arrested an Arab man suspected of acting as heraccomplice, close to the scene of the attack.
Initial reports had suggested the attack was a shooting, but presumably the shots which were heard were from police responding to the stabbing
According to a police statement: "A border police officer noticed a female terrorist who drew his suspicion along Haim Bar Lev Road and called out to her to stop.
"The terrorist continued walking and when she realized he was approaching her she turned to face him with a knife and stabbed him."
"The officer, who acted with great professionalism, managed to aim his weapon and neutralize her," the statement added.
It is the second stabbing in the capital, followingan attempted stabbing in Jerusalem's Old City, close to the Lion's Gate.
In that attack, the terrorist was shot dead after stabbing a border police officer in his flak jacket. His intended victim thankfully emerged unscathed. | Armed Conflict | October 2015 | ['(AP via Houston Chronicle)', '(Times of Israel)', '(Israel National News)'] |
Illegally stored explosives cause an explosion in a house in northwestern China that kills at least 14 people and injures 147 others in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province. | BEIJING (Reuters) - A powerful blast at a prefabricated house in northwestern China on Monday killed at least 14 people and injured 147, state news agency Xinhua said.
The explosion occurred in the early afternoon in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province, damaging dozens of buildings including the local hospital, Xinhua said.
An initial police investigation indicated that the blast was caused by illegally stored explosives, Xinhua said, adding that authorities had detained the owner of the building and were searching for the tenant.
Eleven of the injured were in intensive care.
Pictures carried by state media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of low rise buildings, though searches for the incident on Chinese social media were blocked on Tuesday.
China has a bad safety record, with previous blasts blamed on poorly stored chemicals or industrial explosives which are easy to get hold of due to their use in China’s booming coal mining sector.
A series of powerful explosions last year at a chemicals warehouse in the northern city of Tianjin killed 165.
There have also been cases of people deliberately setting off blasts to settle local grievances such as land disputes.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Michael Perry
| Gas explosion | October 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Typhoon Neoguri hits the main Japanese island of Honshu causing flooding, landslides and three deaths. | Heavy rain in Japan brought by Typhoon Neoguri has caused three fatalities, extensive damage and forced thousands to leave their homes.
A 12-year-old boy was killed in the central farming town of Nagiso after rocks and boulders swept away his home. Neoguri, which first threatened Japan as a super typhoon, had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it came ashore but was still gusting at up to 126 kph (78 mph).
Heavy rains prompted cancellations of hundreds of flights and trains in the country and more wet weather is expected. Jenny Wivell reports.
| Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | July 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
The British Labour Party retains the seat of Barnsley Central following a by–election. The Lib Dems, who had come second at the 2010 general election slump to sixth place behind the British National Party and UKIP. | Nick Clegg has said people should not "write off" the Lib Dems despite the party slumping to sixth place in the Barnsley Central by-election.
The party finished behind UKIP, the BNP and an independent as its share of the vote dropped to just over 4%.
Labour, which won the poll on a 36% turnout, said voters had sent a "very clear message" to Mr Clegg about their dislike of his role in the coalition.
But the Lib Dem leader said the party would prove its critics wrong.
The Lib Dems slipped from second place in last year's general election to sixth place in Thursday's poll - which was triggered by the conviction of the constituency's former Labour MP for expenses fraud.
According to BBC Research, it is the biggest drop, in terms of ranking, at an English by-election since 1945.
Labour held the seat with a slightly increased majority of 11,771, with UKIP doubling the share of the vote it gained in May to beat the Conservatives into third place - one of the eurosceptic party's best-ever by-election results.
Turnout in the by-election fell to 36.5%, compared with 56.4% at the May 2010 poll.
Mr Clegg said it was "obviously a bad result" for the Liberal Democrats, whose share of the vote fell from 17.2% last year to 4.1% and whose candidate lost his deposit.
"In truth it was a no contest for any non-Labour candidate," he said. "It was a very safe Labour seat. Labour got a huge majority on an abysmally-low turnout and everybody else was left to pick up the pieces."
But the Lib Dem leader was defiant about his party's long-term fortunes and its continued alliance with the Conservatives in the coalition government.
"I have no doubt people will try to use this single result to write off the Liberal Democrats. They have done it in the past and we have proved them wrong and we will prove them wrong again.
"In government, nationally, we will continue to do what I think is absolutely vital for the long-term benefit of the country. Namely sort the economic mess we inherited from Labour for the long-term benefit of Britain."
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the victory of the party's candidate Dan Jarvis, a 38-year-old former soldier who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was "fantastic" and accused the Lib Dem leader of complacency.
"I don't think you should write off the people of any part of Britain," he said. "They have sent them a very clear message. They don't like the fact that he is part of a Conservative-led government which is betraying the hopes of the next generation of people in this country, that is squeezing living standards and frankly breaking a lot of the promises he made at the general election.
"I urge Lib Dems to come and work with Labour, either by joining Labour or by working with us against the direction of this Conservative-led government."
The by-election is only the second since the coalition government took power last May, with Labour also winning the previous contest in Oldham East and Saddleworth in January.
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said the result would be a real concern for the Lib Dems ahead of May's English council elections although it remained to be seen whether the slump in their support was a one-off or a sign of a wider trend.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage heralded the party's performance, saying they were the "real winners" in Barnsley Central.
"We've shown our potential in European elections by getting big scores in the past and now we're doing it in first past the post Westminster elections," he said. "We are delighted though I have to say but not completely surprised. "Because just over the last month, whether it's votes for prisoners, car insurance for young women, annuities for old men, increasingly our Parliament is seen to be completely impotent. So the UKIP message that we should take back control of our own lives is very relevant to voters."
For the Conservatives, Chancellor George Osborne said Labour's victory was not a turn-up given their historic dominance of the area and the Barnsley seat was "never within our sights".
"The Conservatives started out in third place and ended up in third place," he said.
Former MP Eric Illsley held Barnsley Central with a majority of just over 11,000 in last year's general election but he resigned his seat after pleading guilty to falsely claiming £14,000 in parliamentary expenses. He was later jailed for a year. | Government Job change - Election | March 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
A Guatemala court finds former military leader Efraín Ríos Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentences him to 80 years in prison. | A court in Guatemala has found former military leader Efrain Rios Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. A three-judge tribunal sentenced the 86-year-old to 80 years in prison.
Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982 and 1983. Survivors described horrific abuses committed by the army against those suspected of aiding left-wing rebels.
The retired general had denied the charges, saying he neither knew of nor ordered the massacres while in power.
He is expected to appeal against the court's decision on the grounds of his age.
Rios Montt's former chief of military intelligence, Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, who was on trial with him, was acquitted.
It is the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide by a court in his or her own country.
Other genocide convictions have been handed down by international courts.
Relatives and indigenous leaders cheered when the sentence was read out by Judge Jazmin Barrios in Guatemala City.
Rios Montt was sentenced to 50 years for genocide and 30 years for crimes against humanity.
"The Ixils were considered public enemies of the state and were also victims of racism, considered an inferior race," Judge Barrios said.
"The violent acts against the Ixils were not spontaneous. They were planned beforehand."
The BBC's Central America correspondent Will Grant says it is a historic decision and a huge breakthrough for human rights in the region.
During the nearly two-month trial, dozens of victims gave harrowing testimony about atrocities committed by soldiers.
An estimated 200,000 people were killed in Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war, the vast majority of them indigenous Mayans.
Prosecutors said Rios Montt presided over the war's bloodiest phase. They said he turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson against those suspected of supporting leftist rebels.
The trial has been beset with delays, legal loopholes and a temporary suspension.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | May 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
World Championships in Athletics: American athlete Tyson Gay wins his third medal of the championship as part of the 100 metres relay team after earlier winning gold medals in the 100 metres and 200 metres. | OSAKA, Japan (Reuters) - Triple world champion Tyson Gay will try to duplicate his golden feat at next year’s Olympics.
Tyson Gay of the U.S. celebrates winning the men's 200 metres final at the 11th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka August 30, 2007. Gay will try to duplicate his golden feat at next year's Olympics. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
“Yes, I want to do all three,” Gay told Reuters on Sunday, a day after winning his third gold medal at the world championships.
Gay swept past his rivals to claim the 100 and 200 meters world titles, and ran a tense third leg for the victorious U.S. 4x100 meters relay team.
“Never in a million years did I think I would win three gold medals,” a tired Gay said. “At USAs (where he won the 100 and 200) you were trying to make the team. Here you were trying to make history.”
Only compatriot Maurice Greene in 1999 has accomplished the sprint triple.
“Mentally and physically, my body is drained,” Gay said, adding that a well-deserved vacation was next on his agenda.
“I think I will go to Europe, possibly Amsterdam where I normally train, get my body taken care of and decide from that point to fly to where I am going to run,” Gay said.
Related Coverage
Gay said the entire world championship experience was amazing, especially for a man who had never won a global medal.
“I could easily have gotten third in the 200, or maybe no medal, and it would not have taken away from my victory in the 100,” the 24-year-old said.
“But I stepped up and redeemed myself from my past,” said Gay, who was fourth in the 200 meters in Helsinki in 2005.
Shaky moments surrounded both of his exchanges in the relay. Gay’s hand almost touched Wallace Spearmon Jr.’s face before their exchange and anchor Leroy Dixon stumbled slightly after being nudged ahead by Gay as he took off on the final leg.
“I just could not get out,” Gay said, recalling how tired his body was as he tried to take the baton from Spearmon.
“I didn’t have that first 10 steps to get away. But once I got the stick in my hand, I tried to turn into a different person.
“The coaches told me to please give him (Dixon) the biggest lead possible, because we know (100 meters world record holder and Jamaican anchor) Asafa Powell is coming. That’s what I tried to do.”
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.
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops vote to draft Communion statement that may rebuke Biden for abortion views | Sports Competition | September 2007 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Sixteen states sue U.S. President Donald Trump, calling his national emergency declaration made last week "unlawful and unconstitutional". | WASHINGTONCalifornia and 15 other states sued President Donald Trump on Monday over his decision to declare a national emergency to free up funding for his controversial border wall, calling the move "unlawful and unconstitutional."
Thestates allege in their lawsuit that Trump's emergency declaration exceeds the power of the president and unconstitutionally redirects federal money that Congress had set aside for other purposes. Trump made the declaration on Friday after lawmakers sent him a government funding bill that included $1.375 billion for the wall, far short of the $5.7 billion he initially requested.
White House officials said they believe they can unlock an additional $6.6 billion through the emergency declaration and other budget maneuvers. The White House believes the money would allow the administration to build at least 234 miles of the border wall, which was a central promise of Trump's 2016 campaign.
“President Trump treats the rule of law with utter contempt," saidCalifornia Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat."Heknows there is no border crisis, he knows his emergency declaration is unwarranted, and he admits that he will likely lose this case in court."
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
California filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of California, where appeals are heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump has repeatedly claimed that his opponents would file litigation there, and he predicted on Friday that the appeals court would rule against him.
"They will sue us in the 9th Circuit,"Trump told reporters in the White House Rose Garden on Friday."We will possibly get a bad ruling, and then we'll get another bad ruling and then we'll end up in the Supreme Court."
The states' lawsuit is only the latest, and it's probably not the last.Hours after Trump signed the emergencydeclaration, the watchdog group Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia. The suit was filed on behalf of Texas landowners who own property on the Rio Grande and others.
But the lawsuit filed by the states, whose attorneys general are all Democrats, will be especially important to watch, in part because of the legal resources attorneys general bring to major federal litigation and in part because of their standing to sue. The attorneys generalarguein the suit that the president's moves will redirect drug interdiction money and other funds that would have gone to their states.
The states joining California are:Colorado,Connecticut,Delaware,Hawaii,Illinois,Maine,Maryland,Michigan,Minnesota,Nevada,New Jersey,New Mexico,New York,Oregon, andVirginia. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | February 2019 | ['(USA Today)'] |
Hundreds of people protests in Naples after stricter COVID-19 measures were imposed in the city and the whole region of Campania. The protestors clashed with police, wounding seven officers with smoke bombs, burning trash bins and chanting against the President of the region, Vincenzo De Luca. Two people are arrested. |
Scenes from Naples as demonstrators take to streets
Naples, Rome, and Barcelona all saw demonstrations and protests overnight against new Covid restrictions brought in to curb the rising second wave of cases in Europe.
Italian media reported several hundred demonstrators gathered in Naples on Friday, with some throwing rocks and smoke bombs at police.
Campania - the region in which the city falls - has gone into a fresh coronavirus measures amid rising cases across the country. Demonstrators expressed anger over an 11pm to 5am regional curfew brought in.
New cases in the country rose to over 19,000 on Friday – more than in the first few weeks of the pandemic last spring when the government ordered a lockdown.
Elsewhere in Italy, businesses in Rome expressed their anger at a new 9pm curfew aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.
Restaurant owners, forced to close before 9pm, displayed signs with crosses on them pronouncing their business "dead" due to the new measures.
More than 37,000 people have now died in Italy from the Covid-19.
While in Barcelona nightclub owners honked car horns in protest against latest restrictions.
Authorities in the Spanish city contended with demonstrators blaring music in front of the Catalan regional government building - expressing their anger and asking for more economic assistance for one of the sectors most severely affected by the pandemic. Restaurants and bars have been ordered to shut since October 14 and are allowed only to serve meals for take away or delivery.
A "Save Our Rights" protest march is due to be held in London on Saturday. The group is planning a peaceful march to highlight the effect that lockdown and legislative changes have had on people's lives since the onset of the pandemic. | Protest_Online Condemnation | October 2020 | ['(Il Fatto Quotidiano)', '(ITV)'] |
Miami native Todd Leininger is released from a Venezuelan prison after being detained for five years for allegedly aiding the opposition. | Caracas, Venezuela — An American man detained during a wave of unrest in Venezuela has been freed after being held for five years. Todd Leininger, 37, was arrested in April 2014 on what his family describes as trumped-up charges.
Leininger was released Thursday. A senior Venezuelan official characterized the release as a gesture aimed at improving U.S. relations, which have been especially strained since the U.S. chose to rebuke Nicolas Maduro and recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the country's president. Maduro suspended diplomatic talks in January.
The U.S. State Department called Leininger's release "overdue," noting a Venezuelan court ordered him freed in November. A department spokesperson issued a statement in March noting concerns against the Maduro regime regarding adequate nutrition being provided to detained U.S. citizens.
"Maduro loyalists continue to prevent our prisoners' families and attorneys from assisting with basic access to food and medicine, while toying with their mental health and general wellbeing," Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino noted.
Venezuelan officials accused Leininger of aiding the opposition during anti-government protests. He was arrested in San Cristóbal while he and his wife were visiting his sister-in-law.
The Florida native is one of several Americans who have found themselves behind bars in Venezuela as the nation's political and economic crisis deepens.
Joshua Holt was released after being held for over two years. Five Citgo oil executives who are U.S. citizens remain detained.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | April 2019 | ['(CBS News)', '(Miami Herald)'] |
Jack Ma retires and Daniel Zhang succeeds him as executive chairman of Alibaba Group. | Jack Ma, the teacher turned billionaire who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba in China is stepping down as the online retail behemoth’s Executive chairman on Tuesday.
The date, Ma has chosen to step down is September 10. It is Teachers' Day in China. It is also the 55th birthday of Ma.
Jack Ma will be celebrating his retirement bash at a king-sized stadium in the company's hometown of Hangzhou.
On Tuesday night, attendees at the Jack Ma retirement bash will get clues from the mentor how Alibaba will be run by his successor Daniel Zhang.
Rising from a humble background, Jack Ma founded and led Alibaba to become Asia's most valuable listed company with a market capitalization of $460 billion.
Employing over 100,000 people it has diversified into many areas--financial services, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.
After building the Alibaba empire Jack Ma will be focusing on philanthropy.
The former English teacher is also a member of the Chinese Communist Party. With his nearly $40 billion fortune, Jack Ma is China’s richest man.
The Chinese government honored Ma last November as one of 100 people who made outstanding contributions to China's economic transformation in the last four decades.
Always a teacher at heart Ma referenced his previous teaching career to explain why he wanted to step down from his company.
“Teachers always want their students to exceed them, so the responsible thing ... for me and the company to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership roles,” Ma said last September.
Ma is also on record that he wanted to retire earlier than Bill Gates, who stepped down at the age of 58 in 2014 from Microsoft.
Jack Ma Foundation was founded in 2014 on the lines of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
‘Jack has been signaling for some time his interests in philanthropy, environment, women's empowerment, education, and development,” said Duncan Clark, the author of 'Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built."
Guidance to the company will continue Ma had expressed his intent to resign a year ago. Even after stepping away from Alibaba's senior management, he is expected to guide the company through his association with the Alibaba Partnership.
It is a group of 36 people empowered to nominate a majority of the directors to the board. Jack Ma also holds a 6.22 percent stake in the company.
Ma has been a great votary of gender equality. Nearly half of Alibaba's senior management team are women. Jack Ma speaks during the Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum in China Although some people see a linkage in the timing of Ma's exit as the Chinese government's efforts at tightening grip on internet companies, Ma has denied Beijing’s pressure has anything to do with his retirement.
Daniel Zhang era starts in Alibaba Meanwhile, Jack Ma’s successor 46-year-old Daniel Zhang is considered a brilliant strategist. In terms of management style, Zhang is more pragmatic and reserved than Jack Ma.
Inside the company, Zhang is known as Xiaoyaozi, the character in a Chinese martial arts novel with the meaning "the unfettered." It implies that he would stay out of battles and the focus will be on training others.
According to Alibaba news, Zhang is known as the main architect behind the biggest sales bonanza - Singles Day held annually on November 11.
The event started in 2009, long before Amazon Prime Day played out.
Singles Day has become the planet’s largest retail event where the sales volumes are four times the size of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | September 2019 | ['(International Business Times)'] |
The Emir of Qatar begins a state visit to the United Kingdom by meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Palace. | One of the world's richest monarchs, the Emir of Qatar, will begin a state visit to Britain later on Tuesday when he meets the Queen in Windsor.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani will be met by the British monarch and Duke of Edinburgh ahead of a horse-drawn carriage procession to Windsor Castle. A sovereign escort of the Household Cavalry will escort the procession, and Army personnel will line the route.
The government hopes the three-day visit will benefit UK businesses.
More than 90 flagpoles will be installed along the route of the procession, decorated with both the Union and Qatari flags. Vast wealth
BBC diplomatic correspondent, James Robbins, says state visits are very much an instrument of government policy.
He says improving relations with the energy-rich Gulf States is a top priority for the government, which invited the emir to Windsor in June, a month after the general election.
The government hopes the visit will bring more of the huge oil and gas wealth of the Gulf State to British firms, and secure vital energy supplies. The emir, who arrived on Monday ahead of the formal state visit, is a powerful figure in the Gulf region and considered one of its more progressive rulers.
Qatar helped rescue Britain from energy shortages during last winter's exceptional cold by supplying more than 10% of the country's gas needs. Qatar invested more than £2bn in Britain last year, and ministers hope the country's vast wealth could help an export-led recovery.
RAF operations in Qatar are also crucial to the military supply line for Afghanistan.
. | Diplomatic Visit | October 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
Protesters form a human chain in Tahrir Square to prevent tanks from entering the area. | Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Opposition activists formed a human chain outside one of the entrances to Tahrir Square on Saturday afternoon to prevent two Egyptian military tanks from crossing through barricades into what has effectively become an anti-Mubarak enclave in the heart of the Egyptian capital.
An eyewitness said scuffles broke out after an army general asked demonstrators to take down their makeshift barricades of corrugated steel and debris, which were built up during 48 hours of bloody fighting with regime supporters next to Cairo's landmark Egyptian Museum.
"This general went through the barricades, they [the soldiers] knocked down some barricades on the way to the museum, which caused some panic and scuffling," said photographer Ron Haviv. "When he did it all chaos broke loose."
Haviv said that initial tension was defused after Gen. Hassan Al Roweni began negotiating with medics who have established a first aid station for wounded combatants just behind the first line of barriers.
"He is still talking to doctors at the clinic," Haviv said. "He is asking them to remove the clinic."
Later, Roweni made a tour of Tahrir.
Military guards in red berets struggled to hold back the enthusiastic crowd as many Egyptians tried to embrace and kiss the general amid chants of "The military and the people are one hand."
Over the past week, Tahrir Square has been transformed from a bustling urban center into a fortified campground inhabited by thousands of well-organized anti-Mubarak demonstrators. It includes sidewalk first aid clinics and stations for charging cell phones, and the protesters respond to threats by blowing whistles and clanging metal rods. The alarm prompts scores of men to race to the entrances to the square, where rocks for stone-throwing are stockpiled in preparation for possible battles.
Eyewitnesses said Roweni's visit appeared aimed at trying to persuade demonstrators to reopen the square to ordinary traffic.
The officer took to the stage erected at the north end of the square for several minutes and made an unsuccessful attempt to appeal to the demonstrators.
"You can all express your views and opinions freely, but I ask you to put the security of Egypt first," Roweni announced through a loudspeaker system.
"This is directed to the youth of January 25th," he added, referring to the date when protests first erupted, throwing Egypt into what many observers now call a political revolution.
"There are many people who are manipulating you," Roweni said.
The crowd chanted a simple answer: "No, no, no."
The general concluded his short statement by saying, "I don't understand what it is you want."
The crowd roared back a chant that has been repeated for days across the open expanses of Tahrir Square: "Leave, leave, leave. He leaves, we leave."
This call for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign is the demand that unites the grass-roots movement in Tahrir.
After hearing the answer from the crowd, Roweni left the stage and the square without saying another word. | Protest_Online Condemnation | February 2011 | ['(CNN)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
Al Shabaab militants have stormed two hotels in Somalia's capital Mogadishu killing at least 10 civilians. | Al Shabaab militants have stormed two hotels in Somalia's capital Mogadishu killing at least six civilians, police said. Four militants also died in heavy fighting.
Government security official Mohamed Guhad said the gunmen who attacked the Wehliya Hotel were Al Shabaab militants, adding that fighting continued in the nearby Siyaad hotel near the presidential palace and the well-guarded government district, where gunmen launched a simultaneous attack.
Al Shabaab have confirmed responsibility for the attacks.
Both hotels are fortified and popular with government workers, including politicians from the parliament nearby.
Al Shabaab insurgents have carried out repeated attacks in the area, and messages posted on websites close to the Al Qaeda-linked group said the Islamists had carried out the hotel raids.
Previous attacks have seen Al Shabaab blast their way into buildings using suicide bombers sometimes inside cars packed with explosives before commandos enter inside with rifles and grenades.
The Islamic militants have stepped up their attacks during Islam's holy fasting month of Ramadan, and Friday's raids came as people settled down to break their daylight fast.
Al Shabaab is fighting to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government which is propped up and protected by the 22,000-strong African Union (AU) force.
The Al Shabaab attacks seek to counter claims that they are close to defeat after losing territory in the face of an AU and Somali government offensive and regular US drone strikes against their leaders as well as due to defections.
The militants have also carried out a string of revenge strikes in neighbouring countries including the September 2013 attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which left at least 67 people dead, and the April massacre of close to 150 students in Garissa in Kenya's northeast.
On Tuesday, Al Shabaab gunmen killed 14 workers in Kenya's northern town of Mandera, close to the Somali border.
| Armed Conflict | July 2015 | ['(ABC News AU)', '(Business Standard via AFP)'] |
A boat overturns and sinks due to strong winds on the Ugandan side of Lake Albert, killing 26 people. | A boat accident on Lake Albert on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has left at least 26 people dead. A "strong wind" caused the vessel to go under water, a local official told AFP news agency.
Dozens of people were on board and at least 21 people were rescued, Ashraf Oromo said.
A marine officer said poor safety and fast-changing weather meant accidents were common on the lake. The boat was travelling between two locations on the Ugandan side on Wednesday when strong winds blew up and it capsized.
Rescuers did not expect to find any more survivors, Mr Oromo said. However, local media quoted the chief of the locality who suggested that the search was ongoing
Both Congolese and Ugandan nationals were on the boat and were among the victims, Mr Tchovidong said.
"Because of failure to adhere to safety measures and fast-changing weather patterns, Lake Albert has many accidents," regional police marine officer Samuel Onyango told AFP.
One official said that many of the victims were trying to return illegally to the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) to avoid the coronavirus restrictions that have stopped most traffic between the DRC and Uganda, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Vital Adubanga, president of the Wangongo chiefdom in eastern Congo's Ituri province, said that night boats were prohibited but the ban was frequently ignored. Many of those on board were traders attempting to reach a weekly market, Mr Adubanga as well as Ugandan website The Daily Monitor said.
Lake Albert, which is Africa's seventh-largest lake, has been the scene of considerable loss of life in previous boat accidents.
In 2014, more than 250 refugees died when a vessel capsized while carrying far more people than its capacity.
And in another Christmas accident, in 2016, 30 members of a Ugandan football team drowned on the lake when a boat sank. | Shipwreck | December 2020 | ['(BBC)'] |
Manchester City win the Premier League for the fifth time after rivals Manchester United were defeated 2–1 by Leicester City. | Pep Guardiola said his third Premier League title as Manchester City manager was “the hardest one” to win after they were crowned champions following Manchester United’s defeat by Leicester.
The City manager dedicated the club’s fifth league championship in 10 years to legendary former player Colin Bell, who died in January, and a fanbase that has been unable to watch the Champions League finalists this season due to lockdown restrictions. United’s 2-1 home loss left City with an unassailable 10-point lead with three games to play, and delivered the 10th trophy of the Guardiola era to the Etihad Stadium.
“This has been a season and a Premier League title like no other. This was the hardest one,” said Guardiola, who has also won the Carabao Cup this season and guided City to their first Champions League final against Chelsea on 29 May. “We will always remember this season for the way that we won. I am so proud to be the manager here and of this group of players. They are so special. To come through this season – with all the restrictions and difficulties we’ve faced – and show the consistency we have is remarkable. It is relentless. Every single day, they are there, fighting for success, trying always to be better. They have been so, so resilient.”
City finished 18 points behind Liverpool last season and were 13th, with 12 points from the opening eight games of this term, after losing to Tottenham on 22 November. But an outstanding run of 15 consecutive league wins, in a record 21 successive wins in all competitions, propelled the team with the best defensive numbers in the Premier League to their latest title.
Guardiola added: “At the start of every season, the Premier League is the most important title for us. This is the one where you have to be there every three days, playing all your rivals home and away. Only by being the very best, week in week out, can you win this competition. It is a huge success.
“It is so important to say a huge thank you to all our fans. In our toughest moments, we couldn’t hear the crowd get behind us as usual, but we know they are with us everywhere we go and that has lifted us. I promise them we sense their love, we appreciate it and we could not have done what we have done without it. I hope we can all celebrate together one day not too far away. It has been such a hard year for so many people. This one is really for our fans and for Colin Bell and all his family.”
City unveiled a giant banner proclaiming “Champions” over the main entrance to the Colin Bell Stand at the Etihad shortly after their coronation was confirmed. The United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who made 10 changes to his team against Leicester with Liverpool to play on Thursday, said City have set the bar for their rivals to reach next season.
“Congratulations to Manchester City, they are worthy champions,” said Solskjær. “It is not a position we want to be in [losing at Old Trafford to confirm City’s title] but the reality is we pushed them until the last 10 or 12 days of the season. They have been lauded and rightly so as one of the best teams there has been in the Premier League. They have put the bar very high. We have got to be big enough to hold our hands up and congratulate Pep and his players. We want to get there and that is the next step we want to make.”
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The interim Government of Bangladesh arrests former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia and her son on corruption charges. | Ms Zia was refused bail in a Dhaka court and jailed to await trial, her lawyer said. She faces charges of extortion and corruption.
Her lawyer said he suspected her arrest was politically motivated.
Hours earlier, new corruption charges were made against another former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who is already accused of extortion and murder.
Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January, when the interim government cancelled elections. It has banned most political activity.
The interim government has arrested 150 politicians in what it says is a crackdown on corruption.
But one of her lawyers, Abdul Wadud Khandakerm, said Ms Zia's arrest was aimed at forcing her out of politics.
"She told the court that the case was fabricated, motivated, conspiratorial and fictitious," he said, adding that Ms Zia would return stronger than before.
Tight security
Ms Zia and her younger son, Arafat Rahman Coco, were led to court amid tight security after being arrested at her home at 0730 (0130 GMT).
Hundreds of police surrounded the court and thousands of Zia supporters gathered outside.
KHALEDA ZIA KEY FACTS
Born 1945
Marries national hero General Ziaur Rahman in 1960, who was assassinated in 1981
1991-1996: Country's first female prime minister
Prime minister again from 2001 to 2006
September, 2007: Arrested and charged with corruption
Bangladesh stuck in limbo
Q&A: Bangladesh crisis
Profile: Khaleda Zia
Security forces had surrounded the home since midnight (1800 GMT Sunday).
Ms Zia - leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party - is facing charges of corruption and abuse of power for allegedly using her influence to determine the operators of two state container depots in 2003, during her second term as prime minister.
Mr Coco is accused of pushing his mother to approve the deal. He is still being questioned by police and will remain in custody for seven days, lawyer Rafiqul Islam Miah said.
Eleven others are also named in the case, brought by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission.
Ms Zia - who stepped down as prime minister in October 2006 - is also facing criminal charges connected with earlier tax evasion allegations.
Bitter rival
On Sunday, the anti-corruption commission filed charges against Ms Zia's bitter rival Sheikh Hasina, the head of the Awami League, accusing her of taking illegal payments from a private electricity firm totalling $435,000 (215,000).
Sheikh Hasina was arrested in July
The commission said Sheikh Hasina had taken the money when she was in power between 1996 and 2000.
Sheikh Hasina denies all charges against her. She has been in custody since July.
Six other people, including former senior officials, have also been charged.
This is the first charge brought against Sheikh Hasina by a government body, so is seen to carry more weight than the others, says the BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka. Sheikh Hasina is being held in a house in the parliament complex. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | September 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Agusan del Sur province in Mindanao island. | (Updated 12:34 n.n.)
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Agusan del Sur on Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Phivolcs said the epicenter of the earthquake, with a depth of six kilometers, was located 19 kilometers from Talacogon, Agusan Del Sur.
The agency updated its earlier report that the quake, which occurred at 10:38 a.m., was of 5.7 magnitude.
The earthquake, which is tectonic in origin, is expected to have caused damages and to have aftershocks.
It was felt in the following towns and cities:
Intensity VI — Talacogon, Agusan del Sur
Intensity IV — Butuan City, Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur and Tagum City
Intensity III — Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, Bislig City, Davao City, Balingwan and Balingasag in Misamis Oriental
Intensity II — Cagayan de Oro City
Intensity I — Kidapawan City
Instrumental Intensity IV — Bislig City
Instrumental Intensity I — Kidapawan City.
READ: Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts parts of Mindanao
The temblor was also felt in the cities of Tagum, Davao and Panabo.
Locals reported experiencing dizzying movements as the ground shook, with many fearfully rushing out of their homes.
“I was inside my room when the shaking started, which lasted for
almost a minute. I felt dizzy so I rushed outside,” said Richard Grande, a local radio broadcaster in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. | Earthquakes | September 2016 | ['(Philippine Daily Inquirer)'] |
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey votes to change the Constitution of Turkey removing a ban on wearing religious head cover in Turkish universities. | ISTANBUL Turkey’s parliament took a major step toward lifting a ban against women’s head scarves in universities on Saturday, setting the stage for a final showdown with the country’s secular elite over where Islam fits in the building of an open society.
Turkish lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure supported by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to change two articles in Turkey’s Constitution that they say would guarantee every citizen the right to go to college regardless of how they dress. Turkish authorities imposed the ban in the late 1990’s, arguing that the growing numbers of covered women in colleges threatened secularism, one of the founding principles of modern Turkey.
Secular opposition lawmakers voted against the change, with about a fifth of all ballots cast. Large crowds of secular Turks backed them on the streets of Turkey’s capital, Ankara, chanting that secularism, and women’s right to resist being forced to wear head scarves by family members or religious authorities, was under threat and demanding that the government step down. “This decision will bring further pressure on women,” said Nesrin Baytok, a deputy from the opposition secular party, during the debate in parliament. “It will ultimately bring us Hezbollah terror, Al Qaeda terror, and fundamentalism.”
Another deputy from that party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said the group would take the amendments to Turkey’s Constitutional Court, a pro-secular institution that is likely to rule against Mr. Erdogan. It must wait until the changes are approved by the president and published in the official state newspaper, a process of as many as two weeks. The head scarf ban, and the attempt to repeal it by Mr. Erdogan’s governing party, has become one of the most emotional issues in Turkey. Though the terms of the debate revolve around religion, at its heart it is a struggle for power between a rising, increasingly wealthy middle class of observant Turks, on one side, and a secular elite, backed by the military and judiciary, on the other. The head scarf is their battleground. “It’s all about power,” said Jenny B. White, a professor of anthropology at Boston University who has been writing about Turkey since the 1970’s. “It’s about who gets to decide what Turkey’s image and emblematic lifestyle will be. Islam is the lightening rod for all the fears and concerns.”
Still, Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development party now has significant power, controlling the parliament and the posts of president and prime minister, and many secular Turks fear that party officials will impose their own conservative lifestyle on Turkey. “It’s been presented as a liberty to cover the head, but in practice, it is going to evolve into a ban on uncovered hair,” said Sami Turk, a former justice minister, speaking on NTV television. “This is a starting point, that’s the importance.”
Turkey’s current growing pains are rooted in its recent past, when vast numbers of migrants from the country’s more observant heartland moved to cities starting in the 1950’s in a process that changed Turkey into an urban society. But it remained divided by class, and when large numbers of covered women, now wealthier, began entering university and taking public sector jobs, the secular elite legally banned them. Now, Mr. Erdogan is trying to lift the ban, and the debate, which began in parliament on Wednesday, has been highly emotional.
“They tell us to trust them with respect to secularism,” said Deniz Baykal, the head of the secular opposition party on Wednesday, according to Today’s Zaman, an English-language daily. “I will entrust liver to a cat, but won’t entrust secularism to you.”
Cemil Cicek, a conservative member of Mr. Erdogan’s party fumed. “We are not trying to bring a ban, we are trying to lift a ban,” he said in Wednesday’s debate. “Why aren’t you willing to reach consensus but spread radioactive fear and horror across the country like the Chernobyl power station? What is this? Do not destroy peace in the country.” | Government Policy Changes | February 2008 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
Citizens of Burundi head to the polls to elect their president and the members of the National Assembly. Following a campaign marred by violence, the election takes place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a social media blackout. Regional and international election observers have been blocked from monitoring the election, raising doubts about its fairness. | Burundians have voted in a tense election to replace long-ruling President Pierre Nkurunziza amid a social media blackout. The elections proceeded despite an outbreak of coronavirus in the East African nation.
Voters in Burundi have cast their ballots in general elections, which went ahead on Wednesday despite threats posed by ethnic tensions, political violence and the coronavirus pandemic.
The elections for president, parliamentarians and local councilors took place under an election commission widely seen as under the control of President Pierre Nkurunziza's ruling CNDD-FDD party.
Access to social media was cut and no international or regional election observers were present.
The Burundi Human Rights Initiative reported several voting irregularities such as the arrest of opposition party members and some ruling party members voting multiple times.
DW journalist Antéditeste Niragira reported earlier on Wednesday that in the economic capital Bujumbura, people had already started forming long lines in front of polling stations ahead of their expected opening of 6 am (04 GMT). He said that voting was "proceeding well" in Bujumbura, but some polling centers had delayed opening their doors by an hour.
With the election taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic, Niragira said he hadn't really seen people observing social distancing at the polling stations he visited and hand washing facilities weren't always available.
Voting was carried out amid a social media blackout that started early on election day, making it impossible for those without a virtual private network to use popular communication apps.
Netblocks, a civil society group which maps internet freedom, says network data shows that the social media and messaging apps are disrupted, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp.
"The government is cutting social media so that we don't tell the world what is happening,'' voter Jean Pierre Bazikamwe told AP press agency.
Handpicked successor
In the polls, 5.1 million registered voters could chose between current President Pierre Nkurunziza's handpicked heir and frontrunner, 52-year-old retired army general Evariste Ndayishimiye, the main opposition competitor Agathon Rwasa, and five other candidates.
Speaking to the press after casting his vote, presidential hopeful Rwasa called for restraint.
“If we are not satisfied with the results of the ballot boxes, we will go to the relevant courts," Rwasa said. "But now is not the time to speak out," he was reported as saying by SOS Medias Burundi, a independent journalists collaboration.
Ruling party presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye (right) casts his vote in the 2020 elections
"I am happy to have been able to vote for the candidate of my choice today. At the same time, I am worried about what is brewing because of the cutting of social media access," Patrice, a 30-year-old elementary school teacher, told AFP after voting in Ngozi in Burundi's north.
"After 15 years of Nkurunziza in power, the hour for change has come. He has done good and bad things. ... Today, I wish for the victory of the [opposition CNL party] and its candidate [Rwasa] because the country needs new blood," he added.
Gertrude, an activist for the ruling CNDD-FDD party, explained her choice to AFP.
"I have just voted for [Ndayishimiye] so that the legacy of our president Pierre Nkurunziza continues," she said after casting her ballot in the central province of Mwaro.
Violence in lead up to polling day
The election campaign, which ended on Sunday, left several dead and injured in clashes that broke out between members of the CNDD-FDD and the CNL party.
Rallies took place amid the global coronavirus pandemic, raising accusations against Nkurunziza's government of manhandling the COVID-19 crisis.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a voter washes her hands before casting her ballot
Nkurunziza is a former Hutu rebel chief who sparked deadly violence in 2015 by running for a third mandate after rewriting the constitution. He announced in June 2019 that he would not stand in 2020.
But hopes that this could herald the end of a repressive rule were dashed with the appointment of Ndayishimiye as the candidate for the CNDD-FDD party.
Ndayishimiye's appointment was a compromise between Nkurunziza and a small but powerful cabal of generals who control the levers of government, according to the Burundi Human Rights Initiative.
Ndayishimiye was chosen because he was "faithful and ready to die for his party," said one CNDD-FDD official who wished to remain anonymous.
Repression and persecution
The president might have preferred someone he could control more directly after stepping down. But his candidate, national assembly leader Pascal Nyabenda, was rejected by the CNDD-FDD.
Still, the choice of Ndayishimiye ensures that no real changes will take place in Burundi if he wins.
Many see Ndayishimiye's victory as inevitable in an country that has used fear and repression against the opposition and the last remaining independent organizations.
"You've seen all of civil society being dismantled or having to flee into exile," said Stephanie Wolters, a researcher with the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA).
"You've seen a complete repression of the political media, you've seen repression of the opposition."
In 2015, violence forced many to flee Burundi
Eyes of the world shut out
Burundi announced a 14-day quarantine requirement for any any observers entering the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coming from a government which has consistently downplayed the crisis at home, this can only be seen as a ploy to legitimize elections, which will certainly "not be free and fair," Wolters told DW.
Burundi's government also refused any electoral observers from the United Nations (UN) or the African Union (AU), accusing the latter of being too close to the opposition.
Pierre Nkurunziza's 15 years in office have been marred by human rights abuses
Call for dialogue
The UN and AU on Sunday issued a joint statement calling on authorities to ensure voters' safety.
It urged "all political actors to refrain from all acts of violence and hate speech, and resort to dialogue, to enable the holding of consensual and peaceful elections."
The tense situation in Burundi has raised fears that exacerbated tensions could lead to more violence during and after the election.
"According to the Burundian government, three people have been killed since the campaign started. It raises concerns about what may happen," one citizen told DW.
Others are not ready to give up hope yet: "My expectations are, first of all, peaceful, transparent and democratic elections. My second expectation is a good and competent leader from those elections," said another.
That seems unlikely, as the country is turning into an international pariah.
Even before it expelled officials form the World Health Organization (WHO) last week, without giving any reason, repression and regressing democracy had led even Germany — a country not known for to swift changes of policy — to put Burundi on a list of counties which are to be excluded from receiving development aid.
An international pariah
The NGO Blue Code is among those who called for elections to be postponed for a number of reasons — including suspicion that Ndayishimiye is complicit in alleged crimes against humanity that left 1,200 dead since 2015 — and are currently being investigated by the UN and the International Criminal Court.
But international pressure seems to have little effect in Burundi.
There is "a kind of Burundian patriotism that rejects any form of interference in the country's affairs," said Onesphore Sematumba from the International Crisis Group.
The policy of confrontation is part of a strategy of deliberate isolation which has helped Nkurunziza to maintain total control over the country's politics, he added.
Burundi is listed by the World Bank as one of the three poorest countries in the world.
No free and fair elections
Would the opposition led by Agathon Rwasa win a free and fair election?
While she does not like to speculate, Stephanie Wolters told DW: "I think there is obviously real desire to see Burundi change for the better."
Months of sustained anti-government demonstrations have shown that there is a significant popular opposition to the regime.
An electoral official wears a face mask as he checks a voter's identity card
"The impact from the last five years have been catastrophic for Burundians," on all levels, from a surge in measles and malaria cases, to an economic downturn with loss of jobs and income, she said.
Burundi has a long history of ethnic violence between its Hutu and Tutsi communities.
According to Wolters, while the ruling party is ethnically dominated by the Hutu majority, the ethnic question in Burundi is not nearly as important to people as political parties might like to think it is.
"My guess is that people would not like to vote for a party which destroyed their livelihoods and made life miserable for them." | Government Job change - Election | May 2020 | ['(DW)'] |
Slovenia's 12th government is sworn in with Miro Cerar as the new prime minister. | Addressing the press after the swearing-in ceremony, Cerar said his 16-strong government – which consists of the Party of Miro Cerar (SMC), Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and Social Democrats (SD) – was aware of the great responsibility to get Slovenia out of the crisis.
"We are aware that Slovenia needs political stability, economic development, consolidation of public finance, a lot of social sensitivity and many other things which we have set as a mission and a goal."
Addressing MPs before the vote, he announced a restrictive fiscal policy so that the country could regain fiscal independence, saying one of the first tasks would be to see if a supplementary budget for 2014 was needed.
Cerar dedicated a large portion of his speech to foreign policy and national security, after he was criticized by the opposition that the coalition agreement pores over defence policy and does not even mention NATO.
In a ten-hour debate that followed, a lot of criticism was directed against the ministerial team, with opposition parties announcing not to endorse the cabinet, but nevertheless promising to act constructively.
Democrats (SDS) leader Janez Janša said some of the goals Cerar outlined were acceptable, in particular his announcement of restrictive fiscal policy, but stressed the ministerial hearings had showed the team was an "orchestra out of tune" and lacked ambition.
This was echoed by the United Left (ZL), whose deputy group leader Luka Mesec said the cabinet had no new ideas or concepts, it would merely continue the policies that had swept the three previous governments from power: privatisation and spending cuts.
Opposition criticism also targeted incoming Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič, whose statement about Slovenia not needing the rail upgrade on the Divača-Koper section for another 30-40 years severely upset politics and the transport sector.
While assessing that Gašperšič somehow detoured from the coalition's position with the statement, Cerar assured the MPs that the second track, planned for at least ten years, remained on the government's priority list.
Meanwhile, Cerar's predecessor Alenka Bratušek, who led the country since March 2013, handed the office over to the new prime minister, stressing she was leaving the country to Cerar in a much better position than it was when she took over.
She pointed to the the difficult situation at the time when the country was in recession, unemployment was growing by the day and nobody was willing to lend money, while "people took to the streets to protest against the arrogant authorities".
While she admitted that not everything was done since then, "we have managed to get Slovenia back on track". Last but not least, Bratušek stressed the government bailout of the banking system (of over EUR 3bn) was not cheap, but vital for the economy to slowly recover. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | September 2014 | ['(Slovenia Times)'] |
In Australian rules football, Brendon Bolton is sacked as the head coach of the Carlton Football Club, following a prolonged period of poor on-field performances. (The Age ) | The day started with news of a meeting between Carlton's president Mark LoGiudice and football boss Brad Lloyd, and ended with Brendon Bolton's sacking confirmed at a press conference at Ikon Park.
In summary, the Blues said a poor win-loss record meant they had to act to remove Bolton, though they thanked him for his time at the helm and said he was not solely to blame.
Bolton was in his fourth year as senior coach, having start in 2016, after Mick Malthouse was sacked in 2015.
Assistant coach David Teague will take over as interim coach. Teague, a former Carlton best and fairest winner, has been forward line coach until now.
That wraps up our live coverage for today, but you can get all the best news and analysis with our continuing coverage at realfooty.com.au, via @agerealfooty on Twitter or on our Facebook page.
And keep an eye out wherever you get your podcasts for the lastest episode of the Real Footy podcast, where we will have analysis from Jake Niall and Michael Gleeson.
"If Brendon Bolton had single failing, reputedly it was that he kept the players under too tight a rein. If it had brought success, it might have been tolerated. But it didn't, which meant the traces pinched tighter still."
Read Greg Baum's analysis of the Bolton sacking here.
That wraps up Carlton's press conference. To summarise the latest news:
"We're a fair way away but we have a plan that we believe in ... We know it will be the plan that will get us the success we need and that ultimately is winning premierships," says LoGiudice.
The CEO says he didn't sit down with Robert Walls and ask for his opinion on the decision to sack Bolton.
Walls has been brought in as a coaching mentor.
Bolton described Walls as a "wise old owl" and said he had been "highly supportive", but noted he had not been a full time presence at the football club.
Bolton is disappointed, but has "no grudge here to hold" and says for now he just wants to "be a dad".
"I crave being connected to something," he said.
He also explained how he deals with his emotions.
"If you're feeling emotional, do something for someone else."
Bolton says he understands the coaching "caper" and that wins and losses are important.
"I'm not hiding from it," he says.
"It's not an excuse but on the weekend we had 15 guys under 60 games ... It made it challenging. But we've got to step up and get results."
Mark LoGiudice is emphatic when he says the Blues have not approached any other coach.
"We have not approached or spoken to any other coach," he says.
"We need to make sure the next coach is someone who is going to continue to develop our list and adopt the club strategy."
Liddle says he's happy with Stephen Silvagni's role at Carlton.
He says the Blues always looked to on-trade picks for established talent. He says the future first-round pick the Blues traded to Adelaide last year to get Liam Stocker would have gone to GWS to get Dylan Shiel anyway.
He adds that Stocker has performed well so far for Carlton.
Cain Liddle says the club set out this year hoping to win more games, and be more competitive in games.
"I'm devastated because as I've stated before Brendon is someone I care about," Liddle said.
But he said the Blues need to look forward.
"It's a sad day in one respect but tomorrow we move forward.
"We have had a plan ... We've brought some elite young talent into our group ... The expectations are going to be high."
On what sealed Bolton's fate, he said the time was right to remove Bolton because of the "accumulation of losses and the way that has happened over the last four to six weeks."
Mark LoGiudice has reiterated that the Blues aren't starting from scratch.
"We're not starting again. We're continuing along with the strategy ... we're continually reviewing all areas of the football club," he said.
He reiterated that the final call came down to wins on the board.
"At the end of the day it was about the win-loss ratio.
"The way we lost some of the games helped the decision, I suppose. We do have a game plan, we do have a strategy, but ultimately it was the win-loss that came to this decision." | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2019 | ['(Australia)'] |
Venezuela swaps its bolivar notes with coins in order to curb hyperinflation. | The Venezuelan government has announced it will remove the country's highest-denomination banknote from circulation within 72 hours to combat contraband.
Central bank data suggests there are more than six billion 100-bolivar notes in circulation, making up almost half of all currency.
Venezuelans will have 10 days from Wednesday to exchange the notes for coins and new, higher-value bills.
President Nicolas Maduro said the move would stop gangs hoarding the notes.
But in India, a similar move to scrap high-value bank notes last month has caused major disruption.
In a surprise announcement, Mr Maduro said on Sunday that the 100-bolivar note, worth about 2 US cents (£0.015) on the black market, would be taken out of circulation on Wednesday.
The president said the aim was to tackle transnational gangs which hoard the Venezuelan notes abroad, a move he has in the past described as part of the "economic war" being waged against his government.
He said the gangs held more than 300bn bolivares worth of currency, most of it in 100-bolivar notes.
President Maduro said there were "entire warehouses full of 100-bolivar notes in the [Colombian cities of] Cucuta, Cartagena, Maicao and Buaramanga".
He said part of the plan was to block any of the 100-bolivar notes from being taken back into the country so the gangs would be unable to exchange their hoarded bills, making them worthless.
"I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can't be returned and they're stuck with their fraud abroad," he said speaking on television.
Venezuela's currency has fallen dramatically amid skyrocketing inflation.
On the black market, its value dropped by 55% against the US dollar just in the past month, and the International Monetary Fund estimates that next year's prices will rise by more than 2,000%.
Gangs can therefore buy up Venezuelan banknotes cheaply on the black market in exchange for dollars or Colombian pesos.
They then use the Venezuelan currency to buy subsidised goods in Venezuela, which they in turn sell at a profit in neighbouring Colombia.
Many Venezuelans living near the border buy Colombian pesos to purchase goods in Colombia which they cannot get in Venezuela due to chronic shortages.
President Maduro blames both the shortages and Venezuela's record inflation on "imperialist forces" he says are trying to bring down his government. He said the aim of these "forces" was "to destabilise out economy and our society, to leave the country without 100-bolivar notes".
Analysts say the move is likely to worsen the cash crunch in Venezuela, where people have already been limited in the amount of cash they can take out at automated teller machines.
Venezuelans have only been given 10 days to exchange their 100-bolivar notes for new coins and bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars due to be introduced from 15 December.
Critics of Mr Maduro have predicted chaos and doubt that the facilities will be in place for people to exchange all their 100-bolivar notes.
"When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?" opposition leader Henrique Capriles wrote on Twitter (in Spanish).
New Venezuela notes after inflation
The dearest Nutella in the world?
What's behind Venezuela's political crisis?
| Government Policy Changes | December 2016 | ['(BBC)'] |
The French film Blue Is the Warmest Colour wins the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. | Blue is the Warmest Colour, an intimate love story about two young French women, has won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
It has attracted attention for its explicit sex scenes as well as the acclaimed performances of actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux.
Hollywood veteran Bruce Dern won best actor for his performance in Nebraska.
And French star Berenice Bejo, known for silent film The Artist, won best actress for her role in The Past.
The winners were picked from the 20 films in competition and were named at the festival's closing ceremony on Sunday.
Blue is the Warmest Colour is a three-hour coming-of-age movie in which Exarchopoulos plays a 15-year-old who falls in love with an older woman, played by Seydoux.
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, it won rave reviews in Cannes, being described as "epic yet intimate" by The Guardian.
But it also shocked some critics. Variety magazine said it contained "the most explosively graphic lesbian sex scenes in recent memory".
The Hollywood Reporter said the "sprawling drama" would "raise eyebrows" as it crossed the barrier "between performance and the real deal".
Some had questioned whether the sex scenes may make it too explicit for the top prize.
But director Steven Spielberg, who chaired the jury, told reporters: "I think it will get a lot of play... I think this film carries a very strong message, a very positive message."
In an unusual move, Spielberg awarded the prize to the two lead actresses as well as the director.
Accepting the prize, Abdellatif Kechiche said: "I should like to dedicate this film to the wonderful youth of France whom I met during the long period while making this film.
"Those young people taught me a lot about the spirit of freedom and living together."
Blue is the Warmest Colour prevented US film-makers the Coen brothers from repeating their Palme d'Or success of 1991, when they won for Barton Fink.
Their latest film Inside Llewyn Davis, about the 1960s New York folk scene, won this year's Grand Prix, effectively the runners-up prize.
The best actor award marks a return to the critical bosom for Bruce Dern, who is best known for roles in 1970s films including Coming Home, The Cowboys and The Great Gatsby.
Now 76, he has won for playing an ageing, alcoholic father on a road trip to collect a lottery prize. The film, titled Nebraska, was directed by Sideways and The Descendants film-maker Alexander Payne.
Berenice Bejo's best actress prize has proved that her performance in The Artist was not a one-off. Her film The Past is a family drama made by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi as the follow-up to his Oscar-nominated 2011 drama A Separation.
Mexico's Amat Escalante, who made brutal drama Heli about the country's drugs war, was something of a surprise choice for best director.
China's Jia Zhangke won best screenplay for A Touch of Sin, an examination of rampant corruption in his country.
The Jury Prize went to Like Father, Like Son, about two families who discover that their six-year-old boys were switched at birth, directed by Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda.
Films that missed out included Behind the Candelabra, in which Michael Douglas plays the legendarily flamboyant entertainer Liberace, and Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty, a sumptuous story about an ageing novelist.
Spielberg was joined on the jury by Life of Pi director Ang Lee, actress Nicole Kidman and Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz.
The other judges were We Need To Talk About Kevin film-maker Lynne Ramsay, French actor Daniel Auteuil, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, Japanese director Naomi Kawase and Bollywood star Vidya Balan.
| Awards ceremony | May 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
Afghan President Hamid Karzai issues a "last warning" to the United States and NATO after yet another raid kills 14 more civilians. | Afghan President Hamid Karzai has forcefully condemned the killing of 14 civilians in the south-west of the country in a suspected Nato air strike. Mr Karzai said his government had repeatedly asked the US to stop raids which end up killing Afghan civilians and this was his "last warning". A Nato spokesman said a team had been sent to Helmand province to investigate the attack carried out on Saturday. Afghan officials say all those killed were women and children. The strike took place in Nawzad district after a US Marines base came under attack.
The air strike, targeted at insurgents, struck two civilian homes, killing two women and 12 children, reports say.
"The president called this incident a great mistake and the murdering of Afghanistan's children and women, and on behalf of the Afghan people gives his last warning to the US troops and US officials in this regard," his office said.
The White House said it shared Mr Karzai's concerns and took them "very seriously".
A group from Sera Cala village travelled to Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah, bringing with them the bodies of eight dead children, some as young as two years old, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul. "See, they aren't Taliban," they chanted as the carried the corpses to local journalists and the governor's mansion.
While insurgents are responsible for most civilian deaths in Afghanistan, the killings of Afghans by foreign soldiers is a source of deepening anger, our correspondent adds.
President Hamid Karzai has criticised Nato for not doing enough to prevent such deaths, especially during "night raids" and has called on the country's ministry of defence to stop what he described as "arbitrary" operations by foreign forces.
In the country's north, security was extremely tight for the funeral of Gen Mohammad Daud Daud, the police commander for northern Afghanistan who was killed in a suicide bomb attack on the provincial governor's compound in Takhar province on Saturday.
He was one of at least six people killed in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban.
The location of the funeral itself was not announced in advance for security reasons.
Shopkeepers closed their doors and hung pictures of the general as he was buried, and mourners waved black flags in his honour, Reuters news agency reports.
The governor of Takhar province, Abdul Jabar Taqwa, dismissed allegations that "rogue" elements were involved in Saturday's attack in Taloqan. He said intelligence officials knew about the mission and even had the telephone number of the suicide bomber several days before his attack.
"We sadly failed to catch him before he could carry out his mission," the governor, whose face and hand were burnt in the attack, told reporters in Taloqan on Sunday.
| Armed Conflict | May 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
A suicide bomber kills two Pakistani policemen and wounds 10 others as security forces try to stop him from walking into their local headquarters in Swabi, 100 kilometres northwest of Islamabad. | The bomber blew himself up outside the Shah Mansoor compound of police offices and residences in Swabi, 100 kilometres northwest of Islamabad.
“Two policemen were martyred and 10 others were injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself after being stopped at the main gate,” senior police official Abdullah Khan told AFP.
Five persons allegedly attacked the Shah Mansoor Police Lines, DawnNews reported. According to the Deputy Police Officer Swabi, just after the blast, heavy fire was exchanged between police and the alleged terrorists. One militant was shot dead but the other three escaped.
According to police officials, the area has been cordoned off. More than 3,740 people have been killed in suicide attacks and bombings, blamed on homegrown Taliban and other extremist networks, since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad three years ago.
According to the Pakistani military, 2,421 army and paramilitary soldiers were killed and 7,195 wounded in fighting with extremist militants from 2002 until April this year. Agencies | Armed Conflict | November 2010 | ['(Dawn)'] |
Tens of thousands of people protest about tree–felling in Stuttgart and are confronted by police wielding water cannon and pepper spray. | Emotions are running high in Stuttgart, where an estimated 50,000 people protested on Saturday because trees had been felled to make way for an upgraded railway station. Earlier, German police used water cannon and pepper spray to clear opponents from the site.
The BBC's Berlin Correspondent Steve Evans examines why stations arouse such passions and why these protests are putting Chancellor Angela Merkel to the test.
There is a long history of people protesting against the destruction of stations. New ones might function better, but old stations often have romance and resonance.
That is certainly what the people who saved New York's Grand Central Station from the wrecking ball in the Sixties and Seventies would say. Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy was hugely important in the long-running campaign to block the redevelopers' plans.
Earlier, opponents of demolition had failed to save the Pennsylvania Station, Manhattan's great secular cathedral of light, with its breathtakingly high vaults of steel ribs and glass which let the sun shine in. (Grand Central is magnificent in a different way: it is like a sombre cathedral of ethereal darkness and awe.)
Station-saving seems to be a particularly middle-class issue - a conservative cause in the true sense. Think of magnificent St Pancras in London, destined to be turned to rubble in the brutalism of the Sixties, but saved by a campaign led by a poet.
And not just any poet, but by Sir John Betjeman, the quintessential voice of middle-class England. In gratitude, his statue now stands in the middle of the saved and renewed station, now transformed into the London terminal of the Eurostar that connects Britain with Paris and Brussels.
But what does all of this have to do with Germany, you might ask?
The answer is that the country's burning issue at the moment revolves around the future of Stuttgart station, in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Mrs Merkel has her hands full with many things - economics and energy policy, to name but two - but it is the future of this station which is bringing people onto the streets in their tens of thousands, and bringing out police to clear them away very forcibly.
Her problem is that it is a middle-class issue. Stations get people worked up and it is exactly her kind of people who are doing the protesting - and who are getting bruised and bloodied and drenched in front of lots of television cameras.
The project - known as Stuttgart 21 - involves knocking down a large part of the station, which survived World War II. The railway lines would go underground.
The mega-project involves cutting down hundreds of trees. And if there's one thing which works people up more than stations it may be trees. So there have been prayer vigils under the copper-coloured boughs of the ancient and majestic beech trees of the Schlossgarten, with protesters singing We Shall Overcome.
All this redevelopment is meant to enable high-speed trains to go right across Europe from Paris to Bratislava, and also to link this wealthy region of southern Germany to the high-speed rail network and lucrative markets for German businesses.
The cost is put by the authorities at about 4bn euros (£3.5bn; $5.5bn). And if there's one thing that gets people even more worked up than stations and trees, it's money.
The plan's opponents say the cost will turn out to be much higher, and the mood of heightened austerity means that the opposition is all the stronger.
And on top of that, in the current anti-corporate mood, the critics say the Merkel government is leaning too far in favour of commercial interests.
The station, then, has become a symbol of wider discontent. It is a lightning rod, with Mrs Merkel strapped to the base.
It is a very uncomfortable place. Her critics are not assuaged by statements that "the government is saddened by images such as those we saw from Stuttgart; disputes should be carried out peacefully".
The protests and, more importantly the coverage of the protests, are pure gold for the Greens, who have soared in the opinion polls. One recent national poll put them on a record high of 19%, enough with their Social Democrat allies on 30% to trump Mrs Merkel's coalition on 36%.
She has some time before elections next March in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, which has been controlled by Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats since 1952. Were she to lose those, though, the writing would be on the wall for her.
But the more immediate test is how to deal with the weekly protests, which seem to be escalating in size and bloodiness.
Mrs Merkel needs the project to go through, and all the demolition and cutting down of trees involved. If it is blocked, a key link in the middle of a very long, very expensive high-speed railway line will not be there, and Germany would have failed to honour commitments to its partners in the project.
But if it goes ahead, the cost in terms of confronting protesters with police clubs and water cannon would be politically very high. | Riot | October 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
A three–day summit is held in Tokyo between the leaders of Japan and ASEAN that will likely discuss the recent encroachment of China. | Japan and SE Asian leaders have pledged to work together to ensure "freedom of overflight" in the region, in a move seen as a mild rebuke to China.
The announcement came at a summit in Tokyo, weeks after China's declaration of a new air defence zone overlapping areas claimed by Japan and South Korea.
Japan has been rallying support from 10 Asean nations, some of whom also have territorial disputes with China.
Earlier, PM Shinzo Abe unveiled a $20bn (£12bn) package of aid and loans.
It is part of Japan's apparent efforts to court its southern neighbours against a backdrop of Chinese expansion in the region.
The Tokyo summit marks 40 years of Japan's ties with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Indonesia said good China-Japan ties were "critical" for the region. Japanese and Asean leaders "agreed to enhance co-operation in ensuring freedom of overflight and civil aviation safety", said a passage in their statement quoted by AFP news agency.
The statement does not single out any particular country but is thought to be an allusion to the air defence zone above the East China Sea - the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) - unilaterally declared by China last month.
China had said that aircraft flying through the ADIZ - which covers an area containing disputed islands not controlled by China - must follow its rules, including filing flight plans and identifying themselves. But it insists the ADIZ is not a no-flight zone.
The statement also refers "to the importance of maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region and promoting maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation, unimpeded commerce, exercise of self-restraint and resolution of disputes by peaceful means".
Mr Abe's financial package will be spread over five years, and will mostly take the form of concessional loans.
It will focus on development in the Mekong river region, which stretches from China in the north down through south-east Asia, and fund transport projects.
He said he wanted to build a future of Asia "where laws, rather than power, rule".
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said good relations between China and Japan were "critical to the future" of the region.
"Indonesia is deeply concerned at the prospect of the disputes erupting into open conflicts, which will have adverse impacts on all countries in the region," he said.
The Philippines, which is involved in an ongoing row with China over islands in the South China Sea, said it was committed to freedom of flight in international airspace without specifically mentioning China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about the summit on Thursday, said the relevant countries should work to maintain regional stability. The countries "in developing their relations, should not target third parties or hurt third-party interests", he said. Military aircraft from the US, Japan and South Korea have defied the ADIZ, flying unannounced through the area. Washington has called China's declaration of an ADIZ a bid to unilaterally change the status quo in the region. There are fears a similar zone will be declared above the resource-rich South China Sea, which China largely claims as its own.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Why China air zone raises risk
Disputed islands explained
China jets scrambled in air zone
Viewpoints: China air zone tensions
How uninhabited islands soured China-Japan ties
S Korea expands air defence zone
Asean
Setback for EU in legal fight with AstraZeneca
But the drug-maker faces hefty fines if it fails to supply doses of Covid-19 vaccine over the summer. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | December 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
War in Somalia: An African Union delegation is in Somalia's capital Mogadishu to discuss the deployment of international peacekeeping troops. | It would replace Ethiopian troops who helped Somalia's government oust an Islamist militia but whose presence, analysts say, may hinder lasting peace.
A delegation from the African Union has arrived in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, with the deployment of peacekeepers also high on its agenda.
Aids effect
Mr Kibaki, who chairs the East Africa regional group known as Igad, has sent ministers to Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Tunisia and Algeria, asking for troop support.
So far only Uganda has offered troops - 1,500 - although it needs parliamentary approval.
Mwai Kibaki is spearheading peacekeeping efforts
BBC Africa editor Martin Plaut says African leaders are concerned about becoming bogged down in a quagmire.
Our correspondent also says that Aids is eroding the continent's ability to provide troops for peacekeeping operations at a time when its many wars are placing increased demands on armies. The disease has left armies with vacant posts and units operating below strength, he says.
Ethiopia wants to withdraw its soldiers from Somalia within weeks.
However, the nation remains dangerously volatile with remnants of the Islamist militia still at large.
Mogadishu is also still awash with weapons.
It became one of the world's most dangerous cities following the ousting of former leader Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991 although the Union of Islamic Courts' six-month rule restored some order.
The interim government and Ethiopian troops are continuing searches for weapons in the capital.
African Union officials are in Mogadishu to discuss peacekeeping at the invitation of Somalia's interim government.
It is unlikely members will agree to send peacekeepers unless fighting has halted, analysts say.
On Saturday, Somalia's parliament voted to declare three months of martial law.
MPs sitting in the provincial town of Baidoa voted 154 to two to ratify Prime Minister Ali Mohamad Ghedi's plan to restore order.
Martial law will allow the president to issue decrees on matters of national security, bans unlawful demonstrations and outlaws the spreading of propaganda. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | January 2007 | ['(AP via ABC News)', '(BBC)'] |
Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, imprisoned by the United States on charges of disclosing government information to the general public, is found competent to stand trial by a "panel of experts", despite having earlier been thought of as a "suicide risk" and having his clothes removed. | An army intelligence analyst jailed on charges of leaking United States government data to Wikileaks has been found competent to stand trial despite earlier being categorised as a suicide risk, according to official sources. Bradley Manning, who was held in solitary confinement for 11 months following allegations that he gave the online whistleblower website sensitive information on U.S. military and diplomatic engagements, was cleared to stand trial by a “panel of experts.”
Despite protests from his legal team, the Pentagon earlier ruled that Mr. Manning was in danger of harming himself and consequently stripped him down to a smock every night and held him in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. However last week Mr. Manning was transferred from the military facility in Quantico, Virginia, where he was being held under these restrictive conditions, to a prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was said to be considered “medium-security” detenu. In Fort Leavenworth, authorities said he would be permitted to interact with other inmates.
While the treatment meted out to Mr. Manning in Quantico was described as “degrading and inhumane” by a group of 250 legal experts, including a former professor of President Barack Obama, Pentagon officials said there was a lot of “misinformation” about Mr. Manning and insisted he was neither in solitary confinement nor stripped naked every night.
With Mr. Manning being suddenly moved to Fort Leavenwoth the focus of his case is likely to shift to military court martial proceedings, the date for which has not yet been set.
In a concurrent development, Mr. Obama was recently caught on camera saying to an attendee at a fundraising event in San Francisco last week that Mr. Manning “broke the law,” prompting some legal experts to argue that in saying so Mr. Obama has “destroyed the chance of a fair trial” for Mr. Manning.
The White House subsequently withdrew the privileges of the journalist, Carla Marinucci, who posted online the video of Mr. Obama commenting on Mr. Manning's guilt. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2011 | ['(The Hindu)'] |
North Korea launches two ballistic missiles, one of which explodes immediately after its launch while the main part of the other lands in Japan's economic exclusion zone. | SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the isolated country in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The main body of the missile landed in Japan’s economic exclusion zone, a Japanese defence official said, escalating regional tensions that were already high after a series of missile launches this year and the decision by the United States to place a sophisticated anti-missile system in South Korea.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the launch as a “grave threat” to Japan and said Tokyo “strongly protested”. Japan also said its self-defence force would remain on alert in case of further launches.
A U.S. State Department spokesman condemned the launch, and said it would “only increase the international community’s resolve to counter” North Korea’s actions.
The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected two missiles, one of which it said exploded immediately after launch.
The missile that landed in the Sea of Japan was launched at about 7:50 a.m. Seoul time (2250 GMT Tuesday) from a region in South Hwanghae province to the southwest of North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The launch showed North Korea’s ambition to “directly and broadly attack neighbouring countries and target several places in the Republic of Korea such as ports and airfields”, the South Korean office said, referring to South Korea by its official title.
The missile appeared to be a Rodong-type medium-range missile that flew about 1,000 km (620 miles), it said.
The United States will begin large-scale annual drills with its ally South Korea later this month that it bills as defensive in nature and not provocative. North Korea typically protests against the drills, which it says are a rehearsal for invasion.
“The North Koreans seem to have been timing their recent short-range and medium-range missile tests to the weeks ahead of U.S.-South Korean joint exercises,” said Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review.
“If the allies can exercise their armed forces, so can the North,” he said.
On July 19, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles that flew between 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles) into the sea off its east coast.
The North later said the launches were part of an exercise simulating preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military.
The latest launches follow an agreement last month between South Korea and the United States to deploy an advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system in the South.
North Korea had threatened a “physical response” against the deployment decision.
The North came under the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions in March after its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket the following month.
Tensions have been high on the Korean peninsula since the January nuclear test. The two Koreas remain technically at war under a truce that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul and Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo; Editing by Tony Munroe and Paul Tait
| Armed Conflict | August 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Nationwide student protests following the deaths of two teenagers killed by a speeding bus enter their fifth day, causing the government to shut down thousands of high schools. | Tens of thousands of students, many of them teenagers, have brought areas of Bangladesh to a near-standstill during five days of protests following the deaths of two teenagers killed by a speeding bus.
Bangladeshi authorities have been forced to shut thousands of high schools across the country due to the demonstrations, which saw thousands of people, mostly students in their mid-teens, block major intersections in the capital of Dhaka as they marched through the streets chanting “we want justice” and checking people’s drivers’ licences. Police armed with shields and batons have been called in to deal with the protesters, with some reports of vehicles being vandalised.
Bangladesh’s transport sector is widely seen as corrupt, unregulated and dangerous. News that a boy and girl were killed on the roadside on Sunday by a speeding bus spread rapidly on social media they became a catalyst for an outpouring of anger.
More than 4,200 pedestrians were killed in road accidents in Bangladesh in 2017, a 25% increase from 2016, according to private research group the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways.
In some parts of Dhaka students occupying major intersections checked licence plates and demanded to see driver identification and registration documents.
“We don’t want any vehicles without licences on the streets. Those unfit to drive should not get licences, and we don’t want underage motorists driving public transport,” said one protester, Mohammad Sifat.
US and Australian embassies warned of significant delays as a result of the protests across Dhaka and elsewhere as many residents were forced to walk across the congested capital to offices and workplaces.
But some joined the students, frustrated at the government’s inability to tackle Dhaka’s notoriously dangerous roads.
“I support this movement and sincerely hope it will shake out corruption in the system,” Yunus Ali, a businessman, said at a busy demonstration.
Shajahan Khan, a government minister with ties to powerful transport unions, also triggered fresh outrage when he questioned why there was such an uproar over the two Dhaka children but no reaction when 33 people were killed in an Indian bus crash the day before.
There have been widespread social media demands for the resignation of Khan, who later apologised for his comments.
The home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday promised that the government would launch a public transport safety campaign and urged the protesters to go home. “People are suffering and we don’t want this,” he said. | Protest_Online Condemnation | August 2018 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Iraqi forces launch an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit with at least one helicopter crashing. | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities.
Eyewitnesses said battles were raging in the city, hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, which fell to Sunni Islamist fighters two weeks ago on the third day of a lightning offensive that has given them control of most majority Sunni regions.
The helicopters were shot at as they flew low over the city and landed in a stadium at the city's university, a security source at the scene said. Government spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment and by evening the assault was still not being reported on state media.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fierce clashes ensued, centred around the university compound.
Ahmed al-Jubbour, professor at the university's college of agriculture, described fighting in the colleges of agriculture and sports education after three helicopters arrived.
"I saw one of the helicopters land opposite the university with my own eyes and I saw clashes between dozens of militants and government forces," he said.
Jubbour said one helicopter crash landed in the stadium. Another left after dropping off troops and a third remained on the ground. Army snipers were positioning themselves on tall buildings in the university complex.
Iraq's million-strong army, trained and equipped by the United States, largely evaporated in the north after Sunni fighters led by the Islamic State inIraqand the Levant launched their assault with the capture of the north's biggest city Mosul on June 10.
But in recent days, government forces have been fighting back, relying on elite commandos flown in by helicopter to defend the country's biggest oil refinery at Baiji.
A successful operation to recapture territory inside Tikrit would deliver the most serious blow yet against an insurgency which for most of the past two weeks has seemed all but unstoppable in the Sunni heartland north and west of Baghdad.
MALIKI UNDER PRESSURE
In the capital, the president's office confirmed that a new parliament elected two months ago would meet on Tuesday, the deadline demanded by the constitution, to begin the process of forming a government.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose Shi'ite-led State of Law coalition won the most seats in the April election but needs allies to form a cabinet, is under strong pressure from the United States and other countries to swiftly build a more inclusive government to undermine support for the insurgency.
Maliki confirmed this week that he would support the constitutional deadlines to set up a new government, after pressure from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who flew to Baghdad for emergency crisis talks to urge him to act.
The 64-year-old Shi'ite Islamist Maliki is fighting for his political life in the face of an assault that threatens to dismember his country. Sunni, Kurdish and rival Shi'ite groups have demanded he leave office, and some ruling party members have suggested he could be replaced with a less polarising figure, although close allies say he has no plan to step aside.
Fighters from ISIL - an al Qaeda offshoot which says all Shi'ites are heretics who should be killed - have been assisted in their advance by other, more moderate Sunni armed groups who share their view that Sunnis have been persecuted under Maliki.
Washington hopes that armed Sunni tribal groups, which turned against al Qaeda during the U.S. "surge" offensive of 2006-2007, can again be persuaded to switch sides and back the government, provided that a new cabinet is more inclusive.
The United States, which withdrew its ground forces in 2011, has ruled out sending them back but is sending up to 300 military advisers, mostly special forces troops, to help organise Baghdad's military response.
The fighters have been halted about an hour's drive north of Baghdad and on its western outskirts, but have pressed on with their advances in areas like religiously mixed Diyala province north of the capital, long one of Iraq's most violent areas.
On Thursday morning, ISIL fighters staged an assault on the town of Mansouriyat al-Jabal, home to inactive gas fields where foreign firms operate, in northeastern Diyala province. An Iraqi oil ministry official denied fighters had taken the field.
A roadside bomb in Baghdad's Shi'ite northern district of Kadhimiya killed eight people on Thursday, police and hospital sources said.
SYRIASTRIKES
The ISIL-led advance has put the United States on the same side as its enemy of 35 yearsIran, the Middle East's main Shi'ite power, as well as Iran's ally president Bashar al-Assad ofSyria, who is fighting ISIL in his country.
Locals in the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim, captured by ISIL several days ago, saySyrian jets carried out strikes against militants on the Iraqi side of the frontier this week, marking the first time Assad's air forces have come to Baghdad's aid.
Publicly, Baghdad, which operates helicopters but no jets, said its own forces carried out the air strike. But a senior Iraqi government official confirmed on condition of anonymity that the strike was mounted by Assad's air force.
Iran, which armed and trained some of Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, has pledged to intervene if necessary inIraqto protect Shi’ite holy places. Thousands of Shi'ites have answered Maliki's call to join the armed forces to defend the country.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Baghdad on Thursday, reinforcing the international push for Maliki to speed up the political process.
Under the official schedule, parliament will have 30 days from when it first meets on Tuesday to name a president and 15 days after that to name a prime minister.
In the past the process has dragged out, taking nine months to seat the government in 2010. Any delays would allow Maliki to continue to serve as caretaker. | Armed Conflict | June 2014 | ['(Reuters via The Nation)'] |
More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus. | BOGOTA (Reuters) - More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the countrys national health institute said on Saturday, as the disease continues its spread across the Americas.
The virus has been linked to the devastating birth defect microcephaly, which prevents fetus brains from developing properly. There is no vaccine or treatment.
There are 20,297 confirmed cases of the disease in Colombia, the national health institute said in a epidemiology bulletin, among them 2,116 pregnant women.
There are so far no reported cases of microcephaly or deaths from the virus in Colombia.
The institute said 37.2 percent of pregnant women with Zika live in Norte de Santander province, along the eastern border with Venezuela.
Earlier figures from the health ministry showed 560 pregnant women had the disease, out of more than 13,500 infections.
Zika cases have been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas and scientists are racing to develop a vaccine for the virus.
Nearly half of Colombias Zika cases have been reported in the countrys Caribbean region, the bulletin said. More than 60 percent of those infected are women.
The health ministry has said Zika infection falls within the health requirements women must meet to get abortions in the country, which restricts the procedure unless patients are victims of rape, have significant medical problems or the fetus is fatally deformed.
Many women, especially those living far from large cities, struggle to find abortion providers even when they meet the legal requirements and illegal abortions are widespread.
The government has urged women to delay pregnancy for six to eight months to avoid potential infection. Officials expect up to 700,000 cases.
Brazil is the country hit hardest by the disease. It has reported around 3,700 cases of microcephaly strongly suspected to be related to Zika.
The World Health Organization has said as many as 4 million people in the Americas may become infected.
| Disease Outbreaks | January 2016 | ['(Reuters)'] |
A mass shooting in Jaral del Progreso, Guanajuato, leaves at least 11 people dead and one injured. | MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - A massacre in a bar left 11 people dead on Sunday, Mexican authorities said, as the country grapples with a record homicide rate despite the government’s pledge to stop gang violence.
The attorney general’s office of the central Mexican state of Guanajuato said the bodies of seven men and four women were found in the bar in the early hours of Sunday morning in the city of Jaral del Progreso. Another woman was found with gunshot injuries, authorities said in a news release.
Guanajuato, a major carmaking hub, has become a recurring scene of criminal violence in Mexico, ravaged by a turf war between the local Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
In July, gunmen killed 24 people at a drug rehabilitation center in Guanajuato, marking one of the worst mass slayings since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office pledging to reduce record levels of violence.
| Armed Conflict | September 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Sony Corporation announces plans to cut 8,000 jobs and close 10% of its manufacturing plants. | Sony has announced plans to cut 8,000 electronics jobs - 5% of the division - as well as shutting 10% of its manufacturing sites.
The company said the jobs would be cut by April 2010, but did not say in which countries the staff would go.
Sony said it would also cut at least 8,000 temporary and contract staff jobs in the same sector.
It said it had been trying to reduce production because of the downturn, but warned it still had to do more.
The news came as Japan said its economy had shrunk between July and September by much more than initially estimated.
The Cabinet Office said the economy had shrunk at an annual rate of 1.8% in the quarter, compared with its original estimate of 0.4%.
Investment cut
Sony said the cost-cutting plan was aimed at responding to "the sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment".
Sony aims to generate cost savings of about 100bn yen ($1.1bn; £730m) by the end of the next financial year.
It will cut its investment in electronic operations by 30% and shut down about 10% of its 57 production facilities.
"The number sounds big, but this staff reduction won't be enough," said Katsuhiko Mori, a fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments.
"Sony doesn't have any core businesses that generate stable profits - the next thing we want to see is what is going to be the business that will drive the company."
Last month, Sony reported a 71% fall in net profit for the three months to the end of September, compared with the same period in 2007.
Its net profit for the quarter was 20.8bn yen, down from 71.8bn yen for the same three months last year. Sales were down 0.5% at 2.1 trillion yen. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | December 2008 | ['(BBC)'] |
A court in China sentences an Australian man to death for drug trafficking. The man had been arrested in 2013 at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou. The Australian government condemns the verdict. | SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man has been sentenced to death in China, authorities said on Saturday, a development that could further escalate tensions between the two countries.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the man, without identifying him.
Australian and Chinese media have identified the man as Cam Gillespie, arrested seven years ago on charges of drug trafficking in southern China.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Attempts to reach Gillespie’s family were unsuccessful.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the verdict made in his case,” the Australian foreign affairs department said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
“Australia opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances for all people. We support the universal abolition of the death penalty and are committed to pursuing this goal through all the avenues available to us.”
Cam Gillespie was arrested in 2013 with more than 7.5 kg (17 pounds) of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage while attempting to board an international flight from Baiyun Airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, according to several media reports.
Diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra have worsened since Australia called for an international inquiry into the source and spread of the new coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
China has in recent weeks banned Australian beef imports and imposed tariffs on Australian barley. It has also urged Chinese tourists to avoid Australia.
The death sentence for drug smuggling is not uncommon in China, where executions are usually carried out by firing squad.
Last year, the country sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related crimes following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and said it was “not worried in the slightest” by mounting international concern over the verdict.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | June 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Australian State and Territory leaders agree to implement the Commonwealth Government's tough new anti–terrorism laws with a sunset clause. The new laws allow police to detain terrorism "suspects" without charge for up to two weeks, and electronically tag them for up to a year. The measures have been attacked by civil libertarians and Muslim groups. | In agreement: Mr Howard says the laws are unusual but necessary. (ABC) The state and territory leaders have reached an agreement with the Commonwealth over proposed anti-terrorism legislation. Under the planned laws, state and territory police will be given extra tracking powers and will be able to detain terrorism suspects for up to two weeks without charge.
Prime Minister John Howard has agreed to apply a 10-year sunset clause, or expiry date, to the legislation and there will be a review after five years. Mr Howard has also agreed that the Commonwealth will fund a unified Australian Federal Police command at the nation's airports. He says the leaders have agreed on unusual laws for Australia.
"We have done that because we live in unusual circumstances," Mr Howard said.
"In other circumstances I would never have sought these additional powers, I would never have asked the premiers of the Australian states to support me in enacting the laws.
"We do live in very dangerous and different and threatening circumstances."
Mr Howard says the laws go no further than they need to but "but they go the necessary distance".
However, he says he cannot guarantee that a terrorist attack will not take place in Australia.
Western Australian Premier Geoff Gallop says the COAG gathering has shown good spirit of cooperation.
"I know I can go back to Western Australia, look the Western Australian people in the eye and say that what we've done today has made for a safer Australia ... but we've done it with due concern for the type of checks and balances that are needed in a democratic society," he said. Also happy with the outcome is Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon, who says he came to the meeting determined to support enhanced measures against terrorism.
"I can go home safe in the knowledge that we have appropriately responded to what happened in London, and what happened in Madrid before it of course and hope that those sort of acts do not occur here in Australia," Mr Lennon said.
Prior to the meeting ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope had expressed reservations about the need for the new laws.
He now says all his concerns about the proposals have been addressed.
"I did come here with significant concerns around preventative detention and the Commonwealth has responded to every issue that the ACT Government put on the table and the ACT Government is supporting willingly this new approach to national counter-terrorism," he said.
Both the New South Wales and South Australian leaders believe the laws strike a balance between civil liberties and safety.
Morris Iemma says he is satisfied the new laws will better protect the community from terrorism.
"We've proven that it is possible to get tougher laws on terror and at the same time protect individual liberties," the NSW Premier said.
South Australia's Mike Rann added: "The bottom line is that the safeguards are in place, judicial review, but a series of accountabilities, a series of safeguards being established by statute.
"The protections the safeguards that are part of this package are important to...our way of life."
The legislation is viewed as "tough but fair" by Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin, who says her constituents are very conscious of the impact of terrorism.
"We were very shocked when the Bali bombing happened so this is important legislation for the Territory," Ms Martin said.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says the new regime will plug gaps in the law.
"I think these laws are necessary, they are important, they are certainly supported by Victoria," he said.
"Not only have we experience between the last COAG and this COAG we also of course are a major international player in all levels in culture in sport in trade investment and we need to make sure we have the best possible security arrangements."
The agreement includes adopting a 'public interest monitor' system that was put forward by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.
Mr Beattie says he is delighted.
"That is a very important process because it enables a public interest monitor to be represented when these matters are before a judge and to in fact represent the public interest as an important accountability mechanism in Queensland," he said.
Like the monitoring system, the sunset clause was not included in Mr Howard's original proposals.
He says he still does not agree with applying the clause, but a compromise has been reached. "It's a sensible thing to do," he said.
"I don't think having a 10-year sunset clause in any way weakens these laws and those who thought there was a case for a sunset clause feel that there's an added safeguard in it." | Government Policy Changes | September 2005 | ['(ABC)', '(ABC)'] |
An Afghan soldier kills 3 U.S. troops and injures 1 other in Achin, Nangarhar Province. The Taliban claims responsibility, saying the Afghan soldier was one of several Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan Armed Forces. | Attack comes shortly after US airstrike killed two Afghan border police, according to Helmand governor, as Trump considers sending more troops
Last modified on Fri 14 Jul 2017 18.00 BST
An Afghan soldier has killed three Americans in an apparent insider attack in the highly contested Nangarhar province, according to officials.
The attack happened less than a day after a US airstrike in Helmand killed at least two members of the Afghan border police in a joint US-Afghan operation, according to the Helmand governor. The incidents occurred at a time of intensified violence in Afghanistan, and when the Trump administration is considering sending more US troops to Afghanistan.
In Nangarhar, the governor’s spokesman, Attahullah Khogyani, told the Associated Press that two US soldiers had been killed and two others wounded in the attack. He said the attacker was killed.
Later, Reuters reported that three American soldiers had been killed and one wounded, citing three US officials speaking anonymously. The Pentagon subsequently confirmed the three US deaths and said the incident was under investigation; it said one US soldier had been evacuated for medical attention. The attack took place in Achin, a district partly controlled by militants loyal to Islamic State. This is where, in April, the US army dropped its largest conventional weapon ever used on a complex of cave used by Isis fighters. Since the Moab strike, US and Afghan forces have been engaged in ground fighting, assisted by regular airstrikes, to clear the area.
The attack brings the total number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan this year to six, all of them Americans. With the exception of one, all were killed in Nangarhar.
Insider attacks represent the gravest danger to foreign troops in Afghanistan outside of direct combat. Since 2007, more than 150 coalition forces have been killed by Afghans they were in the country to train and advise.
In March, in the latest so-called green-on-blue incident, an Afghan soldier shot and injured three Americans inside a base in Helmand.
The Afghan soldier was a member of the country’s special forces, and had gotten into a heated argument with his American mentors before shooting four of them, according to another senior Nangarhar official, not authorised to speak to the press.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, it said the Afghan soldier was one of several Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan armed forces, and that the attack was part of the group’s annual spring offensive.
“American invaders have embedded with their hirelings in most parts of the country, for which the Mujahideen have launched counter measures as many infiltrators are awaiting their chance to carry out such an attack behind enemy lines,” a Taliban statement said, according to the Site intelligence group.
In the US, the Trump administration is mulling a decision to send more soldiers to Afghanistan to shore up the 8,400 US troops already there.
American officials have reached out to Nato allies for troop contributions. There are currently about 5,000 Nato soldiers in Afghanistan. Last month, Australia committed to sending an additional 30 soldiers.
On Friday, US and Afghan forces conducted an operation in Nad Ali, an embattled district bordering the provincial capital of Helmand, in which at least two Afghan policemen were killed. “Last night around 10pm, [the US] carried out an airstrike on the district centre of Nad Ali, targeting an Afghan border police checkpoint. Two were killed, and three others wounded,” said Omar Zawak, the Helmand governor’s spokesman.
In a statement, the US military said: “During an ANDSF [Afghan government forces] and US partnered operation, fires resulted in the deaths and injuries to members of the Afghan Border Police. An investigation is being conducted at this time to determine the specific circumstances that led to this incident.”
The US has dramatically expanded its use of airstrikes in recent months. This year, the US has conducted 1,245 airstrikes in Afghanistan, nearly the same number as the entirety of 2016.
US troops in Afghanistan are primarily “training, advising and assisting” Afghan forces, but a sizeable contingent is also engaged in a counter-terrorism mission, which includes deploying airstrikes.
According to its security agreement with the Afghan government, the US is also allowed to conduct airstrikes in defence of its own troops on the ground. | Riot | June 2017 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Israel unveils preliminary plans for 238 new homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem with Palestinians protesting in response. , | RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel on Friday of choosing “settlements over peace” in a protest over publication of a plan to build 238 housing units in East Jerusalem.
A Palestinian protester runs holding a Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli border police in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan October 15, 2010. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
Israel issued the building tenders on Thursday in a little-noticed move that may further complicate U.S.-backed efforts to rescue direct peace talks with the Palestinians.
Relaunched on Sept 2, the talks are foundering over Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month settlement construction freeze that expired Sept 26.
Erekat, in a statement, said that by agreeing to publish further building plans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has made his choice, settlements over peace,” and has “demonstrated why there are no negotiations today.”
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States was disappointed by the announcement of new tenders in East Jerusalem.
“It is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties,” he said. “We will continue to work as we have to try to create conditions for direct negotiations to resume.”
The United States has been making intensive efforts to keep alive direct peace talks between the sides.
Related Coverage
Palestinians charge that Jewish settlement-building in the West Bank, land Israel captured in a 1967 war, undermines efforts to build a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.
The Israeli plan for Jerusalem calls for further construction in two predominantly Jewish “neighborhoods,” as Israel refers to them, in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank that Israel has annexed as part of its capital, in a move never recognized internationally.
They are Pisgat Zeev and Ramot, founded roughly 25 to 35 years ago respectively and now densely populated. Israel does not consider them settlements but part of its capital. Israel also captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.
Israeli Housing Minister Ariel Attias of the right-wing religious Shas party put out the 238 tenders as part of a blueprint for some 4,000 homes, most of which are planned to be built within Israel’s recognized borders.
Attias had plans for a further 1,700 homes in East Jerusalem, but has so far not published those “to avoid sabotaging talks with the Americans” on reviving peace negotiations, a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israel has insisted East Jerusalem was never part of any building freeze, although many building plans in the city were quietly put on hold after an embarrassment with Washington over tenders disclosed during a March visit by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.
. | Protest_Online Condemnation | October 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Reuters)'] |
Turkish police arrest a total of 41 people in connection with the Istanbul Atatürk Airport terrorist attack. | ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 2 (UPI) -- Turkish police arrested a total of 41 people in connection with a terrorist attack on Istanbul Ataturk Airport that killed 44 people, officials said.
An anti-terror raid of an Istanbul apartment Friday night netted 11 more suspects, ABC News reported. The news organization could not confirm whether each in a series of raids Friday were in connection with the airport bombing, where three men opened fire at a security checkpoint before blowing themselves up.
Turkish police told the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat all 11 arrested Friday are foreign nationals, but did not identify from where.
Two of the bombers have been identified as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov. The men were identified after photocopies of their passports were provided by their landlord, police said. The identity of the third suicide bomber has yet to be confirmed.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though U.S. intelligence officials said it was organized by a known Chechen-born Islamic State commander, Akhmed Chatayev. Turkish police have not confirmed Chatayev's involvement. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2016 | ['(UPI.com)'] |
Hurricane Lane strengthens to a Category 5 hurricane for around three hours as it heads toward Hawaii, before returning to Category 4. | Hurricane Lane strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it rolled toward Hawaii -- just two weeks after Hurricane Hector passed the islands.
Hurricane Lane has weakened to a Category 4 storm, though it is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian Islands, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center says.
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Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii, as the Central Pacific does not see as many storms as the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific, and the Hawaiian Islands present a small target in the vast Pacific Ocean.
Only four named storms -- two hurricanes and two tropical storms -- have made landfall in Hawaii since 1959. Even close calls are somewhat rare, with Hawaii getting a named storm within 60 miles of its coastline about once every four years on average.
Track the storm here
But Hurricane Lane looks poised to affect the Aloha State, and was about 480 miles southeast of Honolulu early Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, just above the Category 5 threshold.
The forecast puts the storm very close to the islands, with a direct landfall possible later this week.
Though the storm is expected to weaken somewhat as it approaches Hawaii, Lane has become one of only two Category 5 hurricanes to come within 350 miles of the state in recorded history, the National Weather Service said.
"On the forecast track, the center of Lane will move very close to or over the main Hawaiian Islands from Thursday through Saturday," the weather service said. A hurricane warning is in effect for Hawaii County while a hurricane watch has been issued for Maui County and Oahu.
A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area, and is issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the National Weather Service said.
A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, according to the National Weather Service's (NWS) Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu. More watches and even warnings could be necessary for additional islands as the storm moves closer in the next day or two.
American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines issued travel advisories to customers flying to or from Hawaii. Both are waiving reservation change fees as the hurricane approaches.
Tropical-storm-force winds could arrive on Wednesday in the Big Island, and in the smaller islands by Thursday or Friday.
In addition to strong winds, the primary threats will be rough surf, coastal erosion, and heavy rainfall, even if the center of the storm does not move directly over the islands.
Large waves are already being experienced along the eastern edge of Hawaii, with a "sizable swell already propagating out from this storm, which is currently impacting the eastern exposures throughout the Hawaiian Islands, showing strongest along the Hilo Side of the Big Island," according to Jonathan Warren, lead forecaster for Surfline.com.
While there is still considerable uncertainty in the forecast for Lane, it appears the storm will be passing close enough to the islands on Thursday through Saturday to bring significant impacts to the southern portions of the islands, especially along the coastline.
Hawaii has been experiencing a volcanic eruption for much of the summer. Mount Kilauea began producing lava flows in early May and portions of the southeastern coastline of the Big Island have been transformed by the lava flows that covered over 13 square miles (35 square kilometers).
Fortunately, the eruptive activity of Kilauea has "paused," with no new lava flows since August 9, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Since there is not much lava reaching the ocean anymore, the hurricane shouldn't have too much of an impact on the volcano region, according to Denison University Geophysicist Erik Klemetti. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | August 2018 | ['(CNN)'] |
The Nigerian army drives the militant group out of Chibok two days after the town's capture. | The Nigerian army says it has recaptured the north-eastern town of Chibok, which was seized by Boko Haram militants on Thursday.
Boko Haram fighters kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the village in April, sparking global outrage.
The group, which says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, has repeatedly targeted villages in Borno state in recent months.
There are reports of many Boko Haram members being killed in Sunday's raid.
Correspondents say Chibok was retaken late on Saturday, after dozens of military vehicles were seen heading to the village.
A local vigilante force was part of the operation.
This was a joint operation by Nigerian soldiers with a large number of members of a local vigilante force. The success of the mission offers some hope of further success against the insurgents who have been seizing towns and villages in north-east Nigeria, often with little resistance. The vigilantes would have been desperate to flush the jihadists out of the town and may have felt they had very little to lose by taking them on. A decision was clearly taken to retake Chibok as fast as possible. It is geographically no more significant than other towns and villages still in the hands of the jihadists but its name resonates around the world due to the tragedy of the 219 abducted school girls and so it was important for the government and military to win this battle.
Larger towns like Gwoza have been held by Boko Haram since August and it is surprising that there has not been more urgency to dislodge them from there. There has been a depressing diet of news from the north-east but the recapture of Chibok is a rare piece of good news from an area in crisis. "Troops continue pursuit of fleeing terrorists and arrest of the wounded. Normalcy is restored," Nigeria's army said on its official Twitter feed.
The military has clearly made it a priority to recapture Chibok, which was held by the insurgents for 48 hours, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Lagos.
However, many residents say the jihadists still have a presence in the surrounding villages and so the area is not safe, our correspondent adds.
Many Chibok residents have moved to other parts of the country, fearing more attacks.
Last month, the group dismissed the government's claims to have agreed a ceasefire. The government had said the ceasefire would set the stage for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls. | Armed Conflict | November 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
Abu Dhabi ends its alcohol licence system, meaning residents will no longer need a licence to buy and consume alcohol. Customers must be at least 21 and the purchase should be for personal use only, according to the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism. |
Abu Dhabi residents will no longer need a licence to buy and drink alcohol, the authorities have said.
A note sent to distribution companies and retailers said they were not required to ask customers to produce a card that showed they were eligible to buy alcohol.
Customers must be at least 21 and the purchase should be for personal use, not resale.
Alcohol should also be consumed in private homes or licensed areas only. The letter was issued by Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism.
"We would like to announce the cancellation of alcohol licences for individuals, where residents and tourists will be permitted to buy and possess alcohol from licensed retail shops, and are allowed to drink within tourism and hotel establishments, clubs and independent outlets, in accordance with the following requirements," the department said.
Alcohol licence holders in Dubai must update cards by August 31
Dubai to offer tourists temporary alcohol licences to close legal loophole
“The consumer must be 21 years old.
“The purchase is for personal consumption only and not for resale to others or storage.
“The alcoholic beverages are consumed in private homes or inside licensed areas."
In recent years, shops, bars and restaurants have seldom asked customers to show a licence, but customers were technically required to have one by law.
The decision removes any grey area over the legalities.
In Dubai, shops must ask residents for a licence, or tourists for a temporary licence, before selling alcohol. Bars and restaurants do not ask to see licences.
This year, the emirate made a series of changes to the alcohol licence system, making it easier for residents to acquire one and to ensure the law was clear.
This included removing the need for a no-objection certificate from a resident's employer. Residents are required only to fill out a basic form, produce their Emirates ID and pay Dh270. The authorities also allowed tourists to secure a temporary licence by showing their passport and visa stamp to store managers.
| Government Policy Changes | September 2020 | ['(The National)'] |
Stanislas Wawrinka defeats Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to win the men's final. | Last updated on 26 January 201426 January 2014.From the section Tennis
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title with victory over an injury-hit Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
Wawrinka withstood a fightback from the world number one, who was struggling with a back problem, to come through 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3.
The 28-year-old becomes only the second Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title after 17-time champion Roger Federer.
"Nadal could have easily walked off court but he didn't and it added to the match. I was impressed at how Wawrinka had the mental capacity to finish off the match. For a while it looked like he was getting nervous, tired, missing easy shots and screaming at his team. It is hard to beat an injured player, especially an injured Rafa. To beat a Rafa at 60% is not easy. It was a fantastic gutsy effort from both of them." And he is the first man outside the 'big four' of Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to win a Grand Slam since Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2009 US Open.
Fortunes fluctuated wildly over the course of two hours and 21 minutes as Wawrinka opened in scintillating form before a tearful Nadal appeared close to quitting at two sets down, only to stage a remarkable recovery in the third.
The Spaniard, 27, showed great spirit to hit back once again from a break down in the fourth, but a forehand winner gave Wawrinka the decisive break at 5-3 and he served out the biggest win of his life with a love game.
"I still think that I'm dreaming," said Wawrinka. "It's a strange feeling. I saw so many finals. I always try to watch the finals of Grand Slams because that's where the best players are playing.
"Before today, for me it wasn't a dream. I never expected to play a final. I never expected to win a Grand Slam. And right now I just did it."
Nadal, who revealed he felt the back problem in the warm-up, said: "It is a tournament that I really had some troubles physically in my career and is something that is painful for me.
"But that's part of life. That's part of sport. It's not the end of the world. Is just another tough moment." "The last thing that I wanted to do was retire. No, I hate to do that, especially in a final. "It's not the moment to talk about that. It's the moment to congratulate Stan. He's playing unbelievable. He really deserved to win that title."
Wawrinka had never won a set, let alone a match, in 12 previous attempts against Nadal, and was making his Grand Slam final debut against a man in his 19th.
But Nadal's travails in the second half of the match should not overshadow what was a magnificent performance from Wawrinka for much of the contest.
He coped brilliantly with the Spaniard's fizzing forehand in the early stages, using his backhand to return the fire, and 12 winners almost helped him to a 5-1 lead.
Some nerves were finally revealed when he tried to close out a set against Nadal for the first time, failing to make a first serve as he fell 0-40 down, but the 2009 champion could not get a return in play as Wawrinka hit back to seal it with an ace.
Three sweeping forehands helped the Swiss break at the start of the second on a run of 12 straight points, and it was when serving at 2-0 down that Nadal first appeared to feel the problem with his back.
After leaving the court for treatment, to the annoyance of Wawrinka and boos from some sections of the crowd, Nadal returned unable to serve at anything like full speed, and at one stage was close to tears.
"Wawrinka's first-set performance was of such a high quality that we may have been deprived of a classic duel - and who is to say that the man who took out Djokovic wouldn't also have been able to take out a fully fit Nadal. The world number one at half speed was a more perplexing conundrum, but when given the chance to serve for the title, Wawrinka illustrated the self-belief that has underpinned his surge up the rankings."
Another visit from the physio followed after game five, and when Wawrinka took the second set almost unopposed, the 13-time Grand Slam champion appeared close to calling it quits on a long walk back to his chair.
What followed was remarkable, with Nadal staging the unlikeliest of fightbacks - possibly as the pain killers kicked in - while Wawrinka completely lost his rhythm with victory apparently his for the taking.
The Swiss made 19 unforced errors and, despite still not moving freely, Nadal managed to increase his service speed just enough to keep the misfiring Wawrinka at bay and clinch the third set.
It now appeared to be a test of Wawrinka's nerve as much as Nadal's fitness, because the Spaniard was clearly not about about to give up, and he clung on magnificently.
Two break points were saved at the start of the fourth, and a break recovered at 4-2 down, but Wawrinka made the decisive move with a brilliant forehand into the corner to break for 5-3 and raced through the final game.
| Sports Competition | January 2014 | ['(BBC Sport)'] |
According to the United States Department of Defense, ISIL fighters killed a Navy SEAL near Erbil. The sailor was assisting Kurdish Peshmerga forces in repelling an attack on the area. The SEAL was later identified as Arizona native Charles Keating IV, the son of Charles Keating III, and the grandson of the convicted noted late financier Charles Keating Jr., who was embroiled in the 1980s savings and loan scandal. | Combat death near Erbil was the result of enemy fire, Defense Secretary Ash Carter tells reporters during trip to Germany
First published on Tue 3 May 2016 11.38 BST
Islamic State fighters killed a US navy Seal in northern Iraq on Tuesday, when the militants pushed through a forward line of Iraqi Kurdish forces, officials said.
He is the third American killed in direct combat since a US-led coalition launched a campaign against the jihadist group in 2014. “It is a combat death, of course, and a very sad loss. I don’t know all the circumstances of it,” US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters during a trip to Germany.
American military official said the US-led coalition helped the Peshmerga repel an attack by providing air support from F-15 jets and drones. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was killed “by direct fire” from Islamic State. Carter’s spokesman, Peter Cook, said the incident took place during an Islamic State attack on a Peshmerga position some 3-5km behind the Iraqi Kurdish fighters’ forward line. In mid-April the United States announced plans to send an additional 200 troops to Iraq, and put them closer to the front lines of battle to advise Iraqi forces in the war against Islamic State. Last month, an Islamic State attack on a US base killed Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin and wounded eight other Americans providing force protection fire to Iraqi army troops. The Islamist militants have been broadly retreating since December, when the Iraqi army recaptured Ramadi, the largest city in the western region. Last month, the Iraqi army took the nearby region of Hit, pushing them further north along the Euphrates valley. But US officials acknowledge that military gains against Islamic state are not enough. Iraq is beset by political infighting, corruption, a growing fiscal crisis and the Shi’ite Muslim-led government’s fitful efforts to reconcile with aggrieved minority Sunnis, the bedrock of Islamic State support. The United States and its allies targeted Islamic State on Monday with 29 strikes against the militants in Syrian and Iraq, including the northern city of Mosul under militant control, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement. In Iraq, the Combined Joint Task Force staged 25 strikes, including seven near Islamic State’s stronghold of Mosul, which coalition forces, alongside the Iraqi government, are trying to wrest away from the militant group. Iraqi officials have said they will retake the city this year, although questions remain over whether that is possible. The strikes near the key city hit six groups of Islamic State fighters as well as two vehicles, three weapons caches, a mortar system and other targets. Six other strikes near Falluja hit five Islamic State fighting positions, three tunnel entrances, two staging areas and a bridge used by the militants, among other targets. In Syria, four strikes near three cities – Al Shadaddi, Ar Raqqah and Mar’a – hit an Islamic State finance center, a weapons storage facility and two tactical units | Famous Person - Death | May 2016 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Pakistani intelligence officials claim that a US missile strike in South Waziristan has killed up to twenty people. The BBC claims that about 80 people were killed during US strikes into Pakistan over the past month. | A suspected US missile strike has killed 20 people, including a top Taleban commander, in north-west Pakistan, witnesses and officials say.
Mohammad Omar was among the dead when the missile, reportedly fired by a pilotless US drone, hit a compound owned by him in South Waziristan.
Omar fought with the Taleban in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.
The US has launched many missile strikes from Afghanistan against suspected militant targets recently.
The latest strike on Sunday night was launched at a compound owned by Mohammad Omar in Mandatta village in the troubled region of South Waziristan.
Mohammad Omar was a close associate of the dead Taleban commander Nek Mohammed, who was killed in a suspected US strike in the area four years ago.
Witnesses said that the missile strike completely destroyed Mohammed Omar's house, and partially damaged two neighbouring houses.
Panic
They said locals rushed to the targeted compounds to rescue the people inside and there was panic in the area after the attack.
Local officials confirmed that 20 bodies had been dug up from the debris of the compound.
Two others are reported to have been injured in the attack, they said.
The US has made no comment.
The attack comes three days after a missile attack in Dande Darpakhel area of North Waziristan area killed seven students of a religious school.
Over a month ago, US troops conducted a ground operation in the Musa Nikah area of South Waziristan area in which more than 15 people were killed.
In recent weeks the United States has launched many missile strikes against suspected militant targets in the Afghan border region.
Washington says the strikes are used against militant targets, but correspondents say that intelligence failures have sometimes led to civilian casualties.
Figures compiled by the BBC Urdu service show that some 80 people have been killed in a number of suspected US missile strikes in South and North Waziristan region over the past month.
The United States rarely confirms or denies such attacks.
Tensions between the US and Pakistan have increased over the issue of cross-border incursions against militants by American forces based in Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said he will not tolerate violations of his country's territory.
The US state department has affirmed "its support for Pakistan's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity". | Armed Conflict | October 2008 | ['(AP via The Guardian)', '(BBC News)'] |
A bomb at the Fariduddin Ganjshakar Sufi shrine in Pakpattan, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province, kills at least eight people and injures twenty. , | Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Four people were killed early Monday morning when a bomb exploded at one of Pakistan's largest Sufi shrines, police officials told CNN. Eight others were wounded.
The bomb was placed at one of the gates of the Baba Farid shrine and exploded shortly after dawn prayers when crowds of morning worshipers usually leave the site, police said.
The shrine is located in Pak Pattan, an ancient city in Punjab province about 190 km (118 miles) south of Lahore.
Baba Farid is considered one of Pakistan's most revered Sufi saints.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. But in recent months Muslim extremists have stepped up attacks against minority sects and their places of worship. | Armed Conflict | October 2010 | ['(NDTV)', '(CNN)', '(Xinhua)', '(irna)', '[permanent dead link]'] |
In the Philippines, police storm the Camp Bagong Diwa prison. 26 die during the fighting, three of them Abu Sayyaf members. Six police officers are wounded. (Sun Star, Manila) | Three prominent leaders of Muslim group Abu Sayyaf, involved in kidnapping and bombings, were among the dead. The disturbance started on Monday when militants snatched weapons from guards, opening fire and killing three in an attempted escape.
On Tuesday, police stormed the building after a 15 minute ultimatum ran out.
Police said 22 prisoners and one policeman were killed during the operation, at Camp Bagong Diwa jail.
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman threatened to retaliate for the deaths, saying "we will bring the war to Manila".
Police named the Abu Sayyaf leaders killed as Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, Alhamser Limbong, alias Commander Kosovo, and Nadzmie Sabtulah, alias Commander Global.
DEAD LEADERS Galib Andang (Commander Robot)
On trial for kidnapping of 21 tourists on Malaysian resort of Sipadan in 2000
Alhamser Limbong (Commander Kosovo)
On trial for mass kidnapping of 2001-2 on Basilan and 2004 Manila ferry bombing which killed 100
Nadzmie Sabtulah (Commander Global)
On trial for Sipadan kidnap
Profiles of dead leaders
Guide to Philippines conflict
Andang was captured in 2003. He allegedly led a group who kidnapped 21 Western tourists and local resort workers on the Malaysian island of Sipadan.
Limbong was on trial in connection with the bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay last year, which killed more than 100 people, as well as several abductions.
After Tuesday's assault, police escorted detainees from the prison, stripped to their underwear and with hands behind their heads. The police were greeted with applause from bystanders.
Stand-off
After the initial gun battle on Monday, in which three guards and two inmates were killed, a tense stand-off had ensued. A deal later appeared to have been reached between the inmates and the authorities, with a Muslim politician acting as an intermediary with the rebels over the telephone. But when the prisoners still had not given themselves up several hours later, the authorities gave the prisoners 15 minutes to lay down their arms.
They refused to yield the firearms... and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety
Angelo ReyesPhilippine Interior Minister
After the ultimatum passed, police stormed the four-storey building at 0915 local time (0115 GMT) and started retaking it floor by floor.
Reports said some detainees could be seen climbing down the walls of the compound, as smoke billowed out.
The authorities describe the dead Abu Sayyaf leaders as the ringleaders of the revolt.
'Last resort'
Interior Minister Angelo Reyes said security forces had decided to storm the compound "after considering all peaceful means".
He added: "They refused to yield the firearms which they grabbed from the guards and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety, including the plea of our Muslim leaders."
A Muslim member of parliament, who began negotiating with the inmates, said they had demanded timely trials, assurances of their own safety and the right to air their grievances to authorities and the media.
He said it was "saddening" the incident ended as it did.
"Even if they were criminals, they were still humans," he said.
Abu Sayyaf - which mainly engages in kidnap for ransom - is one of four Muslim rebel groups operating mostly in the southern Philippines. It has been labelled a terrorist organisation by both Manila and Washington, and is believed by the US to have links with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. The Philippine government has deployed thousands of troops in the south in an effort to eradicate Abu Sayyaf. | Armed Conflict | March 2005 | ['(Reuters)', '(Bloomberg)', '(BBC)'] |
At least two police officers and three suspected militants are killed during a gunfight in Shali, Chechnya. | Authorities say two police officers and three alleged militants have been killed in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Chechnya.
Regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on January 30 that the three men opened fire on police officers who asked for their identification documents.
He said the exchange of gunfire took place in the central town of Shali overnight.
According to Kadyrov, the three men opened fire at police when requested to present their identification documents. Kadyrov said authorities believe they were members of a militant group coordinated online by Magomed Rashidov, a Shali native who has allegedly joined Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria. | Armed Conflict | January 2017 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
Russia announces that its military has pulled out of Georgia, although reports indicate that it has not complied with the cease-fire agreement. | GORI, Georgia Though Russian forces still held several key areas of the country, the Georgian government began on Saturday to prepare cities and villages in the conflict areas for the return of thousands of refugees. Russia said its military pullback had been completed, and large columns of Georgian police special forces were seen in and around the city of Gori. Officers said they had come to provide security for returning residents. Georgian Army units also appeared in Gori for the first time since they retreated under heavy Russian bombardment two weeks ago. They were lightly equipped most had only rifles and pistols, and rode pickup trucks and personal cars and arrived at a base that had been ransacked. “We are the guys who fire artillery,” said one soldier, standing in the parking lot of his base. “Only we do not have an artillery to shoot.”
The commander of the artillery brigade, Maj. Gen. Devi Chankotadze, said in an interview in front of his headquarters that 170 Georgian soldiers had been killed in the conflict, and 1,200 wounded. Two-thirds of the wounded soldiers had returned to duty, he said.
General Chankotadze refused to discuss how many Georgian military units were combat ready; many had left vast amounts of equipment scattered on the battlefield or had it captured from its bases. “I will not tell you how many brigades we have now,” he said. “But if we get an order, we are ready to follow it.” The soldiers’ return was made possible when most of the Russian soldiers withdrew on Friday evening to Kremlin-defined security zones in Abkhazia, a separatist enclave in Georgia’s west, and South Ossetia, the breakaway region in the north where the fighting broke out two weeks ago.
On Saturday, Russian armored columns continued to pass over the Inguri River from the city of Zugdidi into Abkhazia, a local police spokesman said. The Russians have also left the Georgian military base in Senaki, but only after confiscating almost everything of value, including televisions, refrigerators and even toilets, according to local residents who have watched the steady stream of Russian trucks moving in and out of the base for more than a week. But Russian forces remain entrenched deep inside Georgia, maintaining checkpoints several miles from Gori close to the South Ossetian border, and two observation posts near Poti, a port city on the Black Sea. Poti is outside the Russian-controlled buffer zone, but Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian military’s general staff, was quoted as saying Russian troops would continue to patrol the city. “Poti is not in the security zone,” Russia’s Ria news agency reported on Saturday that General Nogovitsyn had said. “But that doesn’t mean that we will sit behind the fence and watch as they drive around in Hummers.” He was referring to United States Marine Corps Humvees, several of which had been confiscated by Russian troops from Poti last week. Georgia and its allies in the West have called the buffer zones a violation of the cease-fire agreement brokered by the European Union, and have called on Russia to pull back to its positions before the conflict. Russian officials insist that peacekeeping agreements that ended fighting in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 1990s allow for the creation of security zones. The Kremlin is also preparing to recognize the independence of the two separatist enclaves, further clouding the diplomatic atmosphere. Many refugees were returning to Gori on Saturday, adding to the 10,000 refugees who had returned as of Friday evening, said Maya Razmadze, a spokeswoman for Georgia’s Refugee Ministry. The Georgian government has registered some 112,000 refugees from the conflict in South Ossetia, though the real number could be as high as 200,000, Ms. Razmadze said. These include ethnic Georgians from in and around Gori, and many of the 36,000 ethnic Georgians who lived in South Ossetia before the war. Another 1,500 people have fled their homes in the Kodori Gorge, near Abkhazia. One of Tbilisi’s largest refugee shelters is in a dilapidated building that used to house the Soviet military headquarters in the South Caucasus. At the shelter, about 1,700 people share one makeshift water spigot and two toilets. There is no electricity, and the shelter is short of food. “Thank God we have what we do,” said Ketevan Lekishvili, 75, a retired doctor, who said she had fled the village of Kareli with her daughter and two grandchildren as the bombs began to fall. Among aid workers, there is now some hope that the flow of people returning home will help relieve Georgia’s strained refugee services. “If the majority return to Gori, then it will be possible to deal with the rest of the refugees,” said Arsen Gvenetadze, a doctor working for a United Nations program at the shelter. In Gori, electricity was on in the center of the city, but the water supply required testing to determine whether it is safe, said Shota Utiashvili, an official of the Interior Ministry. | Armed Conflict | August 2008 | ['(BBC News)', '(The Independent)', '(Globe and Mail)', '(The New York Times)', '(BBC News)', '(CNN)'] |
Bangladeshi Jamaat–e–Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman is executed for war crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War. | In this April 6, 2015 photo,a family member arrives to meet Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, an assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami party, at the Central Jail in Dhaka, Bangladesh.The 62-year-old was executed late Saturday night.
War crimes convict Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was executed on Saturday night, becoming the second Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader to be hanged for war-time atrocities committed during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971.
Kamaruzzaman (65), assistant secretary general of the party, was hanged at the Dhaka Central Jail after he lost all legal battles against the charges of genocide and rape brought against him.
The hanging took place shortly after 10 p.m. amid tight security in and around the Dhaka Central Jail and across the country.
Mollah hanged in 2013
Earlier, in December 2013, Abdul Quader Mollah, another assistant-secretary general of Jamaat, was executed on charges of genocide and rape. Mollah became the first war crimes convict to be executed after the country’s war crimes tribunals began their trials in March 2010, nearly four decades after Bangladesh’s independence. The trials were conducted amid fierce opposition from Jamaat and its political allies like the Khaeda Zia-led BNP but enjoyed overwhelming support from the nation’s majority.
After a long legal battle, the final verdict by the top appeals court was communicated to Kamaruzzaman on April 8. The next day, Kamaruzzaman’s lawyers met him and told the media that their client had sought some time to decide on his appeal for presidential mercy, the last resort. He finally decided not to seek presidential pardon, said junior state Minister Assaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Family members of the Jamaat leader met him at the jail on April 6, and again on Saturday, hours before the execution.
Kamaruzzaman, a key organiser of the infamous al-Badr militia, had been in prison since July 2010.
War Crimes Tribunal convicted and sentenced him to death in May 2013, mainly on two charges that included the mass killing of 120 people in north-eastern Sherpur district. The Appellate Division upheld the sentence, describing his crimes as being “worse than the Nazis”. Chief Justice S.K. Sinha-led appellate court also rejected his plea for a review of the death penalty. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2015 | ['(The Hindu)'] |
The UN International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei share the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to limit the spread of atomic weapons. | International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed El Baradei smiles 16 June 2003 in Vienna during a meeting of the board of directors of the IAEA.
Committee chairman Ole Danbolt Mjøs announced the winner of the 10 million Swedish crown (USD 1.29 million) prize at the Nobel Institute in Oslo at 11 a.m.
The prize was awarded in two parts, to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its director-general Mohamed ElBaradei.
Last minute speculation had centered on the award going to anti-nuclear efforts. The year 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan and commentators noted the committee's habit of awarding anti-nuclear activists at ten-year intervals.
In 1995, British ban-the-bomb scientist Joseph Rotblat won with his Pugwash organisation. In 1985, the award went to a US-Soviet group of doctors, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. | Awards ceremony | October 2005 | ['(CNN)', '(Aftenposten)', '(Nobel Prize)'] |
A building explosion and pancake floor collapse in New York City's East Village causes at least two deaths and multiple injuries. | Two bodies were found Sunday in the rubble of one of the New York City buildings that collapsed after a massive fire Thursday, injuring 22 people, police said.
The bodies had not immediately been identified. Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Locon, 27, were reported missing after the blast. Both were thought to have been in a restaurant in one of the buildings.
Witness accounts said the two men were in close proximity to each other just before the blast, so they were anticipating that both would be found near each other in the rubble, WABC-TV reported.
Two buildings were destroyed and two others were severely damaged in the blast in Manhattan's East Village, city authorities said.
The injury count included four firefighters and one paramedic or emergency medical technician, fire officials said. Four people were hospitalized in critical condition.
On Sunday, searchers used cranes, rakes, face masks and hard hats to sift slowly through debris.
The explosion was blamed on a gas leak, but the investigation was continuing. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week the preliminary investigation results showed "there may have been an inappropriate accessing" of the gas line.
Consolidated Edison said it had a crew in the basement of one of the buildings less than two hours before the blast to meet with contractors about pipes installed in preparation for a gas service upgrade.
The utility crew found that additional work was needed and left about 45 minutes later without no indication of a gas leak, officials said. Con Edison President Craig Ivey said the gas utility crew's findings meant gas was not yet flowing to the new pipes on Thursday.
The owner of the Sushi Park restaurant located on the building's first floor smelled gas 15 minutes later, at approximately 3 p.m., officials said. He notified the building owner, who contacted a contractor. The fire department received the first emergency 911 call 17 minutes later.
One of the building contractors and a relative of the five-story structure's owner were among those injured in the explosion and fire, officials said.
Tyler Figueroa told the Associated Press Thursday night that his 23-year-old brother, Nicholas, disappeared after going on a date at the Sushi Park restaurant.
Figueroa said that the couple was paying for their meal when the explosion rocked the building and surrounding area. Nicholas Figueroa's date, who has been hospitalized with injuries, remembers only stumbling outside before losing consciousness, the brother told the Associated Press. | Gas explosion | March 2015 | ['(CBS Local)', '(USA Today)'] |
George Osborne delivers the 2012 British budget cutting the top rate of income tax. | British finance minister George Osborne on Wednesday used his annual budget to cut the top rate of income tax while pledging an "unwavering commitment" to slashing debt.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne said Britain remained on course to virtually wipe out its budget deficit by 2017 as the government seeks to preserve its top credit rating.
Osborne outlined plans to slash the top rate of income tax from 50 per cent to 45 per cent, arguing he would collect five times more cash per year from the wealthy via new property taxes and a clampdown on tax avoidance.
The British economy would meanwhile grow slightly better than expected this year, by 0.8 per cent rather than the previous forecast of 0.7 per cent.
He also predicted that Britain would avoid recession this year despite an economic downturn for the neighbouring eurozone, adding that the government would borrow slightly less than expected in the fiscal year to April 2012.
"This budget reaffirms our unwavering commitment to deal with Britain's record debts," Osborne told lawmakers.
"But because we've already taken difficult decisions this can also be a reforming budget that seeks to repair the disastrous model of economic growth that created those debts."
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government will cut corporation tax on company profits to 24 per cent from 26 per cent, starting next month, rather than to 25 per cent as announced last year. By 2014, it will stand at 22 per cent.
Osborne described the lowering of corporation tax as "an advertisement for investment and jobs in Britain".
He also raised the point at which workers begin to pay income tax to £9,205, in order to take 840,000 individuals out of the income tax net, as part of the coalition's agreement to eventually lift the personal allowance to £10,000.
However, the leader of the opposition Labour party, Ed Miliband, slammed the decision to cut the top rate, labelling Osborne's latest fiscal plans "a millionaire's budget that squeezes the middle."
Miliband also accused Osborne of announcing a "tax rise for pensioners" via new budget measures that are aimed at simplifying the tax system.
At the moment, people over the age of 65 are not taxed on the first £10,500 of their income, but this will be frozen for existing pensioners and from next April new pensioners will have a tax-free allowance of £9,205.
The Chancellor said he was cutting the top rate of income tax that is levied on individuals' earnings above £150,000 (180,000 euros, $238,000) per year, adding that the current level of 50 per cent was damaging the economy. The new rate comes into force in April 2013.
The previous Labour government had raised the top rate from 40 per cent to 50 per cent in the wake of the devastating global financial crisis.
Osborne, presenting his third austerity budget in a row, had reportedly faced fierce pressure from the right wing of his Conservative Party and from business leaders to slash the top rate to help stimulate economic growth.
The British government has implemented huge public spending cuts and tax rises to slash a record deficit inherited from Labour in 2010.
The coalition is also eager to preserve Britain's valuable AAA credit rating, that keeps state borrowing costs low, and avoid a Greek-style sovereign debt crisis.
Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that the budget and latest forecasts would not impact its assessment of Britain's top-level AAA credit rating, but added that the economy remained vulnerable to adverse shocks.
Britain was set to borrow slightly less than expected this year as a result of government austerity measures, Osborne added on Wednesday.
Public sector net borrowing is predicted to reach £126 billion ($200 billion, 151 billion euros) in the current 2011/2012 financial year ending in April.
The new forecast, provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility, marked a slight improvement from the previous estimate of £127 billion.
Borrowing is then forecast to drop to £120 billion in 2012/2013, before falling to £98 billion in 2013/2014.
Financial markets gave a muted response to the budget as much of its content had unusually been leaked to media after some very public wrangling between the coalition partners.
"The currency market is trading as if the budget never happened," said CurrenciesDirect analyst Alistair Cotton.
"All of the big-ticket items were leaked and reflected in the rates beforehand, so even announcements such as corporation tax reductions had much less impact than normal." | Government Policy Changes | March 2012 | ['(The Guardian)', '(Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
Former Bosnian Army general and deputy Minister of Defense Sakib Mahmuljin is sentenced to ten years in prison for failing to prevent or punish foreign Islamist fighters who murdered and tortured Serbian prisoners during the Bosnian War. | SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia’s war crimes court on Friday jailed Bosnian Muslim wartime commander Sakib Mahmuljin for 10 years for failing to prevent or punish atrocities against Serb prisoners by foreign Islamists who fought in the 1990s conflict.
Hundreds of Islamist fighters, or “mujahideen”, came from North Africa and the Middle East to help the mainly Muslim Bosnian government forces fight separatist Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats during the war, in which 100,000 people died.
Mahmuljin, 68, was convicted in a five-year-long trial of failing to prevent or punish killings and inhumane treatment of Serb prisoners of war, some of whom were wounded or ill, and some Serb civilians, the Sarajevo court said.
In its verdict, the court said it determined that foreign Islamists murdered 53 Serb prisoners of war from July to October 1995, towards the end of the war. During this period, they tortured some prisoners and decapitated one of them, it said.
Mahmuljin, who commanded the Bosnian army’s 3rd Corps, may appeal the verdict.
The court was set up in 2005 to ease the burden of cases taken by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
The war erupted when Bosnian Serbs, rejecting the proclamation of independence of Bosnia from Serbian-led federal Yugoslavia, attacked cities and villages across the country in a bid to carve out territory for an exclusive Serb state.
The U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace agreement ended the conflict in December 1995 by splitting Bosnia into two largely autonomous regions along ethnic lines.
After the war ended, foreign Islamists were ordered to leave Bosnia under U.S. pressure and most did, including those who married local women but then had their citizenship revoked.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | January 2021 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Brown begins contact by telephone with U.S. President George W. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi, and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, discussing working closely together. (All of the above, BBC News) | Gordon Brown has spoken with a number of world leaders following his appointment as Prime Minister.
Mr Brown received a call from US President George Bush shortly after arriving at Number 10. Mr Bush congratulated the PM him on his appointment and said he looked forward to "working closely" with him.
The two leaders reaffirmed the close bond between the United States and the United Kingdom and agreed to continue the strong and cooperative relationship.
Later the Prime Minister also had congratulatory and introductory phone calls with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Prodi of Italy. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | June 2007 | ['(10 Downing Street)'] |
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey resigns his post effective November 15, saying that his extramarital homosexual affair would leave the governor's office "vulnerable to rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure.". | (CNN) -- Dropping a political bombshell, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced his resignation Thursday after revealing that he is gay and that he had an adulterous affair with a man.
With his wife standing by his side, McGreevey -- a father of two -- spoke in calm tones as he described his struggle with his sexuality, "a certain sense that separated me from others." It was something that he said began as a child.
"At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is," McGreevey said.
"And so, my truth is that I am a gay American," the Democrat said.
McGreevey's surprise resignation came as Golan Cipel, a former security aide to the governor, had readied a sexual harassment lawsuit against the governor, two Democratic sources told CNN. Cipel resigned his post in 2002.
A third Democratic source, who had spoken throughout the day with a top aide to the governor, told CNN it is unclear whether Cipel will proceed with the lawsuit now that McGreevey has announced his resignation.
CNN has made repeated attempts to reach Cipel for comment.
Speaking at a packed news conference in the Statehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, McGreevey admitted to an affair with a man and asked for his family's forgiveness.
"It was wrong. It was foolish. It was inexcusable," he said. And McGreevey said he was stepping down from the state's highest office.
"Given the circumstances surrounding the affair and its likely impact upon my family and my ability to govern, I have decided the right course of action is to resign," McGreevey said.
His resignation will take effect November 15, and State Senate President Richard Codey, a fellow Democrat, will serve the the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2006.
If McGreevey's resignation had taken effect before September 15, state law would have required a special gubernatorial election on November 2.
McGreevey said his affair and sexuality -- "if kept secret" -- would leave the governor's office "vulnerable to rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure."
McGreevey did not identify the man with whom he had the affair.
One Democratic strategist close to McGreevey said his speech was "well delivered and, I think, well received. But given what's ahead for him, it's downhill from here." Even as he acknowledged his sexuality, McGreevey spoke of the "suffering and anguish" he had brought to his family and friends, saying he would "almost rather have this moment pass."
"For this is an intensely personal decision and not one typically for the public domain," McGreevey said of his revelation. "Yet, it cannot and should not pass."
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat, said in a written statement that "my heart goes out to Gov. McGreevey and his family."
Democratic Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman issued a written statement with a similar sentiment.
"Our hearts and prayers are with Gov. McGreevey and his family during this time," Coleman said. "The Democratic Party of New Jersey will remain strong and united as it stands behind the ideals and values that it has always fought to protect." Garden State Equality, a gay rights group, called McGreevey's coming-out speech "poignant" and said its members' thoughts were with the governor and his family.
"We all know how difficult it is to come out as openly gay, whether to family or other loved ones," Garden State Equality chairman Steven Goldstein said. "No one could imagine what it's like to come out to 300 million people -- this is totally unprecedented."
Once considered a rising star in Democratic circles, McGreevey, 47, served in the state Legislature and as mayor of the town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, before winning the governorship.
McGreevey won the seat in 2001 by a wide margin over former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler and took office in January 2002.
His administration has been buffeted by some scandal.
A Quinnipiac University poll released August 4 showed McGreevey's approval among state voters fell sharply after two Democratic fund-raisers were indicted on federal charges in July -- one of them accused of lining up prostitutes to discredit a witness in a tax fraud investigation, the other accused of extortion.
McGreevey and his wife, Dina, have a 2-year-old daughter, and he has another daughter from a previous marriage.
McGreevey signed a bill in January that created same-sex domestic partnerships in New Jersey, but urged New Jersey officials to abide by current laws when the city of Asbury Park issued a marriage license to a same-sex couple in May.
In July, he condemned a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples as "a divisive and drastic tactic."
Sheinkopf said the governor decided to resign after meeting with advisers and friends and even wrote his speech himself.
"It was the least scripted thing I've seen in 35 years in this business," Sheinkopf said. "What happens next is a transition that keeps things rolling forward, and keeps some of his initiatives in place." | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | August 2004 | ['(CNN)'] |
Australian Minister for Defense Joel Fitzgibbon resigns. | He had been under fire for failing to declare gifts received, including two trips to China. There had also been a conflict over contact between the government and his brother's company, Mr Fitzgibbon said in a statement. He is the first person to leave the Labor government ministry since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won power in November 2007. Australian newspapers reported that Mr Fitzgibbon's letter to Mr Rudd said he could not be "satisfied" that he had "entirely conformed with your Ministerial Code of Conduct". The prime minister told a press conference on the issue in the capital, Canberra, that Mr Fitzgibbon had been "a first class defence minister". However, he added, his ministers knew that his government "expects high standards of accountability". On Tuesday night, Mr Fitzgibbon had been forced to apologise to parliament for failing to declare accommodation expenses paid for by the private health insurance company headed by his brother, Mark. He had also had to correct the public record in March this year when it emerged he had not paid for travel paid for by Chinese-Australian businesswoman Helen Liu. Mr Rudd said a statement would be made "very soon" on a replacement defence minister. What are these? | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2009 | ['(BBC)'] |
Voters in Afghanistan go to the polls for the second round of voting with the Taliban threatening polling booths. Dozens of people are killed across the country. , | KABUL Dozens were killed in attacks nationwide as Afghans headed to the polls Saturday to elect a president who will help manage the exit of American troops from the country and lead the nation's fight against a resurgent Taliban.
Nearly 50 people were killed as more than 7 million of Afghanistan's 12 million eligible voters headed out for the election, a turnout of about 60%, Afghan officials announced at a news conference after polls closed.
Voters were choosing between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani in a runoff election that represents the first transfer of power since U.S.-led NATO troops invaded the country shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Abdullah Abdullah, a former leader of the Northern Alliance that fought against the Taliban's extreme Islamist rule, led the first ballot in April with 45% of the vote, while Ghani received 31.6%.
As the polls opened, some Afghans worried an Abdullah victory could widen fractures among an already ethnically divided population. Abdullah is an ethnic Tajik, not a member of the Pashtun tribe that comprises around 42% of the country's population.
"If Abdullah wins this election, he could play a role in increasing the hostility between the north and the south of the country, where mostly Pashtuns live," said Ziarmal Nangyaal, a 40-year-old Pashtun shopkeeper in Kabul.
Gul Rahman, 47, of Kabul said he would vote for Ghani because he is "an educated man" the candidate has a doctorate in economics.
"Ghani's not like Abdullah, just a warlord man who is involved with all former mujahedin leaders," he said. "If Abdullah wins, all the government (ministries) will be staffed with his former commanders and Afghanistan will again face adversity and poverty as it did during the war."
The first round of voting was a desire for change and a vote against current Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun who at the time did not support Abdullah, analysts said. Now, however, the dynamic is changing as Abdullah appears to be solidifying his support. The Afghan president hasn't publicly supported either candidate, but his brother Mahmood Karzai backs Abdullah.
"In the second round, things have reoriented," said Sarah Chayes, an expert in South Asia policy at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, D.C. "Karzai has gotten behind Abdullah."
Still, whoever wins will face questions about legitimacy that have dogged Karzai since he was installed after U.S.-led NATO forces toppled the Taliban nearly 13 years ago.
"There was an enormous amount of fraud in the first round, so people are disenchanted," said Chayes. "The result of the second round is likely to be seen as not accurately representing what people wanted."
The Taliban's success in controlling remote regions of the mountainous country and pulling off sporadic attacks in the capital, Kabul, have also eroded Karzai's popularity.
"The state can probably hold on to its authority if by 'hold on' you mean keeping control of Kabul," said Omar Hamid, a Central Asia expert at IHS London. "But whether the state will be able assert its authority or its presence in the rest of the country is still very, very questionable."
Afghanistan's next president will also have a tough job retaining the confidence of the international community.
The United States has spent almost $60 billion to support Afghan security forces and to counter the illicit narcotics trafficking in the region between 2002 and 2013, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
But Karzai and American officials have failed to reach an agreement on bilateral security as U.S. and NATO troops strength dropped from 142,500 in mid-2011 to around 50,000 today. Lack of progress in the negotiations has soured donors who now provide crucial aid to the country.
"It is very likely that those donor nations may cut their aid budgets," said Hamid. "If that were to happen, it would of course be disastrous. The minute any kind of issue with paying salaries pops up with reference to the Afghan security forces, you'll see mass desertions."
President Obama plans to reduce the U.S. troop presence from 32,000 to 9,800 by year's end and withdraw all but a small security contingent by the end of 2016. NATO combat troops also plan to reduce their presence.
In a statement released Saturday, the White House commended the election process, adding that the administration looks forward to working with the next government.
"These elections are a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path, and the courage and resolve of the Afghan people to make their voices heard is a testament to the importance of these elections to securing Afghanistan's future," the statement said.
Afghan voters said Abdullah would need to take a hard line on the country's challenges.
"I am afraid that if he wins, the enemies of our country the Taliban, Pakistan and others will probably create complications for Afghanistan," said Mukhtar Ahmad, 33, who works in a Kabul electronics shop.
Chayes echoed Ahmad's sentiments.
"Abdullah would be stepping into a position upon which enormous pressures are placed," he said. "The question is whether he is made of the right metal and force of character to withstand those pressures." | Armed Conflict | June 2014 | ['(al-Jazeera)', '(USA Today)'] |
The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with NATO leaders to try to find a solution to the Libya crisis. | The move means billions of dollars of Libyan assets frozen in US banks could be released to the rebels.
The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a diplomatic meeting in Istanbul.
Western and Arab members of the Libya Contact Group are drawing up a plan to end hostilities, which will be presented to Col Muammar Gaddafi.
"The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya," Mrs Clinton said.
"And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognise the TNC [Transitional National Council] as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis."
She added: "The TNC has offered important assurances today, including the promise to pursue a process of democratic reform that is inclusive both geographically and politically."
The TNC said it "expressed its gratitude and respect to the people of the United States", which it called "the protector and promoter of democracy and freedom across the world".
In Istanbul, other foreign ministers said the whole contact group - including more than 30 Western and Arab countries - agreed to recognise the rebels.
Many of them have already individually recognised the TNC.
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the decision left Col Gaddafi "no other option" but to leave power.
However, Col Gaddafi swiftly rejected the move.
Addressing a televised rally in the town of Zlitan, he said: "Trample on those recognitions, trample them under your feet... They are worthless." Mr Frattini said the UN special envoy to Libya, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, would take the contact group's ceasefire proposals to the Libyan leadership, and negotiate on their behalf.
A statement released by the group said Col Gaddafi "must leave power according to defined steps to be publicly announced," and called for "the formation of an interim government to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition of power".
The meeting was also expected to explore measures to increase the pressure on the Libyan regime, such as constraining government broadcasting. It was also to look at a report on the TNC's plans for progress to democracy. Representatives of the Benghazi-based TNC were at the meeting, but invitations to China and Russia were both declined.
The conflict in Libya appears to be in a protracted stalemate. Rebels are holding eastern Libya and pockets in the west. Col Gaddafi remains entrenched in the capital Tripoli, despite a Nato bombing campaign of more than 6,000 sorties against regime forces. International sanctions have also been imposed and international arrest warrants issued against leading figures in the Libyan regime.
In Tripoli, Col Gaddafi's government has been holding crisis talks over the supply of fuel to the country. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | July 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
In basketball, Spain defeats Argentina 95–75 to win their second World Cup title. | Spain have claimed the World Cup and swept all the major awards, leaving the tournament’s second leading scorer Patty Mills out in the cold.
Spain win the World Cup.Source:AFP
Spain are the 2019 FIBA World Cup champions after a dominant 95-75 thrashing of Argentina in China.
Argentina were the underdogs who were never expected to make it to the final but knocked off the likes of Serbia and France on their way to an unlikely final match up with Spain.
But Argentina’s hopes of a fairytale second World Cup victory after its win in 1950 were quickly snuffed out by a dominant Spain.
Spain claimed its second world championship after winning in Japan in 2006.
The world’s second ranked side dominated the final with NBA star Ricky Rubio sweeping all the big awards.
First he was named the MVP of the final but the big award that the Aussie had hoped to take out was the All-Star Five.
Boomers legend Shane Heal in commentary for Fox Sports said “Patty has got to be in this” as it was announced.
“He led the tournament in scoring Patty Mills, he was exceptional, he really was,” Heal said.
But when Rubio was named in the All-Star five, Heal was resigned to Mills missing out.
“I think it’s just based on that performance today,” he said. “Prior to today, there was no doubt that Patty Mills was going to be in the All-Star five but based on positions, there’s no more room. That would be a shame.”
Mills scored 182 points at 22.8 points per game including a competition high 34 points against Spain in the semi-final, finishing second in points scored, just one point behind Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, who claimed one of the All-Star five positions. Mills also had 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
Patty Mills did everything he could.Source:Getty Images
Rubio finished the tournament with 131 points at 16.4 points per game, as well as 4.6 rebounds and 6 assists per game.
Heal was floored when Rubio took out the tournament MVP award.
“Wow,” Heal said. “I reckon there’s a massive emphasis on them picking that based on today’s game and I’m not opposed to that at all because that’s what you’re playing for. He had a great tournament but he probably wasn’t even in the top five before that gold medal game, so good on him for coming through when it matters.” | Sports Competition | September 2019 | ['(news.com.au)'] |
President of Palau Thomas Remengesau Jr. condemns the exclusion of Taiwan from the World Health Organization, saying that it "endangers, not only Taiwanese people, but people everywhere". Palau remains one of Taiwan's few political allies in the Pacific. | Palau's President says the World Health Organization's neglect of Taiwan has endangered, not only Taiwanese, but people everywhere.
Taiwan's Ambassador to Palau, Wallace Chow, exchanging gifts with Palau's President Tommy Remengesau.
In his State of the Republic Address this week, Tommy Remengesau Jr thanked the Taiwan government for its support in preparation for addressing the threat of Covid-19.
One of Taiwan's few diplomatic allies in the Pacific, Mr Remengesau said Palau would continue to support Taiwan's efforts in international fora.
Taiwan is excluded from the WHO, because of objection's from China, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the danger of Taiwan's unfair isolation from the international system. Neglect by the World Health Organization, among others, has wrongfully endangered not only the people of Taiwan but those of all countries in this interconnected world," Mr Remengesau said.
"We will continue to fight against this unfair exclusion."
Taiwan's effective response to Covid-19 had been seen as one of the world's success stories in combatting the coronavirus.
But despite the success, their involvement in international public health care efforts was still under pressure by China.
The Taiwan government poured medical supplies and grants to countries like Palau to help fight the coronavirus. Onsite testing is now possible in Palau due to the assistance of Taiwan through test kits, PCR machine and medical training.
Ambassador Wallace Chow, (left), Health Minister Emais Roberts and medical experts from Shin-Kong Hospital Photo: Embassay of ROC in Palau
Mr Remengesau said his nation was grateful for its relationship with Taiwan.
"Taiwan is a strong and generous neighbor that has confirmed its position in the Pacific and therefore has gained the right to contribute as a member of the global community.
"Palau will continue to support Taiwan's efforts in the international fora and will work to nurture our friendship and improve our cooperation," he said.
There have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Palau and according to the Ministry of Health as of 1 May, 313 testings hade been conducted since mid-April and all had returned negative.
The ministry also announced while it continued to test essential services' workers in the community for Covid-19, testing was also open to anyone in the community who had symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or any other influenza-like symptoms.
Testing is open until 11 May.
Palau was also ramping up its testing capabilities as more testing kits were expected to arrive in Palau, including rapid testing kits.
With a population of almost 18,000, Health Minister Emais Roberts said Palau's capabilities to test were building.
"Somewhere along the line, we can test everybody," he said.
Palau's border contines to be closed to tourism until the end of May, it is, however, arranging a flight this month to allow stranded citizens and residents to return home.
The United Airlines flight, tentatively scheduled for 21 May, will fly from Guam and will also facilitate the outbound travel of stranded tourists and foreign workers from Palau. | Famous Person - Give a speech | May 2020 | ['(RNZ)'] |
In Australia, a collision between a fishing boat and a runabout on Sydney Harbour kills five people. | · Boat owners' relative quizzed · Nine in hospital · Fisherman identified · Alcohol and speed investigated A sixth person has died following today's boat collision on Sydney Harbour, a hospital spokeswoman says. A 30-year-old man died in Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital about 5pm (AEST) today, the spokeswoman told The man, who has not yet been named by authorities, was rushed to hospital and treated for serious head and chest injuries after this morning's harbour collision. The head of the hospital's intensive care unit told reporters earlier today the man had a "very, very severe brain injury''. He had been breathing with the help of a ventilator, Dr Ray Raper said earlier. Two other people injured in the collision remain in hospital. A 31-year-old man was in a stable condition in the high-dependency unit and an 18-year-old woman was in a stable condition and improving, the hospital spokeswoman said. Four women and one man, all aged in their late teens and early 20s, were also killed when a 23-foot runabout and a fishing boat collided near Bradleys Point. about 2.45am (AEST) today.
Nine others on the runabout - an 18-year-old woman and eight men aged in their 20s and 30s - were injured.
Overloaded
The group of 14 young people in party mood were seen overloading the small runabout in Balmain before it collided with the fishing boat, run by Peter Evans.
The rear of the runabout was damaged and the port bow of the fishing boat was punctured.
The accident was immediately reported by the two crew on the fishing boat, say police.
It is understood a relative of the runabout's owners, John and Colin McPherson, took the boat last night, and is being interviewed by police at Royal North Shore Hospital.
The nine survivors were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital, while five - four women and a man - were killed, including an American. All the dead were aged in their late teens and early 20s.
An 18-year-old woman with spinal injuries has been moved to a ward where she is in a stable condition and is expected to be interviewed by police.
Six men aged 19, 21, 22, 24, 30 and 31 with minor injuries have been discharged.
Dr Andrew Rochford said that descriptions by some of the injured about what had happened were vague.
"A lot of them aren't really sure what happened. A lot of them are really shaken and aren't really sure what went on."
He said members of the group were crying and checking on each others' conditions throughout the morning.
Unauthorised
Initially, Mr McPherson, managing director of Sydney Ship Repair and Engineering, which owned the boat, said: "It's certainly been stolen and used unauthorised by someone."
Neither Police Minister David Campbell nor Premier Morris Iemma could say whether the runabout had been stolen but both said it was a "matter of record" it had been taken without the owner's knowledge.
Police say the boats were on the harbour legally and Acting Commander Glenn Finniss from the Marine Area Command said the runabout had not been stolen.
Navigation lights
He said it was too early to comment on whether its navigation lights were on or off, or whether anyone was wearing life jackets.
Police are interviewing the boat's owner and those on board the two vessels.
"Part of the investigation will no doubt be looking at the speed aspect and also other issues in relation to who was driving this thing at the time, the degree of sobriety or any other factor," Special Services Group Assistant Commissioner Peter Parsons told Macquarie Radio.
The two people on the fishing boat, who escaped uninjured, notified emergency services of the collision.
Trawler crew raised alarm
"The two-man crew on the trawler rang the alarm bells straight away after having collided with this vessel," Mr Parsons said.
"There are reports that a boat with a couple of fishermen in the near vicinity went to the scene almost immediately and one went into the water to save some people. We're still trying to confirm that."
Mr Iemma urged "two heroes who were fishing and who had helped with the rescue, to come forward.
"You are heroes and we thank you for your courage," he said.
The fisherman involved in the tragedy is Peter Evans, who had worked for a popular seafood restaurant but had recently gone out on his own.
Sydney Fish Market managing director Grahame Turk said the fishing trawler appeared to be a local crayfishing boat.
Inadequate lighting
"It's very hard for these guys on the harbour at night, a lot of boats have inadequate lighting and tend to anchor in the channel rather than to the side of the channel."
Mr Turk said the fishing boat, about 30-foot, usually operated offshore in deep water fishing for eastern rock lobsters.
He said he had not spoken to Peter Evans personally but a staff member had reported that the trap and line fisherman was "feeling pretty devastated about the whole thing''.
"It's everyone's nightmare as far as people who run big vessels, whether you are in charge of a fishing boat, a ferry or a passenger liner. They are all hard to stop quickly, they need to have clear passage.''
Mr Turk said Mr Evans was known as "a well-liked, solid citizen'' around the market, to which he supplied mostly blue-eyed trevalla.
He said if it was the case that those on board the smaller vessel had been drinking, then tightening boat laws would achieve little.
So unlucky
"We all did things in our youth we should not have done but we got away with it, this is just so unlucky. Whether it happens on the roads or on the water, it's bloody tragic.
"People have been calling for more regulations. If people are taking a boat and driving it around the harbour while drinking, I'm not sure there's much people can do about that.
"Not that we can hold it against these young people, they have lost their lives.''
Accident hot spot
Commissioner Parsons said Water Police had been able to respond to the accident within minutes because a police boat had passed the site of the accident a short time before it occurred.
The police boat was on its way to an exercise in Pittwater but had also been patrolling the area near the accident, which Mr Parsons described as an accident hot spot.
Mr Parsons said police were investigating whether both boats had their lights turned on and whether alcohol had played any role in the accident.
He said the collision had not been head-on.
Both vessels were towed to Marine Area Command at Balmain for forensic examination.
Mr Parsons said that, given the number of deaths, many would think the runabout should have suffered more damage than it did.
"You've got five people deceased; surely it should have been cut in half or something of that degree,'' he said.
"It's been hit pretty much to the left or right of centre, I'm not sure which, but it's been hit just off centre and the damage has been all down one side." Chaotic | Shipwreck | May 2008 | ['(Sydney Morning Herald)', '(ABC Australia)'] |
Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigns from her position as Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. Wasserman Schultz had reportedly been removed from a speaking role after a WikiLeaks email leak proved her implicit support of Hillary Clinton's campaign during the primaries. Her resignation will take effect upon the close of the convention. Donna Brazile will serve as interim chair. | PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic National Committee chairwoman resigned under fire Sunday, on the eve of a national convention meant to project competence and unity in contrast to the turbulence of the Republicans’ gathering last week.
The disarray threatened to upend Hillary Clinton’s plan to paint the Democrats as the party best prepared to lead a divided and anxious country and herself as the leader who can offer an optimistic alternative to Republican Donald Trump.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida was forced aside by the release of thousands of embarrassing emails among party officials that appeared to show coordinated efforts to help Clinton at the expense of her rivals in the Democratic primaries. That contradicted claims by the party and the Clinton campaign that the process was open and fair for her leading challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
[Warren, Sanders to speak as party tries to move past email leak, drama] The trove of messages released by hackers on the website WikiLeaks proved to be the last straw for Democrats, including top Clinton advisers.
“Myself and other Democrats who were Clinton supporters, we have been saying this was serious. It truly violates what the DNC’s proper role should be,” said Edward G. Rendell, a former DNC chairman and former Pennsylvania governor.
“The DNC did something incredibly inappropriate here” and needed to acknowledge that, Rendell said.
Republicans, led by Trump, jumped to portray the episode as evidence that the system was rigged for Clinton, whom Trump calls “Crooked Hillary.”
“The Democrats are in a total meltdown but the biased media will say how great they are doing!” Trump said on Twitter. “E-mails say the rigged system is alive & well!”
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who is Wasserman Schultz’s counterpart, told reporters, “There was no way out. The end has come. There wasn’t any other outcome that was foreseeable.”
Sanders said he was not surprised by the email revelations. He is scheduled to address Monday’s opening night of the Democratic convention. While he is expected to stress unity, many of his supporters say they are furious about what they see as evidence of party bias.
The Clinton campaign — and several cybersecurity experts — said the leak was a political ploy carried out by the Russian government to aid in the election of Trump.
[Cyber experts agree with Clinton campaign: Russia is behind email release] That didn’t stop a massive political firestorm directed largely at Wasserman Schultz — nor strong pressure from the Clinton campaign and others for the chairwoman to step aside, according to a senior Democrat familiar with the negotiations.
She finally did, but not before speaking with President Obama — and not without a fight, according to Democrats familiar with the negotiations.
Wasserman Schultz, a member of Congress from South Florida, said in a statement that her resignation will take effect upon the close of the convention. Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic strategist, will take over as interim chair, according to the DNC.
“I know that electing Hillary Clinton as our next president is critical for America’s future,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “I look forward to serving as a surrogate for her campaign in Florida and across the country to ensure her victory.”
The controversy blew up at a key political moment for Clinton, just as convention delegates were descending on Philadelphia — and just as her campaign was hoping to patch up disagreements with Sanders supporters over superdelegates, the party platform and her choice of her running mate, Sen. Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia, who is seen by some as insufficiently progressive.
Erin Bilbray, a DNC member from Nevada who supported Sanders in the primaries, said there had been talk about some delegates turning their backs on Wasserman Schultz in a show of protest during the convention if she didn’t step down.
“There definitely would have been some anger in the convention hall,” Bilbray said. “Hopefully, this will be a good thing for unity in Philadelphia.”
In pressuring Wasserman Schultz to resign, campaign officials argued that she had become a lightning rod for divisions within the party.
Democrats said pressure was applied, both publicly and behind the scenes, in hopes of getting the embarrassing episode over as quickly as possible. Democrats began lobbying Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta on Saturday, arguing that the campaign had to step in before the damage worsened.
And the chairwoman’s resignation may not be the end of it. R.T. Rybak, a former Minneapolis mayor and a DNC vice chairman, said in an interview that Wasserman Schultz did the right thing by resigning and “allowing the rest of us to clean up this mess so that we can quickly pivot to talking about Hillary Clinton.”
Rybak called for DNC staff members who wrote emails aiming to discredit Sanders or any other candidate to be dismissed.
“There is some deeply disturbing information in the emails, but they don’t need to distract from the convention if the DNC takes clear and immediate action,” Rybak said. “We should clearly state that any person from the DNC who worked to discredit another presidential candidate, especially on DNC time and equipment, should be fired immediately. No question.”
According to one Democratic member of Congress involved in the discussions leading up to her resignation, Wasserman Schultz strongly resisted giving up her position amid discussions that staff members should shoulder some of the blame. Among the options discussed was having Amy Dacey, the DNC’s chief executive officer, put out a statement, according to two Democratic sources.
That served to exacerbate other Democrats’ frustration with Wasserman Schultz — and led to accusations that she had made the situation worse by not acting swiftly to step aside as the convention loomed.
“There was a lot of drama,” this lawmaker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “She made this as painful as she could. She did not want to go. . . . She wasn’t going to resign until the president called her. She put a lot of people through hell.
“We were going to come into the week and be united,” said the member of Congress. “But she did ugly and messy and stepped on the message of unity.”
This person said that senior Democrats expect there to be additional departures from the DNC’s senior staff in coming days.
Brazile is taking over as the interim chair, but discussions were underway Sunday about who might be suitable to step in as chair between now and the November election. Among the Democrats mentioned: former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, Rep. Steve Israel of New York and EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock. All are loyal supporters and trusted allies of Clinton.
Less clear is how much turmoil remains within the party, even with Wasserman Schultz gone. According to one top Democratic official who requested anonymity to speak candidly, “People feel the culture of the DNC is not right, and it starts at the top.”
In addition to the friction with Sanders and his supporters that was revealed in the email hack, donors were upset about the way they were talked about in some of the emails.
In one email exchange in May, national Finance Director Jordan Kaplan and one of his deputies, Alexandra Shapiro, strategized about where to seat a major Florida donor, Stephen Bittel, at a DNC fundraiser featuring Obama. Bittel, a real estate mogul in South Florida, appears to have exasperated the officials, the documents suggest.
“He doesn’t sit next to POTUS!” Kaplan wrote.
“Bittel will be sitting in the sh---iest corner I can find,” responded Shapiro, who also referred to donors who had yet to confirm for the event as “clowns.”
Wasserman Schultz expects to continue to help out through the end of the convention.
In addition, Clinton issued a statement in which she announced that Wasserman Schultz would serve as honorary chair of the campaign’s 50-state program as well as continuing as a surrogate nationally and in Florida.
In a statement, Obama said he was “grateful” for Wasserman Schultz’s service. “Her fundraising and organizing skills were matched only by her passion, her commitment and her warmth,” the president said. “And no one works harder for her constituents in Congress than Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”
Others were less generous.
“On the whole, I’d rather she not be in Philadelphia,” said James Carville, a longtime Clinton confidant.
[Clinton campaign manager: Russians leaked Democrats’ emails to help Donald Trump] Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, said that the DNC would need to investigate the hack, including checking to see whether any emails were “doctored,” and that the party would “take appropriate action.”
“What’s disturbing to us is that experts are telling us that Russian state hackers broke into the DNC, stole these emails, and other experts are now saying the Russians are releasing these emails for the purpose of actually helping Donald Trump,” Mook said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I don’t think it’s coincidental that these emails were released on the eve of our convention here, and that’s disturbing.”
Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, said Mook’s Russia theory is “absurd.” Asked about Mook’s allegation that the Russians were trying to help Trump by releasing damaging DNC emails, Manafort said, “It’s a far reach, obviously.”
The Washington Post reported last month that Russian government hackers penetrated the DNC, stealing opposition research about Donald Trump and compromising the party’s email and chat systems.
But that explanation seems unlikely to mollify Sanders supporters who are angry about the messages and distrustful of Clinton and the party.
The emails revealed a DNC official apparently discussing how to use Sanders’s religion against him to help Clinton ahead of the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries. In another email, a Clinton campaign lawyer suggested to the DNC how it should respond to claims from the Sanders campaign that it was improperly using a joint fundraising committee with state parties.
The messages also reveal the prized perks given to the party’s top donors.
Central themes of the Democrats’ convention will be optimism and inclusion, in direct contrast to what Clinton calls Trump’s divisive and dysfunctional politics. Democrats have planned to use the spectacle of the Republican convention as Exhibit A for how not to lead.
DNC spokesman, Luis Miranda, who announced Brazile as the interim party leader in a Twitter message Sunday, had earlier recapped the Republican convention by saying “it was a chaotic week that set a low bar.”
Monday’s convention program is expected to open with some of the party’s biggest political stars, and it will highlight some of the party’s most progressive voices.
Sanders, first lady Michelle Obama and Warren, the senator from Massachusetts and a liberal firebrand, are expected to kick off the opening session.
Sanders moved quickly Sunday to separate the dispute with the DNC from his support for Clinton. He strongly denied that the revelations had changed his support for her and said the real threat was Trump.
“To my mind, what is most important now is the defeating of the worst candidate for president that I have seen in my lifetime, Donald Trump, who is not qualified to be president by temperament, not qualified to be president by the ideas that he has brought forth,” Sanders said on ABC.
Brazile, a vice chair of the convention, also was caught up in the leak. Asked for comment in an email from a Washington Post reporter about negotiations between the Sanders campaign and the DNC about the composition of the party’s convention committees, Brazile forwarded the reporter’s request to DNC officials.
“I have no intentions of touching this,” she said. “Why? Because I will cuss out the Sanders camp!”
Phillip reported from Washington. Dan Balz, Lois Romano and David Weigel in Philadelphia, Karen Tumulty in Washington and John Wagner in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
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| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | July 2016 | ['(Reuters)', '(The Washington Post)', '(CNN)', '(Fox News)'] |
US President Barack Obama speaks at a NATO summit concerning the future of war–ravaged Afghanistan. | Leaders from more than 50 nations have been meeting to discuss the future strategy for Afghanistan. President Obama has reassured Afghanistan that it will not be left on its own after NATO hands over responsibility for the country's security to Afghan forces in 2014. The nations represented at the summit include heads of state and governments from the 28 Nato countries, along with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Obama speaks at Nato summit. | Famous Person - Give a speech | May 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
Six Afghan army soldiers were killed and three police officers wounded after Taliban militants ambushed their patrol in the country's eastern Ghazni province. | GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Six Afghan army soldiers were killed and three police officers wounded after Taliban militants ambushed their patrol in the country's eastern Ghazni province Sunday night, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Monday.
"Armed militants engaged with a security forces' patrol in Khonyan locality of Qara Bagh district late Sunday night. Six army soldiers were martyred and three local police personnel wounded during the fighting," spokesman Harif Noori told Xinhua.
Several militants were also killed and wounded during the gun battle, but their number could not be exactly specified as the militants evacuated their casualties after the fighting.
Taliban militants, controlling parts of the mountainous province, use rugged terrains and mountains as hideouts and frequently launch hit-and-run attacks against security forces.
Militancy and counter-militancy traditionally get momentum in spring and summer, commonly known as fighting season in Afghanistan. | Armed Conflict | September 2019 | ['(Xinhua)'] |
A Tel Aviv court sentences Israeli graphic designer Jonathan Pollak to three months imprisonment after convicting him of taking part in a "critical mass bicycle ride" demonstration highlighting the blockade of Gaza in January 2008. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel describes it as "an unusually harsh measurement" for a charge that normally does not see the perpetrator imprisoned. | Updated | 2:07 p.m. An Israeli activist was sentenced to three months in jail on Monday for his part in a 2008 protest by Tel Aviv cyclists opposed to the blockade
of Gaza.
The activist, Jonathan Pollak, is a 28-year-old leader of Anarchists Against the Wall, an Israeli group that joins Palestinian protesters in weekly demonstrations against the
security barrier Israel is building on West Bank land it has occupied since 1967. He also works to draw media attention to the West Bank protests through another group, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.
Joseph Dana, an Israeli blogger and activist who works with Mr. Pollak, explained in a post on the blog +972 that his colleague
was arrested in January 2008, as he took part in a “Critical Mass bicycle ride through the streets of Tel Aviv against the siege on Gaza. During the protest,
Pollak was arrested by plain-clothes police who recognized him from previous protests and because, as claimed in court, they assumed he was the organizer and figurehead of the event.” Mr. Pollak’s conviction for illegal assembly at the bike protest activated an older three-month suspended sentence imposed on him for protesting the construction of the security barrier. The activist refused
to apologize for his role in the protest or ask for leniency in a statement to the court. “I have no doubt that what we did was right and, if anything, not sufficient considering what is being done in our name,” Mr. Pollak said later in a telephone interview with Ana Carbajosa of The Guardian.
“If I have to go to prison to resist the occupation, I will do it gladly.”
Israel’s Ynet News reported that Dan Yakir, the chief legal counsel for The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, criticized the sentence,
saying:
The fact that Pollak was the only one arrested, even though he behaved just like the rest of the protesters, and the fact that bicycle demonstrations are usually held without police involvement raises a strong suspicion
regarding personal persecution and a severe blow for freedom of expression, just because of his opinions. A prison sentence in the wake of a protest is an extreme and exaggerated punishment.
In an interview with Russia Today, a Kremlin-financed broadcaster, Joseph Dana claimed that the jailing of Mr. Pollak was “a
clear attempt to silence dissent on the Israeli left and part of a broader attack on non-violence” as a means of protesting Israeli policies.
Critical Mass protests, in which activists take to the streets on bicycles, began in San Francisco in the 1990s but are now said to take place in some 300 cities around the world, including New York. One regular rider
told Ben McGrath of The New Yorker that the events were “a ‘happening,’ a temporary reorganization of public
space.”
As my colleague James Barron has reported, the New York Police Department has had regular run-ins with the cyclists. In 2008, a police officer was
filmed shoving a cyclist to the ground as Critical Mass riders left Times Square. Two months ago, New York City agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 83 participants in Critical Mass rides who claimed that they were wrongly detained and arrested at protests between 2004 and 2006.
The Lede is a blog that remixes national and international news stories -- adding information gleaned from the Web or gathered through original reporting -- to supplement articles in The New York Times and draw readers
in to the global conversation about the news taking place online.
Readers are encouraged to take part in the blogging by using the comments threads to suggest links to relevant material elsewhere on the Web or by submitting eyewitness accounts, photographs or video of news events.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | December 2010 | ['(The Guardian)', '(The New York Times)'] |
The Democratic Rally wins the legislative election. | The ruling right-wing Democratic Rally Party (DISI) has won the Greek Cypriot administration's parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to the Interior Ministry.
According to the unofficial election results from the Interior Ministry, the chairman Averof Neophytou's DISI party claimed 30.68 percent of the vote - a 3.7 percent dip from the previous elections in 2011.
They were followed by the communist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) with 25.67 percent, 7.1 percent less than in 2011.
The Democratic Party, or DIKO, came in third place with 14.49 percent of the vote.
The far-right National Popular Front (ELAM) party will be represented in parliament for the first time in Greek Cypriot administration's history, having claimed 3.71 percent of the votes.
Voter turnout was 67.77 percent. A total 542,915 people were eligible to vote.
According to the Interior Ministry, the vote percentages of the parties are as follows:
DISI 30.68 percent, AKEL 25,67 percent, DIKO 14,49 percent, the Movement for Social Democracy or EDEK 6.18 percent, the Unity of Citizens 6.01 percent, Solidarity Movement 5.24 percent, Ecological and Environmental Movement 4.81 percent, ELAM 3.71 percent.
| Government Job change - Election | May 2016 | ['(Daily Sabah)', '(TASS)', '(EU Observer)'] |
India's Hindalco Industries buys Atlanta–based Novelis for US$6 billion. | NEW DELHI, Feb. 11 — Hindalco Industries of India, the aluminum producer, said on Sunday that it would buy a North American rival, Novelis, for $3.6 billion, another sign that cross-border deal making is heating up in India.
Hindalco, based in Mumbai, is an Asian leader in aluminum and copper manufacturing and a crown jewel of the Indian conglomerate, the Aditya Birla Group. Novelis is the world’s largest producer of rolled aluminum, and a large recycler of aluminum cans, with 12,500 employees in 11 countries, and a market value of $2.9 billion.
| Organization Merge | February 2007 | ['(BusinessWeek)', '(Forbes)', '(NYTimes)'] |
The United Arab Emirates announces the Emirates Lunar Mission to send a space exploration vehicle to the Moon in 2024. , | The United Arab Emirates is planning to launch its first-ever mission to the moon by 2024, with an unmanned spacecraft, UAE Vice President and Dubai ruler Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum said Tuesday.
The lunar rover the country is planning to launch will send back images and data from new sites on the moon that have yet to be explored by previous missions. The information will be shared with global research centers and institutions, he tweeted.
The rover will be 100 percent manufactured and developed in the UAE by Emirati Engineers, according to Mohammed.
If the mission is successful, the UAE will be the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, following the U.S., the Soviet Union and China.
The U.S. last month published its Artemis plan aimed at landing the first women and next man on the surface of the moon by 2024. NASA’s nearly $28 billion plan includes launching two missions without astronauts in 2021 and 2023, before planning to send astronauts back to the lunar surface by the 2024 goal. Sponsored
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The contents of this site are ©2021 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. | Military Exercise | September 2020 | ['(The Hill)', '(Gulf Today)'] |
Pope Francis meets with 400 children from towns hit by earthquakes in central Italy on August 24, 2016. A few children offer brief testimony about their experiences during the earthquake, which hit parts of central Italy and resulted in nearly 300 deaths. | On Saturday, Pope Francis met with 400 children from towns hit by earthquakes in central Italy, telling them that during times of tragedy and natural disasters, we must deepen our trust in the Lord, who helps us.
“What you have experienced is a bad thing because it is a calamity,” Pope Francis told the children June 3.
“Is it true or not? It's a calamity. And calamities wound the soul. But the Lord helps us to recover.”
The Pope met with the school-age children at the Vatican as part of the fifth edition of the “Children's Train” initiative, promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture’s “Court of Gentiles” and Trenitalia, the Italian train company which sponsored the children’s train ride from Rome’s main station, Termini, to a station inside the Vatican.
Sitting in the atrium outside the Pope Paul VI hall, Francis led the children in an informal exchange which included random comments from one child about visiting the beach later with her mother, sister and cousin and another about being hungry for lunch.
“Do you trust in the Lord, or not?” the Pope asked them, as they sat on the floor, holding balloons they received on the train.
“Yes!” the children responded, Pope Francis asking again, “Are you sure?” to which they enthusiastically responded: “Yes!”
“And also in Our Lady?” the Pope continued, saying “and now, if we trust, we thank Our Lady for the good things that she has given us in this calamity.” The Pope then led them in praying the Hail Mary.
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At the beginning of the meeting, Francis had said: “Boys and girls, they tell me I have to talk. But I like to listen! You, do you want to talk?”
He listened carefully while a few children offered some brief testimony about their experiences during the earthquake, which hit parts of central Italy on August 24, 2016 and resulted in nearly 300 deaths.
One boy from the town of Norcia, one of the most severely-hit, shared how after the earthquakes, they couldn’t return to their school building, but had to hold school in tents for a period of time. Only after March of this year were they able to return to a normal schedule and building.
The Pope told each child “good job,” after hearing their testimony.
“One of the things that Jesus likes most, one of the words that most pleases the Lord,” the Pope told the young boys and girls, “are the words ‘Thank you very much.’"
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He thanked them all for their visit and for remembering the “bad time” with him.
“Was the train nice?” he asked. “Yup!” the children responded in a group.
“Are you hungry?” he continued. The answer was again: “Yes!”
“Have you heard? They are hungry,” the Pope concluded to the parents and chaperones. “Goodbye, thank you!” he said smiling.
| Earthquakes | June 2017 | ['(Catholic News Agency)'] |
Eleven Justice and Equality Movement members are sentenced to death for attacking Khartoum, Sudan, in 2008. | A Sudanese court has sentenced 11 Darfur rebels to death for an attack on Khartoum in 2008.
The members of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) were found guilty of involvement in the unprecedented assault on the Sudanese capital. Some 80 Jem members have already been sentenced to death for the attack, which left more than 200 people dead. The Jem fighters drove across the desert to reach Khartoum and were only stopped near the presidential palace. On Sunday, Judge Hafez Ahmed at the court in Khartoum found the 11 rebels guilty of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons, the AFP news agency reported. "For their actions in terrorising the people, and threatening the foundation of the state... aggressive sentences are required," the judge told the courtroom. Eight other men were acquitted. The attack in May 2008 was the closest the rebels have ever been to Khartoum. Local residents said the fighting lasted several hours. Jem is currently the most significant fighting rebel force in Darfur. In February, Jem signed a "declaration of intent" for a peaceful settlement of the war during talks with Sudan's government in Doha, Qatar. But Jem is now refusing to return to the peace talks, accusing Khartoum of not honouring confidence-building accords. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2009 | ['(BBC)'] |
About one thousand houses in Manila's Tondo district in the Philippines are set ablaze following New Year's Eve firecracker festivities that left one dead and 380 others injured. | MANILA, Philippines - New Year's firecrackers left at least one man dead and 380 others injured, and caused a fire that gutted 1,000 shanties in the Philippines despite rain and a government warning campaign, officials said Friday.
A drunken man lit a dynamite-like firecracker called "Goodbye Philippines" and embraced it in Manila as it exploded, ripping his jaw and killing him, Health Secretary Janet Garin announced.
Fire officials said a rocket lit by revelers set an abandoned hut ablaze, sparking a fire that razed about 1,000 shanties in Manila's Tondo slum district and displacing several thousand families.
Many superstitious Filipinos usher in the new year with powerful firecrackers, believing that noisy celebrations - largely influenced by Chinese tradition - drive away bad luck and evil.
Garin said the number of injured, while still alarming, was less than half of last year's toll because of rain late Thursday and a government scare campaign that involved showing gory pictures of past victims with their fingers ripped off by firecracker blasts.
The government has promoted fireworks shows sponsored by shopping centres, cities and even TV networks to discourage people from lighting their own firecrackers.
A large religious group, Iglesia ni Cristo, said it set off more than 700,000 pyrotechnic devices to try to break a Guinness record for the largest fireworks display. Tens of thousands of church members and other revelers watched the spectacle in Bocaue town in Bulacan province, north of Manila.
While illegal large firecrackers caused deaths and serious injuries, smaller ones allowed by law also caused injuries, especially among children, Garin said at a news conference.
"What's really better is a total ban on all firecrackers," she said.
Residents help firemen battle a fire as Filipinos welcome the New Year at a poor neighbourhood of Tondo in Manila, Philippines Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. (AP / Linus Escandor II)
| Fire | January 2016 | ['(AP via CTV News)'] |
Rescuers in China's Gansu province continue to search for 1,100 missing people in a recent landslide, as the death toll rises to 702. | ZHOUQU, Gansu - The death toll from a massive rain-triggered mudslide in Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province has risen to 702, with 1,042 others still missing, local civil affairs authorities told a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Some 1,243 people have been rescued and 42 of them were found seriously injured, said Tian Baozhong, head of the provincial civil affairs department.
Related readings: Mudslide survivors receive timely relief materials Aid, supplies pour into mudslide-flattened Zhouqu More rain forecast for mudslide-hit Zhouqu county Mobile communication basically restored in mudslide-hit county
About 16,000 more tents from the Ministry of Civil Affairs are still in Lanzhou, the provincial capital, Tian said.
The mudslide hit the county in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gannan early Sunday, destroying hundreds of homes.
Some 703 other buildings have become vulnerable after being soaked for days in the floodwaters.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) had dispatched 5,300 soldiers, 150 vehicles, four helicopters and 20 speed boats to Zhouqu, said Du Kangzhan, an publicity official at the PLA's Lanzhou Area Command.
The mountainous terrain in the county, however, has hampered the disaster relief operations. The local rescue headquarters could only establish two settlement centers on the playgrounds of two middle schools.
A Xinhua reporter saw only 100 tents pitched in the settlement centers.
"We have adequate tents, but insufficient space to pitch them," said Zhang Hongdong, a worker with the county's Red Cross Society.
Most people affected by the disaster sought shelter with their relatives and friends in nearby regions, Zhang added.
The government in Longnan City, located in the lower reaches of the Bailong River, has evacuated 21,500 residents to safety as a precaution in case of additional mudslides, said Zhang Li, deputy secretary-general of the city's government.
Longzhou Hotel is the county's only hotel that remains intact after the mudslide. Its 140 beds are fully occupied.
"Most of our troops are based outside the county," an unnamed official with the PLA General Logistics Department told Xinhua.
Although most volunteers and reporters can only huddle up in their cars or stay with local households at night, foreign reporters are still rushing to the site.
As of 1:30 pm Tuesday, 22 reporters from nine foreign news outlets had registered to cover the disaster in the county, said a spokesman with the press center of the local rescue headquarters.
The center will continue to accept applications for interview, said the spokesman.
In the center, reporters can surf the Internet and take rests, with adequate supplies of drinking water available, he said. | Mudslides | August 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(China Daily)'] |
Spain defeat Italy, with a record-breaking scoreline to win their third consecutive major trophy. David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata all score goals, with Torres becoming the first footballer to score in two UEFA European Championship Finals and ending up as the tournament's Golden Boot winner, based on assists and minutes spent on the pitch. | The Euro 2012 is coming to a close with the much anticipated final between reigning European and World champions Spain and hard charging Italy scheduled for Sunday night in the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev.
Spain will defend their title in the final after collecting a hard-fought shootout win against neighbors Portugal in the Euro 2012 semis. Italy will face defending champions Spain in the Euro 2012 final, after a brace from Mario Balotelli helped his team upset the tournament favorites from Germany 2-1 in the semis.
Published: 02 July, 2012, 00:41
Edited: 02 July, 2012, 12:49
Spain's Iker Casillas lifts up the trophy after defeating Italy to win the Euro 2012 final soccer match at the Olympic stadium in Kiev, July 1, 2012. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)
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TAGS:
Football,
Euro2012
Spain have thrashed Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev to retain their title, becoming the first European team in history to win three major international tournaments in a row.
It took Vicente del Bosque’s charges just 14 minutes to put their noses in front. David Silva scored with an accurate header, guiding a crisp Cesc Fabregas cross from the byline into the net after Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was drawn to his near post. The Italians then had a couple of good set-piece opportunities to equalize. But Spain’s captain Iker Casillas didn’t give them a chance, twice tipping crosses to safety, as Daniele De Rossi and then Mario Balotelli seemed poised to head goalwards. When the Italian assault abated, the Spaniards took full control of the game and put the final result almost beyond doubt in the 41st minute courtesy of Jordi Alba. The defender raced clear to meet a Xavi Hernandez pass and sent the ball past Buffon. Italy’s situation worsened early in the second half after their last substitute Thiago Motta injured his thigh just a few moments after getting onto the pitch. The midfielder couldn’t continue, meaning the Italians were down to 10 men.
The reigning World and European champions couldn’t but capitalize on their opponents’ misfortune and substitute Fernando Torres made it 3-0 with seven minutes left. The Chelsea striker scored in his second consecutive Euro final and booked his team’s place in football history. Torres was not finished yet though, and his pass gave Chelsea team-mate Juan Mata, who had only just come on as substitute, an easy opportunity, making the final score 4-0.
The victory was the most comprehensive in a European Championship final, overshadowing West Germany's 3-0 win over the Soviet Union in 1972.
“To win three titles is almost impossible. Congratulations to the players,” Vicente del Bosque said afterwards. The 61 year old followed Luis Aragones as coach after Euro 2008 and went on to become the first-ever coach to guide teams to success in the World and European Championships, as well as the Champions League.
Despite the loss, del Bosque’s Italian counterpart left the tournament with his head high.“This was a great European Championship for us,” Cesare Prandelli said. “Really the only regret is that we didn't have a few extra days to recuperate.” “When we see the lights of the Kiev stadium from the airplane it will be painful, but tomorrow we'll have a new outlook. We have shown that you can lose with dignity," Italy’s coach added.
The Euro 2012 is coming to a close with the much anticipated final between reigning European and World champions Spain and hard charging Italy scheduled for Sunday night in the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev.
Russian Premier League’s fat cats Anzhi Makhachkala won’t play their upcoming Europa League games on home ground amid security concerns.
Congratulations Spain on your 'record breaking' win in the 2012 Euro cup finals.
Can anybody tell
me since when Italians Germans English Dutch French are NEGROIDS?? Since when?
I am yet to see ugly negroidal human on any Chinese or Japanese or Korean team? I have never seen a white man on Uganda team? What the hell is
going on?
That was NOT Italian team that won; but African-man won for the glory of
Africa not Italy! Very sad day for Italians.
European Championships are about celebration of European people , about different
ethnicities fighting for domination in the field of football. It is not about celebration of “a people”. You are Italian or German or
Russian not because of place of birth or moronic government or Jewish Lobby
that torments you but because of specific set of genetic stock you belong to…
When During Olympics you wave like crazy your
Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian , German or Russian flags
you Do NOT CELEBRATE the place of your birth or culture or system you belong to
or your psychopathic-jew- hijacked-pathetic-governments! You CELEBRATE
the genetic stock of YOUR TRIBE! A distinctive genetic stock of people which your
Flag Represents!
First were the people and then there
were the consequences of their respective genetic stocks called cultures
and languages ; not vice-versa!
I am afraid some of you may have damaged
wiring between ears. Wake up , people!!! Your Tribe is everything, the rest is
big fat nothing, a product of your imagination! Or even worse!!!; somebody
else’s Imagination.
here are differences
between human races as explain by North Western University Canada: http://www.charlesdarwinresearch.org/TaxonomicConstruct.pdf
Being different is good,
ask mother nature or God if you do not believe me. Being mongrel is bad. Spain introduced a black player long before the Italians did. Furthermore, Spain won the European Championship 2008 with this black player in the role of holding midfielder. His name: Marcos Senna. | Sports Competition | July 2012 | ['(Al Jazeera)', '(RT)', '(Sky Sports)'] |
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that 10 people have been killed in an air strike on a hospital in the town of Milis in Syria's Idlib province. | Beirut (AFP) - A barrage of air strikes on Saturday near a hospital in northwestern Syria killed at least 10 civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The monitor said the raids targeted the town of Milis in Idlib province, which borders Turkey and is controlled by a rebel alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syrian branch.
The Britain-based monitor said three children and two women were among the dead, adding that the raids were carried out by either Russian or regime warplanes.
The Idlib Media Center, which publishes news on developments in the province, said a hospital was hit in the raid by unidentified aircraft and that at least six people had been killed.
The World Health Organisation said Syria was the most dangerous place for health care workers to operate last year, with 135 attacks on health facilities and workers in 2015.
In late July, four makeshift hospitals and a local blood bank in Syria's battered Aleppo city were hit by air raids in a single day.
More than 280,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 and millions have been forced to flee, including around five million who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
NSW Health officials are asking people to be 'especially vigilant' after Covid fragments were detected in sewage. Find out more here.
Caroline Crouch's husband initially claimed robbers had killed his wife in front of their child while he was tied to a chair. Now he's been charged with murder.
| Armed Conflict | August 2016 | ['(AFP via Yahoo! News)'] |
The UK government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws is to probe the arrest of David Miranda. | Material seized from a Brazilian man held at Heathrow airport under anti-terror laws can only be examined for national security purposes, judges say.
An injunction stops government and police "inspecting, copying or sharing" material taken from David Miranda, including data on his computer.
The 28-year-old is the partner of a Guardian journalist who exposed secret information on US surveillance.
The government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws is to probe the case.
Meanwhile, police have launched a criminal inquiry but have not given specific details.
The High Court ruled the authorities could examine the seized material for the defence of national security and also to investigate whether Mr Miranda, 28, is a person who is or has been concerned with the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Mr Miranda's lawyers said he had had nine items, including his laptop, mobile phone, memory cards and DVDs, taken during the detention on Sunday.
They sought the injunction to prevent access to the data, arguing his detention was unlawful and threatened "journalistic sources whose confidential information is contained in the material seized".
Speaking after the case, Gwendolen Morgan, from law firm Bindmans, said the injunction was a "partial victory".
She said the government now has seven days to "prove there is a genuine threat to national security".
Ms Morgan added she knew "very little" about the criminal investigation police revealed they were undertaking.
"We don't know of any basis for that," she added.
Mr Miranda, who was travelling from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro where he lives with journalist Glenn Greenwald, was stopped in connection with the classified data on American and British surveillance programmes leaked to the Guardian from whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
Mr Snowden, a former contractor with the National Security Agency in the US, has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.
Mr Miranda was detained for nine hours at Heathrow under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The law allows police to hold someone for up to nine hours for questioning about whether they have been involved with acts of terrorism.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We are pleased the court has agreed that the police can examine the material as part of their criminal investigation insofar as it falls within the purposes of the original Schedule 7 examination and in order to protect national security. "It would be inappropriate for us to comment further on ongoing legal proceedings." The judicial review proceedings involved the Home Office and the police.
A lawyer for the police revealed during the court hearing that they were launching a criminal investigation after examining some of the material.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC did not give any details about the investigation but said the material "contains in the view of the police highly sensitive material, the disclosure of which would be gravely injurious to public safety". Lord Justice Beatson and Mr Justice Kenneth Parker were told Home Secretary Theresa May believed it was necessary to examine the documents "without delay in the interests of national security".
Steven Kovats QC said Mrs May had given "careful consideration" to Mr Miranda's requests and had offered "more narrowly defined" undertakings which the court should accept.
But he said: "Material taken from the claimant includes material the unauthorised disclosure of which would endanger national security of the UK and put lives at risk."
On Wednesday, Mrs May defended the police's use of anti-terrorism laws, insisting such action "was right" if officers thought Mr Miranda was holding information useful to terrorists.
There will be a full hearing on the question of continuing police inspections on 30 August.
The High Court will then further consider Mr Miranda's application for an interim injunction to stop examination "until the legality of that seizure has been determined by this court".
Earlier, the secretary general of the European human rights watchdog the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, warned the Home Office the detention of Mr Miranda "may have a potentially chilling effect on journalists' freedom of expression".
And EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding tweeted: "I fully share Mr Jagland's concerns."
Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said his country was waiting for an explanation from Britain, but believed "this was an isolated incident and won't happen again". Later, David Anderson QC, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, announced his inquiry and said it would "concentrate on the use made by police of the Schedule 7 powers in this case, from the moment when their use was first considered until the release of Mr Miranda". He said: "This will inevitably involve consideration of whether the powers were lawfully, appropriately and humanely used, of the processes that were applied in order to ensure that this was the case and of any alternatives that were or might have been considered."
Mr Anderson's announcement came after a former director of public prosecutions questioned the value of the legislation. In an interview for BBC Radio 4's World At One programme, Lib Dem peer Lord MacDonald said the section of the law that allows the police to stop, examine and search passengers at ports and airports, with no requirement for reasonable suspicion, was "problematic" and "not very practical in terms of catching people involved in terrorism."
What is schedule 7?
Q&A: David Miranda detention
Edward Snowden: Timeline
Police 'right' to hold Miranda - May
No 10 contacted paper over secrets
No 10 'knew of Miranda detention'
Miranda detention 'legally sound'
US given 'heads up' on detention
How the US spy scandal unravelled
Home Office
Metropolitan Police
Guardian
Bindmans
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate | August 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
Yuki Kitazumi becomes the first foreign journalist known to be charged since the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, after being accused of spreading fake news. | A Japanese journalist arrested in Myanmar has been charged with spreading fake news, the country's Japanese embassy has said.
Yuki Kitazumi is the first foreign journalist known to be charged since the coup. He was arrested in April and has been in prison since. More than 700 people have been killed and thousands detained, including many local journalists, since Myanmar's military staged a coup in February. Mr Kitazumi who was working as a freelance journalist had been reporting for many of Japan's major news outlets, appearing as a rare foreign reporter from within Myanmar (also called Burma). The 45-year old was arrested on 18 April when police raided his home in the country's main city Yangon (Rangoon). He had already been briefly detained on 26 February. The Japanese embassy in Myanmar said he showed no health problems but added they were urging the military to release him. If found guilty, he faces up to three years in prison, according to Japanese media. Aside from covering the coup and the subsequent protests and killings for Japanese newspapers and broadcasters, Mr Kitazumi had also frequently posted about the situation and its impact on citizens on his social media accounts.
Mass protests have been taking place across Myanmar since the military deposed the elected government and declared a year-long state of emergency.
Throughout the months of demonstrations, authorities have cracked down on the protesters and also press freedom. Around 80 local journalists are known to have been detained for their reporting so far. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, 50 of them are still in detention and half of those have been prosecuted. A few foreign journalists have also been arrested.
The armed forces have justified their takeover by alleging there had been widespread fraud during a general election late last year which had returned elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party (NLD) to power.
The military promised instead that it would hold "free and fair" elections once the state of emergency is over.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | May 2021 | ['(BBC)'] |
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