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There is a second day of rallies in Malaysia calling on Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
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Former Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called on protesters on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to "remove" the country's Prime Minister Najib Razak.
"To remove him, the people must show people's power," he said as he joined the protests for a second day running, undeterred by a heavy police presence. Protesters are angered by a $700m (£455m) payment made to Mr Najib's bank account from unnamed foreign donors. The prime minister denies any wrongdoing. Mr Mahathir said it was untenable for the current prime minister to continue in his position.
"There's no more rule of law. The only way for the people to get back to the old system is for them to remove this prime minister," he said. "We must remove this prime minister."
Mr Mahathir led Malaysia from 1981-2003. A former ally of the prime minister, he has since become a fierce critic of Mr Najib. Police estimated 25,000 people participated in Saturday's demonstration, while Bersih - the pro-democracy group behind the rally - said 200,000 took part at the peak.
"Those who wear this yellow attire... want to discredit our good name, scribble black coal on Malaysia's face to the outside world,'' national news agency Bernama quoted Mr Najib as saying.
The main accusation against the prime minister is that he took $700m from the indebted 1MDB state investment fund, which he established in 2009 to try to turn Kuala Lumpur into a financial hub.
Cabinet ministers have said the money transfers were "political donations" from unidentified Middle Eastern sources, and that there was nothing improper. No further details have been given. Why Malaysians are disillusioned with Najib Razak
Profile: Najib Razak
• The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund was established under Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy.
• Critics say the fund overpaid for many of its investments and spent millions on fees to investment bank Goldman Sachs
• It began attracting attention at the end of 2014 when it started missing payments to creditors. It later emerged that the fund was mired in $11bn (£7bn) of debt.
• Mr Najib has been accused of taking $700m from the fund - a charge which he has denied.
• Malaysia anti-corruption commission said it had verified that the money was a donation from unnamed foreign donors.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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August 2015
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['(BBC)']
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At the 2013 Crufts dog show, Soletrader Peek A Boo, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, wins Best in Show.
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The four-year old, full name Soletrader Peek A Boo, beat more than 20,000 dogs to take the coveted title.
The canine - owned by Sara and Gavin Robertson from Wallingford, Oxfordshire - vied for the title along with seven dogs after winning Best of Breed and then Best in Group in previous rounds.
The four-day competition was held at the NEC in Birmingham.
Judges from the Kennel Club mark the dogs according to the criteria of their individual breed standards.
They also assess the dogs' overall health and condition, coat, character, temperament and movement.
The reserve Best in Show title went to a three-year-old Labrador Retriever called Romeo from Cesara in Italy.
.
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Awards ceremony
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March 2013
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['(BBC)', '(The Times)']
|
A bomb attack on a bus on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao kills at least seven people.
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A bomb attack on a bus in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao has killed nine people, officials say. Several more were hurt when the bomb, hidden in an overhead compartment, went off as the bus travelled through Matalam in Cotabato province.
More than 50 passengers were on board at the time of the blast. Police said it was not clear who was behind the blast, but parts of Mindanao are home to kidnappers, extortion gangs and Muslim insurgent groups. "Eight people died on the spot and one at a local hospital where most of the bus passengers were treated for shrapnel wounds," Reuters news agency quoted Major-General Anthony Alcantara, army commander in central Mindanao, as saying.
"Our soldiers are helping the police investigate the bus explosion. We're still trying to establish the motive for the attack."
The bus company had previously received extortion letters from armed groups in the region, one official said. Armed gangs have tried to extort money from bus companies and been blamed for attacks on vehicles and bus terminals in the past. Philippine hostage talks continue
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Armed Conflict
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October 2010
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['(BBC)']
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Myanmar's military announces that it has killed 13 Arakan Army fighters in a series of eight armed clashes in Rakhine State, spanning from January 5 to 13. In the same press conference, a military spokesman states that the Arakan Army had been newly classified as a terrorist organization.
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NAYPYITAW - Myanmar's army has killed 13 rebel fighters in the western Rakhine State, a military spokesman said on Friday, as government troops battle to contain a new insurgency in the troubled region.
Fighting between security forces and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking greater autonomy for Rakhine, has forced some 5,000 civilians to flee their homes since early December, according to the United Nations.
The violence has brought fresh turmoil to the region, the site of a massive crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2017, and represents another setback for the Buddhist-majority country's embattled peace process.
"Between Jan. 5 and 16, 2019, there were eight clashes and five landmine explosions," said Major General Tun Tun Nyi, speaking at a rare press conference in the capital, Naypyitaw. "Thirteen enemy bodies and three weapons were seized, and some soldiers died and were injured on our side," he said.
He declined to elaborate on the number of government troops killed, saying it was "not necessary" to give the figures.
The Arakan Army could not be immediately reached for comment, but a spokesman outside Myanmar previously told Reuters five bodies seized by the military did not belong to their fighters.
The recent surge of violence began after insurgents killed 13 police and wounded nine in attacks on four police posts on Jan. 4, as Myanmar celebrated Independence Day, state media reported.
Yanghee Lee, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, voiced alarm at the "escalating violence" in Rakhine and urged both sides to show restraint and protect civilians.
She condemned the Jan. 4 attack by the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military's "disproportionate response," citing reports that heavy weapons, artillery, and helicopters had been used in civilian areas, leading to civilian casualties.
"I am also seriously concerned about the dangerous rhetoric being used by the government. The ethnic Rakhine population must not be demonized and targeted by the military on suspicion of association with the AA," Lee said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from the Myanmar authorities to her remarks.
Myanmar' civilian administration last week called on the military to "crush" the rebels, according to a government spokesman.
On Friday, the military said Aung San Suu Kyi, who runs the country as state counselor, personally ordered the crackdown, stating that the Arakan Army, which recruits from among the mainly Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, should face the same treatment as Rohingya insurgents.
The military onslaught against the Rohingya in 2017, which the U.N. and Western nations have called ethnic cleansing, was preceded by attacks on security forces by fighters calling themselves the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. The government denies the charge of ethnic cleansing.
"During negotiations at the president's house on January 9, state counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said AA were terrorists and instructed to crack down effectively," Tun Tun Nyi said. "If not, others would point out that ARSA was cracked down on because it's from a different religion and AA was not because it is an ethnic group," he said.
A government spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. The conflict is the latest crisis facing Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's administration, which swept to power in 2015 promising to bring an end to the country's myriad civil wars.
The United Nations has called for "rapid and unimpeded" aid access to the conflict zone, after the state government last week banned non-governmental organizations and the U.N. from five townships affected by the fighting.
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Armed Conflict
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January 2019
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['(ABC News)', '(Reuters via VOA)']
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At least 27 Iranian Revolutionary Guards are killed after a suicide bombing attack in southeastern Iran. The attack is claimed by Jaish ul-Adl militants.
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TEHRAN A suicide bomber killed at least 27 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and wounded 13 on a bus in a restive region of southeast Iran onIranian media reported. It was among the deadliest attacks in Iran in years.
The Revolutionary Guards, an elite Iranian paramilitary force, quickly blamed the United States for the assault, which came during the week that Iran’s leaders have been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the American-backed shah in 1979.
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Armed Conflict
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February 2019
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['(The New York Times)', '(Reuters)']
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A U.S. district court judge gives the goahead to a billiondollar lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers in connection with the losses at MF Global in October 2011.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge rejected PricewaterhouseCoopers’ bid to dismiss a $1 billion lawsuit accusing the accounting firm of professional malpractice for helping cause the October 2011 bankruptcy of MF Global Holdings Ltd, a brokerage once run by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.
In a 69-page decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan said there remained open questions concerning whether PwC’s alleged bad accounting advice was a substantial cause of MF Global’s rapid demise.
“PwC has not satisfied its burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issue of material fact,” Marrero wrote.
Corzine is not a defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed in March 2014 by MF Global’s bankruptcy plan administrator.
“PwC stands by its work for MF Global,” James Cusick, a lawyer for the firm, said in a statement. “MF Global’s collapse was caused by its own business decisions and adverse market events, not any accounting determination.”
Nader Tavakoli, director of the plan administrator, in a statement called Marrero’s decision “a major victory for the MF Global estate.”
The decision keeps alive one of the last remaining pieces of litigation relating to MF Global’s Oct. 31, 2011 bankruptcy.
PwC in April 2015 reached a $65 million cash settlement with former shareholders and bondholders, in which it denied wrongdoing. MF Global officials and bank underwriters have also settled with investors. Customers have been made whole.
MF Global sought Chapter 11 protection after investors grew anxious about Corzine’s $6.3 billion wager on European sovereign debt, a large quarterly loss, credit rating downgrades, margin calls, and the use of customer funds to shore up liquidity.
The administrator accused PwC of “extraordinary and egregious professional malpractice and negligence” in approving MF Global’s accounting for “repurchase-to-maturity” transactions through which Corzine bet on sovereign debt.
It also faulted PwC’s advice on some deferred tax assets, on which MF Global took a $119.4 million write-off just six days before going bankrupt. That contributed to a $191.6 million quarterly loss.
In papers filed under seal but summarized by Marrero, PwC said no reasonable jury could find that its advice proximately caused MF Global’s bankruptcy.
It also said the administrator “stands in the shoes” of the company under the legal doctrine “in pari delicto,” and could not prevail because MF Global had been an “active and voluntary participant” in the decision-making.
Corzine and former MF Global Assistant Treasurer Edith O’Brien still face a 2013 civil lawsuit by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The case is MF Global Holdings Ltd v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-02197.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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August 2016
|
['(Reuters)']
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The GNA government says all flights from Mitiga International Airport, the only functioning airport in the capital Tripoli, will be shifted to Misrata Airport after Libyan National Army forces struck the airport with rockets.
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TUNIS (Reuters) - The only functioning airport in the Libyan capital said late on Tuesday that it was shifting all flights to the town of Misrata due to shelling in the area following an escalation in fighting over recent days.
Rocket fire and shelling towards the airport ramped up late last week as a United Nations effort to bring the warring sides together in Geneva failed to make headway. On Monday, the U.N. special envoy Ghassan Salame said he was resigning.
The latest bout in Libya’s violence since the 2011 uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi began last year, when the eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched a push to capture the capital.
Haftar’s forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, while the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) is supported by Turkey, which sent forces this year.
Mitiga airport has been closed by rocket fire repeatedly in recent days and flights were suspended for much of Tuesday, with a military source in the eastern forces saying Turkish installations there were being targeted.
On Sunday, the GNA’s Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha told Reuters it would soon shift from defence to attack in order to push Haftar’s forces further from the capital.
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Armed Conflict
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March 2020
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['(Reuters)']
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Canadians riot with firefighters and police in London, Ontario.
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Rioters fought with firefighters and police in the Canadian city of London, Ontario, as St Patrick's Day parties spiralled out of control overnight.
Dozens of police were drafted in to deal with the unrest, which was sparked when several student parties spilled on to the streets.
Rioters hurled bottles at police and set a TV truck alight, feeding the flames with a propane tank and TV sets.
Police said 11 people were arrested and appealed for rioters to come forward.
Police were called out late on Saturday, but did not move in until 04:00 on Sunday (08:00 GMT).
"Never in my 32 years as a police officer have I observed behaviours that escalated to the point where there was risk that individuals could seriously be hurt or quite frankly killed," said London's police chief, Brad Duncan.
"We will not tolerate this lack of respect for our community, our laws and specifically this neighbourhood."
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Riot
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March 2012
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['(BBC)']
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Exit polls show Luis Arce of the MAS party winning a historic landslide.
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LA PAZ, Bolivia — Exit polls issued early Monday showed Bolivia's socialists taking a seemingly insurmountable lead in the country's bitterly fought presidential election, a result that, if confirmed by the official tally, would amount to a massive popular rebuke of the right-wing forces that drove the left from power a year ago.
Sunday’s much-delayed election was a do-over of last year’s contest. That vote ended with longtime socialist President Evo Morales fleeing into exile as opponents alleged electoral fraud and supporters decried a “coup.”
Morales, banned from running this time, watched from Argentina as his former finance minister, front-runner Luis Arce, 57, faced two main competitors who sought to stop a socialist comeback: centrist former president Carlos Mesa, 67, and right-wing nationalist Luis Camacho, 41.
Bolivia’s election is a test for Latin American socialism — and democracy
The exit poll by the firm Ciesmori, with margin of error of less than 2 percentage points, indicated that Arce, the candidate of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, had claimed 52.4 percent of the vote, compared to Mesa’s 31.5 percent and Camacho’s 14.1 percent. A second exit poll by a group of universities and Catholic institutions showed similar figures, giving Arce 53 percent and Mesa 30.8 percent.
In a tweet, the right-wing, U.S.-backed interim president, Jeanine Áñez Chavez, noted that the official tally was still being counted. But she nevertheless recognized Arce’s apparent victory.
“We do not yet have an official count, but from the data we have, Mr. Arce and [his vice-presidential candidate] Mr. [David] Choquehuanca have won the election. I congratulate the winners and ask them to govern with Bolivia and democracy in mind.”
If the exit poll numbers are confirmed by the official count, which was being tabulated slowly late Sunday, it would be more than enough to avoid a November runoff and claim outright victory.
“We have recovered democracy,” Arce said in a public speech early Monday. “We promise to respond to our pledge to work and bring our program to fruition. We are going to govern for all Bolivians and construct a government of national unity.”
Experts cautioned that the exit polls are not the same as the official count, of which less than 5 percent was tallied by midnight. But they offered what many observers called a fairly precise snapshot of a huge wave of support for the socialists, who had ruled the country since 2006 before being forced out last year following claims of fraud.
One of Arce’s successful tactics appeared to be a major distancing of his candidacy from Morales. But the polarizing former president nevertheless seemed to portray the election as a vindication.
“Bolivia is an example to the world,” Morales told reporters in Buenos Aires. “Very soon our country will begin a new stage of great challenges. We must put aside differences and sectoral and regional interests to achieve a great national agreement.”
In a surprise decision Saturday, Bolivia’s electoral tribunal announced it would not release the traditional quick-count projection of the outcome as initially expected Sunday. The tribunal said it would instead wait to release results until all ballots were counted or tallies showed an indisputable trend, something that could take at least a day or two, and potentially up to a week.
Socialism doesn’t work? An emerging middle class of Bolivians would beg to differ.
Late Sunday, Salvador Romero, head of the electoral council, would not confirm a timeline for releasing the definitive results.
“This process, at this stage, can be slower and accelerate progressively,” he told reporters in La Paz. “We ask the people for patience. We need to be certain about the results.”
An outright win for the socialists would amount to a major reversal of fortune for the powers that be in this impoverished Andean nation and mark a major victory for the Latin American left. It would also mark a stunning defeat for the right, which sought to sell its actions to purge the socialists in Bolivia as a “liberation” of the country — a liberation its people seemed not to want.
Áñez, a right-wing firebrand who took over after Morales’s exile, dropped out of the race due to low poll numbers. She has been blamed for haphazard handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as presiding over a wave of repression against leftists during her year in power. Observers say officials in her government as well as senior members of the military brass could potentially face charges from a new socialist government — although Arce told The Washington Post in an interview last week that he would not seek to influence the justice system.
As the U.S.-backed government in Bolivia unleashes a wave of political persecution, the Trump administration remains silent
“It’s an end to the politics of persecution and an opening for thorough, credible investigations of human rights violations, corruption and other irregularities,” said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network. “Justice for these issues is the first crucial step toward reconciliation.”
Going into Sunday, opinion polls showed Arce close to the threshold needed for a first-round victory. To avoid a runoff, a candidate had to win more than 50 percent of the vote, or at least 40 percent with a 10-point margin of victory.
Analysts say Mesa, running second in the polls, would become the favorite in a second round of voting next month, assuming the opposition to the socialists coalesced around him. Camacho trailed both men in the polls by significant margins.
Carla Nina Martínez, a 30-year-old nurse voting in a rural area just south of La Paz, described herself as a longtime supporter of the left. But she said she was changing her vote this year to support Mesa.
“I value some things that President Evo Morales did. Everything was going very well,” she said. “But in the end, as always, politics end up being corrupt.”
A survivor of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, she said she blamed the Áñez government for a poorly executed coronavirus plan.
“During the high points of the pandemic, we were never provided with personal protective equipment, and health personnel ended up being infected,” she said.
Santos Vallejo, 52, said the country’s bad economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic led him to vote for the socialists.
During Morales’s three terms, the socialists were credited with a successful drive to turn Bolivia into a leader in the effort to fight poverty in Latin America. At the same time, they embraced a “Socialist lite” approach that maintained relatively business-friendly policies — especially as compared to the more far more repressive and severe socialist government in Venezuela.
Under socialist governments, “we had jobs,” Vallejo said outside a polling station in El Alto, a socialist stronghold near La Paz. “I believe MAS will win because we, the poor, are with them.”
More than 10,000 troops were called to keep the peace. In a message clearly aimed at the socialists, Áñez’s influential interior minister, Arturo Murillo, led a show of force Saturday with soldiers and armored vehicles on the streets of La Paz. Murillo said the effort was meant to prevent “the return of dictators” — a clear reference to Morales, who was democratically elected three times before his controversial bid for a fourth term last year.
Arce has sought to distance himself from Morales. In an interview last week with The Post, Arce said Morales would need to face the justice system to defend himself against “numerous” charges if he returned.
“We think that our comrade Evo has every right, if he so wishes, to return to the country and defend himself,” Arce said.
Faiola reported from Miami. Ana Vanessa Herrero in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
U.S. indictments claim cartels had reach into Mexico’s top security ranks
Remote learning is deepening the divide between rich and poor
Under the U.S.-Mexico border, miles of tunnels worth millions of dollars — to traffickers
The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.
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Government Job change - Election
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October 2020
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['(The Washington Post)']
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The United States Department of Justice says Yale University is illegally discriminating against White Americans and Asian Americans in its undergraduate admissions process, following a two–year investigation into the university. A Yale spokeswoman "categorically" denies the federal accusations.
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The results of a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice found the Ivy League university had breached civil rights law in its undergraduate admissions process.
The department threatened to file a lawsuit against the university if it failed to take "remedial" measures.
A Yale spokeswoman said the university "categorically" denied the accusations.
President Donald Trump's administration has been a strong opponent of so-called affirmative action.
The programmes, which were supported by former President Barack Obama, seek to boost admissions of under-represented minorities, particularly Hispanics and African-Americans..
The Department of Justice's report, published on Thursday, said that while the Supreme Court allows universities that receive taxpayer funding to use race as "one of a number of factors" during admissions, "Yale's use of race is anything but limited". "Yale uses race at multiple steps of its admissions process resulting in a multiplied effect of race on an applicant's likelihood of admission," it said.
Yale strongly rejected the report's conclusions, which it said had been made before the university was able to provide all of the information requested by the Department of Justice.
"Had the Department fully received and fairly weighed this information, it would have concluded that Yale's practices absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent," Yale said in a statement.
The university said it considers a many factors during the admissions process and said it would not change its process "on the basis of such a meritless, hasty accusation."
Last year, Harvard University was cleared of discrimination against Asian-American applicants by a federal judge following a lawsuit, although the ruling is now being appealed.
Harvard cleared of bias in admissions process
Trump 'to scrap' affirmative action policy
Do white US students really get a bad deal?
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.
Bishops face clash with Biden over abortion
Tokyo Olympics: No fans is 'least risky' option
Asia's Covid stars struggle with exit strategies
Why residents of these paradise islands are furious
The Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care. VideoThe Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care
Troubled US teens left traumatised by tough love camps
Why doesn't North Korea have enough food?
Le Pen set for regional power with eye on presidency
How the Delta variant took hold in the UK. VideoHow the Delta variant took hold in the UK
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
|
August 2020
|
['(BBC)']
|
The Blackstone Group, a multinational private equity and asset management firm, has agreed to buy Geo–Young, a wholesale drug distributor in South Korea, in a deal that will retain Geo–Young's CEO, Cho Sun–hae, in her leadership role.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S.-based Blackstone Group said on Tuesday it had agreed to acquire South Korean wholesale drug distributor Geo-Young in a deal with the company’s founder.
Blackstone did not disclose the value of its investment, but Maeil Business Newspaper said the private equity fund had agreed to buy a 46 percent stake in Geo-Young for 1.1 trillion won ($945.2 million) from another private equity firm.
Geo-Young founder and Chief Executive Cho Sun-hae would remain as a shareholder and retain her leadership role, Blackstone said in a statement.
The transaction was expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals, Blackstone added.
Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Stephen Coates
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Organization Merge
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April 2019
|
['(Reuters)']
|
A Taliban attack on a prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan allows almost all of the 1150 inmates to escape, including 390 Taliban inmates.
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A vehicle lays over turned at the entrance gate of a prison, right, after Taliban militants launched an attack in Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 14, 2008. More than 600 prisoners escaped during a brazen Taliban bomb and rocket attack on the main prison in southern Afghanistan that knocked down the front gate and demolished a prison floor, officials said Saturday. At least nine police were killed. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
By NOOR KHAN and JASON STRAZIUSO
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Armed Conflict
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June 2008
|
['(AP via Google News)', '(Reuters)']
|
Magnus Carlsen retains the title after a 3–0 victory against Fabiano Caruana in the best-of-four rapid tiebreaking series.
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For 20 days the world’s two best grandmasters sat in a soundproof studio in central London, with only a chessboard, their thoughts, and each other for company. But finally, after 15 games, 773 moves and 51 hours of simmering tension, the Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen held his nerve, and his crown, with an emphatic rapid-play victory over the US challenger Fabiano Caruana.
Some had wondered whether Carlsen, the world’s No1 ranked player for the past eight years and the world champion since 2013, had lost his mojo because of his diffidence during the classical matches, which were all drawn. Yet over the shorter four-game rapid-play format – where players have just 25 minutes for all their moves, along with a 10-second increment – he was a different animal, crushing his opponent 3-0.
“I am very happy,” a smiling Carlsen admitted afterwards. “I felt like I had a really good day at work. Everything went perfectly.”
Chess has been the sleeper hit of the autumn, with online audiences growing with each passing day despite no decisive results in the 12 classical matches for the first time in the competition’s 132-year history. Naturally the prospect of the first American world champion since Bobby Fischer in 1972 had also attracted a large contingent of US networks to the College in Holborn, all scenting an upset. Carlsen, though, had other ideas.
He visibly relaxed after winning a tricky endgame in the first game, and two more smooth victories ensured he took the winner’s prize of €550,000 (£486,000). Caruana at least had the compensation of returning to St Louis with the €450,000 (£398,000) runners-up prize.
Earlier, Carlsen had appeared pensive as the battery of photographers – who were permitted into the sealed off room for the first three minutes of play – clicked and whirred away. But after Caruana’s third move of the opening game, the unexpected bishop to b4 in the English Opening, Carlsen smiled as if he had been expecting it and instantaneously flashed out his reply.
Both players were behind unidirectional glass, which meant they were unable to see the hundreds of spectators watching on, a necessary precaution in the age of impossibly powerful chess programmes available on mobile phones. But Carlsen’s demeanour made it clear that he fancied his chances in the first game, especially after trading into an endgame where he was a pawn down but had the advantage of the two bishops and his opponent’s fragmented pawn structure.
Those chances only increased after Caruana played his knight to b5 on the 17th move – giving his opponent a massive advantage. However, Carlsen was initially unable to navigate through the tricky waters to victory – a move that would have required him to make an unnatural move with his king to the h1 square – and somehow Caruana looked to have secured a draw.
However, after the American made a mistake on move 34 with barely seconds left on his clock, the Norwegian super computer Sesse was announcing a mate in 39 for Carlsen. It wasn’t so easy to the grandmasters in the press room, but eventually and imprecisely he was able to convert.
For the second game the players once again entered the hyper-aggressive waters of the Sicilian Sveshnikov, as they had done in game eight, 10 and 12. It led to another fascinating position, with Caruana better on the board and ahead on the clock after 17 moves. But Carlsen found a series of first-choice moves before correctly assessing that he could castle when his opponent advanced his pawns on the queenside.
Caruana’s brain scurried back and forth through innumerable tunnels of calculation looking for ways to fight back but after he blundered with knight to d5 on move 28 it was pretty much game over and he was forced to resign one move later.
“I feel that game one was critical for the match,” explained Carlsen later. “It was very tense and it was the breakthrough for me. And in the second I wasn’t sure about my position but after I had won the first game I felt very calm.”
With Carlsen only needing a draw in the third rapid play he took a cautious approach which led to an equal position. But when Caruana overextended his position in the vain hope of a win, the Norwegian ruthlessly pounced and forced another resignation.
Afterwards the Norwegian also had a sly dig at the former world champions Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, who had suggested he had been wrong to offer a draw in a better position in the 12th and final classical game to take the match to a tie-breaker. “I think I made the right decision, and not solely based on the result,” he said. “As for the opinions of Garry and Vlad they are invited to their ‘stupid’ opinions,” he added, smiling.
Caruana, who had played so well in the classical section, admitted to having some “regrets” about not being able to turn good positions into a win. But he admitted that Carlsen had been the better man when it counted. “I was hoping to play my best chess today but I didn’t even come close.”
But despite his loss, his co-manager Mehreen Malik insisted that he had “galvanised” interest in chess in America. “There is a whole generation of Americans who didn’t grow up with Bobby Fischer or interest in this great game, but that has changed in the last three weeks,” she added. “Fabiano went to toe to toe with the world championship, and in doing so has crossed the rubicon into the mainstream. He will be back.”
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Sports Competition
|
November 2018
|
['(The Guardian)']
|
A Chinese court upholds an eight year sentence for "stealing state secrets" for Chinese American geologist Xue Feng.
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The eight-year jail sentence of a Chinese-born American geologist has been upheld by a Chinese court.
US Ambassador Jon Huntsman urged China to "immediately" release Xue Feng, following a hearing in which Mr Xue appealed against the conviction. He was convicted last July, after a two-and-a-half year trial, on charges of stealing state secrets. His case is one of many in which ethnic Chinese with foreign passports have been jailed on similar charges.
The BBC's correspondent in Beijing, Martin Patience, says this case has come to symbolise the country's use of state secret laws to protect powerful business interests. Xue Feng, 44, was detained in 2007 after negotiating the sale of an oil industry database to his employers, an American consultancy company. Mr Xue said the information he had acquired about China's oil industry was publicly available. He claimed he had been tortured while in detention.
Other cases include that of the Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu, now imprisoned in Shanghai, and several Hong Kong residents detained in business disputes.
Our correspondent says the judiciary in China is not independent, and high-profile trials are often susceptible to government influence.
The Beijing High People's Court proceedings were brief and a statement was read out denying the appeal for a sentence reduction for Mr Xue.
"They rejected all our arguments," his lawyer, Tong Wei, said outside the courthouse.
The jail term handed down was described by his lawyer as "very heavy". Mr Xue was also fined 200,000 yuan (£19,500; $30,000). "I'm extremely disappointed in the outcome, although it wasn't completely unexpected," Mr Huntsman said.
"We ask the Chinese government to consider an immediate humanitarian release of Xue Feng, thereby allowing him to get back to his family and to his way of life," Huntsman told reporters outside the court.
"This case has been brought up in every single meeting that I've been involved with for almost two years. "We'll not let this one go," he added.
Our correspondent says that Washington had hoped that Xue Feng would be freed last month, ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to the US.
Mr Xue had arranged the sale of an openly available database about China's largely state-controlled oil industry to his US consulting firm IHS Energy, now known as IHS inc. The geologist has claimed that interrogators burned his arms with cigarettes and hit him on the head with an ashtray.
Three Chinese nationals were also sentenced for illegally providing intelligence abroad.
Draft regulations released by China's government last year defined business information held by state firms as state secrets. Legal observers have also voiced concern that China's courts are ignoring legal procedures when dealing with sensitive cases. They say that in Xue Feng's case, the time it took to reach the verdict delivered last July breached China's own legal time limits.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
|
February 2011
|
['(BBC)', '(Bloomberg)']
|
Hundreds of people stage a rare protest in the Syrian capital Damascus calling for greater freedoms and the release of political prisoners.
|
Hundreds of Syrians have staged a rare protest in the capital, Damascus, calling for democratic reforms and the release of all political prisoners.
Six protesters were reportedly detained by the security forces, a witness told the BBC Arabic Service. The AP news agency said government supporters later broke up the rally by punching and attacking the protesters.
A Facebook group, The Syrian revolution against [President] Bashar al-Assad 2011, is said to have called the march. A similar appeal on Facebook last month failed to bring protesters to the streets, but critics blamed a heavy security presence for the failure of that campaign.
Tuesday's march started after noon prayers in the old town of Damascus and fanned out to neighbouring streets, the witness told the BBC.
He said the security forces did not use force against the protesters, but detained six of them. He added that more people were expected to join demonstrations after the evening prayers.
A video posted on YouTube appeared to show the protest, with hundreds of marchers chanting slogans calling for freedom and an end to the emergency laws.
Calls for protests in Syria surfaced on Facebook after Egyptian activists succeeded in overthrowing President Hosni Mubarak last month after weeks of street demonstrations.
Syria - like Egypt - is ruled through emergency law and suffers from high poverty and unemployment. Critics say corruption and cronyism are rife in Syrian business and political circles.
President Bashar al-Assad - who came to power in 2000 after three decades of rule by his father Hafez - has moved slowly to open up the economy, but his administration does not tolerate any dissent.
There are thousands of political prisoners in Syrian jails, and major opposition groups are banned. The government also blocks access to several internet sites and maintains strict control of the media.
In January, President Assad told the Wall Street Journal that Syria was more stable than Tunisia and Egypt. He said that there was no chance of political upheaval, and pledged to press on with a package of reforms.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
March 2011
|
['(BBC)', '(AFP via Google News)']
|
The Orange Revolution advocate Yulia Tymoshenko wins parliament's backing to return as prime minister of Ukraine.
|
KIEV (Reuters) - Yulia Tymoshenko, ardent advocate of Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution”, won parliament’s backing on Tuesday to return as prime minister and vowed to clean up the country’s finances and hold talks with Russia on the gas trade.
Ukraine's new Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers presented to her after voting in parliament in Kiev December 18, 2007.
Tymoshenko, who reconciled with pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko ahead of a September parliamentary election, won 226 votes in the 450-seat chamber, the exact number required to take office. Her adversaries took no part in the vote.
The vote underscored the fragile nature of Tymoshenko’s majority, though it also showed the coalition’s discipline at critical moments. Some analysts express concern that the slender advantage will make it difficult to push forward with reforms.
Parliament later approved Tymoshenko’s cabinet, including veteran reformer Viktor Pynzenyk as finance minister.
Tymoshenko roused vast crowds in Kiev in the “Orange Revolution” that swept Yushchenko to office and was premier for seven months before the two fell out and he sacked her.
Reconciled with Yushchenko before the September election, she heads a coalition of her own bloc and his Our Ukraine party which can generally command 227 seats in a divided parliament.
Tymoshenko said her cabinet would meet on Tuesday, with the first task to produce a new budget by the New Year.
“We will carry out strategic reforms step by step,” she said after the vote. “Our first steps will be in the few days left to work out our financial resources and correct the budget.”
She said Ukraine would uphold its guarantees to send Russian gas through to European customers. But she wanted talks quickly with Russia to eliminate intermediaries in gas trade.
The previous government, headed by Viktor Yanukovich, the president’s rival from the 2004 upheaval, has already agreed gas prices for next year with a 38 percent increase.
Some analysts said the narrow vote exposed the new premier’s limited room for maneuver.
“This means the government will be fragile. There will be a number of question marks over any legislation and reforms,” said Ivailo Vesselinov, an analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort.
But Oliver Weeks of Morgan Stanley, said markets were well aware of the coalition’s fragile nature.
“What is positive is that there is a gas deal in place. We’ll be looking to see if she tries to change that,” he said.
“I think politics still matter, but I don’t think this will change markets much in the short-term.”
Tymoshenko fell one vote short of approval last week.
Before Tuesday’s vote, she made a speech vowing to end corruption 16 years after independence. She has said she will uphold the ideals of the 2004 protests, including pledges to eventually seek membership of the European Union and NATO.
Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk grinned as his vote, the last to be counted, gave Tymoshenko the numbers she needed.
Tymoshenko, wearing her traditional peasant braid and a white dress, was then surrounded by applauding supporters.
With career diplomat Volodymyr Ohryzko appointed as Foreign Minister and long-time Yushchenko loyalist Yuri Yekhanurov at defense -- both nominated by the president - Ukraine’s policies of moving closer to the West were certain remain intact.
Yushchenko was not in parliament, but said on his Web site he was certain the coalition’s “steps to tackle the country’s top priorities will prove successful”.
Yanukovich, given the floor during debate, said Tymoshenko’s last mandate had seen the economy shrink and prices rise.
“A new era of trials lies ahead for our country, trials of crises, scandals,” he said. “Our people can expect no improvement in their lives.”
In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief, who has expressed concern at instability in Ukraine, urged Tymoshenko to proceed with reforms aimed at the modernization of Ukraine.
|
Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
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December 2007
|
['(Reuters)']
|
In the United Kingdom, members of the National Union of Journalists at the BBC begin a 48 hour strike in a dispute over proposed changes to the Corporation's pension scheme. BBC News operates a reduced service.
|
Members of the National Union of Journalists at the BBC are taking part in a two-day strike in a dispute over proposed changes to the pension plan.
The NUJ, which has 4,100 members at the BBC, voted to reject the BBC's "final" offer on pensions. Broadcasting union Bectu voted to accept the deal.
Radio 4's Today programme was cancelled, but the BBC News at Six and Ten O'Clock went ahead in full.
A further 48-hour strike is planned for 15 and 16 November. The BBC has published a page detailing changes to the schedule due to industrial action.
The journalists' union said the action, which began at midnight on Friday, was having a "significant impact" on news and current affairs programmes.
'Inevitable disruption'
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "It is a clear indication that BBC journalists will stand up for a fair pension deal.
"Programmes that are going out are being run by freelance staff or managers, using pre-recorded packages.
"The strike is incredibly solid and the impact will grow over the course of the next two days."
But BBC director general Mark Thompson said in his blog: "We believe that much of the output on the BBC will be unaffected by this action.
"However, it is inevitable that some programmes and content will be disrupted. "This has been a difficult period for staff. However, the people who lose out most in any strike action are the very people we are here to serve - our audiences."
NUJ members at the BBC are also set to observe an indefinite work to rule from Sunday, ensuring they take full breaks and only work their minimum prescribed hours.
The dispute stems from the BBC's plans to reduce a £1.5bn pensions deficit by capping increases in pensionable pay at 1% from next April.
Under the BBC's revised offer, the amount employees would have to pay into the pension scheme has been reduced from 7% to 6%.
In return, they would get a career-average benefit pension - based on the average salary over an employee's entire career - that would be revalued by up to 4% each year. The previous offer was 2.5%.
When employees draw their pension, payments will increase automatically each year in line with inflation, by up to 4% - again up from a previous offer of 2.5%.
Bectu, which represents technical and production staff, said after last month's ballot that the amended offer was "the best that can be achieved through negotiation".
But it added their position could be reviewed if the pensions deficit turned out to be less than £1.5bn. Fresh BBC strikes are announced
|
Strike
|
November 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(The Guardian)']
|
South Korea abruptly postpones signing a military treaty with Japan after opposition parties in Seoul accuse the government of trying to rush it without proper discussion.
|
SEOUL, South Korea — Faced with mounting political pressure at home, the South Korean government on Friday abruptly postponed the signing of its first military cooperation pact with Japan since World War II.
Now the fate of the agreement has become uncertain as South Korea’s political parties look ahead to a presidential election later this year.
|
Sign Agreement
|
June 2012
|
['(The New York Times)']
|
A fire breaks out in Dhaka, Bangladesh, at a 22–story tower, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 70 others.
|
Victims of a tower block fire in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Thursday may have been trapped because emergency exits were locked, officials say.
At least 25 people died and 70 others were injured in the blaze.
Six of the victims are believed to have fallen to their deaths when they jumped from the burning high-rise building.
Shajahan Shikdar, from Dhaka's fire department, told the BBC's Bengali Service that there was also a shortage of fire safety equipment inside.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire in the commercial district of Banani. The government has ordered an investigation.
The fire broke out at about 12:50 local time (06:50 GMT) on Thursday, quickly engulfing the high-rise property and trapping people inside.
Many are believed to have been stuck on the upper floors of the building, above where the fire had started.
"The fire safety system of this building was not satisfactory," Mr Shikdar told BBC News. "There was only a narrow, two-feet-wide iron staircase available as a fire escape, but it was found locked on different floors. So the people in this building were not able to use it during the fire."
According to Bengali newspaper the Daily Star, it took 22 firefighting units, backed up by the army, navy and air force, to tackle the blaze. Military helicopters were seen dropping water on the building from above, and rescuing people from the rooftop.
The fire was eventually brought under control at 16:45 local time (10:45 GMT), after almost four hours.
Analysis by Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC South Asia Regional Editor
The Bangladeshi capital is a city of high-rise commercial and residential buildings - but how many of these buildings strictly adhere to the government's building code is a big question. It is not uncommon to see emergency exits locked or unwanted office furniture and other junk dumped near fire doors. In some places, the fire exit stairs are so narrow that it will be difficult to navigate through them even under bright light. Some buildings do not carry out regular fire drills or organise awareness programmes for its occupants. In some buildings, steel ladders are used as fire exits and I have seen them particularly in some clothing factories outside Dhaka. In the latest incident, the fire service officials said, even those ladders were locked. Rescue teams also found that there were no water sprinklers inside the tall building. It is still not clear what caused the blaze. The government says a case will be filed against the owner of the building. But there will be questions on how such a commercial building without proper fire safety measures was allowed to operate all these years. Mostaq Ahmed, from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told local media on Friday that 25 victims had been recovered and identified, and that all but one had been handed over to their families.
He added that officials from the fire service were still inspecting the building, and that the police would take over shortly afterwards.
The fire service initially put the death toll at 19, but on Friday the police confirmed that at least six more people had been killed. Another 70 people are being treated in hospital, with one person said to be in a critical condition.
Large fires are relatively common in Bangladesh, owing to lax safety regulations and poor building conditions. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years. Last month, a massive blaze in Dhaka's old quarter killed at least 78 people and injured dozens more.
That same month, a fire in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong killed at least nine people.
Dhaka, with a population of more than 18 million, is one of the world's most densely populated cities. Some 3.5 million of its people live in slums, according to the World Bank. Fire in historic Dhaka district kills 78
The 400-year-old bustling heart of Dhaka
Bangladesh slum fire kills nine
Bangladesh clothing factories: Are they safe now?
|
Fire
|
March 2019
|
['(BBC)']
|
At the 2013 Crufts dog show, Soletrader Peek A Boo, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, wins Best in Show.
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A dog called Jilly, who despite a very ordinary name is a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, won the Best in Show title at Crufts tonight, after competing against thousands of other pedigrees to win the Kennel Club’s annual competition. It was the four-year-old hound’s last foray into the canine show ring, with her owners planning to retire her after her latest win. Her owner Gavin Robertson said: “She is just so busy, so naughty, she’s such a character, a once in a lifetime dog.” He said he “could not have scripted” her finale better. The breed, which is known for its “lively bearing”, is described in the Kennel Club’s breed standards as being “well balanced, short legged, rough coated, compact hound”. A Labrador Retriever from
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Awards ceremony
|
March 2013
|
['(BBC)', '(The Times)']
|
A 63 year old Palestinian man dies during a clash at the Qalandiya checkpoint; Palestinian sources claim his death was due to tear gas inhalation while Israeli sources say the man suffered a fatal heart attack. (Ma'an)
|
A Palestinian man died Friday at the Qalandiya checkpoint in the West Bank, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, as some security forces faced off against some 1,000 Palestinians rioting at the site.
The protests erupted when dozens of Palestinians tried to break through the checkpoint in order to attend the final Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Channel 2 reported. Security forces at the site used riot dispersal measures, which Palestinian sources said included tear gas.
According to the Palestinian news agency Ma’an, the man in his 40s choked as a result of the use of tear gas, and was taken to hospital in Ramallah, where he was pronounced dead.
An Israeli military source said, however, that the man’s death was caused by a heart attack, not from inhaling tear gas, the Walla news website reported.
Three police officers were lightly injured in the violence, Walla said. The crossing was closed temporarily due to the riots.
|
Famous Person - Death
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July 2016
|
['(The Times of Israel)']
|
Baldwin Lonsdale, the President of Vanuatu, dies suddenly of a heart attack at age 67. Parliament Speaker Esmon Saimon takes his post as acting president.
|
The president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, has died after a heart attack at the age of 67.
Mr Lonsdale, an Anglican priest, had been leader of the Pacific archipelago since September 2014.
The Vanuatu Daily Post said he died suddenly in the capital Port Vila shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Australia's Governor-General Peter Cosgrove said Mr Lonsdale "served the people of Vanuatu with dignity and humility, and was much loved".
While president, Mr Lonsdale oversaw the vast rebuilding of parts of Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam left an estimated 75,000 people homeless in March 2015. In October the same year, he vowed to clean up corruption in Vanuatu after a scandal involving his deputy.
Speaker Marcellino Pipite was one of 14 MPs - half of the country's parliament - convicted of giving and receiving corrupt payments over a vote of no confidence in a previous government. He went on to pardon himself and the other 13 MPs while Mr Lonsdale was out of the country, a pardon the president then rescinded on his return.
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Famous Person - Death
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June 2017
|
['(BBC)', '(Radio New Zealand)']
|
Two people die and 14 others are injured when a car ploughs into a crowd of spectators at a rally for World Environment Day in Gatsibo, Rwanda.
|
Two people were killed and 14 others injured in Rwanda when a car ploughed into a crowd of spectators at a rally.
A Kenyan driver reportedly lost control of his car as he raced at high speed on Sunday night. Two of those injured are said to be in a serious condition.
The KCB Mountain Gorilla Rally held in the eastern district of Gatsibo was organised to celebrate World Environment Day.
|
Armed Conflict
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June 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(Times Live)']
|
In Milwaukee, protesters gather near the The Calling sculpture in opposition to Israel's occupation.
|
A rally and protest in support of the Palestinian people was held in front of The Calling sculpture in downtown Milwaukee Wednesday evening.
Organizer Ihsan Atta led the crowd of about 100 in chants of "Free Palestine!" and "In our millions and our billions we are all Palestinians."
This rally comes as rocket fire and airstrikes have been exchanged between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
The fighting has killed at least 53 Palestinians and seven Israelis, with some media outlets reporting more. Hamas and Israel continued their lethal exchange of rocket fire and airstrikes Wednesday. Fourteen Palestinian children and two Israeli children were among the dead. It's the most severe outbreak of violence since 2014.
The Biden administration dispatched a top State Department diplomat to the Middle East "immediately" to try to de-escalate the deadly conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.
The United Nations' special coordinator for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, warned on Wednesday that the situation "is escalating toward full-scale war."
The recent clashes began over a planned Supreme Court of Israel decision that would evict Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem, leading to Hamas firing rockets toward Israeli cities.
At Wednesday's rally, protesters talked about the ruling as an issue of human rights and view the action as a part of Israel's occupation of the land. Organizer Lina Habib led the group in chants of "one, two, three, four, occupation no more!"
Nadia Ahsan attended the rally and said, "Human beings' dignities are being crushed, at this time, during the pandemic. I can't imagine somebody to be this much of an oppressor, this much of a tyrant, to crush a whole race."
Ahsan acknowledged that speaking out may be to her detriment, "If I speak for Palestine, somebody could say you're an anti-Semite. But Palestinians are Semite; people don't know that."
"There's nothing good about an apartheid, there's nothing decent, during a pandemic, about what Israel is doing right now."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, "We will continue to attack with full force," in what he views as acts of self-defense.
Aaron David Miller, who helped U.S. policy toward the Middle East across multiple administrations, said Israel and Hamas seem determined to keep fighting.
President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Wednesday and "condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups" and "conveyed the United States’ encouragement of a pathway toward restoring a sustainable calm," according to a readout of the conversation from the White House.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
May 2021
|
['(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)']
|
In the Netherlands, Mohammed Bouyeri receives life sentence for murder of Theo van Gogh
|
A Dutch court has handed down a life sentence to Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan convicted of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
"The terrorist attack on Theo van Gogh has unleashed feelings of great fear and insecurity in [Dutch] society", presiding Judge Udo Willem Bentinck said. Van Gogh, well known for his scathing criticism of Islam and the multicultural society, was shot and stabbed in broad daylight as he cycled the streets of Amsterdam on 2 November 2004. His murder stoked ethnic tensions in the Netherlands and sparked a wave of reprisal attacks mainly directed at the Muslim community. "There is only one fitting punishment in this case and that is a life sentence. You are thus sentenced to life in prison," the judge told Bouyeri. A life sentence carries no possibility of parole in the Netherlands. Beliefs
Bouyeri nodded after the verdict was read out. Van Gogh was well-known for hisscathing criticism of Islam He shook hands with his lawyer and left the courtroom without looking in the direction of van Gogh's family members who were also present in the Amsterdam high-security court. Van Gogh was well-known for hisscathing criticism of Islam
During the trial two weeks ago, Bouyeri told the court that he killed van Gogh out of his beliefs. He insisted that "the law compels me to chop off the head of anyone who insults Allah and the prophet" and asked for the maximum sentence. "I can assure you that if I am ever freed, I will do exactly the same," he vowed. The court painted Bouyeri as someone with "radical beliefs, and obsession with violence and totalitarian views". OutrageThe 27-year-old was convicted of murdering the filmmaker and obstructing the work of liberal lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali and threatening her with a terrorist act, both crimes committed with a terrorist aim, according to the court. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of several police officers and bystanders and illegal possession of firearms. Van Gogh, a distant relative of 19th century painter Vincent van Gogh, together with Hirsi Ali had made a short film called Submission, linking Islam to the abuse of women, which caused outrage in the Dutch Muslim community.
After van Gogh's murder, Hirsi Ali went into hiding for three months because a letter threatening her and other politicians was found on the filmmaker's body. "The defendant has deliberately tried to instil fear in the Dutch population," the court said in its ruling. "The killing was carried out in a gruesome way in a busy street, during rush hour, the victim was a celebrity. Add to that the letter left on the scene containing threats not only to Hirsi Ali but to the Netherlands as a whole." Other accusations
The prosecution had demanded that Bouyeri be stripped of his right to vote or to stand for election, but the court denied the request arguing that since the defendant clearly rejected democracy it was unlikely that he would ever exercise these rights. Even though prosecutors have said that Bouyeri was "a leading figure" in a "terrorist organisation" known as the Hofstad group, he has not yet been charged for that because of a lack of evidence. The Dutch national prosecutor's office is expected to decide soon if Bouyeri will be separately prosecuted for membership of a terrorist organisation. They have already charged 15 other people with being members of the Hofstad group.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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July 2005
|
['(Expatica)', '(IHT)', '(Al–Jazeera)']
|
The Philippine police identifies the lone gunman as Jessie Javier Carlos, a local citizen, who was a debt-riddled former employee of the Department of Finance.
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PRIME SUSPECT. NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde holds a photo of suspect Jessie Carlos, the lone gunman in the June 2, 2017 Resorts World Manila attack, in a press conference at Remington Hotel, Pasay City on June 4, 2017
(5th UPDATE) 42-year-old Jessie Carlos, said to be 'heavily in debt' due to casino gambling, is identified as the gunman in the June 2 Resorts World attack
MANILA, Philippines (5th UPDATE) – Police on Sunday, June 4, identified the suspect in the attack at Resorts World Manila as a former employee of the Department of Finance (DOF) who is "heavily in debt" due to casino gambling.
The lone gunman was identified as Jessie Carlos, 42 years old, said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Oscar Albayalde in a press conference at the Remington Hotel – part of the Resorts World complex – on Sunday.
Carlos was previously assigned to the DOF's "One Stop Shop" office. He was discharged from his post for issues related to his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
His identity was confirmed early Sunday morning by his estranged wife and his parents, according to the NCRPO chief. His parents and wife were at the press conference.
Albayalde said Carlos, a resident of Sta Cruz, Manila, was "heavily in debt" due to casino gambling.
Carlos – identified as a "high roller" who usually placed a minimum bet of P40,000 – is said to have P4 million in debt with banks, plus an undisclosed amount of non-bank-related debts, due to his gambling problem.
He also sold his car and a family property in Batangas to finance his gambling addiction.
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Just last April 3, Carlos, who was said to be a regular at other casinos but not at Resorts World, was barred from entering all casinos by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) upon request of next-of-kin, Albayalde said. (READ: FAST FACTS: What you need to know about Resorts World Manila)
A 2014 press release from the DOF's Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) identified a "Jessie Javier Carlos" as a Tax Specialist of the One Stop Shop Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center.
The RIPS press release said the employee was dismissed from service by the Ombudsman "for failure to disclose truthfully all his assets" in his SALN.
GUNMAN'S KIN. NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde presents the family of Jessie Carlos in a press conference at Remington Hotel, Pasay City on June 4, 2017.
Carlos' father Fernando confirmed his son was in financial trouble but that Carlos was not mentally ill. He also said they do not know where the gun used came from.
Albayalde again emphasized that the suspect acted alone, and that the incident is not terror-related.
"We also reiterate our prior statements that this is not an act of terrorism but this incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said," he said.
"We have and will continue to base our pronouncements on facts and evidence properly gathered. We will not allow people or any threat group to use this situation to advance their propaganda or personal causes whether foreign or local," Albayalde added.
How did this story make you feel?
He added that this closes the terror angle in the probe of the incident
The Islamic State (ISIS) had earlier claimed responsibility for the Resorts World attack. President Rodrigo Duterte, however, said he doubts ISIS' claim.
Carlos' mother Teodora asked for forgiveness from the families of the victims of the attack, saying that their family is also a victim in the incident.
The police also presented to the media the gasoline boy who sold to the suspect the 3 liters of gasoline used in burning parts of the hotel-casino, as well as the taxi driver who drove Carlos there.
The now-identified gunman stormed into the high-end casino complex in Pasay City past midnight last Friday, June 2, with an M4 automatic rifle and a bottle of gasoline, firing shots and setting gaming tables ablaze.
The smoke from the fires caused 36 people to die and dozens more were injured in a stampede to escape. Carlos was found dead about 5 hours later in a hotel room after committing suicide by setting fire to himself, police said. ) – with a report from Agence France-Presse / Rappler.com
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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June 2017
|
['(Rappler)', '(Philippine Daily Inquirer)']
|
Thailand's People Power Party, led by Samak Sundaravej, wins the 2007 general elections.
|
Samak Sundaravej's People Power Party (PPP) won 228 seats in the 480-seat house, short of the 241 needed for an absolute majority.
The election is the first since the 2006 coup that overthrew Mr Thaksin.
Correspondents say the result is a big setback for the military, which has tried to curb Mr Thaksin's influence.
The Election Commission said about 93% of votes had been counted and the situation would now not change greatly.
The PPP's main rival, the Democrat Party, is set to win 166 seats and Chart Thai 39.
Mr Samak, 72, claimed victory, saying: "I will be the next prime minister for sure."
He added: "I invite all the parties to join our government."
The leader of the PPP's main rival, the Democrats, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said the election had been a "close race".
"If the PPP succeeds in forming a coalition, the Democrat Party is ready to become the opposition. If the PPP fails, then the Democrat Party is ready to form its own coalition," he said.
Mr Samak said he had spoken to Mr Thaksin, who is in Hong Kong, by telephone.
"Thaksin said 'congratulations'," Mr Samak said.
The PPP leader added: "This is a victory for all Thai people who unreasonably lost their freedom on 19 September."
That was the date in 2006 when the military removed Mr Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party from power.
Mr Thaksin, who is now banned from Thai politics, has since lived in self-imposed exile abroad, mainly in Britain.
POST-COUP TIMELINE
September 2006: Coup overthrows Thaksin Shinawatra
October 2006: Retired General Surayud Chulanont is appointed interim leader
May 2007: Court bans Mr Thaksin from politics for five years, and dissolves his party
August 2007: Voters approve a new constitution December 2007: Election held
Key election figuresThailand's turbulent yearProfile: Thaksin ShinawatraIn pictures: Thailand votes
However his allies have promised he would return and that the five-year political ban on him would be overturned.
Mr Samak said on Sunday: "Thaksin said he will come back after the government is formed." If he does return to Thailand, Mr Thaksin will have to answer a number of corruption charges levelled against him in the courts.
Military key
Election monitors said that voting had mostly proceeded smoothly and been well-organised, despite complaints of vote-buying and other irregularities.
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Government Job change - Election
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December 2007
|
['(BBC News)']
|
The Nigerian Army recaptures the town of Baga where Boko Haram killed scores of people last month.
|
The Nigerian army has retaken the north-eastern town of Baga, held by Boko Haram militants since 3 January. In a tweet from its official account, the army said that "mopping up" operations were continuing. It also claimed in a separate statement that it had killed many Boko Haram militants, though this has not been independently verified.
Nigeria says 150 people died when Boko Haram took Baga and nearby Doron Baga, but locals said up to 2,000 died.
Residents were left largely undefended as the military deserted when the jihadists attacked the towns.
This time, the army claims it was the militants who fled, with some drowning in Lake Chad as they tried to escape the aerial bombardment.
It added that 1,000 mines had been laid in Baga, which soldiers had to negotiate before entering.
The BBC's Will Ross in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, say other sources have confirmed that Boko Haram no longer control Baga. The massacre there is regarded as the worst attack of Boko Haram's six-year insurgency. Thousands fled across Lake Chad when the assault began with 7,000 taking refuge in the Chadian town of Ngouboua.
Boko Haram, which controls of much of Nigeria's north-east, has killed thousands of people in its drive to establish an Islamic state.
In recent months it has also carried out cross-border raids in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger, attacking villages and military bases.
All three countries have joined Nigeria to form a military coalition against the Islamist militants.
Also on Saturday, Niger's army reported the deaths of 15 Boko Haram militants following clashes in an island on the Niger side of Lake Chad.
Seven Niger soldiers and one civilian also died in the attack.
When I was running and they were hunting us, shooting us, some people were falling and dying, others being run over with motorbikes and dying. Some reached the bank of the lake"
How the massacre unfolded
It is not yet clear whether other armies were involved in the recapture of Baga. However, the Chadian army spokesperson said there had been no involvement from his country's troops. Chad has been carrying out attacks against Boko Haram deep inside Nigeria.
The Nigerian army has been criticised by its failure to tackle the militant group, although it has recaptured some territory in recent weeks.
Last week, Nigeria retook the north-eastern towns of Monguno and Marte from the group.
Earlier this month, presidential elections were delayed for six weeks over security concerns.
The electoral commission said it made the decision after the security agencies advised there would not be enough troops available to guarantee the safety of voters. President Goodluck Jonathan says the election will take place on 28 March. However, opponents say they fear Mr Jonathan, who is running for a second term, will use the delay to hold on to power. Boko Haram at a glance
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Armed Conflict
|
February 2015
|
['(BBC)']
|
Two people are killed and eight are hurt when a man confronted by police for scrawling graffiti at a Mexico City Metro station opens fire on passersby.
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A gunman opened fire inside a Mexico City subway car during rush hour on Friday, killing at least two people before he was subdued by police.
Pedro Estrada, director of Mexico City's forensic experts, said a passenger and a female police officer were killed. Five others were wounded.
Luis Felipe Hernandez Castillo (left) is arrested by Mexican police after a shooting at Mexico City's subway,Credit:AFP
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said the gunman had been captured.
Witnesses told radio station Formato 21 the gunman got on the subway at the Balderas station and began shooting while yelling the attack was against the government.
Police officers guarding the station subdued and captured the gunman, witnesses told the Mexican newspaper Reforma.
The Mexican government is locked in a bloody conflict with feuding drug cartels, but unrelated shooting rampages are relatively rare in Mexico.
Millions of commuters ride the capital city's Metro each day. Balderas station is a major transfer point between subway lines.
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Armed Conflict
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September 2009
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['(CNN)', '(BBC)', '(The Sydney Morning Herald)']
|
Michael Cohen, the ex–lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, pleads guilty to eight felony financial charges. He admits that a $150,000 hush money payment in August 2016, "at the direction" of an unnamed candidate, was for the "principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. He is released on $500,000 bail until his sentencing on December 12. He faces up to 65 years, though prosecutors recommend 46 to 63 months.
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Follow NBC News Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to eight counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, including two counts related to hush-money payments made to women — and said he made the payments "at the direction of a candidate," meaning Trump.
Trump's name didn't come up in the federal courtroom in Manhattan, but Cohen said he had paid two women, apparently porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, "at the direction" of an unnamed candidate in 2016, and that a $150,000 payment in August 2016 was for the "principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. Both Daniels and McDougal have said they had past relationships with Trump.
Asked if he knew that what he did was illegal, he told the court yes.
Cohen told the court that he and an executive from a media company, at the direction of a federal candidate, arranged to keep one of the alleged affairs from the public with a payment of $150,000. McDougal and her lawyers have said that the National Enquirer, run by Trump associate David Pecker, paid her $150,000 in August 2016 as part of a "catch-and-kill" strategy to keep the story from circulating publicly.
Cohen said in March that he had used money from a home equity loan to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels, who has said she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago.
He told the court Tuesday that after using the money from the loan for the payment, he was reimbursed by the unnamed candidate.
Cohen's sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 12 at 11 a.m., and Cohen was released on $500,000 bail.
The defendant seemed to choke up when the judge asked him if he was aware that being convicted of a felony waives his right to vote and serve on a jury. All eight counts are felonies. The judge noted that Cohen could serve up to 65 years in prison, though the prosecutors' recommended sentence is 46 to 63 months.
The plea deal does not include a written provision that he must cooperate as a witness in federal investigations, according to one source.
One moment of levity during the proceedings was when Cohen mentioned he had "one glass of Glenlivet 12" scotch the previous evening. The admission came in response to standard questioning by Judge William Pauley, who asked if Cohen had consumed any drugs or alcohol in the past 24 hours. Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, said in a statement that Cohen made the plea so "his family can move on to the next chapter."
"This is Michael fulfilling his promise made on July 2nd to put his family and country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump," said Davis. "Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?”
Davis told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night that Cohen "has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to the special counsel and is more than happy to tell the special counsel all that he knows, not just about the obvious possibility of a conspiracy to collude and corrupt the American Democracy system in the 2016 election ... but also knowledge about the computer crime of hacking and whether or not Mr. Trump knew ahead of time about that crime and even cheered it on."
Rudolph Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, said, "There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government's charges against Mr. Cohen. It is clear that, as the prosecutor noted, Mr. Cohen's actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time.”
In a statement, Stormy Daniels told NBC News, "Michael [Avenatti, her lawyer] and I are vindicated and we look forward to the apologies from the people who claimed we were wrong."
The charges stem from a probe of Cohen that is being led by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is working with the FBI and the IRS.
“This investigation uncovered crimes of fraud, deception and evasion, conducted through a string of financial transactions that were carefully constructed and concealed to protect a variety of interests," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement released by the Justice Department. "But as we all know, the truth can only remain hidden for so long before the FBI brings it to light. We are all expected to follow the rule of law, and the public expects us — the FBI — to enforce the law equally. Today, Mr. Cohen has been reminded of this important lesson, as he acknowledged with his guilty plea."
"[W]e should not expect law abiding citizens to foot the bill for those who circumvent the system to evade paying their fair share," added IRS Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett.
Cohen, who once bragged he'd take a bullet for Trump, hinted in July that may have changed. "I put family and country first," he told ABC News last month.
In addition to bank and tax fraud questions arising from Cohen's taxi business, federal prosecutors are looking into whether the hush-money payments Cohen arranged with women who claimed they had sexual encounters with Trump amount to violations of campaign finance law.
FBI agents raided Cohen’s office and hotel room in April and seized documents and electronics. According to people with knowledge of the search warrant, agents were looking for information related to the $130,000 transaction between Cohen and Daniels, as well as information about the payment of $150,000 to McDougal, and information about the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump was heard making vulgar boasts about women.
The FBI has also monitored his phone calls with a pen register, meaning that the incoming and outgoing phone numbers were recorded but not the content of the calls.
In July, Davis released a phone conversation that Cohen secretly recorded in which Trump mentions "cash" in relation to a possible payment involving McDougal.
Made two months before the presidential election, the tape appears to show Cohen, who was Trump's personal attorney at the time, discussing "how to set the whole thing up with funding." At one point, Trump appears to ask "what financing?" and seems to ask "pay with cash?"
Cohen appears to then say "No, no, no, no, no, no, I got ..." before Trump is heard saying, or asking, "check," and then the recording abruptly ends. Although the exact wording on the tape is unclear at times, it does make it clear that Trump was aware of the model's allegation of the affair and the plans to pay to ensure her silence.
Several major companies say Cohen contacted them after Trump’s upset victory in the 2016 president election promising access to the new administration. An official with the pharmaceutical company Novartis said the company signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with Cohen, and AT&T also said it has met with Cohen. AT&T confirmed in an email to employees saying it had hired "several consultants" in early 2017 to help it "understand" the incoming administration.
Both Novartis and AT&T said they had been contacted by Mueller’s investigators.
Cohen, 51, was a vice president of the Trump Organization when he left the company in May. A former personal injury lawyer, he began working for the company in 2007 after helping Trump win a fight with the board at his condominium tower near the United Nations. He also owns numerous taxi medallions, which allow drivers to operate yellow cabs in New York.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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August 2018
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['(NBC News)']
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War in Somalia: Eight people are killed in a mortar attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
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A mortar has landed on a Koranic school, killing a female student, following a series of overnight attacks on camps housing Ethiopian soldiers.
A BBC correspondent in Mogadishu says the violence seems to be worsening. It is not clear who is responsible.
Meanwhile, Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has told the BBC he wants talks with the interim government.
He said he would take part in negotiations in Somalia if the political climate was right.
'Stray mortar'
The BBC's Mohammed Olad in Mogadishu says dozens of female students began shouting and crying after the shell landed on the roof of their school, killing a student and wounding seven others.
Sheikh Soon Salad Ilmi, director of Mogadishu's Madina hospital, where the wounded were taken, said some had life-threatening injuries.
Mr Ahmed is seen as a moderate
Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle blamed "the hardline remnants" of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) for the escalating violence but insisted that his interim government was in control.
"We have suspects and we know the areas where they plan their attacks," he said. "We will punish them." Government troops had sealed off the entire area close to the main port and the Mogadishu airport after the overnight attacks.
Four people including a woman and two children were killed in Mogadishu's southern Barakat district, reports the AFP news agency.
"The woman and children were killed by a stray mortar which destroyed their house," relative Amina Asheyr told AFP.
Islamist contacts
Mr Ahmed told the BBC's Somali Service that he was in constant contact with the rest of the UIC leadership, both inside Somalia and abroad.
Some Ethiopians have started to leave Somalia
He was speaking from Kenya, where he surrendered to the authorities after the Islamists were driven from Mogadishu.
Mr Ahmed is seen as a moderate and the US, the UN and the EU have all urged the Somali government to hold talks with him.
Mogadishu has seen a rise of violence this year since the transitional government forces and their Ethiopian backers defeated the UIC who had controlled the city and large parts of southern Somalia.
Government officials say there are more than 3,000 Islamic fighters in Mogadishu.
Ethiopia is seeking an early withdrawal from the country despite slow progress in drumming up an African peace keeping force.
Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Burundi are the only countries to have publicly offered to contribute to the proposed 8,000-strong force.
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Armed Conflict
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February 2007
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['(BBC)']
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President Bolsonaro expresses support for comedian Danilo Gentili who was sentenced to six months in prison for a sexually graphic rant against a congresswoman, saying that she was a transexual or a prostitute.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Danilo Gentili is one of Brazil’s most popular — and most offensive — comedians, with a late-night talk show and a massive Twitter following. A typical Gentili joke might speculate about this man’s sexual orientation or deride that woman’s weight.
But a burst of tweets against a congresswoman — at one point, he implied she was a prostitute — proved too vulgar for Brazil’s legislators, and in 2017, he was ordered to delete the offensive tweets. So, in characteristic response, he tore the order into pieces and rubbed them on his genitals in a video that went viral.
In the view of the Brazilian judiciary, Gentili had gone too far, and this month a court ordered him jailed for six months. The judge found that Gentili’s action was “intended to offend” and “never to be confused with a simple piece of spontaneous humor.”
Gentili has cast himself as a martyr to political correctness: “I never imagined one day being sentenced to prison for protesting against censorship,” he tweeted.
He is appealing, and legal analysts say he’s unlikely to see the inside of a cell. But the line between offensive and criminally offensive has become a central issue in Brazil today, as the nation’s institutions — including its new president — test the boundaries of the freedom of expression.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro tweets a lewd video, evoking outrage
Brazilian law, which is largely modeled on the U.S. system, includes in its constitution echoes of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression. But a criminal provision that allows penalties for those who “disrespect” public officials opens a loophole for censorship.
That loophole, combined with a culture of high-level rule-dodging, has yielded several recent incidents that have provoked the concern of Brazilians and international observers alike — and created strange bedfellows in support of free speech: Gentili’s defenders include both the progressive Human Rights Watch and the right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.
“My position will always be favorable to freedom of expression,” Bolsonaro tweeted after the court ruled against Gentili.
“International law is clear,” agreed Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director for Human Rights Watch. “No one should go to prison because they said something offensive, no matter how distasteful or obnoxious the remarks.”
Maria Cecilia Almeida, a professor of philosophy at the University of Brasília, argues that it is Bolsonaro and his administration who have set the tone for “the authoritarian track we are seeing in Brazil.” She says the debate “is just a symptom of a greater problem in Brazil: the weakening of the rule of law.”
Several recent incidents have drawn attention to the ambiguity of Brazil’s free-speech protections.
In what Canineu called a “disturbing” incident, a Supreme Court justice last month ordered two right-wing online news sites to remove an article that mentioned him, and asked that federal police investigate the news outlets’ directors.
The websites were known for sometimes publishing fake stories. Almeida said, “The willingness of the judge to go so far as to ask for a site’s story to be removed demonstrates a bigger problem: Brazil’s judiciary is losing its grip on preserving democracy.”
The tough job of Brazil’s vice president
Bolsonaro, of course, has drawn international attention for his provocative and sometimes offensive commentary.
He praises the military dictatorship that arrested and disappeared thousands of suspected guerrillas in the 1970s. He has said he would rather a son be dead than gay. He called congresswoman Maria do Rosário Nunes, Gentili’s target, too “ugly” to rape.
The president seemed to backtrack in his support of free expression when he ordered a television commercial for a government-controlled bank taken off the air for ostensibly disrespecting traditional family values. The commercial for Banco do Brasil show a variety of young Brazilians, including white men, black women, and a transgender woman, using the institution’s mobile services. Banco do Brasil pulled the commercial and fired its marketing director.
Alan Mansur, the former director of Brazil’s Association of Federal Prosecutors, said Bolsonaro overstepped his authority.
“According to our legislation, the president cannot intervene in the marketing of a public company like Banco do Brasil,” he said. “The decision about what that marketing looks like should be decided by technical and market criteria, not ideological criteria.”
Bolsonaro has defended his order.
“The line has shifted,” he told reporters. “The masses want the family to be respected.”
Bolsonaro routinely challenges the boundaries of taste. He was broadly criticized in March for tweeting a pornographic video of a man urinating on another man at what appeared to be Brazil’s Carnival.
“I’m not comfortable showing this,” he explained, “but we have to expose the truth so that the population can have this knowledge and decide on its priorities.”
He eventually took that one down himself — after learning that the two men in the video were pursuing legal action.
Brazil’s far-right president cancels New York trip after backlash
Delta, Bain and the Financial Times pull out of ceremony honoring Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro resurrects the zombie claim that Nazism was a leftist movement
.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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May 2019
|
['(The Washington Post)']
|
According to the government of Myanmar, at least 30 people are killed in an attack on various police, military, and government installations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in Laukkai. Four police officers were also taken hostage.
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YANGON (Reuters) - Some 30 people died in clashes between ethnic rebels and Myanmar security forces in a restive area along the border with China on Monday, the government said, dealing a blow to leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s goal of reaching peace with minorities.
Suu Kyi’s nearly one-year-old government is increasingly besieged by ethnic rebels, grappling with an alliance of militias in the north and a new Rohingya insurgency rebelling against decades of persecution in the northwest of the country.
The attack came after the Nobel Peace Prize winner met a delegation of ethnic armed groups last week to convince them to take part in a major peace conference. Suu Kyi swept to power in 2015 on promises of national reconciliation and the meeting was aimed at giving fresh impetus to the stuttering peace process.
“I strongly urge all sides to come to the peace negotiating table by abandoning the armed attacks, which have caused many deaths and problems for the citizens, who are not guilty, and the residents of the area,” Suu Kyi said in a statement reacting to the assault released late on Monday.
Fighters from the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) launched a pre-dawn attack onin the capital of the northeastern Kokang region, Laukkai.
As a result, some 30 people died, including civilians and police officers. Hotels and cars were destroyed and four policemen have been taken hostage, the government said.
MNDAA is a part of the Northern Alliance - a coalition of rebel groups comprising one of Myanmar’s most powerful militias, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and two smaller groups that have been in a stand-off with the Myanmar military since clashes in the Kokang area in 2015.
Many died and tens of thousands fled the region during that fighting, which also spilled over into Chinese territory and resulted in the death of five Chinese people, angering Beijing.
Myanmar state television, MRTV, said the fighting with MNDAA was continuing at the time of Suu Kyi’s statement.
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Armed Conflict
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March 2017
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['(Reuters)']
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The President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo declares martial law in Maguindanao following the Maguindanao massacre.
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MANILA, Philippines--Most of the senators want to scrap it but majority of congressmen are all for it.
The Senate and the House of Representatives will hold a special joint session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday to address President Macapagal-Arroyo’s imposition of martial law in Maguindanao.
By that time, martial law in the province where the country’s worst election-related violence occurred on Nov. 23 would have been in effect for close to four days, and a number of senators on Saturday said the joint session should be held earlier.
Senators Benigno Aquino III, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal and Francis Pangilinan separately questioned the President’s action which, Malacañang had said, was needed to quell a “rebellion in the offing” by forces loyal to the powerful Arroyo ally, the Ampatuan clan.
In a press conference late Saturday afternoon, Senators Aquino and Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates in 2010, said they were prepared to challenge the declaration of martial law before the Supreme Court.
Aquino said that while both chambers of Congress were mandated by law to provide a check and balance to the executive branch’s declaration, another option would be to take the issue to the high court.
“Going to the Supreme Court is another avenue to question the factual basis of the imposition. Yes, we are for the lifting of martial law,” he told reporters.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Prospero Nograles had decided on the date of the special joint session.
“That’s what Enrile told me over the phone—his agreement with Nograles,” Pimentel said, quickly adding: “If I had my way, I would rather that we meet today (Saturday) or tomorrow, or Monday at the latest. But we’ll see [how it goes].”
A text message sent by Pimentel to the other five members of the Senate minority bloc read: “Important urgent notice: joint session with House at the Batasan 4 p.m. Tuesday re: martial law in Maguindanao. As opposition group we should all be there.”
“I believe we ought to meet much earlier,” Pangilinan told the Inquirer on the phone. He pointed out that the Constitution mandates Congress in joint session to meet within 48 hours after the declaration of martial law by a sitting President.
Arroyo’s report
But Nograles said Congress could not call a session on the martial law proclamation without Malacañang’s written report on it.
Nograles said he expected to receive Ms Arroyo’s official report within 48 hours.
He said he would call for a caucus of all House members on Monday, and that Enrile would do the same in the Senate.
Interviewed on dwIZ, Enrile justified the delayed joint session: “It’s not mathematical. Every statement of period is more or less within reason. If 48 hours will fall on a Sunday—say we don’t have a session—how will the Constitution force me to convene Congress? Laws must be interpreted in a rational manner.
“The purpose [of the joint session] is no other agenda but to discuss the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao.”
Nograles said the majority in the House wanted the martial law declaration to stand. He said he would even author a resolution of support for it.
“Personally, I think that in this case, [the two] Houses of Congress do not indicate any majority numbers with any intention to revoke the proclamation, which is only good for 60 days,” he said.
Under the Constitution, a majority of Congress voting jointly could revoke a martial law proclamation. But it could also, upon the President’s initiative, extend such a proclamation if the invasion or rebellion persists and public safety so requires.
Under a joint voting scheme, members of the House could overwhelm the sentiment of the Senate, which has far fewer members.
No invasion, rebellion
Quoting the Constitution, members of the opposition in the House said martial law could only be imposed if there was an invasion or a rebellion, neither of which was present in Maguindanao.
“The reported massing of armed groups does not yet constitute rebellion, and can be dealt with under a state of emergency,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.
Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza said the President could have just called on the military to battle lawlessness in the province.
Speaking for the LP, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III said: “The [party] believes that the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao is an overreaction. [It] believes that the declaration of martial law fails the constitutional test.”
Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño also said the military and police had enough powers to deal with the Ampatuans. “What we need is not martial law but the rule of law to be followed aggressively but wisely,” he said.
Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros said Ms Arroyo’s decision to resort to martial law “proves the powerlessness of the national government over warlordism.”
She said it would also lead to abuse and the rise of more warlords in Malacañang.
Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon said Congress should revoke the declaration of martial law because the situation might be exploited by those wanting to postpone the 2010 elections and extend martial rule nationwide.
Congress must act now
Senator Roxas said that while the nation was one in seeking justice for the victims of the Nov. 23 massacre, martial law was not the solution to the lawlessness in Maguindanao.
“[The administration] should file cases against those arrested, but martial law is not the solution. Firm, effective law enforcement is the solution,” he said.
In a statement, Aquino demanded that the two chambers of Congress “meet, as required by the Constitution, within 48 hours of a martial law declaration, without need of the President making a call for Congress to convene.”
“Congress must not be a rubber stamp. Congress must ask the right questions, and it must act now,” he said.
Legarda, the vice presidential candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, called on Congress to “review” the martial law proclamation at once.
“Martial law is the ultimate action. There must be a better way to check lawlessness in the area. Is the President admitting now that she couldn’t do anything anymore?” Legarda said.
Madrigal, who is also running for president in 2010, said: “The declaration of martial law proves how incompetent the Arroyo administration is to handle the situation in Maguindanao. Is this the way to punish her political lackeys—by further terrorizing the people? Why only now, and not immediately after the murders?”
Escudero expressed concern that the imposition of martial law in the province “could be a prelude to dictatorial rule.”
“I hope this is not the case of Maguindanao today, the Philippines tomorrow,” he said.
“On its face, the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao is legally defective. The President’s decision as well to suspend the writ of habeas corpus even during martial law is highly irregular. I am sure that Congress will act on this matter without delay,” Escudero said.
Testing the waters
The martial law declaration is the Palace’s way of “testing the waters,” Lacson said on radio. He said the Chief Executive’s power to declare martial law was “not absolute,” and that he expected the majority in the Senate to vote for its lifting.
Pangilinan said the factual basis for a martial law declaration “appears to be nonexistent.” “The Maguindanao massacre is neither a rebellion nor an invasion, but a case of multiple murders involving local government officials loyal to President Arroyo,” he said.
Cayetano said it was a sinister plot that was “in the offing” in the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao.
“For me, the administration must be trying to hit two birds with one stone. First is to address its obvious inaction toward feudalism and warlordism, and second, a Plan B for the Arroyo administration—no elections to prolong [its] tenure,” Cayetano said.
But Malacañang found an unlikely ally in Pimentel, who said in a text message: “Martial Law only for a short period to disarm [Maguindanao] Governor [Andal] Ampatuan [Sr.], his children, family, clan, followers and private army.”
Afterward, Pimentel said, the Commission on Elections “takes over control of the army/police [and] cleanses the electoral process.” With reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Fe Zamora and Niña Calleja
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Government Policy Changes
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December 2009
|
['(Al Jazeera)', '(Philippine Inquirer)']
|
Sándor Képíró goes on trial in Hungary for alleged war crimes during World War II while serving with the Hungarian Army in Serbia in 1942.
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A 97-year-old Hungarian accused of massacring civilians in Serbia in 1942 has gone on trial in Hungary.
Sandor Kepiro was listed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center as the world's most wanted Nazi war crimes suspect.
More than 1,200 Jewish, Serb and Roma civilians were murdered over three days by Hungarian forces in a notorious massacre in the city of Novi Sad.
As Mr Kepiro arrived at court he told reporters he was "completely innocent" and called the trial a "circus".
After using a walking stick on his way into the court in Budapest, he took his seat and displayed a printed sheet of paper stating: "Murderers of a 97-year-old man!"
The former police captain is accused of "complicity in war crimes". Prosecutor Zsolt Falvai detailed the charges. He said Mr Kepiro was directly responsible for the death of 36 Jews and Serbs - including 30 who were put on a lorry on the defendant's orders and taken away and shot.
Mr Kepiro denied the charges. He said that, in fact, he had been "the only person to refuse the order to use firearms", and that he had intervened to save five people about to be killed by a corporal.
Hundreds of families were rounded up by the Hungarians, allies of Nazi Germany, in January 1942 on the banks of the Danube River in Novi Sad and then shot.
Sandor Kepiro was convicted of involvement in the killings in Hungary in 1944 but his conviction was quashed by the fascist government and he later fled to Argentina. He returned to Hungary in 1996 and was tracked down by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center a decade later to a flat opposite a synagogue in Budapest.
Mr Kepiro had sued the director of the Center, Efraim Zuroff, for defamation. But that case was dismissed on Tuesday. The Budapest tribunal said Mr Zuroff had the right to call him a war criminal because of the 1944 verdict.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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May 2011
|
['(BBC)', '(The Jerusalem Post)']
|
The Democratic Republic of Congo reports its second death of the Ebola virus outbreak in North Kivu province.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the end of its second-worst Ebola outbreak in June. More than 2,000 people died in that outbreak. Burial workers, seen above in 2019, follow safe burial practices to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Jerome Delay/AP
hide caption
The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the end of its second-worst Ebola outbreak in June. More than 2,000 people died in that outbreak. Burial workers, seen above in 2019, follow safe burial practices to mitigate the spread of the virus.
A second person who had contracted the Ebola virus died this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking another outbreak just three months after the nation outlasted the virus's second-worst outbreak in history.
The latest victim was from the North Kivu province, the World Health Organization and the DRC's health ministry said in a statement Thursday. This death comes one week after a 42-year-old woman died from Ebola. The wife of an Ebola survivor, she entered an intensive care unit Feb. 4 and died the same day. She was buried on Feb. 5, but not under proper burial practices to prevent the spread of Ebola; during prior outbreaks, the handling of bodies was kept to a minimum and done by trained teams. The lab confirmed she tested positive for Ebola the day after she was buried. During her illness, the woman visited three health centers after first seeking treatment following symptoms of a nosebleed on Jan. 25. As of Feb. 8, health investigators were able to track a total of 117 contacts with the woman. It's unclear whether the victim announced Thursday was in direct contact with the unnamed woman.
This new cluster marks the 12th outbreak of Ebola in Congo. Thousands of people have died from the virus in Congo in recent years. An outbreak that began in 2018 and the WHO declared over in June 2020 killed more than 2,000 people. A threat of a widespread outbreak of the disease comes as the nation, and the rest of the world, must also contend with the spread of COVID-19, which may further strain the country's health care infrastructure.
Ebola is "endemic"
Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness, according to the WHO. It causes fever, fatigue and muscle pain at the start. Victims then suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.
Efforts to quickly tame the Ebola outbreak that started in 2014 were hindered in part by the nation's ongoing rebel conflicts, extreme poverty and poor infrastructure. Health care workers and patients were killed in attacks on health clinics, further delaying a stop to the disease's spread. The resurgence of the illness now is not wholly unexpected, the WHO said on Feb. 7. Ebola is "endemic" in Congo, and the virus remains in animal reservoirs in the region. Heath care workers are trying to head off further spread. Health centers visited by the first woman were disinfected; the WHO is providing support to national authorities in the Butembo territory and shipping vaccine doses to the area; and is is helping in the contact tracing investigation.
In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted formal approval to an antibody cocktail from the pharmaceutical company Regeneron that's been shown to reduce mortality rates. The treatment is known as REGN-EB3 and is marketed under the brand name Inmazeb.
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Disease Outbreaks
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February 2021
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['(NPR)']
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U.S. researchers say that the Marburg virus has been found for the first time in West African bats, notably in Egyptian rousette fruit bats in Sierra Leone. Marburg is a "cousin" of the Ebola virus disease, which too may be spread by bats.
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Follow NBC News Marburg virus, a deadly cousin of Ebola virus, has been found for the first time in bats in west Africa, U.S. researchers said Thursday.
The discovery means Marburg is a threat in west Africa where a giant epidemic of Ebola infected 28,000 people and killed 11,000 of them in 2014-2016. The region is crisscrossed by roads and paths and people travel across borders to towns and cities, making it easier to spread outbreaks of infectious disease. Usually outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg are in isolated regions and have been less likely to spread.
The knowledge that Marburg lives in bats in Sierra Leone can help officials prepare for potential outbreaks, the researchers said.
Five Egyptian rousette fruit bats tested positive for active Marburg virus infection. Scientists caught the bats separately at locations in three health districts: Moyamba, Koinadugu and Kono, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which led one of the expeditions that found the infected bats, said in a statement.
There have been no reported cases of people sick with Marburg in Sierra Leone, but the viruss presence in bats means people nearby could be at risk for contracting Marburg virus. Marburg virus is a cousin to Ebola virus that causes a similar, often fatal disease in people.
Both Marburg and Ebola are terrifying because, depending on the strain and availability of medical help, they kill as many as 90 percent of victims. They can cause a hemorrhagic fever that causes internal and external bleeding, as well as severe diarrhea and vomiting that lead to shock.
The Egyptian fruit bat has been known to carry Marburg. Its a reservoir, meaning the animals can carry and spread a virus, but it doesnt make them sick. Bats are reservoirs for many viruses, including Marburg, rabies and middle east respiratory syndrome virus or MERS.
We have known for a long time that rousette bats, which carry Marburg virus in other parts of Africa, also live in West Africa. So its not surprising that wed find the virus in bats there, said ecologist Jonathan Towner, who led the CDC team. This discovery is an excellent example of how our work can identify a threat and help us warn people of the risk before they get sick.
Three people died in an outbreak of Marburg in Uganda a year ago. In 2005, a big outbreak of Marburg in Angola killed 90 percent of the 252 people infected.
Theres a large cave full of fruit bats in Uganda where people, including tourists, have caught Marburg. In eastern and central Africa, these bats can roost in colonies of more than 100,000 animals. However, the colonies of Egyptian fruit bats identified in Sierra Leone so far have been much smaller, which may explain why there have not been any known Marburg virus disease outbreaks in this country, the CDC said in a statement.
Bats can spread viruses by biting people, but their saliva and guano can also spread the viruses for instance, when they forage on fruit that people also gather and eat. People can catch viruses when they hunt and eat bats, as well.
Marburgs relative, Ebola, is more common and may also be spread by bats. The Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa is now fighting a very big outbreak of Ebola. At least 549 people have been infected in the outbreak and 326 have died, the World Health Organization said Thursday. At least 50,000 people have been vaccinated against the virus but civil war has made it difficult for health workers to do their jobs. The virus has also spread in towns, making it hard to contain.
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Disease Outbreaks
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December 2018
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['(NBC News)']
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Minutes after Manafort is sentenced in federal court, New York state prosecutors announce 16 criminal charges against him related to mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records.
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New York prosecutors Wednesday announced criminal charges against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, only minutes after his sentencing in a federal case.
The indictment, unveiled by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, charges Manafort with 16 counts related to mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records.
“No one is beyond the law in New York,” Vance said in a statement. Manafort’s alleged actions “strike at the heart of New York’s sovereign interests, including the integrity of our residential mortgage market,” Vance added.
Crucially, Trump does not have pardon power for state charges.
The president has not explicitly ruled out pardoning his former campaign official. But Trump has lambasted special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe as a “witch hunt,” and in recent days has appeared to criticize investigations in New York related to his business empire.
Trump TWEET presidential harassers
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the president would decide whether to pardon Manafort “when he’s ready.”
But Trump, when asked about whether he planned to pardon Manafort, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday afternoon that he has “not even given it a thought as of this moment.”
Earlier Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Manafort, who is 69 years old, to 43 months of additional prison time on conspiracy charges lodged by Mueller as part of his probe of Russian election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion.
Less than a week earlier, Manafort had received a 47-month prison sentence in another federal case lodged by Mueller. Manafort’s combined prison time in the Mueller cases totals 7½ years.
A spokesman for Manafort did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the state prosecutors’ charges.
Manafort’s charges in Mueller’s cases largely related to consulting work he did for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine years before joining Trump’s presidential campaign. But the New York charges involve Manafort’s conduct between 2015 and 2017, according to the indictment.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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March 2019
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['(CNBC)']
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The People's Council of Turkmenistan, implementing changes approved in the Constitution, passes a vote to abolish itself and allow opposition parties.
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The Central Asian state of Turkmenistan has adopted a new constitution that supporters say will promote multi-party politics and the market economy.
The measure was passed unanimously by the People's Council, a group of 2,500 tribal elders and local lawmakers.
The Council will be abolished and parliament will almost double in size after elections in December.
The energy-rich former Soviet nation has hinted it wants stronger ties with the West and to open up to investment.
It comes two years after the death of autocratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov, whose tight grip on power resulted in two decades of almost complete isolation.
Personality cult
Mr Niyazov's successor, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, said that the old constitution was "outdated" and did not fit with Turkmenistan's "progress".
"The new constitution corresponds to all international and democratic norms," he said.
"By adopting it, we will show our country's authority at an international level."
It paves the way for the formation of multiple political parties in a country that currently only has one - the Democratic Party headed by the president.
State-run radio said the constitution would give a powerful impetus to fundamental changes in all spheres of society's development.
However, exiles and observers said the measures were superficial, leaving President Berdymukhamedov free to rule by decree.
In 1999, the People's Council, which was created by Mr Niyazov, made him president-for-life.
In 2002 it renamed the days and months of the year after Mr Niyazov, his mother and the holy book he wrote called the Rukhnama.
But since his death in December 2006 his successor has introduced tentative reforms aimed at eroding the personality cult.
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Government Policy Changes
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September 2008
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['(BBC News)']
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Two Japanese passengers who were on board of the Diamond Princess cruise ship have died from the disease. Both, a man and a woman in their 80s, had underlying health conditions.
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Two Japanese passengers who contracted the new coronavirus on board a cruise ship quarantined in Japan have died, officials say.
Both were in their 80s with underlying health conditions. They were being treated in hospitals after being taken off the Diamond Princess last week. At least 621 people on the ship tested positive for the virus, named Covid-19, the biggest cluster outside China. Japan has defended its handling of the situation amid criticism.
The coronavirus, which originated in China's Hubei province last year, causes pneumonia-like symptoms.
Overall, there have now been 2,118 deaths and nearly 75,000 confirmed infections recorded in mainland China.
On Thursday, South Korea confirmed its first coronavirus death. Japan's neighbour also reported a sharp rise in virus cases, most of them from a newly identified cluster at a large religious community.
The victims were an 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman, Japan's health ministry said.
The man - from Kanagawa prefecture south of Tokyo - had had bronchial asthma and died from Covid-19. The woman - from the capital - died from pneumonia believed to be caused by the coronavirus.
The victims have not been publicly named.
Japan's Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said they had been sent to medical facilities last week after showing symptoms.
"I believe they received the best possible treatment", he said.
The Diamond Princess was carrying 3,700 people in total and passengers who tested negative for the virus began leaving the ship on Wednesday after a 14-day quarantine. Hundreds have now disembarked from the cruise liner docked in Yokohama. Others are set to leave over the next two days.
More than 150 Australian passengers have already arrived in Darwin, where they will begin two weeks of quarantine. The first batch of people from Hong Kong have also flown back to the city, where they will similarly be quarantined.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britons stranded on the ship would be able to board an evacuation flight home on Friday, as long as they were not showing symptoms of the virus. Indonesia is also set to repatriate its citizens. In other developments:
Japanese health expert Kentaro Iwata, professor at the infectious diseases division of Kobe University, visited the Diamond Princess and said the situation on board was "completely chaotic".
"The cruise ship was completely inadequate in terms of infection control," he said in a widely shared YouTube video which he has since taken offline. US officials have also said moves to contain the virus "may not have been sufficient".
But on Thursday, Mr Kato responded to Mr Iwata's criticism, saying authorities had worked hard to deal with a very complicated situation.
"We've been doing our best in the circumstances," Mr Kato told Japanese lawmakers.
"Not only our officials at the health ministry but also Self-Defence Forces officials and medical officials are working desperately hard.
"We have specialists of infectious diseases [on the ship], and we get feedback from them about our operation every day, including dividing [the areas inside the ship]."
The health minister stressed that the cruise ship was "not a well-established place such as a hospital", and that the authorities "kept correcting" various problems on a daily basis.
"We have to examine and learn from this case because we think this is a global issue," Mr Kato said.
On Wednesday, Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) released its report, which pointed to "clear evidence that substantial transmission of COVID-19 had been occurring prior to implementation of quarantine on Diamond Princess 5 February".
"The decline in the number of confirmed cases, based on reported onset dates, implies that the quarantine intervention was effective in reducing transmission among passengers," the report said.
China has seen a sharp drop in the number of new infections. There were 394 new confirmed cases and 114 deaths reported on Wednesday, down from 1,749 new cases on Tuesday, the National Health Commission said.
There are more than 1,000 cases outside of China, including on Diamond Princess and in Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. Iran says two people infected with the virus have died in the city of Qom - the first reported deaths in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Hong Kong said a 70-year-old man with underlying illnesses had become the territory's second fatality. France, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan have each had one death attributed to the virus.
South Korea on Thursday announced a jump of 31 confirmed Covid-19 infections - 23 of them from a newly identified cluster at a large religious community. South Korea now has a total of 82 confirmed cases. The cluster is in the south-western city of Daegu - home to 2.5 million residents - and is believed to be linked to a 61-year-old woman who was confirmed to be infected earlier this week.
The Korean Centre for Disease Control said the woman had had contact with 166 people, who were asked to self-quarantine, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports. The religious sect known as the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, which has been accused of being a cult, said it had shut down its Daegu branch and that services in other regions would be held online or individually at home. The mayor of the city has described the event as an "unprecedented crisis" and urged people in the city to stay indoors.
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Disease Outbreaks
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February 2020
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['(BBC)']
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Striking pilots from the state–owned Air Zimbabwe end their two week strike that grounded flights and left passengers stranded after a pay deal with the government in Zimbabwe.
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HARARE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pilots and cabin crew at Zimbabwe’s state-owned airline have agreed to end a two-week strike which grounded flights and left passengers stranded, a senior government official said on Friday.
The work boycott has affected local and international flights and the Air Zimbabwe board had threatened disciplinary measures against the workers who were demanding payment of allowances that were cut off in February.
Patison Mbiriri, Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, said the outstanding allowances would be paid and no disciplinary measures would be taken against the workers.
“All pilots have agreed to return to work and subject to operational requirements being met, normal flights are expected to resume on Friday,” Mbiriri said in a statement.
The loss-making airline has seen its passenger numbers fall more than 30 percent since 2000 due to a sharp decline in tourist arrivals and an economic crisis blamed on President Robert Mugabe’s policies, such as seizures of white-owned commercial farms for black resettlement.
The carrier is embroiled in a legal dispute over its move last year to shed 500 jobs in a bid to cut costs.
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Strike
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September 2010
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['(Times Live)', '(Reuters)']
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A boy discovers a fossilized hadrosaur skeleton at the Horseshoe Canyon in Alberta, Canada, dating back 69 million years.
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A 12-year-old boy made the discovery of his lifetime when he found a dinosaur skeleton dating back 69 million years.
The amateur palaeontologist was out hiking with his father in a fossil-rich part of Alberta, Canada this July, when he saw bones protruding from a rock.
On Thursday, the skeleton's excavation was completed. The boy, Nathan Hrushkin, says when he first laid eyes on the bones, he was "literally speechless".
"I wasn't even excited, even though I know I should have [been]," he tells the BBC.
"I was in so much shock that I had actually found a dinosaur discovery."
Nathan, who has been interested in dinosaurs since he was six, often goes hiking in the Nature Conservancy of Canada's protected site in the Albertan Badlands with his father.
"I've always just been so fascinated with how their bones go from bones like ours, to solid rock."
A year ago, they had found small fragments of fossils, and his father guessed that they were falling down from the rock above.
So this summer Nathan decided to inspect. The fossilised bones were poking out of the side of a hill.
"Dad, you got to get up here!" he called to his father.
His father knew Nathan had found something by the tone of his voice. "They looked like bones made of stone - you could not mistake them for anything else," his father, Dion Hrushkin, said.
"It looked like the end of a femur - it had that classic bone look to it - sticking straight out of the ground."
Nathan knows that the fossils are protected by law, so when they got home, he and his father logged in to the website for the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which is located in Alberta and devoted to the study of prehistoric life. The museum advised them to send photos of their discovery and its GPS coordinates, which they duly did.
The Badlands are home to many fossils, and a dinosaur - named the Albertosaurus - was discovered by Joseph Tyrell in the late 1800s. But the part of the conservation site where they were walking was not known for fossil discoveries, so the museum sent a team of experts to excavate.
So far they have found between 30 and 50 bones in the canyon's wall, all belonging to one young Hadrosaur, estimated to be aged about three or four. "I was probably like most kids, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was probably my favourite kind [of dinosaur]," Nathan says.
"But after my discovery, it's most definitely the Hadrosaur."
The dinosaur is scientifically significant, the museum claims, because the fossil is about 69 million years old, and records from that time period are rare.
"This young Hadrosaur is a very important discovery because it comes from a time interval for which we know very little about what kind of dinosaurs or animals lived in Alberta. Nathan and Dion's find will help us fill this big gap in our knowledge of dinosaur evolution," the museum's palaeo-ecology curator, François Therrien, said in a statement. Nathan says he's enjoyed learning more about dating dinosaur bones, and that the whole process has been "surreal".
"It's going to be great to see them, after months of work, finally take something out of the ground," he says.
'
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New archeological discoveries
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October 2020
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['(BBC)', '(Global News)']
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The currencies of Estonia , Lithuania , and Slovenia enter ERM II, the European Union's Exchange Rate Mechanism, in a move towards joining the euro.
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At the request of the Estonian authorities, the ministers of the euro area Member States of the European Union, the President of the European Central Bank and the ministers and the central bank governors of Denmark and Estonia have decided, by mutual agreement, following a common procedure involving the European Commission and after consultation of the Economic and Financial Committee, to include the Estonian kroon in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II).
The central rate of the Estonian kroon is set at 1 euro = 15.6466 kroon.
The standard fluctuation band of plus or minus 15 percent will be observed around the central rate of the kroon. Following a careful assessment of the appropriateness and sustainability of Estonia’s currency board, it was accepted that Estonia is joining the exchange rate mechanism with its existing currency board arrangement in place, as a unilateral commitment, thus placing no additional obligations on the ECB. The agreement on participation of the kroon in ERM II is based on a firm commitment by the Estonian authorities to continue with sound fiscal policies, which are essential for preserving macroeconomic stability, for supporting an orderly and substantial reduction of the current account deficit, and for ensuring the sustainability of the convergence process. The authorities will closely monitor macroeconomic developments together with the responsible EU bodies, and they will strengthen the fiscal stance if warranted. To help reduce the external imbalance and contain it at a sustainable level, they will take the necessary measures to contain domestic credit growth and ensure effective financial supervision, and they will promote wage moderation. Structural reforms aimed at further enhancing the economy’s flexibility and adaptability will be implemented in a timely fashion so as to strengthen domestic adjustment mechanisms and maintain the overall competitiveness of the economy.
The compulsory intervention points in the exchange rate mechanism will be communicated by the ECB and the Bank of Estonia, in time for the opening of the foreign exchange markets on 28 June 2004.
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Organization Merge
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June 2004
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['(the kroon)', '(the litas)', '(the tolar)', '(BBC)', '(ECB1)', '(ECB2)', '(ECB3)']
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The Philadelphia Phillies win the 2009 National League Championship Series 4 games to 1 after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10–4.
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Ben Shpigel and David Waldstein provided updates and analysis during Game 5 of the Dodgers-Phillies National League Championship Series.
Update | 11:53 p.m. PHILADELPHIA — Unsatisfied by their last championship and determined to repeat recent history, the Philadelphia Phillies took another
step in their quest to win the World Series again.
To see the full article, subscribe here.
Comments are no longer being accepted.
TBS covers up so much for the umps, I wonder if I’m seeing the actual game.
Feliz hit the home run, not Ruiz.
Pedro Feliz, not Carlos Ruiz, with the solo HR in the 2nd.
Correction to 8:48 update: That home run was hit by Pedro Feliz — who hasn’t been hitting too well in the postseason — not Carlos Ruiz.
joe buck is a east coast man = let him stay there-
Get ’em ready!
“Ramirez is leading off the top of the fourth inning. He looks very clean from here. — DW”
It took a couple of seconds for this to sink in, then I burst out laughing.
Good one, DW.
Get out the giant fork. Dodgers are done.
Really wish I had a TV right now. Things are looking good for the Phils, which means hope for Obama’s public option.
If remaining playoff teams were financial instruments:
Dodgers = Collateralized Debt Obligation
Yankees = Credit Default Swap
Angels = Negative Amortization Subprime Variable-Rate Home Equity I-default-on-the-first-payment Alan Greenspan blue plate special
Phils: 30-year fixed rate mortgage with %30 down
So Jocko It’s the Phillies in this slow growth environment. This will be a great series . Both teams have great confidence and never give up. Phillies in 7!
It would be helpful if every entry by either Shpigel or Waldstein mentioned the inning they are commenting on …
Regarding your comment about Orlando Hudson’s undying optimism, why is the O-Dog on the bench? That and the choice of an untested 20-year-old to start game 1 tell you all you need to know about the decay
of Joe Torre’s field management skills.
Ronnie Belliard, seriously?
“…bringing the fans to their feet waving their hankies and chanting “Beat L.A.” as if it were the 1984 N.B.A. finals in Boston.”
Actually, that would have been the conference finals. The 76ers were blowing out Boston in the Garden that game and were headed to the finals to play the Lakers.
Make that the bottom of the seventh!
Chan Ho Park II ?? Bruce Lee out of the ‘penI Martial Arts pitching! A new concept. What is he eating?
Jason Worth!
Jayson Worth!
Werth. Werth.
History’s Bell tolls . . . . Goosebump City.
Jason Werth!
Jayson Werth! 36 HR, 99 RBI, 506 SLG in 22009. No surprise!
@DW–
“…it will be scary to see what the Yankees sluggers can do in this ballpark.”
Really?
More scary than seeing what the Phillies sluggers can do in the ballpark?
Over the last four years, no player has more homers than Ryan Howard. And all eight position players have at least some pop in their bats.
The Yankees will be running into a buzz-saw, buddy.
My typos rediculous!
In Center City Philadelphia you can hear the first chirps of the traditional celebratory quasiriot.
Long live the bread and circuses!
The Yankees are a paper tiger!
#9 Jocko – LOL! But don’t be giving Wall Street any creative ideas. You know what happens next.
Phils in 4. Yep, I said it.
The New York Times reporters Tyler Kepner, Ben Shpigel, Jack Curry and Joe Lapointe, along with their Times colleagues, will bring baseball fans inside the run up to the 2008 baseball season with access, analysis and
the latest updates from spring training.
Tyler Kepner has covered the Yankees for The New York Times since 2002. He joined The Times in 2000 as the Mets beat writer. A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Vanderbilt University, Kepner has also covered
the Angels for the Riverside Press-Enterprise in California and the Mariners for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and their four children.
Ben Shpigel has covered the Mets for The Times since 2005. Before then, he was a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News for two years. He also worked at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., and for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Shpigel received a bachelor's degree in English and journalism from Emory University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Manhattan.
Jack Curry has covered baseball for the The New York Times for 18 seasons. Since 1998, he has served as the newspaper's national baseball writer. Before that, Curry covered the Yankees from 1991-1997. He was
also the beat writer for the New Jersey Nets' 1990-1991 season and covered college basketball, college football and wrote for the Metro section. Born in Jersey City, N.J., Curry graduated from Fordham University.
He and his wife, Pamela, live in New Jersey.
This blog’s regular features, including live game analysis, news and notes from Tyler Kepner, David Waldstein and others, can now be found on the baseball section of our website.Read more…
The free-agent second baseman Robinson Cano is reportedly still seeking a 10-year deal for $310 million, figures the Yankees are said to be unwilling to meet. Read more…
When asked what he has done thus far in the off-season, Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson responded with a joke. Read more…
The Mets maybe should, but most assuredly won’t, defy all expectations and make a legitimate bid to lure Robinson Cano away from the Yankees.Read more…
The Yankees are waiting to hear whether Curtis Granderson will accept their qualifying offer, and set their outfield for 2014, or test the market and send the Yankees chasing another free agent. Read more…
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Sports Competition
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October 2009
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['(New York Times)']
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The semi–finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations take place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
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Zambia 1-0 Ghana, Bata (FT) Mali 0-1 Ivory Coast, Libreville (FT) 2105: Well, that's it for tonight, so join us again on Saturday for updates from the third-place play-off between Ghana and Mali. While that may be a footnote for most, the same cannot be said of the final - when Zambia's marauding Chipolopolo will take on the meanest defence in this competition, Ivory Coast's Elephants. With the spirit of 1993 in the air, can the Zambians clinch a fairytale win - or will this generation of Ivorian stars finally live up to their billing? All will be revealed from 1900 GMT when Sunday's final kicks off in Libreville. It's been a tournament of surprises - and is there one final one left to stun us all? 2057: Gervinho, in a post-match interview, says "It's a long time since we've been in the final. We're very happy to be in the final. We have great quality." They certainly do and the Ivorians are into their third finals - and on course for their first triumph since 1992. Facing them will be another side in orange, Zambia, and the contrast in styles will make for an intriguing decider. Chilala Muchindu from Sheffield has texted in to say ... "Even if we lose in the final, nothing can wipe this smile off my face - I will witness Zambia in a major final for the first time. Priceless." 2053: Labelled chokers before these finals, the Ivorians are showing their class - reaching the final with five wins from five, nine goals scored and none conceded. They won tonight's game thanks to Gervinho's late first-half goal, and will play Zambia in Sunday's final in Libreville. Tonight's performance was far from polished but they rarely looked troubled at the back and the Elephants are now dancing a jig of delighted near their fans. Cheik Tiote kisses the turf in celebration - as the Elephants reach the final for the first time since 2006. Meanwhile, Mali's terrible run in the Nations Cup semi-finals continues - the Eagles having lost their last four matches at this stage of the tournament. They will now contest Saturday's third-place play-off against Ghana in Malabo. A match no one wants to play. 2052: IVORY COAST WILL PLAY ZAMBIA IN THE FINAL OF THE 2012 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS
2052: FULL TIME! Mali 0-1 Ivory Coast
2050: Another yellow card comes out - this time for time wasting - and it is Tiene who is booked. 2049: Free-kick to Ivory Coast winds down the clock but they lose possession and Zokora hacks high into the stands. Zokora seems to have cramp. The Malians are unhappy and an exchange of words are going on between Diabate and Bamba. Unimpressed would be one way of describing the Malian's expression. 2048: Four minutes of added time at the end of the game. Is there a sting in the tail? 2047: The Ivorians are on their feet inside the stadium and jumping up and down. Meanwhile, Samba Diakite is booked. While Ivory Coast get set to make another change. Into the last minute. The change is made as Didier Ya Konan replaces Yaya Toure. Is that job done for him? 2045: Seydou Keita turns well and tries to strike at goal but is crowded out on the penalty spot. Free-kick to Mali and the Eagles are forcing the play at this late stage. Keita takes the set-piece as the Eagles pile into the box, but Zokora clears and Gervinho brings it away. 2044: Four minutes to play - the Ivorians are closing in on a final clash against Zambia on Sunday... 2042: Mali force a corner but Dembele fires horribly wide from 35 yards, and that strike was only threatening the corner flag. A late rally from Mali but they need more. 2041: Cheik Tiote receives a caution and Mali have a free-kick - which is delayed as Samba Sow is replaced by Fantamady Cheikh Diarra. But the set-piece comes to nothing. 2040: Free-kick to Ivory Coast near the corner flag. Tiene swings in and it needs just a touch to go in - it gets one, but from Berthe who flicks behind and just over the crossbar. Could have gone anywhere. 2038: Yaya Toure puts his head in his hands after he attacks the corner but fails to get over the ball and heads over. Great chance and you can understand why the African Footballer of the Year is disappointing. 2036: Salomon Kalou, who had been a doubt at one point for this game, is off, and Abdul Kader Keita is off. Keita takes an Ivorian corner with his first touch, which is cleared, before the Ivorians force another corner as Tamboura heads away under pressure from Sol Bamba. 2035: Can Drogba make it two and wrap up the points? It looks like he can as he powers into the penalty box but Diakite charges out to narrow the angle and Drogba's shot deflects off him, up into the air before a Malian defender scrambles it clear. 2033: Mali lose possession, gifting the ball to goalscorer Gervinho who feeds Drogba, who was felled - but no foul given. Instead, Mali drive forward through Adama Tamboura but he is tackled and the Elephants come forward again. Yaya Toure has some space to fashion a shot but curls tamely into the arms of Diakite. A better spell of play after so many interruptions to this game. 2030: Diakite goes on a terrific run, driving right at the Elephants, and the ball eventually finds its way to Yatabare, who fires over - but that was better from Mali and the QPR loan signing gave them great hope with a surging run. Yatabare goes off, as Garra Dembele - who scored against Botswana in the group stages and used to have Papiss Demba Cisse as a partner at Freiburg - comes on. Just over 16 minutes to play. 2027: Whistles ring out inside the Stade de l'Amitie as the tv screens show pictures of Mali coach Alain Giresse, who knocked out Gabon on Sunday - a side he used to coach of course. 2025: Into the final quarter, and Mali have yet to threaten the Ivorian goal in this half. A number of the Eagles players look tired following their exertions on Sunday. 2022: Drogba and Kalou hug as the latter thinks he has made it two, only for Diakite to tip Kalou's 16-yard effort over the bar. Corner to the Elephants creates chaos as Diabate turns his back on the ball, allowing it to bounce towards goal before Berthe puts everything through it and hacks away into the Libreville sky to clear the danger. Anywhere will do. 2022: A rare break in this second period as Gervinho jinks his way to the byline but Berthe slows him up and the ball is out for a goal kick. Did we have all the action in the first half? 2021: Another break in play, as another player goes down - this time, Ivorian midfielder Didier Zokora. This will suit the Elephants, but it must be frustrating for the Eagles as they try to claw their way back into the game. 2019: It's scrappy, very scrappy in Libreville - where free-kicks and knocks have slowed down this second half. Mali played 120 minutes on Sunday, so what have they got in the tank? It's going to take a real effort to pull this one back - especially against an Ivorian side who cruised to a regulation time against Eq Guinea on Saturday. 2017: We're approaching the hour mark and the next goal will surely decide this game. A two-goal lead for the Elephants would surely kill off the Mali challenge, while a Malian equaliser would make for some thrilling final changes. 2014: Some hesitation in the Mali defence and just for a moment, Sol Bamba - who stayed upfield for a free-kick - looks as though he might profit and latch onto Yaya Toure's through ball, but purple-clad Diakite finally emerges from goal to smother the danger. 2013: Seydou Keita has a crack at goal that goes out for a throw as the Mali fans urge their team on. Keita again finds some space and once again, his shot is disappointing as it dribbles some 15 yards wide of Barry's left-hand upright. 2011: No they can't and instead the Ivorians have a chance to counter, before the Malians win the ball back, as the game continues its relentless ebb-and-flow. Yaya Toure thinks he should have won a free-kick after Samba Sow slid in to dispossess him. No decision given even though the Manchester City gets up groggily after the Malians sportingly kick the ball out of play. 2010: You wouldn't know his team were winning, as Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui looks on impassively and without a hint of joy on his face. But he's made his ambitions clear and a man who played his football in Italy has certainly set up his defence in vice-like fashion. Can the Eagles find a way through? They win a corner, so can they do more with it? 2007: Oooh - that looked painful. Boubacar Barry goes across to his left in the Ivorian goal to gather a long-range strike - and crashes into his own post while doing so. Not what a man who came into the game with a knock anyway needed. He's up and okay though, but that's worth keeping an eye on. 2006: Ivory Coast threaten in the opening minute but Ousmane Berthe heads clear as Drogba and Toure carve an opening down the right flank. 2005: Mali's Seydou Keita wants Didier Zokora to be booked - waving his hands to suggest so - but the referee ignores him. To the delight of many watching neutrals, no doubt. 2003: Mali coach Alain Giresse has made a change as the Eagles get the second half under way. Drissa Diakite, who had been operating down the right flank, comes off, with Ousmane Coulibaly replacing him. Massive 45 minutes for the Eagles as they try to force their way back into this match. Remember - they haven't won a semi-final since winning their first way back in 1972. 2000: The players are inside the tunnel and waiting to come out. Some nervous faces among the Malians - as they try to recover from Gervinho's late first-half goal. Could Mali goalkeeper Diakite have done more to stop him though? The Eagles' stopper was hugging his line, so giving Gervinho room to pick his spot. 1951: More texts in about the day's earlier game. "Nor matter how long it takes, a stammering child will say his father's name. Zambia has been patient for a long time - and I'm pretty sure this is our time. From Mubita Lubinda in Lusaka, Zambia." And some reaction from the players themselves. "This is the greatest moment that a player can ever have to play in the final," said Zambia captain Christopher Katongo. "We go to the final without any pressure. We have to take this cup, this is an opportunity. It doesn't come every day." Meanwhile, Black Stars skipper John Mensah has apologised to his nation following the 1-0 defeat in Bata earlier today. "We are sorry for the whole of Ghana for what happened today," he said. "It's unlucky that we lost this game. We promise them we will come back strongly next year." The familiar refrain of football fans and players - always next year... 1946: The half-time whistle blows and the Ivorians are in front - and deservedly so. They had hit the post twice before Gervinho opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with his fine run and finish. The Ivorian was kissing his badge as he walked off the pitch - and the Elephants have one of their feet in the finals. Meanwhile, Mali are faced with that most troubling of tasks - having to score the first goal against the Ivorians at the finals if they are to stay on course to reach the final. 1945: At long last, Gervinho scores his first goal of the finals. And he does it the hard way, running from inside his own half after beating Berthe on the halfway line. That said, there was no challenge on the Ivorian forward as he ran 55 yards or so before curling into the far corner from a tight angle. Great finish, great goal - but terrible defending. 1944: GOAL! Mali 0-1 Ivory Coast (Gervinho)
1942: Kalou tries his luck again - from similar range - but once again, his strike fails to trouble Diakite. It's been largely one-way traffic regarding shots on target but the Malians are still level, and still very much in this game.
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Sports Competition
|
February 2012
|
['(BBC Sport)']
|
A court in Argentina reopens an investigation into crimes against humanity under Francisco Franco in Spain.
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An Argentine court has reopened an investigation into crimes against humanity in Spain during the rule of Gen Francisco Franco. The appeals court overturned a previous ruling that blocked a suit brought by Argentine relatives of two Spaniards killed under Franco. It said they had a right to know if the case was being investigated. Crimes committed under Franco and during the 1936-39 civil war are covered by an amnesty law in Spain. The Argentine appeals court said a diplomatic request should be sent to Spain to ask what action it was taking to investigate crimes against humanity between 1936 and 1977. It said Spain should be asked if it was investigating the existence of "a systematic and deliberate plan to terrorise Spaniards who supported representative government by their physical elimination."
Human rights groups have welcomed the decision. The lawsuit was opened in Argentina in April after the high-profile Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon was forced to drop an investigation into killings during the civil war and under Franco's rule. Judge Garzon was suspended after Spain's supreme court found that he had exceeded his authority by ignoring the 1977 amnesty law. The Argentine lawsuit is based on the principal of universal justice. Judge Garzon has previously invoked the same principle to investigate crimes against humanity committed during 1976-83 military rule in Argentina, as well as to seek the extradition of the late Chilean military ruler, Augusto Pinochet. Spain's 1977 amnesty law, which pardoned political crimes by both sides in the civil war, was seen as vital to ensure a successful transition to democracy after Franco died in 1975. Tens of thousands of people were killed and buried in unmarked graves during the Spanish civil war and under Gen Franco's subsequent rule, but no-one has ever been prosecuted for the killings. 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
|
September 2010
|
['(BBC)']
|
The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops again almost 1,000 points over coronavirus fears.
|
It was another rollercoaster ride for U.S. equity markets?on Thursday as California and Washington declared state of emergencies tied to the coronavirus.
Amid heavy volatility, the?Dow Jones Industrial Average slid over 970?points, or 3.5?percent, one day after rallying 4.5 percent, or 1,173 points -- the second-biggest point gain in its history. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite tumbled over 3 percent.
Thursdays weakness comes after the number of U.S. cases of COVID-19 climbed to 129 and the death toll ticked up to 11, including the first fatality outside of Washington state. Authorities in both Washington and California declared a state of emergency because of the outbreak, which has infected at least 93,090 people worldwide and killed 3,198.
Looking at stocks, airlines were lower after Southwest?said it expects first-quarter revenue to take a hit of up to $300 million due to demand destruction caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. On Wednesday, United Airlines said it would cut international flights by 20 percent and domestic flights by 10 percent and Jet Blue announced it would reduce flights and lay off staff.
An elderly passenger who traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp., from Feb. 11-21 has died from COVID-19, and the cruise operator has said current passengers on its vessels have been quarantined until receiving clearance from medical staff.
Meanwhile, drugmakers working on a treatment for COVID-19 were mostly higher.
Elsewhere, General Motors rolled out plans for 13 new electric vehicles that are set to hit the market over the next five years. New battery technology will allow some of those vehicles to travel up to 400 miles on a single charge.
Technology firm HP rejected Xerox's latest takeover attempt, saying the $24 per share offer undervalues the company.
On the earnings front, BJ's Wholesale Club reported its quarterly earnings fell from the same period a year earlier, but forecast 2020 profits and sales will see year-over-year increases.
The video conferencing company Zoom Video Communications reported better-than-expected top- and bottom-line results, but shares were under pressure as investors had expected its full-year forecast to be stronger as COVID-19 forces businesses to rely more on communications technology than travel for important meetings.
Kroger's quarterly profit topped estimates as its private-label products provided a boost.
Looking at commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to the $45 per barrel level after OPEC?agreed to cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day to combat a supply glut so long as Russia joins. Gold gained 1.9 percent to $1,674 an ounce.
Demand for U.S. Treasurys drove the yield on the 10-year note down to?a record low 0.914?percent. European markets tumbled?with Frances CAC down 1.9 percent, Germanys DAX lower by 1.5 percent and Britains FTSE off 1.6 percent.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Asian markets were sharply higher with Hong Kongs Hang Seng up 2.1 percent, Chinas Shanghai Composite adding 2 percent and Japans Nikkei rallying 1.1 percent. Quotes displayed in real-time
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Disease Outbreaks
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March 2020
|
['(Fox Business)']
|
A federal judge orders the immediate release of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian judge ordered the release of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from prison on Friday, according to a court document, following a Supreme Court ruling ending the mandatory imprisonment of convicts after they lose their first appeal.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
|
November 2019
|
['(Reuters)']
|
Conflict in Iraq: At least 11 people have been killed following a double suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
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The cars blew up nearly simultaneously amid heavy traffic in a street near a fortified interior ministry office. Police officers and several children were among the dead, witnesses said. More than 30 people were wounded.
Iraq has witnessed 18 months of bombings, shootings and kidnappings perpetrated by insurgents opposed to the US-led occupation of the country.
We were cutting through the traffic jam when a car in the middle of the crowded street blew up
Police officer
In pictures: Deadly blasts A statement on an Islamist website claimed that al-Qaeda in Iraq, headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi, carried out the attacks. The claim could not be independently verified.
American and Iraqi officials had reported something of a downturn in insurgent attacks over the past couple of months. But the BBC correspondent in Baghdad, Jim Muir, says the impression in recent days is that the tempo may be starting to pick up once again.
Third explosive device
Two huge explosions just a few seconds apart shook buildings all over the city and sent columns of black smoke pouring up into the sky. US forces backed by helicopters moved in to secure the area and drive people back. The Associated Press reports that American forces detonated a third explosive device near the scene. An interior ministry source is quoted as saying the bombers blew themselves up as a convoy of seven police vehicles drove through the busy Jadriya neighbourhood. One police officer who spoke to journalists was travelling in the convoy that was targeted.
"We were cutting through the traffic jam when a car in the middle of the crowded street blew up. We crossed over to the other side...and another car tried to cross, but it flipped over and when it did it also blew up," the officer said.
In other violence on Thursday, three policemen and a civilian were killed in a drive-by shooting at a police station in the northern city of Kirkuk. There are also reports of attacks on Iraqi police and the US military in Baquba and Tikrit, north of Baghdad. One Iraqi officer died in the attack on a police patrol near Baquba, while a car bomb reportedly exploded outside a US military installation in Tikrit, injuring nine civilians.
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Armed Conflict
|
April 2005
|
['(BBC)']
|
Discovery Communications announces it will acquire Scripps Networks Interactive for US$ 14.6 billion.
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Discovery Communications is acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion in a deal expected to boost the company’s negotiating leverage as pay TV operators lose subscribers and it seeks new audiences.
The acquisition, which was completed Sunday night and announced on Monday, brings together Scripps’ largely female audience of lifestyle channels such as HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network with Discovery’s Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, which primarily has male viewers.
Despite expectations of $350 million in total cost synergies, many analysts questioned how the combined company would compete long term as viewers cut cords to cable providers and as advertising and ratings decline.
Discovery stock slid 8.6 percent to $24.50 while Scripps was up 0.5 percent to $87.31.
Discovery is paying 70 percent cash and 30 percent stock for Scripps. The total price of the deal is $14.6 billion including debt.
“While we believe the two companies are likely better positioned together, rather than apart, the longer-term issues facing the industry still remain,” wrote John Janedis, an analyst at Jefferies, in a note on Monday.
TV ratings and ad revenue are declining as young viewers opt to go online to watch shows and movies. Five of the largest U.S. pay TV providers posted subscriber losses during the second quarter.
The combined company’s larger programming slate might give it an advantage in negotiations for inclusion in skinny bundles, or economy-priced cable packages that offer fewer channels than a standard contract.
Post-merger, the company will offer 300,000 hours of content and capture about 20 percent share of ad-supported cable audiences in the United States, the company said on an analyst call Monday morning.
“The transaction supports and accelerates Discovery’s pivot from a linear TV-only company to a leading content provider across all screens and services around the world,” said David Zaslav, Discover’s chief executive officer, on the call.
The combined company would also have more muscle in negotiations with cable and other distributors when contracts come up for renewal, executives said.
By adding Scripps programming, Discovery could also launch its own “skinny bundle” of networks at a low cost, executives said.
U.S television networks and cable providers are under pressure as more viewers watch their favorite shows and movies on phones and tablets. There is also increased competition for viewers from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.com.
The combined company would be home to five of the top cable networks for women with over 20 percent share of women prime-time viewers in the United States, according to Discovery.
Scripps has been considered a takeover target since the Scripps family trust, which controlled the company, was dissolved five years ago.
Under the terms of the deal, Scripps CEO Ken Lowe would join the board of the combined company.
The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approvals. Major shareholders including cable magnate John Malone, Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership and members of the Scripps family support the deal, according to the companies.
Discovery had tried unsuccessfully twice before to buy Scripps. Discovery outbid Viacom for Scripps, Reuters reported first last week.
Guggenheim Securities and Goldman Sachs served as financial advisers to Discovery, while Debevoise & Plimpton served as the legal adviser.
Allen & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities served as financial advisers to Scripps, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges worked as the legal adviser.
Evercore Group and Kirkland & Ellis respectively served as financial adviser and legal adviser to the Scripps family.
|
Organization Merge
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July 2017
|
['(CNBC)']
|
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia increases the sentence of Kang Kek Iew, or Duch, to life for running the Tuol Sleng prison camp under the Khmer Rouge.
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Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court has rejected an appeal by Khmer Rouge jailer Duch and increased his sentence to life imprisonment. Duch, born Kaing Guek Eav, was jailed in 2010 for his role in running a notorious prison where thousands of inmates were killed.
He had appealed on the grounds that he was a junior official following orders. But judges rejected his claim and increased his sentence from 35 years to life. Duch - the first senior Khmer Rouge official to face charges before the court - was convicted of crimes against humanity in July 2010. He appealed against the verdict in March 2011. The 69-year-old was the commander of Tuol Sleng prison, where at least 15,000 men, women and children deemed enemies of the regime were tortured and then executed in "killing fields" outside Phnom Penh. He had argued that he should never have been tried, claiming that he was a junior official following his superiors' orders on pain of death. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that his sentence was too lenient. Many survivors were outraged when he was sentenced to 35 years, because he could be free in 18 years given time already served. The appeal court judges ruled that the initial prison term did not "reflect the gravity of the crimes".
"The crimes by Kaing Guek Eav were undoubtedly among the worst in recorded human history. They deserve the highest penalty available," Judge Kong Srim said.
Duch showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. But prosecutors praised the ruling. "We can say that justice has now been served after more than 30 years," Chea Leang said. "To us and to the victims, this is a great success."
Hundreds of survivors gathered at the Phnom Penh court to hear the final verdict.
Duch's case is the first to be concluded by the court against perpetrators of crimes committed during four years of Khmer Rouge rule in the late 1970s.
The regime attempted to create an ideal communist society by forcing city residents to work as peasants in the countryside, and by purging intellectuals, middle class people and any supposed enemies of the state.
Up to two million people - about one-third of the population - are believed to have been killed or died of over-work and starvation.
The three most senior surviving leaders of the regime were put on trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in November 2011. Their trial is ongoing. The cases against them have been separated to speed up proceedings as the defendants are all in their 80s.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
|
February 2012
|
['(BBC)']
|
Protesters gather in Paris, France, in support of Palestine following attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza Strip. During the protest, police dispersed crowds.
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Protesters gathered in Invalides Square next to the Foreign Ministry following a call by pro-Palestinian associations and chanted slogans in favor of Palestine for a short time. Palestinian flags were also carried during the demonstration.
Taking strict security measures, the police asked the protesters to leave the square and also fined several demonstrators.
The demonstration ended and the protesters left.
Palestinians in Jerusalem in recent days have protested in solidarity with residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood amid clashes with Israeli police.
The protests came as the Israeli Central Court in East Jerusalem approved a decision to evict seven Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Israeli settlers.
PARIS, FRANCE- MAY 12: People protest against Israeli forces' attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza Strip in Paris, France on May 12, 2021. "Protect the Palestinians of Jerusalem" demonstration was held following the attacks in Al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza Strip, which brought together a hundred people before being evacuated by the forces of order in Paris. ( Julien Mattia - Anadolu Agency ) Israeli police attempted to disperse worshippers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound late Friday using stun grenades and tear gas. Women were also targeted by Israeli forces, according to eyewitnesses.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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May 2021
|
['(Anadolu Agency)']
|
The volcano Paluweh erupts on Palu'e island in Indonesia killing at least six people. ,
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Six people have been killed in a volcanic eruption on a tiny island in Indonesia, officials have said.
Mount Rokatenda, on the island of Palue some 2,000km (1,250 miles) east of Jakarta, spewed ash and rocks 2km into the air.
Disaster officials said hot ash covered a nearby beach, leaving four adults and two children dead.
The volcano had been rumbling since late last year, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
A 3km exclusion zone was set up after an eruption last October.
But Surono, a spokesman from Indonesia's volcanology agency, said many villagers had become accustomed to the volcanic activity and ignored the mandatory evacuation order.
Palue has a population of some 10,000 people.
Mr Surono said the latest eruption had begun at 04:27 on Saturday (20:27 GMT Friday) and lasted for nearly four hours.
He urged villagers to stay clear of the affected area, saying it was difficult to predict if there would be further eruptions.
Palue is about 4km wide and lies a short distance off the north coast of Flores, the main island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The ACT Alliance humanitarian group reported in April that eruptions in Palue in October and again in March this year had forced hundreds of people from their villages, with significant losses of income in farming, trade and fishing.
Much of the Indonesian archipelago lies on the Pacific "ring of fire", an area prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
At least 350 people died and 250,000 were displaced when Mount Merapi in central Java erupted in 2010.
|
Volcano Eruption
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August 2013
|
['(BBC News)', '(AP)']
|
Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport is evacuated due to a tornado threat with three tornadoes touching down with five people dead and others reported missing. ,
|
Multiple tornadoes hit Oklahoma City and the metro area Friday night, killing at least 5 people and injuring more than 50.
The storm also brought heavy rain and hail. Floodwaters topped 4 feet in Oklahoma City early Saturday and are expected to rise as flash flooding continued in parts of the state. Across east and central Oklahoma, repeated rounds of thunderstorms have produced between 4 to 7 inches of rain since midnight Saturday.
The area along the state's I-40 corridor, packed with motorists when the storm occurred, was particularly hard-hit.
A mother and a child were killed when their car rolled over, KFOR-TV reported.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirms several motorists are missing.
Another person died at El Reno, the first city struck by the storm, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner. Details on the two other deaths were not available, Elliott said.
Saturday, Elliott told the Associated Press that she had no word of additional fatalities beyond the five reported.
A tornado was reported on the ground in Moore, where a mammoth May 20 twister killed 24 people and left the southern Oklahoma City suburb in ruins, KOKH-TV reported.
Will Rogers World Airport, southwest of Oklahoma City, was closed Friday evening and reopened overnight.
Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Norman, said that while the storm packed a powerful punch, with winds estimated at 80 mph, it wasn't as strong as the Moore tornado.
Smith also said it was fortunate that the storm largely bypassed the center of the city.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported at least 86,200 power outages related to the storms as of early Saturday.
In Missouri, the combination of high water and fallen power lines closed dozen of roads, snarling traffic on highways and side streets in the St. Louis area. At the Hollywood Casino in suburban of Maryland Heights, gamblers rushed from the floor as a storm blew out windows and tore off part of the roof.
Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Bettes sustained minor injuries after the "tornado hunt" car in which he was riding in Oklahoma was thrown some 200 yards by a tornado.
|
Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard
|
May 2013
|
['(CNN)', '(USA Today)']
|
Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Democratic Party presumptive nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party.
|
(WASHINGTON) — Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday after a grueling marathon, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.
Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.
The tally was based on public declarations from delegates as well as from another 15 who have confirmed their intentions to the AP. It also included 11 delegates Obama was guaranteed as long as he gained 30 percent of the vote in South Dakota and Montana later in the day. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination.
The 46-year-old first-term senator will face John McCain in the fall campaign to become the 44th president. The Arizona senator campaigned in Memphis during the day, and had no immediate reaction to Obama's victory.
Clinton stood ready to concede that her rival had amassed the delegates needed to triumph, according to officials in her campaign. They stressed that the New York senator did not intend to suspend or end her candidacy in a speech Tuesday night in New York. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to divulge her plans.
Obama's triumph was fashioned on prodigious fundraising, meticulous organizing and his theme of change aimed at an electorate opposed to the Iraq war and worried about the economy — all harnessed to his own innate gifts as a campaigner.
With her husband's two-White House terms as a backdrop, Clinton campaigned for months as the candidate of experience, a former first lady and second-term senator ready, she said, to take over on Day One.
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Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
June 2008
|
['(AP via Time)', '(BBC News)']
|
Switzerland ceases to deport asylum seekers in response to the death of a Nigerian man at Zürich Airport as he was being forcefully deported. Nigeria condemns the occurrence.
|
BERLIN - Switzerland has halted all "repatriation flights" for rejected asylum seekers after a Nigerian man on hunger strike died in police shackles at Zurich airport as he was being forced towards a plane that was about to deport him.
The 29-year-old man, who was a convicted drug dealer, had been on hunger strike for several days. Police said he collapsed on the tarmac and they immediately took off his shackles and called a doctor who tried to revive him.
The Swiss authorities said yesterday they had launched an investigation into the deportee's death. It was witnessed by 13 other Nigerians who were being deported with the man who died. They accused the police of inhumane treatment.
"They dealt with us like animals," one, named only as Emmanuel, told Switzerland's Swissinfo website. "The shackled our feet, knees, hands, hips arms and torso and made us wear a helmet like those worn by boxers. It was simply impossible to move."
It was the third death of a Swiss deportee since 1999. Last year Switzerland deployed 43 so-called "repatriation flights" which deported 360 people, mainly to Africa and the Balkans.
Switzerland voted in a referendum in favour of measures which tightened the country's already stringent immigration laws. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees called the vote "regrettable" and said it had left Switzerland with some of the toughest asylum laws in Europe. The UNHCR singled out Switzerland's insistence that asylum seekers should come up with identity documents within 48 hours or face deportation. It said many refugees were deprived of identification by the countries they had fled from.
|
Armed Conflict
|
March 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(THISDAY)', '[permanent dead link]', '(The Scotsman)', '(Taiwan News)', '(The New Zealand Herald)']
|
Mohamed Abdeslam, brother of suspect fugitive Salah Abdeslam, and Ibrahim Abdeslam, a suicide bomber in the attacks, is released by authorities after questioning this weekend. His attorney told reporters, her client "hadn't made the same life choices."
|
He told reporters he had no idea of his brother Salah's whereabouts, saying: 'My brothers are big boys, we don't ask them what they do with their time'
, the brother of two suspects accused of taking part in the Paris attacks, has insisted he is not "in the slightest way" connected to the killings and said he has no idea of the whereabouts of his brother Salah, who is currently the focus of an international manhunt.
Speaking to reporters in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, he said: "I was accused of committing an act of terrorism... but I have not in the slightest way been connected to the operation in Paris."
"I have worked for the local council for 10 years and I've never had a problem with anyone... my parents are completely shocked by the tragedy."
"My two brothers are normal and I have never noticed anything strange."
His brother Brahim died on Friday after blowing himself up outside a café in Paris' 11th arrodissement, wounding one person in the process.
His other brother, 26-year-old Salah, is currently 'France's most wanted man', and was found to be the renter of a Volkswagen Polo that was parked outside the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were killed.He was stopped by police in a car near the Belgian border on Saturday morning, but was later released after brief police checks. He has not been seen since.
Mohamed Abdeslam said he did not know where his brother was.
"My brother Salah still has not been heard from, perhaps he just isn't daring to show himself to the authorities," he said.
"We don't know where he is or have any information."
Mohamed also claimed that he had no idea that Brahim was even in Paris when he blew himself up.
"My brothers are big boys, we don't ask them what they do with their time."
Mohamed added that his family was "extremely affected" by the events, and was "thinking about the victims."
He said: "You must understand that for my mother, [my brothers] are just her children."
Mohamed was taken into custody by Belgian police after the attacks, but was released after several hours of questioning.
129 people were killed in a number of attacks in Paris on Friday night, most of them in the Bataclan theatre, where they were attending an Eagles of Death Metal concert. 352 were wounded, and 99 are in a critical condition.
Police continue to hunt for Salah Abdeslam, and have branded him 'dangerous' and warned the public not to approach him.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
|
November 2015
|
['(The Independent)', '(Fox News)']
|
The death toll in the Philippines capital Manila from flooding rises to 16 with rain continuing to fall.
|
At least 19 people have died in severe floods in the Philippine capital, Manila, and nearby areas.
More than 80,000 people are being looked after in emergency shelters, with torrential rain leaving low-lying areas underwater. Rescuers are using rubber boats to reach stranded people, but some have refused to leave amid fears of looting.
The flooding - neck-deep in some parts of the city - forced the closure of offices and schools.
More than half the amount of rain normally seen in August has fallen in the capital in 24 hours, reports say.
In the worst reported incident of casualties, nine members of one family died when a landslide hit shanty houses in Manila's Quezon City.
Others died from drowning and electrocution, according to the country's disaster response agency. A state of calamity has been issued in at least four areas, it added.
Benito Ramos, head of the country's disaster response agency, said that at least 60% of the city was underwater.
"We're still concerned about the situation in the coastal areas," he added. "It was difficult to distinguish the sea from the flood waters." President Benigno Aquino called for the public's co-operation, warning that the government did not have "infinite capabilities" to deal with the natural disaster.
People are said to be stranded in homes all over the city. Soldiers, police and volunteers are trying to reach them by boat, says the BBC's Kate McGeown in Manila. But some people are refusing to leave, scared their possessions will be taken by looters.
"The flooding has impacted everyone here. Even if your house did not flood - and ours didn't - the streets flooded badly and so much of Manila has been impassable and people have been stranded," Julie Green, an Australian currently living in Manila, told the BBC. "All businesses have been closed except for 7-11s and some sari-sari [convenience] stores. Everyone's stocks are getting quite low now so you have to wake up early and battle the rains to get some food.
"It rained hard again all last night, but it seems now that the rains might have abated. People are starting to come out again."
Officials have warned that more rain is expected, however, and are urging people to consider their safety first.
Manila and the northern Philippines have been hit by severe weather since Typhoon Saola struck just over a week ago, killing more than 50 people. The government is better prepared this time than when typhoons hit the country previously - tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, says our correspondent.
Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines in September 2009, causing flooding that killed more than 400 people and Typhoon Nestat and Nalgae struck two years later, leaving more than 100 dead. The current rain and floods are said to be the worst to hit the country since 2009. However, the state weather bureau has said that weather conditions may get better later this week. Storms batter Asia and Central America
|
Floods
|
August 2012
|
['(BBC)']
|
Bobby Jindal is sworn in as the 56th Governor of Louisiana. He is the first Indian American governor in U.S. history.
|
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who was inaugurated Monday, has been praised by residents — even those frustrated at the government — as bright, capable and energetic.
William Doxey, shown here in a shack next to his trailer where he stores his oysters, says it seems that the government is trying to drive people out of the coastal areas.
William Doxey, shown here in a shack next to his trailer where he stores his oysters, says it seems that the government is trying to drive people out of the coastal areas.
New building laws in Cameron Parish on the Gulf of Mexico require houses to be built 12 to 14 feet off the ground.
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's new governor, was sworn in to office Monday afternoon. Jindal takes over a state that's still struggling to recover from hurricanes Rita and Katrina which pounded the region in 2005.
More than two years later, people all along coastal Louisiana are still trying to rebuild their homes, lives and communities. And while Jindal handily won the governor's race, many in Louisiana are still leery of a government they think let them down after the storms hit two years ago.
Cameron, La.
Cameron is a small, gritty port town in the western Louisiana bayou near the border with Texas. Boats that service the oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico tie up along Cameron's docks next to shrimp and fishing boats.
Hurricane Rita hit here on Sept. 24, 2005, less than a month after Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Before Hurricane Rita, the town had 2,000 residents; immediately after, it had none. William Doxey, 78, runs a small seafood business in Cameron buying and selling oysters and shrimp. He remembers what the town looked like after the hurricane.
"Not nothing here. Nothing. Everything was gone," Doxey said. The storm surge from Rita drove 14 feet of water through Doxey's property. The water took his house and business with it. Doxey now lives in a beat-up, second-hand trailer that he has parked next to the concrete slab of his old house. After the storm, he got $37,000 from the state's housing recovery program, called Road Home program. He says it's not enough to rebuild, but he's sick of fighting with the state about it.
If he had the money to rebuild, new zoning regulations would require him to elevate his house 14 feet above sea level. It seems that the government is trying to drive people out of the coastal areas, Doxey said.
Why does Doxey stay? He says he was born and raised in Cameron, and it's where he lives and works now. "Why should I go somewhere else and starve? They're not going to feed you once you move out of here," Doxey said. Doxey doesn't expect things in his part of Louisiana to change with the inauguration of Jindal as governor. If Cameron gets rebuilt, he says, it will be as a result of the locals — not the politicians in Baton Rouge.
Lake Charles , La.
Thirty miles north of Cameron, the city of Lake Charles was also battered by Hurricane Rita, and it's still dealing with the effects of the storm. The airport terminal hasn't yet been rebuilt. Some houses are still draped in the blue tarps FEMA handed out after the storm to prevent further damage.
And as the economy continues to sputter, Macy's announced last week that it will close its department store in Lake Charles.
Randy Roach, mayor of Lake Charles, says the Rita recovery effort in southwest Louisiana is making progress, but it's been hampered by so many contractors heading east to deal with the Katrina damage in New Orleans.
By capturing 54 percent of the vote, Bobby Jindal won the governor's office outright in the primary. Mayor Roach says the rush of voters to Jindal was, in part, a response to the storms. "I think they made people think about what's really important: What do we really need to be focusing on, what do we really need to be doing and how do we want to go about doing it?" Roach said. Jindal offered vision and leadership for the ailing state, Roach said. Jindal is a conservative Republican and a devout Catholic. He was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 2004. At 36, he's young, but Roach says Jindal's youthful energy is one of his greatest assets.
New Orleans
Two hundred miles east of Lake Charles, New Orleans continues to clean up from the worst natural disaster in American history — although many city residents say the damage from Katrina wasn't natural. Darlene Martin, who lives in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, says her house wasn't damaged by Hurricane Katrina itself. Instead, her house was destroyed by the flooding of her neighborhood that followed the hurricane. Martin blames the federal government, pointing out that, had the New Orleans branch of the Army Corps of Engineers properly maintained the city's levee system, she would have been back in her home two days after Katrina hit.
Martin had flood insurance, which covered the $200,000 in damages to her property. But because the Road Home program does not cover properties that had flood insurance, she got no compensation from the program.
"I think the government should compensate us for what we have endured — eight months in isolation up in Baton Rouge, commuting back and forth and then having to live in my house while it is rebuilt," Martin said.
More than two years later, her neighborhood is still a long way from normal. Some houses, like Martin's, are completely rebuilt. The lawns are mowed. Mardi Gras decorations are up. But the new homes are often right next to gutted houses with weeds and debris covering the yard.
Martin is angry at how the Louisiana government dealt with Katrina and its aftermath. Her neighborhood is coming back, she says, thanks to volunteers. Ask Martin about Bobby Jindal taking over as governor, and her tone softens. She praises Jindal as bright, capable and energetic.
Despite her frustration and anger toward the public sector right now, she's hopeful the new governor can do "a lot of good" for Louisiana.
|
Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
January 2008
|
['(NPR)']
|
Voting takes place in the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South parliamentary by–elections in the United Kingdom. The Labour Party retains Hodge Hill, narrowly, but loses Leicester South to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party is pushed into third place in both seats.
|
Parmjit Singh Gill became the first Liberal Democrat MP from an ethnic minority in a 21% swing from Labour. In his victory speech, Mr Gill said the people had spoken for Britain and "the message is that the prime minister has abused and lost their trust" over Iraq.
In Thursday's other by-election, Labour just held Birmingham Hodge Hill by 460 votes ahead of the Lib Dems.
'Excellent night'
In a turnout of 36%, the Conservatives slipped to third and Labour's victorious Liam Byrne said: "This is a disaster for Michael Howard."
LEICESTER SOUTH
Parmjit Singh Gill (LD) 10,274 (34.94%)
Sir Peter Soulsby (Lab) 8,620 (29.31%)
Chris Heaton-Harris (C) 5,796 (19.71%)
Yvonne Ridley (Respect) 3,724 (12.66%)
David Roberts (Soc Lab) 263 (0.89%)
RU Seerious (Loony) 225 (0.77%)
Patrick Kennedy (Ind) 204 (0.69%)
Paul Lord (Ind) 186 (0.63%)
Mark Benson (Ind) 55 (0.19%)
Jiten Bardwaj (Ind) 36 (0.12%)
Alan Barrett (Ind) 25 (0.09%)
Tunout: 41.6%Lib Dem majority 1,654Swing 21.46%
Labour lost its 11,000 majority in a 27% swing from the Liberal Democrats and party leader Charles Kennedy said they would have taken the seat but for the anti-war Respect party.
But he said he was delighted with the two by-election results.
"It was an excellent night, an absolutely stunning night for us. I think Iraq was a huge issue."
He said the results were "devastating" for the Conservative party.
"As Labour becomes unpopular, unlike what we have seen over many decades in British politics, people are not turning to the Conservatives as an alternative, they are turning to the Liberal Democrats.
"That changes the rules of engagement for the next general election completely," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Labour 'challenge'
In Leicester South, the Liberal Democrats leapt from third to first place, having won control of the city's council from Labour last year.
BIRMINGHAM HODGE HILL
Byrne (Lab) 7,451 (36.45%)
Davies (LD) 6,991 (34.20%) Eyre (C) 3,543 (17.33%)
John Rees (Respect) 1,282 (6.27%)
James Starkey (NF) 805 (3.94%)
Mark Wheatley (Eng Dem) 277 (1.36%)
James Hargreaves (OCV) 90 (0.44%)
Turnout: 37.89%Lab majority: 460Swing: 26.75%
Mr Gill defeated former Labour city council leader Sir Peter Soulsby and Conservative Chris Heaton Harris.
In his victory speech, Mr Gill said: "The people of Leicester South have spoken for the people of Britain."
Health Secretary John Reid acknowledged the result presented the government with a challenge but he added that they presented The Tories with a crisis "because they are going backwards".
He insisted that for Labour the outcome was "not unsatisfactory" given the party had been governing for seven years.
Working class
Tory co-chairman Liam Fox said: "I think
there is one very clear message from the local elections, the European elections
and these elections.
"Voters feel let down by Labour and they are increasingly
looking for a party that will beat Labour."
He said the Tories would never have expected to do well in the seats, despite insisting during the campaign that it was a three-horse race.
The two constituencies cover predominantly working class suburbs with large ethnic minority populations.
The polls came a day after the publication of the Butler report into the use of intelligence in the run up to the war in Iraq which criticized the government and the security services.
The two by-elections could be the last test of public opinion before a general election.
Birmingham Hodge Hill was prompted by Labour's Terry Davis' promotion to general secretary of the Council of Europe. In Leicester South, the by-election was triggered by the death of long-serving MP Jim Marshall from a heart attack in May.
|
Government Job change - Election
|
July 2004
|
['(BBC)']
|
Somali Defense Minister and warlord Yusuf Mohammed Siad, who was leading a fight against Islamic insurgents in the country, resigns from government.
|
Somalia's defence minister, who is leading the fight against Islamist insurgents, has resigned from the embattled transitional government.
Yusuf Mohammed Siad, a close ally of Islamist President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said he was leaving as the government had failed to restore order.
Two other ministers tendered their resignation letters from London and another from neighbouring Kenya.
Much of southern Somalia is under the control of al-Qaeda inspired militants.
The country has not had a unified functioning government since 1991.
BBC Somali Service analyst Mohamed Mohamed says it is a major blow to President Ahmed, a moderate Islamist who came to power 18 months ago heading a UN-backed unity government.
Like the president, Mr Siad was a leader of the Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled most of southern Somalia for six months in 2006, and was spearheading the fight about the militants, he says.
"Everyone has to evaluate himself before others judge his failure, and that is what I did before resigning," Mr Siad told Reuters news agency after he announced his resignation in Mogadishu.
"I realised that my government cannot do its job."
The other ministers who resigned are:
The government rules only a few strategic square kilometres of the capital - with the help of a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force.
Correspondents says the president has become increasingly unpopular, amid charges his government has been corrupt and ineffective.
Meanwhile, his introduction of Sharia law to the Muslim country has not appeased the Islamist militias fighting the government.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in two decades of conflict that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.
|
Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal
|
June 2010
|
['(news24.com)', '(BBC)']
|
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Moscow hinted at an energy supply deal in exchange for Belarus merging with Russia, which caused talks to collapse.
|
Moscow has hinted at giving Minsk a deal on energy prices in exchange for Belarus joining Russia in a unified state, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, the state news agency Belta reported.
Russia and Belarus have been discussing possible deeper integration in a union state for around two decades, but have failed to agree on key points, including a united currency.
Lukashenko met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week, but the two failed to agree on a new deal for oil supplies in 2020.
|
Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
|
February 2020
|
['(Reuters)', '(The New York Times)']
|
Three protestors and one police officer are injured in clashes between anti-corruption demonstrators and Ukrainian police in front of the parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine.
|
Four people have been injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators demanding major reforms in Ukraine's capital Kiev.
The protesters are calling for an anti-corruption court to be set up, MPs to lose their immunity from prosecution, and changes to the electoral system.
They vowed to stay on, putting up tents and blocking the main road outside the parliament building in central Kiev.
One of the opposition leaders called for President Petro Poroshenko to quit.
"It is time for them to hear us," Mikheil Saakashvili, a former Georgian president and one-time regional governor in Ukraine, told the crowd of several thousand protesters.
Mr Saakashvili is now a stateless person, after his Ukrainian citizenship was removed by his former ally Mr Poroshenko. Mr Saakashvili is accused by his opponents of trying to further stir up political tensions in Ukraine, which is fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east.
He denies the accusations.
President Poroshenko on Tuesday appeared to respond to the demands of the protesters by introducing in parliament a bill to strip lawmakers of their immunity.
Another demand - for changes to the current electoral system - will also be discussed by MPs later this week, reports say.
The demonstration outside the parliament was organised by opposition parties and non-governmental organisations.
Three protesters and one police officer were injured during the clashes.
Last year, one leading index measuring perceptions of corruption rated Ukraine close to the bottom quarter of nations around the world.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
October 2017
|
['(BBC)']
|
At least three patients were killed and several other people were injured during a protest outside the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore, Pakistan. It was staged by the lawyers against a mocking viral video from doctors. The mob also attacked at the provincial information minister of Punjab Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan. The Young Doctors Association of Pakistan reports death of 12 patients.
|
LAHORE: At least three patients lost their lives and several others were injured after a mob of disgruntled lawyers stormed the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), ransacked the hospital wards and operation theatres and tortured the staff and visitors.
Bushra Bibi was also among the deceased, whose death was confirmed by her son present on the scene. However, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) claimed that at least 12 patients had died during the violent clashes.
Smoke from tear gas shells engulf road outside PIC
The number of deceased could increase as some patients –in critical condition– were left unattended after the lawyers barged inside emergency wards, said Grand Health Alliance (GHA) Chairman Dr Salman Haseeb.
The lawyers were protesting against a video that went viral on social media on Tuesday, in which a doctor is seen narrating an encounter with some lawyers in front of a group. According to the doctor in the video, a group of lawyers had gone to the inspector general of police and told him to charge “two doctors” under Section 7 of ATA. He narrated that the IG had refused while the lawyers had urged him to press charges, saying “they could save face” that way.
Lawyers initially blocked the entry and exit points of the hospital, which led to a violent scuffle between the staff and lawyers.
According to reports and the video footage, the protesting lawyers damaged equipment inside and broke windows of the hospital as well as cars parked outside. The protesters also smashed doors of emergency theatres and staff barely escaped the violence.
A view of police mobile set on fire
Meanwhile, the lawyers also attacked media personnel on the site with stones. A female reporter, Kinza Malik, of a private media outlet was injured. She also lost her phone to the vandals.
Some of the protesters fired gunshots and pelted arriving police with stones and bricks, according to a hospital doctor, Ashraf Nizami. Several lawyers were arrested, police said.
“It was catastrophic for hours,” Nizami said, adding that a 70-year-old female patient had died, and several patients were left unattended for hours, during the violence.
Nizami said the attackers forced doctors and nurses to flee, leaving patients in emergency and intensive care unattended. Police fired tear gas to quell the mob while terrified patients and hospital staff fled to safety, officials said.
Lawyers manhandle Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan
Punjab Information Minister Fayyazaul Hassan Chohan also got caught in the eye of the storm. The minister claimed that “lawyers had tried to kidnap” him. In a video, he can be seen being manhandled by a group of protesting lawyers.
Lahore DIG Operations Ashfaq Ahmad Khan also arrived at the hospital as the protest raged. He said that those who took the law into their own hands will be dealt with strongly.
The president and secretary of the Lahore High Court Bar Association also arrived at PIC to convince the angry lawyers to leave the hospital.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of the incident as the report of the violent protest hit the airwaves.
Prime Minister Imran Khan sought a report from Chief Secretary Azam Suleman and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shoaib Dastgir.
Chief Minister Buzdar, who was in Islamabad to hold meetings with PTI MNAs, assured that action will be taken against those responsible for the violence.
The chief minister ordered an investigation into the attack and summoned a report from the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) and provincial secretary of specialised health and medical education. The premier summoned a report from the provincial chief secretary and inspector general.
When asked why the government had not taken notice of tensions between doctors and lawyers earlier, Buzdar said that the matter had been resolved.
According to Chohan, the chief minister ordered a committee to be formed to take action against these lawyers. The committee will be headed by Law Minister Raja Basharrat, he added.
The Punjab government also summoned extra troops of Rangers personnel to maintain law and order.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Asahiq Awan strongly condemned the attack. In a tweet, she said that those who took law in their own hands would be brought to book.
She said torture on provincial information minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, ransacking of hospital and harassing the relatives of the patients were highly condemnable and regrettable acts.
WHAT SPARKED THE VIOLENCE?
According to Punjab Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Shahnawaz Ismail, the lawyers’ attack was their reaction to the video that went viral on Tuesday.
Ismail said that on Nov 24, the doctors and hospital staff at the PIC beat up a lawyer Azeem Sindhu who had brought his mother to the hospital for treatment. He said that the health of the lawyer’s mother deteriorated as a result of doctors’ negligence.
“When we filed a case against those responsible, police didn’t arrest anyone,” he said.”This is only a reaction to the video that went viral yesterday and doctors are responsible for the clash that took place.”
DOCTORS, LAWYERS GO ON STRIKE:
Following the protest, both doctors–led by Young Doctor Association– and lawyers of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) issued strike calls to protest the incident, each claiming to be the aggrieved party in the case.
Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Syed Amjad Shah said that he condemned the violence created by the lawyers at the hospital but appeared to deflect blame on medical professionals.
He said that it was the doctors who had initially misbehaved with the lawyers and then the issue turned violent whereas the rioting was the individual act by a few lawyers.
Young Consultants Association (YCA) announced a nationwide strike after the violent protest. YCA President Dr Hammad Butt said that no consultant will be on duty all across Punjab on Thursday. “The vandalism by lawyers is highly condemnable,” said Butt
It is the second time in less than a month that the medical facility has come under attack. A similar incident was reported on Nov 20 when a public brawl broke out between a group of lawyers and the hospital staff. A lawyer’s body said at the time that the incident took place after some lawyers were allegedly beaten on the premises of PIC.
The writer is a member of the staff.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
December 2019
|
['(Dawn)', '(Pakistan Today)']
|
A suicide bomber kills two foreign tourists in a Cairo market and injures a further score of bystanders. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility. (Link dead as of 22:29, 14 January 2007 ),
|
CAIRO - An explosion went off at a bazaar popular with tourists near Cairo's al-Azhar mosque Thursday, killing three and wounding 17 others, police said.The unidentified remains of one of three people were that of an Egyptian who carried out the attack, Egypt's cabinet spokesman said.The other two casualties were identified as an American and a French tourist. Magdi Radi said initial investigations showed it was an individual operation. "It resulted from the explosion of a charge prepared in a basic way containing gunpowder and nails. Likewise it is probable that the one who has yet to be identified was the source of the explosion," he said in comments broadcast on state television. Before officials concluded that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, Greater Cairo's security director Nabil el-Azabi said a male pedestrian threw a bomb in the busy tourist area of the Egyptian capital at about 5 P.M. local time. This contradicted earlier announcements made by local police sources saying a man on a motorcycle threw the bomb. Reuters reported that at least three American citizens were hurt in the attack. The bomb went off on one of the roads in Cairo's old city lined with shops catering for tourists, a Reuters reporter said. Police sealed off the road and shops were closed. Egypt has largely seen calm since it suppressed a fierce campaign of violence by Islamic militants in the early 1990s. The last militant attack in the Egyptian capital came in September 1997, when two gunmen fired automatic rifles at a tour bus parked outside the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, killing 12 people - mostly German tourists. Last October, explosions hit several hotels in the Sinai Peninsula, including one in the resort of Taba, killing 34 people, mostly Israelis.
|
Armed Conflict
|
April 2005
|
['(Haaretz)', '(UTC)', '(BBC)']
|
Second-tier club Leeds United eliminate Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
|
From the section Footballcomments93
Leeds sent Tottenham crashing out of the FA Cup with a famous fourth-round victory at Elland Road.
Luke Varney ran clear to give the Championship side an early lead as Tottenham failed to convert a series of first-half chances.
Ross McCormack made it 2-0 after more poor defending allowed him to turn inside Steve Caulker and slam home.
Clint Dempsey headed home to give Spurs hope but substitute Jon Obika could not convert his chance to level late on.
Tottenham had arrived in Yorkshire fourth in the Premier League and one of the favourites for the Cup, having reached the semi-finals twice in the last three seasons.
It is only a decade or so ago since Leeds were in similar company. Although they are slowly climbing back towards the top flight after spending time in the third tier, Neil Warnock's side came into this match in 11th place in the Championship and definite under-dogs.
Leeds are into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2003, when Terry Venables was manager and they reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by Sheffield United. They also reached the quarter-finals of this season's Capital One Cup, beating Southampton and Everton before losing 5-1 to Chelsea.
But despite the decline in their fortunes, Leeds have still sprung a few recent cup shocks - beating Everton and Southampton in the Capital One Cup this season and, as a League One club, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2010.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas picked a strong side - including Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon - to try and avoid a similar upset but significantly he left Jermain Defoe, his only available out-and-out striker, out of his squad.
Clint Dempsey, who led the Spurs attack instead, has played up front plenty of times before in his career but as a lone frontman he often lacked support, as well as composure, in front of goal.
Spurs' problem was never about creating openings, with the first of many arriving after seven minutes when Gylfi Sigurdsson headed straight at Jamie Ashdown from 10 yards out, but taking them was a different matter.
Even without their top scorer Luciano Becchio, who was left out after handing in a transfer request on Friday, Leeds had no such worries. The first time they came forward, Varney made the most of some poor defending to escape Kyle Naughton and Caulker before running into the area and beating Brad Friedel.
The visitors responded with more neat football but they were unable to turn their superior possession into goals.
Ashdown kept out a Tom Huddlestone shot, denied Bale at his near post after the Welshman's fine solo run, then pushed away Dempsey's powerful strike from distance.
But if Tottenham's finishing was unconvincing, things were a good deal worse for them at the other end.
Just before half-time, they failed to deal with a long Leeds ball pumped forward and the ball broke for McCormack who was only denied by a fine block by Friedel.
However, there was no escape when McCormack ran clear again after the break. The Scotland striker turned back inside Caulker, who looked uncertain all game, before slamming a shot into the top corner.
Dempsey missed from six yards moments later but Tottenham were soon back in it when he sent a header looping into the net after clever work by Bale down the left.
That left more than half an hour left for the visitors to find an equaliser but the expected onslaught never materialised.
Spurs poured men forward but could not find a clear sight of goal, and were grateful to Friedel for denying McCormack when he looked to finish off a swift counter-attack.
The only time they got behind the home defence, Lee Peltier got back superbly to deny substitute Obika with a last-ditch challenge.
Friedel went forward to try to salvage a replay deep in injury time but Leeds broke forward instead and Tottenham's disastrous day would have ended with them conceding a third goal had referee Kevin Friend not blown for full-time as Rodolph Austin's long-range shot trundled towards the empty net.
Leeds manager Neil Warnock: "I really enjoyed the match. We didn't get anything other than what we deserved today and we had a few chances as well.
"It was a typical FA Cup game. They were like that when I was a kid.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas: "We had a good 15 minutes before the goal when we had some good chances, and I think it was important to score early.
"It was difficult as we were always chasing the game and this is a difficult place to play, and we couldn't play our football as well as we could have.
"We wanted to go through in the competition, but we were knocked out by a Leeds team who were extremely competitive today, and you have to give credit to them."
|
Sports Competition
|
January 2013
|
['(BBC)', '(The Guardian)']
|
The Airbus A400M from Airbus Military performs its maiden flight in Seville, Spain.
|
SEVILLE, Spain, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A new European military transport plane, the Airbus EAD.PA A400M, took to the skies on Friday in a boost to a 20 billion euro ($29.45 billion) project threatened by soaring costs after a two-year development delay.
British test pilot Ed Strongman and crew donned parachutes over red overalls to power up the propellor plane -- dubbed “grizzly” by test engineers after its burly appearance.
The A400M was commissioned by seven European NATO countries to support combat operations in rugged zones like Afghanistan or to assist in humanitarian relief operations.
The plane carries aloft its designers’ hopes that the three-hour maiden flight will help to save Europe’s biggest defence project from being grounded.
But an estimated 5 billion euro cost overrun has placed the plane’s future in doubt, forcing Airbus to hold negotiations with buyers on the sidelines of the inaugural flight. )
|
Military Exercise
|
December 2009
|
['(Reuters)']
|
Canadian singer–songwriter Leonard Cohen dies at the age of 82.
|
Leonard Cohen, the hugely influential singer and songwriter whose work spanned nearly 50 years, died Monday at the age of 82. Cohen’s label, Sony Music Canada, confirmed his death on the singer’s Facebook page Thursday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away,” the statement read. “We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries. A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.”
“Leonard Cohen died during his sleep following a fall in the middle of the night on November 7th,” Cohen’s manager Robert Kory said in a statement. “The death was sudden, unexpected and peaceful.”
“My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records,” Cohen’s son Adam wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone. “He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humor.”
Before his death, the songwriter requested that he be laid to rest “in a traditional Jewish rite beside his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,” his rabbi Adam Scheier wrote in a statement.
“Unmatched in his creativity, insight and crippling candor, Leonard Cohen was a true visionary whose voice will be sorely missed,” Kory wrote in a separate statement. “I was blessed to call him a friend, and for me to serve that bold artistic spirit firsthand, was a privilege and great gift. He leaves behind a legacy of work that will bring insight, inspiration and healing for generations to come.”
Cohen was the dark eminence among a small pantheon of extremely influential singer-songwriters to emerge in the Sixties and early Seventies. Only Bob Dylan exerted a more profound influence upon his generation, and perhaps only Paul Simon and fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell equaled him as a song poet.
Cohen’s haunting bass voice, nylon-stringed guitar patterns and Greek-chorus backing vocals shaped evocative songs that dealt with love and hate, sex and spirituality, war and peace, ecstasy and depression. He was also the rare artist of his generation to enjoy artistic success into his Eighties, releasing his final album, You Want It Darker, earlier this year.
“I never had the sense that there was an end,” he said in 1992. “That there was a retirement or that there was a jackpot.”
“For many of us, Leonard Cohen was the greatest songwriter of them all,” Nick Cave, who covered Cohen classics like “Avalanche,” “I’m Your Man” and “Suzanne,” said in a statement. “Utterly unique and impossible to imitate no matter how hard we tried. He will be deeply missed by so many.”
Leonard Norman Cohen was born on September 21st, 1934, in Westmount, Quebec. He learned guitar as a teenager and formed a folk group called the Buckskin Boys. Early exposure to Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca turned him toward poetry – while a flamenco guitar teacher convinced him to trade steel strings for nylon. After graduating from McGill University, Cohen moved to the Greek island of Hydra, where he purchased a house for $1,500 with the help of a modest trust fund established by his father, who died when Leonard was nine. While living on Hydra, Cohen published the poetry collection Flowers for Hitler (1964) and the novels The Favourite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966).
Frustrated by poor book sales, and tired of working in Montreal’s garment industry, Cohen visited New York in 1966 to investigate the city’s robust folk-rock scene. He met folk singer Judy Collins, who later that year included two of his songs, including the early hit “Suzanne,” on her album In My Life. His New York milieu included Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, and, most importantly, the haunting German singer Nico, whose despondent delivery he may have emulated on his exquisite 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Cohen quickly became the songwriter’s songwriter of choice for artists like Collins, James Taylor, Willie Nelson and many others. His black-and-white album photos offered an arresting image to go with his stark yet lovely songs. His next two albums, Songs From a Room (1969) and Songs of Love and Hate (1971), benefited from the spare production of Bob Johnston, along with a group of seasoned session musicians that included Charlie Daniels.
During the Seventies, Cohen set out on the first of the many long, intense tours he would reprise toward the end of his career. “One of the reasons I’m on tour is to meet people,” he told Rolling Stone in 1971. “I consider it a reconnaissance. You know, I consider myself like in a military operation. I don’t feel like a citizen.” His time on tour inspired the live sound producer John Lissauer brought to his 1974 masterpiece, New Skin for the Old Ceremony. However, he risked a production catastrophe by hiring wall-of-sound maximalist Phil Spector to work on his next album, Death of a Ladies Man, whose adversarial creation resulted in a Rolling Stone review titled “Leonard Cohen’s Doo-Wop Nightmare.”
Cohen’s relationship with Suzanne Elrod during most of the Seventies resulted in two children, the photographer Lorca Cohen and Adam Cohen, who leads the group Low Millions. Cohen was well known for his wandering ways, and his most stable relationships were with backing singers Laura Branigan, Sharon Robinson, Anjani Thomas, and, most notably, Jennifer Warnes, who he wrote with and produced (Warnes frequently performed Cohen’s music). After indulging in a variety of international styles on Recent Songs (1979), Cohen accorded Warnes full co-vocal credit on 1984’s Various Positions.
Various Positions included “Hallelujah,” a meditation on love, sex and music that would become Cohen’s best-known composition thanks to Jeff Buckley’s incandescent 1994 reinterpretation. Its greatness wasn’t recognized by Cohen’s label, however. By way of informing him that Columbia Records would not be releasing Various Positions, label head Walter Yetnikoff reportedly told Cohen, “Look, Leonard; we know you’re great, but we don’t know if you’re any good.” Cohen returned to the label in 1988 with I’m Your Man, an album of sly humor and social commentary that launched the synths-and-gravitas style he continued on The Future (1992).
In 1995, Cohen halted his career, entered the Mt. Baldy Zen Center outside of Los Angeles, became an ordained Buddhist monk and took on the Dharma name Jikan (“silence”). His duties included cooking for Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi, the priest and longtime Cohen mentor who died in 2014 at the age of 104. Cohen broke his musical silence in 2001 with Ten New Songs, a collaboration with Sharon Robinson, and Dear Heather (2004), a relatively uplifting project with current girlfriend Anjani Thomas. While never abandoning Judaism, the Sabbath-observing songwriter attributed Buddhism to curbing the depressive episodes that had always plagued him.
The final act of Cohen’s career began in 2005, when Lorca Cohen began to suspect her father’s longtime manager, Kelley Lynch, of embezzling funds from his retirement account. In fact, Lynch had robbed Cohen of more than $5 million. To replenish the fund, Cohen undertook an epic world tour during which he would perform 387 shows from 2008 to 2013. He continued to record as well, releasing Old Ideas (2012) and Popular Problems, which hit U.S. shops a day after his eightieth birthday. “[Y]ou depend on a certain resilience that is not yours to command, but which is present,” he told Rolling Stone upon its release. “And if you can sense this resilience or sense this capacity to continue, it means a lot more at this age than it did when I was 30, when I took it for granted.”
When the Grand Tour ended in December 2013, Cohen largely vanished from the public eye. In October 2016, he released You Want It Darker, produced by his son Adam. Severe back issues made it difficult for Cohen to leave his home, so Adam placed a microphone on his dining room table and recorded him on a laptop. The album was met with rave reviews, though a New Yorker article timed to its release revealed that he was in very poor health. “I am ready to die,” he said. “I hope it’s not too uncomfortable. That’s about it for me.”
The singer-songwriter later clarified that he was “exaggerating.” “I’ve always been into self-dramatization,” Cohen said last month. “I intend to live forever.”
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Famous Person - Death
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November 2016
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['(Rolling Stone)']
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According to Israel Today, a senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that Iran's rulers ordered the rocket attack on Mishmeret in central Israel on March 25, 2019, which injured seven Israelis. The rocket attack was carried out by Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, which is heavily financed by Iran. The Hamas official said that Hamas's goal was to hurt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chances of getting reelected in the April 9 elections.
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After some Hamas officials claimed a rocket attack on central Israel early Monday morning which injured seven had been ‘accidental’ or caused by ‘bad weather’, senior officials in the Gaza-based terror organization and Egypt now say that the attack was intentional and carried out at the behest of Iran, with the intention of altering the outcome of Israel’s upcoming general election.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Israel Hayom Tuesday that the rocket which struck the Wolf family home in the town of Mishmeret in central Israel Monday and injured seven Israelis had been fired at the urging of Tehran.
The Hamas official claimed that Iran had “gone over the heads” of Hamas’ leadership, directly ordering a cell operating out of the Gaza Strip to carry out the attack. The cell has been identified as part of the Islamic Jihad organization, a rival terrorist group which operates in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.
While senior officials in both Egypt and Gaza confirmed that Iran had ordered the attack, they claimed that Hamas’ military leadership was aware of the plans to fire a rocket deep into Israeli territory a major escalation of the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state adding that the leaders of Hamas’ armed wing gave their blessing to the attack.
“It is definitely possible that senior Hamas leaders were not informed of the attack,” said a senior Egyptian intelligence official involved in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas. “However, the leaders of the military wing of Hamas were notified and even coordinated with the Islamic Jihad’s leadership, which was responsible for the preparations [for the attack].”
The senior Hamas official who spoke with Israel Hayom said that while the directive to launch the attack came from Tehran, Hamas also hoped the sudden escalation could help drive Netanyahu from office by harming his chances of winning reelection in next month’s Knesset election.
“In Gaza, it is believed that Israel won’t launch a major operation in Gaza two weeks before the elections,” the official said. Hamas was surprised when Israel responded overnight with a series of airstrikes on Gaza, rejecting Hamas overtures delivered via Egypt for “quiet in exchange for quiet”.
Israeli aircraft bombed dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight in retaliation for the Monday rocket attack. According to a report by AFP, seven Gazans were injured in the IDF attacks.
During the airstrikes, Gaza-based terrorists launched dozens of rockets towards Israeli territory. While Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was activated during the attacks, one rocket hit and damaged a home in the town of Sderot in southwestern Israel. No injuries were reported.
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Armed Conflict
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March 2019
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['(The Jerusalem Post)', '(Israel National News)']
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Easter Islanders vote to restrict the number of immigrants in a referendum.
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The inhabitants of Easter Island in the South Pacific have voted to restrict immigration amid overpopulation fears.
More than 90% of those who voted in this weekend's referendum said they were worried about an influx of residents from Chile. Chile has administered the remote island outpost, famous for its carved stone statues, since the 19th century. The referendum was organised by the Chilean government, which says the island is struggling to cope. Constitutional change
With a population of just 4,000 people, Easter Island might not sound that crowded. But the island is just 20 miles (32km) from one end to the other. It is also more than 2,000 miles from the Chilean mainland, which generates all sorts of problems. Disposing of rubbish in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way, for example, is becoming increasingly difficult. Some 50,000 tourists visit the island each year to see the famous Maoi, the enigmatic carved stone heads that are dotted around the island. As tourism has increased, hundreds of Chileans have moved in from the mainland to work in hotels, bars and as taxi drivers. The Chilean parliament must now approve a change to the constitution to bring the new rules into effect.
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Government Policy Changes
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October 2009
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['(Radio Netherlands Worldwide)', '(BBC)']
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Floods kill four people in north Texas.
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GAINESVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - Residents emerged from their homes in a flood-stricken north Texas town on Monday as waters that killed a 4-year-old girl and at least one other person began to recede throughout the soaked region.
Local media reported that the girl was killed after she was pulled by raging waters from her mother’s arms in a mobile home park in a Fort Worth suburb. Elsewhere a woman died after her car stalled on a north Texas road and got swept away.
Flood warnings remained in effect for many parts of the region which has seen a prolonged drought washed away by drenching rains in recent weeks.
“Water came into the house and almost broke everything and now everything is laying around,” said Christian Gomez, a resident of the flood-hit town of Gainesville, as he trudged down the street in calf deep water.
The National Weather Service said that close to nine inches (23 cm) of rain had poured over the Gainesville area since early Monday morning and a flood warning remained in affect for the area until at least 6:15 p.m. CDT (00:15 GMT).
Even as the rains tapered off concerns remained that excess run-off could still gush forth from rising creeks and rivers.
At midday Monday a warming sun had broken through the clouds and the muddy waters had begun to recede in Gainesville, which lies near the Oklahoma border about 60 miles north of Dallas. Flood waters were reported to be receding elsewhere in north Texas as well.
A Reuters photographer on the scene in Gainesville said several houses she had looked into appeared to have been trashed by the flood with furniture and appliances strewn about. Damage to cars and buildings was extensive.
There were no reports of casualties in Gainesville which seemed to be struck by the worst of the flooding. Earlier in the day television footage showed dramatic images of families trapped on the rooftops of their homes as murky floodwaters roared past.
Rescue efforts continued to the east of Gainesville in the town of Sherman, where local media reported that 120 elderly residents of a nursing home had been safely evacuated and taken away by bus.
Evidence of flooding could be seen in many places. In the town of Grapevine near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport a soccer field was submerged under water.
additional reporting by Ed Stoddard in Grapevine
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Floods
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June 2007
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['(Reuters)', '(AP via The New York Times)']
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In Nepal, thousands of opposition supporters demonstrate against the rule of King Gyanendra and demand restoration of parliament. Royalist government is dismayed by EU and Indian demands to return to democracy
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Thousands of opposition activists have taken part in demonstrations in Nepal against King Gyanendra's 1 February royal takeover. Organisers said the demonstrations were largely peaceful with the police intervening in a couple of places.
Protesters want the reinstatement of the dissolved parliament and the formation of an all-party government.
The king sacked the elected government because he said it had failed to deal with Nepal's Maoist rebels.
Civil rights call
Sunday's protests were organised jointly by seven opposition political parties. At least 4,000 activists belonging to the main opposition parties - including the Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) - turned up in the busy Ason business district in the capital, Kathmandu, carrying party flags. They shouted slogans against the royal takeover and demanded the restoration of democracy and civil rights in the country. Thousands of others marched on to the streets of main cities across the country including Biratnagar, Janakpur and Pokhara. The organisers said demonstrations were largely peaceful. The CPN (UML) said a police baton charge in Hetauda left one dozen opposition activists injured. The party said police had detained nearly two dozen activists, including a member of the upper house of the parliament. The opposition parties argue that an all-party government would create an environment for holding peace negotiations with the Maoist insurgents. There has been no official response from the royal government towards the opposition demands as yet. Some of the members in the royal council of ministers have termed the opposition protests "unwarranted" and have asked the opposition to support the king to restore law and order in the country. But opposition leaders say restoration of peace is not possible unless people's democratic rights are restored first.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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May 2005
|
['(Reuters AlertNet)', '(Reuters Alertnet)', '(ABC)', '(BBC)']
|
Muslim separatists in southern Thailand kill four soldiers in an attack on an army base.
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Separatist rebels in southern Thailand have killed four soldiers in an audacious attack on an army base.
Military officials say up to 40 gunmen overran the camp in Narathiwat in an unusually well-organised raid. Muslim separatists carry out regular attacks in Thailand's three southern provinces, but usually through roadside bombings or drive-by shootings.
More than 4,300 people have been killed in violence since 2004 when a decades-old separatist campaign reignited.
In the latest attack, the rebels attacked the base from the front and the back, according to army officials. They shot at soldiers, set off bombs, burned buildings and made off with more than 50 rifles and about 5,000 bullets. The Thai army has 60,000 forces stationed in the region to tackle the insurgency. Little is known about the various insurgent groups but the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Bangkok said they are thought to operate in small, independent cells of just a few people, without a strong leadership hierarchy.
Our correspondent said this raid suggested a much greater level of co-ordination. The rebels have called for autonomy for an area historically known as Patani before it was annexed into Thailand more than 100 years ago. They are not thought to be linked with global or even regional violent extremist networks.
The Narathiwat raid undermines the government's argument that violence is decreasing in the region. "The latest attack shows that the militant movement is very much alive and well, and is waging a war on the Thai state," said Duncan McCargo, Thailand analyst and professor of South East Asian politics at Leeds University. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva made a visit to the south earlier in the week and talked about lifting the state of emergency in more districts.
But on Tuesday, the government extended emergency rule in most of the region for another three months, despite concerns by human rights groups over the powers given to the military. Critics accuse the government of failing to address the grievances of Thailand's Malay Muslims, who are a majority in the southern provinces.
"The Abhisit government's policies of socio-economic development and empty talk of 'reconciliation' have not made the problem go away," said Prof McCargo.
"The ongoing violence in the south should be a wake-up call that Thailand needs to get serious about reviewing its over-centralised structures and tackling the deep causes of national conflict, which are about inequalities of political power," he said.
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Armed Conflict
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January 2011
|
['(BBC)', '(Thai News Agency)']
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North Korean state media says that Kim Jong-un has been formally elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, inheriting the title from his late father Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - The name of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister was missing from a new list of the ruling Workers’ Party’s politburo, according to state media on Monday, raising questions about her status after several years of increasing influence.
The party held elections on Sunday for its Central Committee at a congress, which maps out diplomatic, military and economic policy goals over the next five years.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, remained a member of the Central Committee but was not included in its politburo, lists released by the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, showed.
In 2017, Kim became only the second woman in patriarchal North Korea to join the exclusive politburo after her aunt Kim Kyong Hui. South Korea’s intelligence agency said in August she was her brother’s “de facto second-in-command”.
But the signals were mixed for observers of the reclusive regime. Her absence from the politburo list comes days after she took the leadership podium for the first time alongside 38 party executives as the congress began.
“It is too early to draw any conclusion about her status, as she is still a Central Committee member and there’s a possibility that she has taken up other important posts,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul.
Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the U.S.-based Stimson Center, said Kim Yo Jong enjoyed the highest degree of influence on policy regardless of whether she was in the politburo or not.
“We have become accustomed to seeing her in a more public role, but Kim Yo Jong’s political roots and her formative career experience are behind the scenes, not sitting on a platform listening to speeches,” he said.
‘ONE-MAN RULE’
Leader Kim Jong Un cemented his power at the congress with his election as party general secretary, taking the title from his late father, Kim Jong Il.
Kim has wielded almost absolute power in North Korea’s dynastic system since taking over following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.
In 2012, the party named the late father “eternal general secretary” and Kim Jong Un “the first secretary”.
KCNA said the congress “fully approved” a proposal to promote Kim to the position, which it called “the top brain of the revolution” and “the centre of the leadership and the unity”.
“Kim’s takeover shows his confidence, that he has now officially joined the ranks of his father and grandfather,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“It also indicates his strategic intention to centralise the party system around him and reinforce his one-man rule.”
The reforms to leadership announced over the weekend may seem cosmetic to outside observers but appear aimed at allowing Kim to move away from having to personally manage day to day business and instead exert a more deliberative function, Madden said.
“North Korea currently functions as a tribe and Kim Jong Un wants it to function like a monarchy,” he said.
One figure who appeared to be rising quickly was Jo Yong Won, newly named to the politburo’s five-strong presidium and the party’s formidable Central Military Commission.
Choe Son Hui, a vice foreign minister who was instrumental in preparing for a second, failed summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, was demoted.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged efforts to help engineer a breakthrough in stalled denuclearisation talks as U.S. President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.
Kim has said he would expand diplomacy but vowed on Friday to develop weapons including “multi-warhead” intercontinental ballistic missiles, calling the United States “our biggest enemy”.
Kim’s call for more advanced weapons suggested that if he was open to a deal, it would likely be an arms control agreement rather than full denuclearisation, said Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected and is now a member of South Korea’s parliament.
“He wants to send a very strong message to the incoming Biden administration,” Tae said in an interview at a Reuters Next conference.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
January 2021
|
['(Reuters)']
|
Part of New York City's Times Square is evacuated and sealed off as a car bomb is discovered and deactivated before it could be detonated.
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May 2, 2010 -- The would-be car-bomber who left an SUV loaded with propane and gas cans, fireworks and timing devices on a Times Square street also had more than 100 pounds of fertilizer, but not the kind that would explode, police said today.
Instead of ammonium nitrate, the kind of fertilizer used by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the person who abandoned the van on the crowded New York City street had a metal gun locker full of a harmless fertilizer, New York City Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.
While it is unknown who the potential bomber is, or the bomber's motive, officials told ABC, that if that person were not aware of the characteristics of the fertilizer it could point to the fact that the bomber did not know what he was doing.
Sources also told ABC News that the valves on the propane tanks were not open, which would have made it less likely that the gas inside would have ignited.
Police are looking for white male in his 40s who was seen leaving the area near the SUV and shedding a dark shirt, revealing a red shirt underneath, about a half block from where survellance cameras saw the vehicle entering Times Square at about 6:28 p.m. Saturday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
The video of the possible suspect was expected to be released later today.
The individual was looking around in a furtive manner, Kelly said, but he also stressed that the behavior could be totally innocent.
At a Sunday afternoon press conference, Kelly said police would be reviewing hundreds of hours of videotape, and that police had identified the owner of the green Nissan Pathfinder but had not yet spoken to them.
Detectives are in Pennsylvania today meeting with tourists who think they may have captured a suspect on video.
Kelly said "no evidence" supports the Pakistani Taliban's claim of responsibilty for the bombing, but he said investigators had not yet ruled out either domestic or international motives for the attempted attack.
"Clearly it was the intent of whoever did this to cause mayhem and create casualties," Kelly said. "It was just a sober reminder that New York is clearly a target of people who want to come here and do us harm."
At about 2 p.m. Sunday, NYPD opened the 55-by-32-inch gun locker that was inside the SUV and found it contained eight bags of an unknown, fertilizer-like substance and an inverted pot with a "bird's nest" of wires.
There were three propane tanks next to the gun locker, two five-gallon jerry cans of gasoline, and a timing device, police officials said. There was no high-grade explosive, and the timing device was clocks attached to wires. Attached to the propane tanks were M88 fireworks, some of which had gone off, but without igniting the gas.
One alarm clock appeared to be wired into the gun locker. Another alarm clock was wired to a can with up to 30 M88 firecrackers resting between the cans of gasoline.
Kelly said it was too early to determine whether the device was crude or not. "The system was workable," he said. "The materials are in doubt."
In response to the incident, the Transportation Safety Administration began some additional security measures at East Coast airports this morning. Many of the actions focused on vehicle-borne devices and other improvised devices and included more bomb-sniffing dog sweeps and vehicle checks.
The Department of Homeland Security also provided intelligence to federal air marshals for domestic and international flights and to customs and border officials. A bulletin summarizing the incident was also sent to the nation's 18,000 law enforcement agencies.
The Connecticut license plate on the car does not match the vehicle, and investigators have spoken to the individual to whom the plates are registered, according to Kelly.
That license plate ultimately was traced to a Connecticut junkyard, officials said.
The car bomb was discovered when a T-shirt vendor saw something suspicious -- smoke coming from an unoccupied SUV on 45th Street near 7th Avenue -- so he alerted police.
The tip led to what New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called an "amateurish"-looking car bomb that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told ABC News' "This Week" might have been part of a "one-off" attack.
The 6:30 p.m. scare prompted police to evacuate thousands of people from the heart of the Big Apple during one of its busiest times -- a warm Saturday night when it was packed with theatergoers and tourists.
"We are very lucky," Bloomberg said. "Thanks to alert New Yorkers and professional police officers, we avoided what could [have been] a very deadly event."
Authorities were examining security cameras and other evidence to see if they could identify a possible suspect or motive -- and already had located video of the car being driven to the scene.
"Right now, we have no evidence that this was anything but a one-off" attack, Napolitano told "This Week" this morning.
"Tape is being reviewed and additional forensics are being done in addition to that," she added. "Times Square, I think, now is safe."
President Obama was being kept informed on the investigation by Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan, who was communicating with the New York Police Department and other investigators, the White House announced Saturday evening.
"This is a bomb. This is a car bomb -- a crude device that includes gasoline, propane and is wired together," Browne said Saturday night.
"The wiring ... looked amateurish, I think, is a nice way to phrase it," Bloomberg added early today. "It was made up of consumer-grade fireworks that you can buy in Pennsylvania and drive into New York.
"It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire, and a decent amount of explosive impact," Bloomberg said.
Richard Clarke, a former counterterrorism czar under Presidents Clinton and Bush, told ABC News' "Good Morning America" that he expects to see an arrest in the case.
"You can be pretty certain this guy will be found," he said, "because of all the videotapes, because the bomb not [fully] going off left a wealth of evidence."
He suggested the incident shows how an alert populace can help foil an attack.
"It's a reminder to all of us, whether we're in airports or train stations, subways, if we do see something that looks a little suspicious, it's much better to call it in than to have the guilt afterwards that you didn't," Clarke said.
The T-shirt vendor, who's a Vietnam veteran, noticed smoke coming from the vehicle at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday and notified a mounted police officer.
"It was just sitting there and there was nobody sitting there and the hazards were on and nobody's in there," said another vendor, Rallis Gialaboukis, who saw the whole thing. "I think that by putting the hazards on might have made people think that it was stalled or it was overheating."
The mounted officer noticed a smoking box in the back of the Nissan Pathfinder, police said.
The New York Police Department's bomb squad was called in, and the back window of the SUV was broken out. Police sent in a robot to determine what was in the vehicle.
While the bomb squad robot was checking out the vehicle, the NYPD quickly blocked off 44th Street through 48th.
Bomb technicians from the FBI's New York office were called to the scene to assist the NYPD Bomb Squad in the investigation.
Shortly after 7 p.m., witnesses told WABC-TV they heard an explosion, then saw smoke coming from the car.
"It was a boom and a puff of smoke," one man said.
"I saw people running, turning tables," Paula Delarrosa said.
A live webcam feed at 46th Street and Broadway Saturday evening showed the streets had been cleared of pedestrians. A line of police cars blocked one street and officers paced on a sidewalk.
In the hours that followed, Broadway remained empty.
"I came to dinner," said visitor Tony Rosenthal. "We were going to go see the show 'Come Fly Away' at the Marquis Theater, and the street's closed. I don't know if we'll be able to see the show."
Another observer, Joy Adler, said, "It's pretty scary. I mean, this is really scary. You hear about it on TV and to actually see it, very scary."
The New York case may not be the first of its type, Clarke told "Good Morning America."
Days before an attempted car bomb attack at an airport in Glasgow, Scotland in June 2007, devices similar to the one in New York, using propane tanks and gasoline, were planted in two cars in downtown London but failed to explode.
"In that case, it was made by Islamic jihadists who were not part of the al Qaeda but had learned about al Qaeda, studied it on the Internet, learned how to make the bomb on the Internet," Clarke said.
As in New York, the first London vehicle was discovered when a passerby noticed smoke coming from the back seat of the vehicle. The other car unwittingly was towed for being parked illegally and the bomb was discovered later.
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Armed Conflict
|
May 2010
|
['(ABC News)', '(BBC)', '(Philippine Daily Inquirer)', '(Sydney Morning Herald)']
|
Voters in Guatemala go to the polls for a general election.
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Mr. Pérez Molina, the former head of military intelligence in the 1980s, touts himself as the only candidate who can improve Guatemala's deteriorating security situation. He led the polls going into today's presidential election.
September 11, 2011
While patting their heads and thumping their chests, thousands of Guatemalans at a recent political rally chanted: "Iron fist, head, and heart." It's the campaign slogan for Otto Pérez Molina, an ex-general whose hard-line talk about drugs and gangs has made him the favorite in the Sept. 11 presidential poll.
Mr. Pérez Molina, the former head of military intelligence in the 1980s, touts himself as the law-and-order candidate who can change this country's status as the new headquarters of narcotrafficking by applying the lessons he learned while fighting guerrillas during the 36-year civil war.
That's an appealing message to a society wearied by fast-rising crime rates. In 2010, the homicide rate hit 41 per 100,000 (compared with 5.4 per 100,000 in the United States). As Mexico clamps down on its drug gangs, traffickers continue to flee to Guatemala. Last year, the US State Department said, "the influence of nonstate criminal actors rivals or exceeds that of the government in up to 40 percent of the country."
"I'll vote for Otto Pérez Molina. For the last four years we've suffered from worse and worse security," says Luis Fernando Cashaj, a young resident of La Antigua, one of Guatemala's safest cities, who was recently robbed at knifepoint. "I think he's a sincere person and a military man. If we had better security, many of the smaller problems would go away."
Pérez Molina's plans rely on using intelligence to stop drug gangs. "I regard it as an advantage that the 30 years I was in the Army gave me the opportunity to know the whole country, to live inside, to be close to the problem," says Pérez Molina in an interview with the Monitor. "The training, discipline, order are important attributes when you're in government and need to make decisions."
But his military past is troubling to many. In July, human rights advocates filed a formal report with the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Convention Against Torture alleging that Pérez Molina used torture during the war. Some indigenous groups leveled similar charges about his tactics in their communities in the 1990s.
"Otto Pérez as a candidate would not exist if our society was more democratic, more mature, with a more critical culture. But we are not," says Álvaro Vásquez, a sociologist at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Guatemala City. "This explains why a general can again take the reins of destiny" in Guatemala.
August opinion polls gave Pérez Molina 39.6 percent of the vote, far ahead of his competitors. He led Manuel Baldizón by 21 points. Eduardo Suger was in third place. If he does not get 50 percent of the vote, he will face a November runoff.
Pérez Molina's lead can in part be explained by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court's refusal to let ruling party candidate Sandra Torres run in the presidential race. The ex-wife of current President Álvaro Colom was barred in August from running after she divorced Mr. Colom, in what critics say was a ploy to subvert voting rules barring relatives from holding office consecutively. Ms. Torres had been No. 2 in the polls.
While Guatemalans who lived through the war might react strongly to allegations of abuse against Pérez Molina, the conflict isn't even a memory for many voters. Seventy percent of Guatemalans are under age 30.
That has given Pérez Molina space to court the youth vote. "Pérez Molina has reinvented himself," says Jean-Marie Simon, a photographer and human rights worker in the 1980s. Voters were "in diapers" when the alleged war crimes took place, she says.
Businesses will probably back Pérez Molina, too, as companies can spend 3 to 5 percent of their budgets on security, but many would prefer a leader with stronger economic credentials. "There is no one that is stealing our hearts," says Jose Fahsen, a printing company director. "Unfortunately, it has come down to who is the least bad. I think the success he has is that he's selling himself as a person who can bring order. The president is someone many are waiting to be the savior, but that's not going to happen."
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Government Job change - Election
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September 2011
|
['(Christian Science Monitor)']
|
A Federal grand jury in the US city of Lubbock, Texas indicts Khalid Aldawsari on one charge of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction.
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LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A Lubbock federal grand jury indicts Khalid Aldawsari, 20, on a single charge of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The indictment was filedlate Wednesday afternoon in Lubbock federal court. The indictment reveals no new details on the case, but rather is a simple overview of the charge against Aldawsari.
Also on Wednesday, Judge Sam Cummings issued an order to attorneys for both the defense and the prosecution to not communicate with the news media. Suchaction is typically called a "gag order."
The case has made national news, which is referred to in court records as "an extraordinary amount of media coverage."
"The court finds that there is a substantial likelihood that extrajudicial commentary could prejudice a fair trial..." Cummings writes in his order the court has the authority to place restrictions on jurors, lawyers and others.
Aldawsari was arrested on February 23rd, amid allegations that he had collected in his Lubbock apartment the materials necessary to make an explosive device. His writings indicated that he wanted to blow up nuclear facilities, hydro-electric dams, and the home for former President George W. Bush.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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March 2011
|
['(AP via KCBD)']
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Results of the 2013 Kenyan presidential election indicate that Uhuru Kenyatta has won a victory in the first round with just over 50% of the vote. His leading opponent Raila Odinga says that he will challenge the results.
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Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta has been confirmed as the winner of the presidential election, and vowed to work with his rivals.
He won 50.07% of the vote, officials said, narrowly avoiding a run-off.
But his main challenger, Raila Odinga, alleged massive fraud and said he would challenge the results of the "tainted election" in the Supreme Court.
Mr Kenyatta is set to face trial at the International Criminal Court over violence that followed the 2007 polls.
He is accused of fuelling the communal violence that saw more than 1,000 people killed and 600,000 forced from their homes.
After the results were announced, Mr Kenyatta told cheering supporters he would serve all Kenyans "without fear or favour".
Speaking at the Catholic University in Nairobi, he called on Mr Odinga and other leaders to "join us in moving our nation forward."
Earlier, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said the latest elections had been complex, but also credible and transparent.
It said the turnout, at 86%, was the largest ever
IEBC chairman Issack Hassan praised the candidates who had already conceded victory and urged others to follow suit.
However, Mr Odinga, the current prime minister, said the electoral commission had "failed Kenyans" and that democracy itself was "on trial".
But after announcing his Supreme Court challenge, he also appealed for calm, saying: "Any violence could destroy this nation forever."
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Nairobi says this was the tightest of races with the narrowest of margins.
He says that how Mr Odinga now handles his supporters will determine whether his dispute stays in the courts or spills out on the streets.
Mr Kenyatta's Jubilee Coalition party said it was "proud and honoured for the trust" bestowed on it, adding that it had taken a message to the people and that "we are grateful to the people of Kenya for accepting this message".
Early on Saturday, small groups of Kenyatta supporters celebrated in Nairobi, hooting car horns and singing.
But the newly confirmed president could face difficult relations with Western countries.
In July, he is due to go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity.
Mr Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, also faces similar charges. Both men deny the accusations.
In his victory speech, Mr Kenyatta restated his promise to co-operate "with all nations and international institutions".
The ICC has agreed to postpone Mr Ruto's trial by a month until May after his lawyers complained of not having enough time to prepare his defence.
Countries including the US and UK have hinted that Mr Kenyatta's election as president would have consequences for their relations with Kenya. The comments have been dismissed in Nairobi as foreign interference.
A new electronic system for transmitting vote results was designed to eliminate the risk of fraud, and thus avoid a repeat of the post-poll violence of 2007.
But the count has been plagued with technical glitches, including a programming error that led to the number of rejected votes being multiplied by a factor of eight.
Mr Odinga's Cord alliance had earlier complained that votes from 11 constituencies were missing, in effect leaving him more than 250,000 votes short.
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Government Job change - Election
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March 2013
|
['(BBC)', '(Euronews)', '(The Guardian)']
|
Honduras holds its first general election five months after a coup d'état ousted Manuel Zelaya as President.
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TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS -- This Central American country holds a presidential election Sunday in a bid to regain international legitimacy after a coup that has rattled the hemisphere and frustrated the Obama administration's efforts to improve relations with Latin America.
The U.S. government is hoping the election will help resolve the crisis that exploded when the Honduran military ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28. But most nations in the region have declared they will not recognize the winner, saying that would ratify the coup.
Zelaya's removal has exposed the ineffectiveness of U.S. and international pressure to preserve democracy in a poor region long marked by strongman governments, analysts say. Despite the personal involvement of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, two American-brokered accords aimed at reversing the coup have unraveled.
The Obama administration finds itself accused by regional allies and others of abandoning its commitment to democracy for a more pragmatic solution.
"This will leave a bad aftertaste in people's mouths, the way the U.S., rightly or wrongly, rushed to condemn the coup, then for its own reasons, tried to backpedal," said Chris Sabatini, policy director at the business group Council of the Americas. "It will make the U.S. less of a trustworthy partner diplomatically."
U.S. officials say they have little choice but to recognize the long-planned election -- assuming it is fair -- as part of a solution to the crisis in this nation, a longtime American ally.
"What are we going to do, sit for four years and just condemn the coup?" a senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters in Washington.
Sunday's vote will almost certainly end a brief spell of left-wing populism in the Honduran government, because the two leading candidates are prosperous businessmen with centrist platforms. Neither Zelaya nor the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, is on the ballot.
But the country's deep polarization is likely to continue. Spidery black graffiti cover the walls of squat pastel-painted buildings in this mountainous capital, stating, "We don't want coups!" and "The people demand their rights." Several small, crude bombs have exploded in recent days at state institutions and media outlets supportive of the de facto government. No one was harmed.
Zelaya, who has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into the country two months ago, has called for a boycott of the election.
The Honduran military detained Zelaya after he tried to hold a referendum that many feared was aimed at illegally extending his rule beyond the one-term limit. The wealthy rancher had increasingly alienated his country's political parties, the Catholic Church and the business community with his growing ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the leader of an anti-U.S. leftist alliance in Latin America.
Even before Zelaya's ouster, U.S. diplomats had discouraged a series of coup plots in Honduras. But when Zelaya fired the military leadership in June for refusing to help carry out his referendum, the generals gave the go-ahead to remove him, U.S. officials say. Acting on an arrest warrant from the Supreme Court, 200 soldiers stormed the presidential residence and bundled Zelaya onto a plane to Costa Rica.
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Government Job change - Election
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November 2009
|
['(BBC)', '(The New York Times)', '(The Washington Post)']
|
At the same auction, a pink diamond is sold for US$83.2 million, setting a new world record.
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A diamond known as the Pink Star has sold for $83m (£52m) at auction in Geneva - a record price for a gemstone.
The diamond measures 2.69cm by 2.06cm (1.06 inches by 0.81 inches) and is set on a ring.
The Pink Star was sold to Isaac Wolf, a well known New York diamond cutter who has renamed it the Pink Dream.
The winning bid surpasses the $46.2m paid for the Graff Pink diamond three years ago, which was half the size of the Pink Star.
The $83m includes Sotheby's commission.
The winning bid was for 68m Swiss francs ($74m) and reports say there was a long silence between that offer and the previous telephone bid of 67m Swiss francs.
"Ladies and gentlemen, 68 million is the world record bid for a diamond ever bid and it's right here," Sotheby's David Bennett said as he brought down the hammer. Sotheby's played the theme tune from the "Pink Panther" movie after the winning bid was confirmed.
According to the auctioneer, the Pink Star was mined by De Beers in Africa in 1999, but it did not say which country.
"It's really extraordinarily rare," said Mr Bennett.
"Very, very few of these stones have ever appeared at auction."
It took two years to cut and polish the diamond, which was 132.5 carat in its rough state.
In its finished condition the Pink Star is 59.60 carat, more than double the size of the next biggest diamond in its class.
A carat is a weight measurement used for gemstones and is 0.2g (0.00705 ounces).
Sotheby's has sold almost $200m worth of jewellery in its current auction, a record for a single auction according to the company.
|
Break historical records
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November 2013
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['(BBC)']
|
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirms previous rulings that Texas' 2011 voter ID law is discriminatory and does not comply with the Voting Rights Act, and orders a lower court to resolve the problem in time for the November elections.
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Texas’ voter identification law violates the U.S. law prohibiting racial discrimination in elections, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed previous rulings that the 2011 voter ID law — which stipulates the types of photo identification election officials can and cannot accept at the polls — does not comply with the Voting Rights Act.
The full court's ruling delivered the strongest blow yet to what is widely viewed as the nation’s strictest voter ID law. Under the law, most citizens (some, like people with disabilities, can be exempt) must show one of a handful of types of identification before their ballots can be counted: a state driver's license or ID card, a concealed handgun license, a U.S. passport, a military ID card, or a U.S citizenship certificate with a photo.
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Texas is among nine states categorized as requiring "strict photo ID," and its list of acceptable forms is the shortest. Texas’ losing streak continued in its efforts to defend its law, fighting challenges from the U.S. Department of Justice, minority groups and voting rights advocates. Wednesday's ruling did not immediately halt the voter ID law, which has been in effect since 2013. The judges instructed a lower court to draw up a remedy.
In a statement on Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling “unfortunate.”
“It is imperative that the State government safeguards our elections and ensures the integrity of our democratic process. Preventing voter fraud is essential to accurately reflecting the will of Texas voters during elections,” he said.
Experts have closely watched the case, calling it one of two such battles that the U.S. Supreme Court could ultimately settle, helping to determine the point that states — which assert they are protecting the integrity of elections — cross over into disenfranchisement.
The 5th Circuit is considered one of the country’s most conservative appellate courts, with 1o of its 15 members having been appointed by Republican presidents.
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The case centered on whether Texas discriminated against Hispanic and African-American voters when it passed the legislation: Senate Bill 14.
Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and other proponents argued that the law was needed to bolster security at the ballot box by preventing voter fraud, but opponents cite the paucity of proven in-person voter fraud in the state and argue the intent was to undercut the electoral strength of the state’s growing minority population — people less likely to have photo identification or the means to obtain an election certificate.
Experts have testified that more than 600,000 Texans lack such identification, though not all of them have necessarily tried to vote. Those citizens can obtain “election identification certificates” free of charge, but only if they are able to produce a copy of their birth certificate.
Standing before the judges in May, opponents of the identification law argued that not all voter ID rules discriminate, but Texas’ unusually short list of what’s acceptable is burdensome for certain voters — particularly minorities.
Texas argued that opponents of the law had "failed to identify a single individual who faces a substantial obstacle to voting because of SB 14." In Wednesday's ruling, the judges rejected that argument.
"For one thing, the district court found that multiple Plaintiffs were turned away when they attempted to vote, and some of those Plaintiffs were not offered provisional ballots to attempt to resolve the issue," the ruling stated.
The ruling also affirmed the lower court's finding that Texas' "lackluster educational efforts resulted in additional burdens on Texas voters."
Seven of the court's 15 judges backed the decision in full. Two other judges backed most of the decision. Dissenting judges wrote that the "en banc court is gravely fractured and without a consensus. There is no majority opinion, but only a plurality opinion that draws six separate dissenting opinions and a special concurrence."
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More specific to the Texas law, some of the dissenting judges wrote that "requiring a voter to verify her identity with a photo ID at the polling place is a reasonable requirement widely supported by Texans of all races and members of the public belonging to both political parties."
Voting rights advocates were quick to praise the appeals court's overall decision Wednesday.
“We have repeatedly proven — using hard facts — that the Texas voter ID law discriminates against minority voters,” Gerry Hebert, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center and an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “The 5th Circuit’s full panel of judges now agrees, joining every other federal court that has reviewed this law. We are extremely pleased with this outcome.”
Gov. Rick Perry signed the law in 2011, kickstarting its convoluted journey through the federal court system.
Early legal challenges put the rules on hold until 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act, ruling that Texas and other states with a history of racial discrimination no longer automatically needed federal pre-clearance when changing election laws.
In August 2015, a three-judge 5th Circuit panel ruled that the law did have a “discriminatory effect,” in violation of the Voting Rights Act, although it did not constitute a poll tax as a lower court had ruled.
Wednesday's ruling affirmed those findings, and sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
"The district court’s lengthy opinion goes through the evidence supporting its findings in great detail," according to the opinion on the discrimination finding. "A few examples show that the district court relied on concrete evidence regarding the excessive burdens faced by Plaintiffs in making its findings."
The appeals court, however, reversed the district court's ruling that the Legislature had intended to discriminate against certain voters. Though some evidence "could support" that conclusion, the ruling said, the overall findings were "infirm." The judges told the district court to reconsider the evidence.
On Wednesday, Abbott cheered that finding, but lamented the rest of the ruling.
"Voter fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process," he said in a statement.
It's not clear what that court's remedy might look like. Experts called it unlikely that the court would throw out the law completely.
"The remedy is NOT going to be to strike the Texas voter ID law as a whole," but instead to fashion some kind of relief that give people who have a reasonable impediment to getting an ID the chance to get one," Rick Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, wrote on his blog.
"Further, given the timing of the election, the trial court has to craft some kind of interim relief and then can figure out a more comprehensive solution after the next election," Hasen added.
After each loss, Texas has appealed. Through April, Paxton’s office had spent more than $3.5 million defending the law in several lawsuits, its records show.
Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap.
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Government Policy Changes
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July 2016
|
['(Reuters)', '(The Texas Tribune)']
|
The South African gallery which exhibited Brett Murray's controversial painting The Spear reaches a deal with the ruling African National Congress , which opposes its display.
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A South African art gallery has agreed not to display a controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed after reaching a deal with the ANC.
The painting has sparked fierce debate about the balance between freedom of expression and the right to dignity.
Hundreds of ANC supporters protested outside the gallery on Tuesday.
The painting, The Spear, was defaced last week. It will also be removed from the Goodman Gallery's website.
Under the deal, the ANC has agreed to drop its legal action demanding that the gallery remove the painting from its exhibition and the website.
The red, yellow and black acrylic painting showing Mr Zuma echoing Soviet images of Lenin was taken down after it was covered in red and black paint.
On Monday, South Africa's City Press newspaper said it was removing the image of the painting from its website following threats by the ANC.
In a joint news conference, ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said: "Maybe we should not have gone to through lawyers, we should have talked directly."
Goodman Gallery director Liza Essers said: "I believe in the right to freedom of expression and the South African constitution."
"Brett [Murray, the artist] is very saddened by the hurt that the painting has caused," she said.
The ruling party said the painting was "rude, crude and disrespectful" towards President Zuma and wants all images of the painting online and elsewhere taken down. In an affidavit served on the City Press newspaper, Mr Zuma said: "The portrait depicts me in a manner that suggests I am a philanderer, a womaniser and one with no respect." President Zuma, who has four wives, has previously sued local media companies 11 times for defamation.
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Sign Agreement
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May 2012
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['(ANC)', '(BBC)']
|
Four banks, with total assets of $2.7 billion, are ordered closed in the U.S.; 157 American banks failed last year.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities closed four banks -- one in Denver and three in the U.S. Southeast -- on Friday with total assets of $2.7 billion, bringing the number of failures in 2011 so far to seven.
The pace of bank failures is expected to decrease in 2011 as the economy recovers and the impact of the 2007-2009 financial crisis fades. In 2010, 157 banks failed, following 140 failures in 2009.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has said the agency expects the number of failures to drop in 2011.
“You will still have elevated bank failures in 2011 but based on our current projections it will be significantly lower than what we had last year,” she said on January 13.
Smaller banks, those with less than a billion dollars in assets, continue to struggle and have made up the bulk of recent closures. Many are having trouble dealing with the sluggish real estate market, particularly its effect on loans they made for commercial property.
The FDIC announced the following closures on Friday:
* United Western Bank UWB.BO, of Denver. It had assets of $2.05 billion. First Citizens Bank & Trust Company FCNCA.O, of Raleigh, North Carolina, will assume the deposits. United Western Bank had eight branches, including in Boulder and Fort Collins.
First Citizens already had three branches in the Denver area operated by its IronStone Bank division. First Citizens has purchased assets of four other banks, in Florida, California and Washington state, in the past 18 months.
* CommunitySouth Bank and Trust, of Easley, South Carolina. Had $440.6 million in assets. CertusBank, National Association, of Easley, South Carolina, a newly-chartered bank subsidiary of Blue Ridge Holdings Inc, Charlotte, North Carolina, assumed the deposits.
* Bank of Asheville, North Carolina. It had assets of $195.1 million. First Bank, Troy, North Carolina, to assume the deposits.
* Enterprise Banking Company, of McDonough, Georgia. It had assets of $100.9 million. FDIC created Deposit Insurance National Bank of McDonough, which will remain open until January 28, to allow depositors access to insured deposits and time to open accounts elsewhere.
On November 23 the FDIC released its latest quarterly report on the state of the banking industry. It showed that the industry overall continues to recover from the financial crisis but that large banks are doing better than smaller institutions.
The net income for the banking industry was $14.5 billion for the third quarter, which compares to $21.4 billion in the second quarter and $2 billion in the third quarter of 2009, according to the FDIC.
The agency said that third-quarter earnings would have reached a three-year high had it not been for a $10.4 billion goodwill charge taken by Bank of America BAC.N during the quarter for its card business.
The banking industry has been setting aside less money to guard against losses, helping to boost earnings in recent quarters.
Bair has cautioned against banks reducing these reserves too quickly given the state of the economy.
Despite the improving revenue numbers for the industry as a whole, community banks continue to be hit hard by the weak economy and the amount of bad loans on their books, particularly in the commercial real estate sector.
For instance, the number of banks on the agency’s “problem list” grew to 860 from 829, to reach the highest number since March of 1993 when there were 928 institutions on the list. Most of these institutions will not fail but the list provides an indication of how many banks are struggling.
Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Tim Dobbyn, Bernard Orr
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Organization Closed
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January 2011
|
['(Reuters)']
|
The security officers of Georgia arrest nearly 30 members of the opposition political party "Samartlianoba" and its satellite organizations on suspicion of plotting a coup against the government. The party, which advocates closer political ties with the Russian Federation, is led by the nation's fugitive security chief Igor Giorgadze who is wanted by Interpol for his alleged involvement in the 1995 attempt on former Georgian President Shevardnadze's life.
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They say those detained are supporters of Igor Giorgadze - the fugitive former head of the state security service. Lawyers for those arrested deny the coup accusations, saying the arrests amount to political persecution.
Mr Giorgadze fled Georgia after being accused of trying to assassinate then President Eduard Shevardnadze in 1995 - a charge he denies.
Some 450 police officers took part in the morning raids on houses and offices across Georgia, the BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi reports.
"They will be charged under Article 315 of the Georgian criminal code - plotting against the state and overthrowing the government," Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told reporters.
Among those detained are officials of two opposition parties - the pro-Russian Justice Party and the Conservative Monarchists.
Tensions with Russia
The Justice Party was founded by Mr Giorgadze in exile. Mr Giorgadze remains a wanted man in Georgia, but has appeared on television in Russia, our correspondent says.
Tbilisi says it will demand an explanation from Moscow about where the funding for the Justice Party comes from. The raids come amid growing tensions between the two countries. Georgia accuses Moscow of backing separatists in Georgia's breakaway regions, while Russia has banned the import of certain Georgian goods.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
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September 2006
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['(Justice)', '(BBC)']
|
At least eight villagers die following a landslide in Kenya, with others hospitalised or missing and homes destroyed.
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At least eight Kenyan villagers have died in a landslide which destroyed many homes in the west of the country, rescue workers say.
The landslide occurred in Marakwet district early on Friday, when most people were sleeping. Rainwater is reported to have gushed down hills bringing large quantities of earth down with it. A Kenya Red Cross spokesman told AFP news agency they were struggling to get heavy equipement to the remote area. Patrick Muchai, of the government's National Disaster Operations Centre, said rescue efforts using hand-held implements were continuing in the Tot area of the Rift Valley's Marakwet district. He told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that more than six people were believed to be missing and three others had been taken to hospital. "A river has also burst its banks and floods in the area are affecting 150 households, that's about 900 people," he said. Last month in neighbouring Uganda, a landslide swept away three villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon, killing about 350 people.
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Mudslides
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April 2010
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['(BBC)']
|
Singer Sergio "El Shaka" Vega is shot dead while on tour in Sinaloa, hours after denying his own murder.
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MEXICO CITY, June 28 (UPI) -- Popular Mexican entertainer Sergio "El Shaka" Vega was shot and killed by a group of gunmen on his way to perform at a village festival, officials said.
The 40-year-old singer was ambushed Saturday night when he drove his red Cadillac up to a toll booth in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa, CNN quoted the deputy attorney general's office as telling Mexico's state news agency Notimex.
Musicians have been targets of Mexican drug gangs in the past, CNN said.
Just hours before he was shot, Vega, who was famous for his songs about the lives of drug barons, had denied rumors that he had been killed, Sky News Online said.
"It's happened to me for years now, someone tells a radio station or a newspaper I've been killed or suffered an accident," Vega told La Oreja Web site shortly before his actual death. "And then I have to call my dear mum, who has heart trouble, to reassure her."
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Famous Person - Death
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June 2010
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['(BBC)', '(The Daily Telegraph)', '(UPI)']
|
A suicide bomber kills nine people and injures 40 others at a wedding in the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan. The bomber is believed to be a minor.
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KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on foot targeted a wedding party in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring 40, local officials said.
Atahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for Nangarhar province’s governor, said a boy set off his explosives inside the house of a pro-government militia commander in Pacheragam district.
Khogyani said 40 wounded men and women were rushed to hospital and local residents said 10 people were killed.
Pro-government militias often work with overstretched Afghan security forces to prevent territories falling into the hands of the Taliban and Islamic State fighters.
Last month, Taliban militants killed at least 26 members of a pro-government militia in northern Afghanistan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the wedding party attack but Islamic State militants have carried a string of suicide bombings and attacks on government offices, schools, and aid groups in recent years in Jalalabad, Nangarhar’s main city.
Reporting by Rafiz Sherzad, Ahmad Sultan in Jalalabad, Editing by Michael Perry
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Armed Conflict
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July 2019
|
['(BBC)', '(Reuters)']
|
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sacks Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Smith after he called for a second referendum on European Union membership. He is replaced by Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd.
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First published on Fri 23 Mar 2018 18.22 GMT
The shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Smith, was sacked by Jeremy Corbyn on Friday after breaking with Labour policy to call for a referendum on the final Brexit deal.
Smith, who challenged Corbyn for the party leadership in 2016, wrote an article in the Guardian, urging his party to reopen the question of whether Brexit was the right thing for Britain – and to offer the public a vote.
Corbyn is believed to have taken the decision on the basis that Smith had not been a team player, and had repeatedly breached shadow cabinet collective responsibility on Brexit, including by calling for Britain to remain in the single market.
But the sacking, which was announced on Friday evening, is likely to inflame tensions in the parliamentary Labour party over Brexit. Corbyn has suffered a series of rebellions on the issue, including on remaining in a customs union – a stance that subsequently became Labour policy.
A vocal group of backbenchers has campaigned for Corbyn to go further and embrace single market membership; or even allow the public to reconsider their decision. Smith could now become a rallying point for them.
Smith said he had been sacked for his “long-held views”, and made clear he would continue to express them from the backbenches “in the interest of our country”.
Just been sacked by @jeremycorbyn for my long held views on the damage #Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement & the economy of the entire U.K. Those views are shared by Labour members & supporters and I will continue to speak up for them, and in the interest of our country.
In his piece for the Guardian on Friday, Smith said his party could only “serve democracy” by recommending a poll on the Brexit deal. “Labour needs to do more than just back a soft Brexit or guarantee a soft border in Ireland,” he argued.
“We have the right to ask if Brexit remains the right choice for the country. And to ask, too, that the country has a vote on whether to accept the terms and true costs of that choice once they are clear.”
Smith will be replaced by Tony Lloyd, the shadow housing minister, who returned to parliament in 2017 after an unsuccessful attempt to become Labour’s mayoral candidate for Manchester.
“Tony is a highly experienced former government minister who is committed to ensuring that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track,” Corbyn said.
Anglea Smtih, Labour’s leader in the Lords, said, “In all the years I have known Owen, it’s always been enjoyable to work in the same team as him; he’s been very inclusive and as shadow Northern Ireland secretary he’s worked closely with the Lords team. He remains a good friend.”
The former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain claimed Smith had been the victim of a “terrible Stalinist purge”. Redcar MP Anna Turley said the decision was “disappointing”.
Smith recently travelled to Northern Ireland to meet all parties in the suspended Stormont assembly. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was “very sorry” about the news. “Owen has a great grasp of the issues affecting us here. He particularly understood the challenges of Brexit and was very supportive of sensible solutions to help us avoid a hard border.”
The demand for a second EU referendum was the most distinctive policy position on which the Pontypridd MP fought his unsuccessful bid for Labour leadership, in the wake of the 2016 referendum.
Smith was convincingly defeated by Corbyn, but some of his views may chime with the party’s pro-remain base. When polled, members are strongly in favour of remaining in the single market and the customs union – and many would like to see Brexit prevented.
Corbyn has repeatedly insisted it is not Labour’s policy to offer voters a chance to consider the final Brexit deal at the ballot box.
Smith’s sacking followed the announcement earlier this month that the shadow work and pensions secretary, Debbie Abrahams, would stand aside while allegations of bullying against her are investigated – she has sinced claimed that she had herself been bullied by senior party figures.
Corbyn’s team, including the shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer, had carefully constructed a consensus over Brexit, which would see Britain remain in a customs union with the EU, but demanding a say in future trade deals.
However, Corbyn has made clear that he has a number of concerns with aspects of single market membership, fearing that it could prevent a future Labour government from renationalising public services such as the Royal Mail.
|
Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
March 2018
|
['(The Guardian)']
|
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurs in eastern Bhutan and is felt in northeast India, Tibet and Bangladesh, leaving at least 10 dead.
|
Earthquake hits Bhutan September 21: An earthquake this afternoon has claimed the life of 10 people. Of the 10 who were killed, four are in Narang Geog, one in Gyelposhing in Monggar, two in Yangneer under Trashigang Dzongkhag. This is the initial report that we have received from our bureau correspondents. In Samdrupjongkhar, three Indian labourers have been killed after they were hit by falling rocks. Another woman has been admitted in the Samdrupjongkhar hospital in critical condition. The incident occurred six kilometers from Samdrupjongkhar towards Trashigang. The labourers were working on the Samdrupjongkhar–Trashigang road widening work. The earthquake has also damaged some houses. In Chaskhar, Monggar, three two storied houses have suffered major cracks. The report was confirmed by a former Chimi, Pema Dorji who now runs a guest house. He said his guest house has also suffered minor cracks.
He said the road between Trashigang and Monggar has been blocked at Ya-yung by falling boulders. Power supply, telephone and mobile lines have also been disrupted. The Home Minsiter, Lyonpo Minjur Dorji told BBS that there is nothing to panic. He said that Home Ministry is coordinating with the Dzongkhags and doing its best to help those affected. The earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit Bhutan at around 2.53 this afternoon. The epicentre was somewhere between Trashigang and Monggar.
|
Earthquakes
|
September 2009
|
['(Earth Times)', '(CNN)', '(Indian Express)', '(BBS)', '(Malaysia Star)']
|
Italian striker Mario Balotelli scores twice in the 2–1 win over Udinese on his A.C. Milan debut in the 2012–13 Serie A.
|
.From the section Football
Mario Balotelli scored twice against Udinese, including the winner with the last kick of the game, as he made a successful start to life at AC Milan.
The 22-year-old striker completed a £19m move to the Italian side from Manchester City on Thursday.
Balotelli was only included in the team at the last minute after Giampaolo Pazzini was injured in the warm-up.
But he wasted no time making an impact, putting his side ahead before converting a penalty to earn a 2-1 win.
The former City striker got his career with his new club off to a flying start at the San Siro when he turned home Stephan El Shaarawy's deflected cross early on.
The Italian almost doubled his tally soon after with a dipping shot that Udinese goalkeeper Daniele Padelli turned over the bar.
Gianpiero Pinzi pulled the visitors level after half-time but the stage was set for Balotelli when AC Milan were given a penalty deep into stoppage time.
Udinese defender Thomas Heurtaux was adjudged to have fouled El Shaarawy in the area and former Inter Milan forward Balotelli sent Padelli the wrong way with his low spot-kick after a stuttered run-up.
Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 appearances for Manchester City following a £24m move from Inter Milan in 2010 but he left Etihad Stadum at the end of the January transfer window.
|
Sports Competition
|
February 2013
|
['(ESPN)', '(BBC)', '(Reuters)']
|
14 people died and 24 others were injured when the brakes of an overloaded passenger van failed while the van was traveling on a winding road in northern Philippines.
|
LA TRINIDAD, Philippines — At least 14 people, mostly elderly villagers, died when the brakes of an overloaded passenger van failed while the van was traveling on a winding road, sending it down a ravine in a mountain province in the northern Philippines, police said Wednesday.
Twenty-four other passengers, including the driver, were injured in the accident Tuesday afternoon in Balbalan town in Kalinga province, said police Chief Superintendent Rolando Nana.
Most of the dead were retired villagers in their 60s and 70s returning home after collecting their government pension from a bank.
Thirteen passengers were pinned to death while another died on the way to a hospital after being retrieved from the 262-foot-deep ravine, police said.
Deadly road accidents in the region have been blamed on weak enforcement of traffic rules, poorly maintained public transport, and long-neglected upland roads dangerously perched beside deep ravines.
|
Road Crash
|
September 2018
|
['(The Boston Globe)']
|
The Iraqi Parliament meet to vote on choosing a Prime Minister, only the second time since the December elections. The nominee Jawad al–Maliki has been put forward by the dominant Shia block.
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq finally has names for its top jobs -- more than four months after its historic general election.
A political deadlock appears to have been broken Saturday, with Jawad al-Maliki asked to be prime minister-designate and form a new government.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, was nominated a day earlier to replace interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who had been at the center of an impasse between Iraq's political parties.Al-Maliki was asked to form an administration by Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, who was re-elected president by the parliament.
The prime minister-designate has a month to choose his ministers and present the list to parliament, acting parliament Speaker Adnan Pachachi told CNN.
If parliament votes in favor, the government will begin work. But if al-Maliki's Cabinet fails to gain support, someone else will be appointed to form a government, Pachachi said. On Friday, the Shiite-led political bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance, put forward al-Maliki of the Dawa Party as its candidate to replace al-Jaafari.
Chosen as the new speaker of the Council of Representatives on Saturday was Sunni Arab politician Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. A Shiite, Khalid al-Attiya, and a Kurd, Aref Tayfour, were elected as his deputies. A total of 266 members from the 275-seat body gathered for the key meeting, which had been delayed repeatedly and was finally held more than four months after the general election.
Before parliament convened, several members joined al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad to iron out details on what would unfold.
On Saturday before the parliamentary gathering, al-Maliki called for a government of national unity "to eradicate injustice that the Iraqis have suffered." He also urged Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Yezidis to unite. "We will work as one family to lead the political process, not based on our differences, sects or parties," al-Maliki said at a news conference before the parliament meeting. A top Sunni Arab leader endorsed al-Maliki's selection. "We will deal with Mr. [al-]Maliki, and we will work together in order to form a unity government," said Tariq al-Hashimi -- secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest party in the most powerful Sunni Arab political bloc, the Iraqi Accord Front.
The main Kurdish grouping has not commented so far, but independent Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman welcomed al-Maliki's nomination, Reuters reported.
Speaking from California, where he is attending an alternative energy event, President Bush said, "This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure."
The formation of a new government has dealt a blow, Bush said, to "the enemies of freedom. ... The Iraqis are showing the world that democracy is worth the wait."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the selection of al-Maliki an "important milestone" for the Iraqis and said he was a man with whom the United States could do business. "This is a good day for Iraq," Rice said in a conference call with reporters. "This is an important day for Iraq."
She said she had not met al-Maliki, but that Khalilzad knew him well. "He is thought to be a strong figure, someone who is capable of getting things done," Rice said.
Sunnis, Kurds and secularists had opposed al-Jaafari as prime minister, saying weak leadership and sectarian strife had persisted under his watch. In addition, the Interior Ministry, led by a Shiite, was particularly criticized for allowing Shiite militias to infiltrate its ranks and patrol the streets.
On Saturday, al-Maliki addressed militias, saying "Arms should be in the hands of the government. There is a law that calls for the merging of militias with the armed forces."
Five U.S. soldiers were killed south of Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said.
Four were killed by a roadside bomb that exploded near their vehicle while they were on patrol, the military said.
Later, the military announced the death of another soldier from wounds suffered in a roadside bombing. It is not clear whether all of the deaths resulted from the same bombing.
The number of U.S. service personnel killed in the Iraq war now stands at 2,387.
In addition, five bodies were found in Baghdad on Saturday, their hands tied behind their backs, shot in their heads. The bodies of a woman and two men were found in southern Baghdad, and the others were found in a western Baghdad neighborhood. Two roadside bombings targeting police patrols in eastern and central Baghdad wounded five officers.
|
Government Policy Changes
|
April 2006
|
['(BBC)', '(CNN International)']
|
Four people are killed in land protests in northern India.
|
LUCKNOW - FOUR people, including a police officer, were killed in violent clashes outside the Indian capital between police and farmers protesting over inadequate compensation from the government for land bought to build a highway, an official said on Sunday. Angry farmers in Bhatta Parsaul village in Uttar Pradesh state fired at police late on Saturday and the police to returned fire, police official Brij Lal said. Three people, including the police officer, died on Saturday. One farmer succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. At least two dozen people have been injured in the clashes. The area is on the outskirts of New Delhi, the Indian capital. The farmers are demanding higher compensation for land bought by the government to build an ambitious US$2 billion (S$2.5 billion), 165km six-lane highway linking Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, with Noida, a suburb of New Delhi. The farmers were paid between US$10 to US$18 per square foot for their land and are demanding that the government pay them US$31 now.
|
Protest_Online Condemnation
|
May 2011
|
['(Economic Times of India)', '(AP via Straits Times)']
|
Rwandan rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana appears before war crimes judges in The Hague. He denies any involvement in the charges laid against him.
|
A Rwandan rebel leader accused of "spreading terror" in Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared before war crimes judges in The Hague.
Callixte Mbarushimana told the International Criminal Court he was "in no way involved" in such crimes.
The Hutu rebel leader, yet to enter a formal plea, denies ordering his FDLR fighters to kill and rape civilians.
The presence of Hutu rebel groups in DR Congo has been at the heart of years of unrest in the region.
Mr Mbarushimana, 47, faces five counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes - including charges of murder, torture, rape, inhumane acts and persecution, and destruction of property.
He has been living in exile in France since 2002, but ICC prosecutors say he controlled rebels who have continued to carry out atrocities.
"Callixte Mbarushimana was a top leader of the Rwandan armed group FDLR, the last incarnation of the group of persons who committed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and whose activities in DRC [DR Congo] triggered the Congo wars," the ICC said in a statement.
"He lived in Paris, France, contributing from afar to the group's criminal plan, while FDLR troops continued for years to spread terror in eastern DRC, murdering, torturing and raping on a massive scale."
The FDLR is now one of the most powerful rebel forces operating in eastern DR Congo, where it is believed to make millions of dollars a year by controlling mines rich in gold and other minerals and extorting money from local people.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the prosecution of the FDLR leaders "will provide the opportunity to demobilise this armed group".
"Rape can no longer be used as a weapon of war. In the ICC era, the fate of leaders and commanders who plan or oversee campaigns of mass crimes against civilians is to face justice," he said.
Mr Mbarushimana has described the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) as a freedom movement.
He says it is fighting "to liberate the Rwandan people from the yoke of the fascist regime" of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
The Tutsi-dominated RPF came to power in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, when many FDLR members fled across the border, sparking years of unrest in the region.
A 1998-2003 conflict in DR Congo is estimated to have caused the deaths of five million people.
|
Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse
|
January 2011
|
['(BBC)']
|
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair makes his final speech at a Labour Party Conference.
|
TONY BLAIR made his final speech to the Labour Party's annual conference as British Prime Minister yesterday, and admitted it "was hard to go".
Mr Blair, who received a standing ovation as he arrived on stage said that winning the next election was the only legacy he ever wanted.
But the furore over an alleged comment by his wife, Cherie, sabotaged plans to make his address a celebration of Labour achievements after nine years in power.
Mr Blair avoided the contentious question of his succession but instead made it clear to his party that only a government modelled on his policies and approach would win a fourth term.
He said that Labour's core vote was now "the country" and not its traditional inner-city or industrial areas, a phrase that was bound to anger some delegates but not prevent the conference from bidding him an emotional farewell.
The "route map" to victory at the next election, due by May 2010 at the latest, required maintaining New Labour's vision of "aspiration and compassion reconciled, economic efficiency and social justice seen not as sworn enemies but as natural friends", he said.
Yet the choreographed attempt to create an impression of Labour unity in the last phase of Mr Blair's leadership could have been destroyed after a Bloomberg journalist reported that she overheard Mrs Blair call her husband's likely successor, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, a liar.
Mr Brown had lavishly praised Mr Blair in his speech on Monday, and had just said it had been a "privilege" to work with the Prime Minister when Mrs Blair, watching the speech in the conference hall, allegedly said: "Well, that's a lie," according to the reporter, Carolin Lotter.
Five or six hours after allegedly making the remark, Mrs Blair issued a denial, telling reporters: "Honestly, guys, I hate to spoil your story, but I didn't say it and I don't believe it, either." Mr Blair praised Gordon Brown and laughed off his wife's alleged criticism: "At least I don't have to worry about her running off with the bloke next door," he said.
Mrs Blair, a leading human rights lawyer, has long believed that Mr Brown has consistently undermined her husband's leadership. She particularly blames him for Labour's recent infighting that forced Mr Blair to announce he would quit as prime minister within a year.
In his speech, Mr Brown had tried to make a public reunion with Mr Blair, saying he regretted their "differences" over the years. The alleged incident involving his wife put pressure on Mr Blair to respond warmly to Mr Brown's praise, but he was likely to ignore the controversy in his speech. The Home Secretary, John Reid, a Blair supporter and a possible rival to Mr Brown for the Labour leadership, said Mr Blair had been "stupid" to announce his departure from politics.
"Far from helping Labour win a victory at the next election, Tony Blair's loss will be a disadvantage to us," Mr Reid said. "He was stupid to himself and to our prospects for saying he was going to go, but he said it."
|
Famous Person - Give a speech
|
September 2006
|
['(Sydney Morning Herald)']
|
Supporters of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev seize government buildings in the south of the country.
|
. Supporters of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev storm offices in Osh
Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's ousted president have stormed regional government buildings in the south of the ex-Soviet republic.
Hundreds of Kurmanbek Bakiyev's supporters took over buildings in Osh and Jalalabad, but the new government said it had regained control in Batken. Reports suggested airports in Osh and Jalalabad had also been disrupted. Allies of Mr Bakiyev said they had 25,000 supporters in the south, ready to march on Bishkek. The president was overthrown last month in an uprising that left at least 85 people dead. The provisional government has launched several criminal proceedings against the former president, who is now in Belarus with his family. But tensions remain high nationwide, as the government attempts to assert its authority on the country. Embassy recalls
This is the biggest challenge so far for the provisional government, reports BBC Central Asia correspondent Rayhan Demytrie.
Last week there were reports that leaflets had been distributed in southern Kyrgyzstan calling for the formation of a "southern Kyrgyz democratic republic". The interim government said it was in control of the situation and had sent its defence minister to help restore order. In another development, all diplomats from the Belarussian embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek were recalled because of security concerns. The move followed a number of small demonstrations in front of the embassy in which people demanded the extradition Mr Bakiyev. 'Bakiyev - our president'
The government buildings in Osh were stormed by some 250 Bakiyev supporters on Thursday morning. They scuffled briefly with supporters of the new government before smashing their way through the glass doors and entering the building, but the police did not intervene.
Sacked regional governor Mamsadyk Bakirov was said to be among the protesters, who were demanding his reinstatement. Reports from Jalalabad - Mr Bakiyev's home city - said around 100 of the ousted president's supporters had broken into and occupied local government buildings there. Jalalabad's new governor was seized by the crowd. He had gone to the scene in the hope of talking to them but was then "put in a car and taken away" to an unknown location, an unnamed official told AFP news agency. Reports say the protesters in Jalalabad were mainly women and security forces were taking care not to interfere. They chanted "Bakiyev - our president" and hung a banner reading "Bakiyev, the legal president of Kyrgyzstan" on the administrative building. Batken's administrative building was also seized but the provisional government later said it had retaken control of the situation in the city while "work [was] under way on Osh and Jalalabad". On Wednesday, a protest was held in the capital Bishkek in which supporters of the city's former mayor demanded his return. A body calling itself the "committee in defence of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev" told reporters that 25,000 people in the south were ready to march on Bishkek and "deal with the provisional government". Its press service was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying that they were "ready to gather in Jalalabad" for the march north.
|
Armed Conflict
|
May 2010
|
['(BBC)', '(AFP)']
|
A shooting at a Pathmark grocery store in Old Bridge, New Jersey, kills at least three people.
|
A supermarket employee carried out a pre-dawn shooting at the New Jersey supermarket where his colleagues were working, killing two, officials say.
Terence Tyler, 23, left the store in Old Bridge at 03:30 EST (7:30 GMT) and returned half an hour later with a handgun and an AK-47-style rifle.
A local prosecutor said the gunman fired at the first people he saw.
An 18-year-old woman and 24-year-old man were killed before the gunman ended the rampage by shooting himself.
They were identified as Cristina LoBrutto and Bryan Breen on Friday afternoon.
There were at least 12 people in the store in Old Bridge, a suburb about 25 miles (40km) from New York.
People were stocking shelves before the grocery shop opened, and many of those inside hid as the shooting began.
At least 16 rounds were fired, Mr Kaplan said, some breaking the front windows.
The prosecutor said the motive for the attack was still under investigation.
Officials confirmed Tyler was a former marine, discharged in 2010. He moved to Old Bridge in June 2012, after living in southern California after the discharge. He had only been employed at the store since 20 August.
"This is the worst phone call a mayor can receive," Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry told the New Jersey Star-Ledger newspaper. "You can prepare for these things but you can't prevent them."
Police evacuated the shop after the shooting and several of the employees were taken across the road to a restaurant.
The shooting is the latest in a series of firearm incidents in the US. Earlier this month a man opened fire at a Sikh temple in the state of Wisconsin, killing six people before police shot him in the abdomen. The gunman then killed himself, the FBI concluded.
Weeks earlier, another gunman killed 12 people during a screening of the new Batman film at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado.
|
Riot
|
August 2012
|
['(BBC)']
|
Pál Schmitt takes office as President of Hungary, succeeding outgoing president László Sólyom.
|
Hungary’s outgoing President Laszlo Solyom on Thursday handed over his office to President elect Pal Schmitt.
Solyom wished much success to the new president and said that he would remain an “invisible president” standing next to Schmitt. “Each president wants to open a new chapter but one should never forget that we are all writing the same book,” Solyom said.
Schmitt said it was a sublime moment to overtake the post representing the nation and welcomed Solyom’s offer for cooperation.
At least the Polish people chose a different type of guy for president:
“Komorowski, a 58-year-old pro-EU, moderate”
Interesting coincidence, two inaugurations at the same day – but very different circumstances …
I am not sure what reference you are making to Poland or Hungary, but the bottom line the constitution requires this primarily ceremonial post to be appointed by the majority of parliament. The parliament was elected duly by the people, so the parliament can choose who they seem fit.
Mr. Schmitt is a reputable, multi-lingual, agile and distinguished gentleman. Whether you agree with his political stance is irrelevant, he is appointed and is not a shame to Hungary at all.
If Hungary wants to have a system to elect a ceremonial post, the constitution needs to be changed.
PS – There is nothing wrong with questioning Hungary’s role in EU, as the EU while it does support financially Hungary, its overall long term objective is to strengthen its central powers and weaken its member states political and military systems.
Steve,
That is quite misleading. Perhaps you are one of those British Euro sceptics. It sounds like it.
The EU was created by its member states. It’s highly misleading to speak of it as a separate entity “strengthen its central powers and weaken its member states political and military systems.”
So the French and Germans want to weaken themselves?
Come on, that is silly.
The weakness of Europe is precisely the lack of political and economic unity.
Europe destroyed itself when it hit the rock of nationalism in WWI and WWII.
The EU will continue to become powerful because the nation state is inadequate in matters of trade, defense, and the environment.
And most important of all, the EU forces countries like Hungary to undertake reforms they would not otherwise do.
|
Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration
|
August 2010
|
['(Politics.hu)']
|
Hurricane Teddy strengthens into a Category 3 hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean and heads to Bermuda, which is recovering from Hurricane Paulette.
|
Hurricane Teddy brushed Bermuda, then hammered Atlantic Canada as a post-tropical cyclone after helping to churn up several days of high surf, coastal flooding and rip currents on the U.S. East Coast and huge waves over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Born as Tropical Depression Twenty on September 12 between the west African coast and the Lesser Antilles, Teddy became a tropical storm on September 14, one of five active Atlantic named storms at one time. Teddy, then rapidly developed into a hurricane just after midnight on September 16, and topped out at Category 4 intensity the following afternoon.
After threatening to become the second straight hurricane to strike Bermuda, Teddy's forecast trended sufficiently far-enough east to keep the center over 150 miles east of Bermuda on at its closest pass on September 21, but still close enough for the archipelago to see tropical-storm-force winds and bands of heavy rainfall.
Instead of curling sharply northeast into the open North Atlantic, Teddy was diverted north toward the Canadian Maritimes, particularly Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Along the way, Teddy transitioned from a hurricane to an "extratropical storm" as it moves north of the Gulf Stream, gets a boost from a jet-stream plunge and combines with a cold front off the Eastern Seaboard.
With that boost from the jet stream, Teddy remained an intense storm and grew tremendously in size, regardless of what meteorologists call it.
On the afternoon of September 22, a NOAA hurricane hunter reconnaissance mission found Teddy's tropical storm-force wind field extended up to 550 miles from its center. NHC senior hurricane specialist Eric Blake noted its entire circulation was over 1,000 miles wide and referred to it as "ginormous" in an NHC forecast.
Teddy generated massive waves over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
According to an analysis on September 22 from NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center, Teddy may have generated peak open ocean wave heights of 100 feet or more between Nova Scotia and Bermuda.
Teddy prompted tropical storm warnings for the south coast of Nova Scotia and a portion of southwest Newfoundland.
Teddy made landfall as a "post-tropical cyclone" on September 23 along the coast of eastern Nova Scotia, according to the National Hurricane Center. A peak wind gust of 90 mph was clocked at Grand Etang, and 73 mph at the Eskasoni First Nation, according to Environment Canada. At least 20,000 customers lost power in Nova Scotia from high winds. Storm surge flooding and heavy rain were also expected in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Even though Teddy passed hundreds of miles east of the U.S., the hurricane in combination with strong high pressure was a major wave generator for the Eastern Seaboard, from the east coast of Florida to Maine and even Puerto Rico.
Water levels 1 foot higher than normal were recorded as far north as Eastport, Maine, and 1 foot of inundation was also reported at the pier in Portland, Maine. Other minor coastal flooding swept into parts of the Jersey Shore, Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia Tidewater and North Carolina's Outer Banks, overwashing low-lying, flood-prone sections of North Carolina highway 12. Charleston, South Carolina, saw storm tides top out at major flood stage three straight days from Sept. 19-21, the first time this had been documented three days in a row in records dating to at least 1934, leading to flooding in the city's historic downtown and other areas near the South Carolina coast. It was the highest storm tides, there, since November 2018.
Water levels along northeast Florida's coast east of Jacksonville were the highest since 2017's Hurricane Irma.
|
Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard
|
September 2020
|
['(The Washington Post)', '(The Weather Channel)']
|
A Somali peace conference in Mogadishu gets off to a bad start as it is disrupted by mortar shells.
|
Somalia's much-delayed peace conference has gotten off to a rocky start with seven mortar shells exploding near the Mogadishu venue.
The meeting was then adjourned to give delegates more time to arrive.
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was addressing the conference at the time of the explosions, the nearest of which occurred about 500 metres away, but refused to cut off his speech.
"We cannot be terrified even if anti-peace elements throw an atomic bomb. I want to assure you the time of uncertainty and the use of force to pursue power is over," said the former warlord.
Police officer Ibrahim Dhagool said two shells exploded in Shibis district near the hall where Mr Yusuf was speaking, causing no injuries. Five other mortars hit a residential area, wounding three people.
Shortly afterwards, conference chief organiser Ali Mahdi Mohamed adjourned the talks to until Thursday to ensure delegates had arrived.
"Some did not arrive for logistical reasons," he said.
"The delegates will continue meeting informally to discuss on key issues. Today's adjournment was not caused by insecurity, but by the need to have everybody on board," he told AFP after the adjournment.
Officials said around 800 of the 1,325 invited delegates had registered at the venue in a police warehouse in northern Mogadishu.
"I urge you to rise above your respective clan and sub-clan (politics) in order to bring normality to our country," Mr Mohamed told delegates.
"This is a historic opportunity for you to have dialogue and reconciliation in Somalia. Most of the previous conferences were unsuccessful because they were held abroad."
Key officials at the meeting included Yusuf, parliament speaker Aden Mohamed Nur, Ethiopian minister Tekeda Alamu and Atalla Hamad el Bashir, head of the regional peacemaking bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.
The virtually homeless government has failed to bring the restive country under control in its three years of existence.
It called the conference after it drove out Islamist militants from the capital with the help of Ethiopia in January. The Islamists leaders boycotting the meeting, which has already been delayed three times.
The Islamists, who want the talks held in a neutral country - and only after Ethiopian troops have pulled out of Somalia - vowed to attack the delegates in a new Internet message whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
"The alleged reconciliation conference is a link in the chain of efforts exerted by the crusaders to confer legitimacy on the (Ethiopian) occupying enemy," said a statement by the Young Mujahideen Movement and dated Friday.
Participants "must be targeted, whoever they are. Our long arm will reach (them) wherever they are, God willing," said the statement, posted on a website regularly used by Islamist militants.
Ethiopia-backed government troops had earlier sealed the conference venue, frisking pedestrians and searching vehicles while others took up positions around major hotels where delegates are staying.
But observers have said insurgent attacks could still thwart the talks, the latest in more than a dozen attempts to restore stability since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre sparked a bloody power struggle.
Sporadic gunfire was heard in Mogadishu overnight and a senior official and a boy were killed in a roadside bomb attack outside the capital early Sunday which also injured three other people, police said.
Fearing a surge in violence, hundreds of Somali families have fled the capital over the past few days.
The conference was designed to discuss a power-sharing arrangement between four major clans and a smaller one.
The meeting's 11-point agenda includes discussions on clan talks, disarmament, the sharing of resources and the "nature and impact of radical Islam."
Roland Marchal, an expert from France's Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, said the conference was taking place because the international community had requested it, but called the talks a non-starter.
|
Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
|
July 2007
|
['(AFP via ABC)']
|
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