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English singer Amy Winehouse, 27, is found dead at her London home. | Tributes have been paid to singer Amy Winehouse, 27, has been found dead at her north London home.
The record's producer Mark Ronson said: "She was my musical soulmate and like a sister to me. This is one of the saddest days of my life."
BBC Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton wrote: "Can not believe the news. Amy was a special girl. The saddest news."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the cause of Winehouse's death was as yet unexplained.
The Brit and Grammy award-winner had struggled with drink and drug addiction and had recently spent time in rehab.
Hip-hop producer Salaam Remi, who also worked on Winehouse's albums Frank and Back To Black, paid his tribute to her on Twitter saying: "Very Very Sad Day. Just lost a Great Friend and a Sister."
He added: "RIP my baby SiS Cherry Winehouse. Love ya always."
News of her death has also prompted other tributes from other celebrity friends.
TV presenter Kelly Osbourne tweeted: "i cant even breath right now im crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy & will never forget the real you!"
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood announced he is to dedicate his Saturday night show on Absolute Radio to Winehouse. He said: "It's a very sad loss of a very good friend I spent many great times with".
He added a reunion performance by his former group The Faces in Hurtwood, Surrey, would also be dedicated to the singer.
Singer Carole King, whose song Will You Love Me Tomorrow was covered by Winehouse, said she was "very grateful" the star had "put her wonderful talent" into recording her version of the track.
Singer Jessie J posted on Twitter: "The way tears are streaming down my face. Such a loss."
Actress Demi Moore also wrote on Twitter: "Truly sad news about Amy Winehouse. My heart goes out to her family. May her troubled soul find peace."
And DJ Chris Moyles said: "Shocking terrible sad news about Amy Winehouse. Stunned. Thoughts go out to her friends and family."
Daily Telegraph rock critic Neil McCormick said he was "utterly shocked" at her death.
He said she had appeared focused when giving an "incredible performance" for a recent studio recording of a duet with Tony Bennett.
"It's deeply sad. It's the most completely tragic waste of talent that I can remember," he added.
Doug Charles-Ridler, co-owner of Winehouse's favourite Camden pub The Hawley Arms, called her "a special person with a good soul," adding, "this should not have happened". Her record label Universal called her "a gifted musician, artist and performer", adding: "Our prayers go out to Amy's family, friends and fans."
She pulled out of a comeback tour last month after a disastrous appearance at her first gig.
Winehouse cancelled the European tour after being jeered at the show in Serbia, when she appeared too drunk to perform.
For 90 minutes, she mumbled through parts of songs and at times left the stage - leaving her band to fill in.
She had recently finished a course of alcohol rehabilitation in London and at the time was under strict instructions not to drink.
A section of the road where the singer lived was cordoned off on Saturday evening, as journalists, local residents and fans gathered at the police tapes.
Forensic officers were seen going in and out of the building.
In a statement - police spokesman Superintendent Raj Kohli said Winehouse's death was being treated as "unexplained."
It had been reported that Winehouse died of a drugs overdose but Superintendent Kohli said "it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death."
He added: "My sympathy extends not just to her immediate family but clearly to the thousands and millions of fans across the world."
Winehouse won widespread acclaim with her 2003 debut album, Frank - which was nominated for the Mercury prize.
But it was 2006's Back to Black which brought her worldwide stardom, winning five Grammy Awards.
Winehouse made her last public appearance on Wednesday night when she joined her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield on stage at The Roundhouse in Camden.
The singer danced with Bromfield and encouraged the audience to buy her album in the impromptu appearance before leaving the stage.
At the time she pulled out of the tour, her spokesman had said everyone wanted to do everything to "help her return to her best".
BBC Music - Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
UN calls for end of arms sales to Myanmar
In a rare move, the UN condemns the overthrowing of Aung San Suu Kyi and calls for an arms embargo.
The ethnic armies training Myanmar's protesters. VideoThe ethnic armies training Myanmar's protesters
Tokyo Olympics: No fans is 'least risky' option
Asia's Covid stars struggle with exit strategies
Why residents of these paradise islands are furious
The Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care. VideoThe Gurkha veterans fighting for Covid care
Troubled US teens left traumatised by tough love camps
Why doesn't North Korea have enough food?
Le Pen set for regional power with eye on presidency
How the Delta variant took hold in the UK. VideoHow the Delta variant took hold in the UK | Famous Person - Death | July 2011 | ['(BBC)', '(News24)'] |
2011 Spanish protests: The "indignados" launch protest marches intended to culminate in a major rally in Madrid on 24 July. (RTÉ) | Spain's 'indignant' activists launched protest marches today which will culminate in a major Madrid rally on 24 July, showing no let-up just a day after rallying an estimated 200,000 protesters.
Angry over the destruction of millions of jobs, welfare cuts and corruption, the first of at least three nationwide marches set off from eastern Spain's Mediterranean city of Valencia.
Activists from Valencia will march and cycle on a 35-day, 500km route winding through 29 cities and villages in eastern Spain before arriving in Madrid.
On the route they will hold meetings 'to bring the indignation to the interior of the Peninsula just as the movement is growing at the international level', said a statement by the group, Acampada Valencia.
Other 'indignant' marches were scheduled to leave Cadiz in Spain's south on 23 June and Barcelona in the northeast on 25 June, all converging in the capital on the eve of the rally, organisers said.
On Sunday, about 200,000 protesters packed the streets of Madrid, Barcelona and other major cities to vent their anger, according to estimates by the Spanish media and some regional authorities.
In Madrid, an estimated 40,000 people converged from six points around the city to the central square of Plaza de Neptuno, near the Spanish parliament.
In Barcelona, another 50,000-75,000 demonstrators rallied, according to police and the city hall. Tens of thousands of others activists gathered in other regional capitals.
Activists pointed their fury at the weekend against the 'Euro Pact' agreed in March by eurozone countries.
Drawn up under pressure from France and Germany, the pact foresaw greater budgetary discipline and economic policy convergence to ensure that countries stabilise their finances and reduce debt.
The protesters, who have won broad support in Spain, also targeted corruption-tainted politicians, poverty, their lack of voice in Spain's democracy, and a 21% unemployment rate.
The protest movement started in Madrid on 15 May and fanned out nationwide as word spread by Twitter and Facebook, bringing tens of thousands of people into city squares around Spain ahead of 22 May local elections.
The protesters had set up a camp in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, which was dismantled on 12 June although the group said that did not signal the end of their movement.
The 'indignants' have inspired similar offshoot movements in other European countries, notably Greece, where the government is also trying to implement a strict austerity programme to avoid defaulting on its loans.
The Spanish central bank said last week the recovery in Spain's beleaguered economy would likely remain slow, and that unemployment could remain high for the foreseeable future. | Protest_Online Condemnation | June 2011 | [] |
According to the Defense Ministry, between 26 and 30 military personnel are dead and over 80 Taliban militants have been either killed or wounded amid intense fighting at a military base in Kandahar Province. | Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says 26 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar, although other government officials said the death toll was at least 30. Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said 80 Taliban militants were also killed or wounded in the attack on the Karzyalay military base in Kandahar’s Khakrez district early on July 26. The attack came amid a deadly surge of violence in Afghanistan, where government forces are struggling to fend off a resurgent Taliban that controls more territory than at any time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that at least 30 soldiers were killed in the attack.
Sediq Esa, a spokesman for the 205th Corps in Kandahar, also said at least 30 Afghan military personnel were killed. Esa said the militants seized the base and captured weapons and vehicles.
In a statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it had killed 74 soldiers and captured six others. The Defense Ministry said government forces, backed by the air force, recaptured the base after several hours. Kandahar has been the scene of constant militant attacks since 2001. The province is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban and located on the porous border with Pakistan, where the militant group’s leadership is believed to be based. Taliban militants have ramped up their attacks on military bases across the country, challenging the thinly stretched security forces.
The U.S. Special Inspector-General for Reconstruction (SIGAR) has called the casualty rate among Afghan forces "shockingly high." Last year, more than 6,800 were killed and another 12,000 wounded, according to a SIGAR report this year.
In April, at least 140 soldiers were killed on a base outside the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, one of the deadliest-ever Taliban attacks on a military installation. In March, gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital -- the country's largest military hospital -- in Kabul, killing 50 people.
The Taliban is threatening to overrun districts in Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Helmand, Farah, and Uruzgan provinces, according to officials. The militants captured three districts in the past seek, although the ministry said Kohistan district in the northwestern province of Faryab was recaptured late on July 25. On July 24, a Taliban suicide car bombing killed at least 26 people and wounded 41 others in the capital, Kabul, many of them employees of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.
The Taliban was driven from power in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion that followed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan is an online pioneer and media leader in the country, reaching 25 percent of the adult audience nationally with reporting that promotes human rights and peace on radio, SMS, and the Internet. | Armed Conflict | July 2017 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
A series of attacks in Baghdad and north Iraq kills four policemen and wounds dozens. | An Iraqi policeman uses a bomb detector to search Shiite worshipers near the holy shrine of Imam Hussein during "Muharram," an important period of mourning for Shiites, in Karbala, Iraq, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
BAGHDAD: A series of attacks in Baghdad and north Iraq left four policemen dead and a dozen people wounded on Saturday, in the latest in a months-long surge in nationwide bloodshed.The spike in violence, which has left more than 5,600 people dead so far this year, has forced Iraq to appeal for international help to combat militancy with just months to go before its first general election in four years.Saturday's violence targeted police in the capital and the main northern city of Mosul.In Baghdad, two separate bombings targeting police patrols killed three policemen and wounded 11 other people, security and medical officials said.And in Mosul, militants opened fire on a police checkpoint, killing one policeman and wounding another.The unrest is the latest in a protracted surge in attacks that has pushed violence to its highest level since 2008, when Iraq was recovering from the worst of its Sunni-Shiite sectarian war.Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for Washington's help in the form of greater intelligence sharing and the timely delivery of new weapons systems in an effort to curb the bloodshed.
| Armed Conflict | November 2013 | ['(Daily Star)'] |
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs a bill that will allow congressional committees to access President Donald Trump's state tax returns. | State tax officials will be required to release the returns for any ‘specified and legitimate legislative purpose’ to three congressional committees.
By Jesse McKinley and Nicholas Fandos
As the battle over President Trump’s federal taxes intensifies in Washington, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York signed a bill on Monday to allow congressional committees to access the president’s state tax returns. The new law requires state tax officials to release the president’s state returns for any “specified and legitimate legislative purpose” on the request of the chair of one of three congressional committees: the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation. | Government Policy Changes | July 2019 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization calls a special meeting for 24 September to discuss rising food prices. | The United Nations' food agency has called a special meeting of policy makers to discuss the recent rise in global food prices.
The announcement came after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin extended the country's ban on grain exports on Thursday.
This added to fears that prices of food staples would continue to rise.
The meeting will take place on 24 September, probably in Rome, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said.
"In the past few weeks, global cereal markets experienced a sudden surge in international wheat prices on concerns over wheat shortages," the agency said.
"The purpose of holding the meeting is for exporting and importing countries to engage in constructive discussions on appropriate reactions to the current market situation."
Mr Putin did not say when exactly the Russian grain export ban, originally to run from 15 August to 31 December, would be lifted, but said that it would not be before next year's harvest had been reaped.
Russia is one of the world's biggest producers of wheat, barley and rye and was hit hard by a drought this summer.
The heatwave destroyed crops in many parts of the country, pushing food prices up.
This year's crop could be as low as 60 million tonnes, but Russia needs almost 80 million just to cover domestic consumption, analysts say.
Other key grain producers have also reported shortages, causing the price of wheat on international commodities exchanges to rise more than 50% since the beginning of July.
Grain prices on commodity markets shot to near two-year highs last month as investors digested worsening news of the Russian harvests. The FAO is concerned at the speed at which prices have increased over the last two months. Its economist, Abdolreza Abbassian, said the latest Russian move to extend the ban would prolong the "volatility and anxiety" already on the markets. But the UN agency has stressed throughout that the situation is very different to the food crisis two years ago. Prices are currently lower, production levels higher and stocks more abundant than during the 2007-8 period, when shortages sparked riots across the world. "It still does not mean that we are going to have a crisis," Mr Abbassian said. "It does highlight a very big problem here: a very large exporting country with a great influence on the market can make unilateral decisions like that. It causes disturbances of the market."
The effect of rising wheat prices is reflected in the FAO's global food price index, which covers 55 food commodities. This week's report said it had hit its highest level for two years in August, largely driven by higher wheat prices. Last month's 5% rise was the biggest month-on-month increase since November 2009, the FAO said. Higher grain prices could feed through to products such as bread and beer. But as they are also used as animal feed, they could also drive up the prices of dairy products, eggs and meat. Analysts suggest that competition could soften the impact on consumers, with retailers and producers unwilling or unable to pass on in full higher raw material costs to shoppers.
Some big food companies have also already signed future supply contracts at prices that are lower than on international commodity exchanges. Rises will be felt more keenly in developing countries, where food makes up a bigger proportion of household spending. Higher prices caused people to take to the streets in the Mozambique capital Maputo this week, resulting in violence in which seven people were killed. Pressures such as a weakening currency have caused bread prices in the southern African country to rise 30% so far this year. "There are other issues at play there - which is not uncommon in poorer countries," Mr Abbassian told BBC World News. "Even a small increase in the price of food, which is so important to them... can spark a problem.
"Food prices, and wheat in particular, are so important for food security and even the political stability of countries."
Q&A: Rising food and fuel prices
Stockpiling as food prices soar
Should we fear high wheat prices?
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | September 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
2013 Bangladesh protests: In Bangladesh, mass protests continue, with over 100,000 peacefully congregating and demanding the death penalty for the atrocities committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War. | Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis have joined protests in Dhaka to demand the death penalty for a political leader convicted of war crimes.
Protests have grown since Abdul Kader Mullah was given life on Tuesday for crimes including torture, murder and rape during the 1971 independence war.
Supporters of Mullah's party, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, held protests calling for his release.
The party says Mullah is the victim of a political vendetta.
Ten others are on trial, including eight other Jamaat members and two members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one a former minister.
They are accused of atrocities during the 1971 war when Bangladesh, then called East Pakistan, fought to secede from Pakistan.
The authorities say the defendants opposed independence and either fought alongside or actively supported the West Pakistan authorities.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made prosecuting war crimes a key goal of her government.
Jamaat is an ally of the BNP, Sheikh Hasina's bitter political rivals.
Mullah is the second defendant to be found guilty by the special tribunal. Last month, former Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad was sentenced to death in absentia.
Thousands have been holding vigils in Dhaka throughout the week calling for a ban on the J-e-I and the death penalty for party leaders on trial, on the grounds that they were involved in mass killings.
The organisers called for a grand rally on Friday, a weekend day in Bangladesh, to urge the authorities to reconsider Mullah's life sentence. Protesters used social media to boost numbers at the rally.
The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka says there has been an unusual outpouring of feeling.
People from all walks of life, with doctors, professors and even sports personalities taking part in what is described as the biggest protest march in recent years, he says. Shahbag Square in Dhaka has a festive look, with people holding various cultural events as part of the protest, our correspondent adds.
"We will not return home unless we get justice, complete justice," Shakil Ahmed, a college student, told the Associated Press news agency. "I did not see 1971, but those who killed our people and helped Pakistani troops in their effort to halt the creation of Bangladesh should be hanged." Mullah, 64, the assistant secretary general of Jamaat, was found guilty of being behind a series of killings.
They included massacres in the Mirpur area of Dhaka that earned him the nickname "koshai [butcher] of Mirpur", and made him one of the more feared Jamaat leaders.
Official estimates say more than three million people were killed in the 1971 war.
Clashes over Bangladesh jailing
Bangladesh Islamist chief guilty
Key war crimes defendants
Watershed war crimes moment
Bangladesh strike sparks clashes
Cleric found guilty of war crimes
One Covid vaccine dose cuts hospital risk by 75%
But the number of Delta variant cases recorded in the UK has risen by 79% in a week, figures show. | Protest_Online Condemnation | February 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
Eight people are seriously injured when a passenger train collides with a tree that had fallen across the railway line at Saint–Aunès, Hérault, France. | Dozens of people were hurt, eight of them seriously, when a regional train hit a tree uprooted during a hailstorm in the south of France.
Witnesses said one passenger had been thrown out of the train by the force of the crash, at Saint-Aunes in the Herault region.
Emergency services said one person was critically injured and airlifted to hospital.
The front of the train was badly damaged and windows were knocked out.
The double-decker train had been travelling at 140km/h to the east of Montpellier when it rammed into the tree at around 15:45 local time (13:45 GMT), reports said.
"We were on the train when hailstones the size of ping-pong balls started falling, then we heard what sounded like an explosion," said a 24-year-old passenger from Luxembourg who gave her name as Justine.
"The train shook for a few seconds and then I saw some people whose heads were covered in blood." Some passengers initially thought the crash was the beginning of a terrorist attack, after the string of incidents across Europe in recent months. The accident left the Montpellier to Nimes line completely blocked during the evening rush hour but traffic was expected to resume later on Wednesday. | Train collisions | August 2016 | ['(BBC News Online)'] |
In Bolivia, former president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and his cabinet are formally charged with genocide. The charge is related to deaths of 60 people who protested against government plans to export natural gas | The indictment by the Attorney General's office comes four months after the Bolivian Congress voted to put the former president on trial.
The charge relates to the deaths of at least 60 people in protests at government plans to export natural gas.
Mr Sanchez de Lozada, 74, denies allowing his security forces to use violence against the demonstrators.
Fifteen of his former ministers are also accused of involvement.
Extermination
Mr Sanchez de Lozada fled to the US after the protests brought down his government in October 2003.
The Bolivian Congress insisted he should be accused of genocide - a term usually reserved for the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial or ethnic group.
The Attorney General's office now has six months to prepare its case against the former president before submitting it to the Supreme Court for consideration.
If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, Mr Sanchez de Lozada will become Bolivia's second former head of state to face trial since the country's return to democracy in 1982. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | February 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze says the €54 billion climate plan approved by the German cabinet on Friday enables her country to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Germany expects to transition away from coal by 2038. | In the wake of the global student climate strike, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said Germany would move further in its efforts to phase out coal. Berlin is hoping to shut down all its coal-powered plants by 2038.
Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said Germany would join the Powering Past Coal Alliance on Sunday. Schulze made the announcement to German Funke media group ahead of Monday's UN climate summit.
The move comes in the wake of large demonstrations across the world on Friday, led by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and her movement Fridays for Future.
On the day of the demonstrations, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her governing coalition unveiled a new proposal to tackle climate change.
Worth more than €54 billion ($59 billion), Merkel's plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, in comparison with 1990 levels.
"The coal exit is a central pillar of global climate protection," Schulze said, adding that a set of resolutions agreed to by Germany's coalition government proved that the country was "officially" committed to ending its dependency on coal.
"With that, we can finally also join the alliance of coal-exit countries," Schulze told the group of local German newspapers.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance was founded in 2017 and is comprised of 30 national governments, whose objective is to halt new construction of coal plants, end international funding for coal and adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement goals.
"When a big industrial country like Germany turns away from nuclear and coal and transitions step by step towards meeting its energy needs entirely with renewable energies, that sends a strong signal to other parts of the world," Schulze said.
Read more: Opinion: Climate protection? Too little, too late and too timid
Merkel unveils climate plan
Germany is hoping to shut down all its coal-powered plants by 2038.
Merkel's push to address climate change with stronger measures was not without criticism, from both industry leaders and environmental groups.
Michael Vassiliadis, head of the IG BCE trade union representing coal, chemicals and energy industries, slammed the governing coalition's proposal.
"It might be a step towards more climate protection — but it remains to be seen how big that is, how expensive and what real impact it will have," Vassiliadis told Germany's dpa news agency.
Read more: Opinion: The eco-warriors of climate protection
Environmental groups and some scientists also criticized the government's plan for taking a piecemeal approach, whose impact they believe will be limited.
But the government pushed back. Helge Braun, chief of staff in Merkel's Chancellery, defended the plan agreed by Cabinet ministers, saying it was necessary to ensure an effective transition to the carbon-free economy.
"We want all people to change their behavior so that they behave in a more climate-friendly manner. But we want them to do this voluntarily, and we also want a well-managed transition," Braun said. | Government Policy Changes | September 2019 | ['(Deutsche Welle)'] |
Sydney experiences record weather conditions, hottest night on record. | The southerly buster bringing a cool change to Sydney has finally arrived, dropping temperatures by 10 degrees in an hour to end a record week-long heatwave.
Since about 2pm, the temperature in the city has fallen to about 26 degrees - lower than the overnight minimum of 27.6 degrees which was the hottest night ever recorded in Sydney.
It is expected to get even cooler as the afternoon progresses, with rain forecast for about 4pm and a possible storm. It will be the first rain for 15 days, the longest summer dry spell in five years.
Sydney recorded a maximum today of 35.6 degrees at 12.50pm before the cool change swept through the city.
The overnight low of 27.6 degrees was one degree higher than the previous record of 26.6, which occurred in February 1973.
It was still 33.2 degrees at midnight - seven degrees above the average daytime maximum temperature.
The sweltering night followed a record-breaking seven days of temperatures over 30 degrees, a feat never before seen in 150 years of records of Sydney weather.
Western suburbs also broke records with eight consecutive days hotter than 35 degrees.
Yesterday, the mercury peaked at 41.5 degrees in the city, 42.2 degrees at the airport and 41 degrees in Penrith.
"It's not the hottest weather Sydney has seen, but it is the longest hot spell on record," Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said.
Mr Dutschke said this week would be significantly cooler, with night temperatures dropping to about 20 degrees and days warming up to the mid-20s.
It will start to heat up again from Friday, when the city should reach the high 20s and western suburbs the low 30s.
"The next burst of heat will not be as intense or last as long, another cooler change will arrive by early next week," he said. | Break historical records | February 2011 | ['(The Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
Eric Reid returns to the NFL, signing a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers. | One of the best available free agents finally has a home: The Panthers signed safety Eric Reid on Thursday.
"Eric has been a starting safety in the NFL and has played at a high level throughout his career," general manager Marty Hurney said, via the team's website. "After we put (safety) Da'Norris Searcy on injured reserve, Ron (Rivera) and I discussed our options, and Eric was at the top of our list. He is a physical safety with good ball skills and play-making ability."
Reid, a 2013 first-round pick of the 49ers, knelt alongside Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 season to protest social injustice, and did the same in 2017, went unsigned this offseason and was passed over by several teams -- including the Titans and Falcons -- in need of help at safety before the Panthers signed him. In May, Reid filed a collusion grievance against the NFL, and a week later the NFL Players Association filed a non-injury grievance on his behalf.
According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, "Reid did not agree to dismiss or settle his collusion grievance as part of his contract in Carolina."
In Carolina, Reid joins a defense that has uncharacteristically struggled this season; the unit, regularly among the league's best, currently ranks 23rd overall, via Football Outsiders' metrics, and are 20th in pass defense. Reid should help improve those numbers. The Panthers, who are in a three-way tie atop the NFC South, are on their bye. They'll host the Giants in Week 5 and we're guessing there's a good chance Reid plays for the first time since Dec. 2017.
| Sign Agreement | September 2018 | ['(WRAL)', '(CBS Sports)'] |
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declares a public health emergency for at least the next three days because of high levels of air pollution in the London area. The Department for Environment says this pollution episode could last until at least Sunday. | City Hall sent out warnings that air pollution could rise today to “moderate” in 17 boroughs and the City.
It is then set to hit a “high” peak in Westminster and the Square Mile tomorrow before reducing to “moderate” in these two areas on Friday.
But some of the capital’s busiest main roads will be blighted by “high” pollution on all three days, according to the airtext forecasts put out by the Mayor.
Mr Khan said: “London’s dirty air is a public health emergency.
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“We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.”
The Department for Environment suggested the pollution episode could last until at least Sunday.
Official health advice on days of “moderate” air pollution says adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, should consider reducing strenuous physical activity.
If it reaches a “high” level, these groups of people should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.
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For the general public, the “high” pollution advice is that anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors. | Environment Pollution | January 2017 | ['(Courier Mail)', '(London Evening Standard)'] |
The heads of Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG will attend the third Inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang next week. | Heads of major South Korean conglomerates will be part of the South Korean delegation for the third North-South Korea summit in Pyongyang next week, South Korean media reported Thursday.
Some 10 to 15 business leaders of Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG will visit Pyongyang next week with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for the third summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to Maeil Business.
Those invited include vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and de facto leader of South Korea's largest Samsung Group Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Company Chung Eui-sun, chairman of SK Corporation Choi Tae-won, CEO of LG Group Koo Kwang-mo and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun.
The business magnates will be part of a 200-member South Korean delegation that will accompany Moon for the summit in Pyongyang, according to the report.
Expectations for future economic cooperation between two Koreas are growing as works are underway to reconnect disjointed railways between the North and South and with the opening of the liaison office this week in the border city of Kaesong to facilitate cross-border communications.
According to the report, the business delegation include firms that participated in inter-Korean economic cooperation projects in the past, such as Hyundai Group. Hyundai operated tourist facilities and programs in Mt. Kumkang and the joint factory complex in Kaesong.
The business leaders have expressed deep interest in joining the South Korean delegation to the summit despite their concerns for economic and financial sanctions on North Korea because they trust the government can work out the hurdle, the report said, citing an unnamed source. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | September 2018 | ['(UPI)'] |
Conrad Black is found guilty on three charges of fraud and one charge of obstruction of justice in Chicago. | Black, 62, was cleared of racketeering and tax evasion but could face 35 years in jail when sentenced on 30 November. His lawyers said he would appeal.
He was facing 13 charges over claims he stole $60m (29.5m) from investors in newspaper firm Hollinger International, which used to own the Daily Telegraph.
The Chicago jury also convicted three of the UK peer's associates of fraud.
Judge Amy St Eve adjourned Black's bail proceedings until Thursday to allow his defence team to consult Canadian lawyers. Black was allowed to remain free on a $21m bond.
He also handed over his UK passport to the court and will remain in the Chicago area until next week.
He had given up his Canadian citizenship in 2000 to become a British lord, after a court decision in his home country to block his acceptance of a peerage.
'Non-compete' payments
The guilty verdicts cap a remarkable fall from grace for Black, once one of the UK's wealthiest and most influential media figures.
The jury of nine women and three men took 12 days to reach a verdict in the high-profile case, after initially telling the judge that they could not reach an unanimous judgment.
It only takes one fraud charge and the man is disgraced Joshua Rozenberg, Daily Telegraph
Black: the charges
Editor Robert Peston's blog
Lord Black loses Tory whip
Black, who remained impassive as the verdicts were read out, was found guilty of taking money owed to investors in the form of "non-compete" payments originating from the sale of newspaper titles. But he was cleared of abusing company resources to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
Three of Black's associates - Jack Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis - were also found guilty of fraud at the end of the 16-week trial.
Black was present in court to hear the verdict along with his wife, Barbara Amiel Black.
The charges on which he was found guilty carry a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.
'Lengthy prison sentence'
After the hearing his lawyer, Edward Greenspan, said: "We intend to appeal and there are viable legal issues. We vehemently disagree with the government's position on sentencing.
"We believe, based on the conviction of the charges here, that the sentences for this type of offence are far less than what the government suggested."
Black ran one of the largest newspaper groups in the world
Legal experts said that although he had been cleared on several charges, the convictions for fraud were damning.
"It only takes one fraud charge and the man is disgraced and finished," said Joshua Rozenberg, legal editor of the Daily Telegraph.
"He is clearly facing a lengthy prison sentence."
Key testimony
David Radler, the British peer's former second-in-command at Hollinger, testified against Black after himself admitting fraud in return for a reduced sentence. Radler told the court Black had personally initiated a fraudulent scheme to pocket payments which rival firms had agreed to pay Hollinger to limit competition in key markets.
Black's lawyers argued that Radler was a "self-confessed liar" and that the payments had been authorised by the company.
Hollinger's newspaper empire once spanned the globe, including titles such as the National Post of Canada and the Jerusalem Post. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the Islamic State, on Sunday, executed three detainees in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by strapping them to pillars and blowing them up with the antiquities. ISIL has yet to tell locals the identities of the three individuals or say why they had been killed. | The Islamic State executed three detainees in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by strapping them to pillars and then blowing them up along with the antiquities, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
"This execution is the firstofitskind by the Islamic State, the organization (that) in recent months has invented new ways of execution," the observatorysaid in a statement late Monday. The London-based group said it obtained its information from local sources.
The report came just days after the observatory released footage Saturday that appeared to show Islamic State militantsexecuting a teenage Syrian soldier by running him over with a tank. Before being executed, the soldier is shown "confessing" to having used a tank himself to run over bodies of Islamic Statesoldiers, the observatory said.
The Islamic State has consistently used the Internet and social media to publicize its brutality. Last year, the terror groupreleased a series of videos showing the beheadings of Western aide workers. In January, it releaseda video showing a young boy executing prisoners the Islamic State called"spies."
The Islamic State also has been unabashed in itsdestruction of antiquities at Palmyra, claiming the archaeological sites and statuespromote idolatry.
Officials: ISIL destroys Palmyra's Arch of Triumph
Activists: Islamic State destroys ancient temple at Syria's Palmyra
The first-known settlement at Palmyra dates tothe second millennium B.C.The Islamic State took the city from Syrian military forces in May during an offensive that resulted in domination of a wide swath of the country. Islamic State militants beheaded the city's antiquities expert and have been destroyingarchaeological artifacts ever since, sometimes releasing photos as proof.
In August, the Islamic Stateannounced the destruction of the Baalshamin temple, which had an altar dating to 115 AD, and released photos of the effort.Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, described the temple's destruction aswar crime and "immense loss for the Syrian people."
Earlier this month, the militants reportedly blew up Palmyra's iconicArch of Triumph, resulting in Maamun Abdulkarim, Syria's head of antiquities, pleading with the international community to "find a way to save Palmyra."
| Armed Conflict | October 2015 | ['(BBC)', '(USA Today)'] |
ASEAN concludes its annual summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, and calls for coordinated action against the current recession. | HUA HIN, Thailand, March 1 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders called on Sunday for coordinated policies and joint actions at the regional level to deal with a worsening global financial crisis that is battering their export-dependent economies, but did not spell out any specific actions the group would take.
“They also welcomed expansionary macroeconomic policies, including fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, access to credit including trade financing, and measures to support private sector ... to stimulate domestic demand,” said a statement due to be issued at the conclusion of a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Towards this end, they stressed the importance of coordinating policies and taking joint actions that would be mutually reinforcing at the regional level.”
The 10-nation grouping did not outline any specific policies or actions it would take on a regional level in the statement obtained by Reuters before the summit’s conclusion.
Asian economic growth is slowing rapidly as consumers and companies cut back spending amid the worsening global downturn.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore is already in recession and economists believe Malaysia and Thailand are on the brink, while Indonesian growth has slowed to its weakest pace in more than two years.
Many countries in the region have announced stimulus spending plans in a bid to stem the economic damage, but exports will not stage a major recovery until consumers in the West start spending again.
The ASEAN statement on the financial crisis also said the leaders:
* Agreed to stand firm against protectionism and refrain from introducing or raising new trade barriers
* Called for bold reform of the international financial system, taking into consideration the interests of developing countries
* Urged coordinated action by developed and developing countries to restore financial stability
* Welcomed the new Asian Bond Markets Initiative Roadmap to promote regional infrastructure financing
* Told ASEAN finance ministers to resolve remaining issues with an expanded $120 billion currency swap pool “to operationalise this arrangement expeditiously”. (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Writing by Bill Tarrant; Editing by Kim Coghill))
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | March 2009 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announces his resignation over disputes of him holding dual citizenship and after weeks of defections from his coalition government. | Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has announced that he will step down from the role, after weeks of defections from his coalition government.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. Photo: AFP
Mr O'Neill held a press conference today in Port Moresby, indicating that he would resign "in the coming days".
After almost eight years in the position, he said he would hand over the leadership to Sir Julius Chan, a 79-year-old who has had two previous stints as prime minister.
The prime minister's resignation is not final until after it is received in writing by the governor general. Mr O'Neill said he would visit the Queen's representative this week, to "clear the way for the parliament to vote for the next prime minister".
However, the prime minister this afternoon conceded that recent political movements had indicated to him there was a need for change in leadership.
Pressure has been building for weeks on Mr O'Neill's coalition government with an exodus of MPs, including senior ministers, from his People's National Congress party, joining the opposition.
As of Friday, with the defection of William Duma's United Resources Party, the opposition was claiming to have 62 MPs in the 111-seat parliament, as it sought to oust the prime minister by a parliamentary motion.
Today, Mr O'Neill appeared alongside Sir Julius and other leaders of coalition parties.
"We have agreed to a change of direction, that the leadership of our government will be now handed over to Sir Julius Chan, who is a veteran leader and one of the founding fathers of our great nation," Mr O'Neill said at the press conference.
"In consultation with coalition government partners, we have decided to ask Sir Julius Chan to lead the team in government for the remainder of this term of parliament," Mr O'Neill said in a statement issued later on Sunday.
Usually, under provisions of PNG's constitution, the deputy prime minister takes up the vacancy when a prime minister steps down. In this case, Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel has been overlooked by Mr O'Neill in favour of the leader of a coalition partner, the People's Progress Party.
The plan to pass the reins to Sir Julius comes after Mr O'Neill recently lost the large majority support he'd enjoyed in parliament since 2011, as a flood of grievances over PNG's ailing economy, deteriorating basic services and festering corruption allegations finally turned the tide against him.
Following Mr O'Neill's announcement, the opposition held a press conference at its Laguna Hotel base. Leading figures in the group said they would not believe Mr O'Neill's announcement until he formally resigned.
Opposition power broker James Marape, whose resignation as Finance Minister last month sparked the exodus, cautioned over "mixed signals" from the government.
"There is no such thing as the prime minister resigning and handing over leadership to someone who is not even a minister of state. That is legally not correct."
Leading opposition MPs described their group as a government in waiting. Over recent weeks, lobbying between MPs has been intense, with at least two more government MPs joining the opposition today.
Environment Minister John Pundari made it to the Laguna just before the opposition decided to lock the gates of the complex at midday today, while another pair of government MPs looking to join the fray this afternoon were turned away.
But Mr O'Neill, speaking from his base at the Crown Hotel, argued that maintaining a government based around his People's National Congress and the remnants of his coalition would be best for the interests of political stability.
"There is no way that I could stand by and allow the opposition to come into government with their dangerous mix of wild ideas," Mr O'Neill said.
A political, and potentially constitutional, crisis is brewing, because Mr O'Neill's move to hand over the role of prime minister to Sir Julius will not be readily accepted by opposition MPs.
Mr Marape warned that attempts could be made by the O'Neill regime to sabotage processes of parliament at this important juncture. Yet with the opposition appearing to have a majority, a vote for a new prime minister is likely in the coming days once parliament resumes on Tuesday.
Copyright © 2019, Radio New Zealand
Papua New Guinea's prime minister Peter O'Neill has declared in court that he is not an Australian citizen and never has been.
A Papua New Guinea MP has refused to provide evidence regarding his claims that Prime Minister Peter O'Neill holds dual citizenship which could disqualify him from his post.
Papua New Guinea's opposition says it is withdrawing its motion of no confidence against prime minister Peter O'Neill, but is likely to lodge a new one soon.
Political fallout from a controversial loan taken on by Papua New Guinea's government five years ago could hinder rather than help attempts to remove prime minister Peter O'Neill. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | May 2019 | ['(Radio New Zealand)'] |
Incumbent Northern Mariana Islands Governor Benigno Fitial of the Covenant Party is declared the winner of the 2009 gubernatorial election and runoff over Republican Rep. Heinz Hofschneider. | Gov. Benigno R. Fitial of the Covenant Party will be serving for another five years starting January 2010 after sealing his victory over Republican Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider when the counting of absentee ballots wrapped up yesterday.Fitial, 64, is the first CNMI governor to be re-elected since 2003.Official election tally showed that Fitial and his running mate Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos got a total of 6,610 votes, a 370-vote lead over the 6,240 votes that Hofschneider and House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios (R-Saipan) received.Fitial is also the first governor to serve a five-year term instead of the regular four years as a result of a newly ratified legislative initiative that requires the holding of general elections on even-numbered years.Were it not for a new runoff election law, the Hofschneider-Palacios team would have won by only eight votes over the Fitial-Inos tandem during the four-way gubernatorial race on Nov. 7.The eight-vote lead was the closest gubernatorial race in CNMI history.But because none of the four original candidates got at least 50 percent plus one of the votes cast in the Nov. 7 general elections, a runoff election was held on Nov. 23. The two other candidates in that election were independents.The Republicans and the Covenant team, however, had to wait until Dec. 7 for the official counting of additional absentee votes.“Now that the election is over and the result of the election is official, I would like to ask all people of the CNMI to come together, and help me and the lieutenant governor so we can all move forward,” Fitial said right after the lighting ceremony for the First Lady's Vision Foundation Christmas tree in front of the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.First lady Josie Fitial, for her part, said she's thankful for the support given to her husband's team.In a statement, Fitial and Inos thanked their opponents “as they ran a formidable race.”Fitial and Inos also thanked all voters for once again giving them their vote of confidence to lead the Commonwealth for the next five years. “As recipients of the majority votes, we recognize that the voters understand that we are making great progress on the road to recovery and prosperity. We have much to do and are well prepared to continue and enact policies that will benefit all residents. We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts but we realize that we cannot do this alone. We would like to reach out to all the residents and ask for their support and assistance,” they said.They said “now is the time to put politics aside and work together toward a more prosperous future.”Official tallyFitial's 501-vote overall lead in the CNMI's first gubernatorial runoff election on Nov. 23 narrowed to 370 after the counting of 725 absentee votes yesterday.Hofschneider got more absentee votes than Fitial yesterday, 428-297, but it was not enough to topple the incumbent governor's overall lead.Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Robert Guerrero read the unofficial tally at 4:07pm at the Multi-Purpose Center where the manual counting of ballots was held.The commission, chaired by Frances M. Sablan, certified the elections results before 5pm. Fitial got 6,610 total votes, while Hofschneider got 6,240.The commission said it received 944 envelopes, and six of them contained multiple ballots. A total of 725 absentee ballots were counted; the rest were either spoiled ballots, postmarked after Nov. 23, had no stamp, or had no postmarked dates.Around 4:30pm, Fitial and Inos addressed their supporters at the Covenant Party headquarters on Middle Road.Covenant Party chair Gregorio “Kachuma” Camacho also addressed the crowd, along with House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, a former independent lieutenant governor candidate, Rep. Oscar M. Babauta (Cov-Saipan), and Special Assistant for Administration Esther Fleming.Direct mandate of the peopleInos, the first appointed CNMI lieutenant governor, said it feels different to have a “direct mandate” from the people.“This is very rewarding,” he added.Fitial appointed Inos lieutenant governor when former Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez was convicted in federal court on corruption charges.Inos said he never dreamed of being elected into office as lieutenant governor.“I came from a poor family. We all worked our way through but we're fortunate to advance our education. That paid off. That's my advice to young folks-do not forget the value of higher education. It brings a lot of empowerment,” he said.As of 7 last night, Fitial had yet to receive a call from Hofschneider.But Fitial said he's not expecting a call from his opponent. Even when he first won in the 2005 gubernatorial election, Hofschneider didn't call him to concede the election, he said.“Even if Heinz doesn't call me, I plan to call him. It could be [Tuesday],” Fitial said.The Hofschneider-Palacios tandem advocated “change” in leadership, versus Fitial-Inos's “proven leadership, proven experience.” 'It's their prerogative'Camacho said it's Hofschneider and Palacios' prerogative to challenge the election results, should they decide to do so.“They can do that. But I don't see the need to do that,” he said.Fitial and Inos separately echoed Camacho's statement.“That would be up to them if they want to challenge the results,” the governor said.Fitial and Inos said they will be releasing information on their transition team in the coming days. “This transition team will be performing a top to bottom review of all government operations in an effort to ensure that government resources are being spent wisely and policies are being carried out that provide a real and true benefit to every citizen,” they said.Effective yesterday afternoon, Camacho was appointed chairman of the Transition Committee.Former Public Safety Commissioner Clyde Norita was appointed vice chair of the Transition Committee. | Government Job change - Election | December 2009 | ['(Saipan Tribune)'] |
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is arrested and taken into police custody on charges of being involved in the crackdown on protests in 2008 that resulted in ten deaths following a disputed presidential election. | YEREVAN -- Former President Robert Kocharian has been taken into custody by Armenian authorities after being charged in connection with the deadly crackdown on opposition protests following the disputed presidential election in 2008.
A Yerevan district court late on July 27 ruled that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) could hold Kocharian pending investigation into the crackdown that left 10 people dead, including two police officers.
The arrest comes as the government of new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, a longtime anticorruption campaigner, has stepped up legal action against officials linked to the previous government.
Kocharian has denied charges of “overthrowing Armenia's constitutional order," calling them politically motivated, and his lawyers say he will appeal the pretrial detention ruling.
The lawyers, Ruben Sahakian and Aram Orbelian, declined further comment and said a news conference would be held in Yerevan on July 28.
The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 in the wake of a disputed election to determine Kocharian’s successor.
Kocharian’s ally, Serzh Sarkisian, was declared the winner, angering the opposition and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1 in which 10 people, including two police officers, were killed.
Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering the violent dispersal of protesters. Kocharian said the postelection crackdown was necessary to prevent an illegal takeover of the government by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian.
In March, Nikol Pashinian, then an opposition figure in parliament, asked prosecutors to subpoena Kocharian for questioning over his order to use lethal force to suppress the protests.
Pashinian, who in 2010 was tried and convicted as one of the protest organizers, argued that, in particular, Kocharian should explain where he got information about gunshots allegedly fired at security forces by the demonstrators, which was a key reason cited by authorities in violently putting down the protests.
In a reply to a question from RFE/RL, the Prosecutor-General’s Office in March said Pashinian had no legal standing to demand Kocharian's testimony.
That all changed after Pashinian led a series of massive, nonviolent street protests in the capital, eventually toppling Sarkisian from power and leading to Pashinian’s own election on May 8 to the prime minister’s role in what was hailed by many as a "velvet revolution."
Pashinian, who for years spoke about what he said was widespread government corruption as an opposition member, immediately announced a crackdown on suspected wrongdoing after taking office.
Earlier on July 27, Yuri Khachaturov, the Armenian chief of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), was charged, like Kocharian, with overthrowing Armenia's constitutional order related to the 2008 crackdown. Khachaturov, who was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time, denied any wrongdoing in comments to reporters. Officials said he would be released after paying a bail of about $10,000. The CSTO is a regional grouping that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin sees it as a way to increase Moscow’s influence in former Soviet republics and to counter the European Union and NATO.
Earlier this month, the SIS issued an arrest warrant for retired General Mikael Harutiunian, who served as defense minister during the 2008 unrest. It charged Harutiunian with "illegally" using the armed forces against the protesters, saying that it amounted to an “overthrow of constitutional order.”
On July 9, a spokesman for Kocharian denounced the accusations leveled against the fugitive ex-general as a “mockery of the law.”
Pashinian's administration has also brought cases against several close relatives of Sarkisian’s family for a variety of alleged financial crimes, although Pashinian insisted that no particular family was being targeted.
Pashinian told RFE/RL on July 6 that the cases against Sarkisan family members were being pursued on their legal merits and were not "political" in nature.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2018 | ['(RFE/RL)'] |
Authorities in Venezuela arrest a number of people accused of being secret service agents from neighbouring Colombia, on charges of espionage. | Western Hemisphere Francisco Arias Cárdenas, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the arrest of several agents from the Colombian Security Administrative Department (DAS) in Venezuela."In the next few hours, they will be presented to the press by the Ministry of the Interior and by security forces" and they will be prosecuted by "Venezuelan courts," Arias said.He added that the Venezuelan security forces found destabilization plans against "the government, our people, and our democracy."Cárdenas reported the case a day after the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry filed a notice of protest against these activities. He also clarified that the note submitted on Monday had nothing to do with recent events in the state of Táchira."The note has nothing to do with what happened last weekend in Táchira. We deeply regret the death of these people, but a topic cannot be linked with another. The notice is related to what has been happening with members of the Colombian state security agency," the Vice Minister said.
Carolina ContrerasEL UNIVERSAL
03:58 PM.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | October 2009 | ['(El Universal)', '(Colombia Reports)', '(BBC)'] |
The United States, Canada and Mexico sign the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in Buenos Aires, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement. | President Donald Trump signed the USMCA trade deal on Friday, alongside Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto in Buenos Aires.
President Donald Trump signed the USMCA trade deal on Friday, alongside Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto in Buenos Aires.
President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the new U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement — or USMCA — in Buenos Aires Friday, using the backdrop of the G-20 Summit to resolve a trade dispute between America and its closest neighbors.
"Let's go," all three leaders said as they sat alongside each other to sign multiple copies of the deal.
They then shuffled binders around in front of them, to finalize the deal that remakes one of the world's largest free trade zones. When the signing was over, they paused for a photo-op. "Might as well hold that up," Trump said, displaying the fresh signatures as the three leaders sat together.
Despite that and other prodding, Trudeau opted not to follow his peers in holding up his binder to celebrate — a sign, perhaps, of the lingering effects of the contentious process that was triggered when Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada earlier this year, which remain in place.
The signing event and the leaders' remarks were livestreamed. You can watch the event here.
In the lead-up to the signing, Canadian officials had "made it clear they didn't want to celebrate the end of a year of U.S. attempts to twist Canada's arm with the tariffs still in place," the CBC reports. But that wish ran counter to the desires of Trump and Peña Nieto, both of whom have preferred to portray the deal as a victory that helps to cement their legacies.
"This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships," Trump said at the start of the signing ceremony.
Saying all three countries will benefit from the deal, Trump said of the USMCA, "It is probably the largest trade deal ever made."
The USMCA (read the whole text here) replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had created a free trade zone between the three countries back in 1994. The deal will require ratification by all three countries' legislatures before taking effect.
"The biggest change this deal makes, really, is to the automotive sector," NPR's Scott Horsley reports, "where it does put higher requirements on North American content, and in particular high-wage content, for vehicles to trade duty-free."
The USMCA deal emerged in early October, months after President Trump hit Mexico and Canada with tariffs on their steel and aluminum products. That move set off retaliatory tariffs and intense negotiations to create a new trade pact.
Calling the deal "the new North American Free Trade Agreement, Trudeau said it "lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process — uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging if we had not reached a new NAFTA."
There is more work to be done, Trudeau said, calling the recent announcement that General Motors will close plants in Canada and the U.S. "a heavy blow."
Turning to address Trump, said "And Donald, it's all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries."
"General Motors has said that those steel and aluminum tariffs robbed it of a billion dollars in profits in the last year," Scott Horsley reports. In June, GM also warned the Trump administration that new tariffs could result in "a smaller GM."
When it was his turn to speak, Peña Nieto said the trade agreement includes provisions for e-commerce and informational technology — subjects that he said made it necessary to update NAFTA.
"In fact, one-third of the agreement includes topics that were not included in the first agreement," he said.
Peña Nieto also said the USMCA "is the first trade agreement that incorporates elements that address the social impact of international trade; it enables the participation of more sectors in the economy."
Among those provisions, he said, are protections for workers' rights and the environment, and elements that seek to extend the benefits of free trade more broadly.
The signing took place on Peña Nieto's final day in office; Mexico's newly elected president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will be sworn in on Saturday.
Shortly before the signing ceremony, Peña Nieto awarded presidential senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner with the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor Mexico gives to foreigners.
The move "shocked many in Mexico," as NPR's Carrie Kahn reported earlier this week, referring to the outrage and anger that has poured out online.
Later in the G-20 meetings, Trump will turn to another high-profile trade crisis, when he has dinner on Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. | Sign Agreement | November 2018 | ['(TTNews)', '(NPR)'] |
Data from the flight data recorder reveals that the plane was deliberately accelerated before crashing into the French Alps. | Initial reading of data recorder shows Andreas Lubitz used automatic pilot to begin descent and then repeatedly sped up plane, investigators say
First published on Fri 3 Apr 2015 11.19 BST
The co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings flight 9525 repeatedly accelerated the plane as he used the automatic pilot to descend into the Alps, the French air accident investigation agency has said.
The new detail from the BEA agency is based on an initial reading of the plane’s black box data recorder, found blackened and buried at the crash site on Thursday.
It strengthens investigators’ initial suspicions that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally destroyed the plane, though prosecutors are still trying to figure out why. All 150 people on board flight 9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf were killed in the crash on 24 March.
The BEA said the preliminary reading of the data recorder shows that the pilot used the automatic pilot to put the plane into a descent and then repeatedly adjusted it to speed up the plane. The agency says it will continue studying the black box for more complete details of what happened.
On Thursday, Düsseldorf prosecutors said Lubitz researched cockpit doors and suicide methods online in the days leading up to the crash.
Ralf Herrenbrück, the German prosecutors’ press spokesman, said a tablet computer found in the co-pilot’s apartment had been analysed. “The browser history had not been deleted. In particular, search terms called up using this device in the time from 16 March to 23 March 2015 could be reconstructed,” he said.
“According to these, the user was on the one hand looking into medical treatments and on the other learning about the different methods and possibilities of committing suicide.”
On at least one day, according to the statement, Lubitz spent several minutes entering search terms about cockpit doors and their security arrangements.
The user name, personal correspondence and search terms found on the tablet all appeared to confirm that the device belonged to Lubitz, Herrenbrück said. He said officials would not be releasing the exact search terms used, and the device was still being examined.
The French public prosecutor Brice Robin said 40 mobile telephones had been found in the wreckage of flight 9525, all of them in a “very bad state”. This week Paris Match magazine claimed it had seen a video recorded on a mobile phone by a passenger in the final moments of the flight.
Robin also said search teams had found 2,285 DNA strands giving 150 different “profiles”. “This doesn’t mean we have identified all the 150 victims and I stress this point. We have to compare this postmortem DNA with the DNA of these people before they died provided by the families. This work will begin as soon as possible next week. At each identification, the victim’s family will be notified, I promise that,” he said.
Robin said the return of body parts could only happen when all 150 victims had been identified and following a meeting of all the legal, civil and judicial authorities.
There has been growing public anger in Germany about some of the media coverage of the crash. After a pupil at the Joseph-König high school in Haltern wrote a blogpost complaining of the press siege outside her school, the organisers of a vintage plane air show posted an open letter, addressed to an unnamed press agency, in which it explained why it would not answer a request for footage that might contain images of Lubitz. The letter described mass media coverage as “serving low voyeurism and generating circulation through horror”.
On Thursday, German politicians attempted to show they were taking action to improve safety and security in the aftermath of the crash. The transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, announced the launch of a taskforce for optimising flight safety. Following a meeting with representatives of the airline industry association BDL and the civil aviation authority, he said the taskforce would re-examine cockpit door mechanisms and the medical and psychological tests for pilots.
The interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said it was time to review European Union regulations for passport checks inside the Schengen area. “We need to know for security reasons who is on board a flight,” he told Bild newspaper. “At first, it wasn’t even clear who was on board the flight.”
The comments were condemned by opposition politicians. “A pure placebo reaction to a human tragedy,” the Green party MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht told Der Spiegel magazine. | Air crash | April 2015 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)', '(Guardian)'] |
Western Digital appeals to arbitration in an effort to prevent its partner Toshiba, from selling its chip–making operation, Toshiba Memory. | TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp WDC.O has sought international arbitration to stop partner Toshiba Corp 6502.T from selling its chips arm without its consent, potentially derailing a much-needed capital injection for the Japanese conglomerate.
The two companies jointly operate Toshiba’s main semiconductor plant but Western Digital is not a favored bidder for the world’s second biggest NAND chip producer, having put in a much lower offer than other suitors, a source with knowledge of the matter has said.
A legal battle could delay or put an end to an auction that could fetch some $18 billion and has attracted suitors such as private equity firm KKR & Co LP KKR.N, Taiwan's Foxconn 2317.TW and U.S. chipmaker Broadcom AVGO.O. Toshiba is depending on the sale to cover billions in dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The Japanese firm logged a 950 billion yen ($8.4 billion) annual net loss and had negative shareholder equity of 540 billion yen, it said in an unaudited earnings release on Monday.
After months of souring relations, Western Digital has begun arbitration procedures with the International Chamber of Commerce, demanding Toshiba reverse a move to put their joint venture assets into a newly formed unit - Toshiba Memory - and stop any sale without Western Digital’ s consent.
Western Digital’s “efforts to achieve a resolution to date have been unsuccessful, and so we believe legal action is now a necessary next step,” CEO Steve Milligan said in a statement.
Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa told a news conference the complaint was groundless and that Toshiba would push on with the sale, sticking to its plan to complete the second round of bidding on Friday.
“We will make efforts to convince bidders of the legitimacy of the chip-unit sale and wipe away their concerns,” he said.
Toshiba argues neither party can block a change of control by the other partner. It says Western Digital itself acquired the joint venture interest when it bought current unit SanDisk, and never sought or received Toshiba’s approval.
But Western Digital counters that the contract only allows Toshiba not to seek approval if the Japanese company is acquired by a third party.
The escalating dispute could also further jeopardize Toshiba’s Tokyo bourse listing as fresh funds are urgently needed to shore up its balance sheet, as well as upend financing plans. Toshiba hopes to offer a stake in the chip unit as collateral for new loans from major lenders, a measure that the banks say also requires Western Digital’s approval.
Toshiba believes that a consortium made up of KKR and Japanese government-backed investors would be the most feasible buyer for the business, sources with direct knowledge said last week.
The Japanese government has proposed that Western Digital join their consortium as a minority investor, but the California-based firm has said it needs to take control of the unit in order to be fully in charge of operations, separate sources have said.
Toshiba’s Tsunakawa said the company would make a decision on Tuesday whether to proceed with a threat it made this month to block Western Digital employees from the plant as well as databases if the U.S. company did not sign a broad collaboration agreement that the two had negotiated.
Toshiba has said any move would not affect joint venture operations because it does not apply to SanDisk employees.
Despite the fresh setback, Toshiba shares climbed 3.4 percent, buoyed by news that progress is being made toward capping some of its nuclear liabilities in the United States - another major headache.
The owners of the unfinished Vogtle power plant in Georgia led by Southern Co SO.N have to come to a preliminary agreement to cap Toshiba's responsibility for its guarantees on the project at about $3.6 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
“The stock seems to be rallying on the perception it will avoid delisting which is a risky assumption to make,” said CLSA analyst Claudio Aritomi.
All of Toshiba's bonds are trading below par, including 30 billion yen in debt maturing on July 26. The cost of insuring against default on Toshiba's five-year yen debt in the market for credit default swaps TOSB5YJPAC=MG was indicated 8 basis points higher at 388/418 basis points. ($1 = 113.3 yen)
| Tear Up Agreement | May 2017 | ['(Reuters)'] |
In soccer, Jürgen Klinsmann is fired as manager of the US men's national team after five years in charge, following losses to archrival Mexico and Costa Rica that left the USMNT at the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group. | Jurgen Klinsmann has been fired as the manager of the United States men's national team, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Monday.
U.S. Soccer did not immediately name a replacement in a statement that thanked Klinsmann for his efforts, but sources told ESPN FC that negotiations are ongoing with LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena to take over the job for a second time.
Klinsmann took charge of the U.S. men's squad in 2011 and led it into the knockout stage at the 2014 World Cup.
But disappointing results since then put his job in jeopardy, with defeats to Mexico and Costa Rica in World Cup qualifiers this month proving to be the last straw.
"We want to thank Jurgen for his hard work and commitment during these last five years," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a statement. "He took pride in having the responsibility of steering the program, and there were considerable achievements along the way.
"Many are aware of the historic victories, including leading us out of the Group of Death to the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes. He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come."
Arena's contract with the Galaxy was set to expire next month, but the 65-year-old recently signed a two-year extension with the MLS club, multiple sources said. However, the new deal would allow Arena -- who coached the U.S. at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups -- to leave if he were offered the national team job.
Klinsmann had been under contract through the 2018 World Cup, but the U.S. lost 2-1 to chief rival Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 11, and then 4-0 away to Costa Rica four days later.
The results left the U.S. at the bottom of the six-team regional CONCACAF group with eight games to play. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, while the fourth will enter a two-legged intercontinental playoff against a team from the Asian confederation for one of the final spots in Russia.
In interviews on Sunday, Klinsmann said he was "1,000 percent" certain that the U.S. would still qualify, and then said he was "not afraid" at the prospect of losing his job, while also saying his critics "don't understand soccer or the team." He also discussed tactics in a Q&A with fans on Facebook, which made Monday's firing appear all the more sudden.
"While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction," Gulati's statement continued. "With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth-consecutive World Cup.
"There has never been a greater time for soccer in this country, and with the support and efforts of the millions of fans, sponsors, media and friends, we look forward to continued progress in the game we all love."
Klinsmann received praise for leading the U.S. through a difficult group at the 2014 World Cup, only to lose to Belgium in extra time in the round of 16.
But since then, the U.S. finished a disappointing fourth at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, then in October of last year lost a Confederations Cup playoff to Mexico in a game that was seen as key for preparing for 2018.
The World Cup qualifying campaign was not without incident in the previous round, as Klinsmann's men lost 2-0 at Guatemala in March.
Klinsmann's job was thought to be in jeopardy during the Copa America tournament in June, but the U.S. reached the semifinals. However, the gulf between the Americans and the world's elite nations was clear in their 4-0 defeat to Argentina.
A former star player for Germany, Klinsmann spent the end of last week in his homeland, where he attended a state dinner with German chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. president Barack Obama, who the coach said was supportive following the recent defeats.
"He said, 'Coach, it didn't go well in Costa Rica, but it's only the start of the World Cup qualifying and you'll get back on the right track,'" Klinsmann said of his conversation with Obama. "He understands that it's a long qualifying process. He also understands dynamics of soccer as a global sport and how it builds bridges." | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | November 2016 | ['(ESPN)'] |
The death toll from Typhoon Rammasun rises to 26 in southern China and 11 in northern Vietnam. | A woman looks at a tree uprooted by Typhoon Rammasun in Nanning in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Saturday, July 19, 2014. (AP Photo)
HANOI, Vietnam -- A typhoon that barrelled into northern Vietnam killed at least 11 people and left several missing, state media said Monday, while in China the death toll from the strongest storm to strike the country's south in four decades rose to 26.
Typhoon Rammasun made landfall in Vietnam over the weekend, triggering heavy floods, destroying homes and crops, and blocking roads with landslides, said the Vietnam News, an English-language daily published by the official Vietnam News Agency.
The paper's website carried photos that showed streets and local markets in the city of Lang Son and elsewhere submerged in water, with residents floating on rubber tires or rafts or huddling under makeshift tents.
Rammasun had earlier battered southern China, killing 26 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
It was the strongest typhoon to hit China's southern region in 41 years, damaging roads and ports, cutting electricity and water supplies, and hampering rescue efforts as it swept through dozens of coastal cities.
Worst hit was the island province of Hainan, where the storm made its first landfall Friday. By Monday, 51,000 houses and 40,600 hectares (100,300 acres) of crops had been destroyed.
The typhoon wreaked havoc in the northern Philippines last week, leaving 94 people dead.
A vehicle sits under a collapsed building after landfall of typhoon Rammasun in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Saturday, July 19, 2014. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | July 2014 | ['(CTV News)'] |
Takehiko Yamaguchi, a former Japanese Vice Minister for Health, and his wife are found stabbed to death in Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo. | Security has been stepped up at homes of Japanese officials after two people linked to the health ministry were killed and a third was knifed.
A former vice-minister of health and his wife were found stabbed to death in Saitama, near Tokyo, on Tuesday. Hours later, the wife of another former official was stabbed in the capital by a man disguised as a delivery worker. Both officials had resigned for their part in a scandal involving the loss of millions of pension records. In 2007, ministers admitted roughly 50 million people would have to check whether or not their pension records were accurate after official records were mislaid.
The scandal provoked widespread anger in Japan and, was partly responsible for the ruling party's defeat in elections last year, correspondents say.
Serial attacks?
Takehiko Yamaguchi, 66, and his 61-year-old wife, Michiko, were found dead at their home in Saitama, 40km (25 miles) north-west of the capital, police said.
Both had several stab wounds to their chests, police said.
Later on Tuesday, the 72-year-old wife of Kenji Yoshihara, another former vice-minister of health, was attacked at their Tokyo home.
Yasuko Yoshihara was stabbed several times in the chest when she opened the door to a man she thought was delivering a parcel, Japanese media reported, but her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
Mr Yoshihara was not at home at the time of the attack, reports said.
Kyodo news agency said police had stepped up security nationwide, amid fears of serial attacks against Japanese bureaucrats. | Famous Person - Death | November 2008 | ['(BBC News)'] |
Three blasts targeting the town of Qamishli in Syria kill 6 and wound dozens of others. All the blasts were claimed by ISIL. | No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after ISIL said it killed a priest in the area.
Three car bombs, exploding nearly simultaneously in the largely Kurdish city ofQamishliin northeastern Syria, killed at least six people as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group said it shot dead a priest and his father. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s blasts, in which two car bombs exploded in a commercial district of the city, and a third detonated near a hotel, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
The Kurdish news agency Hawar said the explosions killed six people and wounded 21, and the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a similar casualty toll.
An AFP news agency correspondent saw charred cars and smoke rising from the site of the blasts.Firefighters tried to put out the flames as rescue workers carried away the victims.
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The attacks came the same day anArmenian Catholic priestand his father were killed as they travelled to the eastern province of Deir Az Zor fromQamishli,where they were meant to inspect the restoration of a church, according to theSyrian Observatory.
That attack was claimed bythe ISILwith its Aamaq website posting a copy of the priest’s identity card. ISIL persecuted Christians, who made up 10 percent of prewar Syria’s population, and displaced tens of thousands when it ruled large parts of Iraq and Syria beginning in 2014.
Qamishli is a key city in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Syria’s northeast. The area recently rekindled as a hotspot after US President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew American troops last month.
The withdrawal cleared the way for an offensive by the Turkish military attempting to establish a “safe zone” along the border and dispel members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers “terrorists”.
The YPG led the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an important US ally in defeating ISIL in Syria.
Kurdish forces said Turkey’s cross-border attack, which began on October 9, allowed some ISIL fighters tobreak outof Kurdish jails.
While the SDF declared in March that ISIL had been defeated in a final stand in the village ofBaghouz, membershave continued to claim deadly attacks in northeast and eastern Syria. In July, ISIL said it was responsible for a massive truck bomb that killed at least 44 people in Qamishli. An October 23 ceasefire deal betweenTurkey and Russia halted Ankara’s campaign into Syria in exchange for Kurdish forces’ withdrawal from areas along the Turkish border.
On Sunday, eight people were killed in a bomb blast to thesoutheast of the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, which Turkey captured in its military offensive last month. While no group claimed responsibility, Ankara blamed the attack on Kurdish fighters | Armed Conflict | November 2019 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Kiev, Ukraine, where he is expected to discuss ways of ending the conflict in the east of the country. The visit, along with his visit to Georgia yesterday, comes ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw that will take place tomorrow. | U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Kyiv, where he is expected to discuss ways of ending Ukraine’s continuing war against Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
Kerry’s visit on July 7 comes ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will also attend in the hope of securing support and assistance.
The deputy head of Poroshenko's administration, Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying he expected the meetings with Kerry to focus on "the issue of global security, regional security, and of course the issue of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO."
Yeliseyev said Ukraine hoped to receive further assistance from the United States and other allies in upgrading its outdated and underfunded armed forces. He said Kyiv also wanted to discuss the peace process between Kyiv and the separatists. Kerry visited Georgia on July 6 where he underscored Washington’s commitment to supporting the ex-Soviet nation in its long-running standoff with two separatist regions backed by Russia.
The two countries signed a new military cooperation agreement during Kerry visit to Georgia -- his first to the Caucasus nation as secretary of state. | Diplomatic Visit | July 2016 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
Italian firm Fiat Chrysler proposes a merger with French carmaker Renault. The new company will be based in the Netherlands and will be listed on the Milan, Paris and New York stock exchanges. | Fiat Chrysler has made a "transformative" merger proposal for French carmaker Renault, the Italian firm said on Monday. The combined business would be 50% owned by Fiat shareholders and 50% by Renault stockholders.
The carmaker said the merger would create a global automotive leader, with 8.7 million vehicle sales.
Carmakers have faced pressure to consolidate amid major industry shifts, including towards electric vehicles. Shares in both companies rose strongly following the announcement.
In a statement, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said the planned merger would create a "world leader in the rapidly changing automotive industry with a strong position in transforming technologies, including electrification and autonomous driving". Fiat said that if the firms' 2018 financial results were totted up, the combined company's annual revenues would be nearly €170bn (£149.6bn; $190.5bn), with operating profit of more than €10bn and net profit of more than €8bn. No plant closures would be caused as a result of the tie-up, the carmaker said. It will aim to save €5bn a year by sharing development costs on technology such as electric vehicles and self-driving cars. It is thought some managerial positions may be lost, but the companies will be keen to show that production-line jobs are being preserved.
The new company will be based in the Netherlands and will be listed on the Milan, Paris and New York stock exchanges.
To make the merger one of equals, the slightly-wealthier FCA will pay a special dividend of €2.5bn and sell its Comau robotics business.
The proposal will be considered by the Renault board. Who will lead the new entity and what it might be called are not yet decided.
If the plan goes ahead, Nissan and the French government will own about 7.5% apiece of the new, merged company.
The French government favours the merger but wants more details before giving its final approval, a spokeswoman said. The Italian government may want to acquire a share of the new firm to balance France's stake, said a politician from the Northern League, the country's largest party, according to Reuters.
By sales, the new company will be number four in North America, number two in the region which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the biggest in Latin America.
Industry shifts toward electric models, along with stricter emissions standards and the development of new technologies for autonomous vehicles, have put increasing pressure on carmakers to consolidate. Renault already has an alliance with Japan's Nissan, in which research costs and parts are shared. The companies own shares in each other, too. Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan's shares and Nissan owns 15% of Renault. The former chief executive of both Nissan and Renault, Carlos Ghosn, is awaiting trial following his fourth arrest amid allegations of financial misconduct. The allegations have put a strain on the 20-year-old alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors.
New entrants in the motoring sector such as Tesla, as well as cash-rich companies developing driverless technology such as Amazon and Google-owned Waymo, are putting pressure on older and often heavily indebted carmakers to keep up.
| Organization Merge | May 2019 | ['(BBC)'] |
At least 19 civilians are killed and two are wounded when armed men raid a village in the Tillabéri Region. | Governor of Tillaberi region says dozens of heavily armed attackers on motorbikes stormed the village of Gaigorou and started killing the inhabitants.
At least 19 civilians were killed when armed men raided a village in west Niger close to the border with Mali, officials have said, in the latest bloodshed in the troubled region.
The governor of Tillaberi region said dozens of heavily armed attackers on motorbikes stormed the village of Gaigorou on Saturday evening.
Governor Ibrahim Tidjani Katiella told DPA news agency the attackers, who likely came from Mali, surrounded the village and then started killing the inhabitants.
A municipal official from Dessa on Sunday confirmed that 19 people were killed and two others wounded in the attack.
He told AFP news agency that the assailantsinitially attacked people at a funeral, before going on to the village where they “shot at everyone they saw,” the official said.
The Tillaberi region is situated on the lawless “three-border” zone where the frontiers of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso converge and has regularly been the target of armed groups affiliated to the ISIL (ISIS) group.
“What concerns us a lot is this escalation of violence and insecurity that is recently taking place in the region,” Katiella, the governor, said in March.
Thirteen people were killed last month when armed men on motorbikes raided the villages of Zibane-Koira Zeno, Zibane Koira-Tegui and Gadabo.
Attacks against civilians have increased since the beginning of the year more than 300 people died in three series of attacks in western Niger.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far.
Gunfire lasted for half an hour on Wednesday morning, just two days before swearing-in of the new president.
Rights body seeks inquiry after allegations troops deployed to fight armed groups raped women, as well as girl, 11.
Cause of fire under investigation but teachers have highlighted problem of putting classrooms in makeshift huts.
| Armed Conflict | April 2021 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
Lawyer Michael Avenatti is indicted in separate cases charging him with allegedly stealing about $300,000 from Stormy Daniels and blackmailing Nike. | Controversial lawyer Michael Avenatti was indicted Wednesday in separate cases charging him with stealing about $300,000 from his former porn star client Stormy Daniels, and with trying to extort athletic shoe giant Nike out of tens of millions of dollars by threatening to go public with claims the company was facilitating payments to the families of high school basketball stars.
While the Nike-related indictment was expected because it mirrors allegations in a criminal complaint executed against Avenatti in March, the claims related to Daniels were brand new.
Avenatti, who last year was mulling a run for the White House, is now charged in three separate federal indictments, including one pending in California related to alleged theft of client funds and other crimes, and faces the possibility of many years in prison if convicted.
According to one of the new indictments in New York, Avenatti allegedly forged Daniels' signature on a document that gave wire fund transfer information to her literary agent, which helped direct the money paid out for the book sales to a bank account controlled by Avenatt.
The lawyer had become widely known and notorious last year for his representation of Daniels, who was paid $140,000 on the eve of the 2016 presidential election by President Donald Trump's then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen to keep her quiet about her alleged sexual tryst with Trump a decade earlier. Trump denies having sex with her.
Prosecutors claim that Avenatti ripped off Daniels by taking payments for her book sales and paying her just half of what she was owed. The indictment, which charges him with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, accuses him of spending some of the money he allegedly swindled from Daniels on a lease payment for his Ferrari, travel expenses, dry cleaning and $56,000 in payroll at his law firm.
"Michael Avenatti abused and violated the core duty of an attorney the duty to his client," saidManhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.
"As alleged, he used his position of trust to steal an advance on the client's book deal. As alleged, he blatantly lied to and stole from his client to maintain his extravagant lifestyle, including to pay for, among other things, a monthly car payment on a Ferrari. Far from zealously representing his client, Avenatti, as alleged, instead engaged in outright deception and theft, victimizing rather than advocating for his client."
Avenatti is also accused in the other indictment of telling lawyers for Nike "I'll take ten billion dollars off your client's market cap" by publicly accusing the company's employees of authorizing and funding payments to families of top high school basketball players if Nike did not fork over millions of dollars to his client and to him personally.
Avenatti, in a response to an email requesting comment from CNBC, wrote:
No monies relating to Ms. Daniels were ever misappropriated or mishandled. She received millions of dollars worth of legal services and we spent huge sums in expenses. She directly paid only $100.00 for all that she received. I look forward to a jury hearing the evidence.
I look forward to a jury hearing all of the evidence and passing judgment on my conduct. At no time was any money misappropriated or mishandled. I will be fully exonerated once the relevant emails, contracts, text messages, and documents are presented. I was entitled to any monies retained relating to a book per my agreement with the client. It was part of my agreement for representation and compensation. Avenatti later tweeted: "I was entitled to any monies retained per my agreement with the client. My agreement for representation and compensation included a percentage of any book proceeds."
In the Nike-related indictment unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Avenatti is charged with extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to transmit interstate communications with intent to extort, and transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | May 2019 | ['(CNBC)'] |
South Africa will notify the United Nations that the country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court . This separation would take effect one year from when notice is formally received by the U.N. Secretary–General. Last week, Burundi's parliament voted to leave the ICC, but the required paperwork has not yet reached the U.N. | PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa said on Friday it was quitting the International Criminal Court (ICC) because membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws, dealing a new blow to the struggling court and angering the political opposition.
Pretoria last year announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticized it for disregarding an ICC order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited South Africa. Bashir has denied the accusations.
The United Nations on Friday confirmed receipt of South Africa’s withdrawal from the ICC, which will take effect one year from Oct. 19, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, making it the first country to quit the Rome Statute.
The instrument of withdrawal document, seen by Reuters on Thursday, has been assessed by the United Nations as bona fide and is being processed, Dujarric said.
The announcement puts new pressure on the world’s first permanent war crimes court, which has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its 10 investigations have been based.
Burundi’s leader this week signed a decree to leave the ICC, and Kenya’s parliament is considering following suit.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was “concerned” about the South African decision, but he declined to speculate what Kenya and Burundi would do and said it was too early to speak of a “trend” toward African withdrawal from the court.
Kirby said the United States, while not a member of the court, believed the ICC had made “valuable contributions in the service of accountability ...and we hope that other countries would share that assessment.”
Justice Minister Michael Masutha told reporters in Pretoria that the government would draft a bill to repeal its adoption of the ICC’s Rome Statute to preserve its ability to conduct active diplomatic relations, and had given formal notice.
Related Coverage
He said the statute conflicted with South Africa’s Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, which was cited in the decision to ignore the court order to detain Bashir, but that the government remained committed to the fight against impunity.
The ICC said it had not formally been notified of South Africa’s intention to leave the Rome Statute.
A document seen by Reuters at the United Nations on Thursday showed the move would take effect one year after notice was formally received by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The document was signed by South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated Oct. 19.
“UNCONSTITUTIONAL” WITHDRAWAL
James Selfe, a senior executive at the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said it would file a court application on Friday to set aside the plans “on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, irrational and procedurally flawed”.
Former South African judge Richard Goldstone, a respected figure in international justice and former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said quitting the ICC was “demeaning” to the country.
“From a moral standpoint, it detracts from the inspiring legacy of the administration of President Nelson Mandela that so strongly supported the ICC,” said Goldstone, chairman of the advisory board of the coalition for the ICC, which provides strategic guidance on key issues.
Masutha, the justice minister, said Pretoria would drop its appeal to the Constitutional Court against a ruling that the state had made an error in letting Bashir leave the country.
In June 2015 Bashir was in Johannesburg for an African Union summit. He was allowed to leave even though the ICC had ordered that he be kept in South Africa until the end of a hearing on whether he should be detained under a global arrest warrant.
The High Court ruled Bashir should have been arrested to face genocide charges at the ICC since, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, Pretoria was obliged to implement arrest warrants.
The government lost an appeal at the Supreme Court in March and the appeal to the Constitutional Court was its last chance of overturning the ruling.
The ICC, which sits in The Hague and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
But it has secured only five substantive verdicts in its 14-year history, all of them on African suspects, and several African countries have expressed concern that the continent is being picked on.
In January, the African Union backed a proposal by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta for officials of various member states to “develop a road map” on possible withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The decision was not legally binding as the final decision to leave the ICC would be taken by individual nations.
A high-profile ICC attempt to try Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto over post-election violence failed amid diplomatic lobbying and allegations of witness intimidation.
Adan Duale, leader of the majority in the Kenyan parliament, said impetus was building there to pass a bill on quitting the ICC that has been slowly making its way through the assembly.
| Withdraw from an Organization | October 2016 | ['(ICC)', '(Reuters)'] |
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is convicted of violating human rights and imprisoned until 2034. | Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was convicted Tuesday of "crimes against humanity" and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in killings and kidnappings by security forces during his government's battle against leftist guerrillas in the 1990s.
The verdict, delivered by a three-judge panel on a police base outside Lima where Fujimori has been held throughout the trial, marked the first time that an elected head of state has been extradited back to his home country, tried and convicted of human rights violations.
Human rights activists called it a precedent-setting verdict that upheld the ideal that violent abuses cannot be ignored under the banner of fighting terrorism.
"This is a sentence for all the innocents killed in the dirty war," said Gisela Ortiz, whose brother was among a group taken from a Lima university and executed in 1992 by a military death squad under Fujimori.
Many people in Peru admire Fujimori for largely defeating the Shining Path insurgency and ending a two-decade war that left about 70,000 people dead. But the tribunal found that Fujimori was guilty of creating and authorizing a military intelligence death squad that killed innocent people.
Fujimori, sitting alone at a table, betrayed little emotion as the verdict was read. Throughout the morning proceedings, he rarely looked up and instead scribbled in a notebook. His only utterance was to ask that the verdict be nullified.
Fujimori had faced up to 30 years in prison. His appeal will move to the Supreme Court.
"This is a stunning verdict," said Jo-Marie Burt, a Latin American studies professor at George Mason University who has been observing Fujimori's trial. "The court clearly laid out the reasoning behind the verdict, the structure of power Fujimori created and how he was the man behind the crimes."
Fujimori, 70, argued in defiant outbursts during his 16-month-long trial that he was a wartime president fighting to protect his people but that he never ordered the killings perpetrated by a death squad of the Army Intelligence Service known as the Colina Group. "I had to govern from hell," he said in his closing statements.
But Judge César San Martín said it was clear that Fujimori had authorized the creation of the death squad.
Despite his years behind bars, Fujimori still casts a wide shadow on Peruvian politics. His political movement remains popular, and his followers account for 13 seats in the 120-member Peruvian Congress. His daughter, congresswoman Keiko Fujimori, is considered a leading candidate to succeed President Alan García and has vowed to pardon her father if elected.
"I am crying inside," Keiko Fujimori said after the verdict was read. "I am indignant; I had expected that justice would be served." | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2009 | ['(Washington Post)'] |
About 50,000 people take part in a second Saturday protest rally in Khabarovsk, Russia, against the arrest of Governor Sergei Furgal on charges of involvement in multiple murders 15 years ago, which Furgal denies. The protests, which also reflect the simmering discontent with the Kremlin’s policies, are the largest ever in Khabarovsk, a city of 590,000. The police didn't interfere with the rally. Protests are also taking place in Vladivostok and Komsomolsk-on-Amur. |
Mass rallies rocked the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk again on Saturday, as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders.
Local media estimated the rally in the city 3,800 miles east of Moscow drew 15,000 to 50,000 people. Hundreds of people have protested in the city centre every day this week against the arrest of Sergei Furgal, reflecting widespread anger over the arrest of the popular governor and a simmering discontent with the Kremlin’s policies.
Furgal, the Khabarovsk region governor, was arrested on July 9 and flown to Moscow where he was put in jail for two months. Russia’s Investigative Committee says he is suspected of involvement in several murders of businessmen in 2004 and 2005.
Furgal has denied the charges, which relate to his time as a businessman with interests ranging from imports of consumer goods to timber and metals. Khabarovsk residents dismissed the charges against him as unsubstantiated and denounced the Kremlin for targeting a governor they elected.
“It’s not only about this (whether Furgal arrest is legal or not). People are fed up with the way we are treated, that they (authorities) can simply take away our choice," Mikhail Yerashchenko, one of the protesters, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
A member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, Furgal was elected governor in 2018, defeating the Kremlin-backed incumbent. His victory came unexpected: Furgal didn't actively campaign and toed the Kremlin's line, publicly supporting his rival.
People voted for him nonetheless, delivering a humiliating blow to the main Kremlin party, United Russia, that has been losing seats in regional administrations over the past two years.
During his two years in office, Furgal earned a reputation of “the people's governor." He cut his own salary, ordered the sale of an expensive yacht the previous administration bought, met with protesters when rallies happened and significantly reduced flight fares for residents in remote areas.
“Furgal became a political symbol for the residents of the region, and all accusations — no matter how grave — are from another, non-political dimension,” political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said in a Facebook post earlier this week.
Last Saturday, crowds of reportedly up to 35,000 people rallied in the city centre. Protesters demanded that Furgal's trial be moved to Khabarovsk, with one of them saying “we have elected him, and it's up to us to judge him." Some questioned the timing of the arrest, pointing to Furgal's decade-long stint as a lawmaker in the Russian parliament before running for governor, during which the murder charges never came up.
The protests, unauthorised by authorities, are the largest ever to have taken place in Khabarovsk, a city of 590,000. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the situation “not standard" this week. Moscow has not yet appointed an acting governor 11 days after Furgal's arrest.
Massive crowds on Saturday gathered despite local officials' attempts to discourage people from taking to streets, citing the coronavirus epidemic and an averted terrorist threat.
Police didn't interfere with the rally. Protesters held banners saying “Freedom to Sergei Furgal, governor of the Khabarovsk region” and chanted “I, you, he and she – the entire country is for Furgal”.
Smaller rallies in support of Furgal also took place Saturday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, another big city in the Khabarovsk region, and in the city of Vladivostok in the neighbouring Primorye region.
“Though I’m almost 70, I worry sincerely about my region, about Russia and our nation, about Furgal and freedom. I want us to be free," Alla Sokolova, a protestor in Khabarovsk, told the AP.
| Protest_Online Condemnation | July 2020 | ['(BBC)', '(EuroNews)'] |
Puerto Rico files for the largest "local government" bankruptcy in the United States. | (Reuters) - Puerto Rico announced a historic restructuring of its public debt on Wednesday, touching off what may be the biggest bankruptcy ever in the $3.8 trillion U.S. municipal bond market.
Puerto Rico files biggest ever U.S. local government bankruptcy
01:14
While it was not immediately clear just how much of Puerto Rico’s $70 billion of debt would be included in the bankruptcy filing, the case is sure to dwarf Detroit’s insolvency in 2013.
The move comes a day after several major creditors sued Puerto Rico over defaults its bonds.
Bankruptcy may not immediately change the day-to-day lives of Puerto Rico’s people, 45 percent of whom live in poverty, but it may lead to future cuts in pensions and worker benefits, and possibly a reduction in health and education services.
The island’s economy has been in recession for nearly 10 years, with an unemployment rate of about 11.0 percent, and the population has fallen by about 10 percent in the past decade.
The bankruptcy process will also give Puerto Rico the legal ability to impose drastic discounts on creditor recoveries, but could also spook investors and prolong the island’s lack of access to debt markets.
The debt restructuring petition was filed by Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board in the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, and was made under Title III of last year’s U.S. Congressional rescue law known as PROMESA.
The Title III provision allows for a court debt restructuring process akin to U.S. bankruptcy protection. Puerto Rico is barred from a traditional municipal bankruptcy protection under Chapter 9 of the U.S. code.
The filing includes only Puerto Rico’s central government, which owes some $18 billion in debt backed by the island’s constitution.
On paper, it does not include $17 billion of sales tax-backed debt, known as COFINA debt, or debt from other agencies.
Related Coverage
But those debts are likely to be pulled into the bankruptcy, or included in separate bankruptcy proceedings in coming days, Elias Sanchez, an adviser to Governor Ricardo Rossello, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Puerto Rico’s massive pension debts will also likely get restructured in the bankruptcy.
“Title III was especially compelled by the commonwealth’s need to restructure $49 billion of pension liabilities,” the oversight board said in Wednesday’s filing.
The previous largest U.S. public bankruptcy, Detroit’s in 2013, covered some $18 billion in debt. The city was able to reach an agreed debt restructuring with stakeholders, in part by soliciting huge contributions from philanthropic foundations so it did not need to sell the city’s art collection.
But “unlike Detroit, there isn’t billions of unencumbered artwork to fund a restructuring” in Puerto Rico, said David Tawil, whose fund, Maglan Capital, held Puerto Rico general obligation debt but has since sold it.
The legal proceeding does not mean negotiations toward a compromise must stop, Governor Rossello said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It is my hope that the Government’s Title III proceedings will accelerate the negotiation process,” the governor said in the statement.
Rossello’s fiscal plan for the island, approved by the oversight board in March, forecasts Puerto Rico having only $800 million a year to pay debt, less than a quarter of what it owes. The low figure alienated creditors and negotiations toward an out-of-court restructuring foundered.
Andrew Rosenberg, a lawyer for the general obligation bondholders, criticized the Title III filing, saying in a statement a consensual deal could have been reached.
“Just as a deal was within reach [on Tuesday], we understand that the oversight board intervened to block it,” Rosenberg said in a statement. “For months, the oversight board has made every effort to sabotage consensual negotiations.”
Francisco Cimadevilla, a spokesman for the board, denied the allegation, saying in an interview, “I can understand that might be a narrative on the other side, but it’s just not the case.”
Conversely, Susheel Kirpalani, a lawyer for COFINA bondholders, called bankruptcy “sound public policy,” saying in a statement it “enables Puerto Rico to freeze numerous lawsuits” and “maintain essential services.”
Analysts and experts agreed the case is likely to take time.
“It will be an orderly process that should be better for creditors in the aggregate than a chaotic and uncertain period involving proliferating lawsuits,” said Moody’s Investor Services analyst Ted Hampton.
Some expect creditors to challenge the filing, arguing the board did not meet requirements under PROMESA to conduct good faith negotiations out of court.
“We would agree there is a case to be made here,” said Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Chas Tyson, who follows Puerto Rico.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. | Financial Crisis | May 2017 | ['(Reuters)'] |
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club considers moving Wimbledon back one week in future to give players more recovery time following the French Open. | Last updated on 25 June 201225 June 2012.From the section Tennis
Wimbledon could be moved back a week in future to give players extra time to recover after the French Open.
Play at Wimbledon currently starts two weeks after the final at Roland Garros.
All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive Richard Lewis told BBC Radio 5 liveBreakfast: "We are seriously considering it.
"It's often been discussed and it would be ideal to have a longer break. It would be three weeks, ideally, between the French Open and Wimbledon."
He added: "We believe there are really, really good tennis reasons for having a longer break.
"We think that more time on the softer surface of grass is something that the players will definitely welcome.
"And they will welcome the rest and recuperation they can get between playing an intense tournament at Roland Garros and coming to Wimbledon. Three weeks gives them much better preparation time."
World number one and defending Wimbledon men's singles champion Novak Djokovic supports the plan.
Djokovic, beaten in the French Open final by Rafael Nadal a fortnight ago, said: "We need an extra week. It would work in the favour of players because it would give the top ones a little bit more time to get used to the surface.
"Logically speaking, it is the slowest surface that we're talking about, clay, moving to the fastest one, which takes time." | Sports Competition | June 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
In baseball's World Series, the Boston Red Sox defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth game, winning the series four games to one and claiming the team's ninth World Series title. Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce is named the Series' Most Valuable Player. | The Boston Red Sox lost their first game of the regular season. After that, nearly everything went their way.
They were the best team in baseball throughout the regular season and they completed a thrilling run through the postseason to capture the franchise’s ninth World Series title when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in a decisive Game 5 on Sunday.
A matchup of dominant left-handed starters — both of whom had often struggled in the postseason — looked like it would be decided by the bullpens when both teams put runs on the scoreboard in the first inning. But both David Price and Clayton Kershaw showed some of their best stuff when the lights were at their brightest, settling down into a pitchers’ duel at Dodger Stadium. | Sports Competition | October 2018 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
In Ecuador, former president Gustavo Noboa is placed under house arrest. | Police delivered a warrant to his house in the city of Guayaquil, telling him he was under investigation over his handling of foreign debt talks.
Mr Noboa said his lawyers would resist "this abuse" and that he would appeal to the Organization of American States.
Two other former leaders also facing charges have left the country.
Abdala Bucaram, also an ex-president, is in Panama and former Vice-President Alberto Dahik is in Costa Rica.
'No escape'
The Supreme Court had cleared all three of charges in March, paving the way for their return.
However, the allegations were reinstated in April after President Lucio Gutierrez - Mr Noboa's successor - was voted out of office by parliament for violating the constitution.
Mr Noboa is accused of mishandling debt negotiations worth billions of dollars while in office. He denies the charge.
"The eyes of Latin America are fixed on Ecuador," he told Ecuador's Channel 2 television by telephone from his home.
He was quoted by The Associated Press news agency as saying he had not ruled out seeking asylum again in the Dominican Republic, where he spent two years.
Ecuadorean Interior Minister Mauricio Gandara said he was determined to prosecute Mr Noboa.
"Dahik and Bucaram escaped the country," he said. "The same will not happen with Noboa, who should face justice for the accusations against him." | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | May 2005 | ['(CBS)', '[permanent dead link]', '(BBC)'] |
Hong Kong police forcibly disperse a peaceful demonstration outside the Government Headquarters building, carrying away people, including journalists, one by one. The demonstrators hoped the Government would send a representative to accept an open letter from the demonstrators. The Hong Kong Journalists Association condemns the police action for infringing freedom of press by removing journalists from the scene first. | The standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) will look at the territory's constitution, the Basic Law, and rule on Tuesday.
Scuffles broke out in Hong Kong after demonstrations against the meeting.
Pro-democracy campaigners say the move undermines the level of autonomy promised to Hong Kong.
Around 3,000 protesters gathered outside Hong Kong's legislature on Thursday night to demand greater democracy.
A few hundred tried to break into the grounds of government offices and there were scuffles at dawn as the police removed protesters.
Pro-democracy activists say that the Basic Law allows for the election of the territory's leader in 2007, but Beijing strongly opposes this.
"Beijing is abusing its power, using the grey area in the Basic Law, and taking away Hong Kong people's rights of universal suffrage," said one protester, Leung Kwok-hung of April Fifth Action Group. Beijing's position
The BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong, Chris Hogg, says that the Basic Law allows for changes to the electoral process after 2007 - if there is a need. Hong Kong's chief executive Tung Chee-hwa backs Beijing's stand
But the Basic Law does not specify who decides whether the need for any changes exists.
It is that issue which is being decided in Beijing over the next few days. Peter Wong, one of Hong Kong's delegates to the NPC, said the protests were an overreaction and unnecessary. "It has actually been brought forward by the... Chinese lawmakers that ultimately, Hong Kong should have universal suffrage, the question is when and how," he told the BBC's World Today programme, adding that the real issue was the electoral method.
Hong Kong's current Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, is supporting Beijing's position.
But the demonstrators argue that Mr Tung is undermining Hong Kong's autonomy - or a system that became known as "one-country-two-systems" when Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. "What is at stake now is 'one country, two systems'... is it really going to be 'one country, two systems', Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, or is
Beijing going to interfere with everything that Beijing worries about," said leading pro-democracy legislator Martin Lee.
Our correspondent says a degree of autonomy over its own affairs was guaranteed for Hong Kong under the Basic Law for fifty years. | Protest_Online Condemnation | April 2004 | ['(BBC)', '(CNN)', '(Hong Kong Standard)'] |
Eight migrants are dead, while 12 more are missing, after three unidentified smugglers hijacked their boat off the coast of Djibouti, according to eyewitnesses and the International Organization for Migration. The agency reports that the migrants had attempted to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen, but were forced to return to the Horn of Africa due to COVID19 pandemicrelated travel restrictions. | Eight migrants died and 12 were missing after smugglers forced them off a boat near Djibouti, a spokeswoman for the International Organisation of Migration told AFP Sunday.
The migrants were all believed to be Ethiopians returning to the Horn of Africa after failing to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen, due to Covid-19 border closures.
“At least 8 migrants have died and 12 are missing at sea after being forced off a boat by smugglers off the coast of Djibouti, Horn of Africa,” IOM spokeswoman Yvonne Ndege said.
“According to eyewitness survivors, assisted by IOM, three smugglers violently forced the young men and women off the vessel while still at sea.
“Smugglers are known to exploit migrants on this route in this way, many having to pay or their families having to pay large sums to facilitate travel.”
Ndege said there were 34 on board, and the boat was headed to the town of Obock, a major transit point in Djibouti for thousands of African migrants in the region trying to reach the Gulf.
At least 2,000 migrants have arrived in Djibouti from Yemen over the past three weeks, most trying to return home to Ethiopia, Somalia, and other nations in east Africa and the Horn, according to the IOM.
The United Nations agency has been providing emergency medical care, food, water, tents and counselling to the migrants.
“This tragedy is a wake up call. Hundreds of migrantsareleaving Yemeneveryday trying to reach Djibouti. Risking their lives, facing exploitation from people smugglers, and in this instance, very tragically, death and injury,” Ndege said.
In January 2019 at least 58 migrants mostly Ethiopians drowned after two vessels carrying them from Djibouti to Yemen sank. | Armed Conflict | October 2020 | ['(AFP via Macau Business)'] |
Jordanian King Abdullah appoints technocrat Nader al–Dahabi as the new Prime Minister. | Nader al-Dahabi, a Western-educated former transport minister and air force commander, has reportedly been given the task of boosting the economy. Mr Dahabi succeeds Maaruf al-Bakhit, who had been prime minister since 2005.
The elections on Tuesday strengthened the position of tribal leaders and other pro-government candidates.
The opposition Islamic Action Front won only six seats compared with the 17 it gained in the 2003 election, prompting its leaders to accuse the Jordanian authorities of widespread fraud.
The interior minister has denied any wrongdoing, saying the government had conducted "impartial and fair" elections.
Economic focus
King Abdullah officially designated Mr Dahabi to form a new cabinet on Thursday afternoon shortly after Mr Bakhit submitted his government's resignation, senior officials said.
"The new government will be announced Sunday and its members will be sworn in before the king," one official told the AFP news agency.
NADER AL-DAHABI
1946: Born in Amman
1964: Joins Jordanian air force
1982: Gains MSc in Aeronautical Engineering in UK
1991: Assistant Commander, Jordanian air force
1994: Chief Executive Officer of Royal Jordanian Airlines
2001: Minister of Transport
2004: Head of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority
2007: Jordanian prime minister
Mr Dahabi's appointment came after the king returned from a trilateral summit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
"His mandate after parliamentary elections is to focus on the economy, improving living standards and generating investments, and a better overall management the government," another official told the Reuters news agency.
Mr Dahabi, whose brother Mohammed is director of Jordan's general intelligence department, is currently the head of the Special Economic Zone Authority in the Red Sea port of Aqaba. After a 30-year career in the Jordanian air force, during which time became assistant commander, Mr Dahabi was named chief executive of Royal Jordanian Airlines in 1994.
The 61-year-old left the airline in 2001 to become transport minister, a post in which he served until 2003. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Metropolitan Police arrest 6 people in London in connection to an alleged potential threat to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom. | A sixth man has been arrested in London by police in relation to a potential threat to Pope Benedict XVI's visit. His arrest, at 1345 BST, came after five men were seized at 0545 BST after counter-terrorism officers received intelligence of a potential threat.
All six, who were street cleaners, have been taken to a London police station. The BBC's Danny Shaw said the arrests were carried out as a precaution. Police are searching a number of premises. At least five of the men were not British nationals.
The cleaners worked for Veolia Environment Services, a major contract cleaning company that works for Westminster Council. Armed officers arrested the first five men at the company's Chiltern Street depot, Paddington, as they were preparing to go on shift. In a statement from Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police said that the men had been arrested in a Terrorism Act 2000 operation, launched by officers from the force's Counter-Terrorism Command. All six men were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. They are 26, 27, 29, 36, 40 and 50 years old and most are understood to be Algerian. Police are continuing to search eight residential premises in north and east London and two business premises in central London. Officers have not found any hazardous items. In the statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "Today's arrests were made after police received information following initial inquiries by detectives. "Following today's arrests policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed and we are satisfied our current policing plan remains appropriate. The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level."
The current official threat level in the UK is "severe", which means that security chiefs believe a terror attack is "highly likely".
The BBC understands that the information acted on by the police was received by Scotland Yard and did not involve intelligence gathered by MI5, the domestic security service. Andrew Redhead, former national police firearms tactical adviser, told the BBC that "every allegation, every bit of information that comes to light will be vetted and taken seriously".
He added: "Obviously it would appear that the concerns are such [in this case] that persons have been arrested, and it is being taken seriously.
"Is this just a group of people speaking loudly and someone has overheard, or is it something more sinister? Obviously the police authorities and the specialists will have to work through that in due course."
Reacting to the first five arrests, Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope's press spokesman, said the Vatican was "totally confident" in Scotland Yard and the ability of its officers. The papal team had no direct information about the police operation, he said, adding that the Pope remained calm and had been welcomed warmly everywhere he had gone. "The police have already said that the information demonstrated that there is no need to change the programme," he said.
In a statement, Dr Leith Penny of Westminster City Council, said: "Veolia and Westminster City Council work closely with the relevant authorities to constantly ensure that all the people working on their behalf are subject to right to work checks as prescribed by the Home Office to assess their eligibility to work in the country.
"We are confident that these checks are robust and we will continue to work with the police and other authorities during this investigation."
The UK's top police officers from England and Scotland spent months planning the security arrangements for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK. Those plans included threat assessments, standard arrangements covering the safe transport of significant public figures and the potential need to control crowds during the visit's major events. In all, the policing bill for the visit is expected to top 1m. The BBC's Emily Buchanan, who was with the Pope at his visit to an assembly of children at a Catholic college in west London, described the security around the Pope as "extremely high... with no lapses". Policing Pope's visit to top 1m
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | September 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(RT)', '(The Guardian)'] |
Hong Kong Police Force clash with protesters at different malls across Hong Kong amid a visit by Chief Executive Carrie Lam to Beijing. Riot police use pepper spray to disperse crowds as a result. | HONG KONG (Reuters) - Small groups of protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong on Sunday amid brief scuffles with riot police as attention turned to an upcoming meeting between Hong Kong’s leader and China’s president.
Hong Kong protests flare up ahead of key meeting
01:35
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday and some observers say the visit could yield fresh directives including a possible cabinet reshuffle.
Lam, however, appeared to play that down before she left, saying the first task was to curb violence and restore order.
On Sunday in the peak shopping season ahead of Christmas, groups of masked protesters, clad in black, marched through several malls chanting slogans including “Fight for freedom” and “Return justice to us”.
Riot police used pepper spray on crowds in one Kowloon mall, local media reported.
In Shatin, Reuters witnessed police firing a tear gas canister outside the New Town Plaza mall, and several people were taken away after entrances and walkways were blocked, glass panels smashed, and graffiti sprayed.
Police said in a statement that some shops had been damaged and that a smoke bomb had been set off. Many shops closed early.
In the evening, several hundred protesters held a vigil for a protester who fell to his death outside a luxury mall exactly six months ago after holding up a banner. Some laid white flowers, as others softly hummed ‘Sing Hallelujah’ to commemorate Leung Ling-kit, known as “raincoat man” for what he wore at the time.
“He is the first person to die because of this revolution,” said Tina, 18. “I came tonight because I want to always remember that we can’t give up and we have to keep fighting for freedom.”
Several hundred people, many social workers, gathered earlier to reiterate demands that include full democracy and an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality. Some called for more mass strikes, while others sat at tables to write Christmas cards to those who have been jailed.
Separately, a pro-government rally drew over a thousand people, with participants denouncing the use of violence during protests.
Hong Kong has been embroiled in its worst political crisis in decades since June with anti-government protests posing a populist challenge to China’s Xi and complicating ties between China and the United States at a time of heightened tensions including over trade.
Demonstrators have railed against what they see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, gradually ramping up the use of violence over many months of unrest.
They also say they are responding to excessive use of force by police. Last Sunday, a protest march drew around 800,000 people, according to organizers, suggesting the movement still has significant public support.
The government is planning more public dialogue through social media channels, as well as a second town hall session with top officials to try to bridge differences.
Despite the febrile public mood, China maintains it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula granting Hong Kong autonomy and says it fully supports Lam.
| Riot | December 2019 | ['(Reuters)'] |
The new Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda is sworn into office with his Cabinet. | TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed Wednesday to tackle income inequality and keep improving ties with Asian neighbours as a poll showed his government enjoyed robust support.
Amid growing calls for snap elections, Fukuda was braced for a showdown with a resurgent opposition which wants to end a Japanese naval mission supporting US-led forces in Afghanistan.
Fukuda, a 71-year-old veteran moderate lawmaker, donned a formal black tailcoat Wednesday morning to visit the palace, where Emperor Akihito ceremonially inaugurated his cabinet.
A smiling Fukuda later told reporters that it was "a really busy day."
"When people say, 'Mr. Prime Minister,' I turn around, not used to being called prime minister," he said.
But he started to welcome news, with a Kyodo News poll showing 57.8 percent of voters supported his government, double the rate for his predecessor Shinzo Abe in the last poll before he resigned on September 12.
The opposition swept elections in July in a backlash over scandals in Abe's government and growing concern in rural areas that they are being hurt by free-market reforms.
"I will do my best to give a solid prescription to each of the various social divides that have emerged in the drive for structural reforms," Fukuda said in a statement approved by his first cabinet meeting.
He said the government would "change its mindset and carry out policies from the standpoint of consumers and ordinary people."
Fukuda, known for his dovish foreign policy, also pledged to work for better ties with Asian neighbours while maintaining the close alliance with the United States.
"I will push for an active Asian diplomacy with the aim of even greater achievements, as the stronger Japan-US alliance and the progress in Asian relations resonate together," he said.
Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Fukuda would pay visits to the US and China at an appropriate time. Jiji Press said Fukuda could head to the United States as soon as early November.
Fukuda, who has a dry personality but is known as an adept behind-the-scenes manager, admits he is under intense pressure to perform.
Fukuda kept 13 of the 19 ministers in Abe's last cabinet in place, opting for security to tide over tough times ahead.
"I would call this a cabinet that has its back to the wall," Fukuda told a news conference Tuesday evening. "If we do a single thing wrong, the Liberal Democratic Party may lose its control of the government."
The opposition ended a half-century of LDP control of the upper house of parliament in the July elections, as main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa criss-crossed Japan accusing Abe of ignoring bread-and-butter issues.
The opposition is now seeking snap elections for the more powerful lower house of parliament and has vowed to scuttle Fukuda's agenda including his bid to extend the Afghanistan mission.
Western nations have urged Japan to continue the mission, with US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer expressing hope Wednesday that the opposition would reconsider its stance and make the deployment a "bipartisan" issue.
Japanese media argued that a snap election would give a mandate to Fukuda, whose elevation through backroom politicking has raised criticism of a return to the old LDP.
The liberal Asahi Shimbun proposed dissolving the lower house for general elections in January after the government compiled a draft budget for next fiscal year from April 2008.
The Mainichi Shimbun said a divided parliament was like having two prime ministers.
"The decisive battle should be fought early in order to get rid of the disadvantages of having 'two governments in one country'," it said. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | September 2007 | ['(AFP)'] |
United States President Barack Obama hosts a two-day summit in Rancho Mirage, California with leaders of the ASEAN member states, including democratically-elected Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines and Joko Widodo of Indonesia as well as autocratic rulers such as Hun Sen of Cambodia and Najib Razak of Malaysia. , | PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon, everyone. It is my privilege to welcome you to this landmark gathering -- the first U.S.-ASEAN Summit hosted by the United States. This reflects my personal commitment, and the national commitment of the United States, to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations individually and to Southeast Asia as one region, as one community -- ASEAN.
I want to thank my co-chair, President Choummaly of Laos; Secretary General Minh; and leaders from all 10 ASEAN nations for being here.
As everyone knows, I first came to know the people and the beauty and the strength of Southeast Asia as a boy when I lived in Indonesia for several years with my mother. As President, I’ve had the opportunity to visit most of your countries. You and the people of ASEAN have always shown me extraordinary hospitality, and I hope we can reciprocate with the warmth today and tomorrow -- which is why I did not hold this summit in Washington. It is cold there. It’s snowing. So, welcome to beautiful, warm Sunnylands. (Laughter.)
As President, I’ve insisted that even as the United States confronts urgent threats around the world, our foreign policy also has to seize on new opportunities. And few regions present more opportunity to the 21st century than the Asia Pacific. That’s why, early in my presidency, I decided that the United States, as a Pacific nation, would rebalance our foreign policy and play a larger and long-term role in the Asia Pacific. And this has included engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN, which is central to the region’s peace and prosperity, and to our shared goal of building a regional order where all nations play by the same rules.
As part of our deeper engagement, I'm proud to be the first U.S. President to meet with leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries. This summit marks our seventh meeting. At your invitation, the United States joined the East Asia Summit, and together we’ve made it the region’s leading forum for addressing political and security challenges. I’ve made now seven visits to the ASEAN region -- more than any previous American President. At our last meeting in Kuala Lumpur, we forged a new Strategic Partnership. And our sustained engagement is delivering concrete results that benefit all of us -- momentum that we can build on here at this summit.
Together, we can continue to increase the trade and economic partnerships that create jobs and opportunity for our people. Since I took office, we’ve boosted trade between the United States and ASEAN by 55 percent. The region is now our fourth largest goods trading partner, including U.S. exports that support more than 500,000 American jobs. U.S companies have been the largest source of foreign investment in ASEAN -- one of the many reasons that the region’s GDP has surged in recent years, lifting people from poverty into the middle class.
I want to take this opportunity to again congratulate my fellow leaders on the formation of the ASEAN Community, which is another important step toward integrating your economies. Here at this summit, we can build on this progress and do more to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation so that growth and development is sustainable and inclusive and benefits all people.
Together, we can also continue to increase our security cooperation to meet shared challenges. In recent years, the United States has increased our maritime security assistance to our allies and partners in the region, improving our mutual capabilities to protect lawful commerce and to respond to humanitarian crisis. Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means.
Together, we can continue to support the aspirations and dignity of our citizens. The historic election in Myanmar and the transition now underway gives hope for a nation that is inclusive, united, peaceful and democratic. In joining the TPP, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have committed to high labor and environmental standards.
I’m very proud that our Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative is helping to empower young men and women who are shaping the region every day. As you know, I've held a number of town hall meetings with these remarkable young people. And their idealism, their courage, their willingness to work for the future that they believe in should all give us hope. As leaders, we have to answer their aspirations. And here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies, and upholding human rights.
Finally, together, we can continue to do more around the world to meet transnational challenges that no one nation can meet alone. As we were reminded again by the attack in Jakarta last month, the scourge of terrorism demands that we stay vigilant, share more information and work cooperatively to protect our people. Just as our nations worked together to achieve a strong climate change agreement in Paris, now we need to implement that agreement and step up investment in clean, affordable energy, including for developing countries.
So, economic growth that is inclusive, creating opportunity for all; mutual security and the peaceful resolution of disputes; human dignity, including respect for human rights and development that is sustainable -- that is our vision. That’s what brings us here together today.
I want to thank all of my fellow leaders for being here and for your commitment to a strong U.S.-ASEAN partnership. And given the extraordinary progress that we’ve achieved together these past seven years, I’m confident that we can continue our momentum at this summit. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | February 2016 | ['(Los Angeles Times)', '(White House)'] |
Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, incumbent Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta dies from cancer at the age of 75. Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas succees him as Lieutenant ad interim of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. | Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, an Italian aristocrat who steered the ancient Knights of Malta religious order after an institutional crisis with the Vatican as its prince and grand master, has died
ROME -- Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, an Italian aristocrat who steered the ancient Knights of Malta religious order after an institutional crisis with the Vatican, has died. He was 75.
The order said Dalla Torre died early Wednesday after being diagnosed several months ago with an incurable disease. It was not related to the new coronavirus pandemic.
Dalla Torre was elected prince and grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 2018, taking over after a fraught year that saw the previous grand master challenge Pope Francis in an ideological face-off that he eventually lost.
Dalla Torre knew the Vatican well and quickly managed to mend ties. He was the grandson of the former editor of the Holy See's newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and the brother of the then-president of the Vatican's criminal tribunal.
He had spent his career serving in the Knights’ Italian branches and doing charity work, while working at one of Rome’s pontifical universities.
In a note of condolences Friday, Francis called him a man of “zealous culture and faith” who was dedicated to the “good of the church as well as those who suffer most.”
The Knights of Malta is an ancient lay Catholic religious order that runs hospitals and clinics around the world. It counts 3,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers who lend first aid in war zones, natural disasters and conflict areas; members also make regular pilgrimages bringing the sick to Catholic shrines.
The Knights trace their history to the 11th-century Crusades and are known for the aristocratic lineage of their members, their fancy, fringed uniforms, and the big Maltese cross that adorns their liturgical robes. Despite their name, they are based in Rome, where their headquarters has the same status as a foreign embassy. | Famous Person - Death | April 2020 | ['(ABC News)'] |
An avalanche near the Austrian Lech am Arlberg ski resort kills three skiers and leaves a fourth missing. | Three men have been killed in an avalanche near the Austrian ski resort of Lech am Arlberg, local police say. The search for a fourth person, declared as missing, had to be halted due to the ongoing avalanche risk. The group came from southern Germany and were reported missing by one of their wives on Saturday night.
In France, two employees at the Morillon ski resort died when the avalanche-control charges they were trying to set accidentally went off. The accident took place at an altitude of 1,800m (6,000ft) as the two men were preparing the pistes ahead of their opening with an avalanche prevention programme, mountain rescuers said.
Weather forecasters had warned of a high risk of avalanches in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions following fresh overnight snowfall.
The three dead German men, aged 32, 36 and 57, were found at about 23:00 (22:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Police in the western province of Vorarlberg said they were located through mobile phone tracking, near the Langer Zug slope - one of the steepest in the world.
It had been closed due to dangerous conditions.
The men were wearing touring skis, which are used to climb uphill slopes and ski off-piste. The three victims bring the number of weather-related deaths in parts of Europe this month to at least 24, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Austria has seen record snowfall, with more forecast for the weekend. Soldiers, firefighters, and volunteers have been battling to clear cut-off roads and rooftops during breaks in the weather. On Friday, troops airlifted 66 German students and teachers to safety, after they became stranded at the Kasberg ski station in Grünau.
The same day, the Red Cross helped drivers stuck on a motorway in the south German state of Bavaria, and a nine-year-old boy was killed near Munich when a tree collapsed under the weight of snow.
Some have seen 3 times their normal January snowfall already, but after a bit of a respite in Austria and southern Germany, there's more heavy #snow to come - especially through tonight and into tomorrow. Matt pic.twitter.com/eTfQeEhv8X
In Switzerland, an avalanche hit the restaurant of the Hotel Säntis in Schwägalp, injuring three people. Local reports said the avalanche had been 300m (984ft) wide when it came down the nearby mountain pass.
A Nasa graphic tweeted by BBC Weather showed how the geography of Europe has shaped the snow's progress.
"Little to no snow has fallen on the Italian side of the Alps," meteorologist Matt Taylor noted. "The sheer scale of the Alps has blocked the snow-bearing clouds making it over."
Too much #snow on the northern side of the #Alps recently, but check out this NASA satellite image from yesterday. Little to no snow has fallen on the Italian side of the Alps. The sheer scale of the Alps have blocked the snow-bearing clouds making it over. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | January 2019 | ['(NBC News)', '(BBC)'] |
Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect of the attack, pleads not guilty to all charges of murder and terrorism. | The man accused of killing eight people by speeding a rental truck down a New York City bike path in October pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and other criminal charges. Sayfullo Saipov, 29, entered his plea before US district judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan. A court-appointed lawyer representing him, David Patton, declined to comment on the case after the hearing.
Saipov was arrested immediately after the 31 October attack in which he plowed a truck down a bike lane on Manhattan’s west side. He was hospitalized after he was shot by a police officer and arrested.
On 21 November, Saipov was charged in an indictment with eight counts of murder, 12 counts of attempted murder, one count of providing material support to Islamic State and one count of violence and destruction of a motor vehicle resulting in death.
The most serious charges against Saipov carry the death penalty, though it is not yet clear whether prosecutors will seek it. Following the attack, Saipov told investigators he was inspired by watching Islamic State videos and began planning the attack a year earlier, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors the day after the attack.
Uzbekistan-born Saipov also said “he felt good about what he had done” and asked for permission to display the flag of the militant group Islamic State in his hospital room, the complaint said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the truck attack, which was the deadliest assault on New York City since 9/11.
Five of the victims were Argentinians who were part of a group in New York to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation. A Belgian woman, a New Yorker and a New Jersey man were also killed. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | November 2017 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
U.S. district judge Richard Seeborg halts the Trump administration’s policy of sending some asylum seekers to Mexico while their cases are pending in the United States. The national injunction will take effect Friday. | (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday halted the Trump administration’s policy of sending some asylum seekers back across the southern border to wait out their cases in Mexico, stopping a program the government planned to expand to stem a recent flood of migrants.
Judge halts policy keeping asylum-seekers in Mexico
01:30
The ruling is slated to take effect on Friday, according to the order by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco. The preliminary injunction will apply nationwide.
In a late night tweet, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “A 9th Circuit Judge just ruled that Mexico is too dangerous for migrants. So unfair to the U.S. OUT OF CONTROL!”
The program was launched in January and was one of many policies aimed at slowing rising numbers of immigrants arriving at the border, many of them families from Central America, that swelled last month to the highest in a decade.
Because of limits on how long children are legally allowed to be held in detention, many of the families are released to await U.S. immigration court hearings, a process that can take years because of ballooning backlogs.
The Trump administration said last week it planned to expand the program of sending some migrants to wait out their U.S. court dates in Mexican border cities under a policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP.
The government argued MPP was needed because so many asylum seekers spend years living in the United States and never appear for their court hearings before their claim is denied and an immigration judge orders them to be deported.
Seeborg said the Immigration and Nationalization Act, however, does not authorize the government to return asylum seekers to Mexico the way the government has applied it.
He also said the policy lacks safeguards to protect refugees from threats to their life or freedom.
Justice Department data show that while the percentage of immigration court cases completed “in absentia” - when the foreign citizen fails to show - has risen in recent years, the majority of immigrants show up for their hearings.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment on Monday’s ruling. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Mexican foreign ministry considers the ruling “an internal decision” of the United States, a spokesman said.
Seeborg said the government shall permit the 11 plaintiffs in the case to enter the United States beginning on Sunday. He said the government still retained the right to detain the asylum-seekers pending the outcome of their case.
The ruling can be appealed, and the government could seek a stay of the injunction until the appeals process runs its course.
Still, lawyers for migrants were gratified by the decision.
“This is a great ruling,” said Judy Rabinovitz, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which was one of the groups that brought the case.
“This is what they were planning on implementing on a large scale. That would have been a complete game changer in the way our asylum system works,” she said.
Rabinovitz said the groups that brought the lawsuit needed to discuss what could be done for the hundreds of refugees who are awaiting their cases in Mexico.
She said as their cases are heard, they will be returned to the United States, but that could take months.
The plaintiffs include legal service organizations and migrants who fled Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to escape what they said was extreme violence, rape and death threats.
Gabriela Orellana, 26, an asylum seeker from El Salvador who was scheduled to have her first hearing on Tuesday, was delighted by news of the judge’s ruling.
“I’m crying from happiness,” she told Reuters. She is not one of the plaintiffs in the case.
Orellana said she fled El Salvador with her 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son after she was shot by a gang member. She has been in Tijuana since January and has waited nearly two months for her first interview with U.S. immigration authorities.
Others in Tijuana were more cautious.
“Will I be allowed to go or do I have to stay?” asked Veronica Galdamez, who said she fled San Salvador in 2018 after gang members stole her food cart and, pointing a gun at her, told her she had 24 hours to get out of the city.
“I feel real happiness, but also uncertainty, because I don’t know if this applies to me,” Galdamez said.
MPP was based on a decades-old law that says migrants who enter from a contiguous country can be returned there to wait out their deportation case, although the provision had never been used in the way the administration has applied it.
Civil rights groups sued, arguing the policy violated U.S. and international law by returning refugees to dangerous border towns where they would be unable to get legal counsel or notices of hearings.
Kirstjen Nielsen resigned as Secretary of Homeland Security, the department that oversees immigration, on Sunday.
A congressional official familiar with the matter said some in Congress believe Trump forced out Nielsen in part because she was trying to obey laws on treatment of refugees, granting of amnesty and separation of families.
(This story corrects spelling of last name of migrant in paragraphs 25-26 to Galdamez, not Galdames)
| Government Policy Changes | April 2019 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a French-sponsored international conference to continue peace negotiations that have stalled since 2014 in settling the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, saying that direct talks were the only way to resolve the decades-long conflict. France wants to immediately recognize a Palestinian state without discussion over its borders or security issues. | Jerusalem on Thursday poured cold water on a French plan to push forward peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, beginning with an international conference on the issue next month, saying that direct talks were the only way to resolve the decades-long conflict.
“Israel adheres to the position that the best way to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is direct and bilateral negotiations,” said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent rejection of the French plan.
“Israel is ready to start this immediately, without preconditions. Any other political initiatives distance the Palestinians from direct negotiations,” the statement concluded.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu openly expressed interest in meeting with each other in recent weeks, but neither side has made a public move to jump-start negotiations.
France last week announced that it will host a meeting of ministers from 20 countries on May 30 in an effort to relaunch the peace process. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told the international press, however, that Israel and the Palestinian officials would not be invited to the meeting, which will take place in Paris. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | April 2016 | ['(The Guardian)', '(The Times of Israel)'] |
The Lansing, Michigan, Catholic Diocese's insurance company files a civil suit against Rev. Jonathan Wehrle, former pastor of St. Martha's Catholic Church in Okemos, a Lansing suburb, for the embezzlement of more than $5 million from his parish. Wehrle already faces six criminal counts for using embezzled funds to pay for home construction (appraised for much more than a $1 million), maintenance, and purchases. , , | MASON -A priest accused of embezzling more than $5 million from his Okemos parish is now the subject of a civil lawsuit lodged by the insurance company for the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.
The insurance provider claims to have paid out roughly $2.5 million to the diocese so far to cover its losses.
To protect the assets that will cover those losses, the agency convinced a judge Wednesday to place the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle’s sprawling estate into receivership.
“While this suit is pending, nobody wants to see the property go to waste or be damaged before the property can be forfeited,” said Randy Marmor, lawyer forThe Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Corporation.
Wehrle, the founding pastor of St. Martha Parish in Okemos, was charged in May with embezzling millions from his parish to pay for home construction, maintenance and purchases.
In November, he was bound over to circuit court on six counts of embezzlement of $100,000 or more. His lawyer has argued Wehrle had family money and an agreement with a bishop who passed away regarding use of church money for a rectory.
The priest's roughly 11,000-square-foot home in Williamston was appraised at $1.28 million in 2012, when construction was only half-finished, according to court records.
In its 10-page complaint filed in mid-March, Princeton puts the most recent tally of embezzled funds at $5.3 million and provides a detailed listing of the bills, items and services Wehrle allegedly paid for with parish money. Among the expenses are:
A November receipt indicates Princeton had paid the diocese at least $850,000 by the end of 2017, but Marmor said the total now is closer to $2.5 million.
Princeton filed its lawsuit March 15 after learning that Wehrle wasn’t paying taxes on his home at 1400 Noble Road and that his homeowner’s insurance had lapsed, Marmor said.
With many of Wehrle’s bank accounts and annuities seized by state police, the agency also thought itunlikely Wehrle wouldbe able to manage maintenance of the property, Marmor said.
According to the lawsuit, Farm Bureau Insurance notified Wehrle in January that it would not renew his homeowner's insurance because he was a “poor moral risk” and “financially irresponsible.”
“The term ‘moral’ means not just the presence of virtue, but also poor financial condition that could be motivation for a loss,” a Feb. 5 email from Farm Bureau Insurance to Wehrle read.
Wehrle’s lawyer Lawrence Nolan objected to the appointment of a receiver, but suggested three possibilities if the judge ruled a receivernecessary. One of those suggestions was appointing the lawyer who manages the Jonathan W. Wehrle Trust.
Instead, Judge William Collette appointed Byron P. Gallagher receiver for the propertyat a hearing Wednesday.
“In this case, the receiver is simply asked to take possession and control to ensure the property is properly maintained, the taxes are paid, the insurance is purchased,” Marmor said.
“If Fr. Wehrle prevails it’s still his property and he’s benefiting from that as much as anybody. If Princeton prevails then the property is preserved and can be used to offset the loss.”
Marmor said Princeton is fronting the money for the receiver and any tax, insurance or maintenance expenses.
Diocesan spokesman Michael Diebold said he could not comment on details of the civil lawsuit.
"But I can assure you that any money that is recovered will be going to the parish," Diebold said. "The allegation is that these are parish assets.”
Marmor said Wehrle is able to live in the home while it's under receivership until or unless a judge orders otherwise.
Princeton’s suit was filed a couple weeks after the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office filed a similar motion in Ingham County District Court, acting on the same concerns regarding the property’s unpaid taxes and lapsed insurance.
Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Stevenssaid the state would withdraw its request in light of Collette’s ruling.
State police have already seized more than $1 million in U.S. currency from Wehrle, and prosecutors in July filed notice that the 1400 Noble Road home could be forfeited pending the outcome of Wehrle'strial.
Court records indicate Wehrle is scheduled to go to trial in April, but Stevens said the trial likely won’t take place until summer. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | March 2018 | ['(Lansing State Journal)', '(AP via ABC News)', '(Lansing State Journal)'] |
United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer is taken to hospital by ambulance after he breaks his shoulder in a fall from his bicycle. | Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer underwent shoulder-replacement surgery Saturday morning after taking a spill on his bicycle the previous afternoon near the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said in a statement that the 74-year-old justice is “resting comfortably” after undergoing shoulder replacement surgery for a proximal humerus fracture, a common break in the shoulder joint. Breyer was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after his fall, Arberg said.
Arberg said the surgery on his right shoulder was “successful,” and Breyer is expected to be released from MedStar Georgetown University Hospital early in the week.
It was the third biking accident for the justice, who two years ago broke his right collarbone after a fall near his home in Cambridge, Mass. He suffered more serious injuries in 1993 when he was hit by a car while biking across Harvard Square.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in. | Famous Person - Sick | April 2013 | ['(The Washington Post)'] |
The United States Senate, in a 56–43 vote, confirms Rex Tillerson's nomination as United States Secretary of State. | Amid a tense and dramatic confirmation process for President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, the Senate has confirmed former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be the US Secretary of State. Mr Tillerson, 64, won approval in a remarkably close vote, 56 to 43, the most contentious vote for the top diplomat in modern US history. Two of the more controversial Secretary of State picks in the past few decades, Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice, made it through confirmation with significantly wider margins than Mr Tillerson – 78 to 7 for former; 85 to 13 for the latter. The 69th Secretary of State, Mr Tillerson is now charged with promoting President Donald Trump's so-called "America First" policy across the globe, as international leaders express concern worry the President's clamorous approach to foreign policy-via-Twitter.
"Tillerson faces the most difficult task of any Secretary of State in the postwar era in trying to reconcile President Trump’s intention to make a radical break from decades of bipartisan consensus US foreign policy leadership," Ryan C Crocker, a former US ambassador, told the New York Times, "with the reality that, if he succeeds, such a break could lead to global chaos."
His confirmation also comes as roughly 1,000 career diplomats expressed their disapproval of Mr Trump's executive order to temporarily halt travel from seven majority-Muslim countries on the unsubstantiated belief that it will keep the country safe from terrorism. ',
But the White House made clear, in response to the dissent memo, that State Department employees who fail to agree with the Trump administration are free to leave their posts. "Obviously we’re aware of the [dissent memo], but I think that any government official who doesn’t understand the President’s goals in this and exactly what it was," Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters, "they should either get with the programme or they can go."
Still, Tillerson does not quell concerns over national security, especially as it relations to the Trump administration's relationship with Russia. In the final days of the Obama administration, intelligence officials published a report that concluded the Kremlin backed a campaign to hack the Democratic National Committee to release information that would sway the US election in Mr Trump's favour. While the President has conceded that Russia was the likely culprit behind the cyber attack, he has insisted on fostering a good relationship with President Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Mr Trump has said he was open to lifting sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 for their illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula – which could directly benefit ExxonMobil, as Mr Tillerson brokered $500bn (£409bn) energy partnership with the country. As a result, he was awarded the Order of Friendship from the Russian president, the highest honour a foreign national can receive in the country. But ExxonMobil had to cease operations in the region in 2014 because of the sanctions – which Mr Tillerson opposed at the time. The head of the oil giant’s Russian operations, Glenn Waller, said the company would return to the project once sanctions had been lifted.
Mr Tillerson said there should have been a military response to Russia in 2014, and their aggression toward the Ukraine resulted from an "absence of American leadership".
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | February 2017 | ['(The Independent)'] |
Fighting shifts from Tahrir Square to Cairo's side streets. | Don't miss an exclusive interview with Mohamed ElBaradei on Friday night on "Parker Spitzer" at 8 ET. And later, Anderson Cooper reports live from Cairo with the latest on the violent clashes between protesters and Mubarak supporters in Egypt. Watch "AC360" at 10 ET on CNN. Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- What a difference a few city blocks can make. Crowds of thousands upon thousands of Egyptians demonstrated peacefully Friday, filling most of Cairo's sprawling and once besieged Tahrir Square. They played music on loud speakers, danced and chanted "down with the dictator" in a rally dubbed "Day of Departure." But down the side streets leading east from Tahrir Square, just a few hundred meters away, fierce clashes raged between gangs of pro- and anti-regime youths.
After hours of skirmishes, the rebels had advanced east, erecting barricades and checkpoints around the imposing 19th century stone buildings that line the roundabout in Talaat Harb Square. By 7 p.m., the opposition activists had also seized streets running several blocks deeper into the city from Talaat Harb.
Several ambulances stood parked in Talaat Harb, their blue lights flashing as medics treated wounded men inside.
A 20-minute walk down the streets of newly captured opposition territory showed streets littered with rocks and paving stones, which have been the primary weapons used during three days of urban fighting.
Young men raced back from the clash points, carrying wounded comrades who howled in pain.
They carried one young man dressed in a preppy button-down shirt and sweater into a makeshift first aid station in a storefront at one of the entrances to Tahrir Square.
"A group of 50 of them surrounded me and beat me," the man yelled. He bit down furiously on a notebook and sweated profusely as medics took off his shoe, revealing what appeared to be a badly broken foot. Moments later, bystanders applauded when the man waved a victory sign as he was carried away.
An Egyptian army soldier stood in the corner of the room, keeping a close eye on a bruised and bloodied shoeless man who sat in a corner. He was a prisoner who appeared to have been severely beaten after being captured by demonstrators. When the soldier motioned for the man to follow him out of the first aid station, the captive cried and begged not to be led out into Tahrir Square.
Throughout the day, several captives have been similarly escorted by Egyptian troops deployed in Tahrir Square to a military-controlled alley behind Cairo's Egyptian Museum. The soldiers protected these prisoners from angry protesters, who cursed and tried to beat them as they were led through the square.
At one point, activists sounded the alarm, calling for 10 volunteers to rush to the front lines past Talaat Harb Square. Young men began beating metal poles against metal barricades and whistling as teenagers wearing helmets made from cardboard boxes and carrying stones raced toward the latest street battle. | Armed Conflict | February 2011 | ['(CNN)'] |
The United States government arrests ten people, including former Laotian Army general Vang Pao, on charges of organizing a plot to overthrow the Laotian government. | (CNN) -- Ten people, including a former general in the Laotian army, were arrested and charged in the United States with an alleged plot to overthrow the Laotian government.
More than 200 federal and local enforcement agents were involved in the raid, which involved six Californian cities, early Monday. Prosecutors described the alleged plan as "audacious" and said it was aimed at obtaining guns, missiles, rockets and explosives. The suspects include Vang Pao, 77, who emigrated to the United States in 1975 after serving as a general in Laos, and Harrison Jack, 60, a West-Point educated former U.S. military officer, according to the prosecutor's office.
If convicted, the 10 suspects face possible life prison sentences.
"The United States cannot provide a safe harbor to those plotting to overthrow a government with whom we are at peace," said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in a statement. "These defendants flagrantly violated numerous federal laws, including the Neutrality Act, in planning to topple the government of Laos."
Most of the alleged conspirators were Hmong, an ethnic minority group in Laos that helped U.S. operatives fight communist insurgents during the Vietnam War. Vang led CIA-backed Hmong forces as a general in the Royal Army of Laos, while Jack was involved in covert operations during the Vietnam War, according to The Associated Press.
After Laos fell to the communists in 1975, Hmong people began emigrating to the United States, and more than 500,000 now live in the country, according to the State Department.
The six cities where the arrest and search warrants were executed were: Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno, Chico, Stockton and Woodland. One suspect, Lo Cha Thao, discussed an operation to send special operations mercenaries into the Laotian capital, Vientiane, to blow up government buildings, according to prosecutors.
The work of an undercover agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms foiled the plot, leading suspects to believe he could supply them with the weapons they wanted, prosecutors said. Those included the powerful C-4 explosive, AK-47 automatic rifles and missiles, rockets and mines.
Laos, like neighboring Vietnam, remains a communist country, but the government has liberalized the economy in recent years, allowing more private enterprise. The United States normalized trade relations with Laos in 2005. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | June 2007 | ['(CNN)'] |
Tesla Motors announces the recall of 50,000 Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X cars for a "brake issue". | (Reuters) - Tesla Inc TSLA.O said on Thursday it would recall 53,000 of its Model S and Model X cars globally to fix a parking brake issue.
Shares of the U.S. luxury electric car maker were down nearly 1 percent at $302.77 in afternoon trading, following its biggest ever recall. (bit.ly/2ovjTzb)
Tesla’s total production for 2016 was 83,922 vehicles and included both Model S and Model X.
“The electric parking brakes installed on Model S and Model X vehicles built between February and October 2016 may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier,” Tesla said in a statement on its website.
The car maker said there had been no accidents or injuries due to the issue.
Tesla said less than 5 percent of the vehicles being recalled may be affected and it would take less than 45 minutes to replace the brakes.
The company also said it would send an official recall notice to its customers.
Tesla, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, had said last year it would recall 2,700 Model X sport utility vehicles in the United States due to a faulty locking hinge in third-row seats.
The company said on Thursday it was working with Italian supplier Freni Brembo SpA BRBI.MI to get the replacement parts.
Brembo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
| Financial Crisis | April 2017 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Fabiano Silveira, Minister for Transparency, Supervision and Control, resigns after leaked recordings suggested he tried to derail the Petrobras corruption investigation. This anti-corruption ministry was created on May 12, 2016, when Vice President Michel Temer was sworn in as acting president. The same tapes led to the resignation of Planning Minister Romero Jucá last week. | The anti-corruption minister in Brazil's interim government has resigned after a recording suggested he tried to derail a corruption probe into state oil company Petrobras.
Fabiano Silveira is the second interim minister to step down, a week after Planning Minister Romero Juca resigned over a similar leaked recording.
Mr Silveira says his remarks were taken out of context.
Both ministers were appointed by interim President Michel Temer.
Mr Temer replaced President Dilma Rousseff on 12 May after she was suspended pending an impeachment trial.
Ms Rousseff is accused of illegally manipulating the budget ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies.
She alleges that the impeachment trial was launched to remove her from power and thereby halt the investigation into corruption at Petrobras.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Car Wash, has led to dozens of politicians and business executives coming under scrutiny for allegedly paying and receiving kickbacks and bribes. Leaked recordings made by former Senator Sergio Machado appear to back Ms Rousseff's allegation.
Mr Machado, who used to run a Petrobras-owned logistics company, recorded the conversations as part of a plea deal with Operation Car Wash prosecutors.
In the latest recording to be broadcast on TV, Mr Silveira can be heard criticising the prosecutors saying they were "totally lost".
He also seems to advise Senate Speaker Renan Calheiros and Mr Machado on how best to defend themselves from Operation Car Wash.
The recording was made three months before Mr Silveira became anti-corruption minister. Mr Silveira argues that his remarks were taken out of context: "Those were generic comments and simple opinion, certainly amplified by the climate of political exasperation we have all witnessed."
He also said that he was not trying to obstruct the investigation.
"There is no opposition, in my words, to the works of the public prosecutor's office or the judiciary," he said.
Prior to his resignation, staff at the ministry symbolically cleaned the building with brooms, and dozens of civil servants in the ministry's local offices offered their resignations in protest. Last week, interim Planning Minister Romero Juca resigned after another recorded conversation with Mr Machado was leaked.
Mr Juca appeared to talk of stopping Operation Car Wash by impeaching Ms Rousseff.
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | May 2016 | ['(BBC)', '(Reuters)'] |
South Korea begins a huge anti–submarine exercise in the Yellow Sea, near the disputed maritime border, in what it sees as a show of strength against North Korea and "to be fully prepared for combat"; North Korea disapproves of the exercise. | South Korea has launched its biggest-ever anti-submarine exercises, the military says, despite warnings of retaliation from the North.
Some 4,500 personnel are taking part in five days of drills in the Yellow Sea, near the disputed maritime border. The South is making a show of strength amid continuing anger over the sinking of one of its warships in March.
Seoul says a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, but Pyongyang denies this and says the drills are a provocation.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed when the Cheonan went down in the Yellow Sea on 26 March. The latest drills, which follow a joint US-South Korean military exercise, will involve 29 ships and 50 planes.
Although the Ministry of Defence says the ships will stay clear of the disputed west coast sea boundary, marines stationed on islands close to the border will conduct live-fire exercises.
But military officials said that the guns would face south and described the exercises as "defensive" in nature. "The focus of the exercises is to strengthen our response to the enemy's asymmetric provocations and also our joint operations capabilities," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Yonhap news agency.
"We will not tolerate any kind of provocations by the enemy, and the drills will allow us to be fully prepared for combat."
In North Korea's official media, a statement attributed to military leaders called the exercises a "direct military invasion aimed at infringing upon the DPRK's [North Korea's] right to self-defence". Military leaders "made a decisive resolution to counter the reckless naval firing projected by the group of traitors with strong physical retaliation", the statement said.
Last month, the North threatened nuclear retaliation over joint US-South Korea naval exercises, but these passed without incident. The disputed Yellow Sea border has long been seen as a flashpoint and there have been a number of clashes there in the past. The boundary was drawn by the UN at the end of the Korean War in the 1950s - and North Korea does not recognise it. The US and South Korea plan to hold more military drills in the coming months - a move that could raise tensions with China. Beijing has refused to blame Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan. It opposed the decision to hold exercises in the Yellow Sea, urging against any action that could exacerbate regional tensions, and has also held its own military exercises in recent days. | Military Exercise | August 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(The Jakarta Post)', '(Reuters)', '(The Sydney Morning Herald)', '(The Times of India)'] |
The Montecito Tea Fire in California burns 2,500 acres and damages more than 100 homes and the campus of Westmont College. | As a wildfire that devastated the wealthy enclave of Montecito settled down late Friday, a second blaze erupted in Sylmar amid heavy winds and destroyed at least three structures and scorched 100 acres, authorities said.
The Montecito blaze destroyed 111 residences and damaged nine near Santa Barbara before flame-stoking winds died down and the fire stabilized. However, authorities cautioned that the totals could go higher; 1,500 homes were still threatened, and the fire was not contained. Flames had consumed 1,800 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Meanwhile, in Sylmar, heavy Santa Ana winds stoked a fire in the hills above Veterans Memorial Park that began around 10:30 p.m., officials said. Winds quickly pushed the fire toward a line of nearby homes, burning at least three structures by midnight and threatening many more, authorities said.
The Los Angeles City Fire Department -- which had sent strike teams to fight the fire in Montecito on Thursday night -- sent 100 firefighters to the Sylmar blaze. Additional crews from Angeles National Forest joined them.
It promised to be a difficult battle, as Santa Ana winds up to 70 mph are forecast through today, with a red-flag warning in effect for canyons and valleys in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Further north, the Montecito fire was smaller than many of the wildfires that have ravaged Southern California in recent years, but its speed and ferocity exacted a huge toll in property damage and left residents stunned. After breaking out at 6 p.m. Thursday, the fire raced unchecked through the populated slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains, exacerbated by 70 mph winds, combustible brush and narrow roads that became clogged with incoming fire crews and outgoing evacuees.
“This thing came on so fast, you just couldn’t believe it,” actor and homeowner Rob Lowe said Friday. “Embers were raining down, they were in our hair, they were in our shirts. . . . It was absolutely Armageddon.”
Another resident said he was awed by the fire’s destructive force.
“We watched probably about $60 million” worth of houses “just burning out on Mountain Valley, a real posh area,” said Paul Morison, who defended and saved his own home in the Riviera area of Montecito. “This morning they’re gone. . . . The big house we used to look at, probably over 10,000 square feet, there’s nothing.”
Morison estimated that 50 houses had burned around his. He and two friends had defied the flames with garden hoses until 3:30 a.m. Friday.
Among the celebrities with homes in the area are Lowe, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Douglas. Lowe and Winfrey, talking by phone on Winfrey’s television show Friday, said their homes escaped damage. An estate owned by actor Christopher Lloyd and valued last year at $11.3 million sustained major damage, however. Lloyd was filming in Vancouver, but his caretaker “fled for his life,” said Lisa Loiacono of Sotheby’s International Realty.
A 98-year-old man who was evacuated to a hotel died, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown. He said the man had multiple medical problems and his death was being treated as “potentially a fatality related to the fire.”
Seven people suffered burns, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief John Scherrei said. Two were taken to a burn center in Sherman Oaks, and five had lesser injuries, he said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County.
The wind tapered to near calm Friday, providing firefighters with conditions that were much better than forecast. Predictions called for warm, dry weather but relatively mild winds in the Santa Barbara area this weekend. About 5,500 people remained displaced, according to Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal, and firefighters were taking no chances.
“It’s still very unstable, and we’re not by any means ready for people to get back into their homes,” said Santa Barbara Deputy Police Chief Richard Glaus.
As is often the case with Southern California wildfires, the wind caused the fire to hopscotch in places, sparing some homes while igniting others. Some homeowners enhanced their luck through foresight or sheer grit.
When Maurizio Barattucci pulled up Friday morning to the Santa Barbara home he had evacuated the night before, he saw the following scene: To the left, six houses burned to the ground. To the right, four more. In all, 15 homes in his immediate neighborhood were destroyed.
In front of him, still standing, was his house, covered in ash. Water was running everywhere. Barattucci, 69, and his wife Rochelle Barattucci, 70, had left their old-fashioned yard sprinkler running when they evacuated Thursday evening. The pipes had melted during the fire, but the sprinkler had done its job. The sprinkler system had come with the 1924 house on Camino Alto, and it had saved them once before, in the Coyote fire of 1977.
“We were actually the only ones on the street that survived that fire, and it just happened again,” Barattucci said.
Alvaro Suman was among the less fortunate. The working artist evacuated the studio where he paints and sculpts and where he had kept his best work. On Friday, he learned that it was destroyed.
“All my art, my clay work, my paintings -- all gone,” said Suman, 56, who has exhibited widely in the U.S. and Mexico.
On a hilltop above Rattlesnake Canyon, a popular hiking area, fire engulfed a Benedictine monastery, Mount Calvary.
On the opposite side of the canyon, fire raced up a slope to the edge of another hilltop religious retreat, St. Mary’s, a ministry of the Sisters of the Holy Nativity. The flames reached 20 feet above the church rooftop. But apart from cracked windows, firefighters managed to protect the sanctuary and surrounding buildings.
The blaze destroyed numerous multimillion-dollar houses but also took a toll on more modest neighborhoods.
Retired actor Richardson Morse walked slowly along a gravel road with arms folded in disbelief at the toll taken in Santa Barbara’s storied Hydeville, a mountain community north of downtown Santa Barbara that locals call a funky hippie village, once known for communal nude wine grape stomps.
It is where some people say hot tubs came into vogue. It was all part of the early 1960s lifestyle that continued in an island of add-on homes that somehow escaped the mansionization of the rest of the upscale seaside city.
In the yards of some homes were shards of the artistic handmade pottery made by local artists.
The fire broke out in the Cold Springs area, near an abandoned hilltop shelter. The Tea House, built early in the 20th century and once surrounded by elaborate waterworks, had long since fallen into disrepair, according to former Montecito Fire Chief Ron McClain.
The cause of the blaze remained undetermined.
Sahagun, Chawkins and Landsberg are Times staff writers.
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
steve.chawkins@latimes.com
mitchell.landsberg
@latimes.com
Times staff writers Ari Bloomekatz, Jia-Rui Chong, Kenneth R. Weiss, Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Catherine Saillant contributed to this report. | Fire | November 2008 | ['(Los Angeles Times)'] |
North American Free Trade Agreement: The United States Supreme Court opens US roads to trucks from Mexico, enforcing a key component of the NAFTA agreement over the protests of some environmentalists and Teamsters. | The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Bush administration can open U.S. roads to Mexican trucks as soon as it wants, overruling a lower court judgment that the government must first study the environmental effects.
The high court decision clears the way for the administration to take the final procedural steps needed to allow Mexican rigs to carry freight deep inside the United States. Labor and environmental activists who have fought to block the trucks from American highways said Congress might still erect more obstacles. But the administration praised the ruling as eliminating one of the last hurdles before the border is opened much more widely than it is now, in accord with the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"I welcome the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said in a statement, adding that once final safety procedures are in place, "our two nations will be able to finally follow through on an important international obligation in a way that maintains the Bush administration's strong commitment to safety."
The groups that lost the case contended that the court's decision would lead to increased pollution and road congestion, especially in states along the U.S.-Mexican border, where most of the Mexican truck traffic is expected to go. "This ruling gives a green light to allow trucks to cross the border with no regard for their effect on the environment," said Joan Claybrook, the president of Public Citizen, an advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader. The long-running saga over trucks has been one of the most heated controversies surrounding NAFTA. Critics of the pact argue that it exposes Americans to Third World hazards, while free traders accuse Washington of caving in to special interests and reneging on its promises.
Under NAFTA, which went into effect in 1994, the United States was supposed to phase out restrictions on Mexican trucks crossing the border by 2000, provided those trucks meet U.S. safety standards. But under pressure from members of Congress and the Teamsters union, which feared losing jobs to low-wage Mexican drivers, the Clinton administration maintained the existing barriers, citing safety concerns. As a result, Mexican trucks have been confined to a 20-mile zone along the border, where they transfer their loads to U.S. carriers in cities such as San Diego and Laredo, Tex.
The Bush administration vowed to open the border in 2001 after a NAFTA panel held that Washington was violating the agreement. But, again under congressional pressure, the administration agreed to develop a set of safeguards, including placing inspectors at each border crossing. After the safeguards were finalized in November 2002, opponents filed a lawsuit arguing that the government had failed to meet the legal requirement for conducting an environmental study. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed; that was the decision that the Supreme Court overturned yesterday.
The ruling does not mean that Mexican trucks will start rumbling onto American highways immediately. The administration is still working with Mexican officials on issues of how it will conduct safety audits of trucking companies, including the question of whether U.S. inspectors will go into Mexico. Hundreds of applications from Mexican trucking firms must also be processed and approved.
"I would suspect you will see some Mexican trucks" on U.S. roads "before the end of the year," said Luis de la Calle, Mexico's former deputy trade minister who has been working on the issue for nine years.
Even then, Mexican trucks aren't expected to venture beyond the border states in large numbers, because they can carry freight only on routes between Mexico and the United States, not from one point inside the United States to another.
"In all likelihood, the Mexican companies that get operating authority will drive to places like Houston and Dallas -- the major load centers for vessels and trucks," said James R. Giermanski, a professor at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., who has testified before Congress on the issue.
Some U.S. companies that have factories on the Mexican side of the border, such as Emerson Electric Co., might use Mexican trucks to ferry their goods farther north to their main plants in the United States, Giermanski said. But in general, "the Mexicans will want to go to a hub, where there's lots of cargo, because they can't afford to go back to Mexico empty," he said. "They're not going to drive to New York, because they would need to have international cargo to go back." | Sign Agreement | June 2004 | ['(Washington Post)'] |
Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico is named as Miss World 2016. | Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016 on Sunday, edging out runners-up from the Dominican Republic and Indonesia winning the top prize in the 66th edition of the pageant held this year in the United States.
Del Valle, 19, is a brown-eyed brunette student who speaks Spanish, English and French, and hopes to get into the entertainment industry.
Crowned by Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna of Spain, Del Valle called it an "honor and a great responsibility" to represent her Caribbean homeland. She becomes the second titleholder from the island after Wilnelia Merced won the title in 1975.
First runner-up of the 2016 edition of the pageant held at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, was Yaritza Miguelina Reyes Ramirez of the Dominican Republic, followed by Miss World Indonesia Natasha Mannuela. Contestants from more than 100 countries took part in the 2016 edition of the beauty pageant.
Miss Philippines Catriona Elisa Gray and Miss Kenya Evelyn Njambi also made it to the final five.
Puerto Rico becomes the 17th country with multiple winners since Miss World started in 1951.
Living up to the national stereotype, the first two title holders were both Swedish. Since then a further 34 nationalities have been victorious, with the UK (5), India (5), the US (3), Jamaica (3), Iceland (3), Germany (2) and Australia (2) all providing multiple winners.
Canada's Miss World representative, Chinese-born Anastasia Lin was embroiled in a controversy when pageant officials reportedly warned her against speaking to the press for three weeks about human rights abuses in China. She was given the green light again on Wednesday.
Last year, China blocked Lin from attending the same contest when it was held in the city of Sanya.
none of the UK representatives at the contest made it to the top 20. England was represented by 20-year-old psychology student Elizabeth Grant, Northern Ireland by 21-year-old psychology student Emma Carswell, Scotland by 19-year-old student Lucy Kerr and Wales by 23-year-old health and beauty consultant Ffion Georgina Moyle.
China, Kenya, Belgium, Ghana, Philippines, Cook Islands, Mongolia, Indonesia, France, USA, India, Slovakia, Korea, Hungary, Dominican Republic, Japan, Brazil, Thailand, Australia, Puerto Rico
China, Kenya, Belgium, Philippines, Indonesia, USA, Korea, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Puerto Rico
Miss World 2016: Puerto Rico
We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. | Awards ceremony | December 2016 | ['(The Telegraph)'] |
Chinese President Hu Jintao continues his eight–nation tour in Africa as he arrives in Lusaka and hold talks with Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa. President Hu launched a copper mining partnership with Zambia and promised more in aid. | After talks in Lusaka with President Levy Mwanawasa, the two leaders said a special economic zone would be created in Zambia's copper-mining area.
Chinese companies will be able to operate there without having to pay import or value added taxes.
The government contends the deal will benefit Zambia, but the opposition says China is exploiting local workers.
China has already invested in mines and factories across Zambia.
The two presidents said the special economic zone would be set up in the copper town of Chambishi, north of Lusaka.
"This will go a long way in boosting economic development in our country," Mr Mwanawasa told a joint news conference.
China's $800m investment will flow into mining, manufacturing and farms, he said.
Partners or colonisers?
Beijing also agreed to write off part of Zambia's bilateral debt to China, Mr Mwanawasa added.
President Hu said his country was "looking for strategic and mutual friendship" in Africa.
China's economic power has been condemned by some Zambian workers and the opposition.
"They are out to colonise Africa economically and also to get Africa's solidarity at the United Nations," Patriotic Front General Secretary Guy Scott told Reuters news agency.
A decision by Chinese owners to close Zambia's largest textile firm prompted unrest last month.
President Hu is on a 12-day tour of Africa aimed at strengthening economic and political ties.
While in Khartoum on Friday he agreed on a series of deals with Sudan, which China has protected from UN sanctions over the Darfur conflict. China announced an interest-free loan to build a new presidential palace. China already buys most of Sudan's oil. Western countries urged him to put pressure on Sudan over the Darfur conflict. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | February 2007 | ['(AP via ABC News)', '(BBC)'] |
Marius Kloppers announces that he will resign as the CEO of the world's largest mining company BHP Billiton in May to be replaced by Andrew MacKenzie. | The chief executive of BHP Billiton, Marius Kloppers, is set to retire and will be succeeded by Andrew Mackenzie, the mining firm's base metals chief.
Mr Kloppers will retire as chief executive and director on May 10, and will leave the group on October 1.
Replay
The announcement came as BHP Billiton reported today that its profits were down to $US5.7 billion in the first half of 2012-13, a fall of 43 per cent on a year earlier due to lower commodity prices and the high dollar.
Shares in BHP were down 41 cents, or about 1 per cent, to $38.59 around noon, after rising in early trade. Rio Tinto's shares were down 80 cents, or 1 per cent, to $69.71.
Stepping down ... Marius Kloppers announces his retirement.Credit:Nick Moir
Mr Mackenzie, the 56-year-old head of BHP's non-ferrous business, has three decades of experience in the industry and joined the company in 2008 from rival Rio Tinto.
He is stepping into the top job as the company battles to protect margins by reining in costs in a weaker commodity pricing environment.
Chairman Jac Nasser said Mr Kloppers would leave BHP Billiton "a safer and stronger company".
"Marius was appointed chief executive just prior to the global financial crisis. Despite an exceptionally difficult economic environment during his tenure, Marius and his team have delivered for shareholders, significantly outperforming our peers in terms of total shareholder returns," Mr Nasser said.
Taking the reins ... Andrew Mackenzie will take over as chief executive of BHP from Marius Kloppers.
"He drove new investments into next generation opportunities including US onshore gas and liquids and created one of the most valuable companies in the world."
Mr Nasser said the change was a result of the company's succession planning process.
"The Board has decided that Andrew is the right person to lead BHP Billiton in a changing global environment," he said, adding that the move and Mackenzie's background should not be seen as shift in the firm's strategy or emphasis.
"He's a rare executive because he has experience in both the oil and gas, petrochemicals and minerals area of this business. And that fits us perfectly."
The Board has decided that Andrew is the right person to lead BHP Billiton in a changing global environment
Mr Mackenzie, who oversees much of the company's portfolio, including key copper mines at Escondida in Chile, said it would be a privilege to lead BHP Billiton.
A prize-winning scientist who grew up in an industrial town near Glasgow, Mr Mackenzie spent 22 years at BP and three at Rio before becoming the head of BHP's non-ferrous division in November 2008.
He speaks five languages, including French, German and Spanish, and has lived in six countries on four continents.
"I look forward to working closely with Marius during the transition and building on his legacy," he said, adding in a press conference this morning that "there is no other job I'd rather do".
Mr Mackenzie will move to Melbourne with his wife.
The 'right appointment
Paul Young of Deutsche Bank said Mr Mackenzie was the ''right appointment'' for BHP and had a depth of experience in onshore and offshore petroleum, and in base metals.
''So therefore if the incremental dollar for the company beyond iron ore and [metallurgical] coal is going into petroleum and the non-ferrous division, then he is the right appointment to deliver on the growth beyond that,'' Mr Young said.
"He has great understanding of the US onshore business and of the more difficult technical assets in the portfolio - growth assets such as Olympic Dam and Jansen."
Hayden Bairstow of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said the announcement was not a surprise, and that Mr Mackenzie was seen as the man most likely to take over the role.
''There was some potential they may have looked externally, but that wasn't high,'' Mr Bairstow said.
''I think he was the best man for the job internally. He's familiar with the business having been there for a while.
"The reality is commodity prices are no longer rising, so he needs to be much more focused on removing costs out of the business and making more conservative growth decisions, which in his role ... as the head of the copper business has had its own cost issues in the past."
Mark Taylor, a senior resources analyst at Morningstar, said the market would welcome Mackenzie's expertise in energy.
"The new CEO is coming from a very long career in oil and gas and minerals, especially oil and gas. And oil and gas is a growing proportion of BHP's business. So I think it will be well received by the market," he said.
Time to move on
Mr Kloppers said it was a difficult decision and that "deciding the right time to retire was never going to be easy". But he added that he believed it was the right time to move on.
BHP said details of Mr Mackenzie's remuneration would be released before he becomes chief executive, while Mr Kloppers' leaving arrangement will be announced on May 10.
Last year BHP shelved $US40 billion in projects and shut some loss-making coal mines, as the industry battled with soaring costs, a strong Australian dollar and sliding commodity prices.
The company's succession planning process was the subject of speculation at the firm's annual meeting in November, with Mr Mackenzie and Alberto Calderon among those touted as possible candidates for the chief executive's role.
But BHP refused to put a timeline on the process.
The announcement to the market this morning came just a month after Tom Albanese stepped down from mining giant Rio Tinto and was replaced by Sam Walsh as chief executive.
Mr Nasser said Mr Albanese's departure was "interesting to note" but did not influence the decision-making process at BHP. | Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | February 2013 | ['(Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
West Virginia delegate Derrick Evans resigns a day after being arrested for illegally entering the United States Capitol. | Derrick Evans, facing federal charges for entering the U.S. Capitol with a mob, has resigned from West Virginia’s House of Delegates.
“I hereby resign as a member of the House of Delegates, effective immediately,” Evans said in a one-page letter submitted to Gov. Jim Justice and the House.
The House released another statement from Evans expressing regret.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians,” Evans stated.
“I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so my colleagues can get to work in earnest building a brighter future for our state. And more importantly, I hope it helps to begin the healing process, so we can all move forward and come together as ‘One Nation, Under God.’”
The mob storming the U.S. Capitol disrupted the constitutional duty of counting Electoral College votes and prompted the evacuations of representatives, senators and Vice President Mike Pence. One woman was fatally shot while trying to climb into the chambers, three others died from “medical emergencies” and 50 police officers were injured. Capitol Police announced one police officer died of injuries sustained during the riot.
Evans, a Republican from Wayne County just sworn into House of Delegates, has contended he was videoing history and was swept along with the crowd. But his own video depicts him calling out “Move! Move!” before going through the Capitol door, as security alarms blare.
He was set to be a first-time officeholder. He placed first in a two-member district in the most recent General Election, with 8,227 votes.
Evans swore to uphold the Constitution last month. All delegates state this oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, and faithfully discharge the duties of Senator (or Delegate) according to the best of my ability.”
Several of his fellow Republicans, including Delegates Steve Westfall of Jackson County, Ben Queen of Harrison County, Joshua Higginbotham of Putnam County and Jason Barrett of Berkeley County, publicly said Evans should resign or be forced out.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, today described the events in Washington, D.C., as appalling. He indicated he is glad Evans resigned.
“Delegate Evans was unfortunately a part of the events this week that threatened what has historically made America a beacon for the rest of the world: the peaceful transfer of power. Earlier today, Delegate Evans made the decision to resign from his position in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Now, we return to the work of rebuilding our nation’s political climate,” Hanshaw stated.
“In announcing his resignation, Delegate Evans said accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to those he’s hurt. In this time of overheated, hyperbolic political rage, I think that’s a good first step for us all to take right now.”
The Legislature is set to convene next Wednesday for a one-day session to select leadership and set rules. Lawmakers were already anticipating a motion and vote to expel Evans.
Instead, Hanshaw stated, delegates may begin hard work on the many challenging issues facing the state. The Legislature convenes for a full 60-day session on Feb. 10.
“It’s time to turn the page; it’s time for us to move on; it’s time for us to heal,” Hanshaw stated.
“We have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, from dealing with a rampaging pandemic, healing an economy wounded by shutdowns, helping those whose livelihoods have been destroyed, getting our kids back into classrooms and giving them a quality education, finding new ways to open up job opportunities and investment in our state, and continuing our work to truly make West Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family. And the Legislature only gets 60 days to accomplish this.”
Evans was arrested Friday and faces two federal charges after sweeping into the U.S. Capitol with a mob this week.
Two federal misdemeanors are both punishable with fines and potential jail time: entering a restricted public building and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
After a short federal court hearing Friday afternoon, he was released on a personal recognizance bond.
A charge of entering restricted government buildings is a misdemeanor, punishable by fines and up to a year in prison. However, the punishment could increase significantly if “the offense results in significant bodily harm.”
The charge applies to buildings where anyone protected by the Secret Service is visiting or buildings with an event of national significance.
A second charge, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, is also a misdemeanor with a possible punishment of six months jail time.
An affidavit from FBI agent David DiMarco indicates the investigator relied heavily on the copy of Evans’ own video, comparing the voice to the voice in Evans’ videos promoting his campaign for state office. The agent also relied on Evans’ enthusiastic identification of himself.
In videos of the crowds outside, leading up to the Capitol entry, Evans narrated that “They’re making an announcement now saying if Pence betrays us you better get your mind right because we’re storming the building.”
The FBI agent described Evans as laughing and saying, “I’m just the messenger so don’t be hating on me.”
Evans wound up in a crowd outside a Capitol door. In that video, less than 30 seconds in, Evans says “There we go! Open the door” before beginning to shout “Our house! Our house!”
Ten seconds later, he notes law enforcement as an obstacle: “We’re at the door now. There’s cops inside stopping us now.”
The FBI agent describes Evans, a minute and a half into the video shouting “the door is cracked!” as individuals in the front of the crowd appear to successfully pry open the door and begin entering.
Ten seconds after that, Evans shouts, “We’re in! We’re in!”
The video shows a crowd surging through a Capitol door, past security, while an alarm repeatedly blares. As Evans enters an area called National Statuary Hall he celebrates and states his own name: “We’re in! We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” At another point, he turns the camera on himself, wearing a motorcycle helmet.
In a Facebook post on his “Derrick Evans — The Activist” page, Evans said he was on a bus traveling home to West Virginia after the event and said he had acted as “an independent member of the media to film history.”
“I want to assure you all that I did not have any negative interactions with law enforcement nor did I participate in any destruction that may have occurred,” he stated.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, a lawyer for Evans made that same argument.
The three-page statement by attorney John H. Bryan of Union described Evans as an activist and “journalist” who was documenting the day’s events while being swept along in a crowd.
“Given the sheer size of the group walking in, Evans had no choice but to enter,” Bryan wrote. “Evans continued to film once inside. His footage showed that members of the public were already inside the Capitol by the time he entered. Evans’ footage shows no riotous behavior taking place at that time. Protesters can be seen calmly walking around.”
In a news release issued Saturday, the U.S. Department of Justice described it this way instead:
“Derrick Evans, 35, of West Virginia, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds. Evans was taken into custody Friday.
“It is alleged that on Jan. 6, 2021, Evans, a recently elected member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, streamed live to his Facebook page a video of himself joining and encouraging a crowd unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol. In the video, Evans is allegedly seen crossing the threshold of the doorway into the U.S. Capitol and shouting, ‘We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!'” | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | January 2021 | ['(West Virginia MetroNews)'] |
King Mohammed VI of Morocco promises ""comprehensive constitutional reform" to expand individual and collective liberties in a televised address to the nation. | Morocco's King Mohammed VI has promised "comprehensive constitutional reform" in the north African country. In his first national address since last month's nationwide protests, the king said that "individual and collective liberties will be expanded". He said he would give up the power to name the prime minister, who would be chosen by parliament.
This meets some of the demands of street rallies, similar to those seen in Tunisia and Egypt.
Protesters want some of the king's powers to be handed over to a newly elected government. "We have decided to undertake a comprehensive constitutional reform," King Mohammed said in the televised speech to the nation.
He said that a committee had already been set up to work on the revisions, with proposals to be submitted to him by June.
The monarch added that more powers would be given to Morocco's regions, saying it would help consolidate "our model of democracy and development".
He would also hand over some powers to the prime minister.
It was his first public speech since thousands of people rallied in several cities on 20 February. Some rioting did take place, especially in the north, where five people died at a bank that was set on fire, but there were otherwise few clashes between protesters and the police, who had been ordered to avoid confrontation.
Since then, young activists have been using social networking websites to call for major rallies on 20 March "for dignity and large-scale political reforms", including a constitutional monarchy.
Morocco has also been facing severe economic problems. King Mohammed has said the fight against poverty and high unemployment is his priority, but some non-government groups say little has changed. Morocco - like Egypt and Algeria - does allow limited freedom of expression and has so far been able to contain protests. Like Jordan it is a monarchy with strong support among sections of the public. Kim ready for 'dialogue and confrontation' with US | Famous Person - Give a speech | March 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
A court in Burma finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of violating the terms of her detention, and sentences her to a further 18 months house arrest. | YANGON - MYANMAR democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was on Tuesday ordered to stay under house arrest for 18 months after a prison court convicted the Nobel laureate at the end of her internationally condemned trial.
The court at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison sentenced her to three years imprisonment and hard labour for breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside residence in May.
But Than Shwe, head of the ruling junta, signed an order commuting the sentence and allowing Suu Kyi to serve out just a year-and-a-half under house arrest, Home Affairs Minister General Maung Oo said after the verdict.
'Thank you for the verdict,' a grim-faced Suu Kyi, wearing pink and light grey traditional Burmese dress said after the court's announcement, according to an AFP reporter in the court.
American John Yettaw, 54, the man who swam to her house, was sentenced to seven years of hard labour and imprisonment on three separate charges but it was not clear if the terms would run consecutively or concurrently.
Minister Maung Oo made a surprise entrance to the courtroom just minutes after the verdict was read out, saying that Suu Kyi would be taken back to her house under similar conditions to her previous time in detention.
'The authorities charged Aung San Suu Kyi inevitably and also uncomfortably, but they had to obey the judgement,' he said. 'Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San. This is also for the peaceful security of the country and also to move towards democratisation,' said Mr Maung Oo.
Aung San, the country's independence hero, was assassinated in 1947.
Mr Maung Oo said that the sentence could be shortened 'if she lives well in the suspended sentence.' Security forces sealed off the area around the jail and the junta allowed diplomats from all foreign embassies in Yangon and local journalists to attend the hearing. -- AFP | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | August 2009 | ['(BBC)', '(The Straits Times)', '(The Bangkok Post)', '[permanent dead link]', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz leads Democratic primary challenger, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, by less than 2,000 votes in the United States Senate special election in Hawaii. | HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz held a 1,635-vote lead over U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in the primary race for Hawaii's U.S. Senate seat, according to results released about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, in a race that's still too close to call. The tally was Schatz with 113,800 votes to Hanabusa's 112,165, in results that are still missing two Hawaii County precincts that may decide the close election.
Voting in two Puna precincts on the Big Island has been postponed because roads were impassable in the area after damage from Iselle, the hurricane that weakened to a tropical storm as it hit the island Friday. There are about 8,255 registered voters in the two precincts. All registered voters in the two precincts who have not voted early through mail-in or walk-in voting will be sent ballots in an election which must be completed in the next 21 days, the state's Chief Election Officer Scott Nago said.
The question is whether that leaves enough voters for Hanabusa to make up the 1,635 votes she is behind. Exact numbers are not available, but if the Hawaiian Paradise Community Center and Keonepoko Elementary School precincts in Puna follow the same pattern as the rest of the state, about 1,500 of those voters have already cast absentee ballots. Assuming every one of the remaining registered voters cast ballots, Hanabusa would need 65 percent of them to come close to catching Schatz. On the rest of the Big Island, the two candidates split the votes almost evenly.
Hanabusa was in the lead by a little more than 2,000 votes when the first printout, comprising absentee walk-in and mail-in ballots, was released just before 7 p.m. Saturday. But by the time the third printout was released about 9 p.m., Schatz picked up support and Hanabusa remained in the the lead by just 11 votes, with 80,365 for Hanabusa to 80,354 for Schatz.
Schatz had widened his lead by the fifth printout, released about 11 p.m., to 1,788 votes.
But then election officials spent hours counting mail-in ballots from Oahu and the Big Island. The counting was slowed by so-called "manual resolves," Nago said. That's when election officials, with election observers from the different political parties watching them, have to manually inspect primary ballots in which voters failed to follow instructions and didn't choose a party, Nago said.
Those voters who voted for candidates in more than one political party but failed to pick a party by coloring in an oval next to their party would have their ballots thrown out for "over voting," or voting for more than one party. Those voters who didn't choose a party but voted for candidates within the same political party would have their ballots counted, officials said. It's a slow, manual process that happens in each election night until the wee hours of the morning but usually gets little attention because big, statewide races are not so close that those votes matter in gubernatorial or U.S. Senate contests.
In the race for the Democratic Party's gubernatorial nomination, State Senator David Ige completed a stunning upset of Governor Neil Abercrombie, marking the first time in state history an incumbent governor had lost to a challenger in the primary election. A joint Hawaii News Now/Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll taken before the primary election showed Gov. Abercrombie's approval rating had dipped to just 38%, though that poll was taken before Abercrombie's response to two severe storm systems that neared the state in the days leading up to the election.
Having won Saturday's primary, State Sen. David Ige will run alongside Shan Tsutsui in November's high-profile general election against the likes of Republicans Duke Aiona and Elwin Ahu and Independents Mufi Hannemann and Les Chang.
In the race for the Democratic Party's nomination to replace Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in the U.S. House's 1st Congressional District, State Rep. Mark Takai won a landslide victory against State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, finishing with 42.8 percent of the vote with all 113 precincts on Oahu reporting.
Takai will now challenge former congressman Charles Djou, who handily defeated fellow Republican candidate Allan Levene, in the November general election. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who was unopposed, will be the Democratic Party's nominee for Hawaii's District 2 seat in the House, running against Republican Kawika Crowley, who won Saturday's primary election against Marissa Capelouto.Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa each won their respective primary elections. | Government Job change - Election | August 2014 | ['(Hawaii News Now)'] |
Thirty–seven Chinese nationals, arrested in Angola due to their alleged involvement in criminal acts, are extradited and due to be tried in China. | Angola has extradited 37 Chinese nationals, accused of extortion, kidnappings, armed robberies and running prostitution rings.
They allegedly targeted other Chinese, kidnapping businessmen for ransom and sometimes burying victims alive.
They lured women to Angola, promising well-paid jobs, but then forced them into prostitution, Chinese police said. Tens of thousands of Chinese live in Angola, and Chinese state-run firms have large interests in the country.
China's Ministry of Public Security said a special police team was sent to Angola in July to help investigate criminal gangs.
The ministry said the officers had helped their Angolan counterparts break up 12 gangs and free 14 victims, most of whom were thought to be women forced to work as prostitutes.
The 37 suspects arrived at Beijing airport in handcuffs with balaclavas covering their faces. They are due to be tried in China.
Mineral-rich Angola is China's biggest trading partner in Africa, with some $24.8bn (£15.7bn) in 2010.
Commercial opportunities have attracted private businesses and state-run firms.
But according to Chinese media, crime had begun to seriously affect operations in the country.
China Police, a website run by the ministry, published an article documenting 14 kidnappings during 2011 in which five victims were killed.
The article said Chinese business owners had moved away from the capital Luanda, while others had hired private security guards and bought bullet-proof cars. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | August 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
In the Indian state of Bihar, Maoist rebels clash with police, leaving at least 21 people dead. | Police said the overnight fighting took place when nearly 100 rebels attacked a police station and two state-run banks in a village in East Champaran.
They say the rebels belong to a leading Maoist group which operates in several Indian states.
They are also believed to have close links with Maoist rebels in Nepal.
"The bodies of seven Maoists have been recovered and a search is on for the rest," Bihar director-general of police, Ashish Ranjan Sinha, is quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Mr Sinha also said they believed the attack was carried out by Maoist rebels operating in India and Nepal.
If confirmed, it will be the first time an attack involving Nepalese Maoists has taken place in India.
Big attack
The rebels, said to be dressed in military fatigues, stormed a police station and several offices, including two state-owned banks.
The Maoists are active in several Indian states
The authorities say the rebels also attacked the house of a local MP, Sita Ram Singh, who represents the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the lower house of parliament.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a coalition partner of the Congress party-led Indian government.
Maoist groups operate in several Indian states and claim to represent the interests of the poor, mainly tribal communities.
Since 1980 they have been fighting for the creation of a communist state comprising tribal areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
India has an open border with Nepal and the rebels are thought to move in and out of both countries. | Riot | June 2005 | ['(The Hindu)', '(BBC)'] |
Three people die after a tornado hits the town of Waverly, Virginia. | A 2-year-old boy, a 50-year-old man and a 26-year-old man were killed by severe storms in the town of Waverly and damaged at least five structures on Wednesday after, Virginia State Police confirmed.
Immediately after the storm hit, neighbors and strangers joined forces in a frantic search to find the 2-year-old, at one point, he was nowhere to be found. As a community grieves the loss, they're also dealing with damage and the reality that re-building will take some time.
When one hurts, we all hurt. That was the sentiment in a town that's still coming to terms with the realities of the day: death, destruction, andresolve to help each other get through the storm.
As first responders raced to find survivors, strangers on the road stopped to do their part.
"I was coming through maybe about 10 minutes before this happened and traffic was backed up,” said Joe Pryor, as someone frantically approached him. "She asked us, ‘Hey, can you come help us look for this baby that's missing,'" he said.
Pryor took to the woods in a desperate search to find a 2-year-old he didn't even know.
"Hear if we could hear the baby cry or something. You want to help. You don't know what's going on. It could be anybody. It could be me, my family, it could be anyone's. You just have to help,” Pryor added.
The boy was one of three people that took cover in a mobile home. Only the structure of it now stands after the storm ripped right through it.
"Pray each other's strength as we get through this tragedy,” said Pastor Terrence Green, who spent his day comforting others. Now, his church, Empowerment Temple is in ruins. "Call the troops together and try to clean up some of the debris,” he added while trying to hold it together.
"It was heartbreaking but it could have been worse. We're still standing and it could've been worse. No way we can have church on Sunday but we'll make it,” he said. "We’re going to come together as a community and just do what we can to rebuild."
The area described by neighbors as a war zone is now a ghost town as neighbors are being told to stay indoors through the night.
Eight people were injured in Waverly due to the storms.
There has been another confirmed death in Appomattox. The storms also knocked out State Police's ability to receive emergency calls in the area.
| Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | February 2016 | ['(NBC 12)'] |
The Parti Québécois is elected to a minority government, defeating the Liberal Party of Quebec, with Pauline Marois becoming the first female premier of Quebec. , | Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois will become Quebec’s first female premier after her sovereigntist party won a minority government and ended nearly a decade of Liberal rule in a tense election.
But as she delivered her victory speech late Tuesday night, Marois was suddenly whisked off stage because of a shooting outside PQ headquarters in downtown Montreal.
One person was killed and another was injured after a gunman opened fire behind the building. A man wearing what appeared to be a blue housecoat and a balaclava was arrested at the scene.
Marois returned to the podium to briefly resume her speech and ask everyone to slowly leave the room.
Liberal Leader and outgoing premier Jean Charest lost his seat in the riding of Sherbrooke to PQ candidate Serge Cardin, even as his party fared better at the polls than projected, assuming the role of official Opposition.
The minority PQ government may alleviate some fears of an impending referendum on Quebec’s independence, which Marois said she would only call under the “right conditions."
But Marois remained defiant in her victory speech, saying: “The future of Quebec is to become its own country.”
“To our friends and neighbours in Canada…As a nation, we want to make our own decisions that concern us,” she said.
Late Tuesday, the PQ had won or was leading in 56 ridings, short of the 63 seats needed to form a majority government in the 125-seat legislature.
The upstart Coalition Avenir Quebec party, led by Francois Legault, won at least 19 seats, landing in third place. Legault, a former PQ member, had promised a 10-year moratorium on sovereignty referendums.
The Liberals won or were leading in about 48 ridings. Charest’s stunning defeat was the first in his 28-year political career.
“Politics are difficult,” Charest said in his concession speech to a crowd of disappointed, but cheering supporters in Sherbrooke.
“I assume the entire responsibility for the results,” he said after congratulating Cardin and Marois.
Charest stressed the message of national unity, saying that “belonging to Canada” is one of the Quebec Liberal Party’s key convictions.
“The result of this election campaign speaks to the fact that the future of Quebec lies within Canada,” he said.
Charest said the Liberal Party will continue to thrive in the province, but did not discuss his political future.
Political observers said several factors contributed to Charest’s downfall.
His Liberal Party has tried to dodge corruption allegations, stemming from questionable practices in the province’s construction industry.
A recently launched public inquiry will look at allegations of corruption involving construction firms, municipal and provincial governments and organized crime. It is alleged that a number of election officials received kickbacks from shady construction projects.
Charest also drew the ire of Quebec’s post-secondary students this year when he announced a tuition fee increase, sparking a months-long student uprising that resulted in violent clashes with police on the streets on Montreal and Quebec City.
Many students favoured the PQ because Marois promised to nix the tuition hike. One of the most prominent faces of the student movement, Leo Bureau-Blouin, became a star PQ candidate and beat the Liberal incumbent in the Montreal-area riding of Laval-des-Rapides to become the youngest-ever member of the national assembly at age 20.
Now, for the first time since 2003, Quebec has a sovereigntist government that’s poised to revive tensions with Ottawa and other provinces.
Marois has said that she will contact Prime Minister Stephen Harper shortly after taking office to discuss the transfer of powers in areas like immigration, language and employment insurance from Ottawa to Quebec. If Harper refuses, Marois said that will only boost her case for an independent Quebec.
But as a minority government, the PQ will face tough challenges pushing its independence agenda. The party has won four majorities in previous elections, avoiding having to forge alliances in parliament.
Both Charest, a staunch federalist, and François Legault, the leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, have tried to use the prospect of a sovereignty referendum as a way to lure votes away from Marois.
Many analysts said that, even with a majority PQ government, a referendum would be unlikely until late in the governing party’s term.
Bill 101 expansion, referendum talk spark concerns
It remains to be seen how Quebec’s federalists and anglophones will react to a PQ government. Some realtors in Ontario and Quebec have already noted an increase in calls from English-speaking Quebecers who are mulling a move to Ontario or other parts of Canada.
Marois’s promise to extend Bill 101, the law which enshrines French as the province’s official language, to small businesses and colleges, has many non-French speakers worried about their education and employment prospects.
When the first Parti Quebecois government was elected in 1976, under Rene Levesque’s leadership, the rest of Canada panicked at the prospect of Quebec’s secession. The province’s anglophones left in droves and the country’s stock and bond markets reacted negatively, lowering the value of the Canadian dollar.
The PQ’s referendums on Quebec sovereignty in 1980 and 1995 both failed, although the latter one was defeated by a very narrow margin.
The Quebec government has introduced a new initiative that encourages cabinet ministers to speak only French to their counterparts from other provinces and Ottawa. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois takes the stage after winning the provincial election in Montreal, Que. Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Supporters cheer the election of PQ Leader Pauline Marois Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Quebec Liberal party leader Jean Charest speaks while his wife Michele Dionne looks on following the provincial election in Sherbrooke, Que., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Coalition Avenir Quebec leader Francois Legault speaks after provincial election polls closed in Repentigny, Que. on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Parti Quebecois supporters cheer as election results are announced in Montreal, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The Quebec government has introduced a new initiative that encourages cabinet ministers to speak only French to their counterparts from other provinces and Ottawa. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois takes the stage after winning the provincial election in Montreal, Que. Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS) | Government Job change - Election | September 2012 | ['(CBC)', '(CTV News)'] |
Republican candidates debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. | SIMI VALLEY, California (CNN) -- Front-runners John McCain and Mitt Romney attacked each other's conservative credentials as they fought for their party's top spot during the final showdown before the Super Tuesday contests.
The GOP candidates take the stage for Wednesday's debate.
The sharpest exchange in the debate came when Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was asked about the McCain campaign's charge that he once said he favored a strict timetable for removing troops from Iraq.
Romney has consistently denied ever having backed a timetable and said McCain was taking a small portion of a quote out of context.
"It's simply wrong," Romney said. "By the way, raising it a few days before the Florida primary, when there was very little time for me to correct the record, falls in the kind of dirty tricks that Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible." Watch the candidates trade barbs »
But McCain, the Arizona senator who has strongly backed President Bush's Iraq policy, accused Romney of hedging after public support for the war waned.
"I was on the front lines with my friends saying we not only can't withdraw but we've got to have additional troops over there in order for us to have a chance to succeed," he said.
The debate -- sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico.com -- took place at the Reagan Presidential Library.
The event came as the GOP's four remaining candidates jockey for position going into next Tuesday, when more than 20 states will be holding primaries or caucuses. Watch undecided voters' real-time reaction »
McCain -- who has won primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida -- hopes to solidify himself as the front-runner, while Romney, the winner in Michigan, Nevada and Wyoming, tries to stop McCain's run to the nomination.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, winner of the Iowa caucuses, hoped to position himself well among evangelicals and other conservatives to turn around several consecutive losses since Iowa. Long-shot candidate Ron Paul, a representative from Texas, also participated in the debate.
The debate also came on a day when McCain scored a pair of major endorsements that could help deliver two of Super Tuesday's richest prizes.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race and endorsed McCain hours before the debate began. And late Wednesday, CNN reported that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was in the audience for the debate, planned to endorse McCain Thursday.
California and New York have the two largest number of delegates up for grabs next week. See what political analysts say about the showdown »
"If you look at the mega-states, these are major endorsements," said CNN political analyst and former White House adviser David Gergen.
During discussion on how to best help the flagging economy, all four candidates said they support the stimulus package moving through Congress. Hear some of the candidates' key points »
But Huckabee said investment in infrastructure instead of tax rebates would best stimulate the nation's economy.
"Infrastructure in this country has been neglected," he said. "I don't think there's a governor in this country that wouldn't tell you that you'll create more jobs and you'll build it with American workers, American concrete and American steel. That's stimulus."
On immigration, Romney said those who have come to the United States illegally must return home and "get in line with everybody else that wants to come here." "People who come here legally are a great source of vitality and strength for our country, but illegal immigration -- that's got to end," he said.
McCain said securing the borders is the "responsibility and the priority" of the American people.
He said he would not vote for the pathway to citizenship part of his original immigration reform plan because the American people do not want it without securing the borders first.
"If we don't have a secure fence and have just this open door that people can come in and out at will, we're never going to deal with this issue effectively and responsibly," Huckabee said.
"It's not that we're building a fence so we can keep our people in or keep people out, but that people who do come here would have to come legally."
With former First Lady Nancy Reagan looking on, Paul disagreed with President Reagan's choice of Sandra Day O'Connor as a Supreme Court justice, while Huckabee and McCain declined to say whether they would have tapped her for a spot on the high court.
Romney said he "would rather have" a different kind of justice on the bench.
The back-and-forth between McCain and Romney threatened to dominate the evening. McCain sideswiped Romney's credentials as a successful business leader while answering a question about who would best run the nation.
"I think he managed companies and he bought and he sold and sometimes people lost their jobs," McCain said. "That's the nature of that business."
Critics note that Romney's tenure as CEO of the leveraged buyout firm Bain Capital resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs through layoffs and bankruptcies. Romney, the wealthiest candidate in the 2008 presidential race, ran Bain Capital from 1984 to 1999, during which time he earned the bulk of his fortune.
Bain Capital specialized in buying companies in distress and revamping them, often by cutting jobs and closing plants. Some of Bain's purchases became more efficient and successful businesses, while others, loaded with debt from Bain's fees, were forced into bankruptcy, costing more jobs.
Earlier, Romney appeared to go after a perceived a gulf between McCain and the Republican party's conservative base -- much of which has distrusted him since he ran against Bush in 2000.
"He's a good Republican; I wouldn't question those credentials at all," Romney said of McCain. "But there are a number of pieces of legislation where his views are out of the mainstream, at least in my view, of conservative Republican thought." Romney hit McCain for his opposition to drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He also noted that McCain twice voted against tax cuts pushed by President Bush and sponsored campaign-finance reform legislation that he claimed "took a whack at the First Amendment."
McCain defended those stances, saying he wanted spending cuts to go along with the tax cuts.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said the heated exchange over Romney's Iraq quote was one of the debate's key moments -- and may have favored Romney.
"Romney made a very, very eloquent defense of himself that had some outrage in it," said Schneider. "I do not think McCain looked good in that exchange."
While most analysts said Romney and Huckabee failed to score any major moments that could derail McCain's momentum, Schneider said Huckabee had the best performance of the three.
McCain "may have lost some ground here," Schneider said. "He did not sound like a straight talker at all in this debate."
Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will face off Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on CNN. | Government Job change - Election | January 2008 | ['(CNN)'] |
Pacific Gas and Electric Company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its recent roles in the California wildfires. | California's largest utility, facing up to $30 billion in potential liability for recent California wildfires, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at midnight Tuesday. Pacific Gas and Electric Corp's board of directors approved the plan to file at a meeting Monday evening. PG&E announced its intention to file two weeks ago.
Filing for bankruptcy essentially ensures the company can continue to operate and its customers will get power, but doesn't assure any of the fire victims will get compensation -- or that ratepayers won't get hit with part of the bill, CBS San Francisco and CBS Los Angeles say.
The filing enables PG&E to freeze its debts and continue operations while developing a financial reorganization plan. The company serves 16 million homes and businesses in Northern and central California.
PG&E said it would seek $5.5 billion in loans to get it through the bankruptcy period. At a noisy meeting punctuated by protests earlier Monday, the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco voted to let PG&E borrow up to $10 billion to cover operations over that span, CBS Los Angeles explains.
At that session, activists said the company shouldn't be borrowing more money, CBS San Francisco reports.
State officials are investigating whether the utility's equipment sparked the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, which killed at least 86 people and burned down 15,000 homes in Paradise and surrounding Northern California communities in November. Reinsurance company Munich Re says the Camp Fire was the world's most expensive natural disaster last year, with overall losses of $16.5 billon, according to the Reuters news agency.
Fire investigators also blame the utility's power lines for causing other wildfires in the state last year and in 2017.
California law compels utilities to pay for damages from wildfires if their equipment caused the blazes - even if the utilities weren't negligent through, say, inadequate maintenance. PG&E "also filed for bankruptcy in April 2001 near the height of an electricity debacle marked by rolling blackouts and the manipulation of the energy market," the Associated Press points out, adding that, "PG&E emerged from bankruptcy three years later but obtained billions of dollars in higher payments from ratepayers." | Financial Aid | January 2019 | ['(Reuters)', '(CBS News)'] |
Bolivia's new interior minister, Arturo Murillo, files a criminal complaint against former President Evo Morales for alleged sedition and terrorism. | LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia’s attorney general said on Friday that his office has opened a probe into former President Evo Morales for alleged sedition and terrorism, related to accusations from the interim government that he has been stirring unrest since resigning.
The interior minister earlier filed a criminal complaint against the former socialist leader, based on evidence Morales described as fake.
Interim President Jeanine Anez, a former senator and opponent of Morales, has faced a wave of demonstrations by his supporters since taking office in a power vacuum last week.
Morales and his vice president stepped down under pressure from security forces and anti-government protesters on Nov. 10, amid reports of irregularities in an Oct. 20 election.
Morales fled to Mexico, which has granted him asylum, and says he was toppled in a coup. At least 29 have been killed in clashes with security forces since he resigned.
Attorney General Juan Lanchipa said the foreign ministry would ask Mexico to allow Morales to provide his statement as a suspect in the investigation, which is based on a video Interior Minister Arturo Murillo distributed to media this week. In the video, a Bolivian man is shown talking to someone on a speakerphone who appears to be directing plans for road blockades.
Murillo said the voice on the speakerphone was that of Morales. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video.
Murillo told journalists outside the prosecutors’ office in La Paz on Friday: “The evidence is clear. We’ve presented it.”
Morales could not immediately be reached for comment. He said on Twitter that authorities should be investigating the deaths of protesters instead of going after him on the basis of what he called made-up evidence.
Related Coverage
Blocking roads is a common form of protest in Bolivia and much of South America. Intense blockades by Morales supporters have cut off fuel and food to some cities.
Authorities have transported some 1,400 tonnes of food by plane in less than a week due to blockades, the government said on Friday.
The criminal probe into Morales did not appear to slow efforts by lawmakers in his Movement to Socialism (MAS) party from working with their opponents in Congress to pass legislation to pave the way for new elections.
MAS congressman Henry Cabrera, the vice president of the house of deputies, said parliament planned to pass a bill by Saturday afternoon, after a deal was reached among all parties on Friday.
“We’re definitely going to approve it,” Cabrera told Reuters. “We’re not going to obstruct anything.”
But on the streets Morales’ supporters have continued to push for Anez to resign.
On Friday, she made a public plea for demonstrators to end an ongoing blockade at a natural gas plant that supplies La Paz.
Eight people died in clashes after the military forcibly cleared access to the plant briefly on Tuesday. Protesters carrying the coffins with some of the dead were dispersed with tear gas on Thursday as they neared the presidential palace.
“I ask for reflection from brothers who are carrying out this unnecessary blockade,” Anez said on Friday. “We’re all Bolivians.”
Anez reiterated she will only stay in power long enough for new elections. But her critics say her cabinet has overstepped the bounds of a caretaker government by making changes to foreign policy, opening Morales’ former living quarters for journalists to tour, and threatening to punish his allies.
In the past week, authorities have alleged that several of Morales’ allies have taken part in criminal activity, including the former culture minister, his former presidency minister, the former vice president’s brother, and the vice president of MAS.
A lawyer affiliated with opponents of Morales, Jorge Valda, said he planned to also ask authorities to issue an arrest warrant for Morales’ daughter, Evaliz Morales, for alleged sedition and corruption. She could not be reached for comment.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | November 2019 | ['(The Guardian)', '(Reuters)'] |
Thousands of Iranians in Paris ask the UN to tighten its sanctions on Iran. | An Iranian exile group, backed by international politicians, said on Saturday that much stiffer sanctions would have to be imposed on Tehran if world powers hoped to curtail Iran's nuclear program.
Thousands supporters of the French-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) filled a makeshift stadium just north of Paris to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and demand more pressure be brought to bear on Tehran.
Rally in France (Photo: AFP)
John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, and former Spanish Prime Ministers Jose Maria Aznar, joined more than 100 lawmakers from across Europe, the Middle East and North America to voice their opposition to Ahmadinejad.
"The international community lost a very important opportunity a year ago when they did not give strong support to the freedom fighters in the Iranian streets," Aznar said, referring to protests that followed Ahmadinejad's 2009 election.
"And now we continue to approve sanctions that I consider are not enough." he told Reuters.
The UN Security Council voted earlier this month for a fourth round of sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear. Bolton said the UN move was not aggressive enough.
"I don't think sanctions will prevent this regime from obtaining nuclear weapons," he told Reuters.
A NCRI spokesman said some 1,000 buses had ferried its supporters to the rally, adding that "many tens of thousands" had shown up. There was no independent estimate of crowd numbers.
The NCRI has followers across Europe and the United States and was the first group to expose Iran's covert nuclear program in 2002. It claims to have huge backing within Iran although analysts say its support is very hard to gauge.
NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi told the rally that to change ideas in Tehran, the world had to get rid of the current rulers.
"From our point of view, the new Security Council resolution and complementary sanctions by the US and Europe are necessary, but insufficient ... We demand that you stop the purchase of oil and gas from this regime right now," she said.
"The Iranian people, of course, demand far more than this. They demand that this regime must go," she added. | Protest_Online Condemnation | June 2010 | ['(YnetNews)', '(Euronews)'] |
The Parliament of Moldova announces that the country will hold a Presidential election on October 30. A court in early March ruled in favor of having a direct national election to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament, a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite. This will be the first time since 2001 that the public will choose their country's president directly. | Moldova's parliament has announced the country will hold a presidential election on October 30, the first time the public, and not parliament, will pick the head of state of the small, impoverished European country since 2001. A court in early March ruled in favor of having a direct national election to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament -- a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite.
The four-year term of the current president, Nicolae Timofti, expired in March, but he will continue to carry out his duties until his successor is sworn in.
In a related development, Moldova's parliament on March 31 approved a statement to pursue tougher legislation to punish those who undermine the country's "sovereignty, independence, and permanent neutrality."
The parliamentary action came after a large rally in the capital, Chisinau, on March 27 to demand Moldova's "reunification" with Romania. Most of today’s Moldova was before WWII part of Romania, with which it shares a common language and culture. | Government Job change - Election | April 2016 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
One person is missing and thousands of people have fled as Typhoon Megi, the first supertyphoon of the 2010 Pacific typhoon season, makes landfall in the Philippines. , | A "super typhoon" has struck the northern Philippines with heavy rain and winds of up to 260km/h (162mph), leaving at least three people dead.
Typhoon Megi made landfall in Isabela province at 1125 local time (0325 GMT), destroying buildings and crops, cutting power and telecommunications.
Thousands sheltered in public buildings or fled to higher ground, and a "state of calamity" was declared in Isabela.
The category-five storm is forecast next to head towards China and Vietnam.
More than a dozen people are already missing in central Vietnam after floodwaters swept away a bus. At least 20 others are known to have been killed in floods as heavy rain pounded the region. On the southern Chinese island of Hainan, the rain prompted more than a 100,000 people to leave their homes over the weekend.
With sustained winds of 225km/h (140mph) and gusts of up to 260km/h, Megi was the strongest storm the Philippines has faced since 2006, when 1,000 people were killed by mudslides triggered by Typhoon Durian.
Shortly before midday on Monday, Megi made landfall at Palanan Bay on the main northern island of Luzon, whipping up huge waves - forecasters had said they might be greater than 14m (46ft). Local media said the rain meant there was near-zero visibility and that the wind was so powerful people could barely walk outside. Ships were told to stay in port, and domestic and international flights were cancelled.
More than 4,150 people took shelter in school buildings, town halls and churches as the typhoon blew over Isabella, officials said. Many others fled to higher ground after warnings of flash floods and landslides.
Television footage showed uprooted trees lying on roads, and metal and thatched roofing blown off houses. Up to 90% of communications in Isabela and Cagayan provinces might have been knocked out, officials said.
"We are marooned inside our home. We cannot go out. The winds and rain are very strong. Many trees are being uprooted or snapped in half," Ernesto Macadangdang, of Burgos, Isabela, told local radio.
Despite the destruction, only three people have so far been reported killed.
One man who had just rescued his water buffalo slipped and fell into a river and drowned in Cagayan province. A woman was killed when a tree crushed her house and injured her child in Kalinga province, and a security guard died after being struck by a tree in Baguio, in Benguet province.
At a news conference in Manila, the director of the national disaster agency expressed sadness over the deaths.
"The governor of Isabela declared a state of calamity, so there could be massive damage and destruction there," Benito Ramos said.
"Power has been cut and crops about to be harvested could have been destroyed. We have no actual report because we're waiting for the weather to clear up to make an assessment."
Thousands of military reservists and volunteers are on standby to assist those affected, along with several helicopters, Mr Ramos added. Trucks, rescue boats and food packs were also pre-positioned near vulnerable areas.
Farmers were urged to harvest as much of their crops as possible before the typhoon hit, the BBC's Kate McGeown in Manila. The area in the storm's path was one of the country's main rice-growing regions.
Correspondents say the Philippines is the world's biggest rice importer, and damage from the typhoon could see it buy more than had been expected for 2011, which could push up international prices.
In July, President Benigno Aquino sacked the head of the weather bureau after he failed to predict a typhoon which unexpectedly changed course and hit Manila and its outlying provinces, killing more than 100 people. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | October 2010 | ['(Bloomberg via Business Week)', '(BBC)'] |
The U.S. and the Taliban sign a deal. | The United States signed a deal with Taliban insurgents on Saturday that could pave the way toward a full withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan and represent a step toward ending the 18-year-war there. Below are the key details.
- The deal includes a timeline for the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan as well as guarantees from the Taliban that it will prevent militant groups including al-Qaeda from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
- The agreement was signed in the Qatari capital Doha, which is the Taliban’s political headquarters and has hosted talks over the past year and a half.
- Senior Taliban leaders took part along with U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
- The agreement lays the groundwork for negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government - known as intra-Afghan talks - to end a war that began after the United States launched attacks on Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked plane attacks.
- The U.S.-Taliban agreement calls for a phased withdrawal of American and coalition forces and also requires the Taliban to initiate a formal dialogue with the Afghan government and other political and civil society groups on a permanent nationwide ceasefire and power-sharing in post-war Afghanistan.
- Bringing back troops from America’s longest war could be a boost for U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election in November.
- “The United States will reduce the number of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments in the U.S.-Taliban agreement within 135 days of the announcement of this joint declaration and the U.S.-Taliban agreement,” the United States and Afghanistan said in a joint statement on Saturday.
- A full withdrawal of all U.S. and coalition forces would occur within 14 months of this deal getting signed, if Taliban fulfill their end of the deal, according to the text of the agreement.
- Up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released and the Taliban will release up to 1,000 prisoners by March 10, according to the text of the deal.
- The United States will work with the UN Security Council to remove Taliban members from sanctions by May 2020, the accord says.
- The next step would be for negotiators to work out an agreement for comprehensive ceasefire and the future governance of the country. Officials and experts say this will pose serious challenges as the Afghan government has until now been sidelined.
- Even before getting to talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan’s two main political rivals - President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah - must settle a dispute over which officials, opposition members and activists should negotiate with the insurgents.
- That process was further complicated last month by competing victory claims by Ghani and Abdullah in a disputed Sept. 28 election.
- The prospect of a peace arrangement with the Taliban has been raised by Afghan and U.S. leaders for more than a decade. Momentum towards the latest deal came after Trump appointed Khalilzad as his special envoy to Afghanistan.
- Progress had stalled several times, most notably in September when Trump canceled talks after an attack in Kabul that killed 12, including an American soldier.
- Talks began again in late 2019, culminating in a seven-day “reduction in violence” agreement that ended on Saturday with the Doha signing.
| Sign Agreement | February 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Eleven of 15 United Nations Security Council members approve placing North Korea's human rights record on the Council's agenda. Russia and China oppose the decision while Chad and Nigeria abstain. This is the first time this issue has been debated by the Security Council. Procedurally, once a topic makes the agenda, that issue can be brought up again at any time. | December 24, 2014 08:03 North Korea has denounced a UN Security Council vote on Monday to address human rights abuses in the country. The vote increases international pressure on North Korea's leaders. Given the angry reaction so far from Pyongyang, it could also escalate the possibility of confrontation. The vote to put North Korean human rights violations on the UN Security Council's agenda was passed despite objections from China and Russia. An angry North Korea refused to recognize the meeting. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power was among those who spoke out against the government's alleged crimes against humanity.
"Today we have broken the Council's silence. We have begun to shine a light, and what it has revealed is terrifying," said Power.
This was the first time North Korea's human rights situation had been debated by the U.N. Security Council. International pressure has been intensifying on Pyongyang since the release of a U.N. report this year documenting a network of political prisons in North Korea and atrocities that include murder, enslavement, torture, rape and forced abortions.
As a procedural rule, once the Security Council votes to put an issue in its agenda, that issue can be brought up again at any time. Phil Robertson, of the international rights group Human Rights Watch, said that means the international body intends to keep the pressure on North Korea.
"Kim Jong-un better watch out. He's now facing a determined international consensus armed with strong information about the crimes that have been committed by him and his predecessors and a determination to see this through," said Robertson.
So far, North Korean officials have rejected efforts to engage on this issue. Instead they have asked the UN to investigate the United States over Washington's recently released CIA torture report, and have called North Korean defectors who aided the UN commission of inquiry human scum. The UN Security Council has not yet take action on a recommendation to refer North Korea's human rights situation to the International Criminal Court. Such a move would likely be vetoed by North Korea's allies, China or Russia. In the past the international community had focused exclusively on curbing North Korea's nuclear program. Korea analyst Victor Cha, with the Center for Strategic and Internationals Studies, said he does not know how Pyongyang will react to this new pressure focusing on the country's human rights violations. "The question is how they will react to it. Will they react to it by actually making concessions on the human rights side, allowing international monitors to come inside the country, or are they going to react to it with a fourth nuclear test and a barrage of missile test? We just don’t know," said Cha.
The UN vote comes at a time of high tension between the United States and North Korea. Washington promised to retaliate against North Korea for allegedly launching a cyberattack against a major movie studio to stop the launch of comedy centered around the fictional assassination of Kim Jong-un. This has been followed by reports of Internet outages in North Korea that some speculate may be a U.S. counter cyberattack. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | December 2014 | ['(11)', '(Business Insider)', '(The Chosun Ilbo)'] |
A search of ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch has found no bodies from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake despite fears that there were 22 bodies buried there – the confirmed death toll is 165. | A 4.8 magnitude aftershock has shaken Christchurch this evening, being felt as far away as Timaru.
The aftershock struck at 7.34pm within 5km of Lyttelton at a depth of 11km.
VICTIMS NAMED
Six more names have been added to the list of victims of the Christchurch earthquake.
This afternoon police released the names of Melanie Jane Brown, 54, Christopher Grant Homan, 35, Melissa Ann Neale, 42, Allan Alexander Sinclair, 46, Murray John Wood, 57 and Gilhwan Yu, 24.
Earlier today superintendent Sam Hoyle said a further 38 bodies had been identified and the victims' families had been told.
The death toll was lifted by two to 165 today, but searchers have concluded that there are no bodies inside the collapsed ChristChurch Cathedral.
Previously it was reported that as many as 22 people may have been trapped in the church. A search of the rubble covered areas surrounding the cathedral would continue today.
Chinese, Japanese and New Zealand search teams expect to finish searching the CTV site tomorrow.
POWER RESTORATION
Orion said it still had still 12,500 customers throughout the city without power and the company is working hard to deal with the 500 or so cable faults affecting the system.
Orion aims to have power back 99 percent of its customers by Monday night, but is urging people to be conservative with power use.
TEEN VICTIM FAREWELLED
The cheeky face of Bart Simpson adorned a funeral service sheet in Christchurch today, reminding mourners of the young life snatched away a day before his birthday.
Jayden Andrews-Howland was last seen alive on his way into central Christchurch the day before his 15th birthday - believed to be heading into town to pick out a birthday present for himself.
He had his bike stolen a few weeks ago and he used the No 3 bus into the Christchurch CBD shortly before the magnitude 6.3 quake. He had been let out of school early due to a teacher-only afternoon.
Today, grieving friends and family - many dressed in Canterbury colours - farewelled the boy they described as having a big heart and an infectious smile.
Jayden was carried into the Harewood Crematorium in a black casket decorated with the silver fern.
Those gathered were told of his love for television programme the Simpsons and the service sheet for his funeral featured a big picture of Bart Simpson.
His former teacher at Linwood College told mourners that Jayden was a diligent student who was a "quiet, gracious and humble" role model for the other boys in his class.
Mourners were told Jayden loved to travel and dreamed of becoming a coach driver when he left school.
His aunt told mourners that she would never understand why her nephew was taken so soon but said Jayden had changed the lives of everyone he had touched and would never be forgotten.
Jayden was an only child.
HERITAGE WARNING
Meanwhile, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has warned that an estimated 1000 Christchurch heritage buildings are a danger to people's lives and should mostly be demolished.
Brownlee, at a media briefing held at the Art Gallery this afternoon, said only significant Christchurch heritage building such as the ChristChurch Cathedral, the Catholic Basilica, the Provincial Chambers and the Art Centre should be retained.
"While they are part of our past history, they have no place in our future history. As I've said repeatedly, heritage is both forward and back and from this point on, we decide what the heritage of this city will be.
"There will be a few others [kept], perhaps, but those would be the most iconic buildings that Christchurch residents would want to see rebuilt.
"They won't be put back the way they were. They will need to have a great deal of strengthening put into them and it will be quite a long consideration as to how those things might be done."
People have been barred from access to half of the city's heritage buildings after assessments by Civil Defence staff. Civil Defence national controller John Hamilton said earlier that 50 percent of the top level heritage building had been issued with red stickers.
TEARS OF JOY
The Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral cried when he was told early today there were no bodies buried in the rubble of the church.
The Very Reverend Peter Beck got a telephone call about 1am from the head of the Urban Search and Rescue task force, Ralph Moore, who told him the shattered cathedral had been checked and rechecked and there were no bodies in the rubble.
"I was expecting to get a call from him saying they had found a body and I and my colleagues were going to go down and say prayers at the side of the body.
"But of course I got this other news and I just burst into tears. I was speechless, It was unbelievable."
Since the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on February 22, it had been reported that as many as 22 bodies could be were buried in the rubble of the 130-year-old cathedral. Beck said he had no idea where that figure came from.
"I have always said it seems too high and I have always had this sense within me that it was a lot fewer than that.
"Straight after the quake a young woman was in tears and I gave her a big hug. She was telling me that she had just rushed out of the tower just before the quake and there were people behind her.
"Then you get other anecdotal stories from people saying they saw people in the viewing platform so that is the kind of stuff that was going around. But where 22 came from I have no idea."
Beck said it was great news but he was also very conscious that a lot of people had lost loved ones.
ChristChurch Cathedral master of the bell ringers Mike Clayton said he was absolutely "tickled pink" by news there were no bodies in the cathedral rubble. "Everybody is absolutely relieved obviously."
TOLL RISES
Despite the good news out of the cathedral, the official quake toll rose overnight to 165 with the recovery of two further bodies from the destroyed CTV building.
It had been expected that the total toll would rise to over 200, but police say this number is "highly likely" to come down after the cathedral search.
Superintendent Sandra Manderson said this morning that the number of people thought to be missing would be revised.
"We have cleared the cathedral site and we found no bodies in the cathedral at all, so to us that's fantastic news," she told Radio New Zealand.
Police are now trying to establish where the estimate of 22 people trapped at the cathedral came from.
"I haven't been able to do that so far, but I'm hoping that the estimated death toll will come down," Manderson said.
"Initially we had hundreds of people on the list, so it will be really good if that does go down, and it's highly possible."
RECOVERY CENTRES
Six recovery assistance centres will open in the hardest hit areas of quake-stricken Christchurch this morning, offering a range of services and information for people who need help.
Eventually there will be two more of the centres, which Social Development Minister Paula Bennett describes as "one stop" shops.
"These centres will provide a range of services to people in localised areas in Christchurch, particularly the Eastern Suburbs," she said.
Recovery assistance centres will provide face to face service and information from agencies like Work and Income, Housing New Zealand, Christchurch City Council, Red Cross and Salvation Army.
More non-government organisations will join these agencies over the coming days to ensure a wide range of services are available.
"People visiting a Recovery Assistance Centre will find they're essentially a one stop shop where people can sort out emergency payments, housing issues, get counselling or just have a cup of tea and a chat," Bennett said.
Most recovery assistance centres will be in the hardest hit suburbs in east Christchurch such as Aranui, Linwood, Dallington and New Brighton.
CORDON REDUCTION
The cordon blocking off central Christchurch after last week's destructive earthquake will be reduced tomorrow.
Civil Defence head John Hamilton said four green zones had been established at the edge of the cordon area and two of those would be open to the public at 2pm on Sunday.
Residents and business owners would be able to access the cordons from 8am to secure their properties, he said.
In the central city, search and rescue teams have made solid progress clearing the main buildings.
Deconstruction of the CTV buildings, where up to 100 people are believed to have been killed, should be completed in two or three days' time.
Richard Brewer, a spokesman for the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce, said the opening up of parts of the CBD represented a significant step forward.
''It will come as an absolutely huge relief for a lot of businesses, particularly if they can now get access to servers and other vital equipment for business,'' Brewer said.
Businesses in the so-called red-zone were still unable to access their properties because the area was judged too hazardous but the chamber was working hard with Civil Defence and other applicable agencies to make the area safe so businesses could get in there soon as possible.
DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Mayor Bob Parker said he would like to hold a day of remembrance, and to open a safe walkway through the CBD for people to see the destruction.
"Perhaps it can start with a remembrance service in Hagley Park and a silent procession into the city as part of the grieving process.
"We need to have that opportunity to remember, to grieve not only for the people that we have lost, but also for those buildings that are part of the story of our lives." | Earthquakes | March 2011 | ['(Stuff and NZPA)'] |
Authorities in China sentence Chinese–American geologist Xue Feng to 8 years in prison for "selling state secrets"; the U.S. expresses "dismay" at the sentence. | A Chinese-born American geologist has been sentenced to eight years in jail in China for stealing state secrets. 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.
The US embassy said it was "dismayed" and called for his immediate release. 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). Mr Xue's crime was to arrange 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.
The US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, was at court for the sentencing, in a show of high-level US concern over the case.
The embassy later issued a statement saying it was dismayed and urged China to grant Mr Xue "humanitarian release and immediately deport him".
Three Chinese nationals were also sentenced for illegally providing intelligence abroad.
Li Yongbo was sentenced to six years in jail, and Chen Mengjin and Li Dongxu were both given two-and-a-half-year sentences. The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing says that after this case foreign businesses in China are likely to tread even more warily when dealing with information about state firms. Draft regulations released by China's government earlier this 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. In Xue Feng's case the two-and-a-half-years it has taken to reach a verdict they say breaches China's own legal time limits. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | July 2010 | ['(BBC News)', '(CNN)'] |
A suicide blast near the judicial complex in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 17 people and wounds more than 30 others. | PESHAWAR, Pakistan A suicide blast near the judicial complex here on Thursday killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 30 others, a senior police official said.
The official, Sahibzada Anis, said in Peshawar that a suicide bomber had stepped out of a taxi and tried to make his way to the main gate of the courthouse complex after being stopped for a security check. When a police officer ran at the man to challenge him, the bomber detonated his charge, Mr. Anis said.
Three police sentries at the gate were among the dead.
Early Friday morning, another bomb went off in Peshawar. The police said a remotely controlled device destroyed a police vehicle, killing three officers and wounding six others, Reuters reported. Photos of the scene of Thursday’s attack showed documents, bicycles and bodies scattered near the gate. In an interview with a local television channel, a man who had helped in the rescue effort said that three lawyers were among those killed.
The judicial complex is on the main Khyber Road, and the High Court and the Pearl Continental Hotel are nearby. Eleven people were killed when the hotel, popular with aid workers and journalists, was attacked in June.
“There is a war going on,” said Bashir Bilour, a senior minister in the government of the North-West Frontier Province. “They can target us, even our children, but we will always stand up against them,” he said in a television interview.
Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister of the province, warned, “This is not going to be the last bombing.”
More than 300 people have died in attacks on government and civilian targets in the past six weeks. Most of the assaults have come in Pakistan’s fractious northwest. Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, has suffered the most. The assaults are widely seen as reprisals for the Pakistani military’s continuing campaign in South Waziristan against insurgents from Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for most of the bombings and have warned of further attacks. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the one on Thursday. It came just hours after an attack by what was believed to be an American drone killed three militants in Pakistan’s lawless tribal area along the Afghan border, intelligence officials told The Associated Press.
The officials said the missiles hit a house owned by a local tribesman in the village of Shana Khuwara in North Waziristan. | Armed Conflict | November 2009 | ['(NY Times)'] |
Tens of thousands of Basque nationalists form a 202-kilometre human chain asking for greater autonomy. | Tens of thousands of people in the autonomous Basque country of northern Spain have formed a human chain to push for greater autonomy. The organisers say it reached 202km (125 miles) and linked the cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao with Vitoria, the seat of the Basque parliament. The region has a higher degree of self-government than Catalonia - which has been seeking independence from Madrid.
Support for outright Basque independence has fallen over the years.
Many, though, believe the population should be given the right to vote over their future ties to Madrid.
Last month, the separatist group Eta, which had been fighting for Basque independence, formally announced it was disbanding, almost exactly 50 years after claiming its first victim.
Deemed a terrorist organisation by the European Union, it killed more than 800 people between 1968 and 2010, the year before it announced a permanent ceasefire.
Sunday's participants to the human chain - organised by Basque group Gure Esku Dago (In Our Own Hands) - were asked to write their aspirations on neckerchiefs, which they used as links in the chain. Several also wore symbols of support for Calatan separatists. Last year, a banned referendum on Catalonia's separation from Spain and consequent unilateral declaration of independence by the regional government prompted Madrid to impose direct rule over the region.
The courts have since detained politicians involved in the independence drive based on the constitutional clause that Spain is indivisible as a country.
The Basque region has more autonomy than any of Spain's other 16 regions, with its own police force, education system, language and a special financial relationship with Madrid.
In contrast with Catalonia, where support for secession is close to 50%, support for independence within the Basque country is currently around 15-17% according to polls. | Protest_Online Condemnation | June 2018 | ['(126\xa0mi)', '(BBC)'] |
At least 30 people are killed after Boko Haram militants attack three villages in Nigeria's northeast Borno state. | Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Brutal weekend attacks on three villages by Boko Haram Islamists in the restive northeast of Nigeria have left 30 dead and 20 others wounded, a vigilante told AFP.
"Most of the victims were slaughtered and most of the wounded (had suffered) machete cuts," Mustapha Karimbe, a civilian helping the Nigerian military fight Boko Haram, said of Saturday's attacks in the villages of Warwara, Mangari and Bura-Shika in Borno state.
News of the attacks has been slow to emerge because telecom masts in the area have been destroyed in previous Boko Haram raids, hindering communication.
The Islamists invaded the villages, hacking and slaughtering their victims before setting the villages on fire.
The villages are near Buratai, the hometown of Nigeria's highest military chief Tukur Yusuf Buratai.
Warwara, where 20 people were killed, was the worst affected, said Musa Suleiman, another vigilante.
The attackers killed six people in Bura-Shika and another four in Mangari, he said.
The latest deaths take the number of people killed in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May to more than 1,530, according to an AFP tally.
Residents of the villages fled to Biu, 30 kilometres (19 miles) away.
Buratai and nearby settlements have recently been the targets of deadly raids by Boko Haram, which have left scores dead and entire villages looted and burnt down.
Residents believe the attacks are in response to the pressure that the army chief is exerting on Boko Haram in counter-insurgency military operations.
On Thursday Boko Haram insurgents killed 14 people -- decapitating some of them -- when they raided Kamuya village, the hometown of the army chief's mother, and burnt it down.
Nigeria's government has vowed to end the Boko Haram insurgency by this month but the deadline looks likely to be missed as attacks persist.
The Islamists' grip on the region has suffered as a result of offensives launched by local armies, leading to raids like Saturday's becoming rarer.
There has, however, been a spike in suicide attacks in Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
At least 17,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2009.
A new 8,700-strong Multi-national Joint Task Force (MNJTF) comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin was supposed to have been deployed in late July.
But the African Union-backed force has yet to start operations, with no reason given for the lengthening delay and questions over whether the countries have the resources to commit.
| Armed Conflict | December 2015 | ['(AFP via Yahoo)'] |
Chinese Vice–Premier Li Keqiang travels to Budapest and holds talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. | BUDAPEST - Visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed to promote the friendly and cooperative partnership between the two countries during a talk on Tuesday.
Li said that the Sino-Hungarian relations made great headway since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1949 and have been developing fast in recent years.
The Chinese vice premier spoke highly of remarkable achievements of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the increasing people-to-people exchanges and nongovernmental contacts between the two countries.
The high-level exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in all fields between China and Hungary will vigorously boost mutual understanding and friendship between peoples of the two countries, Li said.
Li said that China regards Hungary as an important partner in eastern and central Europe, and is willing to make joint effort with the country to promote their friendly and cooperative partnership in an all-round way.
To strengthen existing good relations between the two countries, Li made a five-point proposals:
First, efforts should be made to deepen bilateral cooperation on the basis of the two countries' common ground in development strategies.
Second, China and Hungary should expand bilateral economic and trade cooperation, which has served as a corner stone of their cooperation.
Third, the two countries should step up financial cooperation to support bilateral economic and trade cooperation. China will continue to support Hungary's efforts to overcome the influence of the European debt crisis.
Fourth, efforts should be made to boost exchanges between the two countries in the fields of education, culture and tourism, in order to strengthen the foundation for friendship between peoples of the two countries.
Fifth, China and Hungary should exchange their experience in carrying out reforms and governing the country and learn from each other.
Orban expressed warm welcome to Li's visit. Speaking highly of great achievements China has made, Orban said that the Hungary-China relations are in its best period.
Hungary appreciates China's support for its efforts to address the European debt crisis, and hopes to deepen the financial cooperation with China, Orban said.
After their talks, Li and Orban attended the signing ceremony of China-Hungary cooperation agreements in sectors such as finance, agriculture and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises.
Li arrived in Budapest on Monday for a two-day official visit to Hungary.
The Chinese vice premier will also visit Belgium and European Union headquarters in Brussels later this week. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | May 2012 | ['(China Daily)'] |
The man accused of murdering aid worker Margaret Hassan in Iraq in 2004 disappears before his retrial. | The sister of Margaret Hassan, the British aid worker murdered in Iraq, has claimed that the man found guilty of the crime has gone missing.
Ali Lutfi Jassar was given a life sentence in June 2009, but won the right to a retrial, which had been due to start on Thursday.
Deirdre Manchanda, Mrs Hassan's sister, said the family had been told that Jassar could not be located in prison.
Mrs Hassan, 59, was abducted and murdered in Baghdad in 2004.
"The assistant director general of the prison has confirmed that he cannot locate him," said Mrs Manchanda.
"Our lawyer in Baghdad expressed his concerns sometime ago about ALJ's [Ali Lutfi Jassar] non-appearance at any of the appeal hearings."
A Foreign Office spokesman said it was ready to help Mrs Hassan's family.
"We stand by to provide consular assistance for Margaret Hassan's family, and want justice to be done for this dreadful crime committed against someone who dedicated her life to helping all Iraqis," he said.
Irish-born Mrs Hassan, had joint British, Irish and Iraqi nationality. She was married to an Iraqi and had lived in the country for 30 years.
She was director of charity Care International in Iraq when she was abducted in October 2004.
She was shot dead weeks later, but her body has never been found.
Jassar was arrested by Iraqi and US forces in 2008 after contacting the British embassy in Baghdad and attempting to extort money in return for leading them to Mrs Hassan's body.
An English-speaking Sunni from Baghdad, he pleaded not guilty at the original trial. He claims he was forced to sign statements confessing to the charges after being beaten and given electrical shocks during questioning, and successfully appealed to have a retrial. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | July 2010 | ['(RT)', '(BBC)', '(The Irish Times)', '(The Independent)'] |
A pregnant woman is reported with the Zika virus in Spain - the first case in Europe. | Spain has confirmed that a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus - the first such case in Europe. The health ministry said the woman had recently returned from Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.
Zika, which is spreading through the Americas, has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly condition, linked to the mosquito-borne virus, a global public health emergency.
The WHO on Thursday also advised countries not to accept blood donations from people who had travelled to Zika-affected regions, the AFP news agency reported.
The link between Zika infection and microcephaly has not been confirmed and the risks at different stages of pregnancy are unknown."
In a statement (in Spanish), the health ministry said the pregnant woman was diagnosed as having Zika in the north-eastern Catalonia region.
It did not release the woman's name, saying she was one of seven confirmed cases in Spain.
It said two more patients were in Catalonia, two in Castile and Leon, one in Murcia and one in the capital Madrid. "All are in good health," the ministry added. It also stressed that "the diagnosed cases of Zika virus in Spain... don't risk spreading the virus in our country as they are imported cases".
| Disease Outbreaks | February 2016 | ['(BBC)'] |
At least 18 prisoners are killed during a fight in a jail in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. This follows the recent deaths of nine prisoners in a riot in San Pedro Sula with both riots being blamed on overcrowding and gang rivalry. | At least 18 prisoners have been killed during a fight at a jail in Honduras, officials say.
Police were called in to help restore order after prisoners attacked another group of inmates at the main jail in the capital, Tegucigalpa. It is the second such clash in Honduras in recent days. Last week nine inmates died during rioting at a prison in the northern city of San Pedro Sula. The violence is blamed on overcrowding and gang rivalry within prisons.
In the latest incident, 31 prisoners were attacked by other inmates with knives and guns hours after they were transferred from San Pedro Sula prison, officials say.
Limited resources
The BBC's Warren Bull says the latest violence appears to be the result of a botched effort to protect inmates by moving them away from San Pedro Sula.
The head of the prison system in Honduras, Antonio Martinez, said he lacked the resources to contain all violence.
Human rights groups have suggested that one solution would be to speed up sentencing in order to reduce overcrowding.
But Honduras is a poor country with limited resources, and any concerted attempt to tackle the endemic violence both inside and outside the prison system could take decades to show results, our correspondent says. | Riot | May 2008 | ['(BBC News)'] |
Delta Air Lines and American Airlines announce that they have suspended all flights to and from China amid the pandemic. | What is coronavirus? Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a public health emergency in the United States at a White House press briefing on coronavirus Friday.
The following day, Massachusetts health officials reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus in the state, in a man who recently traveled to Wuhan and became ill after returning home to Boston. There are now eight confirmed cases in the U.S. -- seven in travelers and one a human-to-human transmission between a husband and wife.
U.S. citizens returning from Hubei province in the previous 14 days will be subject to up to a 14-day quarantine. Foreign nationals, other than immediate family members of U.S. citizens who have traveled to China in the previous 14 days, will be denied entry into the country. The temporary measures take effect Feb. 2 at 5 p.m.
Americans who've traveled to other parts of China in the previous 14 days will be subject to a health screening upon entry and asked to self-quarantine for up to 14 days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered a federal quarantine order for all 195 people who were evacuated from China and have been voluntarily quarantined at military base in California.
Those people were on a government-chartered flight earlier this week for American consulate staffers and private U.S. citizens from Wuhan. The quarantine, the first order of its kind in 50 years, will last for 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, health officials said at a news conference Friday.
"We are preparing as if this was the next pandemic," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said of the quarantine.
"If we take strong measures now, we may be able to blunt the impact of the virus on the United States," she added. "We would rather be remembered for overreacting than underreacting."
Messonnier stressed that Americans should not let panic or fear guide their actions and reiterated the CDC's recommendation that the general public does not need to wear face masks. She also called for people to not discriminate against Chinese Americans amid the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines suspended all of their flights to China as coronavirus cases in the country top 11,800.
Delta is temporarily suspending flights starting Feb. 6 through April 30, due to "ongoing concerns related to the coronavirus," the company said in a statement.
Until Feb. 5, flights will continue to operate, to ensure that passengers who want to leave China can do so. The final China-bound flight is scheduled to depart Feb. 3.
American Airlines canceled all of its China flights shortly after Delta made its flight suspension announcement. American said flight suspensions were effective immediately would run through March 27.
United Airlines followed suit later in the day. Flight suspensions will begin Feb. 6. and run through March 28 for United.
Other airlines around the world have similarly suspended some routes to China, including British Airways, Air Seoul, Lion Air, Lufthansa Group, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Air Asia, Air India, Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air.
Delta's sweeping cancellations come hours after the State Department issued a warning to Americans not to travel to China because of coronavirus. Anyone currently in China should "consider departing," according to the State Department, and non-essential government workers should defer travel to the country.
Concerns about the virus and its transmission continue, with thousands of new cases of coronavirus reported in China over the last 24 hours. Worldwide, nearly 12,000 people have been sickened, outstripping the 8,098 cases reported during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Despite the accelerating case count, however, the new coronavirus appears to be less fatal than SARS. The World Health Organization estimates that 20% of cases of the new coronavirus are considered to be severe and 2% are fatal. In comparison, the SARS' fatality rate was roughly 10%.
Compared to SARS, which killed 774 people, 259 people have died in the new coronavirus outbreak. All of those deaths have been in China.
It's also expected that the fatality rate for the new coronavirus will decline as more cases continue to be reported, because individuals who are the sickest tend to be the first to seek medical treatment.
Many questions remain about how the virus is transmitted and how infectious it is.
Several countries outside of China, including the United States, have reported instances of human-to-human transmission of the virus. For now, the World Health Organization believes that the disease's incubation period is between two and 14 days, a wide range.
Doctors in Germany published a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine Jan. 30 reporting the case of German patient who contracted coronavirus from his business partner. She was visiting from China and didn't have symptoms during the course of her stay.
U.S. health officials previously maintained that there wasn't enough data to determine whether the virus could be transmitted before a patient who was infected developed symptoms.
Based on the reports from Germany, we know for sure that asymptomatic transmission can occur, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the Friday press briefing.
Still, it's not known how common asymptomatic transmission is. Fauci emphasized that risk to the general American public is low.
"We want to keep it at a low risk," he said.
Faced with so much uncertainty, countries are scrambling to react. In Italy, a cruise ship carrying 7,000 people was held in port for hours on Jan. 30, after a passenger came down with flu-like symptoms. It turned out to be a false alarm, and Italian health officials diagnosed that person with the common flu.
"Individuals and governments are trying to make decisions based on speculation and minimal information," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the national center for disaster preparedness at Columbia University.
"We're trying to sort of grope our way through this," he told ABC News. "There's no playbook here."
Without knowing how infectious the new coronavirus is, it's difficult to assess whether countries' aggressive policies are extreme or rational, Redlener explained.
If the virus turns out to be highly contagious, "that could lead to a number of decisions that could seem pretty draconian." | Disease Outbreaks | January 2020 | ['(ABC News)'] |
Belgian bank Fortis NV is partly nationalised as part of an 11.4 billion euro rescue package funded by the Governments of Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. | Fortis Bank CEO Filip Dierckx walks behind, from left to right, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos, Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme, and Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders at the start of a media conference at the Prime Minister's office in Brussels Sunday Sept. 28, 2008. The Belgian prime minister says the troubled Dutch-Belgian banking and insurance giant Fortis NV will be partially nationalized. Prime Minister Yves Leterme says the deal was reached during talks Sunday between EU and national banking officials and ministers from the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments. The deal will see the three governments pour euro11.2 billion (US$16.4 billion) into the bank. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
By AOIFE WHITE – 5 days ago BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Dutch-Belgian bank and insurance giant Fortis NV was given a 11.2 billion euro ($16.4 billion) lifeline to avert insolvency as part of a wider bailout plan agreed to by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, officials said Sunday.
Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the bailout shows account holders and investors that Fortis will not be allowed to fall victim to the global credit crisis.
Leterme announced the deal after weekend talks between the three countries, European Union and national banking officials.
The deal will force the bank — which has headquarters in both Brussels and the Dutch city of Utrecht — to sell its stake in Dutch bank ABN Amro, which it partially took over last year. Fortis paid 24 billion euros for its share of ABN.
Fortis Chairman Maurice Lippens will be forced to resign and will be replaced by a candidate from outside the company, Leterme said.
"We have taken up our responsibility, we did not abandon" account holders, Leterme told reporters.
Under the bailout, Belgium will invest 4.7 billion euros ($6.88 billion) and the Netherlands 4 billion euros ($5.86 billion) in Fortis' banking operations in the two countries. In return, they each receive 49 percent ownership in those national arms of the bank.
Luxembourg will invest 2.5 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in the bank's Luxembourg operations, also for a 49 percent stake.
The deal, orchestrated by the three neighboring countries and EU Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet, is meant to restore confidence in the bank before the reopening of markets on Monday after a tumultuous week in which Fortis' shares imploded.
Belgian officials also announced Sunday that they planned to offer better guarantees for all retail deposits at Fortis, the country's largest bank and largest private employer.
Fortis named its third chief executive officer in as many months Friday after insolvency fears caused the company's shares to tumble to 5.18 euros ($7.56), their lowest level in more than a decade. The shares have lost more than three-fourths of their value in the past year.
Fortis denies any imminent solvency problems, but it has been in trouble since it took part in a three-bank consortium last year that acquired ABN Amro in a 70 billion euros ($102.5 billion) deal that was the largest takeover in the history of the banking industry. | Financial Aid | September 2008 | ['(AP via Google News)'] |
The final of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League occurs in Munich, with Chelsea defeating Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot out after extra time, winning the competition for the first time in the club's history. | MUNICH: From zeros to heroes, chumps to champs: in three short months Roberto Di Matteo steered Chelsea back from the precipice to the greatest moment in the club's history.
Chelsea's stunning Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Saturday completed one of the most dramatic reversals of fortune in football history, the glorious final act of a season which had once threatened to unravel.
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Chelsea and Bayern Munich's match pushed to a penalty round, which ultimately saw Chelsea win their first Champions League title 4-3.
When Di Matteo was appointed as interim manager following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas in early March, few observers viewed the former Chelsea midfielder as a viable long-term candidate for the job.
Didier Drogba was the hero in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out at the Allianz Arena.
Old guard heroes ... Didier Drogba and goalkeeper Petr Cech celebrate after winning the penalty shootout.Credit:AP
Drogba stepped up to rifle home the winning penalty for Chelsea after earlier saving his side with an equalising goal two minutes from time to cancel out what looked like a winner from Thomas Mueller as the match finished at 1-1.
It was an agonising defeat for Bayern, who saw midfield maestro Bastian Schweinsteiger miss with their final kick to give Drogba the opportunity to score the penalty to clinch the shoot-out 4-3.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech also saved brilliantly from Ivica Ovic to get Chelsea back into the shoot-out after Juan Mata had missed the Premier League side's opening effort.
Drogba's winning spot-kick was a fairytale ending for the 34-year-old Ivorian striker, who had been sent off in the final minutes of Chelsea's Champions League final defeat in Moscow four years ago.
All square ... Didier Drogba celebrates as he equalises for Chelsea with two minutes of normal time to go.Credit:AFP
But the loss left Bayern shattered as their dream of lifting their fifth European title before their own fans at their home ground ended in agony.
A match Bayern had dominated went to penalties after a frenetic finish to normal time, with Mueller heading Bayern into the lead seven minutes from time only for Drogba to equalise for Chelsea in the 88th minute.
The moment of victory ... Didier Drogba of Chelsea scores the winning penalty.Credit:Getty Images
A dramatic start to extra-time then saw Bayern's former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben miss a penalty -- saved by Cech -- after Drogba had needlessly brought down Franck Ribery in the area.
For much of the match a Bayern victory had looked the likeliest outcome, with the Bundesliga giants revelling in the raucous support of their home fans.
Chelsea players celebrate Didier Drogba's game-winning penalty kick.Credit:AP
They suffered an early setback when Schweinsteiger was booked for a nervy handball after only two minutes, but thereafter they enjoyed a virtual monopoly of possession.
Schweinsteiger was the first to set alarms off in the Chelsea back four, having his shot deflected behind by Gary Cahill after only three minutes.
Bastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munich hit the post in the penalty shootout.Credit:Getty Images
Toni Kroos was next, his low shot drifting just wide of Cech's upright.
Chelsea coach Di Matteo had sprung a surprise by handing a first Champions League start to youngster Ryan Bertrand in an effort to cut off the supply lines to Arjen Robben down the right flank.
However the wily Dutchman found space with ease in the eighth minute, cutting in from the flank and curling a shot over the bar.
The former Chelsea winger produced the best chance of the half on 21 minutes, teasing the ball past Jose Bosingwa to dart into the area. Robben's shot was low and hard, but Cech stuck out a leg and the ball cannoned to safety.
The closing stages of the half saw Bayern up the tempo and they carved out a string of openings that they could well have scored from.
On 36 minutes Ribery and Diego Contento combined down the left to send Contento racing away. The left-back whipped in an inviting cross but Mueller could only slash his first-time volley wide of the post.
Chelsea, largely anonymous in attack until that point, then forced Neuer into his first save of the match.
A sweeping counter-attack saw captain Frank Lampard lay off to Salomon Kalou whose thumping low drive was gathered at the near post by the Bayern keeper.
Bayern's pressure should have earned a reward but Mario Gomez squandered two promising openings shortly before half-time, slicing from close range on 39 minutes and then blazing over from just inside the area after losing Cahill.
The second half followed largely the same pattern as the first, with Bayern having a goal disallowed for offside by Ribery on 54 minutes.
The Germans were thwarted by some dogged Chelsea defending, with Cole saving the Londoners with a series of telling interventions.
It looked all over for Chelsea when Mueller headed in to put Bayern 1-0 seven minutes from time. But Drogba had other ideas to set up the extra-time finale.
However Chelsea looked to have squandered parity in the fourth minute of extra-time, when Drogba needlessly clipped Ribery to concede the softest of penalties from referee Pedro Proenca.
Once again though Chelse'sa refusal to yield came to their rescue, Cech diving low to his left to thwart Robben's spot-kick with his legs as the tension rose to excruciating levels.
Substitute Olic almost won it for Bayern in the 108th minute, but his shot flashed across goal as the game went to penalties. | Sports Competition | May 2012 | ['(The Guardian)', '(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)', '(The Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
80 people die after drinking illegal home–made banana gin laced with methanol in Kabale, Uganda | Some 80 people have died in Uganda after drinking illegal home-made banana gin laced with methanol, a health official says.
Patrick Tusiime said so many people had died because relatives did not want to admit that people had been drinking the gin, known as waragi. The deaths have occurred over the past three weeks in the south-western Kabale district, he told Reuters news agency. He said the authorities were conducting house-to-house searches for the gin. The BBC's Joshua Mmali in the capital, Kampala, says waragi is drunk across Uganda, often by those who cannot afford industrialised alcohol.
He says deaths from drinking it are not uncommon but this is the largest number killed at one time for several years. About 120 jerrycans of waragi have been seized, reports Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper. "All the alcohol found has been confiscated but people are stubborn and have found ingenious ways of hiding it," Mr Tusiime said. He said those affected became blind and suffered liver and kidney failure before dying. | Famous Person - Death | April 2010 | ['(waragi)', '(BBC)', '(News24)', '(TMC)'] |
A state of emergency is declared in parts of Bolivia and rescue efforts continue in Peru amid heavy rain and floods in the region. | Bolivian President Evo Morales has declared a state of emergency in areas of the country, as heavy rains and floods affect some 24,000 families.
The worst-hit areas are La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and Beni. The flooding is expected to get worse as more rain is forecast. Rivers have broken their banks and overflowed. There have been mudslides. Meanwhile rescuers in Peru renewed efforts to evacuate tourists trapped near the Inca site of Machu Picchu. Rain and mudslides there have severed road and rail links in the region. However, a break in the weather has now allowed the authorities to send in helicopters to ferry out several thousand tourists. The operation is expected to end by the weekend. El Nino
President Morales has toured Bolivia's affected areas and authorised the release of funds to help tackle the crisis. Earlier this week a heavy mudslide washed away 72 houses on the outskirts of the capital La Paz. The rains, which have swept away crops, livestock and communication lines, are blamed on the El Nino weather phenomenon which results in severe weather conditions across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Rain regularly increases in Bolivia in January and February. However, officials are saying that climate change is also to blame. | Floods | January 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Andina)'] |
Following general elections in May, Ethiopia releases the first round of official results for 307 of 527 parliamentary seats. The ruling EPRDF has won 139 seats, while opposition parties CUD and UEDF won 93 and 42, respectively. Smaller parties and independent candidates won the remaining 33 seats. CUD and UEDF announced plans to form a coalition government. | With more than half the results announced, the EPRDF of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has a narrow lead.
The National Election Board said it was investigating allegations of fraud in up to 200 seats.
The opposition rejected initial results, which said the EPRDF had retained its majority.
Protests at alleged fraud left at 36 people dead in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Nomads to vote
Of the 307 seats declared, the Ethiopia People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has won 139 seats, the two main opposition groups - CUD and UEDF - got 93 and 42 seats respectively.
The CUD and UEDF have pledged to form a coalition government.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
EPRDF: 139
CUD: 93
UEDF: 42
Others: 33
Being investigated: 139
Probe to start: 14
Possible investigation: 64
Still to vote: 23
Source: National Election Board
Smaller parties and independents gained the remaining 33 seats.
The election board said it was still investigating fraud complaints in 139 constituencies in the 547-seat parliament.
It said it would soon begin probes in another 14 and was reviewing allegations of irregularities to determine whether investigations were needed in 64.
Nomads are due to vote in mobile polling stations in August to elect 23 MPs from the Somali region.
Election board head Kemal Bedri rejected charges that the elections had been a shambles because a winner had not been announced yet.
"We have been investigating all of the complaints from the political parties, however frivolous, and to do that takes time," he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition CUD has pulled back from statements saying it had withdrawn from the panels investigating the claims of fraud.
"For now we haven't withdrawn from the investigating committee but we've asked the election board to take corrective measures," CUD official Gizachew Shiferaw told Reuters news agency.
"The whole process is not credible and is mismanaged."
The board now says final results will be released before the end of July but some diplomats say this is unlikely with polls being re-run in some areas, on top of the investigations into alleged fraud.
Thousands were arrested after the poll protests and opposition parties say many of their members are still in prison. | Government Job change - Election | July 2005 | ['(BBC News)'] |
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes off the coast of Ecuador, near the town of Muisne. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami alert for coastal areas of Ecuador and Colombia. At least 42 people are reported dead with deaths reported in the cities of Manta, Guayaquil and Portoviejo. | . The April 16, 2016 M 7.8 earthquake, offshore of the west coast of northern Ecuador, occurred as the result of shallow thrust faulting on or near the plate boundary between the Nazca and South America plates. At the location of the earthquake, the Nazca plate subducts eastward beneath the South America plate at a velocity of 61 mm/yr. The location and mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with slip on the primary plate boundary interface, or megathrust, between these two major plates. Subduction along the Ecuador Trench to the west of Ecuador, and the Peru-Chile Trench further south, has led to uplift of the Andes mountain range and has produced some of the largest earthquakes in the world, including the largest earthquake on record, the 1960 M 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile.
While commonly plotted as points on maps, earthquakes of this size are more appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area. Events of the size of the April 16, 2016 earthquake are typically about 160x60 km in size (length x width).
Ecuador has a history of large subduction zone related earthquakes. Seven magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes have occurred within 250 km of this event since 1900. On May 14th, 1942, a M 7.8 earthquake occurred 43 km south of this April 16th, 2016 event. On January 31st, 1906 a M 8.3 earthquake (reportedly as large as M 8.8 in some sources) nucleated on the subduction zone interface 90 km to the northeast of the April 2016 event, and ruptured over a length of approximately 400-500 km, resulting in a damaging tsunami that caused in the region of 500-1,500 fatalities. The April 2016 earthquake is at the southern end of the approximate rupture area of the 1906 event. A shallow, upper crustal M 7.2 earthquake 240 km east of the April 2016 event on March 6th, 1987 resulted in approximately 1,000 fatalities. | Earthquakes | April 2016 | ['(BNO News)', '(USGS)', '(Reuters via NBC News)', '(AP via Fox News)'] |
Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, the longtime director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, from 1956 to 1997, dies at the age of 96. At the time of his death he was the 2nd–oldest living member of the College of Cardinals. | Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, the longtime director of the Sistine Chapel choir, died on November 11 at the age of 96. A priest of the Florence archdiocese, Father Domenico Bartolucci held several positions in music ministry, both in Florence and in Rome, before becoming deputy director of the Sistine Chapel choir in 1952. He was made permanent director of that choir by Pope Pius XII in 1956, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1997. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI raised him to the College of Cardinals in recognition of his service to the Church. Because he was well over the age of 80 when he received his red hat, Cardinal Bartolucci never participated in a papal election. At his own request, he was exempted from the ordinary requirement that a cardinal must be ordained as a bishop. At the time of his death he was the 2nd-oldest living member of the College of Cardinals. In a message of condolence to the relatives of the deceased prelate, Pope Francis praised Cardinal Bartolucci as “an illustrious composer and musician, who exercised his long and intense ministry, especially through religious music, born of and expressing faith.” With the death of Cardinal Bartolucci, there are now 200 living members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 109 are eligible to take part in a papal conclave. Pope Francis will appoint new cardinals in February 2014.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off! | Famous Person - Death | November 2013 | ['(Catholic World News)'] |
French National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin and afterwards urges that European Union sanctions on Russia be lifted. | Russian president Vladimir Putin has met France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in Moscow, saying she represents a "fast-growing element" of European politics.
Mr Putin defended the meeting - a coup for Ms Le Pen - saying that he was not seeking to influence France's election.
Ms Le Pen has garnered widespread support at home but her extreme views have deterred most foreign leaders.
Russia was accused of meddling in the US election in support of Donald Trump.
"Of course I know that the election campaign in France is actively developing," said Mr Putin. "We do not want to influence events in any way, but we reserve the right to talk to representatives of all the country's political forces," he added.
Ms Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front (FN) party, called during her visit to Moscow for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia, arguing that they were "counterproductive".
When Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, the US and EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on individuals and companies linked to Russia's ruling elite.
"I believe that barring parliamentarians from speaking to each other, working together is an infringement of democratic rights," Interfax quoted Ms Le Pen.
Speaking at Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, she vowed to push for the so-called "blacklists" of targeted individuals to be abolished.
Ms Le Pen has previously stated her approval of Russia's annexation of of Crimea.
She also said that Russia and France should work together to save the world from globalism and Islamic fundamentalism.
Moscow likes what Marine Le Pen has to say. It likes her call for EU sanctions imposed on Russia to be scrapped. It likes her claim that "Crimea has always been Russian" and that "there was no Russian invasion of Crimea". It likes her commitment to forge a strong partnership with Moscow. Which explains why the Kremlin leader took the decision to meet her in Moscow.
It's rare for Vladimir Putin to receive a presidential candidate from abroad. I asked President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov whether any Russian banks or financial institutions intend to provide financing for Ms Le Pen's campaign. "I don't have that information," he replied. Coverage of her in the Russian state media has been favourable. There is little doubt Russia would be happy to deal with a President Le Pen.
However, today, the French far-right presidential candidate was less than happy to deal with the media. Journalists crowded into the lower house of parliament, the Duma, for a le Pen press briefing. She never showed up. FN Treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just has said Ms Le Pen's visit is not a cash-raising exercise, though party members have said they are seeking millions to fund the presidential and later the parliamentary election campaigns, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Recent opinion polls in France put Ms Le Pen neck-and-neck in the first round with centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, with Mr Macron slated to win the run-off. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | March 2017 | ['(BBC)'] |
French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn announces she will run for the Parisian mayoral position on the La République En Marche! ticket, after the party's original candidate Benjamin Griveaux withdrew yesterday due to a sexting scandal. | PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron picked his widely respected health minister on Sunday to reinvigorate a campaign to win over Paris City Hall that fell apart when his previous candidate pulled out over a sexting scandal.
French health minister quits job for Paris mayoral run
01:00
Less than a month before mayoral elections in which opinion polls expect Macron’s party to fare poorly, Macron is keen to turn his fortunes around in the capital, where voters have given him good scores in the past.
His new candidate, Health Minister Agnes Buzyn, a doctor who has been leading France’s response to the coronavirus, told reporters she was throwing herself into the race to win.
She will pick up the baton from Benjamin Griveaux, one of the “Macron boys” who helped propel the former investment banker into power in 2017. Griveaux, who is married, was forced to give up after sexual images he sent to a woman were published online.
Russian dissident artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who has lived in exile in France since 2017, said he published a video of a man masturbating, that he says was Griveaux, to expose the “hypocrisy”. Griveaux has not disputed that he sent the messages and the video.
Pavlensky and his girlfriend, who French media said was the recipient of Griveaux’s texts, were arrested on Saturday and were held for questioning on Sunday over possible charges of privacy violation, the prosecutor’s office said.
The Russian artist is best known for works of performance art including nailing his scrotum to the ground in Moscow’s Red Square and setting fire to doors at the headquarters of Russia’s state security agency and the Bank of France.
French politicians from all camps denounced the leak of private material, which many said constituted an unacceptable Americanisation of politics in France, where politicians’ private lives have long been considered off limits.
But for Macron, the episode marks a new low in his effort to give the three-and-a-half year old En Marche (On the Move) party he created from scratch a sustainable local base.
Party officials have admitted they expected a drubbing in the March 15-22 elections. “It will go badly for En Marche, because that’s the election in which the political program is the least important,” a senior figure in the party told Reuters.
The party has suffered from defections in parliament and has also failed to maintain discipline, with several lawmakers deciding to launch independent bids against the candidate chosen by the party’s decision-making committee.
In Paris, Macron’s new candidate will compete with a flamboyant mathematician, Cedric Villani, who was elected to parliament under Macron’s banner in 2017 but was kicked out of the party last month after he refused to rally behind Macron’s official choice.
| Government Job change - Election | February 2020 | ['(Reuters)'] |
A 7.0 magnitude undersea earthquake strikes east of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Tsunami warnings for New Caledonia and Vanuatu are cancelled. There are no immediate reports of damage. | SYDNEY (Reuters) - A powerful magnitude 7 undersea earthquake struck east of New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific on Monday, sending small tsunamis towards New Caledonia and neighbouring Vanuatu, where authorities ordered evacuations.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kms (186 mile) of the epicentre, but later said the danger had largely passed.
Monday’s quake, initially reported as magnitude 7.3, struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles) about 82 kms (51 miles) east of New Caledonia. It was the second major tremor in the same area in just over 12 hours and the third in the past month.
“We are a little bit scared, we have had an earthquake last night and today it was quite a big one,” said Wayan Rigault, communications manager at Hotel Nengone Village on the island of Mare, which is the closest landmass to the epicentre.
Rigault said there was no immediate damage, but guests were on alert for a formal evacuation warning.
Small tsunamis were detected and waves may have reached up to one metre (three feet) above the high tide level in parts of New Caledonia and smaller in Vanuatu, the PTWC said.
“Minor sea level fluctuations...may continue over the next few hours,” a statement from the agency said.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office advised people in southern provinces to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground..
New Caledonia’s civil security agency made no plans to evacuate coastal places immediately.
Authorities in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii said there were no tsunami threats to the coastlines of those countries.
| Earthquakes | November 2017 | ['(Gulf News)', '(Reuters)', '(USGS)'] |
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