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Gunmen storm a prison in Cameroon, releasing up to 80 prisoners.
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Yaoundé - At least 80 inmates in Cameroon's restive English-speaking northwest escaped after gunmen stormed their prison overnight, an informed source told AFP Wednesday.
"There were about a hundred people in the prison and at least 80 have gone," said a source close to security forces in the town of Wum, more than 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of the regional centre Bamenda.
"The gunmen attacked under cover of darkness," the source said, using a ladder to scale the rear wall before battering down the prisoners' cell doors.
English-speaking separatists want to create an independent state, Ambazonia and vow that a presidential election slated for October 7 will not go ahead in their regions.
Eight candidates are running against 85-year-old incumbent Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for 35 years and is seeking a seventh straight term in office.
Separatists say they have suffered years of discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority in Cameroon, and two years of violence in western English-speaking regions have killed hundreds of people and displaced about 200,000.
According to International Crisis Group, 170 members of the security forces and "at least 400 civilians" have died in the conflict. Separatists have not issued a reliable toll.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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September 2018
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['(IOL)']
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Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces six articles of impeachment against newly-inaugurated President of the United States Joe Biden, alleging an "abuse of power" when Biden served as Barack Obama's Vice President.
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Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has filed articles of impeachment against Joe Biden the day after he was inaugurated as president.
The lawmaker, who has ties to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, took to Twitter to announce her action against the new president.
“I’ve just filed articles of impeachment on president Joe Biden, we will see how this goes," she said.
Ms Greene, who is a pro-Trump election fraud conspiracy theorist, was able to use the social media platform after being banned from it for 12 hours last weekend.
Twitter blocked her account for violating the rules it put in place following the violence at the 6 January Capitol riot.
"The account referenced has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy," said a Twitter spokeperson.
Ms Greene has also been accused of posting false flag conspiracy theories on Facebook about the Parkland High School shooting, according to Forbes.
Seventeen students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, died in a mass shooting on 14 February 2018.
Her stunt comes less than a month into her first term in Congress and is destined for quick failure as the Democrats now control the House and Senate, in addition to the White House.
The congresswoman filed the articles over debunked claims of corruption against Mr Biden and his family in Ukraine, Russia and China.
Mr Biden has rubbished claims he made any decisions while in office that were based on his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business interests.
A Senate investigation by Republicans last year found no evidence of corruption against the president and no evidence that his son’s work for Burisma, an oil company, influenced US foreign policy.
“President Joe Biden is unfit to hold the office of the presidency. His pattern of abuse of power as President Obama’s vice president is lengthy and disturbing," said Ms Greene in a statement.
Earlier in the day Ms Greene attacked Mr Biden’s inauguration celebration on Twitter.
“Yesterday’s inauguration looked like a one party military state takeover with 30K troops,” she tweeted.
"People were told not to go and flags were planted to show the fake support.
“Biden calls for unity after the Dem party has attacked & continues to attack anyone that disagrees with them.”
On inauguration day she also referred to the new president in a tweet as “a clueless Grandpa.”
She was among the 139 representatives and eight senators who opposed Electoral College results from Arizona and Pennsylvania confirming Mr Biden’s win over Donald Trump.
Ms Greene also alleged that there was voter fraud in her home state that resulted in Mr Biden’s close win in Georgia , but that her win was totally legitimate and that her vote count was accurate.
Republican officials who oversaw the election in Georgia have repeatedly debunked her false claims of voter fraud and Mr Biden’s win was confirmed after a string of checks and hand recounts.
Ms Greene won her house seat in November and represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District, which includes almost all of the northwestern part of the state.
Donald Trump campaigned on her behalf and even called her a “future Republican star.”
She then spoke out against Mr Trump’s historic second impeachment, for inciting insurrection at the Capitol.
"Democrats' impeachment of President Trump today has now set the standard that they should be removed for their support of violence against the American people," she said during the House hearing.
GOP colleagues have gone out of their way to denounce Ms Greene and others in her conspiracy theory wing of the party.
“She’ll keep making fools out of herself, her constituents, and the Republican Party,” Republican Senator Ben Sasse wrote in the Atlantic.
“If the GOP is to have a future outside the fever dreams of internet trolls, we have to call out falsehoods and conspiracy theories unequivocally. We have to repudiate people who peddle those lies,” he added.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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January 2021
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['(The Independent)']
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A bomb blast in Nigeria's Gombe State kills at least 4 people and injures 32.
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An explosion at a major bus station in Gombe state in north-eastern Nigeria has killed at least four people and injured 32, police say.
Gombe city hospital sources say the casualty figure is higher and a bus park official says 13 vehicles were destroyed in the rush-hour blast.
Police say explosives were concealed in a bus and three men have been arrested.
Gombe shares a border with three states placed under emergency rule to fight the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.
The group has taken full control of Mubi, a commercial centre in Adamawa.
It is the largest town Boko Haram has taken since it stepped up its insurgency when the state of emergency was declared in May 2013 in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
The government announced a ceasefire with Boko Haram nearly two weeks ago as part of efforts to negotiate the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the group in April.
But there have been several abductions and attacks since then.
There are conflicting figures about the number of casualties in the Gombe bus bomb.
Witnesses at the scene and at Gombe hospital described seeing at least seven bodies.
It is not clear if Boko Haram is behind the attack but the militants have targeted commuters in the past.
Over the border in Adamawa, thousands of people have been fleeing Mubi since it came under attack on Wednesday.
The BBC Hausa Service spoke to one resident trapped in the town who said the fighters had set up checkpoints and that their intention was to impose Islamic law.
According to the resident, the militants said that several people who had been caught stealing motorbikes during the chaos of their takeover would have their hands cut off on Friday in front of the main mosque.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it haram, or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
It frequently attacks schools and colleges, which it sees as a symbol of Western culture.
At least 2,000 civilians have been killed by Boko Haram this year.
The group has taken more than 500 women and girls hostage since it began its insurgency in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.
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Riot
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October 2014
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['(BBC)']
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed abruptly sacks and replaces the Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian military General Adem Mohammed, Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew and the head of intelligence Demelash Gebremichael.
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Ethiopia's army chief, head of intelligence and foreign minister have been replaced as fighting continues in the northern Tigray region.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office announced the reshuffle on Twitter - no reason was given for the changes.
Long-standing tensions between the central government and the local administration in Tigray boiled over into clashes last Wednesday.
Dozens of casualties have been reported with reports of more air strikes.
There are fears the conflict could lead to civil war, which could also destabilise neighbouring countries.
The UN says there have now been clashes between federal troops and Tigrayan forces in eight different locations. It says nine million people are at high risk of being displaced by the fighting. Aid cannot reach Tigray as it has been sealed off - and communication with the region has also been cut off.
The changes come a day after the parliament, in an emergency session, voted to dissolve the government of Tigray, saying it had "violated the constitution and endangered the constitutional system".
Debretsion Gebremichael, the sacked Tigray leader, has now called on the African Union to intervene to stop the country from spiralling into civil war. In a televised statement, he said Tigray would continue to defend itself until the federal government agreed to negotiate.
Last Wednesday, Mr Abiy ordered a military offensive, after an army base in Mekelle was taken over by forces loyal to the regional government of Tigray.
The cabinet also declared a state of emergency in the northern region, which borders Eritrea, for six months.
The leaders of Tigray dominated Ethiopia for many years until Mr Abiy came to power in 2018 on the back of anti-government protests and curbed their influence.
They say they have been unfairly targeted by purges and allegations of corruption, and say Mr Abiy is an illegitimate leader, because his mandate ran out when he postponed elections due to coronavirus
The simmering row boiled over in September after Tigray's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), defied the nationwide ban on elections, and held a vote which was declared illegal by the central government.
Things had begun to deteriorate last year after Mr Abiy dissolved the ruling coalition, made up of several ethnically based regional parties, and merged them into a single, national party, the Prosperity Party, which the TPLF refused to join.
On Sunday, Mr Abiy, who won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end a long-standing conflict with Eritrea, urged other Ethiopians in a Twitter post against discriminating against Tigrayans who make up 6% of a population of more than 100 million.
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Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal
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November 2020
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['(BBC)']
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Voters in Kosovo go to the polls for a snap election to replace the government of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, who was removed from office in a no-confidence motion last month.
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WATCH: Voters in Kosovo headed to the polls on June 11 to cast ballots in early parliamentary elections. RFE/RL footage shows early voters in Pristina, among whom was Kosovo's Central Election Commission chief, Valdete Daka.
(RFE/RL's Balkan Service)
Print
PRISTINA -- The ruling center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was heading toward victory in the country's snap parliamentary elections, but it seems unlikely to win enough seats to govern even with its planned coalition partners.
The June 11 vote also confirmed the strong rise of the leftist Self-Determination Movement (VV) party, which nearly doubled its support since the last election and looked set to finish second in the overall vote.
With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted, the coalition headed by the PDK of President Hashim Thaci was leading with 34.65 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Committee.
The PDK coalition includes former prime minister and rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).
The nationalist VV, also known as Vetevendosje, had 26.59 percent of the vote, just ahead of a coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 25.82 percent.
If those results are borne out, no single group would be able to govern alone, making further coalition attempts likely.
Final distribution of seats is unlikely to come before June 12 or even later in the week, official have said. Turnout was put at 41.79 percent.
Albert Krasniqi from Democracy In Action, a coalition of nongovernmental organization monitoring the elections, said voting took place peacefully. The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jan Braathu, said the process “seems to be going smoothly.”
PDK and VV voters took to the streets to celebrate in Pristina, Kosovo's capital.
This was the country’s third election since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by 114 countries, but not by Serbia and Russia.
Haradinaj, the PDK-led coalition’s candidate for prime minister, declared victory during a press conference in Pristina, though he did not provide specific numbers.
"The coalition's victory is very convincing," he said.
WATCH: Voters in the town of Gracanica cast ballots in Kosovo's early parliamentary elections on June 11. Gracanica is the home to a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery and is one of the centers of the Serb minority in Kosovo.
The PDK coalition, with a large number of former guerrilla fighters, has been dubbed the "war wing" by Kosovo's media.
If Haradinaj does assume the prime minister role, it would complicate relations with neighboring Serbia, which has issued an international arrest warrant against him on suspicion of committing war crimes when he was a guerrilla fighter during Kosovo’s 1998-99 independence war.
Haradinaj, 48, has been tried twice and acquitted of war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Haradinaj was elected prime minister of Kosovo in 2004 but resigned after 100 days in order to surrender himself for trial in The Hague. He has denied all charges.
His coalition and allies appeared unlikely to get the 51 seats in the 120-member parliament needed to govern.
Parliamentary rules reserve 20 seats for ethnic Serbs and other minorities. The PDK is looking to form a coalition with the 10 deputies representing the non-Serb minorities, including ethnic Turks and Roma.
Any new cabinet will have a tough job dealing with many problems facing the country, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians.
Many of Kosovo's 1.8 million inhabitants blame politicians from all sides for a stubbornly high unemployment rate that hovers around one-third of the workforce despite solid economic expansion of about 4 percent annually in one of the poorest countries in Europe. Other key priorities the next government faces include establishing better control over privatization and creating a functioning war crimes court and prosecution office, which would start the process of sidelining wartime leaders from political and public life.
Yet the biggest issues surrounding the vote are a pair of agreements signed in 2015: one setting the border with Montenegro and another with Serbia that increases powers held by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
Those issues have helped stalled reforms in the legislature and angered the electorate in a country where about one-third of the population is under the age of 15.
“For more than a year we didn't have a functional government, and now I don’t trust them,” said Islam Fehmiu, a retiree from the capital, Pristina.
“Parliament couldn't finish its sessions. I have very low hopes. The preelection coalitions are looking out only for their own interests and I absolutely think they won’t solve ongoing issues such as border demarcation with Montenegro,” Fehmiu added.
The election marked the rise of the Self-Determination Movement, which was a disruptive opposition force in the previous parliament and would make any coalition-building difficult. VV party supporters at one time released tear gas inside parliament and threw firebombs outside it to protest the deals with Montenegro and Serbia.
Albin Kurti, the party's candidate for prime minister, said the VV would fight corruption, jail former officials, end talks with Serbia, and seek a closer union with neighboring Albania.
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Government Job change - Election
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June 2017
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['(Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty)']
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The children's music group USA Freedom Kids plans to sue the campaign of Donald Trump.
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Within hours of their performance at a Donald Trump rally in Pensacola, Fla., last January, the U.S.A. Freedom Kids were a sensation.
You remember the video: Three preteen girls in star-spangled outfits crisply working through simple choreography as they lip-synced an upbeat update to "Over There."
That infectious performance kicked off a flurry of media appearances. The Freedom Kids told "Inside Edition" that Trump told them that he planned to listen to their CD all night. The group, which had been around for about 2 years by that point, was a viral sensation largely inextricable from Trump himself.
Now, though, the relationship is different. Jeff Popick, father of the smallest Freedom Kid and author of "Freedom's Call" (the song performed at the Trump rally), told The Washington Post by phone on Monday that he planned to file a lawsuit against the campaign for violating its agreement with the group.
"This is not a billion-dollar lawsuit," Popick said. "I'm doing this because I think they have to do the right thing. And if this means having to go through the court system to enforce them doing the right thing, then that's what I have to do. I'm not looking to do battle with the Trump campaign, but I have to show my girls that this is the right thing."
Five questions we still can’t answer about Donald Trump’s charity donations
Popick is quick to explain that the agreement was not written down, but, instead, involves promises from various agents of the Trump campaign which he says were then broken.
It started in Pensacola. When Popick first reached out to the Trump campaign about performing, he spoke with various people including former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. His understanding from the campaign was that the Kids would make two appearances in Florida, where Popick lives. The first event didn't come to fruition, and Popick says he asked for $2,500 in payment for the second performance, in Pensacola. The campaign made a counter-offer: How about a table where the group could presell albums? Popick took the deal.
When they arrived at the venue, though, there was no table, Popick says. The result was "complete chaos," he said. "They clearly had made no provisions for that."
Popick, believing that he was owed some alternate compensation, tried to contact the campaign afterward, without luck. In addition to costs spent on promotional materials for the nonexistent table, Popick says, he also lost several promotional opportunities due to confusion over his relationship with the campaign.
When Trump made the sudden decision to skip the January Fox News debate and instead hold an event for veterans, a representative of the campaign called Popick to see if the Freedom Kids might perform. The call came the day before the event, Popick says, which was being held in Des Moines at 6:30 p.m. With the promise that the exposure from the event would be "huge," Popick readily agreed, and the kids and their parents packed up for a direct flight to Chicago and a long drive to Iowa.
It wasn't to be. When the plane landed, Popick had a message from the campaign staffer indicating that there was a change of plan. The campaign invited the performers to attend the rally, which they did, in their outfits. The campaign asked Popick not to talk to the media, he says, but then gave them seats within arm's length of the press. "They just were constantly coming over, wanting pictures," Popick said of the news media. "They wanted to take pictures, they wanted to ask questions and I had to be a real jerk." The cost of the flights, rental car and hotel were all absorbed by Popick.
Donald Trump used money donated for charity to buy himself a Tim Tebow-signed football helmet
After that, he kept reaching out "again and again and again and again," without luck. He was passed around between staffers; calls went unreturned even after calls were promised. Emails Popick sent to the campaign (which he shared with The Post) detail the interaction between himself and the campaign and his ultimate request. "We are now asking and DEMANDING for what has been promised to us and is now long-overdue (and has been rightly earned by us); that is, a performance at the convention," an email dated July 9 reads. "Or, be made whole."
An email to the campaign requesting their understanding of the agreement was not returned by our deadline.
"These are guys that insist they're straight shooters," Popick said, "'You may not like what we're going to say, but we mean what we say and we say what we mean' and they just would not say anything of any substance!"
"I've invested a lot of time, effort, money," he continued, "and it's just been complete silence."
It's worth noting that Popick's story mirrors analysis of Trump's record in working with small business owners, some of whom allege that the Republican nominee failed to live up to financial and other commitments he'd made to them.
Trump announced his gifts to veterans. Here’s what we learned.
Popick has consulted with an attorney who thinks he has a case. "We are owed compensation or, as the agreement is, a performance. That's what the agreement was," he said. "In lieu of compensation, in lieu of monetary compensation, that we would have this performance. It was largely a verbal contract, but a contract nonetheless and on two different occasions." He expects to file the lawsuit within a few weeks.
Popick came into the relationship as a Trump fan. "I grew up in New York, where he was sort of a celebrity before he was a celebrity," Popick said. "I admired what he was able to accomplish. I read all of his books at this point back probably decades. ... I was a fan before he was a candidate."
He's not certain, though, if he's still a fan.
"At this point, my position is that I have no position, really," Popick said. "What he's done to my group or what he's not done for my group doesn't necessarily make him the best candidate, it doesn't make him the worst candidate. I still have to mull that over. He might still be the best candidate as president of the United States or not."
"What I think I've learned," Popick added, "is that I'm not qualified to be a political commentator."
If you're curious, the album will be out in early September. "Freedom's Call," which included the line "President Donald Trump knows how to make America great," will not be on it.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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July 2016
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['(The Washington Post)']
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The Philippines House of Representatives seeks to investigate the rise in deaths of suspected drug dealers in the country.
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A Liberal Party stalwart wants the House of Representatives to investigate the spate of extrajudicial killings and summary executions involving suspected drug offenders and other criminals even before President Rodrigo Duterte formally assumed office on June 30.
In House Resolution 61, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat noted the sudden rise of drug suspects killed in the past few weeks, with the Philippine National Police reporting the deaths of 25 drug suspects in police operations from June 16 to 20, compared to the 68 killings recorded between January 1 to June 15.
From Duterte’s inauguration until the House resolution was filed on July 7, the lawmaker said at least 23 suspected drug offenders have been killed by law enforces under what he described to be “vague circumstances.”
At least 22 suspected drug-related killings have also been reported by the PNP outside of police operations from May 14 until the end of June, he added.
Baguilat cited clamor from the public and government officials as basis for seeking a congressional probe on the drug-related killings, saying that no less than presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella has expressed alarm over the deaths of suspected offenders.
He said even public interest groups such as the National Union of People’s Lawyers, despite their support for a strong campaign against illegal drugs, have expressed concern and called for a stop to police-perpetrated killings of suspected drug offenders.
“It behooves Congress, as the people’s instrument for securing social order through the establishment of just laws and thus, the rule of law, to scrutinize the circumstances behind the aforementioned killings, with a view of ensuring that the people’s rights and lives are protected, especially by law enforcers,” Baguilat said.
The lawmaker warned about the possible emergence of lawlessness and anarchy if the killings were left unrestrained as people could take the law into their own hands and kill those they suspect of breaking the law.
Earlier in the day, Senator Leila de Lima said she will file a bill calling for a congressional probe on the growing list of drug suspects killed in police operations. — Xianne Arcangel/RSJ, GMA News
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Government Policy Changes
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July 2016
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['(GMA News)']
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British Foreign Minister Jack Straw announces that Iran has renewed its promise to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, and talks on its atomic program will continue following a meeting between Iranian nuclear officials and European Union ministers in Geneva. ,
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Jack Straw
Iran has renewed its promise to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, and talks on its atomic program will continue. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw made that announcement, following a three-hour meeting between Iranian nuclear officials and European Union ministers in Geneva. The E.U. has stepped up pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear efforts.
Mr. Straw said Iran's freeze of its uranium enrichment program would continue until agreement is reached on the future of its nuclear program. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, said Iranian negotiators will consult with Tehran first, but expressed confidence that an agreement could be reached within "a reasonably short time." Negotiators from Britain, France, and Germany have offered Iran economic incentives if Tehran permanently abandons uranium enrichment. Last November, Iran agreed to temporarily suspend that program.
The U.S. has called for Iran to be brought before the United Nations Security Council, to face possible sanctions, because it suspects Tehran is attempting to build nuclear weapons, in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has vehemently denied that claim, saying its nuclear program is solely for generating electricity.
But Washington and the E.U.'s concerns were raised again earlier this month, when Tehran announced it was considering restarting its uranium-enrichment program. Highly-enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear weapons. The E.U. warned Iran it could move toward the U.S. position favoring sanctions.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said, "America is now putting the Europeans under pressure but we hope that Europe, as an independent power and despite all U.S. pressures, could adopt a decision which guarantees security and peace both for the region and the world and not to the benefit of America."
So far, President Bush has shown support for the European efforts to entice Iran into an agreement. But Wednesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan expressed skepticism about Iran's promises. Scott McClellan"If you'll recall, Iran was hiding its nuclear activities from the international community for some two decades, and that's why we were suspicious about their activities and that's why we were skeptical about their activities. And that's why it's so important to have an objective guarantee in place to provide confidence to the international community that they are not developing a nuclear weapon," says Mr. McClellan.
Meanwhile in Tehran, 200 Iranian students demonstrated in front of Western embassies, burning U.S. and Israeli flags, and accusing the West of meddling in Iran's internal affairs.
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Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
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May 2005
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['(VOA News)', '(BBC)']
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The Parliament of Lesotho accepts the resignation of Tom Thabane. Finance minister Moeketsi Majoro replaces him as interim Prime Minister.
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MASERU (Reuters) - Lesotho’s Prime Minister Thomas Thabane bowed to pressure to resign on Tuesday, three months after police named him and his current wife as suspects in the murder of his former wife in a case that has transfixed the southern African nation.
Thabane’s departure marks the end of one of Lesotho’s longest political careers, one marked by exile, intrigue, tensions with the military and a political crisis that deepened when police named him as a murder suspect in February.
“The time to retire from the great theatre of action, take leave from public life and office has finally arrived,” the 80-year-old Thabane told citizens in a speech on Lesotho TV.
His own All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, opposition figures and South African mediators had all been pressing Thabane to resign over the murder case.
Gunmen shot dead his previous wife, Lipolelo, on June 14, 2017, two days before he took office.
Maesaiah has been formally charged with the murder. Though named as a suspect, Thabane has not been charged. They both deny any involvement.
Lawmakers have said Thabane was not offered immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down, and it remains unclear whether he will now face any charges.
Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro, named by parliament as Thabane’s replacement, is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
“I plead with the entire nation... to give my successor utmost support, and for my part I wish to assure him of my support,” Thabane said in his televised address.
Thabane’s coalition fell apart last week, leaving him with no legal choice but to resign.
“It is a relief and we believe... Lesotho will be steered to greatness and good governance as well as peace,” said Motlalentoa Letsosa, deputy leader of the Democratic Congress party, the main opposition party which will now join a new coalition government under Majoro.
Lesotho, a small kingdom encircled by a South African mountain range, has seen several coups since gaining independence from Britain in 1966.
Its political upheavals often drag in South Africa, which gets some of its water from high-altitude Lesotho.
Reporting by Marafaele Mohloboli; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Gareth Jones
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
Exclusive: Fed’s Neel Kashkari opposes rate hikes at least through 2023 as the central bank becomes more hawkish
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Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal
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May 2020
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['(Reuters)']
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Pakistani business tycoon Malik Riaz agrees to surrender 190 million in cash and assets to the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, including his Grade II listedLondon home in One Hyde Park. The NCA accuse the tycoon of acquiring his wealth and property through crime.
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The owner of Asia's largest private property developer will lose the 16,000sq ft family house overlooking London's Hyde Park.
Tuesday 3 December 2019 15:41, UK
A business tycoon has agreed to hand over 190 million in cash and assets - including a 50m London home - over accusations they were the proceeds of crime.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday it had agreed the total settlement figure with Malik Riaz Hussain, founder of Asia's largest privately held property development company Bahria Town, and his family.
As part of the settlement, the Pakistani national will hand over One Hyde Park Place, a Grade II listed 16,000sq ft (1,486sq m) family home overlooking central London's famous park, which is valued at 50m.
The NCA had already frozen eight UK bank accounts totalling 120m in August, after 20m was frozen in another UK account in December 2018 as part of the same investigation.
British authorities have been responsible for acquiring the cash and assets which will be returned to the Pakistan government.
Hussain's company is one of the largest private sector employers in Pakistan.
Coming from humble beginnings, he made his name by building gated communities first for the Pakistan Navy and then across the country.
Known for his shrewd business dealings, his Bahria Town Karachi project is Asia's largest private project, covering 46,000 acres (72sq mi) with plans for the world's third largest mosque, a cricket stadium and a 36 hole PGA golf course.
The UK freezing orders were on the cash and assets rather than against any individual, and the settlement is a civil legal procedure that does not represent a finding of guilt.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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December 2019
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['(Sky News)']
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A three–panel Zhang Xiaogang oil painting sells for a record HK$79 million.
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A three-panel oil painting by artist Zhang Xiaogang has sold for 79m Hong Kong dollars (£6.3m) - a record auction price for Chinese contemporary art.
The 1988 work, Forever Lasting Love, shows half-naked figures in an arid landscape surrounded by symbols, among them an emaciated ram.
It was one of 105 artworks sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong by Belgian collector Baron Guy Ullens.
They fetched HK$427m (£34m), more than three times than had been expected.
Forever Lasting Love broke the previous Chinese contemporary art record of HK$75m (£6m).
That was set by Zeng Fanzhi's canvas Mask Series 1996 No 6, auctioned in Hong Kong in 2008.
Evelyn Lin, Sotheby's head of contemporary Asian art, said Forever Lasting Love was "a monumental museum-quality work from a defining period of the Chinese avant-garde".
The auction set records for other Chinese artists including Zhang Peili - whose Series "X?" No 3 sold for HK$23m (£1.8m) - and Geng Jianyi, whose Two People Under a Light fetched HK$18.6m (£1.5m).
Kevin Ching, chief executive of Sotheby's Asia, said the works on sale represented "the entire spectrum of contemporary Chinese art".
"I think everyone would be proud to be able to own a piece of that history, that process and a part of that vision," he added.
Baron Ullens, who with wife Myriam set up Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Ucca), said the sale did not mean he had abandoned his support for the Chinese movement.
Ucca said in a statement that the baron's dream was to support and promote a younger generation of artists.
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Break historical records
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April 2011
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['(BBC)', '(The Hindu)']
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The UK government announces an independent review of the workings of the Libor inter-bank lending rate in the wake of the Barclays scandal.
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An independent review of the workings of the Libor inter-bank lending rate has been announced by the government in the wake of the Barclays fine. Barclays was fined £290m ($450m) for attempting to manipulate the Libor, and other banks are being investigated.
Barclays boss Bob Diamond has been summoned to appear before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for a public inquiry into the customs and practices of the banking industry.
Earlier this week, the Financial Services Authority and US Department of Justice fined Barclays, and investigations are under way into HSBC, RBS, Citigroup and UBS.
The independent review, which will examine the future operation of Libor - the daily rate set by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) - will be established next week and report by the end of summer. It will ensure amendments can be made to the Financial Services Bill which is currently going through Parliament. It will also examine whether to target institutions or individuals and whether to launch criminal prosecutions rather than impose fines. Andrew Tyrie, the select committee chairman, said Mr Diamond's hearing would focus on the Libor scandal, which he described as "the most damaging I can recall". "The public's trust in banks has been even further eroded. Restoring the reputational damage must begin immediately," Mr Tyrie added.
Barclays' chairman, Marcus Agius, will appear on Thursday.
Treasury minister Mark Hoban said: "What the public wants to see is a government that's prepared to take action to resolve these problems and get on with it as a matter of urgency."
Ministers are also considering a review into bankers' professional standards.
They have said new regulation is already in the pipeline with measures including the separation of bank investment and retail arms and a new regulatory structure.
During a speech to the left-leaning think tank the Fabian Society, Mr Miliband said the government needed to do more.
"The British people will not tolerate anything less than a full, open and independent inquiry, they will not tolerate the establishment closing ranks and saying we don't need an inquiry. "They want a light shone into every part of the banking industry - including its dark corners. They want a banking system that works for them. "They want people held to account, they do not want sticking plaster solutions and I'm afraid at the moment that is all the government is offering."
Mr Miliband also said new powers were required to prosecute people who "do the wrong thing in banking".
"Not one person has gone to jail for what happened during the financial crisis. Why is it that when you shoplift £50-worth of goods you go straight to jail but when you fiddle, lie and cheat your way through the system, gaining millions of pounds, you get away with a slap on the wrist - if that."
The TUC and some Tory backbenchers have also called for a probe similar to the Leveson Inquiry, which is looking into the practices and ethics of the press, but the Treasury and the Bank of England have rejected the idea.
Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King said Britain's banks needed a "real change in culture" but ruled out a wider inquiry.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would not rush a decision on whether to hold an inquiry and would consider the issues "very carefully".
"It's very important... the government takes all the actions necessary - holding bankers accountable, making sure they pay their taxes, making sure there's proper transparency, making sure the criminal law can go wherever it needs to, to uncover wrongdoing. All of those things need to happen," he said.
'Full inquiry' needed into banks
Banks guilty of more mis-selling
The Times
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.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
|
June 2012
|
['(BBC)']
|
Heavy fighting is reported in the capital Damascus overnight with claims of at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.
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Syrian troops backed by armoured vehicles today entered the district of Midan in central Damascus to drive out rebels who have secured a foothold at a striking distance from major state installations, neighbourhood activists said.
In the biggest armoured deployment in Damascus in the 17-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, infantry fighting vehicles took positions along the main thoroughfares of Midan, a strategic Sunni Muslim neighbourhood, as rebels withdrew to alleyways and sporadic fighting was reported, they said.
"The rebels are trying to hold the army off in al-Zahra al-Jadeeda (neighbourhood). There is fighting there and the sound of bombardment and rocket-propelled grenades is echoing from there," Radeef, an opposition activist, said by phone from Midan.
"Armoured vehicles are now deployed in the rest of Midan and army snipers have taken positions on rooftops."
Another activist said residents of the large neighbourhood were staying indoors and the only movement seen was that of the army and its armour and rebels in the alleyways of the old district, which has been rebuilt since it was shelled during a rebellion against French occupation in the 1920s.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other opposition sources said residents of Nahr Aisheh, a poor Sunni neighbourhood south of Midan, had blocked the main Damascus-Amman highway with rocks and burning tyres to try and relieve pressure on Midan.
Opposition fighters had battled Syrian government forces in Damascus into the early hours of today in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital.
Activists said the fighting spread from the south of the city to a second area as night fell. At least five people were killed and dozens wounded, locals said.
Another activist said violence had also broken out in the city's southern district of Tadamon this morning.
The spread of fighting came as UN peace mediator Kofi Annan was due to fly to Moscow for a two-day visit in which he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin who has resisted Western calls to increase pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
However Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov signalled no change in Russia's position on the conflict today before talks with Mr Annan.
Mr Lavrov reiterated Moscow's opposition to a resolution being discussed by the UN Security Council on extending a monitoring mission in Syria which includes a threat of sanctions. He told a news conference that such threats contained "elements of blackmail".
Meanwhile, numerous Damascus residents contacted by Reuters said they could hear loud explosions, persistent gunfire and sirens wailing overnight, and described the fighting as the worst so far of the 17-month uprising against Assad.
Thick black smoke was visible above the Damascus skyline in live Internet video links. Government troops closed the airport road, activists said.
"I can't believe it, it sounds incredibly close. I hear shooting and other stuff, like blasts. I can hear the sounds of ambulances rushing past. I am so afraid. People may die tonight," said a resident contacted by telephone in a district close to the fighting.
Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was under way in the al-Tadamon district in the capital's south, after sustained battles began at nightfall on Saturday in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad district.
"There is the sound of heavy gunfire. And there is smoke rising from the area. There are already some wounded and residents are trying to flee the area," he said, using Skype to show live video images of smoke visible over the skyline.
"There are also armoured vehicles heading towards the southern part of the neighbourhood," he said.
Another activist reached by Skype said the fighting later spread to al-Lawan, a neighbourhood on the south-western outskirts of the capital.
A third activist, who also asked not to be identified, said: "We've been expecting things to worsen in Damascus after the army crushed the rebellions in some of the suburbs, like Douma outside the capital. There were thousands of fighters in some of those suburbs. Some of them were killed but a lot of them fled and they've been heading to the capital itself."
Some residents said the fighting eased slightly as the night wore on but many protests in support of the opposition were staged in the poorer neighbourhoods of Damascus.
One local, who gave his name as Tarek, said residents set tyres ablaze to distract the security forces and relieve pressure on the fighters in Tadamon.
The government restricts access to the country by independent media, making verification of events difficult.
Mr Annan is travelling to Moscow days after opposition reports of a new massacre prompted a fresh wave of denunciations in the West where there are hopes Putin might ease his support for Dr Assad. But Moscow has shown no public sign of wavering in its backing for its last major Arab ally, a customer for its arms and host to a Russian naval support base.
Along with China, Russia has blocked tougher UN Security Council action and the West has shown no appetite for the kind of intervention it undertook last year when Nato helped topple Libya's Muammar Gadafy.
Mr Annan said on Friday he was "shocked and appalled" at the government for breaking a promise not to use heavy weapons in populated areas, and that it was confirmed that helicopters and artillery had fired on the village of Tremseh.
Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi criticised Mr Annan for jumping to conclusions by accepting opposition reports of the incident last week.
"What happened was not a massacre ... what happened was a military operation," Mr Makdissi told a news conference in Damascus. "Government forces did not use planes, or helicopters, or tanks or artillery."
UN observers returned to the village yesterday to gather more evidence at the site after finding signs that artillery was used but inconclusive evidence of the scale of the killing.
The Syrian government said it killed several dozen enemy fighters in battle in Tremseh but denied accusations that it carried out a massacre or that its forces used heavy weapons.
Opposition footage of the incident on the Internet has shown bloody corpses of men, but not women or children, making it difficult to determine whether those killed were fighters.
Sander van Hoorn, a Dutch journalist who reached Tremseh, said by Twitter that he had counted 30 graves in the town and had seen clear evidence of shelling, including of a school used as a shelter by refugees.
He said the evidence on the ground clearly contradicted the government's assertion that no heavy weapons were used. But he also said he had not yet seen signs of a massacre like one that took place in the city of Houla in May, when the United Nations says 34 women and 49 children were among 108 people killed.
Meanwhile, a senior UN aid official said Syria is refusing visas to Western aid workers, hampering United Nations efforts to expand further its humanitarian operation to meet growing needs in the conflict-torn country.
Some 1.5 million people require assistance in Syria amid escalating violence and "political failure" to resolve the crisis, John Ging told reporters in Geneva.
Insecurity remains a tremendous challenge as fighting prevents aid agencies from reaching increasingly hungry and desperate civilians in flashpoint areas including Homs, he said.
"We have a number of visas pending for international staff from a number of Western countries - the United States,
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Armed Conflict
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July 2012
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['(Reuters via The Irish Times)']
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President Hugo Chávez vows to withdraw Venezuela from the Inter–American Commission on Human Rights following its publication of a highly critical report on human rights in the country.
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President Hugo Chávez vowed to withdraw Venezuela from the top human rights body in the western hemisphere last night after it accused him of endangering democracy and intimidating opponents.
In a televised press conference, the socialist leader called the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights a "mafia", and its leader "excrement". "We will leave it," Chávez said.
The commission, a branch of the Organisation of American States (OAS), published a report on Wednesday which painted an alarming picture of repression and intolerance in Venezuela.
The 319-page report used unusually strong language for a 34-nation forum which tends to shy away from criticising members' internal policies, reflecting growing concern about the South American country.
"The commission finds that the state's punitive power is being used to intimidate or punish people on account of their political opinions," it said. "Venezuela lacks the conditions necessary for human rights defenders and journalists to carry out their work freely."
The report said there was a "troubling trend" of harassment, violence and judicial action to deter and criminalise protests, leaving Venezuelans cowed.
It detailed cases of dozens of judges who were sacked or sidelined for issuing rulings the government did not like. "The lack of judicial independence and autonomy vis-á-vis political power is one of the weakest points in Venezuelan democracy," the commission said.
Chávez responded with a blistering attack of his own, branding the commission a politicised agency opposed to his socialist revolution. "We will prepare to denounce the agreement by which Venezuela is a member of this nefarious Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and we will leave it. What for? It's not worth it, it's a mafia there."
He accused the commission's Argentinian head, Santiago Canton, of backing a coup which briefly ousted him in 2002. "Santiago Canton, executive excrement, pure excrement."
The report praised Venezuela's government for reducing poverty and illiteracy and increasing access to healthcare, but said that did not justify eroding civil rights.
Venezuela has not allowed the commission to visit since 2002, so the report was based on hundreds of interviews conducted from Washington, where the organisation is based.
After 11 years in power, Chávez, a former tank commander, has won successive elections and remains popular with the poor. He recently declared himself a Marxist and promised to accelerate his revolution of "21st-century socialism".
However, inflation, violent crime and water and electricity shortages have chipped away at his support, especially in cities. Seven ministers have quit or been fired recently and this week a high-profile state governor, Henri Falcon, defected from the president's Socialist party.
On Wednesday, the supreme court annulled the election of an opposition mayor, Jorge Barboza, on the grounds that he had failed to pay $292 in local taxes. It replaced him with a Chávez supporter.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
|
February 2010
|
['(Guardian)']
|
Four people are killed after supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi clashed with opponents and security forces. ,
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Four people have been killed in Egypt as supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi clashed with opponents and security forces.
Medical officials said at least 40 others were hurt as gunfire and explosions rocked the centre of Cairo. Troops used tear gas and live rounds to halt crowds heading to Tahrir Square.
The square has since been sealed off to prevent pro-Morsi supporters occupying the symbolic heart of the 2011 uprising which ousted Hosni Mubarak.
Reports said the four fatalities were all Brotherhood supporters who died amid fighting in two Cairo neighbourhoods.
As clashes broke out in the capital, state TV reported further violence in the northern Sharqiya district and to the east in Giza, as well as in the northern port city of Alexandria.
There were also reports of skirmishes between pro-Morsi demonstrators and civilian supporters of the military government.
The BBC's correspondent in Cairo, Quentin Sommerville, said that by early evening all was quiet on the streets of Cairo, ahead of the early Friday curfew at 1900 local time (1700 GMT).
A heavy security presence remained, he said.
Hundreds of Islamist protesters have died in violence since the Egyptian military deposed Mr Morsi in July, 13 months after he was elected as president.
Thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have also been detained over the past two months. Several senior figures, including Mr Morsi and the movement's general guide Mohammed Badie, are being held on charges such as incitement to violence and murder.
Egyptian authorities portray the crackdown as a struggle against "terrorism". They are preparing to seize Muslim Brotherhood assets after appeal courts upheld a recent ban on its activities.
Our correspondent says the protesters in the capital's Agouza district were chanting "Rabaa, Rabaa", a reference to the square next to the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque where a sit-in was cleared by force in August.
Troops also took up positions on both sides of Qasr al-Nil Bridge, which leads to Tahrir Square.
As protesters pushed towards Tahrir, police and security forces used teargas and warning shots fired overhead to disperse the crowds.
Before Friday's clashes, soldiers and police tightened security around key sites in Cairo, including Tahrir. Morsi supporters have said they will be intensifying their demonstrations in the lead-up to Sunday's 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Opponents who back the army have also said they will take to the streets.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Brotherhood sharply criticised the officers behind the overthrow of Mr Morsi, comparing them to Adolf Hitler, the Roman emperor Nero and the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan. It urged Egyptian soldiers to rebel and said it hoped that Sunday would mark a "victory by the people over those who staged a coup against them for personal gain".
On Thursday, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, held talks with armed forces chief Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and interim President Adly Mansour, as well as with religious leaders.
"I got a real sense of everyone really trying to go forward in the right way," she told reporters afterwards.
A day earlier, a 16-year-old boy was killed in clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents in the Red Sea city of Suez.
|
Armed Conflict
|
October 2013
|
['(Reuters)', '(BBC)']
|
The United Automobile Workers ends their 40–day strike against General Motors after a new contract is ratified.
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The UAW has ratified a new contract with General Motors, ending the union’s weeks-long strike against the automaker.
Nearly 50,000 UAW members across Michigan and throughout the country who have been on strike against GM since September voted on the proposed contract in recent days. Voting ended at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, the strike’s 40th day, after which nationwide results were tallied and announced. UAW officials ratified the new four-year contract less than an hour later, ending the longest automotive strike in 50 years.
“General Motors members have spoken,” said Terry Dittes, UAW Vice President and Director of the UAW-GM Department. “We are all so incredibly proud of UAW-GM members who captured the hearts and minds of a nation. Their sacrifice and courageous stand addressed the two-tier wages structure and permanent temporary worker classification that has plagued working class Americans.”
The new contract includes higher wages, an signing bonus of up to $11,000, performance bonuses, two 3 percent annual raises and two 4 percent lump sum payments, and an easier path to permanent employment for temporary employees.
“We delivered a contract that recognizes our employees for the important contributions they make to the overall success of the company, with a strong wage and benefit package and additional investment and job growth in our U.S. operations,” said Mary Barra, General Motors Chairman and CEO. “GM is proud to provide good-paying jobs to tens of thousands of employees in America and to grow our substantial investment in the U.S. As one team, we can move forward and stay focused on our priorities of safety and building high-quality cars, trucks and crossovers for our customers.”
The scene in Flint was somber, but passers-by in cars were honking in support. By 5:30 p.m., the streets where picketers stood their ground since the middle of September in Bay City, Flint and Saginaw were mostly empty.
Frank Trubiro, Vice President of UAW Local 598 in Flint, said the agreement gave a little to everyone involved.
"I think it's a solid agreement for what we could've gotten," Trubiro said. "I don't think any one group got all of it, but I think everybody as a whole got something. It may not have been what they wanted, but nobody was left out."
Trubiro has worked for General Motors for 36 years. The public's support, Trubiro said, is just as strong as it was when he was on strike in 1998.
“Being employed and compensated well helps the community as a whole,” Trubiro said. “People that have been on strike before were prepared for it. None of us thought it would be a nationwide strike. It tells you how serious these negotiations are.”
Tony Mann, president of UAW Local 668 representing GM workers in Saginaw, was pleased the strike is over.
“My membership is definitely happy that all this is over and behind us,” he said. “I know that the strike has definitely brought our membership closer. It is an eye-opening experience for some of our lower seniority folks who have never had to deal with situation before.”
Mann described the resolution as a bittersweet moment for all involved. He added an average of 74 percent of Local 668 members voted in favor of the new agreement.
“I definitely, as being president, will back our membership in their decision,” Mann said. “I do believe that moving forward our membership will move in the right direction for the UAW. Hopefully, that we can move past this as a union as a whole and just look forward to a brighter future for the UAW.”
Shawn Pruitt, shop chairman at Local 362 Bay City, said about 68 percent of the workers there voted to approve the contract.
“It wasn’t perfect, but our voices were heard," he said. "Membership had the last say. We certainly appreciate the overwhelming support from the public.”
Dawn Dekalita, 48, has worked at General Motors in Flint for 16 years. She said stands united with her union.
“It is what it is," she said about the contract. “I walked out with my union brothers and sisters and we’re going to walk back in together as one.”
UAW President Gary Jones thanked the families of members and their local communities for their support.
“Our members not only joined together in solidarity but felt the support of their whole community throughout this important stand," he said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also applauded the strike’s end.
“This is good news for our working families and our economy,” Whitmer said. “Michiganders are some of the hardest working people in this country, and they deserve to be treated with respect. I was proud to stand with the UAW as they negotiated for more American jobs, better wages, and good benefits, and my administration is committed to continuing our work to close the skills gap and protect hardworking Michigan families.”
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow released a statement Friday.
“I am grateful that both parties have come to an agreement that prioritizes job security, fair pay, and strong benefits," Stabenow’s statement said. "This is good news for our workers, Michigan’s families, and our economy. Michigan workers built the middle class in this country and make our economy stronger every day.”
GM last week encouraged the UAW “to move as quickly as possible through the ratification process, so we can resume operations and get back to producing vehicles for our customers," after the proposed contract was approved by top union officials.
The strike began Sept. 16, when 49,200 hourly workers, including more than 14,000 in Michigan stopped working, idling more than 30 GM plants across the country.
GM has factories in Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Kansas, but its operations are most concentrated in Michigan, where the company has plants in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Bay City, Orion, Brownstown Township, Romulus, Warren and Lansing.
This UAW strike against GM was the union’s first national strike since 2007, when GM workers were out for two days.
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Sign Agreement
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October 2019
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['(MLive)']
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The Democratic National Committee file a lawsuit against Russia, the Donald Trump administration, and WikiLeaks alleging that the former conspired to interfere in the 2016 United States elections.
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The Democratic National Committee filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Friday against the Russian government, the Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks organization alleging a far-reaching conspiracy to disrupt the 2016 campaign and tilt the election to Donald Trump.
The complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that top Trump campaign officials conspired with the Russian government and its military spy agency to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and help Trump by hacking the computer networks of the Democratic Party and disseminating stolen material found there.
“During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump’s campaign,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement.
“This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency,” he said.
The suit asserts that the Russian hacking campaign combined with Trump associates’ contacts with Russia and the campaign’s public cheerleading of the hacks amounted to an illegal conspiracy to interfere in the election and caused serious damage to the Democratic Party.
Senate investigators and prosecutors for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III are still looking into whether Trump associates coordinated with any Russian efforts. Last month, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said they had found no evidence that President Trump and his affiliates colluded with Russian officials to sway the election or that the Kremlin sought to help Trump a conclusion rejected by the panel’s Democrats.
In a statement, Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale said the Democrats’ lawsuit was without merit and likely to be dismissed.
“This is a sham lawsuit about a bogus Russian collusion claim filed by a desperate, dysfunctional, and nearly insolvent Democratic Party,” he said. “With the Democrats’ conspiracy theories against the President’s campaign evaporating as quickly as the failing DNC’s fundraising, they’ve sunk to a new low to raise money, especially among small donors who have abandoned them.”
The lawsuit echoes a similar legal tactic that the Democratic Party used during the Watergate scandal. In 1972, the DNC sued President Richard Nixon’s reelection committee seeking $1million in damages for the break-in at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate building.
The suit was denounced at the time by Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell, who called it a case of “sheer demagoguery” by the DNC. But the civil action brought by the DNC’s chairman, Lawrence F. O’Brien, was successful, yielding a $750,000 settlement from the Nixon campaign that was reached on the day in 1974 that he left office.
Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor who specializes in computer-fraud cases, said he thought the Democrats’ suit had merit and, despite predictions from Trump-allied lawyers, was unlikely to go away anytime soon.
“There is no way it’s going to be dismissed,” said Akerman, a partner in the New York office of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm. “At least not on the computer-fraud part of the case, which is really the heart of it. The Democrats have every right to bring this suit as they are aggrieved. My question is: What took them so long?”
If allowed to proceed, the lawsuit would give the Democrats a chance to seek internal documents and testimony from the Trump campaign to help them learn more about interactions with Russia during the race.
Parscale noted that the Trump campaign, too, would be allowed to conduct discovery. He promised that the campaign would use the process to probe management decisions at the DNC, as well as the party’s involvement with commissioning the Trump dossier, a research document produced by a former British spy that alleged the Trump campaign conspired with Russia. Late Friday, Trump made a similar point, tweeting that the suit provided “good news in that we will now counter” for information from the Democrats including information from the party’s servers about a range of topics including Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Suing a foreign country may present legal challenges for the Democrats, in part because other nations have immunity from most U.S. lawsuits.
The lawsuit argues that Russia is not entitled to sovereign immunity in this case because “the DNC claims arise out of Russia’s trespass on to the DNC’s private servers ... in order to steal trade secrets and commit economic espionage.”
The suit seeks millions of dollars in compensation to offset damage it claims the party suffered from the hacks. The DNC argues that the cyberattack undermined its ability to communicate with voters, collect donations and operate effectively as its employees faced personal harassment and, in some cases, death threats.
The suit also seeks an acknowledgment from the defendants that they conspired to infiltrate the Democrats’ computers, steal information and disseminate it to influence the election.
To support its case, the lawsuit offers a detailed narrative of the DNC hacks, as well as episodes in which key Trump aides are alleged to have been told Russia held damaging information about Clinton.
Inside Trump’s financial ties to Russia and his unusual flattery of Vladimir Putin
Russia engaged in a “brazen attack on U.S. soil” the party alleges, a campaign that began with the hack of its computer networks in 2015 and 2016. Trump campaign officials received repeated outreach from Russia, the suit says.
“Rather than report these repeated messages and communications that Russia intended to interfere in the U.S. election, the Trump campaign and its agents gleefully welcomed Russia’s help,” the party argues.
Ultimately, Trump’s associates entered into an agreement with Russian agents “to promote Donald Trump’s candidacy through illegal means,” the suit concludes.
It does not name Trump as a defendant. Instead, it targets aides who, during the campaign, met with people believed to be affiliated with Russia. The aides targeted include the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Manafort’s deputy during the campaign, Rick Gates.
Manafort and Gates were charged with money laundering, fraud and tax evasion in a case brought by special prosecutors last year. In February, Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI and is cooperating with investigators. Manafort has pleaded not guilty.
The DNC lawsuit also names as a defendant the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU, which has been accused by the U.S. government of orchestrating the hacks, as well as WikiLeaks, which published emails stolen from the DNC, and the group’s founder, Julian Assange.
Representatives for a number of the defendants named in the lawsuit, including the Russian Embassy, WikiLeaks and Assange, did not respond to requests for comment Friday. A Manafort spokesman declined to comment.
The lawsuit was also filed against Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant who claimed during the campaign that he was in contact with Assange.
Roger Stone claimed contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2016, according to two associates
The Trump advisers and associates have denied assisting Russia in a hacking campaign. Stone has denied any communication with Assange or advance knowledge of the document dumps by WikiLeaks, saying his comments about Assange were jokes or exaggerations.
In an email, Stone rejected the suit as “a left-wing conspiracy theory dressed up as a law-suit.”
A few prominent Democrats also criticized the legal action. David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, tweeted late Friday that the filing was “spectacularly ill-timed” and could abet the White House strategy of portraying Mueller’s criminal probe as partisan. “Everyone should chill out and let Mueller do his job,” Axelrod wrote.
The DNC argues that the Russian government and the GRU’s secret intrusion into the Democrats’ computer systems violated laws that include those protecting trade secrets, prohibiting wire tapping and preventing trespassing.
The party said the Trump defendants committed conspiracy through their interaction with Russian agents and their public encouragement of the hacking, with the campaign acting as a racketeering enterprise promoting illegal activity.
The complaint was filed on behalf of the party by the law firm of Cohen Milstein.
The suit contains previously undisclosed details, including the specific date when it is believed the Russians breached the DNC computer system: July27, 2015, according to forensic evidence cited in the filing.
The analysis shows the system was breached again on April18, 2016. The first signs that hackers were siphoning documents and information from DNC systems were spotted on April22. The suit notes that four days later, on April26, Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was informed by Josef Mifsud, a London-based professor, that the Russians were in possession of thousands of emails that could be damaging to Clinton.
Top campaign officials knew of Trump adviser’s outreach to Russia
The defendants in the suit include Papadopoulos and Mifsud, as well as Aras and Emin Agalarov, the wealthy Russian father and son who hosted the Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow in 2013. Trump, who owned the pageant, attended the event.
The Agalarovs played a role in arranging a meeting for a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in New York in 2016, at which Donald Trump Jr. had expected to be given damaging information about Clinton.
Scott Balber, an attorney for the Agalarovs, said the allegations about his clients were “frivolous” and “a publicity stunt.”
“They had absolutely nothing to do with any alleged hacking of any Democratic computer system or any interference in the U.S. election,” he said.
Lawyers for Papadopoulos declined to comment, citing their client’s ongoing cooperation with the special counsel. “It is our hope that when all the facts are known, the plaintiff will voluntarily dismiss Mr. Papadopoulos from the complaint,” said the lawyers, Thomas Breen and Robert Stanley, in a written statement.
The lawsuit also describes how the Soviet Union paid for Trump to travel to Moscow in the 1980s and alleges that his personal and professional ties to Russia helped foster the conspiracy.
The DNC’s lawyers wrote that “long standing personal professional and financial ties to Russia and numerous individuals linked to the Russian government provided fertile ground for a conspiracy between the defendants to interfere in the 2016 elections.”
The lawsuit also details the history of Manafort and Gates, who worked for Russia-friendly factions in Ukraine before joining the Trump campaign. Prosecutors have said Manafort and Gates were in contact in 2016 with Konstantin Kilimnik, a former linguist in the Russian army whom the FBI has alleged had ties to Russian intelligence.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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April 2018
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['(The Washington Post)']
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Greece's economy shrinks further.
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The Greek economy shrank by a further 1.5% in the second quarter of the year, Greece's statistics agency has said. That adds to 0.8% decline in GDP recorded for the first three months of the year, suggesting that the decline in the economy is speeding up. Greece's GDP has fallen 3.5% since this time last year.
The country has been forced to bring in severe public spending cuts since it sparked a Europe-wide debt crisis earlier this year. Greece's statistics agency Elstat said the "significant reduction" in public spending had contributed to the deepening of the country's recession. Economists said they were not surprised by figures, and blamed the "uncertainty" surrounding the government's austerity measures for the falls in GDP. "Economic activity seems to be declining at an accelerated pace due to high uncertainty and the gradual implementation of austerity measures," observed Nikos Magginas, senior economist at the National Bank of Greece. The total decline in GDP during 2010 is forecast to hit 4%, according to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. A raft of austerity measures has been announced by Greece since December last year. They include a pay freeze for public sector workers and reform to the tax and pensions systems. Elstat - Hellenic Statistical Authority
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Financial Crisis
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August 2010
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['(BBC)']
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Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church begins a visit to Ukraine.
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Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has begun a visit to neighbouring Ukraine.
He will meet the country's President, Viktor Yushchenko, in Kiev, before travelling to the east of the country. Like Russia, Ukraine is a predominantly Orthodox country, but the Orthodox Church itself in Ukraine is split. Some Ukrainian Orthodox believers think Patriarch Kirill's visit is aimed primarily at boosting political Russian influence in their country. Patriarch Kirill was greeted by hundreds of supporters on arrival at Kiev's airport. A small number of demonstrators waved placards opposing his presence and scuffled with police. He will later visit the holiest sites in the capital before travelling to the industrial heartlands of eastern Ukraine. Divisions
What makes this trip so controversial is Patriarch Kirill's vision. He is a relative newcomer to the post, having been elected in February. He has articulated a vision of Orthodoxy's future, in which the Russian Orthodox Church holds the dominant, first position among the scattered branches of Orthodoxy. This makes the visit highly sensitive. It raises questions of spheres of religious and political influence, which often cross what are the region's relatively new state borders. After 1991, when Ukraine gained its independence, the Orthodox Church there split. The Moscow Patriarchate still controls the lion's share of parishes. However, the churches under the control of the Kiev Patriarchate attract larger numbers of believers. Recent studies in Ukraine suggest the Kiev Patriarchate attracts some 14 million believers, as opposed to some nine million visiting churches under the Moscow religious authorities. Many believers from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate say the Russian-backed church does not support Ukrainian independence. Furthermore, there are political divisions inside Ukraine. In Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill will be seen as the head of one big family. But in western Ukraine, nationalist groups have protested against what they say is his treatment of Ukraine as his own country. President Yushchenko says he wants unity of the Orthodox churches. Moscow arguably wants Church unity on its terms. The Russian Orthodox Church, after all, has a powerful role at the heart of Russia, aimed both at strengthening the state, and restoring its influence abroad.
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Diplomatic Visit
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July 2009
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['(BBC)']
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A United States Marine Corps reservist is found guilty of killing an Iraqi soldier while they stood guard together in Fallujah.
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) A Marine reservist was found guilty Thursday of killing an Iraqi soldier while they stood watch together at a guard post in Fallujah.
Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, 22, of Indianapolis, was convicted of negligent homicide, but acquitted of the greater charge of unpremeditated homicide. He was also convicted of making a false official statement.
A panel of three officers and five enlisted Marines returned the verdict after two days of deliberating over whether the Dec. 31, 2006, killing of Pvt. Munther Muhammed Hassin was an act of murder or self-defense.
Holmes made no remarks in court immediately after the verdict, a Marines spokeswoman said.
A sentencing hearing was set to begin immediately following the verdict. Holmes faced up to eight years in confinement, reduction to the rank of private, forfeiture of pay and allowances and dishonorable discharge.
Holmes was accused of stabbing to death Hassin. His attorney claimed it was an act of self-defense after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone and then lit a cigarette. Prosecutors contended it was murder.
Holmes' attorney, Steve Cook, told jurors the men were not supposed to display any illuminated objects because of the threat of sniper fire, and Holmes tried repeatedly to get Hassin to extinguish the cigarette.
Holmes told investigators he knocked the cigarette from the soldier's hand and the two got into a fight, falling to the ground.
During the struggle, Holmes felt Hassin reaching for his loaded AK-47, so he stabbed him with a bayonet that doubles as a utility knife that was attached to his jacket, Cook has said.
Prosecutors, however, said that Holmes killed the soldier and then set up the scene, firing the soldier's AK-47. Capt. Brett Miner said Holmes "mauled" Hassin with 17 stab wounds, 26 slashes and a chop to the face that nearly severed his nose.
"Not a scratch. Not a blemish. ... There is not a mark on him. There is no self-defense," Miner said. "There can be lawful killings during a time of war. This is not a lawful killing."
Holmes, who is being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, enlisted in the Marine reserves in May 2004 and was on his first deployment in Iraq, Cook said. He is from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, based out of Lansing, Mich.
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Armed Conflict
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December 2007
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['(AP via Google News)']
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Following a day of missile attacks on southern Israeli communities, Hamas declares a deal for militant groups in Gaza to ceasefire, a truce it says is intended to halt an escalation of Israeli "aggression".
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Islamist group Hamas says it has brokered a deal for Gaza's militant groups to stop firing on Israel, amid the most serious fighting since 2009.
The move comes after militants hit an Israeli school bus with an anti-tank shell on Thursday, injuring two people. Israeli strikes later that day had killed five people and injured more than 30, Palestinian doctors said.
And on Friday, two Hamas men had been killed by an air strike shortly after dawn, the group said in a statement.
Another four Palestinians were injured overnight in separate Israeli attacks at Rafah airport, according to Palestinian sources. Israel says it is responding to Palestinian attacks. Earlier, Israel said it had used a new short-range missile defence system for the first time to destroy rockets fired from Gaza. The Iron Dome system had successfully intercepted a rocket heading for the southern port city of Ashkelon, the military said.
Last night, Hamas - which governs the Gaza Strip - met with other militant factions and agreed to enforce a ceasefire if Israel also stopped firing. The Hamas Interior Ministry said the truce was designed to stop an escalation of Israeli "aggression".
Friday's strike means that is unlikely to hold, says the BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza City.
The past month has seen the most serious violence in and around Gaza since Israel's major offensive here more than two years ago, our correspondent adds.
On Thursday an Israeli teenager was critically injured near the Nahal Oz kibbutz when a school bus was targeted by a missile fired by Hamas militants. The 16-year-old boy suffered a serious head wound and was taken to hospital for surgery.
After the attack, witnesses said more rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip.
The bus attack was condemned by the US, which said it was particularly concerned by reports that the Gaza militants had used an advanced anti-tank weapon to target civilians.
Following the attacks, Israeli planes bombed a compound in northern Gaza belonging to Hamas, along with targets in Gaza City and Rafah.
An official in Gaza said one of those killed on Thursday was a 50-year-old civilian who had been sitting outside his home when he was struck by tank fire. The other four were identified as leaders of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Friday's two victims had also been members of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas said. The men were killed in a dawn raid near the southern city of Khan Younis. Another 40 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli strikes in the past two days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take any action necessary to deter attacks from Gaza.
"We hope this situation will be contained but we will not shy away from taking all the necessary action, offensive and defensive, to protect our country and to protect our citizens," said Mr Netanyahu during a visit to Prague.
Last month saw some of the worst violence since Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza in December 2008. In one week in March, at least 10 Palestinians - including several civilians and children - were killed by Israeli attacks.
In the same period, militants in Gaza fired more than 80 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel.
Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for all attacks coming out of Palestinian territory, even if it is other militant groups carrying them out.
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Armed Conflict
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April 2011
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['(BBC)', '(Ynet)']
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At least five COVID–19 patients in a hospital in Vyborgsky District, St. Petersburg, Russia, die after a ventilator caught fire in the intensive care ward they are treated in.
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Several patients being treated for coronavirus have died after a ventilator caught fire, Russian news agencies say. Initial indications are that the device was overloaded.
At least five COVID-19 patients in the Russian city of St. Petersburg died on Tuesday after a ventilator caught fire in the intensive-care ward they were being treated in, according to Russian news agencies.
News agency Interfax quoted a source as saying that the patients had died from inhaling toxic substances released by the fire in the intensive-care unit located on the 6th floor of the hospital in the Vyborgsky district.
Rescue teams reportedly took 150 people to safety.
Authorities have reportedly launched an investigation into criminal negligence leading to death.
Much of Russia's health care infrastructure is outdated, and the COVID-19 pandemic has put it under considerable strain.
Tuesday's fire was the second such incident within a few days in Russia. On Saturday, a fire in the intensive-care unit in a Moscow hospital killed one COVID-19 patient and led to the evacuation of some 200 other people.
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Fire
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May 2020
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['(DW)']
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A series of earthquakes up to 7.6 in magnitude strike the Indonesian province of West Papua, killing at least four people and wounding at least 37.
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At least four people have been killed and dozens injured after a series of powerful earthquakes hit eastern Indonesia, officials say.
The strongest tremor, with a magnitude of 7.6, struck north of the city of Manokwari in West Papua province at 0443 (1943 GMT on Saturday).
It was followed by another big quake and a string of aftershocks.
Witnesses said the tremors triggered mass panic in Manokwari, where several buildings were flattened.
A tsunami alert was issued by Indonesian authorities following the earthquakes, but withdrawn within an hour.
Assessment teams and medical supplies are expected to arrive in the remote region, some 2,955km (1,830 miles) east of Indonesia's capital Jakarta, within the next 24 hours.
The first quake struck on land about 95 miles (150km) north of Manokwari at a depth of 22 miles (35km), the US Geological Agency said. It was followed by another tremor and aftershocks.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson said eyewitnesses described crowds of people running terrified through the streets of the region's main city amid fears of a tsunami.
Among the four victims of the quakes was a 10-year-old girl who was crushed by a falling wall, officials said.
At least 37 people were injured and were being treated in hospitals.
An official with the World Vision aid organisation said 10 buildings had been totally destroyed, including several hotels and the house of a government official.
Officials said three people, who had been staying at the Mutiara hotel in Manokwari, were pulled alive from the rubble and taken to hospital.
Electricity was also cut off in the city with a population of some 160,000 people.
Japan's Meteorological Agency told Reuters news agency the earthquakes also triggered a small tsunami which hit the Japanese coast, but did not cause any damage.
A huge quake off western Indonesia on 26 December 2004 caused a massive tsunami that killed around 230,000 people around the region.
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Earthquakes
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January 2009
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['(BBC News)']
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Voters in Burma go to the polls for by–elections for 45 seats, with Aung San Suu Kyi claiming victory in one election.
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Aung San Suu Kyi's party claims she has won a seat in Burma's parliament after Sunday's historic election, setting the stage for her to hold public office for the first time.
The victory, if confirmed, marks a major milestone in the Southeast Asian nation, where the military has ruled almost exclusively for a half-century and where the government is now seeking legitimacy and a lifting of Western sanctions. The victory claim was displayed on a digital signboard above the opposition National League for Democracy's headquarters in Rangoon. Earlier, the party said in unofficial figures that Ms Suu Kyi was ahead with 65 per cent of the vote in 82 of her constituency's 129 polling stations. As polling got under way in the first election ever contested by the country's Nobel laureate, EU officials said while they welcomed the Burmese government's invitation to observe 45 parliamentary by-elections, they had not been given enough time to carry out a credible monitoring operation. Observers from the EU, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), foreign diplomats and local pro-democracy groups have been given free access to officials and polling stations for the first time as part of Burma's campaign to persuade the European Union and United States to lift economic sanctions. Britain's foreign secretary William Hague said EU sanctions could be lifted later this month if the by-elections are seen to be free and fair. EU observers, led by its head of Democracy Support and Elections division Malgorzata Wasilewska, visited polling stations throughout the country as they opened to voters this morning, and found them calm and peaceful. Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy expects to win 80 per cent of the seats – 36 in total – to match its showing in its last campaign in 1990 when it won a landslide victory in the constituent assembly polls. Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters as she travels across the constituency where she is standing as a candidate in Kawhmu (AFP/Getty Images)
Those results were ignored by the ruling military junta. In its first campaign in 22 years, which follows a series of government reforms to lift censorship, release political prisoners and end media restrictions, the NLD has alleged intimidation and sabotage by officials and supporters of President Thein Sein. Last week Ms Suu Kyi called on EU and other observer teams to investigate allegations of irregularities in the run up to today's elections. "I hope they will take into consideration the fact that the freeness and fairness of an election does not depend merely on the day of the polling itself but on what went before that day and I hope you will find out as much as possible about what's been taking place over the last couple of months," she said. But according to EU official Malgorzata Wasilewska, her team had not been given sufficient access in time to carry out a full observation. "The UN declaration on principles of observation means observation is a long term presence and analysis of the whole process not just election day. The invitation is extremely welcome, a sign of a first step towards transparency and openness we're here because it's an interesting moment but not in a position to assess whether these elections are credible," she told The Daily Telegraph. "But it is important to be here and people are saying it is very different to how elections were conducted in 2010." She inspected Rangoon's 90th Street polling station in Mingala Taungnyant constituency which had opened half an hour earlier than its official 6am start. Voters wait in line to vote in a polling booth in a school in the rural remote constituency where Aung San Suu Kyi is standing for parliamentary by-elections (EPA)
Voters cast their votes in a calm and orderly atmosphere and party election agents were allowed to watch the proceedings. But observers noticed a number of apparent irregularities and questionable practices which they could not clarify. Although ballot boxes were shielded with blue screens for privacy, they were sealed only with removable gaffer tape. Election officials said there were 1975 registered voters, but lists posted at the station showed only 1870. The polling station itself was in the private home of an unidentified donor. They were also concerned that there was no system to identify those who had already voted to prevent multiple votes. "The only way to verify a person has not voted several times is to use [indelible] ink," said Ms Wasilewska. But she stressed there was no way to establish the significance of initial concerns in the absence of a full, long-term observer mission. "There's no way of verifying what this means without a proper mission," she said. Tin Maung Thann, a local observer from the Myanmar Egress policy group, said in the 2010 elections, which gave the governing Union Solidarity and Development Party a commanding majority, electors had no privacy when they cast their votes into a single ballot box. "Before people could see from behind. They can't now and that is key," he said.
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Government Job change - Election
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April 2012
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['(BBC)', '(The Telegraph)']
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Five thousand Algerians protest in Algiers after two recent suicide bomb attacks.
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ALGIERS (Reuters) - Around 5,000 Algerians gathered in central Algiers on Sunday to protest against violence after two suicide attacks killed at least 57 people in the North African country.
Al Qaeda’s north Africa wing said it was behind the two attacks, one of which was originally intended to target President Abdelaziz Bouteflika himself, according to an Internet statement on Saturday.
“Terrorists are not Muslims” and “The Algerian people reject terrorism and support President Abdelaziz Bouteflika”, chanted the crowd, made up mainly of women.
The statement said al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb had masterminded Saturday’s suicide truck bombing at a coast guard barracks east of Algiers and an attack in the town of Batna less than 48 hours earlier.
The bomber in Batna, 430 km (270 miles) southeast of Algiers, was forced detonate his device prematurely after being discovered shortly before a scheduled visit by the Algerian leader, it said.
The bomber blew himself up among a crowd waiting to see Bouteflika, killing 20 people.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, said two al Qaeda fighters carried out the attacks “in defense of Islam and the Islamic nation”.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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September 2007
|
['(Reuters)']
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The first of two Democratic Party debates for the nomination of the party's nominee in the 2020 United States presidential election is held in Miami, Florida.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contenders battled over healthcare coverage and border policy on Wednesday during a surprisingly heated first debate that laid bare the party’s divisions on whether to abolish private insurance and shift to a Medicare-for-All system.
In the first round of back-to-back debates, several of the lesser-known candidates vied for attention in the crowded race to take on President Donald Trump, shouting over one another to grab the spotlight and prove they are capable of standing up to the Republican in the November 2020 election.
The Democratic contenders repeatedly attacked Trump, saying his economic policies benefited the wealthy at the expense of working Americans, and calling his border policies heartless.
“On January 20, 2021, we’ll say ‘Adios’ to Donald Trump,” said former Housing Secretary Julian Castro.
But they also turned their fire on each other, most often targeting Beto O’Rourke. The former congressman tangled with Castro, a fellow Texan, on border policy, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on healthcare.
The intensity of the exchanges after six months of a relatively mild campaign reflected the high stakes in what could be a make-or-break moment for some of the contenders struggling to be noticed in the Democratic field of more than 20 candidates.
No one mentioned front-runner Joe Biden, who will take the stage with top rival Bernie Sanders and eight other candidates in the second debate on Thursday night.
The battle over healthcare began when the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they support eliminating private health insurance. Only U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and de Blasio did so, but they quickly challenged the other eight candidates on stage.
Warren, a leader of the party’s progressive wing who has been surging in opinion polls, said private insurance was taking advantage of Americans. She backs a government-sponsored Medicare-for-All approach and criticized those who say it is not politically feasible.
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“What they are really telling you is they just won’t fight for it. Healthcare is a basic right, and I will fight for it,” she said.
But former U.S. Representative John Delaney, an outspoken critic of Medicare for All who supports a universal healthcare approach that includes private insurance, said Democrats should not throw away a system that some Americans are happy with.
“I think we should be the party that keeps what’s working and fixes what’s broken,” Delaney said.
After years of defending former Democratic President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law known as Obamacare from Republican attempts to repeal it, Democrats have struggled during the campaign to agree on the best approach to fixing it.
The Medicare for All approach pushed by Warren and Sanders, which has gained support in Congress, would create a government-operated plan that eliminates private insurance. It is modeled on the Medicare government healthcare program for seniors.
O’Rourke said private insurance was “fundamental to our ability to get everybody cared for,” but de Blasio cut him off.
“Congressman O’Rourke, private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans when you talk about the copays, the deductibles the premiums - it’s not working. How can you defend a system that’s not working?”
‘BORING!’
O’Rourke also came under attack from Castro over the separation of families and detention of migrants at the southern border. Castro said he would decriminalize border crossings by migrants, which he said had led to the separation of families. He challenged O’Rourke and others to support him.
O’Rourke said that as a congressman he helped introduce a bill that would ensure that those who are seeking asylum and refuge in the United States are not criminalized.
Castro responded: “I’m not talking about the ones that are seeking asylum, I’m talking about everybody else.” He accused O’Rourke of not doing his homework.
Trump hinted he would not tweet his reactions to the debate live. It was taking place as he flies aboard Air Force One to Osaka, Japan, for a G20 summit.
But shortly after it began, he could not help himself. “BORING!” he tweeted.
“This debate was the best argument for President Trump’s re-election and should really be counted as an in-kind contribution to the President’s campaign,” Kayleigh McEnany, the Trump campaign’s spokeswoman, said in a statement.
“The far-left, socialist policies Democrats embraced tonight were akin to a mutual political suicide pact,” she said.
The debate was an opportunity for some of the less-noticed candidates to step out of the shadow cast by Biden, a former vice president, and Sanders, a senator from Vermont.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker had the most speaking time in the debate at about 11 minutes, according to the New York Times and other media trackers. He was followed by O’Rourke, Warren and Castro. Washington Governor Jay Inslee had the least.
Several of the contenders took aim at corporate America, saying it did not pay enough in taxes, repaid government bailouts by shifting jobs overseas and charged too much for its products.
“Who is this economy really working for? It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. It’s doing great for giant drug companies. It’s just not doing great for people who are trying to get a prescription filled,” Warren said.
Inslee said he was the only candidate on the stage who had passed a public healthcare option and a law protecting a woman’s right to reproductive health and health insurance.
That drew a sharp response from Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“There are three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose,” she said, looking at Warren and congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
Reporting by James Oliphant, Ginger Gibson and Letitia Stein in Miami; Writing by John Whitesides in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney
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Government Job change - Election
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June 2019
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['(Reuters)']
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The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy issue a joint statement calling on Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar to end the offensive.
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Heavily armed forces loyal to a Libyan commander have been filmed advancing towards Tripoli, ratcheting up tensions ahead of a UN-backed peace conference.
Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to march on the capital in a video posted online, hours after he said his forces took full control of Gharyan, a town about 100 km south of the capital.
“To our army which is stationed at the outskirts of Tripoli. Today we complete our march ... We are going to start shortly,” he said in the video titled ‘Operation to liberate Tripoli’. There was no independent confirmation that any advance had started.
The tensions come as the UN is preparing to hold a conference later this month in the southwestern city of Ghadames to discuss a political solution to prepare the country for long-delayed elections.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was in Tripoli promoting the peace talks, expressed grave concern over “the military movement taking place." He tweeted a warning against the “risk of confrontation”, and called for calm and dialogue.
Since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been divided between various disparate factions. Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj leads the Western-backed government, which currently sits in Tripoli. However, the vast majority of the country's east is under the control of Khalifa Haftar, commander of the 'Libyan National Army'.
The Tripoli government announced a high state of military alert in response to the advance by Haftar's forces.
Libya is a major departure point for migrants and refugees travelling across the Sahara in the hopes of reaching Europe and any unrest could impact Tripoli's ability to manage the flow of migrants trying to reach Italy.
With EU backing, Italy made a deal two years ago to spend tens of millions of euros funding the Libyan coastguard,
The deal which is backed by the government in Tripoli, intercepts boats heading for Italy and returns refugees and migrants to Libya. Much outrage against European migration policies have been caused by the criminalisation of search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, the deadliest sea route in the world.
However, there are reports of refugees and migrants dying in horrific conditions after being sent back to Libya as a direct result of EU policy.
The EU Delegation to Libya said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the military buildup underway in Libya" and urged "all parties to seize the opportunity of the visit of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to engage in a spirit of compromise in order to avoid further bloodshed and build a better future for all Libyans."
The US, UK, France, and Italy have issued a joint statement calling for calm in the country.
"At this sensitive moment in Libya's transition, military posturing and threats of unilateral action only risk propelling Libya back toward chaos," they said in a joint statement issued by the US state department.
"We strongly believe that there is no military solution to the Libya conflict," they added.
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Armed Conflict
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April 2019
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['(Euronews)']
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Mali's opposition Front for Democracy and the Republic calls on the Constitutional Court to annul last Sunday's presidential election.
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"We do not recognise these results because it is a farce," said opposition coalition spokesman Djiguiba Keita.
They say the poll was marred by fraud and members of the military were ordered to vote for incumbent President Amadou Toumani Toure. But the BBC West Africa correspondent says annulment is unlikely, as foreign observers declared it mostly fair.
The Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR) opposition coalition says that it has concrete proof that it will present in court.
Provisional official figures issued by the authorities on Thursday gave President Toure more than 68% of the vote, putting him well ahead of his closest challenger, parliamentary speaker Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who had less than 19%.
Voter turnout for the poll was 36%.
Coup leader
Mr Toure, known as "ATT", played a leading role in ending Mali's military dictatorship with a coup 16 years ago.
Mali leader's life in pictures
He then organised elections in 1992 and handed power over to the winner, Alpha Oumar Konare.
Mr Toure was elected president in 2002, after Mr Konare had served two terms.
Mr Keita is president of Mali's National Assembly and a former prime minister who came third in the 2002 presidential poll.
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Government Job change - Election
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May 2007
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['(BBC)']
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A Caspian Airlines passenger airliner crash lands on a runway and skids onto a major highway in Mahshahr, Iran, leaving 2 injured.
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Only two people were injured in the incident and the airport's director said everyone on board made it off safely.
Monday 27 January 2020 13:39, UK
A plane carrying 136 passengers has skidded off the runway and onto a nearby street in the Iranian city of Mahshahr.
Two people were injured in the hard landing of the Caspian Airways McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft, according to officials.
The flight had flown around 380 miles (611km) from the Iranian capital of Tehran to Mahshahr before its hard landing.
Shocked passengers, along with their hand luggage, left the aircraft via doors near the cockpit and over the wing.
A flight attendant can also be seen shouting towards passengers to walk calmly away from the aircraft.
Speaking in Farsi, a passenger is heard saying: "We crashed. We crashed but we are unhurt. My hand is shaking."
Iranian authorities said that there were 136 passengers on board with eight crew members, and the airport's director said that everyone had been taken off the plane safely.
Images from the landing site show that a disaster was narrowly averted, with the plane stopping close to a populated area, just beyond the airport's runway.
As yet, there is no reason given for the jet failing to land on the runway.
The plane involved in the crash, with the marker EP-CPZ, appears to be more than 25 years old, and had previously flown for airlines in France, Canada, the US, Colombia, Burkina Faso and Ukraine before being registered to the Iranian company.
Under US sanctions, Iran has struggled to obtain certain parts for its ageing fleets of aircraft, after manufacturers Boeing and Airbus backed away from the country due to pressure from the White House.
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Air crash
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January 2020
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['(Sky News)']
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Bilateral negotiations have resumed between the US and North Korea. .
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North Korea and the United States have both made conciliatory remarks as fresh six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programme opened in Beijing.
North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan said Pyongyang was ready to work to free the peninsula of nuclear weapons.
The US said it viewed North Korea as a sovereign state which it had no intention of attacking.
Pyongyang wants a peace treaty with the US, plus aid in exchange for scrapping its nuclear programme.
The talks mark the end of a 13-month boycott by North Korea.
But Mr Kim said the beginning of the talks was only a first step.
"Opening talks is important, but what is more important is to achieve actual progress such as denuclearisation," Mr Kim said.
He said the North and "other parties including the United States" were ready for such a move.
Ticking clock
South Korea urged a quick resolution of the long-running stand-off between Washington and Pyongyang.
"Time is not on anyone's side," South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said.
CRISIS TIMELINE
Oct 2002: US says North Korea is enriching uranium in violation of agreements
Dec 2002: North Korea removes UN seals from Yongbyon nuclear reactor, expels inspectors
Feb 2003: IAEA refers North Korea to UN Security Council
Aug 2003:First round of six-nation talks begins in Beijing
Feb 2005: Pyongyang says it has built nuclear weapons for self-defence
Timeline: Nuclear crisis
Unusually, no end date has been set for this round of talks between North and South Korea, the US, China, Russia and Japan.
US envoy Christopher Hill said the Americans would stay at the talks "so long as we are making progress".
He said nuclear weapons would not make North Korea more secure.
"And in fact, on the contrary, nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula will only increase tension in the region," he said.
Resumption
The six-party talks had been stalled for more than an year after North Korea withdrew, blaming US aggression.
South Korea began to deliver food aid to the North as the talks began, part of an earlier pledge to send 500,000 tons of rice to its impoverished neighbour.
South Korea began aid deliveries as the talks opened
The BBC's Charles Scanlon in the South Korean capital, Seoul, says there is little expectation of a breakthrough at the talks, but negotiators say this time they will be more flexible and will discuss the problems in more detail.
After the failure of the first three rounds, negotiators fear a further stalemate could derail hopes for a diplomatic solution.
In the 13 months since the last round of talks, North Korea has declared itself a nuclear power. But it has angrily denied US allegations that it is running a second secret project to enrich uranium in addition to its well-known plutonium programme. Washington, meanwhile, has been refusing to talk about any kind of pact until North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear weapons programme. The US has indicated that the country could face further sanctions if it fails to resolve the nuclear crisis. Kidnapped Japanese
Separately, Japan raised the issue of North Korea's abduction of its citizens in the past, although South Korea, China and Russia fear its stance could endanger the negotiations.
In 2002, Pyongyang admitted to abducting 13 people during the 1970s and 1980s, to train spies in Japanese language and culture.
It declared the issue over after repatriating five victims, while saying the other eight had died. However, Japan believes some could still be alive and living in North Korea.
The Russian negotiator, Alexander Alexeyev, has described the Japanese position as counter-productive, though Washington has backed Tokyo.
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Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
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July 2005
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['(BBC)']
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Thousands of people in Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and to protest Beijing's recent moves to limit their autonomy.
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It was organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. Many of its leading members are pro-democracy lawmakers who have not been allowed into mainland China since the group was formed. Message to Beijing
Marching under banners saying "Tell the truth, demand accountability for the 4 June massacre" and "Return power to the people", the protesters made their way through the streets of the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. Hundreds of police were on duty in case of trouble during the march, which is an annual event. Shoppers watched as the long column of marchers passed by. Marchers said they were out on the streets to send a message to Beijing. They want an investigation into the brutal suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Some also carried signs demanding universal suffrage, a reference to the continuing struggle for democracy here in Hong Kong and in China as a whole.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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May 2004
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['(VOA)', '(BBC)']
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Benin presidential election, 2006: Voters in Benin go to the polls to decide who will succeed Mathieu Kérékou as President. Results are expected to be announced by Wednesday. If no single candidate of the 26 wins an outright majority, a runoff election will take place in two weeks. , ,
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Ballot counting has begun after the close of polls in Sunday's presidential election in Benin. Despite a late start at many voting centers and a lack of basic materials, polling went smoothly. People stand in voting queues during the Benin presidential elections at Cotonou, Benin, March 5, 2006Election workers began counting ballots soon after polling stations closed Sunday evening. Voting centers were to close across the country at four o'clock local time. But in many parts of Benin voting ended later to compensate for late openings. As officials began the initial count at one center in Cotonou, dozens of people watched through windows and doorways as results were tallied on a blackboard. One young man, who has waited around for hours after voting expresses the sentiment of many in Benin.
"According to democracy in Benin, I think its well understood," he said. "And we work very clearly and everything is okay."
Benin's former PM Adrien Houngbedji and presidential candidate casts his ballot at Cotonou, March 5, 2006Voting got off to a difficult start Sunday morning. Many voting stations remain closed hours after seven o'clock opening time. In many cases, materials never arrived. At one voting center in the capital Porto Novo, local poll workers complained to observers from the national elections commission. They say notebooks, ink, and other basic items meant to have been provided by the commission never arrived. Elsewhere, election workers had to improvise voting booths. Polling coordinator Francis Glieger says the problems were minor, and, on the whole, he was impressed by Sunday's vote. "Everything is great today," said Francis Glieger. "We have some difficulties, but its not important. What is important is the fact that many people are voting here and that we have good results. That is what is important." Incumbent President Mathieu Kerekou, who has ruled Benin for all but five years since 1972, and former President Nicephore Soglo, were both banned by the constitution from running because of their age. Twenty six candidates contested the first round. Results are expected to be announced by Wednesday. If no single candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is due to take place in two weeks time.
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Government Job change - Election
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March 2006
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['(Scotsman)', '(VOA)', '(Reuters)']
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Four soldiers of the Chadian Army and a journalist are killed following a Boko Haram attack near the northern shore of Lake Chad. Boko Haram have reportedly continued their incursion into northern Chad.
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Four soldiers and a cameraman died on Saturday night from an attack by Boko Haram on the northern shore of Lake Chad.
Members of the terrorist group attacked Chadian army base around one o’clock in the morning killing a soldier. Meanwhile a delegation of the army general staff on the ground, had one of the convoy’s vehicles reportedly hit a mine killing two soldiers on the spot, while a third one died a few hours later as a result of his injuries. Obed Nangbatna, a national television cameraman who was part of the mission also die from a hemorrhage.
A Boko Haram attack on the northern shore of Lake Chad leaves four soldiers and a Chadian cameraman dead.
For several weeks, Boko Haram has been increasing incursions into northern Chad, and seems to have adopted a new modus operandi: the laying of mines on the enemy’s path.
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Armed Conflict
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May 2019
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['(Africanews)']
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A car bomb strikes Deir Atiyah, north of Damascus, killing 13.
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A car bomb has exploded north of the Syrian capital Damascus killing at least 13 people including 10 policemen, activists say.
The overnight blast struck near a police station in the town of Deir Atiyeh, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
State-run Sana news agency confirmed the attack, saying "terrorists" had caused an unknown number of casualties.
The blast comes as the Syrian army tries to regain ground around Damascus.
Correspondents say the government looks poised to retake Jobar and advance towards Qaboun, both held for months by opposition forces.
Rebels have used Jobar and Qaboun to launch mortar rounds on government positions in the heart of the capital, reports say.
"The army is advancing rapidly in Jobar," a Syrian military commander told the Associated Press.
"The area will be secured in the next few days according to a well-studied plan." The observatory - which relies on a network on opposition activists on the ground - said 200 civilians had been held captive by government troops inside a mosque in Qaboun on Sunday night. They were able to escape when clashes broke out near the mosque and the army retreated, the observatory said. The report cannot be verified.
Meanwhile, fighting is said to have intensified in the city of Aleppo between jihadists and the main opposition forces the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The clashes follow the assassination in Latakia of an FSA commander at the hands of a group linked to al-Qaeda.
The killing late last week is part of an escalating struggle within the armed uprising between moderates and Islamists.
In another development, the Pakistani Taliban told Reuters news agency on Sunday that they had sent "hundreds" of fighters to Syria.
A senior commander said they had gone at the request of "Arab friends" and had set up camps in Syria.
UN says more than 90,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising again President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011. A further 1.7 million have been forced to seek shelter in neighbouring countries.
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Riot
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July 2013
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['(BBC)']
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Authorities in Slovakia charge four people with murdering investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée. The killings sparked widespread anti-corruption protests and forced the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico.
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Prosecutor files charges over 2018 killing of Ján Kuciak and fiancee that led to mass protests
First published on Mon 21 Oct 2019 12.08 BST
Slovak authorities have charged a high-profile businessman and three others with murder over the killing of a journalist and his fiancee last year, a case that is still sending shockwaves through the country’s political landscape more than a year after it brought down the prime minister, Robert Fico.
The politically well-connected entrepreneur Márian Kočner and two alleged accomplices have pleaded not guilty to the murder of the journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kušnírová. The fourth suspect has confessed to the shooting.
A fifth man has confessed to facilitating the killing and has made a plea deal with prosecutors to act as a witness in the trial of the other four.
A spokeswoman for the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the four suspects could face life in prison on six charges including premeditated murder. The announcement completes the investigative phase of the case, which has been seen as a test of Slovak police and judicial independence.
The murder of Kuciak prompted mass demonstrations against corruption last year and forced the resignation of Fico, who had dominated Slovakia as prime minister for 10 of the previous 12 years.
Revelations of links between Kočner and security officials, which were exposed during the investigation, have led to further resignations in recent weeks.
Kuciak, 27, and Kušnírová were gunned down in their house outside the capital, Bratislava, in February 2018. Prosecutors say Kočner, a subject of Kuciak’s reporting on corruption, had contracted out the killing. Kočner has denied any wrongdoing.
Although Fico resigned over the case last year, his ruling three-party coalition has survived, led by his handpicked successor, Peter Pellegrini.
The case could still have a major political impact on the general election in February, with polls showing a slide in support for the ruling SMER party, and politicians from other parties also playing down their ties to Kočner.
Prosecutors said in August they had extracted tens of thousands messages from Kočner’s phone, including communication with “representatives of state bodies and the justice system”.
Slovak media published parts of Kočner’s messages, leading to resignations of a deputy minister, two prosecutors and a judge.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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October 2019
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['(The Guardian)', '(Reuters)']
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Just before the Brooklyn, New York West Indian J'ouvert Labor Day Carnival, lawyer Carey Gabay is shot in the head and critically wounded, caught in crossfire between feuding gangs. Two others are wounded in shootings and one man is stabbed to death. ,
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In the early morning hours of September 7 shooting and stabbing incidents left one dead and four wounded at the annualJ’Ouvert Festival in Brooklyn.
ABC 7describes the “J’Ouvert march through Flatbush [as] an annual tradition that kicks off at 4 a.m. on Labor Day. It starts at Grand Army Plaza and runs down Flatbush Avenue to Empire Boulevard, Nostrand Avenue and Linden Boulevard.” There appear to have been shootings throughout the route on September 7.
The violence started “about 2 a.m.” NYPD say “a 24-year-old man was stabbed in the torso area and a 21-year-old man was shot in the buttocks” near Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Parkway. The stabbing victim died from his wounds while the gunshot victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
About3:45 a.m. 43-year-old Carey Gabay “was shot in the head.” Gabay is Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) first deputy counsel. He is hospitalized in critical condition. NYPD reports thatGabay appears to have been “an unintended target.” They say “he was caught in the crossfire of two suspected gang groups.”
Another shooting occurred atBedford Avenue and Sullivan Place where “a 21-year-old was grazed by a bullet on his hand.” NYPD have a 21-year-old in custody for that shooting. A third shooting took place atNostrand Avenue and Martense Street, where the NYPD say “a 39-year-old was shot twice in the torso area.” The 39-year-old victim is in stable condition.
In January 2013 Governor Cuomo pushed through a massive gun control packagethe SAFE Actthat was supposed to reduce gun violence in the city and throughout the state. The safe act requires firearm registration, bans “assault rifles,” bans “high capacity” ammunition magazines, and expands background checks.
Yet Breitbart News previously reported that gun crime is up in New York Citythis year and the shootings at the 2015J’Ouvert Festival are simply the latest proof.
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Armed Conflict
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September 2015
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['(ABC News)', '(Breitbart)']
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A court in Hong Kong denies bail to Tong Ying-kit, a 23-year-old man who was arrested last week for driving a motorbike into police officers and carrying a separatist banner. Also, prominent pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow appear in court. Wong pleads not guilty to inciting others to participate in an unlawful assembly last year while Chow pleads guilty to similar charges.
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HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court denied bail on Monday to the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under the city’s new national security law after he carried a sign saying “Liberate Hong Kong” and drove his motorbike into police.
Tong Ying-kit, 23, was arrested after a video posted online showed him knocking over several officers at a demonstration last Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on its freest city.
The city’s government has said the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”, connotes separatism or subversion under the new law, stoking concern over freedom of expression in the former British colony.
Tong, who was unable to appear in court on Friday as he was being treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the incident, appeared in court in a wheelchair.
In rejecting bail, Chief Magistrate So Wai-tak referred to Article 42 of the new law, which states that bail will not be granted if the judge has sufficient grounds to believe the defendant will continue to endanger national security.
The case was adjourned until Oct. 6 and Tong was remanded in custody.
Critics say the law - which punishes crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison - is aimed at crushing dissent and a long-running campaign for greater democracy.
Related Coverage
See more stories
Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have repeatedly said it is aimed at a few “troublemakers” and will not affect the rights and freedoms that underpin the city’s role as a financial hub.
Also on Monday, prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded not guilty to inciting others to participate in an unlawful assembly during anti-government protests last year.
Fellow activist Agnes Chow pleaded guilty to a similar charge. Their case has been adjourned to Aug. 5.
Wong and Chow, who were both granted bail last year, led a pro-democracy group called Demosisto that they dissolved hours after Beijing passed the national security law.
The United States, Britain and others have denounced the new legislation, which critics say is the biggest step China has taken to tighten its grip over the city, despite a “one country, two systems” formula meant to preserve its freedoms.
Reporting By Jessie Pang and Pak Yiu; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest
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July 2020
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['(Reuters)']
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England national football team manager Sam Allardyce resigns after only one match and 67 days in charge, due to a scandal over statements made to undercover reporters.
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Last updated on 27 September 201627 September 2016.From the section Football
Sam Allardyce has left his post as England manager by mutual agreement with the Football Association after one match and 67 days in charge.
It follows a newspaper investigation claiming he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.
Allardyce, 61, is also alleged to have used his role to negotiate a deal worth £400,000 to represent a Far East firm.
An FA statementexternal-link said Allardyce's conduct "was inappropriate" and Gareth Southgate will take temporary charge.
"He accepts he made a significant error of judgement and has apologised," the FA said.
"This is not a decision that was taken lightly but the FA's priority is to protect the wider interests of the game and maintain the highest standards of conduct in football. "The manager of the England men's senior team is a position which must demonstrate strong leadership and show respect for the integrity of the game at all times."
Allardyce succeeded Roy Hodgson in July following England's disastrous performance at Euro 2016 in France and becomes the national side's shortest-serving full-time manager.
The Daily Telegraph said Allardyce had a meeting with undercover reporters posing as businessmen before he took charge of his first England training session.
During the meeting, which was recorded on camera, it is alleged Allardyce said it was "not a problem" to bypass rules on third-party player ownership and claimed he knew of agents who were "doing it all the time".
It was further alleged that a £400,000 deal was struck for him to represent the company to Far East investors and to be a keynote speaker at events.
In the meeting, Allardyce also referred to Hodgson as "Woy", making fun of his predecessor's manner of speaking, and criticised Gary Neville, one of Hodgson's assistants. Allardyce met FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn on Tuesday to offer what he called a "sincere and wholehearted apology for my actions".
He explained it had been "a great honour" to be appointed England manager in July and that he was "deeply disappointed at this outcome".
"Although it was made clear during the recorded conversations that any proposed arrangements would need the FA's full approval, I recognise I made some comments which have caused embarrassment," he added.
"As part of the meeting, I was asked to clarify what I said and the context in which the conversations took place. I have co-operated fully in this regard.
"I also regret my comments with regard to other individuals."
Clarke told the BBC he had not been sacked, but they had agreed his position was "untenable".
In an interview on the FA website, Glenn saidexternal-link Allardyce was "distraught" but that "discussing a range of issues from potential contraventions of FA rules through to personal comments frankly just don't work when you're the manager of England".
However, Glenn did add that it was a "really painful decision" as the FA believed Allardyce was "a great fit for England manager and we think could have been extremely successful".
Former Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland boss Allardyce won his only game in charge of the national team last month.
An injury-time goal from Liverpool's Adam Lallana gave England a 1-0 win over Slovakia in the first of their 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Allardyce was due to announce his squad for the next round of qualifiers on Sunday but now Southgate will be in charge for four matches against Malta at Wembley (8 October), Slovenia away (11 October), Scotland at home (11 November) and Spain in a friendly (15 November) as the FA searches for a successor.
Southgate ruled himself out of the running for the England manager job prior to Allardyce's appointment but the current bookmakers' favourite may become a contender, depending on results in his caretaker spell.
Bournemouth's Eddie Howe, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew and former Hull City boss Steve Bruce are also among the possible candidates.
Third-party ownership occurs when investment companies take a stake in the economic rights of players.
It was described as a form of "slavery" by Michel Platini, the former president of European football's governing body Uefa.
The practice was banned by the FA in 2008 and by Fifa in May last year.
Sam Allardyce never made a secret of his desire and suitability to be England manager - so he will be heartbroken that the dream he harboured throughout his career is over in 67 days.
The Football Association will be equally dismayed at being plunged into uncertainty so soon after appointing the man it believed would signpost a bright future towards the World Cup in two years after the debacle of Euro 2016.
Sadly for Allardyce, the lack of judgement and loose-tongued approach that saw him caught in a Daily Telegraph sting meant events at Wembley on Tuesday were always heading towards an inevitable conclusion.
Some may have sympathy for Allardyce, gone after one victory in Slovakia and brought down by non-footballing matters, but the FA's statement spoke of the need for strong leadership and respect for the integrity of the game, and it clearly felt his behaviour was unbecoming of an England manager.
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Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal
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September 2016
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['(BBC)']
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A riot over food shortages at the overcrowded Los Llanos prison in Guanare, Portuguesa, Venezuela, leaves at least 46 people dead and dozens more injured, including the prison's director, according to the military.
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More than 40 people were reportedly killed after rioting broke out at a prison in Venezuela. Inmates at Los Llanos jail, near western Guanare city, were angry at a lack of food and water, according to the Venezuelan Prison Observatory.
The organisation called for an investigation, casting doubt on the official version that the prisoners had attempted a jail-break.
Prison staff including the governor were wounded in the incident.
The Prisons Minister Iris Varela told a Venezuelan newspaper that there had been an incident at the jail but did not give a death toll. The incident was described as an escape attempt in that report.
Riots in the unsanitary and overcrowded prisons of Latin America have been increasing as governments introduce containment measures to help slow the coronavirus outbreak.
Quarantine measures may mean that inmates cannot receive food brought by relatives, on which they may depend.
The observatory, a prison watchdog, said 46 inmates had died and the local hospital's emergency department was overwhelmed with the number of wounded.
Opposition National Assembly member Maria Beatriz Martinez, tweeting from outside the prison (in Spanish), described the incident as a "massacre" and said relatives understood their loved ones would be buried in mass graves. They were demanding the bodies be returned to them, they said.
As well as the coronavirus pandemic, Venezuela is engulfed in a political crisis with two rival politicians claiming to be the country's legitimate leader.
Under President Nicolás Maduro the economy has collapsed and shortages of basic commodities have become widespread. Millions of people have fled to neighbouring countries.
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Riot
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May 2020
|
['(BBC)', '(Inquirer)']
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Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announces that the national security threat level is elevated from "severe" to "critical"—the highest possible, meaning "further attacks are imminent"—and everyone should be on "high alert."
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Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.
They have also described seeing two Asian men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.
Strathclyde Police said two people had been arrested and detained in connection with the incident.
The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident at 1515 BST.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has chaired a meeting of Cobra - the emergency committee.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the national terrorism threat level had been raised to its highest level of "critical", meaning an attack was expected "imminently".
A&E closed
First Minister Alex Salmond has activated emergency procedures.
The accident and emergency department of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley has been closed.
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said this was due to the police investigation into the events at the airport.
One of the suspects was being treated at the hospital.
There was an Asian guy who was pulled out of the car by two police officers
UK terror threat 'critical'
Emergency patients are being taken to Glasgow A&E departments at the Southern General Hospital and Western Infirmary.
However, the rest of the Royal Alexandra Hospital, is operating as normal.
The incident comes a day after two cars were found containing explosives in central London.
The cars contained petrol, gas cylinders and nails but the devices did not detonate.
One eyewitness at Glasgow Airport said: "I heard the sound of a car's wheels spinning and smoke coming out.
"I saw a Jeep Cherokee apparently as if it was trying to get right through the doors into the terminal building.
"There were flames coming out from underneath then some men appeared from in amongst the flames.
"The police ran over and the people started fighting with the police. I then heard what sounded like an explosion."
Molotov cocktails
Eye-witness Richard Gray told BBC News 24: "A green Jeep was in the middle of the doorway burning.
"There was an Asian guy who was pulled out of the car by two police officers, who he was trying to fight off. They've got him on the ground.
"The car didn't actually explode. There were a few pops and bangs which presumably was the petrol."
Dozens of emergency personnel attended the scene
Stephen Clarkson said he helped police restrain one of the men. "I managed to knock the fellow to the ground," he said.
"By this time there were four policemen who got on top of him and restrained him.
"His clothes had partially burned from his body. His hair was on fire.
"His whole body was on fire."
Thomas Conroy, a maintenance worker at the airport believes the men deliberately tried to set the car on fire.
"It looked like they had Molotov cocktails with them," he said.
"They sort of burst them round about the flames to make sure the car would go up big style.
"Within minutes it was up and the terminal caught as well."
TRAVEL CHAOS
Glasgow Airport has been closed until further notice
All roads around the airport are cordoned off
A number of flights bound for Glasgow have been diverted to Prestwick
Prestwick Airport was operating as normal
Edinburgh Airport is closed to vehicles, though flights are operating as normal
Airport closed
Dr Rak Nandwani was at the airport building to pick up relatives when he saw a plume of black smoke.
He said: "The whole place has come to a standstill, the terminal building has been evacuated. I have spoken to my relatives and they have been moved to outside the building.
"They were told they could not pick their baggage up from the baggage collection area.
"There must be about 50 police cars at the airport. Me and my son, along with everyone else, have been moved to the car rental area." Taxi driver Ian Crosby said: "This was no accident. This was a deliberate attack on Glasgow Airport."
Witnesses said the car was driven at the building deliberately
The reaction of members of the public was not to help the men in the car, but to restrain them, he told the BBC.
Mr Crosby, who said he served in Northern Ireland, told how he shepherded people away from the scene in case of a secondary explosion or a nail-bomb.
Two men, one of whom was reported to be badly burned, were seen being led away in handcuffs.
Michael McRanor from Glasgow, photographed the arrest of one of the men.
A number of people are stuck on aeroplanes and on the airport strip while others have been told they might not be able to leave the airport complex until at least 2100 BST.
Edinburgh Airport has been closed to vehicles which are being turned away on approach, however, flights are operating as normal.
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Government Policy Changes
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June 2007
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['(BBC)']
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Nigerian writer and literary icon Chinua Achebe dies at the age of 82.
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Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness.
A statement from his family said his "wisdom and courage" were an "inspiration to all who knew him".
One of Africa's best known authors, his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, has sold more than 10 million copies.
He had been living in the US since 1990 following injuries from a car crash.
The writer and academic wrote more than 20 works - some fiercely critical of politicians and a failure of leadership in Nigeria.
South African writer and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer called him the "father of modern African literature" in 2007 when she was among the judges to award him the Man Booker International Prize in honour of his literary career.
Things Fall Apart has been translated into more than 50 languages and focuses on the traditions of Igbo society and the clash between Western and traditional values.
The Anambra state government in Nigeria first made the announcement about his death.
Analysts say in Igbo society the death of an important person must be announced by someone in authority.
His home state was in mourning for the death of "the illustrious son of the state, Nigeria and Africa", Mike Udah, spokesman for Anambra state governor Peter Obi, told the BBC.
A statement released on behalf of his family said Mr Achebe was "one of the great literary voices of his time".
"He was also a beloved husband, father, uncle and grandfather, whose wisdom and courage are an inspiration to all who knew him. Professor Achebe's family requests privacy at this time."
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Mr Achebe's admirers had all learnt "indelible lessons of human existence" from his works.
"Achebe's frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home in Nigeria because while others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire black race could be proud of," the president said in a statement.
Nigerian author Victor Ehikhamenor said the news came as a shock even though people knew the novelist had not been feeling well.
"I met him on two occasions. When you are with Achebe outside Nigeria, even when you are with him in Nigeria, you cannot claim him as a Nigerian because he's a world citizen," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Last year, Mr Achebe published a long-awaited memoir about the brutal three-year Biafran war - when the south-eastern Igbo region tried to split from Nigeria in 1967.
After leaving Nigeria, he worked in the US as a professor. His 1990 car accident left him paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair.
A statement of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory said it offered its condolences to the Achebe family.
The former South African president and anti-apartheid fighter, who spent 27 years in jail, "referred to Prof Achebe as a writer 'in whose company the prison walls fell down'", the statement said. Chinua Achebe: Obituary of Nigeria's renowned author
Achebe publishes Biafran memoir
Chinua Achebe: A hero returns
Achebe: Oral tradition not needed
Nigeria author wins Booker honour
Africa Today podcasts
Chinua Achebe speaking to the BBC in 2010
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Famous Person - Death
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March 2013
|
['(Premium Times Nigeria)', '(The Guardian)', '(BBC)']
|
Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, announces that he will not seek re–election to his seat from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in the November mid–term election. Ryan has been Speaker since October 2015.
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House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of his term, a historically unusual move that jolted Washington and further complicated embattled Republicans’ hopes of holding the House. Ryan’s decision ended a period of public musing about his own future while setting off a series of potentially divisive House GOP leadership races when the party needs to unify around a strategy to keep its majority in November. Ryan said he weighed those factors in making his decision but decided that his nearly 20-year tenure in Congress had made him an absentee father to his three teenage children.
“I have accomplished much of what I came here to do, and my kids aren’t getting any younger,” Ryan told reporters at a news conference after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans. “What I realized is if I serve for one more term, my kids will only have known me as a weekend dad.”
Ryan, 48, who plans to retire in January, said the possibility of Democrats taking over the House did not factor into his decision “whatsoever,” and he predicted a Republican victory in November.
Ryan’s announcement is certain to sap morale and make GOP donors wary as Republicans seek to contain a surge in Democratic enthusiasm and survive the drag of an unpopular president. It also comes amid a massive turnover among House Republicans. Since January 2017, 46 have announced they were retiring or resigned outright, some to run for other office, some leaving amid scandal and some quitting amid choppy political prospects at home. Ten powerful committee chairmen are bowing out. Others have decided to leave because they no longer find the job rewarding. Within an hour of Ryan’s announcement, Rep. Dennis A. Ross (Fla.), a relatively safe Republican in just his fourth term, announced that he, too, would retire at the end of the year.
Democrats have begun to use the speaker, whose popularity has plummeted since taking the gavel 2½ years ago, as a foil in election campaigns, sometimes more often than President Trump. In southeast Wisconsin, Ryan was facing his most difficult reelection campaign ever against an ironworker who has raised nearly $5 million from liberal donors who loathe the speaker. GOP increasingly fears loss of House, focuses on saving Senate majority
Ryan acknowledged that the normal course of action would have been to run for reelection and then, after the election, announce that he would not serve out the term, avoiding lame-duck status and demonstrating his commitment to rank-and-file Republicans. Not since Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) in 1986 has a speaker announced his retirement plans in this manner — and O’Neill was 73 and had served a decade as speaker, while Democrats were heading into a comfortable midterm election in which they gained seats.
“I really do not believe whether I stay or go in 2019 is going to affect a person’s individual race for Congress. I really don’t think a person’s race for Congress is going to hinge on whether Paul Ryan is speaker or not,” he said.
Ryan, in a later interview, said that he does not plan to run for any office again, in part because his current office is a polarizing position that has made him a very unpopular figure. “That’s what speaker of the House gets you. That’s kind of why I knew this would be my last elected office. When I took this job, I knew that,” he said.
Trump saluted Ryan as “a truly good man,” tweeting that “while he will not be seeking reelection, he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question.”
The speaker called Trump and Vice President Pence on Wednesday morning to inform them of his decision, before he told his staff and fellow Republican lawmakers. That presidential tweet encapsulated a rocky two-year relationship between the two leaders. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Ryan frequently criticized Trump’s tenor or policy proposals as nativist and out of step with traditional conservatism. Ryan even held off on endorsing Trump after he locked up enough support to win the Republican nomination, and in the fall of 2016 Ryan refused to campaign for Trump after The Washington Post reported on a 2005 video of Trump bragging about grabbing women’s genitals. By last fall, Trump and Ryan were in sync on how to manage the passage of a massive overhaul of the tax code, which the president signed into law in December, and there have been very few signs of infighting in recent months.
Democrats pounced on Ryan’s decision. “Speaker Ryan sees what is coming in November and is calling it quits,” said Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Those familiar with Ryan’s thinking said neither his party’s November prospects nor his relationship with Trump played a role in the decision. He had been mulling the decision since late last year and finalized his plans over the two-week spring break. During that time, according to a person familiar with Ryan’s decision, the speaker took a family vacation in Europe. The two Republicans most likely to replace Ryan are House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.). Both issued statements Wednesday praising Ryan and pledging to work closely with him through the remainder of his tenure.
Ryan was the vice presidential nominee in 2012 on the GOP ticket with Mitt Romney, who remains a close confidant. In a stroke of irony, Romney, 71, is likely to be a freshman senator from Utah next year as his younger understudy heads into retirement. As he has said many times before, Ryan noted Wednesday that this was a job that he never sought, which made it easier for him to leave. He took the gavel in October 2015 after John A. Boehner abruptly announced his resignation amid a conservative revolt and no other Republican could secure enough votes to become speaker. “I didn’t take this job to get the gavel in the first place. I’m not a guy who thinks about it like that,” he said. His oldest child is now 16, the same as Ryan when he came home to find his father dead of a heart attack. He said he doesn’t want to be looking back on his life and wishing he spent more time with his children.
He cited tax reform and rebuilding the military as his two biggest achievements and said he wants to accomplish more before stepping down.
“I want be clear here,” Ryan said. “I’m not done yet. I’m going to run through the tape.”
Analysis: Why Paul Ryan’s retirement only makes sense
As speaker, he’s proved to be a major fundraiser for his colleagues. A spokesman for Ryan’s political action committee said he remains committed to helping colleagues in this year’s elections and could actually have more time now to devote to that task. On Monday his political advisers announced he had already raised $54 million over the last 15 months, $40 million of which was directed to other GOP campaigns through the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Some friends expected Ryan to run for reelection to at least keep up the energy on the fundraising circuit. Just two weeks ago, Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader and longtime Ryan friend, predicted that the speaker would serve out his term, run for reelection and then decide his future in November. To do otherwise, Cantor told The Washington Post in an interview, would be to “abdicate” power and send a signal that Republicans had no chance of keeping the majority. But most House Republicans seemed to sense that the job had worn him down and were not expecting him to return in 2019, so this was the “honest timing of an honest man,” as Rep. Darrell Issa (R- Calif.) put it. “He didn’t want to imply that he was running for reelection when he knew he wouldn’t be staying,” Issa said.
Some Republicans are wary of a prolonged period of jockeying to succeed him. “The only thing that might be helpful is if we figure out who the next speaker is beforehand,” said Rep. Bill Flores (R-Tex.). But Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) said a long wait would be helpful. “Depending on how the elections come out, we can see what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and that can determine who should be the speaker,” King said. “There will be some maneuvering behind the scenes, but we don’t need a public campaign right now.”
Seung Min Kim, Robert Costa, David Weigel and Erica Werner contributed to this report.
|
Government Job change - Election
|
April 2018
|
['(The Washington Post)']
|
Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is charged with misusing state funds while serving as Prime Minister.
|
The main investigation department of the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGO) has charged Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of Ukraine and the leader of the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association party, of misappropriating proceeds from sale of greenhouse gas emission quotas under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Tymoshenko announced this to journalists after an investigator interrogated her in connection with the relevant criminal case.
"I have received a resolution on filing charges against me," Tymoshenko said.
According to Tymoshenko, this resolution alleges that she acted in her own personal interest by deciding unilaterally to use part of the money that was received from the sale of greenhouse-gas emission quotas to cover the state budget's expenditures on payment of pensions despite the fact that the proceeds were intended for specific purposes.
According to Tymoshenko, the authorities are attempting to punish their main political opponent with the help of this criminal case.
Tymoshenko reiterated that she did not violate any law when she held the post of prime minister.
According to her, the investigator did not inform her when she will next be summoned to the PGO.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the PGO announced on December 15 that it had filed a criminal case against Tymoshenko on suspicion of misappropriating proceeds generated from sale of greenhouse-gas emission quotas.
The Trout Cacheris law firm (Washington, United States) has said that its audit of the operations of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2008 to the first quarter of 2010 uncovered that the Cabinet of Ministers misappropriated EUR 200 million from the revenues it generated in 2009 from sale of greenhouse-gas emission quotas under the Kyoto Protocol.
The PGO said it has established the Tymoshenko-led Cabinet of Ministers misappropriated funds generated from sale of greenhouse-gas emission quotas.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
|
December 2010
|
['(Ukrainian News Agency)', '(BBC)']
|
An Italian court orders former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on April 4 on charges of allegedly bribing witnesses with 10 million (US$11 million) in order to silence them over accusations he paid for sex with young women.
|
MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian court on Saturday ordered ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges he bribed witnesses to silence them over accusations he paid for sex with young women.
Berlusconi was acquitted in 2014 of charges of having had sex with Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan who is better known by her stage name Ruby the Heartstealer, when she was 17.
Prosecutors later alleged that around 10 million euros ($11 million) were paid to corrupt the witnesses in the case, of which, they said, El Mahroug received 7 million.
Berlusconi was to have stood trial with others facing corruption charges but his case was separated from that group because of health problems following heart surgery.
Berlusconi denies all wrongdoing. His trial is due to start on April 5.
Among those being tried in the separate, related corruption trial are 16 women who took part in Berlusconi’s so-called “Bunga Bunga” parties at his residences.
Berlusconi’s lawyer. Federico Cecconi. rejected the accusations, acknowledging that Berlusconi helped some of the girls financially but insisting he did not bribe them. “There is a risk that what will go on trial here is generosity,” he said.
Berlusconi’s political career has been dogged by non-stop legal battles. He was barred from office following a 2013 conviction for tax fraud and although he remains head of his Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party he has lost much popular support.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
|
January 2017
|
['(Reuters)']
|
French police launch a terror investigation into a racist attack on Sunday, in which two Muslim women were repeatedly stabbed near the Eiffel Tower while the perpetrators, believed to be two other women, shouted racial slurs at the victims. The attack came as tensions mount over the murder of Samuel Paty.
|
Two Muslim women have been stabbed under the Eiffel Tower by ‘pair of white female attackers shouting ‘Dirty Arabs’ amid rising tensions in Paris after the beheading of a teacher last week.
Two Muslim women were reportedly ‘stabbed repeatedly’ under the Eiffel Tower amid rising tensions in Paris after the beheading of a teacher last week. French police later arrested two female suspects following what they believe were racist attacks allegedly accompanied by the words ‘Dirty Arabs’.
The two suspects held in custody are described as being white women of ‘European appearance’, who now face ‘attempted murder’ charges, said Paris prosecutors. This comes after France’s five million-plus Muslim community have been complaining of ‘Islamophobia’ caused by a clampdown on mosques and Muslim organisations.
Uproar on social media
No information at all was initially released about the attack which lead to an uproar on social media.
The victims of the attacks have been identified as French/Algerian women named only as Kenza, 49, and Amel, who is a few years younger. The investigation continues, a statement from Paris Police read: ‘On October 18, at around 8 pm, the police intervened following an emergency call from two women wounded by knives on the Champs-de-Mars’ the Field of Mars by the Eiffel Tower.”
|
Armed Conflict
|
October 2020
|
['(Al Jazeera)', '(Euro Weekly News)', '(National Turk)']
|
Egyptian police increases security around Coptic churches on the eve of Coptic Christmas, following a bombing in Alexandria on New Year's Day that killed 23 people and sparked protests and riots across the country.
|
Coptic Christians have celebrated Christmas Eve amid tight security, following a bomb attack on a church in Egypt in which 23 people died. Armed police protected churches as Copts, who mark Christmas according to the Julian calendar, gathered in large numbers, many wearing black.
Some Muslims held vigils outside Coptic churches in a gesture of solidarity. The services passed off peacefully, despite some radical Islamist websites urging more attacks.
Heightened security measures were expected to remain in place on Friday for Coptic Christmas Day.
The bombing of the al-Qiddissin, or Saints', Church in Alexandria on New Year's Day was the worst act of sectarian violence in Egypt in a decade.
It triggered days of protests and riots by Christians blaming the government for encouraging discrimination and not doing enough to protect them.
In response, the Egyptian authorities stepped up security around many churches, with explosives experts on hand.
Armoured vehicles have been stationed in key areas.
Earlier on Thursday, one device containing nails and fireworks was found in a church staircase in the southern city of Minya but it had no detonator.
Police in Cairo, Alexandria and other places checked the identities of those entering churches.
A street away from the Saints Church in Alexandria, two dozen Muslims held a solidarity gathering holding banners saying "No to terrorism, yes to citizenship" and "Long live the cross and the crescent."
One Muslim woman, Hanan Mahfouz, told the Associated Press at a Mass in a Cairo suburb: "Coming here seemed like the least I could do."
However, radical Islamist websites have been circulating lists of Coptic churches in Egypt and Europe with instructions on how to attack them.
"Blow up the churches while they are celebrating Christmas or any other time when the churches are packed," says a line from a video attributed to al-Qaeda, entitled Jihadi Encyclopaedia for the Destruction of the Cross, that has been widely circulated on the internet.
Pope Benedict XVI used his weekly address in St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Thursday to send "heartfelt greetings and best wishes to our brothers and sisters of the Eastern Churches who will celebrate Christmas tomorrow".
In the wake of the Egypt attack, he said: "May the goodness of God... strengthen the faith, hope and charity of everyone and give comfort to the communities that are being tested."
Some European governments have also announced security measures at churches.
It was during Coptic Christmas Eve celebrations in southern Egypt in 2009 that six Christians and a Muslim security guard were killed in a drive-by shooting.
|
Riot
|
January 2011
|
['(BBC)', '(AFP)', '(CNN)']
|
Pink Floyd sign a new five–year record deal with EMI after winning a lawsuit regarding digital distribution.
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Pink Floyd have ended a legal battle with their record company EMI and signed a new contract with the label.
The rock group recently won a court ruling against the label over whether a deal signed in the pre-download age could be applied to digital sales.
"All legal disputes between the band and the company have been settled as a result of this new deal," EMI said.
An EMI statement said it would "help the band reach new and existing fans through their incredible body of work".
The band, who have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, have been with EMI since signing their first record deal in the 1960s. The new agreement will last for five years.
They have chosen not to follow acts like The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Queen and Radiohead, who have all left the label since it was taken over by private equity firm Terra Firma in 2007.
The recent court case centred around Pink Floyd's last record deal, which was signed before the days of legal downloads and said individual songs could not be sold without the band's permission.
The band argued that the rule should apply to download sales in stores such as iTunes as well as CDs, saying their "seamless" albums should not be split up.
EMI disagreed, claiming the word "record" in the band's contract applied "to the physical thing - there is nothing to suggest it applies to online distribution".
A judge sided with Pink Floyd in March, and EMI's appeal was dismissed last month.
However, single Pink Floyd tracks have remained on sale through iTunes and will continue to be available under the new deal.
Speaking in October, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason told BBC News it was "not actually a big punch up" with the record company, but rather "about getting a third party to adjudicate".
He also said he was "very fond" of EMI but bemoaned how "the gang known as 'business affairs' have taken over the running of the company".
"I look back with considerable fondness to the days when it was the entrepreneurs and individuals who actually ran these companies and created something that was about the music," he said.
Announcing the new deal, EMI chief executive Roger Faxon said: "Pink Floyd are one of the most important and influential bands of all time and I know I speak for everyone at EMI when I say that it is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with them."
|
Sign Agreement
|
January 2011
|
['(BBC)']
|
Thousands of soldiers participate in Burma's annual Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyidaw and are inspected by General Than Shwe who delivers a rare public address.
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Thousands of soldiers have taken part in Burma's annual Armed Forces Day parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
Military ruler General Than Shwe inspected the troops and gave an address to the crowds at this rare public appearance. The parade was the last before elections later this year which should replace Burma's military government. However, critics say the military is aiming to keep power even after the elections. He is the centre of power in Burma; it was his decision to move the capital here to Nay Pyi Taw and build this lavish city with its broad avenues and luxurious ministries on what a few years ago was just scrubland.
When the election takes place will be his decision too.
The election laws have been criticised around the world and by opposition groups here for being anything but free and fair. But after many years without change, others hope it might at least be a step towards helping the millions who live here in poverty.
No date for the poll has yet been set. There has been speculation that Than Shwe will want to remain as army chief or may try to become president. In his speech, Than Shwe referred to the elections, which he said would be free and fair. He issued a warning to what he called external powers saying that during transition to an unfamiliar system, countries with greater experience usually interfere and take advantage for their own interests. He warned of "inappropriate" campaigning by opposition groups and said the nation would be strong "only when the armed forces are strong". The BBC's Alastair Leithead, who was among foreign journalists invited to the parade, said the event was a clear message of the strength the Burmese military has - and is not prepared to give up. Burma recently revealed new laws under which the multi-party elections will take place. Many key opposition figures - including detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi - are not allowed to take part. Members of religious orders are also banned from taking part, a rule which covers the monks who led anti-government protests two years ago.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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March 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(IOL)', '[permanent dead link]', '(Bangkok Post)', '[permanent dead link]']
|
A fuel tanker lorry overturns and explodes near the airport in Niamey, Niger, killing at least 58 people.
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A fuel tanker lorry has overturned and exploded near the airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, killing at least 58 people, authorities say.
Many of the victims had gathered to collect fuel after the vehicle overturned close to railway tracks as it tried to park.
Another 37 people were injured in the explosion late on Sunday evening.
President Mahamadou Issoufou has travelled to visit some of the injured in hospital.
The latest accident happened on the RN1 road that links the Diori Hamani international airport to Niamey.
One eyewitness told Agence France-Presse: "Just before midnight I went out and I saw the truck overturned. People came from everywhere to take gas, then I saw fire on its side and everything burst into flames."
Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum told the agency it appeared a spark from one of the motorcycles that had gathered at the scene may have caused the explosion.
Fuel tanker explosions are fairly common in Niger's leading oil-producing neighbour, Nigeria.
More than 100 people died in an explosion in southern Nigeria in 2012.
Pakistan tanker fire tops 200
Nigeria fuel truck blaze kills nine
|
Gas explosion
|
May 2019
|
['(BBC)']
|
Venezuelan politician Juan Requesens is arrested for alleged crimes related to the supposed Maduro assassination attempt, despite having political immunity.
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A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker has been arrested and a warrant issued for another living in exile, amid a crackdown after an alleged drone attack against President Nicolás Maduro.
The government has blamed Juan Requesens and Julio Borges for what it calls a bid to kill the president.
The moves came as a powerful government official revealed plans to strip the pair of their immunity.
But some government critics denounced the alleged attack as a "farce".
Both Mr Requesens and Mr Borges are members of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, and of the Primero Justicia (Justice First) party. Mr Borges, 48, founded the party and led the National Assembly before going into exile.
Mr Requesens, 29, is one of President Maduro's most outspoken critics, and has taken part in many anti-government demonstrations.
According to Mr Requesens' party, he and his sister Rafaela - an opposition student activist - were taken from their apartment in the capital Caracas by members of the secret police, Sebin. Primero Justicia tweeted a video which appears to show CCTV footage of the two siblings getting out of the lift before being apparently pushed back by armed masked men in uniform, one of whom turns the camera to the wall. Rafaela Requesens was later released but Juan Requesens has not been heard of since he was taken away. It is not clear if official charges have so far been brought against Mr Requesens, however, the government is preparing to put him on trial.
The government later issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Borges.
President Maduro accused the pair on television of plotting Saturday's alleged drone attack on him.
He said those already detained in connection with the incident had implicated the two men, saying Mr Borges had the "cowardice" to carry out the attack. He called Mr Requesens "one of the craziest and psychopathic ones".
In a post in Spanish on Twitter, Mr Borges dismissed the accusations as a "farce".
Some in the opposition, like Mr Borges, think the attack was staged by the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition.
They say the fact that the president of the powerful National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, has called for a session later on Wednesday to strip the two lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity proves their point.
Venezuela's attorney general said Mr Requesens would go on trial once his immunity had been stripped. The opposition says the government launched two drones, one of which exploded near the podium where President Maduro was giving a speech on Saturday, to back its theory that the opposition are coup-plotters conspiring to bring the leader down with the help of Colombia and the US.
TV footage of the event shows President Maduro's wife looking up startled. Then an explosion is heard and the president's bodyguard is seen rushing to shield him.
A second, more muffled explosion can be heard and Mr Maduro leaves the stage. The footage does not show any drones or explosions, only the startled expressions of those on the stage. This led many to speculate that there were no drones.
However, two videos have since emerged apparently showing two drones. One, published by Caracas News 24, shows a drone exploding:
An analysis carried out by website Bellingcat, which uses open-source information to investigate the incident, suggests that the video was taken on Bolívar Avenue, where President Maduro was speaking. The second video reportedly taken by a cameraman for Telemundo and tweeted by journalist Adriana Núez Rabascall appears to show a drone crashing against the wall of a building.
The building seems to be the same one where firefighters reported a fire shortly after President Maduro had left the stage. However, three firefighters told the Associated Press news agency on Saturday that it had been caused by an exploding gas tank, casting doubt on the government's version of events.
Bellingcat concludes that there were two drones which "likely carried some form of explosive device" and which "attempted to attack a parade at which President Maduro was speaking".
Those who believe it was staged say it allows the government to further tighten the screws on the opposition. However, Venezuela analyst David Smilde of the Washington Office on Latin America told the BBC he was sure it was not an event staged by the government because it looked "terrible".
"Maduro being interrupted in mid-set and one of his military officials fainting behind him and then the National Guard breaking rank and scattering, running for cover, I think the optics were absolutely terrible for him.
"This made him look highly vulnerable and it could spark the imagination of more people," Mr Smilde said.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
|
August 2018
|
['(BBC News)']
|
Ireland beat Australia in the 2015 International Rules Series at Croke Park.
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In four-degree weather in Dublin and playing with the Gaelic football, Australia are cruelled by wayward kicking, going down 56-52 to the amateur Irish
Last modified on Wed 26 Oct 2016 23.58 BST
Australia’s AFL “Dream Team” have been outclassed by their amateur Irish counterparts, going down 56-52 in the International Rules Test in Dublin.
Ireland led for much of the contest but had to withstand a furious Australian fourth-quarter fightback, the tourists getting within three points with four minutes remaining before the home side grimly clung on for victory in front of 33,386 fans at Croke Park on Saturday.
Australia looked best when stringing hand passes together and using their speed, but they struggled in front of goal and were taught a lesson by the Irish when it came to accurate kicking.
While Ireland landed three of the six-point majors, Australia nabbed just the one goal – focusing more on building their score through the three-point overs.
In chilly four-degree weather and playing with the unfamiliar Gaelic football, Australia were cruelled by wayward kicking – finishing with 13 one-point shots at goal compared with Ireland’s five.
But they roared back into the contest when a scrappy six-pointer, punched in by Eddie Betts, was followed up by an over to Robbie Gray – his third of the night – to reduce Ireland’s lead to three points.
Betts, with a goal and two overs, was Australia’s best alongside the St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt, who kicked three overs and a behind for a personal haul of 10 points, and defender Harry Taylor.
Ireland’s free-flowing style proved hard to stop in the opening half, and their ability to convert territory into six-point goals proved decisive as they kicked three majors to take a 43-23 lead into the big break.
The retiring Essendon champion Dustin Fletcher was at fault for the opening goal of the match, the Aussie goalkeeper failing to clear a well-placed cross which was soccered into the net by Ireland’s Aidan O’Shea.
Fletcher could do nothing about O’Shea’s second however –having rushed out to make a crucial save, he was out of position as the Ireland star shot low and hard into an open net at the start of the second quarter.
That goal had halted an Australian revival, built on a steady flow of three-point overs, but it set the tone for the remainder of the half as Ireland finished the stronger.
The Australian captain, Luke Hodge, was warned over foul play late in the half, and gave away a penalty for body-checking Conor McManus into the goalpost.
McManus converted the penalty, sending Fletcher the wrong way, to push the score out to 40-22 with the home side well on top.
|
Sports Competition
|
November 2015
|
['(Guardian)']
|
A suicide attack kills 4 people, a paramilitary commander Sifwat Ghuyur and three bodyguards, in Peshawar.
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A senior commander of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps has been killed in an attack by a suicide bomber in the city of Peshawar, officials say.
Sifat Ghayoor and his guard died after the bomber blew himself up next to their vehicle on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Ghayoor, a senior police officer attached to the Frontier Corps, also served as Peshawar police chief.
He had been playing a key role in the fight against Taliban insurgents in the region.
"The bomber arrived in a taxi just as Mr Ghayoor was leaving his office," a police official told the BBC in Peshawar.
"The man got out and blew himself up next to the car, as the commander was driving away." A reporter for AFP news agency said the body of what appeared to be a teenage boy with a severed head and legs was at the site of the blast.
"We have lost a brave and great officer. He came out of his office and was targeted here," senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Bashir Bilour told AFP outside the Frontier Constabulary headquarters.
"We are investigating whether the suicide bombers were one or two. We will also see whether he was on foot or sitting in a car."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP and threatened further targeted killings in what correspondents say could be their new tactic. Wednesday's bombing comes as Pakistan struggles to cope with flooding which has displaced millions of people.
It was the first suicide attack since 26 July when senior Pakistani officials were targeted as they mourned the murdered son of a north-western politician.
|
Armed Conflict
|
August 2010
|
['(Aljazeera)', '(Reuters via ABC Online)', '(BBC)']
|
Dharun Ravi, the U.S. student who secretly filmed the sexual activities of his gay room–mate Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide when the film was exposed, is sentenced to 30 days in prison by a New Jersey judge. Ravi avoids the maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
|
A US student convicted of using a webcam to secretly film his room-mate in a gay encounter has been sentenced to 30 days in prison.
Dharun Ravi, 20, a former undergraduate at New Jersey's state university, could have faced up to 10 years in jail.
The judge said he would recommend Indian-born Ravi, who was convicted in March, should not be deported.
Tyler Clementi, 18, killed himself days after he was filmed kissing another man in a dorm room in September 2010.
The trial - which prompted comment from President Barack Obama, and anti-bullying measures - made front-page headlines nationally.
As he handed down sentence on Monday in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Judge Glenn Berman said he had not heard Ravi apologise once, adding that Clementi's own words - "wildly inappropriate" - best described his actions.
The judge added that he did not believe Ravi had acted out of hate for Clementi, but said he had been guilty of "colossal insensitivity".
He also berated Ravi for attempting to cover-up the crime, including deleting text messages, tweets and trying to influence a witness.
As well as the jail term, Ravi is to serve a three-year period of probation and complete 300 hours of community service.
He must also pay $10,000 (£6,330) to a state-licensed community organisation that helps victims of bias crimes, and complete a programme on cyber-bullying and alternative lifestyles.
Judge Berman said part of the reason he was not recommending deportation was because the man who was videotaped with Clementi - known as "MB" during the trial - had written a letter asking that Ravi not be deported.
Ravi is an Indian citizen, but has lived in New Jersey for most of his life.
A gay-rights organisation in New Jersey said on Monday they were disappointed with the sentence, although they believed that 10 years would have been too much. "This was not merely a childhood prank gone awry," Garden State Equality chairman Steven Goldstein said in a statement. "This was not a crime without bias."
Before sentence was passed, Joe Clementi, the father of Tyler Clementi, read a statement to the court, saying the impact of what Ravi did had been "severe, shocking and lasting". Mr Clementi said his son, a "kind, gentle soul", had been the victim of a "cold-hearted violation".
His wife, Jane Clementi, wept as she read out a statement to the court saying that she was very close to her son, but "even I had no idea of the despair and torment Tyler must have been feeling".
Ravi wept as his mother, Sabitha Ravi, gave a tearful statement to the court, saying how she had watched powerless as her son was "ripped apart" by the media.
Ravi's lawyer, Steven Altman, said his client had been "demonised by the gay community" and that the case was "being treated as if it's a murder case".
Last week, Ravi's supporters rallied outside the New Jersey legislative building, arguing that the state's hate-crime laws had been used on someone who was not hateful.
Ravi was found guilty of 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, but was cleared on parts of the bias intimidation charges.
Before the trial, prosecutors offered him a plea deal with no prison time, but Ravi declined.
The trial heard that Ravi used a webcam in his dormitory room to film Clementi kissing another man. Prosecutors said about half a dozen students saw the video.
Ravi then tweeted about it and tried to catch Clementi in the act again two days later.
Days later, Clementi leaped to his death, posting a status update on Facebook saying: "Jumping off the gw bridge, sorry."
Prosecutors were barred by the court from arguing that the filming had led directly to Clementi's death, while defence lawyers were prevented from saying Clementi had killed himself for other reasons.
Clementi had requested his room be changed before his death, according to testimony, and he looked at Ravi's Twitter page 38 times during the last two days of his life.
One of Ravi's tweets said: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Ravi did not testify during the four-week trial, nor at the sentencing hearing.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
|
May 2012
|
['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)']
|
A man is arrested after a minor explosion at a hotel in Copenhagen, amid heightened security fears in Denmark.
|
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark raised its terror attack preparedness on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, after a man set off a small explosion in a Copenhagen hotel on Friday.
Daily newspaper Ekstrabladet, citing police sources, said police had found a map with the address of daily Jyllands-Posten’s headquarters in the city of Arhus circled among the man’s belongings.
Jyllands-Posten’s publication in 2005 of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad provoked protests in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in which at least 50 people died.
Last year a plot to attack the paper was unveiled and in January the creator of the most controversial cartoon escaped an axe attack by a man with al Qaeda links.
A Copenhagen court ruled on Saturday the man would be detained in custody until October 4 on suspicion of aiming to put others’ lives at risk, a police spokesman said.
“With an overall assessment of the information, we cannot rule out that preparation for something terror-related has occurred,” Copenhagen Chief Police Inspector Jorn Aabye told a news conference.
Jakob Scharf, head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), said in a statement: “There are circumstances that point in the direction of an unsuccessful terror attack.”
They did not elaborate but said it could also not be ruled out that the man had accomplices.
“Due to this, we have taken a number of measures to protect potential terror targets and to sharpen the police’s attention regarding suspect situations.”
A PET spokeswoman said that while police and airports had slightly raised their preparedness level against militant attacks, PET has not changed its assessment of the general level of terror threat against Denmark.
“It is fairly high already,” she said.
Police with sniffer dogs walk outside Hotel Jorgensen in Copenhagen September 10, 2010. REUTERS/Jens Norgaard Larsen/Scanpix
After the explosion, police surrounded the suspect in Orsted Park and security personnel removed a bag wrapped around his waist with remote controlled cutting pliers.
The man has injuries to his face and arm from the blast, police said. No one else was hurt.
A police spokesman said on Friday the bag probably did not contain explosives as it had not exploded when shot at. Aabye declined on Saturday to say what had been in the bag, and also what had else had been found at the hotel so far.
The suspect, who remains in hospital, was not cooperating
with police and his identity is not yet known, Aabye said.
He said the suspect appeared to be European or North African and around 40 years old and spoke excellent English.
Police found a gun at the Hotel Jorgensen in central Copenhagen where the blast occurred in a toilet on Friday.
In its latest assessment of the terror threat against Denmark, PET said that threat was intensified by a high prioritisation of Denmark as a terrorist target by militant groups. “
“Regardless of the background for the bomb detonation, it is important that we don’t allow ourselves to be guided by fear or change the way we live,” Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
|
September 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(Deutsche Welle)', '(Reuters)']
|
Thousands of riot police crack down on those protesting against the ruling Bouteflika regime. Protesters chant "Bouteflika out!"
|
ALGIERS Riot police officers stifled a protest in Algeria’s capital on Saturday by hundreds of people voicing the same demands for change that have helped topple two of the region’s autocratic governments over the last month. Gathering in the central May 1 Square, demonstrators in Algiers chanted “Bouteflika out!” referring to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has ruled Algeria with a tough hand since 1999, maintaining power through elections that opposition figures say were rigged. The rally’s organizers said thousands had taken part, but news agencies and the government here gave vastly differing figures, from a few dozen to thousands. Witnesses said thousands of riot police officers with clubs had blocked the demonstrators from carrying out a planned march in the center of the whitewashed seaside capital, which was otherwise tense and deserted on Saturday. By late afternoon, with the last of the demonstrators gone, the square was still sealed off by police officers, and dozens of armored police vehicles remained in the neighborhood. It was unclear on Saturday what, if any, long-term implications the protest would have for Mr. Bouteflika’s government; outbursts of civil unrest have been frequent here for decades. But the large-scale deployment of the police and recent concessions Mr. Bouteflika has promised to lift a longstanding state of emergency here show the government is wary of the contagion of unrest in neighboring countries. Many demonstrators were arrested Saturday, although there were also conflicting numbers for those detained. The government news agency minimized the “unauthorized” demonstration’s significance, quoting the police as saying that only 250 had taken part. But one of the organizers, Said Sadi of the opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy, said that Saturday’s event was a “great success” and that it would not be the last such demonstration. “When you mobilize 30,000 police in the capital, that’s a sign of weakness, not strength,” he said. The figure could not be independently verified. But witnesses suggested the police had far outnumbered the protesters. “There was a march of police, not demonstrators,” said a civil servant, standing near the square late Saturday afternoon. He refused to give his name, citing security concerns. “The marchers had asked to conduct a peaceful march and it was refused. This is how power here acts.” With the police still out in force, knots of men watched them silently from doorways in the chill dusk. Among them were suggestions that persistent grievances large-scale unemployment, reports of government corruption, heavy-handed police tactics had not been mitigated by the demonstration’s suppression. “They can’t kill us because we are already dead,” said Bilal Boudamous, 29, who said he was out of work. “At 30 we are unemployed, we live with our parents, and we have no future.” Glancing over at the helmeted police officers, he said, “They are there to stifle us, to prevent us from doing anything.” He had tried to take part in the march, he said, but had been beaten back by officers wielding truncheons. Others said with resignation that harsh police interventions were nothing new, even though with all the regional ferment circumstances had changed. “It’s always been like this,” said another civil servant, who gave his name as Mourad. “We are used to this. It’s not easy to change a whole system. Algeria is not Egypt or Tunisia.”
On Friday, several people were wounded outside the office of the main opposition group by security forces as they were celebrating the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt after antigovernment protests there. Police Stifle Algeria Protest Three weeks earlier, demonstrations in neighboring Tunisia led to the ouster of that country’s autocratic ruler, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and set off a wave of antigovernment protests across the region.
In Algeria, several antigovernment protests broke out in early January, including some in which demonstrators clashed with members of the security forces. Those protests began after prices rose sharply for flour, sugar and other food staples. In 2009, there were riots in Algiers over high unemployment and housing shortages. Algeria’s government has operated under a state of emergency for nearly two decades. Its battle with Islamic militants reached a peak in a brutal civil war in the 1990s, in which as many as 200,000 people were killed. That conflict began after the military-backed government canceled elections that an Islamist party appeared poised to win. In Yemen on Saturday, a small antigovernment protest in the capital, Sana, quickly drew several thousand supporters before they were attacked by pro-government forces, witnesses said.
The protests began when a group of Sana University students gathered in front of the campus, writing banners in support of the Egyptian uprising, said Faysal al-Namsha, an opposition supporter who was there.
When the crowd grew to 3,000 people, Mr. Namsha said, men in plain clothes believed to be security forces attacked the demonstrators with clubs and sabers. The students later marched toward Tahrir Square, where supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, some carrying his picture, attacked them again. At least two people were slightly injured and 17 were detained by the police, human rights activists said.
The opposition there, an eclectic group of parties dominated by Islamists, has been organizing street demonstrations every Thursday for at least four weeks. Opposition members vowed Saturday to continue the protests, which they are calling “the coffee revolution,” in honor of Yemen’s famous export.
Several Arab leaders also made their first public comments on the revolt in Egypt, a day after mass demonstrations forced Mr. Mubarak to resign.
Saudi Arabia, which has been outspoken in its defense of Mr. Mubarak, said it welcomed a “peaceful transition of power” in Egypt, and expressed “hope in the efforts of the Egyptian armed forces to restore peace, stability and tranquillity,” the Saudi news agency reported. The Saudi monarchy had previously criticized the protesters, denouncing what it described as foreign meddling in Egypt’s affairs.
In Bahrain, the newspaper Al-Watan quoted a government statement as saying that the kingdom was interested in developing its relationship with Egypt and was confident in the ability of the Egyptians to establish security and stability. King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain, who is facing street protests planned for Monday, decided Friday to give the equivalent of $2,560 to each Bahraini family. He is expected to announce reforms soon. In Tunis, the cradle of the revolution, hundreds turned out Friday and again Saturday to celebrate Mr. Mubarak’s ouster. Many said they hoped Algeria would be the next to fall. On Friday evening, young people in Tunis sang an Algerian soccer chant: “One-two-three, Algerie!”
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
February 2011
|
['(The Guardian)', '(Gulf Times)', '(The New York Times)', '(euronews)', '(The Daily Telegraph)']
|
A federal jury orders DuPont to pay $2 million to a man with testicular cancer after finding the company liable for diseases linked to C8, a Teflon–making chemical.
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DuPont was ordered on Wednesday to pay $2 million after a jury found the company liable for diseases linked to a Teflon-making chemical, Reuters reported.
The multinational chemical giant will pay a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company’s plants, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer Robert Bilott.
Bilott said the Ohio jurors found “actual malice,” raising a possibility of additional punitive damages in DuPont’s case, according to Reuters.
The verdict is the third time DuPont has been found liable for diseases linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon, the nonstick coating on pots and pans. “Additional trials are expected, and they will be defended on an individual basis under the facts and circumstances of each case,” Cynthia Salitsky, Chemours spokesperson, said in a statement.
She continued: “This type of litigation typically takes place over many years, and interim results do not predict the final outcome of cases. It is important to note that DuPont is the named defendant in each of the cases and is liable for any judgment. We will have further comments when the trial is over.” DuPont is likely to face between 250 and 300 lawsuits brought by individuals who say they contracted kidney or testicular cancer from C-8. Lawsuits said the company used the chemical, which had been found in nearby drinking water, knowing it was toxic.
In October of last year, a jury awarded a woman $1.6 million after she sued DuPont over contamination of drinking water in Ohio River communities.
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Organization Fine
|
December 2016
|
['(Reuters)', '(CNBC)']
|
In basketball, Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury becomes the WNBA's all-time scoring leader, surpassing the record of Tina Thompson (7,488 points) in the Mercury's 90–59 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
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History was made in the WNBA on Sunday when Diana Taurasi became the league's all-time scoring leader.
With her parents watching, the Phoenix Mercury guard scored 14 points in the first half against the Los Angeles Sparks to pass Tina Thompson on the career scoring charts. She finished with 19 points in a 90-59 defeat in LA.
"It's pretty special I got to do it in front of my family on Father's Day in LA," said Taurasi.
When Taurasi surpassed Thompson's mark of 7,488 points with 45 seconds left in the first half, the game was stopped and the crowd, which included former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, gave her a standing ovation.
"Once I got the basket it was pretty cool," she said. "I was trying not to think about, wanted it to happen and do it organically. It did. You think about all the great players you played with, all the games."
At halftime, Bryant talked to ESPN's Holly Rowe about her scoring record and her nickname, "the White Mamba."
"She came up to me during the tournament, and said, 'I'm the White Mamba,'" Bryant -- aka the Black Mamba -- said, adding that he responded, "'Yes, you are -- you've got every bit the temperament.'"
Taurasi needed less than 13 full seasons to score the 7,494 points; Thompson's 7,488 points came over 17 seasons.
"Congratulations to Diana on becoming the WNBA's all-time leading scorer. I am excited that it is Diana and it is my absolute pleasure to pass the torch on to her," Thompson said in a statement. "Diana is one of the best players to ever play the game and definitely one of my favorites. She has done amazing things and I am so grateful that I've been able to share many of those with her."
Cavaliers star LeBron James passed along his congratulations via Twitter.
.@KingJames salutes @DianaTaurasi for becoming the @WNBA's all-time leading scorer in history. #Respect pic.twitter.com/QnVpJj0PkA
Taurasi, who averages 18.1 points per game this year, passed Tamika Catchings (7,380 points) for second on the WNBA scoring list early this season.
"When you're on superteams, it's easy to score," Taurasi said on Friday before scoring 15 points against the Chicago Sky that night.
Two weeks ago, Taurasi broke the WNBA record for most career 3-pointers made, passing Katie Smith's mark of 906.
Her all-time mark for 3-pointers stands at 927 after Sunday's game.
She turned 35 this month and doesn't seem to be slowing down. She recently signed an extension through 2020.
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Break historical records
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June 2017
|
['(ESPN)']
|
Voters in Nigeria go to the polls for gubernatorial and state Assembly elections. At least nine people are killed in election day violence, most of them in Rivers State. ,
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Clashes and protests have disrupted voting in many districts of Nigeria's southern oil-rich Rivers state. The elections will choose state governors, some of the most powerful politicians in the West African country.
At least nine people have been killed as Nigerians voted for state governors, their deputies and local assemblies on Saturday. Most of the violence was reported in the fiercely contested Rivers state, Nigeria's oil hub.
Opposition gubernatorial candidate Dakuku Peterside said eight of his supporters died and police said an officer was killed. Witnesses also reported shooting in the streets of several Rivers towns.
"A lot of gunshots in the air as I speak to you, but the military is trying their best to bring the situation under control," Livingstone Membere, president of the Kalabari Youth Federation told The Associated Press, from Asari Toru area in Rivers.
Membere also said a polling station was burned down, along with the house of the state commissioner for women's affairs.
Eight youth corps polling agents were kidnapped Saturday morning, and police had only succeeded in rescuing four of them by afternoon, an electoral official told news agency AP, on condition of anonymity.
In addition, a crowd of some 2,000 protesters delayed distribution of materials in the state capital Port Harcourt, causing the ballots to open hours later than planned.
Struggle at the top
In another election battleground, the Nigerian city of Lagos, members of Igbo ethnic group have filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission after the king of the Yoruba tribe allegedly threatened to kill them if they did not vote for his opposition candidate.
The opposition coalition All Progressives Congress currently holds 14 states, while Goodluck Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party has 21. However, Jonathans party has suffered many defections since he lost the presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari two weeks ago.
Trouble for the African giant
State governors are among most powerful politicians in Nigeria, and often control budgets larger than those of many individual countries.
However, the most populous African nation remains burdened by corruption and torn by Boko Haram uprising, with the jihadists allegedly killing 10,000 people last year alone.
Results of the state governor and assembly elections are expected to start coming in on Sunday. The new governors will take office on May 29, alongside president-elect Buhari, a former military dictator.
Nigerians return to the polls for gubernatorial elections, two weeks after the opposition won the presidential race. The city of Lagos drives the country's economy and has been opposition-controlled since 1999. (10.04.2015)
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Government Job change - Election
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April 2015
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['(BBC)', '(Deutsche Welle)']
|
The lower house of the Irish parliament passes the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, legalising abortion when the woman's life is at risk.
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Shortly before 12.30am, TDs voted by 127 to 31 in favour of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.
Of the 165 proposed amendments, only those proposed by Minister for Health James Reilly were accepted, which led to criticism from Opposition TDs.
The landmark legislation enshrines a woman's right to a termination if her life is at risk, including from suicide.
The bill will begin its passage through the Seanad on Monday afternoon.
The schedule proposes that second stage will be dealt with on Monday and Tuesday, and committee stage on Wednesday and Thursday.
The report and final stages are to be covered on the Monday and Tuesday of the following week, 22 and 23 July.
If there are no amendments to the legislation, it will then go to President Michael D Higgins for signature.
However, if the Upper House does pass amendments, the Dáil will have to be brought back from its summer recess, due to begin next Thursday 18 July, to approve or reject them.
President Higgins can then decide to sign the bill into law or, after consulting the Council of State, to refer it to the Supreme Court to check its constitutionality.
If the Supreme Court approves the legislation, its constitutionality cannot subsequently be challenged.
Donohoe to replace Creighton
The Government appointed Dublin TD Paschal Donohoe as Minister of State for European Affairs after Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton voted against the Government and resigned as junior minister.
She told journalists later she had not wanted to oppose the measure, but could not support a bill that was based on flawed logic and no medical evidence.
She said she would be resigning from Government, but would not stand as an independent in the European elections and had no interest in any new party.
Ms Creighton was one of only five TDs to break Government ranks.
Mr Donohoe said he hopes the five TDs would play a role in the party in the future.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Pat Kenny, he said he was "humbled beyond words" to be appointed and was told of the decision in the early hours of this morning.
He said he felt "very much for Lucinda across the period".
Mr Donohoe also said he would have voted for the bill even if there had been no party whip.
He agreed with comments from Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar who has said he would welcome a move by President Higgins to refer the bill to the Supreme Court, which would clarify any issues relating to its compliance with the Constitution.
Speaking earlier, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he regretted that Ms Creighton could not vote for the bill.
He paid tribute to Ms Creighton's work in the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Gilmore said it was expected that all Government TDs "and of course particularly office holders" would vote for the legislation.
Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty said the decision of the five TDs to force their expulsion from the party over their failure to vote for the bill would be a loss to Fine Gael.
She said Ms Creighton was correct to stand by her personal convictions when she voted against the bill.
However, Ms Doherty said that Ms Creigton's decision was "no different" than each TD in the Dáil who made a decision on whether to support the bill or not.
Peadar Tóibín has also been suspended from Sinn Féin for six months for not supporting the bill.
The Government had a comfortable majority, but Fianna Fáil's Michael Moynihan, who had supported the measure earlier, later changed his vote because he said he had hoped for changes that had not materialised.
The President of the High Court yesterday refused to grant an injunction to prevent a vote on the bill.
The application taken by Jane Murphy may be brought before the Supreme Court.
Abortion legislation debate as it happened
Dáil Bar open until 5am during debate
There have been calls for the Members Bar at Leinster House to have its opening hours shortened.
It follows revelations that the bar stayed open until 5am earlier this week as the abortion legislation was going through the Dáil.
There are two bars in Leinster House.
One for visitors has normal pub opening hours however, the Members Bar - which caters for TDs and Senators - remains open for about an hour following the end of Dáil business.
Professor Joe Barry from Alcohol Action Ireland, said it sounds strange that a bar would remain open at the same time that politicians are debating important legislation.
Independent TD Finian McGrath said that the Members Bar should close at the same time as other pubs.
It's understood that there are no plans to change the arrangements around the opening hours of the Members Bar.
A spokesperson for the Houses of the Oireachtas said that a freedom of information request is required to find out how much alcohol was sold during the abortion legislation debate.
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Government Policy Changes
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July 2013
|
['(RTE)']
|
Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush suspends his campaign following a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary.
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Follow NBC News COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Jeb Bush replaced the exclamation mark of his campaign logo with a period Saturday night as he officially suspended his presidential campaign following a disappointing finish in South Carolina.
“I’m proud of the campaign we have run,” Bush said a few minutes into his speech. “But the people of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken and I respect their decision, so tonight I am suspending my campaign.”
The campaign suffered a major blow earlier in the week as South Carolina’s popular governor endorsed rival Marco Rubio over the former Florida governor — a move Bush called “disappointing” — resulting in what seemed the final downward trajectory of his run.
“When I began this journey in Miami I committed that I would campaign as I would serve, going everywhere, speaking to everyone, keeping my word, facing the issues without flinching and staying true to what I believe,” he said in summing up his campaign.
The former governor headed back to his home in Miami, Florida, on Saturday night, the campaign confirmed.
Bush’s early momentum in the race stalled late in the summer in the face of a rising Donald Trump, who successfully branded Bush as “low-energy” — a moniker the former governor struggled to overcome.
“I fully believe the American people must entrust this office to someone who believes whoever holds it is a servant, not the master,” Bush said, seeming to allude to frontrunner Trump.
Saturday’s disappointing finish in South Carolina follows similar performances in the other early states where Bush finished sixth in Iowa and fourth in New Hampshire where he had devoted heavy campaign resources.
“In this campaign I have stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds,” he said.
Bush’s final Palmetto State push included a much anticipated campaign appearance by his brother, former President George W. Bush, but ultimately the elder Bush’s popularity didn’t transfer.
Aside from thanking supporters during his speech, Bush — a self-described “policy wonk” — touted the importance of ideas and policy, something his campaign routinely laid out during the campaign.
“With strong conservative leadership, Republicans can win the White House,” Bush said. “That’s what I honestly believe and I know you do as well."
Jordan Frasier is a 2016 Campaign Embed covering the Bush Campaign for NBC News. Prior to that he was a producer for Meet the Press and a political researcher during the 2012 campaign.
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Government Job change - Election
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February 2016
|
['(NBC News)']
|
At least 26 people are killed after a truck's brakes fail along a busy street in Port–au–Prince, Haiti.
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At least 26 people have died and some 56 have been injured after a lorry's brakes failed on one of the busiest streets in the capital of Haiti.
The lorry, carrying gravel, hit street vendors, motorcyclists, cars and a small bus as it tore through Route Delmas in Port-au-Prince on Monday.
The accident happened in front of national TV headquarters at about 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT on Tuesday).
President Michel Martelly visited the scene of the crash, his office said.
"It's the worst accident we've ever experienced in our city," police official Will Dimanche told AFP news agency.
Some 10 cars, including taxi cabs, were completely destroyed in the pile-up, officials said.
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Road Crash
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January 2012
|
['(BBC)']
|
A large fire breaks out at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
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Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) - a key regional hub - has been closed, passengers evacuated and incoming flights diverted.
The fire is now said to have been contained but there have been reports that it took emergency services a long time to respond.
Images from the scene showed flames leaping from one of the main buildings.
There have been no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire is not clear. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is the regional hub for East Africa, with many long-distance flights landing there to connect to countries across the region.
The airport is the main gateway for European tourists - and it is now the height of the tourist season - and is also crucial for the country's key flower export industry, so the fire could have a huge economic impact, says the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza at the scene.
Shares in Kenya Airways fell in early trading on Wednesday.
Despite earlier official statements that the airport had been closed indefinitely, presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu said domestic flights and international cargo flights would resume later on Wednesday.
The cabinet secretary for transport, Michael Kamau, earlier described the fire as "very severe", and although it is contained firefighters are still battling the flames.
Dark smoke could be seen billowing into the sky across much of Nairobi as the fire - which began at approximately 04:30 local time (01:30 GMT) - took hold. Passengers arriving on international flights - some still in their seats - reported hearing explosions from the terminal building. Fire engines did not begin to arrive for one to two hours after the fire broke out, witnesses told our correspondent - by which time the blaze was ravaging the cavernous and ageing arrivals hall.
Kenya's police and fire units are poorly resourced and the state response was supplemented by the Red Cross and private security firms including - airport authorities said - the British multinational company G4S.
One witness told AP news agency she had seen soldiers and police trying to douse the inferno using buckets of water.
Witnesses said traffic jams prevented emergency vehicles getting through, leading the interior ministry to appeal to cars to get out of their way.
Shocked would-be passengers stood outside the airport, bags in hand, watching the blaze. Nairobi resident Barry Fisher - who had hoped to travel to Ethiopia on Wednesday - described the scene as chaotic. "There was no-one stopping any traffic going to the road to the airport," he told AP news agency. "A number of fire trucks and ambulances were trying to negotiate their way through the lane... They were trying to weave their way through a solid two lanes of cars."
American student Emily Mosites was in the airport trying to get a flight to Kisumu when the fire broke out.
"There was no emergency direction on leaving - I just stood there watching the fire. There were no officials to tell anyone what to do.
"I wasn't told whether or not there were any flights departing. So I thought this was insane and decided to leave."
Incoming flights have been diverted to regional airports and to Mombasa, where the BBC's Odhiambo Joseph said there were chaotic scenes with hundreds of passengers stranded.
The government also admitted that firefighters had run "dangerously low on water" and water tankers had had to be sent to bolster supplies.
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the airport had "lost the arrival areas and a number of offices have been gutted".
"We have heightened security to make sure people are safe.... We will make sure we establish the true cause of the fire," he told journalists.
Cabinet secretary for transport Michael Kamau earlier said the blaze began in the immigration zone, which he said was deep inside the affected building, making it difficult for firefighters to reach.
He paid tribute to the work of the emergency services.
President Uhuru Kenyatta - whose father the airport was named after - has toured the burning building to see the damage.
Incoming flights have been diverted to regional airports and to Mombasa, where the BBC's Odhiambo Joseph said there were chaotic scenes with hundreds of passengers stranded.
Correspondents say authorities will be keen to get the airport fully operational as soon as possible - and an airport authority committee is looking at how to do so.
The blaze comes two days after aircraft were delayed for several hours after the failure of a hydrant needed for refuelling planes at the airport.er.
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Fire
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August 2013
|
['(BBC)']
|
Pakistan releases Indian fishermen caught in its territory as a gesture of goodwill.
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Pakistan has released 220 Indian fishermen detained for crossing into its territorial waters. Ties between the two countries have been tense over the Kashmir conflict. Activists say India should reciprocate the gesture.
"We released 220 Indian fishermen today as a goodwill gesture," Hassan Sehto, a Pakistani prison official, told the AFP news agency.
The same number of Indian fishermen remain in Pakistani custody; however, Pakistan's Dunya TV said the second batch of fishermen could be released on January 5, 2017.
The released fishermen are expected to be handed over to Indian authorities at the eastern Wagah border on Monday, according to the local media.
Indian and Pakistani fishermen are often held for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly demarcated. Many of these inadvertently cross over into the other country's territory due to the lack of navigation systems in their boats.
The captured fishermen then usually spend years in jail without access to legal support. Poor diplomatic ties between the two South Asian rivals mean that not only are the bureaucratic requirements for the release of these fishermen not fulfilled, some of them are even perceived as the "enemy" country's spies.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), an NGO striving for friendly relations between India and Pakistan, said that now New Delhi should reciprocate the Pakistani gesture and release Pakistani fishermen held in Indian prisons.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since the killing of Burhan Wani, a separatist leader in India-administered Kashmir, in July. While New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backing an armed insurgency in its part of Kashmir, Islamabad says its support to the Kashmiri separatists is only "moral" and "political."
Both nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors claim the Himalayan region in full but rule parts of the valley.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
|
December 2016
|
['(Deutsche Welle)']
|
Syrian Air Force warplanes repeatedly strike a Turkish military convoy driving through the rebel-held region of Idlib, reportedly causing several casualties and forcing it to stop. Turkey claims the convoy was aiming to supply observation posts, while Syria accuses it of carrying weapons and ammunition to rebel groups.
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A Syrian government air strike aiming to stop a Turkish convoy reaching a rebel-held town in northern Syria has killed three civilians, Turkey alleges.
Another 12 people were injured in the attack in Idlib province on Monday, the Turkish defence ministry said.
Idlib, one of the few areas not under government control, was supposed to be protected by a buffer zone agreed with rebel-backing Turkey last year.
But government assaults have been on the increase since April.
Hundreds of civilians have already been killed as a result, and there are fears many more will die if the situation continues to escalate.
"This is our worst nightmare coming true," Jan Egeland, from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), told the BBC. "We have for years now warned against the ultimate catastrophe being Idlib, where there was no escape for three million civilians. There are some very bad militants inside. "But a wholesale attack on this area of Idlib and adjacent northern Hama would mean that a million children would come in horrific crossfire, and it's that that now seems to be happening."
Turkey, which backs some, but not all, the rebels, has forces in Idlib as part of last year's agreement with Russia.
According to Naji Mustafa, a spokesman for the National Liberation Front rebel grouping, the convoy was heading to one of its observation points with "reinforcements" when the attack took place.
An AFP correspondent who saw the convoy reported it included about 50 armoured vehicles, at least five of which were tanks.
But Syria has said the convoy's arrival in the region is an act of aggression. It said the munitions would not stop government forces "hunting the remnants of terrorists".
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Russian aircraft carried out strikes near the convoy on 19 August.
Turkey has said the attack breaches last year's agreement, with the incident raising fears of direct clashes between the countries.
After eight years of war, the Syrian government is trying to win back control of the last rebel-held areas.
Government forces, backed by Russia, reportedly entered the northwest outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun on Sunday. Khan Sheikhoun, which was hit by a Sarin gas attack in 2017, lies on a highway connecting Damascus to Aleppo and is a strategically important town in the south of the province. If it is captured, it will mean the Syrian regime has effectively encircled a rebel-held area to the south, which includes a Turkish observation post in the town of Morek. Mr Mustafa told AFP the convoy was heading to Morek.
Syrian forces have now massed to both the east and west of Khan Sheikhoun, and air strikes are targeting the centre and surrounding villages. Last week a Syrian government war plane was shot down in the area, hit by an anti-aircraft missile fired by militants, according to Syrian state news agency Sana.
Jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has claimed responsibility and released footage purportedly showing the captured pilot.
A colonel from a rebel faction confirmed to Reuters news agency that there were battles going on on the outskirts. Fighters from a Turkish-backed rebel force have joined the defence, he said. How did the war start?
The country descended into war after President Bashar al-Assad's government used deadly force to crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, who took to the streets in March 2011 demanding political freedom.
Who is fighting who?
That's complicated: President Assad's regime is fighting rebel groups ranging from pro-democracy groups to jihadist extremists, while a number of foreign powers are providing support to various sides.
How many people have died?
It is not known exactly, as death tolls vary according to the source, but it is estimated to stand at .
How many refugees are there?
More than 5.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011, with another 6.6 million internally displaced, according to the United Nations.
What has happened to President Assad?
His position looked tenuous at one point during the eight year conflict, but thanks to international allies like Russia and Iran, President Assad has won back control of most of Syria, and has set his sights on Idlib.
|
Armed Conflict
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August 2019
|
['(BBC)', '(The National)']
|
Without recovering any physical evidence, including the data recorders, Malaysia officially declares the loss of Flight 370 over the Indian Ocean an accident meaning that victims families can seek compensation.
|
More than 10 months — precisely 328 days — after it went missing with 239 passengers and crew on board, Malaysian investigators Thursday declared the disappearance of Flight 370 an accident, clearing the way for families to pursue compensation claims.
Investigators with Malaysia's Civil Aviation authority concluded the aircraft exhausted its fuel supply over the southern Indian Ocean and is on the seafloor. Everyone on the flight is presumed dead. An underwater search continues west of Perth, Australia.
"It is with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that we officially declare Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident," Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the director general of Malaysia's civil aviation department, said in a statement.
The "declaration is by no means an end" to the search for the jet, a wide-bodied Boeing 777, he added. "At this juncture, there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the accident."
The plane disappeared on March 8 last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of western Australia. That remote area is far from any possible landing sites, and the sea there has known depths of more than 19,600 feet, Azharuddin said.
Relatives of the 154 Chinese passengers on board the flight — many of whom cling to hope their loved ones are still alive — reacted with disbelief and anger to the announcement Thursday.
"I waited for a whole year, but this is not the answer I want to hear. I can't believe what they said. There is no evidence at all, how could they draw such a conclusion? There must be a conspiracy," said Li Xinmao, 57, whose daughter was on the plane. "I won't accept any compensation because they are hiding the truth. I can't accept it."
The declaration by Malaysia government officials will help relatives obtain death certificates and seek compensation such as life insurance beyond the $50,000 the airline has already offered.
But the relatives are concerned the declaration is a preamble to calling off the search for the Boeing 777 entirely, even as Malaysian and Australian officials insisted the search would continue.
"It's hard to comprehend why the families weren't given some advance notice. It's really upsetting," said Steven Marks, a Miami lawyer at Podhurst Orseck who represents the families of 30 passengers. "It should have been handled differently."
Justin Green, a New York lawyer at Kreindler & and Kreindler who represents 23 families, said they have two years to seek compensation from the airline, and the declaration allows them to request a death certificate and set up an estate.
But the timing months after the disappearance, while still a month shy of the anniversary, upset families that hold out hope the passengers made it to land somewhere.
"It was done in a heavy-handed manner," Green said. "That's really hard for the families to hear."
The search and rescue mission in the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, the Andaman Sea and the southern Indian Ocean was an "unprecedented exercise" involving aircraft and vessels from 13 countries, Azharuddin said.
Difficulties with the search about 1,000 miles west of Perth include the ocean up to 4 miles deep. Ships drag sonar equipment or send autonomous subs to scan the ocean floor for objects that look man-made, which experts say is difficult, tedious work.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau announced Wednesday that searchers have covered 7,000 square miles of ocean floor, for about 30% of the area targeted. Completion is targeted for May.
One vessel, the GO Phoenix, resumed searching Jan. 21 after suspending operations for Tropical Cyclone Bansi.
The ships Fugro Equator and Fugro Discovery are continuing the search, but will suspend operations in mid-February for routine port visits.
The Fugro Supporter is expected to join them within days.
"Our work will continue to be thorough and methodical, so sometimes weekly progress may seem slow," said a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Center leading the search. "Please be assured that work is continuing and is aimed at finding MH370 as quickly as possible."
But Marks, the lawyer representing families of passengers, voiced skepticism about the search location, which he argued should have focused in more detail in the South China Sea where the plane went missing.
"I have no faith that they are looking in the right place," Marks said.
Malaysia, China and Australia spared no expense and resources in the search, which has covered more than 5,300 square miles, he said. The hunt resumed in October after a four-month hiatus with more sophisticated sonar equipment. Search teams have pursued every credible lead and reviewed all available data, but have yet to find any evidence of the missing aircraft, Azharuddin said.
An interim statement on the progress of the safety investigation is expected to be released around the one-year anniversary of the incident.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly referred to as the Chicago Convention, states that the definition of the term "accident" includes "the aircraft is missing," Azharuddin said in explaining the airline's announcement.
A criminal investigation led by the Royal Malaysia Police is ongoing, but that probe and others are limited by the lack of physical evidence, particularly the flight recorders, Azharuddin added.
"At this moment of sadness, the Chinese government expresses its deep sorrow for the misery of those on board, and offers its profound sympathies and sincere condolences to their families," Hua Chunying, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, said after Thursday's announcement.
"We call on the Malaysian side to act on the commitments made in the statement, fulfill its obligation of compensation, protect the lawful rights and interests of the families and provide them with support and assistance," she said. "We also call on the Malaysian side to remain fully committed to the search and investigation efforts and keep the families updated on the latest progress."
Dai Shuqin, whose younger sister and her family were on board, said the news "destroyed our last hope."
"They still cheated us like they did before. There is no evidence at all, how could they hurt us again and again like this," she said, crying. "I won't accept any compensation. It's their trap. They used it last year. I won't believe them."
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Air crash
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January 2015
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['(USA Today)']
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Police chief of Kufa, Saeed Tryak, is killed and one of his escorts is injured when their car is attacked at al-Adala in Najaf, southeast of Baghdad. Police chief of al-Mahmudiya in Baghdad, Usama Husayn, is also killed leaving his house in al-Khadra neighbourhood. He is shot by men in police uniforms.
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Aljazeera correspondent said on Saturday the police chief of Kufa, Saeed Tryak, was killed and one of his escorts injured when their car was attacked at al-Adala in Najaf, south east of Baghdad. The police chief of al-Mahmudiya in Baghdad, Usama Husayn, was also killed when he was shot at by men in police uniforms. The attack took place when he was leaving his house in al-Khadra neighbourhood of Baghdad. Elsewhere in the capital, two people were injured when a rocket was fired at a residential area. Police said a house was damaged in the explosion and two men inside it injured. Angry residents blamed the Americans for the attack.
Car bomb
In Baquba, north of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded on Saturday morning near a US military patrol, wounding several people.
An Iraqi civilian wounded in the blast said it took place in al-Aswad village. A policeman said two US vehicles were damaged and several soldiers wounded. Iraqi policemen have beentargeted in a number of attacks
Iraqi policemen have beentargeted in a number of attacks
Also in Baquba, a member of the local council escaped an assassination attempt when armed fighters opened fire on his car, police said.
About two dozen armed men opened fire on the main road linking the city with the nearby village of Kanaan, First Lieutenant Yasir Mahmud told AFP.
Council member Abu Saida and Muhammad Saeed Kufi, an adviser to the city council president who was in the car, escaped unharmed.
Angry job-seekers
The southern Iraqi city of Basra witnessed some violence on Saturday which left a policeman slightly injured when angry residents waiting to be hired at the newly established customs service attacked his car, an AFP correspondent on the scene reported. The job-seekers hurled rocks at policemen who were guarding the customs building after British soldiers withdrew and photographers on the scene were attacked.
"We want jobs notably in the customs police department," said one of the demonstrators. "We decided to protest because our demands are ignored."
UN official's visit
Lakhdar Brahimi: UN special envoy Meanwhile, UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to arrive in Baghdad within the next few days on a "vital" visit connected with the transition of power, a member of Iraq's interim Governing Council said on Saturday.
Lakhdar Brahimi: UN special envoy
"Brahimi is expected to arrive in the next few days. He will be here before Tuesday," Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told AFP.
"His visit will be very important and vital for the agreement to form an interim government" to take over power from the US-led occupation authority set for 30 June, he said.
Rubaie said Brahimi was expected to "hold meetings with the Governing Council as a whole and with council members, as well as other political, social and religious parties outside the Governing Council."
"He is due to discuss the acceptable means to form an interim transitional government," said Rubaie.
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Famous Person - Death
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April 2004
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['(Al Jazeera)']
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Taliban insurgents attack the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, with two members of the Afghan National Police reported as killed and about 20 civilians injured.
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US and Afghan forces have fought off an attack by Taliban insurgents on the US consulate in the western city of Herat. Two Afghan police and one security guard were killed in the dawn assault, along with seven attackers. The US consulate said its staff were safe.
The Taliban said they carried out the attack, which began with a huge blast at the compound gates, sparking a gun battle near consulate buildings.
Attacks continue despite the planned withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014.
Seventeen civilians, including women and children, were injured in the Herat attack. Herat sits close to the Iranian border on a vital trade route across southern Afghanistan and it has been relatively peaceful in recent years. The US consulate in Herat was opened just four years ago in a former five-star hotel. The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says this attack - carried out in the shadow of the anniversary of 9/11 - is a demonstration of the ability of insurgents to disrupt Afghanistan, 12 years after US-led forces toppled the Taliban.
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Armed Conflict
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September 2013
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['(BBC)']
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Thousands of Tunisians, mostly women, protest in Tunis against attempts by the Islamist–led government to reduce women's rights.
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Thousands of Tunisians have protested in the capital, Tunis, against moves by the Islamist-led government which they fear will reduce women's rights.
The government has unveiled a draft constitution which refers to women as "complementary to men". The mostly women protesters held up placards which read: "Rise up women for your rights."
Tunisia was one of the most secular Arab states before the Islamist Ennahda party won elections last year.
It took power following the mass uprising which led to the overthrow of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's regime in January 2011.
The 1956 constitution said that women and men were equal, banned polygamy and introduced civil divorce and marriage.
'Open the door'
Ennahda member Farida al-Obeidi, who chairs the constitutional assembly's human rights and public freedoms panel, said the wording of the draft constitution was not a backward step for Tunisian women, Reuters reports.
Instead, the draft stipulates the "sharing of roles and does not mean that women are worth less than men", she said.
But the chairperson of the Democratic Women's Association, Ahlam Belhadj, condemned the clause. "Major retreats usually begin with one step," she said. "If we stay silent today, we will open the door to everything else and end up surprised by even more serious decisions."
The protests began on Monday evening after the end of the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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August 2012
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['(BBC)']
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A court in Nigeria charges an Iranian man over an illegal weapons shipment discovered in Lagos.
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An Iranian man has been charged with arms trafficking in a Nigerian court, in connection with a shipment of weapons intercepted last month. Azim Aghajani appeared in court in Abuja, but did not enter a plea.
Court documents reportedly identified him as a Tehran businessman, and also a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Three Nigerians have also been charged in connection with the shipment, which included rockets and grenades hidden among building materials.
The court said Mr Aghajani had been charged with attempting to import prohibited arms into Nigeria and conspiring to send the illegal shipment to Gambia.
The Iranian said he needed his embassy to represent him before he could present his plea.
Two of the three Nigerian defendants were only charged with conspiring to re-export the shipment to Gambia.
All four men are reported to be in custody in the Nigerian capital. "This is a matter of great national importance, and if I may add, it has international implications," said prosecutor Matthew Idakwo. "These arms were imported from Iran to our country. It is of great interest to the world."
The BBC's Fidelis Mbah in Port Harcourt, who has been following the case, says Mr Aghajani's court appearance came as a surprise.
People were not aware that Mr Aghajani was going to be charged in court, as the Iranian government had been reaching out to their Nigerian counterparts to find ways of resolving this issue, our correspondent says.
The arms were discovered at Apapa seaport in Lagos in October. They were hidden in 13 containers shipped from Iran, which were labelled as building supplies.
Mr Aghajani is believed to be the man who was questioned inside the Iranian embassy in Nigeria several weeks ago in relation to the shipment. There were reports that the Nigerian authorities wanted to question a second Iranian national, but that he had since left the country. Iran has said the weapons were the subject of a "misunderstanding" that has now been cleared up.
Nigeria reported the seizure of the shipment to the UN Security Council for an apparent breach of the sanctions against Iran.
Another illegal shipment of weapons was discovered in Lagos on Wednesday, increasing fears among some Nigerians of possible violence ahead of next year's elections.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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November 2010
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['(BBC)', '(AFP)']
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Human Rights Watch reports whistleblowers accuse U.S. troops of routinely torturing Iraqi prisoners and declining to investigate complaints. , ,
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The Human Rights Watch report, issued Friday, was compiled from interviews with a captain and two sergeants who served in a battalion of the 82nd Airborne that was stationed at a military base called Mercury near Fallujah, the insurgent stronghold retaken by U.S. forces last year. The soldiers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the abuse took place almost daily and often came under orders. Anything short of causing an inmate's death was allowed, they said. The residents of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, nicknamed soldiers at the nearby base "the Murderous Maniacs," New York-based Human Rights Watch said. "The soldiers considered this name a badge of honor." It said soldiers in the elite 82nd Airborne deprived detainees of sleep, food and water, subjected them to extreme heat and cold, stacked prisoners in human pyramids, kicked them in the face, and put chemicals on exposed skin and eyes. Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. John Skinner criticized the report as a predictable effort to try to "advance an agenda through the use of distortions and errors in fact." Skinner said the military has investigated all credible allegations of detainee abuse and "looked at all aspects of detention operations under a microscope." The Army said Friday it had opened an investigation into one soldier's allegations that he witnessed and heard about widespread prisoner abuse, including torture and a beating with a baseball bat, while serving at a base in Iraq. One of the sergeants allegedly told the group that military intelligence personnel, eager for information, often instructed soldiers to "smoke" detainees called Persons Under Control or PUCs during questioning, the report said. "Smoking" prisoners meant physically abusing them until they lost consciousness. But the motive was not always to gain intelligence, one sergeant was quoted as saying. "Everyone in camp knew if you wanted to work out your frustration you show up at the PUC tent. In a way it was sport," he reportedly said. "One day (another sergeant) shows up and tells a PUC to grab a pole. He told him to bend over and broke the guy's leg with a mini-Louisville Slugger, a metal bat." The soldier said anything short of death was acceptable. "As long as no PUCs came up dead, it happened," he said. "We kept it to broken arms and legs." The timing of some of the alleged tortures coincided with the prisoner abuse by American forces at Abu Ghraib near Baghdad in fall of 2003. "These soldiers' firsthand accounts provide further evidence contradicting claims that abuse of detainees by U.S. forces was isolated or spontaneous," the report said. "The accounts here suggest that the mistreatment of prisoners by the U.S. military is even more widespread than has been acknowledged to date, including among troops belonging to some of the best trained, most decorated, and highly respected units in the U.S. Army." The soldiers quoted in the report expressed much confusion about what types of treatment were allowed under the Geneva Conventions, which bar mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilian detainees. They said senior officers provided little guidance. The captain said his complaints were ignored for 17 months, and he was denied a pass to leave the 82nd Airborne's base in Fort Bragg after planning to meet with Senate staff members, it said. Army officials said, however, they began their investigation into the matter as soon as it came to their attention. Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the soldier, whose name was not released, told superiors about the allegations and was referred to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. The investigation began at least two weeks ago, Boyce said. Boyce said the soldier is allowed to contact or visit members of Congress or their staff but was stopped from traveling to Washington from Fort Bragg in North Carolina on one instance because he had not requested administrative leave or a pass to leave the base. The New York Times reported Saturday that Capt. Ian Fishback of the 82nd Airborne had raised the complaints of abuse in letters to the staff of Sens. John Warner of Virginia and John McCain of Arizona, both senior Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Human Rights Watch harshly criticized the U.S. military in its report, saying it has launched investigations and prosecutions of lower-ranking personnel for detainee abuse. But in most cases, the military used closed administrative hearings where they handed down light administrative punishments such as pay reductions and reprimands, instead of criminal prosecutions before courts-martial. "The military has made no effort to conduct a broader criminal investigation focusing on how military command might have been involved in reported abuse, and the administration continues to insist that reported abuse had nothing to do with the administration's decisions on the applicability of the Geneva Conventions or with any approved interrogation techniques," it said. The group called for Congress to create a special commission to investigate the issue. The Abu Ghraib scandal touched off a firestorm of criticism when photos of some of the abuse became public a year ago. Iraqi detainees were physically abused and sexually humiliated by military police and intelligence soldiers in the fall of 2003. Some of the photos showed naked prisoners stacked in human pyramids or on dog leashes. The Pentagon has characterized it as acts of bored military police working the overnight shift. The U.S. military has since opened 400 investigations of prisoner abuse allegations, and 230 soldiers have been court-martialed or faced non-judicial punishment or another administrative action.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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September 2005
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['(Human Rights Watch)', '(IPS news)', '(USA Today)', '(NYT)']
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In golf, Team Europe retains the Ryder Cup, defeating Team USA 17½–10½ at Le Golf National near Paris.
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Two years after the Americans thought they had their Ryder Cup problems figured out, Europe reminded them Sunday why it practically has owned this shiny gold trophy for the past quarter century.
The Open champion Francesco Molinari was just as good on his own as he was with Tommy Fleetwood. The best year of the Italian's golfing life got even better at Le Golf National when he became the first European -- and only the second player since the current format began in 1979 -- to win all five of his matches.
The last one set off a wild, champagne-soaked celebration.
Europe already was assured the 14½ points it needed because it was guaranteed halves in two matches. Molinari made it official. He was 2-up and safely on the green at the par-3 16th green when Phil Mickelson hit into the water, removed his cap and conceded the match.
The finish was most appropriate.
The celebration and singing had already begun. The Europeans were treated like rock stars before more than 50,000 fans. All that remained was Alex Noren in the anchor match. He was 1-up on the 18th hole when Bryson DeChambeau stuffed his approach to 2 feet for a conceded birdie. Noren hit the final shot in this Ryder Cup, a 40-foot birdie putt to win the match, and the stoic Swede hurled his cap.
Europe won 17½-10½, the most lopsided victory since consecutive 18½-9½ victories by Europe more than a decade ago when the Americans looked utterly lost. They formed a Ryder Cup Task Force, spearheaded by Mickelson, after the 2014 loss. The idea was to build continuity and momentum, and it seemed to work when they won at Hazeltine in 2016.
Now, maybe it's back to the drawing board.
Mickelson, 48, was desperate to make this team because he saw it as his last chance to win a Ryder Cup on European soil. He wound up losing both his matches. He started the week by setting a record with his 12th Ryder Cup appearance. He ended it by setting a more dubious Ryder Cup record with 22 losses.
He wasn't alone. Tiger Woods went 0-4, the first time in his eight Ryder Cups that he failed to contribute a single point.
But this was more about the Europeans as a team, and they were tougher than ever on a course they know well.
"This team has been incredible from the start," Molinari said. "We were determined to do the job. Nothing was going to stop us. And you saw it on the course."
Trailing 10-6 going into the final day of singles, the Americans needed to put red points on the board early to build momentum. It never happened. Justin Thomas won the leadoff match over Rory McIlroy, but not until the 18th hole.
Webb Simpson and Tony Finau, the lone bright spot among the wild-card picks for U.S. captain Jim Furyk, won easily. Behind them, Woods was hanging tough against Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson started to pull ahead of Ian Poulter.
"There's always a moment where it looks like a spark of light," Furyk said. "When it was there for us, Europe played really well."
It wasn't there long.
Rahm won two straight holes with pars to seize control. Johnson went from 1-up to 2-down in a four-hole stretch that ended his chances.
Rahm dropped his putter after making a 5-foot birdie on the 17th hole as Woods stood to the side of the green, arms crossed. One week ago, he overcame four back surgeries to win for the 80th time on the Tour Championship, a signal that he was all the way back.
And then at the Ryder Cup, it was another result with which he is far too familiar. Woods has played on only one winning team in 1999.
"It's disappointing because I went 0-4, and that's four points to the European team," he said. "And I'm one of the contributing factors to why we lost the cup, and it's not a lot of fun. It's frustrating because I thought we were all playing pretty well, and I just didn't perform at the level that I had been playing, and just got behind early in the matches and never got back."
Thorbjorn Olesen, who had played only one match the previous two days, went 5-up at the turn over Jordan Spieth and won in 14 holes. Spieth is now 0-6 in singles matches in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
Sergio Garcia was in tears.
He played so poorly this year that he failed to qualify for the PGA Tour's postseason. Thomas Bjorn picked him anyway, saying he was like the captain of a football team. Garcia showed why by going 3-1. That final victory over Rickie Fowler made Garcia the biggest contributor in Ryder Cup history with 25½ points.
But this was more about team, and about redemption, even for a team that now has won nine of the past 12 times.
"We took a really tough loss at Hazeltine a couple of years ago and that stung," McIlroy said. "That was my first experience of what it feels like to be on the other side, so coming in here, obviously none of us want to feel like Sunday afternoon."
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Awards ceremony
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September 2018
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['(AP via ESPN)']
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Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is reported to have blown up the ancient Baalshamin temple in Palmyra, Syria.
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Syria's head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on Sunday. The UK -based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that it happened a month ago.
IS took control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears for the site.
It is considered one of the ancient world's most important cultural centres.
The ancient city, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, is famed for its well-preserved Graeco-Roman ruins, and the Baalshamin temple, built nearly 2,000 years ago, is one of the city's best-known buildings.
The Islamic State group has destroyed several ancient sites in Iraq. The militants believe any shrines or statues implying the existence of another deity are sacrilege and idolatry, and should be destroyed.
IS "placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin today [Sunday] and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple," Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karim told AFP news agency.
"The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed," he said.
Emma Loosley, a professor at Exeter University who lived near the ancient city for three years, said the temple's cella was "pretty much perfect". "I can't think of another temple as beautifully preserved as the temple of Baalshamin, and what was special about Palmyra was that it was a unique culture," she told the BBC. "It had its own gods, its own form of art and architecture that you don't get anywhere else."
IS threat to 'Venice of the Sands'
Syrian ruins that influenced the West
Palmyra 'was archaeologist's passion'
Your memories of Palmyra
The Baalshamin temple is dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and fertilising rains, and was almost completely intact. The oldest parts of the temple are thought to have dated from the year 17AD. Residents who had fled from Palmyra also said IS had planted explosives at the temple, although they had done it about one month ago, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Last month, IS published photos of militants destroying what it said were artefacts looted at Palmyra. A week ago, it emerged that the archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra's ruins for four decades, Khaled al-Asaad, had been beheaded by the militant group.
Mr Abdul Karim said the 81-year-old had refused to tell IS where some treasures had been hidden, in an effort to save them. The group has also published photos of what they said was the destruction of two Islamic shrines near Palmyra, which they described as "manifestations of polytheism".
The modern city of Palmyra - known locally as Tadmur - is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.
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Armed Conflict
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August 2015
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['(BBC)']
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Democrat Mary Landrieu loses her bid for a fourth term representing Louisiana in the United States Senate to Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy in Saturday's runoff election, increasing the GOP majority in the U.S. Senate to 54 seats.
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BATON ROUGE — Republicans completed their conquest of the Senate on Saturday when Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy easily defeated Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in a runoff election in Louisiana.
The final tally was 56 percent for Cassidy and 44 percent for Landrieu.
"This victory belongs to you," Cassidy told his supporters in Baton Rouge. "The people of Louisiana voted for a government that serves us but does not tell us what to do."
The result gives the GOP its ninth Senate-seat pickup in this year's elections. Republicans will have 54 Senate seats next year, and Democrats will control 46.
Cassidy capitalized on Louisiana's increasingly conservative tilt and Landrieu's shared party affiliation with President Obama, who is widely disliked in Louisiana.
Landrieu thanked supporters at her election headquarters in New Orleans.
"The joy has been in the fight," she said, recalling her battles to send federal money to Louisiana after the 2005 hurricanes and the 2010 BP oil spill. "It's been a blessing. It's been a fight worth waging."
Landrieu, the only Democratic senator from the Deep South and the only remaining Democrat elected statewide in Louisiana, worked during her campaign to distance herself from Obama, noting that she had opposed the administration's moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill, and supported construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Cassidy, meanwhile, repeatedly told voters Landrieu has voted in line with Obama's positions 97% of the time and reminded them that she voted in 2010 for the Affordable Care Act, which is unpopular in Louisiana.
That strategy seemed to be effective. An average of polling data compiled by RealClearPolitics had Cassidy ahead leading by 20 points heading into the runoff.
"All Bill Cassidy has to do is take a knee and let the time run out," Joshua Stockley, political science professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, said ahead of the final vote count Saturday.
Jeffrey Sadow, a political scientist at Louisiana State University at Shreveport, said Landrieu's vote for the 2010 health care law "basically kind of broke the dam" in terms of her ability to win election to a fourth term.
Sadow said both candidates did a good job with the hands they were dealt.
"It's just that Cassidy had a much better hand to begin with, and he didn't squander it,'' he said.
Cassidy's obvious edge helped convince national Democratic Party committees that Landrieu wasn't a solid investment and their money would be better used elsewhere. Landrieu was badly outspent in the weeks leading up to the runoff.
Landrieu, 59, focused on maximizing turnout among black voters, but the breakdown of people casting early ballots suggested they would not participate in large numbers.
The race was marked by negative attacks from each side. In the final days of the race, Landrieu accused Cassidy, a part-time teaching physician at Louisiana State University, of charging the school for hours that he never worked. Cassidy denied any wrongdoing.
Cassidy and his supporters attacked Landrieu for improperly spending taxpayer money on charter flights that included campaign stops. Landrieu apologized and said her campaign reimbursed the federal government for the flights.
With Landrieu's hopes for re-election in serious peril, Democratic leaders in the Senate arranged to hold a vote on her legislation to approve the Keystone pipeline, hoping passage of the bill would boost her chances in the runoff. But the bill came one vote short of passing, a stinging defeat. A similar bill backed by Cassidy, meanwhile, passed in the House.
Landrieu's campaign touted her chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but once it was clear the Nov. 4 elections had given Republicans control of the Senate in the next Congress, her committee post essentially became a non-issue.
Baton Rouge pollster Bernie Pinsonat said no polls had been conducted on the Senate race for some time because "you don't spend money on polls when you know the outcome."
"The bottom line is, it's not about Cassidy," Pinsonat said. "It's about Landrieu and her support of Barack Obama. Barack Obama got 18% of the white vote in Louisiana when he won. Mary Landrieu got 18% of the white vote on Nov. 4."
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Government Job change - Election
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December 2014
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['(USA Today)', '(Newsweek)']
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Twenty-two civilians are killed by Islamist militants in machete attacks in the town of Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Local leaders have accused a Ugandan rebel group, known as the Allied Democratic Forces, of killing civilians in an eastern town. Large parts of eastern DRC are in the grip of armed militias.
Islamist rebels hacked to death at least 22 civilians in Beni, a town in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), local officials said on Sunday
The attack, which was carried out overnight Saturday, was blamed on rebel fighters from the radical Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), according to Noella Katsongerwaki, civil society president in Beni.
"The enemy operated silently. We have already found 22 bodies and the search continues," Katsongerwaki told German press agency dpa.
The victims were farmers and included 13 women, Agence France-Pressereported, citingKatsongerwaki.
UN peacekeepers
The ADF, an Islamist-rooted militia formed in Uganda in 1995, is one of a wide variety of armed groups operating in the region.
It repeatedly carries out attacks around Beni. It has been accused of killing thousands of people, including UN peacekeepers.
More than 100 people have died in assaults blamed on the ADF since the start of November.
The ADF has a long rap sheet of human rights abuses and is thought to be entwined in criminal networks funded by kidnappings, smuggling and logging.
The United Nations has tried to stabilize the country for the past 20 years with one of the world's biggest UN peacekeeping forces, known as MONUSCO.
MONUSCO comprises more than 16,500 military personnel and observers, 1,300 police and at least 4,000 civilians.
Residents of Beni accuse MONUSCO of failing to protect them against the ADF.
Since 1999, the UN has been trying to pacify the eastern region of the DR Congo. The mission known as MONUSCO has nearly 20,000 soldiers and an annual budget of $1.4 billion (1.3 billion euros). Despite being the largest and most expensive mission of the United Nations, violence in the country continues.
UNAMID is a joint mission of the African Union and the UN in Sudan's volatile Darfur region. Observers consider the mission a failure. "The UN Security Council should work harder at finding political solutions, rather than spending money for the military's long-term deployment," says security expert Thierry Vircoulon.
Since the beginning of South Sudan's civil war in 2013, nearly 4 million people have been displaced according to the UN. Some of them are being sheltered in UN compounds. But when clashes between government forces and rebels broke out in the capital Juba in July 2016, the blue helmets failed to effectively intervene. Later, the Kenyan UNMISS commander was sacked by former UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
UN peacekeepers in Mali are monitoring compliance with the peace agreement between the government and an alliance of Tuareg-led rebels. But Islamist terrorist groups such as AQIM continue to carry out attacks making MINUSMA one of the UN's most dangerous military intervention in the world. Germany has deployed more than 700 soldiers as well as helicopters. MINUSCA, the UN's mission in Central Africa Republic has not helped to improve the image of the United Nations in Africa. French troops have been accused of sexually abusing children by the Code Blue Campaign. Three years on, victims haven't got any help from the UN. Since 2014, 10,000 soldiers and 1,800 police officers have been deployed. Violence in the country has receded but tensions remain.
The UN mission in the Westsahara known as MINURSO has been active since 1991. MINURSO is there to monitor the armistice between Morocco and the rebels of the "Frente Polisario" who are fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara. In 2016, Morocco which has occupied this territory since 1976, dismissed 84 MINURSO staff after being angered by a statement from the UN Secretary-General.
The UN mission in Ivory Coast fulfilled its objectives on June 30, 2016 after 14 years. Since 2016, the troops have been gradually withdrawn. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this was a "turning point for the United Nations and the Ivory Coast." But only after the full withdrawal will it be clearly known whether or not the mission was successful on a long-term basis.
The UN deployment in Liberia is - as in neighboring Ivory Coast - will soon be history. The soldiers are leaving by mid-2017. Since the end of the 14-year civil war, UNMIL has ensured stability in Liberia and helped build a functioning state. Liberia's government now wants to provide security for itself. The country is still struggling with the consequences of a devastating Ebola epidemic.
The UNISFA soldiers are patrolling the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei. Sudan and South Sudan both claim to be rightful owners of this territory located between the two countries. More than 4,000 blue helmets from Ethiopia are deployed. Ethiopia is the world's second largest peace-keeping contributor. At the same time, the Ethiopian army is accused of human rights violations back home.
UN peacekeepers in Somalia are fighting under the leadership of the African Union in a mission known as AMISOM. The soldiers are in the Horn of African country to battle the al-Shabaab Islamists and bring stability to the war-torn nation. Ethiopia, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria have all contributed their troops for AMISOM.
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Armed Conflict
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December 2019
|
['(Reuters)', '(DW News)']
|
Lionel Messi breaks Gerd Müller's scoring record for a single European football season with a league hat–trick as Barcelona defeat Malaga.
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Last updated on 2 May 20122 May 2012.From the section Football
Real Madrid clinched the La Liga title for the first time since 2008 after their 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed their 32nd league crown.
Despite Barcelona's 4-1 win over Malaga, Jose Mourinho's men hold a seven-point lead with two games to go.
The Portuguese becomes the third coach to win league titles in four different countries after triumphs with Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
Mourinho joins Austrian Ernst Happel and Italian veteran Giovanni Trapattoni in the elite club.
"I won the league title in Portugal, Italy and England, but this one has been the toughest," said Mourinho.
"I've won seven league titles overall and I know what it feels like. Barcelona won all their games, as befits the great team that they are. They've been winning to the very last day.
"They are a club with great tradition that knows we deserved to win this title."
Midfielder Xabi Alonso added: "We finally managed to win La Liga. It's been a long season and there's a lot of merit in winning the title with two games left in the championship. We have to enjoy it now.
Real Madrid have now won nine league titles in years featuring the summer Olympic games
"We competed all season with a great opponent like Barcelona, and that's why there's so much merit in winning the title before the campaign ends. We've had a great run."
The success provides much relief for Los Blancos fans after their disappointing defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final.
Having converted 25 consecutive spot-kicks, Ronaldo saw his penalty saved by Manuel Neuer in the shoot-out against the Germans.
And once again, the former Manchester United man was off target, with his penalty kept out by Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz. Higuain gave Real the lead with an arrowing effort into the top corner, and Ronaldo was involved again, laying on Ozil, who tapped in at the back post, before the Portugal international completed the scoring with a header.
Earlier in the day, Lionel Messi broke the record for goals in a top-flight European season as he took his Barcelona tally to 68 with a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Malaga. Bayern Munich legend Gerd Mueller's record had stood for 39 years but that mark was bettered as Messi claimed his ninth treble of the season.
Ajax sealed their 31st Dutch title with a straightforward 2-0 win over VVV Venlo.
The victory put them beyond the reaches of Feyenoord with one match remaining.
Swiss midfielder Siem de Jong's double inside the hour was enough to start the party in the Amsterdam Arena.
AC Milan moved to within a point of Italian league leaders Juventus after the defending champions beat Atalanta 2-0 after goals from Sulley Muntari and Robinho, while Juve drew with lowly Lecce 1-1 in Turin. There are two matches remaining in Serie A.
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Sports Competition
|
May 2012
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['(GOAL)', '(National Post)', '(BBC)']
|
Four humvees packed with explosives controlled by suicide bombers kill 23, including eight election workers, in the province of Kandahar. The Taliban claimed 57 were killed.
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KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 19 people in an attack on a government office on Saturday night, officials said, in the latest episode of violence in Afghanistan as peace talks continue to end the war.
Election workers were registering voters ahead of presidential elections in September at an office in the Maroof district of the southern Kandahar province when fighters of the hardline Islamist group launched an attack using four Humvee vehicles, officials said.
Eight election workers were killed, they said. Eleven Afghan security force members were also killed alongside the four suicide bombers, said Tadeen Khan, the police chief of Kandahar.
The Taliban, which rejects the election process, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the group’s fighters also killed 57 members of the Afghan security forces in the attack and captured 11 others, but Afghan officials disputed the account.
The interior ministry in a statement said 25 Taliban insurgents were killed in the clash.
The Taliban, which controls or contests half the country, more than at any time since being overthrown by the U.S. invasion in 2001, has rejected calls for a ceasefire.
Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces has intensified even as leaders of the Taliban and U.S. officials hold peace talks in Qatar to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
In a separate attack, Taliban fighters killed eight Afghan soldiers and injured eight others at a military checkpoint in Balabulak district in the western province of Farah, a local official said.
Mahmood Naemi, the deputy chief of the Farah council, said the clashes ended after Afghan forces launched air strikes.
“Many Taliban fighters were killed in the air strike,” said Naemi.
In the northern province of Takhar, over 600 villagers fled as Taliban fighters seized large areas of the province during heavy fighting in recent days, government officials said.
The pace of talks between the United States and Taliban in Doha has sped up as Afghanistan heads for presidential elections on September 28.
Qatar’s government, which is mediating the peace process between the United States and the Taliban, on Sunday said the two sides discussed the withdrawal of foreign troops, preventing militants from using Afghanistan to harm the United States or other countries and a comprehensive ceasefire.
“They (U.S. and Taliban) also stressed the mutual desire of both sides to move quickly and make tangible progress,” the ministry said.
About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations.
The Taliban wants a complete withdrawal of foreign forces before they hold talks with the Afghan government or declare a ceasefire.
Reporting by Sarwar Amani in Kandahar, Storay Karimi, Jalil Ahmad Rezayee in Herat, Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Deepa Babington
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Armed Conflict
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June 2019
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['(Reuters)']
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Stephen Harper is elected as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, winning 56% of the possible points on the first ballot.
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Voting will happen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 20. A number of speakers will address the event between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. including Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. The event co-chairs will begin the process of releasing results around 4 p.m. and expect to announce the new leader around 5:30 p.m.
The three candidates to lead the Conservative party are campaigning in Ontario this week as the race draws to an end. Who has the best chance of beating Paul Martin? Who will win the race and who should win?
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Government Job change - Election
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March 2004
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['(Global TV)', '(CBC)', '(Globe and Mail)']
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A man stabs five people at the central police headquarters in the French capital of Paris, killing three officers and an administrative worker. The attacker, who was shot dead by other officers, was an admin worker at the station.
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A knife-wielding employee has killed three officers and one administrative worker at police headquarters in the centre of the French capital, Paris. The attacker, who has not been named, was shot dead by police.
Witnesses described scenes of panic, with many people fleeing the building in tears. The area in the île de la Cité was sealed off. The attack came a day after police went on strike across France over increasing violence towards officers.
The Paris prosecutor said a murder investigation had been launched.
A motive for the attack remains unclear. However, police union officials have suggested the attacker may have been involved in a workplace dispute.
At about 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT; 12:00 BST), the attacker is said to have gone into the building and straight to his office where he began attacking colleagues with a knife.
He stabbed three people inside two offices and two women on a stairway, before he was shot dead by an officer inside the building's courtyard, according to French media. Three men and one woman were killed, Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz told reporters.
A fifth person was critically injured in the attack, and was sent for surgery. The building is near major tourist sites including the Notre-Dame cathedral.
"Police were running around in panic," a witness who was inside the courtyard at the time of the attack told Le Parisien newspaper.
"I was surprised to hear shooting because this is not a place where you hear that kind of thing. I first thought it was a suicide because there are a lot of those at the moment," he added.
President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner have all visited the site. "You wait. One of these days there's going to be a real tragedy in the police."
Those words were said to the BBC by an officer attending Wednesday's big demo in Paris, called to draw attention to the alarming rise in police suicides. He could have no idea that the next day four of his colleagues would be knifed to death by another colleague at the Paris Prefecture.
But the truth is we know nothing about the motives of the attacker.
On the face of it he was an administrative worker, facing none of the day-to-day pressures of police officers on the street. One police union member said the killings could have happened anywhere - a factory, a hospital, a farm. The police link was coincidental.
This evening reports are being carried by two reputable French news outlets that the man was a recent convert to Islam. Is that true? Is it relevant? We do need to wait.
According to the interior minister, he was a 45-year-old IT specialist who had worked for the Paris police force for 16 years.
Officials said he had been working in the force's intelligence division.
Mr Castaner said there had been no warning signs about the attacker, adding: "On the face of it, he looked a model employee."
Police have searched his home in the north of the city and taken his wife into custody, although the Paris prosecutor's office said she has not been charged.
There were tensions between the knifeman and his supervisor, according to police union official Christophe Crepin.
"I do not think this is a terrorist act," Mr Crepin, who knew the attacker, told Franceinfo Radio.
Police union leader Jean-Marc Bailleul described it as a criminal act, telling BFMTV: "It was a moment of madness."
The attack follows a rare nationwide police strike on Wednesday, which saw thousands of officers demonstrating in Paris over working hours, shortages in resources and controversial pension reforms. Police unions say there have been more than 50 suicides by police officers since the start of the year. They blame the rising numbers on difficult working conditions and increasing violence towards police.
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Riot
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October 2019
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['(BBC)']
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The United Arab Emirates tells the UN Security Council that a "state actor" was most likely behind the May 12 attacks on four tankers off its coast, including ones from Saudi Arabia and Norway. UAE did not say who it suspected; the United States blamed Iran which denied the accusation.
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The United Arab Emirates has told the UN Security Council a "state actor" was most likely behind attacks on four tankers off its coast.
The 12 May attacks bore the hallmarks of a "sophisticated and co-ordinated operation", according to its report.
The UAE did not say who it thought was behind the attacks, which also targeted vessels from Saudi Arabia and Norway.
The US has accused Iran of being behind the attacks but Tehran denies this and has called for an investigation.
The attacks took place within UAE territorial waters east of the emirate of Fujairah, just outside the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, in what the UAE called a "sabotage attack".
They exacerbated long-standing tensions between Iran, and the US and its allies in the Gulf. According to the UAE-led investigation, which was presented to a closed session of the UN Security Council in New York, the attacks showed a "high degree of sophistication".
"The attacks required the expert navigation of fast boats" which "were able to intrude into UAE territorial waters", the report's preliminary findings say. Divers were used to attack the ships using limpet mines in order to cause damage but not cause a major explosion, the presentation says.
There were no casualties but Saudi Arabia has said two of its ships suffered "significant" damage. Another tanker was Norwegian-registered, while the fourth was UAE-flagged.
There are two aspects to the tensions under way in the Gulf. One practical - what the Americans insist is a real threat from Iran and its allies in the region - and a political one - a push by Washington and its key Gulf allies to paint Iran as an imminent threat to peace. The latest UAE-led findings on the tanker attacks last month have to be seen in this context. At the UN they - along with Saudi Arabia and Norway - blamed a "state actor" but stopped short of specifically naming Iran. But then US officials have already said Iran was responsible, with reports that the US Navy tracked a flotilla of small Iranian vessels from which they believe divers operated to mine the ships. So the accusations are not new as such, though made in a more formal setting. But they underscore the pressure-cooker atmosphere in the region with any mistake or misunderstanding by either side risking a serious military engagement. The attacks happened at a time of escalating tension between the US and Iran, long-time foes.
They took place days after the US sent warships and bombers to the region in response to what it said was an unspecified plan by Iran to attack US forces in the area.
While it is unclear why Iran would carry out a relatively low-level attack on the multinational tankers, observers have speculated that it could have been to send a signal to forces ranged against it that it is capable of disrupting shipping there without triggering a war.
Responding to the UAE report, the Saudi Ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Y al-Mouallimi, said the kingdom believed "that the responsibility for this action lies on the shoulders of Iran. We have no hesitation in making this statement," Reuters news agency reported.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton previously said "naval mines almost certainly from Iran" were to blame for the damage, although he provided no evidence to support the allegation.
Iran's foreign ministry has rejected the US accusations as "ludicrous" and accused Mr Bolton of being a "warmonger". Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that the Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, had provided the US with unspecified material linking Iran to the attacks.
An unnamed senior Israeli official said on Thursday that Israel had evidence that "the Iranians did it… without a doubt, either directly or by proxies".
The Trump administration has taken a hard line towards Iran, accusing it of being a destabilising force in the Middle East. For its part, Iran has accused the US of aggressive behaviour.
Tensions increased last month when Washington ended exemptions from sanctions for countries still buying oil from Iran. Washington reinstated sanctions a year ago when it abandoned an international nuclear deal curbing Iran's nuclear programme.
The decision was intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the government its main source of revenue.
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Armed Conflict
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June 2019
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['(BBC)']
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A 30–year–old man is arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after he allegedly threatened to kill his father and his ex–girlfriends, as well as blow up the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. Explosive devices are discovered in his Upper West Side apartment.
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Submit April 14, 2020 | 1:06pm | Updated April 14, 2020 | 2:51pm
A mad-as-a-hatter Manhattan man was arrested for threatening to blow up Central Park’s Alice in Wonderland statue with a pipe bomb, according to cops and sources.
Would-be bomber Kevin Fallon, 30, went down the rabbit hole April 9, when he allegedly sent a text to friends and family announcing his intention to blow up the 1959 bronze statue depicting the Lewis Carroll tale’s famously fraught tea party, court documents show.
On Saturday, he allegedly sent loved ones — including an ex-girlfriend and his father — photos of a pipe bomb and rifle ammunition along with a chilling threat to “look both ways before you cross the street. This is going to hurt. None of you are safe. I am lethal,” according to court documents.
Another missive included a photo of an apparent pipe bomb with a wristwatch attached to it, and said “the alarm clock bomb is for real. When I give it to him it will be filled with powder and ready to detonate,” according to court records, which identify “him” only as one of the people he was texting with.
The NYPD conducted a wellness check on his Upper West Side apartment at his mom’s request on Saturday, finding “three pipe bombs,” rifle ammunition, and multiple knives that had been “taped together,” sources and court documents said.
Both the NYPD Emergency Services Unit and the Bomb Squad were called in and found that the bombs weren’t functional, sources said.
Later that day, Fallon was tracked to a hotel in the Theater District, where he was taken into custody by the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, sources said.
He was arraigned Monday and his charges include making a terroristic threat and criminal possession of a weapon, according to court documents.
Fallon is being held on Rikers Island with a bail of $50,000. His next court date will be on July 13, public records show.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest
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April 2020
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['(The New York Post)', '(Yahoo! News)']
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A gunman opens fire on an Amsterdam to Paris train leaving four people wounded. ,
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Police investigate incident near Arras, France, in which three US citizens two of them soldiers prevented attack by suspect reportedly armed with AK-47
First published on Fri 21 Aug 2015 19.41 BST
A heavily armed gunman has opened fire on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris before being overpowered by three US citizens, two of whom were soldiers. Two people were injured in the attack, including one of the Americans, who was admitted to hospital with serious injuries to his hand that needed surgery.
Barack Obama described the men as heroic following the attack on Friday.
A British passenger, Chris Norman, helped the Americans tie up the suspect, and French anti-terrorist police are now questioning him. He was arrested after the train made an emergency stop at Arras, near the French-Belgian border. The suspect’s motive was not immediately known, but French prosecutors said counter-terrorism investigators were launching an inquiry. According to early briefings, the gunman, 26, was known to French intelligence services and was Moroccan or of Moroccan origin.
Belgian prosecutors said on Saturday they had formally opened an anti-terrorism investigation. “We have opened an inquiry as the suspect boarded the train in Brussels,” Eric van der Sypt, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, said.
The shooting happened just before 6pm in the last carriage of the train, which was carrying 554 passengers. The man had several weapons in his luggage, including a Kalashnikov, an automatic pistol and razor blades.
Two of the Americans were in the military, their travelling companion and childhood friend Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, said. The one injured was named as air force serviceman Spencer Stone from Sacramento, California. The other was Alek Skarlatos, of Roseburg, Oregon.
“We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle,” Sadler said. The trio then saw a gunman entering the carriage with an automatic rifle, he added.
“As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells: ‘Spencer, go!’ and Spencer runs down the aisle,” Sadler said. “Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.”
Sadler later told AFP the gunman had demanded his weapon back. He said: “He was just telling us to give back his gun. ‘Give me back my gun! Give me back my gun!’ But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it.
“I’m just a college student. I came to see my friends for my first trip to Europe and we stop a terrorist. It’s kind of crazy.”
Skarlatos, who had recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the national guard, told Sky News the gunman’s AK-47 had jammed and that he had not known how to fix it. “If that guy’s weapon had been functioning properly, I don’t even want to think about how it would have went,” he said. “We just did what we had to do. You either run away or fight. We chose to fight and got lucky and didn’t die.”
Norman helped tie the gunman up while Stone helped another passenger who had been wounded in the throat and was losing blood.
“I just applaud my friends for being on point,” Sadler told Sky News. “If Alek didn’t yell ‘Go!’ and Spencer didn’t get up straight away, who knows how many people he would have shot.”
Norman, a 62-year-old consultant who lives in France, sad he had initially ducked down in his seat when he saw the man enter the carriage carrying a gun. “I came in at the end and I guess just helped get the guy under control at the end of it all,” he told French reporters. “We ended up by tying him up, then during the process the guy actually pulled out a cutter and starting cutting Spencer.
“He cut Spencer behind the neck, he nearly cut his thumb off too. Spencer held him and we eventually got him under control. He went unconscious, I think.”
The French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who appeared in the 1986 cult film Betty Blue with Beatrice Dalle, was also lightly injured in the incident. He was reportedly hurt while breaking the glass to activate the train alarm.
The suspect is believed to have boarded the train in Belgium and the shooting took place as the train was travelling through Belgian territory. The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, tweeted his condemnation of what he called a “terrorist attack”.
Je condamne l'attaque terroriste dans le @thalys_fr et fais part de ma sympathie pour les victimes.
France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, who rushed to Arras, said the US passengers “were particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances”. “Without their sangfroid, we could have been confronted with a terrible drama,” he said. He described the incident as an act of “barbaric violence”. The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, also expressed his gratitude to the soldiers.
A White House official told reporters that Obama had been briefed on the shooting and said: “While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy.”
The French president, Franois Hollande, said: “All is being done to shed light on this drama.” He had spoken to the Belgian prime minister and the two countries were cooperating on the investigation, he added.
“The passengers are safe, the situation has been brought under control,” the train operator, Thalys, said. The company is jointly owned by the national rail companies of Belgium, France and Germany.
Passengers in other carriages described on French TV how the train braked several times before pulling into Arras. Train alarms had sounded on board and passengers in other carriages had heard staff communicating with each other by loudspeaker about an ongoing incident just before the train pulled in.
The passengers were taken to a gymnasium in Arras, where several were treated for shock, French media reported. One, Patrick Arres, 51, told AFP that when the train pulled into Arras station, he saw more than 30 armed police on the tracks. “They were looking for someone. People were scared.”
Passengers arrived early on Saturday at Paris’s Gare du Nord station, where they were greeted by a large group of staff from SNCF, the French national rail company, with water, meals and help finding hotels and taxis.
France remains on high alert after January’s terrorist attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris, in which gunmen killed 17 people. In May last year, four people, including two Israeli tourists, were killed when a French gunman opened fire at the Jewish museum in Brussels.
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Armed Conflict
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August 2015
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['(The Guardian)', '(NBC news)']
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The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates travel to the Middle East to offer increased aid to allies of the United States and to seek advice on Iraq.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates headed for the Middle East on Monday, armed with big military aid plans for allies and seeking their help with Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are seen in Crawford, Texas, May 21, 2007. The United States on Monday announced a proposed $13 billion military aid package for Egypt and a $30 billion package for Israel, along with plans to provide such aid to Saudi Arabia and Gulf states. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Rice said Washington planned to offer Egypt a $13 billion package and Israel a $30 billion deal -- increases on previous military funding -- over 10 years, as well as unspecified defense aid to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
“This effort will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran,” Rice said.
On a rare joint trip, the two Cabinet secretaries will hold meetings with leaders in Egypt and Saudi Arabia before going their separate ways to other destinations in the region.
Administration officials say the visit is meant to send a signal to long-standing U.S. allies in the Middle East that the United States remains committed to the region despite its problems in Iraq and the growing strength of Iran.
The Saudi package is expected to upgrade the country’s missile defenses and air force and increase its naval capabilities, a defense official told Reuters on Saturday. The package for Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries could reach $20 billion over 10 years, the official said.
The proposed packages still have to be approved by Congress and there is expected to be opposition by some lawmakers, particularly over assistance to Saudi Arabia, which critics accuse of not helping U.S. efforts in Iraq.
U.S. officials have urged Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab countries to do more to support the U.S.-backed Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
“We need cooperation and help from all our friends in the area to deal effectively with the situation in Iraq,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday.
“On Iraq, we would benefit, the Iraqis will benefit, the region will benefit from a more enhanced Saudi cooperation towards stabilizing the situation,” he told reporters.
Related Coverage
Many Sunni-led governments harbor strong reservations about Maliki’s Shi’ite-led administration, believing it to be too weak to establish order in Iraq and too close politically to Shi’ite-dominated Iran.
Washington wants clear statements from the leaders of Sunni Arab countries that they recognize Maliki’s government as a legitimate partner and that there can be no justification for insurgent and militant violence in Iraq.
“No Sunni will help themselves by killing Shia, just as no Shia advances long-term Shia security by killing innocent Sunnis,” said a senior State Department official, briefing reporters ahead of the trip.
“The message on all sides has to be very clear about this.”
Rice and Gates will meet ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Jordan and Egypt in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.
The council groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. officials have long made clear they would like neighbors to help more in stabilizing Iraq but the results of their efforts have been limited and analysts have questioned how much impact Rice and Gates can have on this trip.
In a speech in Cairo in April, Gates himself bluntly warned Middle Eastern countries that the consequences of a complete collapse of order in Iraq would be felt in the region well before it affected the United States.
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Diplomatic Visit
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July 2007
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['(Reuters)']
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A Turkish court sentences seven convicted Al Qaeda associates to life imprisonment for their involvement in the 2003 Istanbul bombings.
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ABC Home | Radio | Television | News | Your Local ABC | More Subjects… | Shop
A Turkish court has handed down life sentences to seven Al Qaeda associates for their involvement in deadly suicide bombings against Jewish and British targets in Istanbul in 2003.
Among them was Syrian national Louia Sakka, who masterminded and provided the financing for the November attacks against two synagogues, the British consulate and the British bank HSBC.
The remaining six were Turkish citizens convicted of organising the bombings, which killed 63 people and injured some 600 others.
The court ruled that five of those sentenced to life, including Sakka, should not be allowed to benefit from any sentence reductions or amnesties.
Another defendant, Seyit Ertul, was sentenced to 18 years in jail for being a local leader of Al Qaeda in Turkey while Hamed Obysi, a Syrian accomplice of Sakka, received 12 years and six months for various charges including possession of explosives.
When the court delivered its verdict, Fevzi Yitiz, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, shouted "Long live hell for the infidels!" while Ertul chanted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great".
Twenty-nine of the remaining defendants were given six years and three months for membership of Al Qaeda, while 10 other defendants were sentenced to three years and nine months for aiding and abetting the terrorist organisation.
The remaining 26 defendants were acquitted.
Among those the court ruled on was a man whose case was included in the trial during today's proceedings, bringing the total number of defendants to 74.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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February 2007
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['(AFP via ABC Australia Online)']
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Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains has caused over 100 deaths in India over the past week with tens of thousands of people taking shelter in refugee camps.
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Heavy monsoon rains in India have killed more than 100 people in the past week and forced tens of thousands of people to take shelter in relief camps, India's home ministry has said. A cyclone struck the state of West Bengal, killing 48 people in flood-related incidents. More than 200,000 people have moved to relief camps.
India regularly witnesses severe floods during the monsoon season.
In Myanmar (also known as Burma), floods have left at least 47 dead.
Wind and rain from Cyclone Komen added to damage in India in recent days.
Nearly four million people in 10,000 villages have been affected by the floods in the worst-affected Indian state of West Bengal, the home ministry said.
More than 200 medical teams using 120 boats have reached the flood-hit areas in an effort to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases.
Elsewhere:
On Saturday, at least 20 people were killed after a landslide in the north-eastern state of Manipur buried a while village. India receives 80% of its annual rainfall during the monsoon between June and September.
Meanwhile, incessant rain over several weeks has led to flooding and landslides in much of Myanmar. The refugee camps in Rakhine near the nation's capital Sitwe - which has been declared a disaster zone - have been damaged. The UN said 140,000 people are living in the camps. Most are Rohingya Muslims.
Monsoon triggers landslides in Vietnam
On the trail of Myanmar's Rohingya
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Floods
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August 2015
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['(BBC)']
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In golf, American Justin Thomas wins the PGA Championship for his first career major title.
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He had access to the clubhouse at Valhalla in 2000 as the 7-year-old son of a PGA professional, and the thunder from the gallery reached his ears before the TV showed Tiger Woods making the most important putt of his career at that PGA Championship.
Thomas was barely big enough to dream of playing against the best that day. Now his name is on the same Wanamaker Trophy.
Thomas closed with a 3-under 68 on Sunday at Quail Hollow to emerge from the shadow of Jordan Spieth, his longtime friend, to capture his first major that belonged as much to him as the two generations of PGA professional that came before him.
"As a kid growing up, you want to win all the majors. You want to win any major," Thomas said after his two-shot victory. "For me, the PGA definitely had a special place in my heart, and maybe a special drive. It's just a great win for the family, and it's a moment we'll never forget -- all of us."
On this day, the cheers were for him.
They gave him chills when his 8-foot birdie putt teetered on the edge of the 10th hole for 12 seconds before it finally dropped, when he chipped in from 40 feet on the 13th hole to seize control Sunday, and when he fired a 7-iron from 221 yards over the water to a peninsula green that all but sealed the victory.
Even more special than the trophy was seeing his father, Mike Thomas, walk toward with arms wide to wrap his only son in his arms. Thomas is the longtime pro at Harmony Landing outside Louisville, Kentucky and a former board member of the PGA of America. His father, Paul Thomas, is a 60-year PGA pro and the first one the 24-year-old Thomas called.
The week began with Spieth's quest for a career Grand Slam. He was at the 18th green late Sunday afternoon, but only so he could celebrate the moment with Thomas, close friends since they were 14.
"So awesome, dude," Spieth told him.
Thomas was every bit of that.
With five players still in the mix on the back nine, Thomas surged ahead by chipping in for birdie and holding his nerve down the stretch as his challengers eventually faded, one after another.
Hideki Matsuyama, bidding to become the first player from Japan to win a major, recovered from back-to-back bogeys with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to get within one shot. But the championship turned on the 16th hole.
Thomas faced a 6-foot par putt to stay at 8 under. Matsuyama caught a good lie over the green and chipped to 5 feet. Thomas wasted no time over the putt and drilled it in the center of the cup. Matsuyama missed and was two shots behind.
"The last major of the year, and I was in contention," said Matsuyama, a runner-up at the U.S. Open. "All I can do is try harder next time."
Thomas sealed it with that 7-iron on the 17th that was so pure that he let the club twirl through his hands as he watched it clear the water and roll out to 15 feet. The birdie putt curled in and his lead was up to three going to the 18th. A final bogey only affected the score.
Thomas finished at 8-under 276 for his fourth victory of the year.
"I can't put it into words," Thomas said about his PGA of America heritage. "I wish my grandpa could be here for it. It's so special to get it done. I'm glad we have a trophy now."
Kevin Kisner was the last one who had a chance to catch him. But he three-putted from 100 feet on the 16th for bogey, couldn't birdie the 17th from long range and hit his second shot into the water and finished with a double-bogey. Kisner, the 54-hole leader, played the final three holes in 6 over on the weekend. He closed with a 74.
"That's not going to be fun to look at," he said of his weekend finish over the brutal closing stretch at Quail Hollow. "I thought I had to get to 10 [under] starting the day to win, and that was about right. I had every opportunity. I just didn't finish it off."
Matsuyama also hit into the water on No. 18 and made bogey for a 72 to finish three back.
Louis Oosthuizen (70), Patrick Reed (67) and Francesco Molinari (67) tied for second, though none had a chance to win playing the 18th. Oosthuizen holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the 18th that made him a runner-up in all four majors.
For Reed, it was his first top 10 in a major.
Thomas began his move with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 9, and then caught two breaks on the par-5 10th. His tee shot sailed left into a tree and bounced out into the fairway. Then, his 8-foot birdie putt hung on the left edge of the cup until gravity finally took over. The rule allows a player reasonable time to get to the cup, so it dropped well within the 10-second limit.
Thomas gets referred to endlessly as Spieth's best friend because Spieth, who is three months younger, has done so much so quickly. Their friendship dates to France when they represented the U.S. in the Evian Junior Masters. Thomas won that 36-hole event.
Ten years later, they have won consecutive majors and head into the FedEx Cup playoffs battling for PGA Tour player of the year.
Thomas won both Hawaii events at the start of the year, shooting a 59 in the Sony Open and setting the 72-hole record on the PGA Tour. He said then his goals were high. And how are they now?
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Sports Competition
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August 2017
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['(AP via ESPN)']
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The U.S. Senate approves HR1424, a revised version of the proposed bailout of the nation's financial system.
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Senator Harry Reid expects the House of Representatives to approve the bill.
The Senate has approved a new version of a $700bn (£380bn) rescue plan for the troubled US financial system.
Senators voted 74 to 25 in favour of the emergency legislation, which is designed to buy up bad debts and stabilise financial markets.
It includes tax breaks for families and businesses, among other measures designed to win over sceptics.
The plan will now go before the House of Representatives, which narrowly rejected a similar bill on Monday.
President George W Bush praised Senate leaders for making "vital improvements to the rescue package" and urged the House to approve the measures.
News of the Senate vote failed to lift Asian markets. Japan's main Nikkei index ended down 1.9% and Australian stocks lost 0.6%, on wider fears about economic growth. But shares in London, Paris and Frankfurt opened up.
Added sweeteners
The original bill was criticised for pandering to the needs of Wall Street bankers at the expense of ordinary citizens.
The $700bn is designed to be used to buy up devalued assets from struggling firms to help kick-start the economy.
Since the House rejected the bill, politicians have added sweeteners such as tax breaks for small businesses and an increase in the amount of savings the state will guarantee - from $100,000 to $250,000.
The House is expected to vote again on the bill on Friday, and President Bush was keen to stress that the package was "essential to the financial security of every American".
"The American people expect - and our economy demands - that the House pass this good bill this week and send it to my desk," he said.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the architect of the initial bill who has been criticised over its failure, sounded buoyed by the Senate vote.
"This sends a positive signal that we stand ready to protect the US economy by making sure that Americans have access to the credit that is needed to create jobs and keep businesses going," he said.
Premature celebrations?
US presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama, who both returned from the campaign trail for the debate, voted in favour of the rescue plan. Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said he was happy with the result and praised both presidential candidates for voting.
"I think it shows that when we work together we can accomplish good things," he said.
Mitch McConnell, leader of Republican senators, was also in jubilant mood.
"This was a measure that was much needed, to unfreeze the credit markets and get America's economy working again," he said.
But the BBC's Jonathan Beale, in Washington, says the bill has passed only the first hurdle, and such celebrations could yet prove to be premature.
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Government Policy Changes
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October 2008
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['(BBC)']
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The entire coalition government of Finland resigns after a failure to deliver on healthcare reform, a month ahead of the country's general election. The coalition, made up of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's Centre Party, the conservative National Coalition Party and the Eurosceptic Blue Reform Party, were unable to agree on a package that would have slowed healthcare spending over the next decade. The government will be interim until April elections.
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HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s coalition government resigned on Friday a month ahead of a general election, saying it could not deliver on a healthcare reform package that is widely seen as crucial to securing long-term government finances.
Finnish government resigns over failed reform
01:01
Healthcare systems across much of the developed world have come under increasing stress in recent years as treatment costs soar and people live longer, meaning fewer workers are supporting more pensioners.
Nordic countries, where comprehensive welfare is the cornerstone of the social model, have been among the most affected. But reform has been controversial and, in Finland, plans to cut costs and boost efficiency have stalled for years.
“The picture I’ve got over the last few days from parliament forces me to draw conclusions. There is no way ahead. I am hugely disappointed,” Centre Party Prime Minister Juha Sipila told reporters at a news conference.
“We need reforms, there is no other way for Finland to succeed.”
Parliament’s constitutional committee said the reform package was unconstitutional and required significant changes the government did not have time to implement before the scheduled elections.
President Sauli Niinisto accepted Sipila’s resignation but asked his government of his Centre party and the National Coalition Party to continue in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet has been appointed.
“My government works on a ‘result or out’ principle... one has to carry responsibility in politics,” Sipila said, adding it was his personal decision to resign.
The government had aimed to dramatically slow the increase in healthcare spending over the next decade, reducing the budget to 18.3 billion euros in 2029 against an estimate of 21.3 billion.
The reforms expected to generate savings by creating 18 new regions to organize healthcare services instead of the 200 entities that are currently responsible. Critics said the scale of the projected savings was unrealistic.
Other Nordic countries have also grappled with the need to cut costs. Sweden is to gradually raise its retirement age and has opened up parts of the healthcare system to the private sector in a bid to boost efficiency.
Denmark will gradually increase the retirement age to 73 - the highest in the world - while cutting taxes and unemployment benefits to encourage people to work more.
The problem has been particularly acute in Finland where the financial crisis of 2008-9 magnified the effects of demographic changes such as a rapidly declining birth rate.
Several Finnish governments have tried to push through healthcare reform in different forms over the past 12 years -- all have failed.
Sipila had previously said he would dissolve his centre-right coalition government if it failed to push through its healthcare and local government reform.
With election so close, analysts said the effect of Sipila’s resignation would be minor.
“Since elections were already set for 14 April, the resignation of the government is not a big deal at all at this point. Still, it does create some ugly headlines,” Nordea’s chief analyst Jan von Gerich wrote on Twitter.
The latest poll by national broadcaster YLE puts the Social Democrats on 21.3 percent ahead of the National Coalition Party on 16.2 percent and the Centre on 14.1 percent.
In the 2015 general election Sipila’s Centre party topped the poll with 21.2 percent of the vote.
At 9.5 percent of GDP, Finland ranked ninth among EU countries in terms of how much it spent on healthcare in 2016, relative to the size of its economy, according to Eurostat figures. Spending has declined over recent years as a result of sluggish growth.
France topped the rankings at 11.5 percent of GDP with Germany second and Sweden third. Denmark was fifth. Non-EU member Norway would rank fourth.
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Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal
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March 2019
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['(Reuters)']
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The International Security Assistance Force reports that the Taliban are using white phosphorus in the Afghanistan War.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Militants continue to use a material not designed for use as a weapon against people to strike international forces in Afghanistan, the U.S.-coalition said Tuesday.
U.S. mortars using white phosphorous target Taliban in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, October 28, 2008.
White phosphorus, a smoke-producing agent commonly used to hide military operations, can cause severe burns. Groups such as the Human Rights Watch and other watchdogs oppose its use in civilian areas.
The coalition's assertions come on the heels of criticism of international military activities that affect civilians in Afghanistan and claims that coalition forces have used the chemical against people, a charge the United States denies.
Militants on Tuesday "mortared" a NATO-led "combat outpost with white phosphorus and high explosive rounds" in Paktika province, the coalition said. No injuries and damage were reported.
On Saturday, troops found white phosphorous mortar rounds in Bamiyan and a white phosphorus rocket in a military base in Nangarhar province.
The U.S. military earlier this month declassified a report of 44 events in Afghanistan in which it said insurgents "used or stockpiled" munitions made of white phosphorus.
"The data, obtained from incident reporting from February 2003 through the present, show that insurgents have stockpiled and used white phosphorus against personnel in both indirect fire attacks as well as improvised explosive devices," the military said.
The Taliban has alleged that U.S. forces used the chemical in fighting insurgents May 4 in Farah province and injured civilians, but that assertion has been denied by the U.S. military.
"We've checked our reports again, and no munitions containing white phosphorous were used by coalition forces in Farah," a senior official said. "It is U.S. military policy to employ white phosphorous for illumination, marking targets or destroying buildings, but to abstain from using it against people."
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Armed Conflict
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May 2009
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['(CNN)']
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Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders agree to work towards forming a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
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YOKOHAMA - PACIFIC Rim leaders including the US and China pledged Sunday to turn their dreams of a vast free-trade zone into reality, setting aside conflicts that marred the G-20 summit in Seoul. The 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group vowed to resist the forces of protectionism as the world recovers from a painful downturn, and maintain the region's role as a key growth engine. 'We remain committed to maintaining open markets and fighting protectionism. We reaffirm our common resolve to support the recovery in a collaborative and coordinated way,' they said in a statement. Echoing the language of the Group of 20 summit on Friday, they pledged to refrain from competitive currency devaluations and emphasised the need to establish more balanced and sustainable growth. Apec, which produces more than half the world's economic output and includes global heavyweights as well as minnows Brunei and Papua New Guinea, also agreed to extend until 2013 a ban on new barriers to trade and investment. China's President Hu Jintao warned protectionism had risen 'notably' in the Asia Pacific region and that the global recovery was 'neither firmly established nor balanced'.
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Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
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November 2010
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['(Straits Times)']
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Islamic militants allied to AlQaeda launch an attack on a convoy escorting Chinese workers in Mansoura, Algeria, killing 24 policemen.
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Islamist militants have killed 24 Algerian paramilitary policemen - in one of the worst single attacks this year, according to reports.
They were ambushed near the settlement of Mansoura, east of the capital, said Algerian newspapers. The convoy was reportedly escorting Chinese workers. There has been no official confirmation of the incident. Algeria's militants, many veterans of the 1990s civil war, operate under the name al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The ambush - reported by the En-Nahar and Echourouk newspapers, and confirmed by unnamed local sources to the AFP and AP news agencies - is said to have occurred late on Wednesday. 'Notoriously dangerous'
The paramilitary police were reported to be escorting Chinese contractors to a motorway project; it is not known if any of the workers were injured. The attackers had planted two improvised devices on the road 200km (124 miles) east of the capital, Algiers, and then opened fire on the convoy as the explosives went off, said reports. The insurgents are said to have escaped, taking with them weapons and six off-road vehicles. The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the roads heading east from Algiers into the rugged, mountainous parts of the country are a notoriously dangerous place to be. Overall the number of attacks in Algeria appears to be in decline, but in recent weeks there has been a sudden spike, he adds. The insurgents killed five paramilitary policemen late in May and a week later shot dead nine soldiers. Earlier this month al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, also known as al-Qaeda in North Africa, killed a British man, Edwin Dyer, who they had abducted in January from Niger.
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Armed Conflict
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June 2009
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['(Irish Times)', '(BBC)']
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Citing court rulings and privacy laws, the United States Department of Agriculture stops making its records of animal abuse available to the public online, which makes them available exclusively through Freedom of Information Act requests. It has not yet been revealed whether another Agency will now be responsible for the keeping and public hosting of such records.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports and other information from its website about the treatment of animals at thousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities.
In a statement, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision, which it said was the result of a “comprehensive review” that took place over the past year. It said the removed documents, which also included records of enforcement actions against violators of the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act, would now be accessible only via Freedom of Information Act Requests. Those can take years to be approved.
Should dogs be guinea pigs in government research labs? A bipartisan group says no.
“We remain equally committed to being transparent and responsive to our stakeholders’ informational needs, and maintaining the privacy rights of individuals with whom we come in contact,” the statement said.
The records that had been available were frequently used by animal welfare advocates to monitor government regulation of animal treatment at circuses, scientific labs and zoos. Journalists have used the documents to expose violations at universities.
Members of the public could also use the department’s online database to search for information about dog breeders, as could pet stores. Seven states currently require pet stores to source puppies from breeders with clean USDA inspection reports, according to the Humane Society of the United States — a requirement that could now be impossible to meet.
USDA removed animal welfare reports from its site. A showhorse lawsuit may be why.
Animal welfare organizations quickly condemned the removal of the information, which they called unexpected and said would allow animal abuse to go unchecked.
“The USDA action cloaks even the worst puppy mills in secrecy and allows abusers of Tennessee walking horses, zoo animals and lab animals to hide even the worst track records in animal welfare,” said John Goodwin, senior director of the Humane Society’s Stop Puppy Mills Campaign, which uses the federal records, as well as state inspection reports, to publish its annual “Horrible Hundred” dog breeding operations that have been cited for welfare violations.
How our political vitriol harms dogs
In a statement, Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called it “a shameful attempt to keep the public from knowing when and which laws and regulations have been violated. Many federally registered and licensed facilities have long histories of violations that have caused terrible suffering.”
It is unclear whether the decision to remove the animal-related records was driven by newly hired Trump administration officials. When asked questions about the change, a USDA-APHIS representative referred back to the department’s statement. The Associated Press reported that a department spokeswoman declined to say whether the removal was temporary or permanent.
Advocates for businesses that rely on animals, including agriculture and exotic pet breeders, have long resented government oversight that they say is overly aggressive and influenced by animal protection groups. Last month, Mindy Patterson, the president of the Cavalry Group — which describes its aim as “protecting and defending animal enterprise”– wrote a column accusing the USDA of having “succumbed to the pressure of animal rights extremists.” She said public USDA records had allowed groups like the Humane Society and PETA to vilify businesses by publishing their addresses and photographs of their locations and animals.
The column was published on the website Joe For America, which is maintained by Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man better known as “Joe the plumber” since a 2008 encounter with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama that made Wurzelbacher a symbol of frustrated American taxpayers.
Share information anonymously and securely with The Washington Post
The USDA website change came two days after Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) introduced a bill calling for more information about and a reduction in testing on animals at government research labs. The bill is backed by an advocacy group, the White Coat Waste Project, which says such testing is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Justin Goodman, the group’s vice president for advocacy and policy, said much of the information he has gathered on animal testing at hundreds of federal facilities — including inspection reports and annual reports that can include information on the species and numbers of animals used — came from the USDA-APHIS database. He said the department’s reference to privacy requirements were puzzling, because many of the documents were already heavily redacted.
The page where the information was located now brings up the announcement about its removal.
“There was already a troubling lack of transparency about what happens in government-funded labs,” Goodman said. “This was a very important resource for us, and for every animal organization, in terms of tracking patterns of animal use and compliance, whether it’s in labs or other settings.”
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Government Policy Changes
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February 2017
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['(The Washington Post)']
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels a trip to the United States for an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference that was to include a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he had declined a proposed meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in order to steer clear of the U.S. presidential election campaign, as Vice President Joe Biden began a two-day visit to Israel.
While candidates in the Republican and Democratic primaries have been vying to assert their credentials as friends of Israel, Obama is not up re-election in November, having served two terms.
It was the latest episode in a fraught relationship between the right-wing Israeli leader and the Democratic U.S. president that has yet to recover from deep differences over last year’s U.S.-led international nuclear deal with Israel’s foe Iran.
Around the time of Biden’s arrival, an American tourist was stabbed to death a few kilometres away on a boardwalk in Tel Aviv in the most serious of a wave of Palestinian attacks throughout Israel, a stark reminder of the current paralysis in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which Obama tried to revive earlier in his tenure.The White House said on Monday it had been “surprised” to learn first from Israeli media that Netanyahu had decided against coming to a conference of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC in Washington on March 20, and to see a suggestion in some reports that Obama’s unavailability had been one of the reasons.
It said Netanyahu had been offered a March 18 meeting with Obama, ahead of the president’s landmark visit to Cuba on March 21 and 22.
Zeev Elkin, an Israeli cabinet minister close to Netanyahu, countered that Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer had given the White House advance warning the trip might not happen.
Netanyahu’s office cited the U.S. election campaign in saying he would not travel to Washington for the AIPAC event, and voiced appreciation for Obama’s willingness to host him.
Biden, whose 2010 visit to Israel was marred by acrimony over a Jewish settlement plan announced during his trip, met former Israeli president Shimon Peres and was due to hold talks on Wednesday with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank.
Biden planned to speak with Israeli leaders about a new memorandum of understanding being negotiated for U.S. defence aid to Israel, according to one U.S. congressional aide.
The aide said Biden was handling the negotiations because relations between Obama and Netanyahu were so sour that the vice president was seen as the only member of the administration who could finish off the deal.
In 2012, Netanyahu hosted Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in Israel in what many Democrats saw as a bid to undermine Obama’s attempt to secure a second term. Israel denied meddling.
With a wave of Palestinian street attacks now five months old, U.S. officials have said no peace breakthrough is expected during Biden’s visit.
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Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
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March 2016
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['(Reuters)', '(Haaretz)', '(The New York Times)']
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James Comey, the former FBI Director who was dismissed by President Donald Trump last month, appears before the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Comey says he believes he was fired because of the FBI investigation into the possible collusion between President Trump's campaign team and Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.
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Former FBI director offers statement describing a meeting in which Trump asked him to drop his inquiry into Michael Flynn: ‘I hope you can let this go’
The fired FBI chief, James Comey, has publicly revealed how Donald Trump put pressure on him to shut down an investigation into a senior adviser’s links to Russia.
Trump asked Comey to drop his investigation into the former national security adviser Gen Michael Flynn, Comey’s first written account of his interactions says.
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” the president is alleged to have told Comey in the White House in February. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
Comey, who was subsequently dismissed by Trump, writes that he understood the president to be asking him to drop the investigation into Flynn, an intervention he found “very concerning”.
Comey’s statement for the record was released on Wednesday ahead of his eagerly awaited appearance before the Senate intelligence committee on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Over seven pages, he provides intriguing detail about his private conversations with Trump, including a 30 March phone call in which Trump asked what Comey could do to “lift the cloud” of the Russia investigation.
Trump claimed vindication. Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer representing him in the Russia investigation, said in a statement: “The president is pleased that Mr Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the president was not under investigation in any Russian probe. The president feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda.”
The document appears certain to become the focus of an investigation into whether Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice, an offence for which he could be impeached.
It tells how, over dinner on 27 January, Trump told him repeatedly, “I need loyalty,” and, in a phone call on 30 March, he asked what Comey could do to “lift the cloud” of the Russia investigation.
In between, on 14 February, Comey recalls a meeting at the Oval Office with a group of senior officials who were then asked to leave the room. He writes: “When the door by the grandfather clock closed, and we were alone, the President began by saying, ‘I want to talk about Mike Flynn.’ Flynn had resigned the previous day. The President began by saying Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong in speaking with the Russians, but he had to let him go because he had misled the Vice President. He added that he had other concerns about Flynn, which he did not then specify.
“The President then made a long series of comments about the problem with leaks of classified information – a concern I shared and still share.”
After a brief interruption, Trump resumed. “The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, ‘He is a good guy and has been through a lot.’ He repeated that Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President.
“He then said, ‘I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.’ I replied only that ‘he is a good guy’. (In fact, I had a positive experience dealing with Mike Flynn when he was a colleague as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the beginning of my term at FBI.) I did not say I would ‘let this go’.”
Comey adds that he immediately prepared an unclassified memo of the conversation about Flynn and discussed the matter with FBI senior leadership. “I had understood the President to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December. I did not understand the President to be talking about the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign.
“I could be wrong, but I took him to be focusing on what had just happened with Flynn’s departure and the controversy around his account of his phone calls. Regardless, it was very concerning, given the FBI’s role as an independent investigative agency.”
In another critical and vividly described scene, Trump invited Comey to dinner at the White House on 27 January and repeatedly asked the FBI director to pledge his personal loyalty.
“It turned out to be just the two of us, seated at a small oval table in the center of the Green Room. Two Navy stewards waited on us, only entering the room to serve food and drinks,” Comey writes.
Trump started off the conversation by asking Comey whether he wanted to stay in his job, which the FBI director said he “found strange” as the president had already told him in earlier conversations he wanted Comey to stay.
In his statement, Comey makes it clear that Trump was seeking to put pressure on him. “My instincts told me that the one-on-one setting, and the pretense that this was our first discussion about my position, meant the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship,” Comey said. “That concerned me greatly, given the FBI’s traditionally independent status in the executive branch.”
Comey said he had every intention of staying on to finish his 10-year term in office, and made an effort to fend off Trump’s attempt to gain leverage on him.
“And then, because the set-up made me uneasy, I added that I was not ‘reliable’ in the way politicians use that word, but he could always count on me to tell him the truth. I added that I was not on anybody’s side politically and could not be counted on in the traditional political sense, a stance I said was in his best interest as the President.
“A few moments later, the President said, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.’ I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence.”
Later in the conversation, Trump tried again, telling Comey: “I need loyalty.”
Comey replied: “You will always get honesty from me.” Trump then said: “That’s what I want, honest loyalty.” Comey writes: “I paused, and then said, ‘You will get that from me.’ As I wrote in the memo I created immediately after the dinner, it is possible we understood the phrase ‘honest loyalty’ differently, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to push it further. The term – honest loyalty – had helped end a very awkward conversation and my explanations had made clear what he should expect.”
The statement also describes how Trump called Comey at the FBI on 30 March and described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to govern. In a reference to a salacious dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer, Comey writes: “He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to ‘lift the cloud’.
“I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him.”
The last time Comey spoke to Trump was an 11 April phone call, where Trump repeated his request that Comey make public that the president was not under investigation, again complaining that “the cloud” hanging over his presidency was stopping him from doing his job.
Comey says he told Trump that the request should go through the justice department. Trump then said: “Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know.” Comey says he did not reply or ask what the president meant by “that thing”.
Donald Trump, the first US president since Richard Nixon to fire the person leading an investigation that bears on him, is certainly acting like a man with something to hide.
The White House claims Comey was fired for mishandling an inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails and that Trump had been losing confidence in him since the election. But few find this explanation credible, given that Trump previously praised Comey for showing “guts” in his scrutiny of Clinton.
Critics say the true motive was Comey’s refusal to drop the FBI's inquiry into possible links between Trump’s associates and Russia during last year’s election campaign.
Matters had come to a head: the president’s growing anger and frustration at Comey’s focus on Russia and his failure to stop leaks from the FBI; the identification of Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn as a blackmail risk; and reports, denied by the justice department, that Comey was asking for more resources to accelerate his work.
Numerous Democrats have accused Trump of a cover-up, drawn comparisons with Nixon and Watergate, and demanded the appointment of a special prosecutor. Republican leaders have resisted this call and stood by the president, although others have dissented.
Less than a month later, on 9 May, Trump fired Comey. The FBI director first discovered he had been dismissed when the news was projected on a screen where he was giving a speech on an FBI field office in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill the testimony had been released in advance per an agreement with Comey.
Burr, emerging from a closed door briefing on Wednesday, said he had only just read Comey’s testimony minutes before. “I don’t think that from what I’ve read there’s anything of wrongdoing,” the North Carolina senator said. “But I will match that with his verbal testimony and weigh it against the evidence of our investigation to date.”
Senators were in the midst of casting votes as news of Comey’s prepared remarks surfaced. Senator John McCain of Arizona said his initial understanding of the revelations was that they were “disturbing”, although he stopped short of deeming it an obstruction of justice just yet.
“Just as I suspected ... I think there’s going to be many shoes to drop before this one is over,” McCain said.
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Comey’s testimony confirms “a host of troubling allegations” around Trump’s conduct.
“Two stand out,” he explained in a statement. “The president sought to obtain a pledge of loyalty from the director of the FBI during a conversation that centered on whether the director would be able to keep his job.
“And second, the president effectively asked the director to drop the investigation of his former national security adviser.
“Congress must now determine whether the director’s refusal to do either – or any other motivation to interfere with or obstruct any part of the Russia investigation – led ultimately to Comey’s firing.”
|
Famous Person - Give a speech
|
June 2017
|
['(The Guardian)', '(Reuters)']
|
Over 150,000 people protest in Berlin against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership accord between the European Union and the United States. , , ,
|
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Berlin on Saturday in protest against a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that they say is anti-democratic and will lower food safety, labour and environmental standards.
Organisers - an alliance of environmental groups, charities and opposition parties - said 250,000 people were taking part in the rally against free trade deals with both the United States and Canada, far more than they had anticipated.
"This is the biggest protest that this country has seen for many, many years," Christoph Bautz, director of citizens' movement Campact told protesters in a speech.
Read MoreChina and Europe team may snub TPP
A police spokesman estimated 100,000 people were taking part in the demonstration which has been trouble free so far. There were 1,000 police officers on duty at the march.
Opposition to the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has risen over the past year in Germany, with critics fearing the pact will hand too much power to big multinationals at the expense of consumers and workers.
"What bothers me the most is that I don't want all our consumer laws to be softened," Oliver Zloty told Reuters TV. "And I don't want to have a dictatorship by any companies."
Dieter Bartsch, deputy leader of the parliamentary group for the Left party, who was taking part in the rally said he was concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the talks.
"We definitely need to know what is supposed to be being decided," he said.
Marchers banged drums, blew whistles and held up posters reading "Yes we can - Stop TTIP."
The level of resistance has taken Chancellor Angela Merkel's government by surprise and underscores the challenge it faces to turn the tide in favour of the deal which proponents say will create a market of 800 million and serve as a counterweight to China's economic clout.
In a full-page letter published in several German newspapers on Saturday, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned against "scaremongering".
"We have the chance to set new and goods standards for growing global trade. With ambitious, standards for the environment and consumers and with fair conditions for investment and workers. This must be our aim," Gabriel wrote.
Businesses hope the trade deal will deliver over $100 billion of economic gains on both sides of the Atlantic.
"A fair and comprehensive free trade deal promotes growth and prosperity in Europe. We should actively participate in the rules for world trade of tomorrow," Ulrich Grillo, head of the BDI Federation of German industries, said in a statement.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
October 2015
|
['(RT)', '(DW)', '(CNBC)', '(France24)']
|
The roof of the renovated Hôtel Ritz in Paris is damaged by fire just weeks before the planned re–opening.
|
PARIS (Reuters) - Flames ripped through the top floor of the luxury Ritz Paris hotel on Tuesday, as around 60 firefighters battled to put out a fire which threatened the work of a 3-1/2 year restoration program just weeks ahead of a planned re-opening.
Some 150 workers were evacuated from the site in the chic Place Vendome square in central Paris at around 0500 GMT (12.00 a.m. ET), where about 15 fire trucks were on the scene, Paris fire service spokesman Captain Yvon Bot said on French television.
The cause of the fire, which struck on the seventh floor of the building and spread through the attic to the roof, was so far unknown, the official said.
By mid-morning, the fire had been brought under control, he told Reuters.
“There is no longer any risk of it spreading, but the operation will still take a very long time,” he said. The firemen had great difficulty accessing the part of the building affected, he said.
The Ritz had no comment as the incident was ongoing. The hotel’s website still indicated on Tuesday it was accepting reservations again from March 2016.
The former home of fashion designer Coco Chanel and author Marcel Proust, and a favorite drinking hole of American writer Ernest Hemingway, the hotel was last renovated over a decade beginning in 1979 after its purchase by tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The latest work to restore the Ritz, which opened in 1898 and was the first Paris hotel to boast electricity on all floors and bathrooms that were inside rooms, began in August 2012 and is being overseen by interior architect Thierry W. Despont.
It includes the building of a “discreet tunnel” that will enable the rich and famous to come and go in privacy. It was at the Ritz that Diana, Princess of Wales, spent her last night in 1997 before the car crash that killed her.
Reporting by James Regan, Myriam Rivet and John Irish; Editing by Bate Felix, Andrew Callus and Sarah Young
|
Fire
|
January 2016
|
['(BBC)', '(Reuters)']
|
Asian stock prices sink as Turkey’s financial turmoil fuels fears contagion might spread to other emerging markets.
|
Asian stocks started lower Monday as the fallout from Friday’s plunge in Turkish asset prices made its way across the Pacific. European and U.S. stocks fell to end the week as worries built that Turkey’s troubles could prove contagious. The Turkish lira USDTRY,
+0.26%
put in fresh lows against the U.S. dollar early Monday, down more than 8% in Asian trading hours, after dropping 14% on Friday.
The Nikkei NIK,
-0.19%
was down 1.6% to lead the early declines, with the yen USDJPY,
-0.01%
up as much as 0.5% against other major currencies. Exporter stocks were particularly hard hit, with Toyota 7203,
-3.88%
and Canon 7751,
-2.11%
each down more than 1.5%.
Chinese stocks fell more than 1% in early trading. Property stocks pulled back after banks denied a mortgage-rates cut, and construction and metal names were muted. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP,
-0.01%
fell 1.6% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106,
+0.81%
was off 1.2%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI,
+0.85%
tumbled 1.7%, with steep declines across all sectors. Tencent 700,
+0.67%
fell 2.4% while China Construction Bank 939,
dropped 1.5%
Korea’s Kospi 180721,
+0.09%
was off 1.4%, with big caps including Samsung 005930,
-0.49%
and Posco 005490,
-0.29%
falling at least 1%. In New Zealand, where trading ended Friday just as the lira’s drop was beginning, the NZX 50 NZ50GR,
+0.09%
was off 0.4% to reverse some of its end-of-week strength. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO,
+0.13%
was down 0.5% with losses held in check by the Aussie dollar’s weakness.
Benchmarks in Taiwan XX:Y9999
, Singapore STI,
+0.19%
and Malaysia FBMKLCI,
+1.16%
were all off more than 1%.
The last time capital-gains taxes were hiked, in 2013, the wealthiest households sold 1% of their equity assets, a Goldman analyst found.
|
Financial Crisis
|
August 2018
|
['(Market Watch)']
|
Egypt bombs Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant targets in the city of Derna in Libya following the execution of 21 Coptic Christians recently.
|
Egypt says it has bombed Islamic State targets in Libya, hours after the militants released video of apparent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians.
State TV said the dawn strikes had targeted camps, training sites and weapons storage areas. A second wave of strikes was reported hours later.
Libyan officials said Egypt hit targets in the militant-held city of Derna.
The strikes came amid widespread condemnation of the killings. The US and UN described them as "cowardly". A video emerged on Sunday showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them. The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in separate incidents in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, under the control of Islamist groups.
The video of the beheadings was posted online by Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to IS. It was one of the first such videos to come from an IS group outside its core territory in Syria and Iraq.
The video describes the Copts as "crusaders" and refers among other things to two women, wives of Coptic priests, whose alleged conversion to Islam triggered a sectarian dispute in Egypt in 2010.
IS militants claim to have carried out several attacks in Libya, which in effect has rival governments.
Thirteen of the dead men came from the village of Al-Our, in Minya. Screams of grief come from several houses in the dusty back streets, and groups of black-clad women go from house to house to offer condolences. One woman, wailing in the street, tells us she has lost five relatives. In the packed courtyard of the church, mourners are gathering for a memorial service. Local men say they are desperate for work and Libya is their only hope of a job. Many say they still have relatives working there, and that villagers will continue to go there in search of work.
Follow Orla Guerin on Twitter
Egypt did not give the locations of the air strikes, but a spokesman for Libya's internationally recognised Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni told the BBC that Egyptian jets had taken part in co-ordinated air strikes on Derna.
"Eight strikes have been conducted so far [in Derna]. The plan is to target all IS locations in the country wherever they are," said Mohamed Azazza.
Libyan air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi said the Egyptian strikes had been co-ordinated with Mr Thinni's government, and that his planes had also carried out strikes.
Between 40 and 50 people had been killed, he added.
Several hours later, the AP news agency quoted unnamed security officials as saying that Egyptian warplanes had again struck Derna.
Egypt declared seven days of national mourning after the release of the video.
In a televised address, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described IS as "inhuman criminal killers".
"Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals," he said.
He later visited St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo to offer his condolences to Coptic Pope Tawadros II.
Egypt is already fighting Islamist insurgents based in the Sinai peninsula who have declared their allegiance to Islamic State.
Leading international condemnation, the United States called the killings "despicable" and "cowardly".
Pope Francis expressed his "profound sadness". In a statement, the UN Security Council "strongly condemned the heinous and cowardly apparent murder" of the Christians.
Libya is home to a large community of both Muslim and Coptic Egyptians, with most working in the construction sector.
In the first kidnapping in Sirte, in late December, a group of Coptic Christians was abducted at a fake checkpoint while trying to leave the city. Days later, militants raided a residential compound in Sirte and separated Christians from Muslims before handcuffing their captives and taking them away.
The butchering of the Egyptian Copts appears to signal Libya's arrival as yet another platform for the militants of IS, broadening the franchise and the challenge to Western powers and their regional allies.
Conditions seem to be ripe for them to flourish in Libya as they have in Iraq and Syria, filling and expanding niches left by failed and unjust governments, and a chaotic free-for-all of local militias. Past horrors perpetrated and propagated by IS have apparently served only to attract more extremists to its black flag, creating a sense of dynamic momentum. By bombing IS in Libya, President Sisi may have fallen into its trap and increased its appeal, given the repression he is meting out to Egyptian Islamists.
How strong is Islamic State in Libya?
Why is Libya lawless?
Egypt's Coptic Church
Libya has been in chaos since 2011 and the overthrow of its then-leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Since then, numerous militia groups have battled for control. It has two rival governments, one based in Tripoli and the other in Tobruk.
Meanwhile, the eastern city of Benghazi - where the 2011 revolution began - is largely in the hands of militant fighters, some with links to al-Qaeda.
The head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency warned last month that IS was assembling "a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under-governed areas", including Libya. Egypt's view of IS threat
|
Armed Conflict
|
February 2015
|
['(BBC)']
|
Kenya's internal security minister George Saitoti is named as acting foreign minister following the resignation of Moses Wetangula amid an embassy property scandal.
|
Prof. Saitoti will also continue serving in his current capacity of Minister for Internal Security and Provincial Administration.
"Following consultations with the Right Hon. Prime Minister Raila Odinga, His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki has today appointed Prof. George Saitoti as the acting Minister for Foreign Affairs.
"Prof. Saitoti will also continue serving in his current capacity of Minister for Internal Security and Provincial Administration," said a statement from the President's office.
Prof Saitoti's appointment came just a day after Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula stepped aside to allow investigations into the saga surrounding the purchase of land for Kenya embassies abroad.
Meanwhile, varied opinions continue to greet foreign affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula decision to step aside to pave way for investigations into foreign embassies saga. Naivasha MP John Mututho has praised the move adding that all other government officials implicated in graft should follow suit.
He is however cautioning against rubbishing Parliamentary Committees reports saying their operations remain transparent. Mututho who is also the chairman of Parliamentary Committee on agriculture defended the committees' role saying they carry their duties with diligence and an attack against their findings amounts to cheap attempts to scuttle facts. Wetang'ula and his permanent secretary Thuita Mwangi opted to step aside on Wednesday to pave way for investigations into scandal involving the purchase and disposal of embassy properties in Nigeria and Japan. Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Wetang'ula maintained his innocence in the saga. "I have made the decision on the understanding that I am absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing. I am absolutely innocent against any charges of corruption because I am not and I cannot be corrupt," he said.
The minister's decision came barely two hours after President Mwai Kibaki accepted the stepping aside of Foreign Affairs PS Thuita Mwangi.
A statement from the President Press Service said Mwangi communicated his decision to President Mwai Kibaki who accepted the request to allow investigations on the report tabled in Parliament by the Committee on Defense and Foreign Relations regarding purchase of and/or disposal of government properties at foreign missions.
In a statement, Mwangi said he was stepping aside to allow the competent government organs to fully and without impediment investigate all matters of concern raised in the Report of the Departmental Committee on Defense and Foreign Relations on construction, purchase and disposal of properties abroad. Their action come a day after Wetangula put up a spirited fight in Parliament on Tuesday to have his name expunged from a Report of the Departmental Committee on Defense and Foreign Relations which recommended that he should step aside together with his PS to allow for independent investigations into the scandal.
Despite passing the buck to civil servants in his ministry by pleading that he played no role in the saga, MPs were adamant that he should take political responsibility and not engage in a blame game.
"Ministers don't deal with transactions. We deal with what we are given; ministers only deal with policies," Wetang'ula told Parliament as he tried to clear his name.
The report accuses Foreign Affairs Ministry officials for ignoring recommendations from civil servants and independent valuers and thereby burdening the public with huge bills that could have been avoided.
|
Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
October 2010
|
['(Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)', '(Reuters)']
|
The regional coalition of Christian–Democrats and Free Democrats are voted out of office in North Rhine–Westphalia , which may lead to the federal government of Chancellor Angela Merkel losing its majority in the upper house.
|
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party and its coalition allies have been defeated in regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The sharp fall in support for Mrs Merkel's party means her national coalition will lose its slim majority in the upper house of parliament. The campaign has been overshadowed by the government's decision to contribute to a huge rescue package for Greece. Meanwhile many cities in NRW are on the brink of bankruptcy. Final results showed Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) with 34.6% and their Free Democrat (FDP) allies on 6.7%. The Social Democrats (SPD), Germany's main opposition party, polled 34.5% of the vote, while the Greens won 12.1% and the Left Party 5.6%.
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany's most populous state and home to 18 million people, is in the country's industrial heartland and regarded as a weathervane for national politics. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who is also vice-chancellor and leader of the Free Democrats, called the loss a "warning shot for the governing parties". "We must make an effort to win back lost trust," he said. The coalition in NRW between the CDU and the pro-business FDP had mirrored the one at the federal level. It was not immediately clear what type of alliance or coalition would emerge in NRW. Sunday's vote gave the CDU 67 seats in the state legislature and their FDP allies 13 seats. The SPD also hold 67, the Greens 23 and the Left Party 11.
It's only one regional election, but it matters because defeat in North Rhine Westphalia deprives Chancellor Angela Merkel of a majority in the upper house of the German parliament. And without that, she'll find it much harder to push through the national legislation she wants.
The multi-billion euro bailout of Greece may be one reason that voters have turned against her. The rescue package is extremely unpopular with the German public.
But it's not just Greece. Ever since they took power nationally, Chancellor Merkel's coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats haven't stopped squabbling - over everything from body scanners at airports to budget deficits. And the more they've bickered, the more unpopular they've become.
The leader who's been nicknamed "Iron Angie" is suddenly looking weaker.
But on a national level, the result means Mrs Merkel will lose her automatic majority in the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, and will rely on opposition support to push through policy. This is expected to jeopardise long-promised tax cuts and health system reforms. Mrs Merkel had campaigned in the state until the last minute in an effort to prevent the result that was forecast in the polls. With the economic crisis dominating the campaign, opponents accused Mrs Merkel of attempting to delay a decision on the hugely unpopular rescue package for Greece until after the poll. In NRW, local councils are sinking into debt, leading to rising kindergarten fees and the threatened closure of libraries, swimming-pools and theatres.
|
Government Job change - Election
|
May 2010
|
['(CDU)', '(FDP)', '(NRW)', '(BBC)', '(Financial Times)', '(The Guardian)', '(The Independent)']
|
At least 73 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a fuel tanker explosion in the town of Caphiridzange in Mozambique's Tete Province.
|
MAPUTO (Reuters) - At least 73 people were killed and scores injured in Mozambique on Thursday as they tried to siphon fuel from an overturned truck which exploded, the government said.
The truck was transporting fuel to Malawi from the port city of Beira and was near the border when the accident occurred, the government said in a statement.
The injured had been taken to hospital and a government team was due to travel to the area in Tete province, some 2,000 km (1,242 miles) from the capital Maputo on Friday.
Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries and struggles constantly with food shortages caused by drought.
Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Louise Ireland
|
Gas explosion
|
November 2016
|
['(AP)', '(Reuters)']
|
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