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Hundreds of restaurants and other businesses in U.S. cities close their doors after activists called on immigrants to stay home from work, avoid shopping or eating out, and skip classes Thursday for #ADayWithoutImmigrants, to protest the President's immigration reforms and highlight the immigrant community's contributions to the United States. | As foreign-born workers and their allies prepare to denounce the immigration policies of President Trump in a national "Day Without Immigrants" protest Thursday, their plans pose a particular challenge for America's $550-billion-a-year restaurant trade, in which immigrants — some here legally, some not — play essential roles as chefs, line cooks, servers, and dishwashers.
Organizers of the one-day strike are urging all businesses owned or staffed by immigrants — not just restaurants — to close. They want employees to stay home from any establishment that remains open, and customers to stay away, to illustrate what would happen if the United States were to be purged of undocumented workers.
Immigrants' contributions to local economies will be highlighted at a rally from noon to 3 p.m. at Thomas Paine Plaza at the Municipal Services Building, said Carmen Guerrero, a cofounder of the advocacy group Coalición Fortaleza Latina.
In Philadelphia, with its vibrant restaurant scene, workers in several establishments say they plan to take part in the boycott, giving up wages in exchange for raising awareness.
Greg Dodge, whose company owns Tredici Enoteca and Zavino, at 13th and Sansom Streets, and Zavino University City, 3200 Chestnut St., said management decided to close for the day, idling 125 employees. He estimated that 90 percent of his kitchen workers are Latino and said three of his company's four executive chefs are Latino.
"I've been in the business since I was 14," said Dodge, "and in 30 years I have never seen such an outpouring of support for a cause. We want to support our employees. There's no political agenda here. If an employee wants to make a point, the least I can do is support him. … To not listen to them would be a mistake."
Sam Mink, owner of Mission Taqueria and the Oyster House in Center City, said he would pay staff whether they worked or joined the protest. Immigrants are "our backbone," said chef Brett Naylor. "And I consider them part of my community and friends. It's inspiring [what] they are doing. Takes conviction, guts."
The chef Jose Garces, a son of Ecuadoran immigrants who owns more than a dozen restaurants in and around Philadelphia, said his enterprises would be open, but he would not penalize any employee who chose to participate in the protest.
"We recognize the immigrant community is an essential part of the hospitality industry. Since 2012, the Garces Foundation has provided health, nutrition, and education resources for immigrant families in need," he said through a spokeswoman. "We support the right for hospitality-industry employees to have their voices heard."
In Washington, celebrity chef Jose Andres decided to close five of his restaurants. Andres is battling Trump in court because the Spanish-born chef pulled out of his planned restaurant at Trump's Washington hotel after candidate Trump repeatedly disparaged Mexican immigrants.
Beefsteak, the vegetable-focused restaurant in University City that Andres conceived, will be open Thursday. The location is owned by the University of Pennsylvania, which had no plans to close it, a restaurant manager said.
Standard Tap, a popular bar in Northern Liberties, is supporting the protest by not operating its kitchen, said co-owner Paul Kimport. The bar will be open, serving fresh baked pretzels. Kimport said 20 percent of all drink and pretzel sales will be donated to the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which has defended immigrants and refugees in court.
Tria and Tria Taproom "are proud to be owned and staffed by immigrants and descendants of immigrants," owners Jon Myerow and Michael McCaulley said in a statement. "We would not be able to open our doors without them, and ... we stand in solidarity with them. We will serve only wine, cheese and beer... as our kitchens cannot open without the hard work and dedication of our entire team."
The owners said they would donate $1 from every wine, cheese, and beer sale to the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, an advocacy group. | Protest_Online Condemnation | February 2017 | ['(Reuters)', '(The Atlantic)', '(The Philadelphia Inquirer)', '(Los Angeles Times)'] |
Veteran former French right–wing interior minister Charles Pasqua has his conviction for illegally selling weapons to Angola quashed, while jail terms for Israeli–Russian businessman Arkady Gaydamak and French magnate Pierre Falcone are cut. | A French appeals court has overturned the conviction of former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua over arms trafficking to Angola in the 1990s.
Mr Pasqua, 84, had been jailed for one year over the "Angola-gate" affair, with two more years suspended.
The Paris court also cut the jail terms handed down in 2009 to Israeli-Russian businessman Arkady Gaydamak and French magnate Pierre Falcone in the case.
The case centred on illegal arms sales to Angola during the civil war there.
It was alleged that Soviet bloc arms worth $790m (£474m) were shipped to Angola in murky deals involving politicians and businessmen. In all, 42 people were put on trial.
Falcone's jail term has been cut to 30 months, from the original six years. Mr Pasqua, a veteran right-wing politician, said Friday's ruling "shatters the entire accusation drawn up and pursued against me". Describing himself as "an old soldier" he said "it would take more than that to destroy me politically".
Mr Pasqua has accused former President Jacques Chirac and some other top politicians of using the scandal to harm his career.
An arrest warrant is still in force against Gaydamak, who is on the run, but his jail sentence of six years was halved. French former minister convicted | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2011 | ['(BBC)'] |
Protesters in Beijing surround a car transporting US ambassador to China Gary Locke and attack it as it tried to make its way into the gate of the Japanese embassy. | This post has been updated. See the note below for details.
BEIJING -- The car of
the U.S. ambassador to China was surrounded Tuesday by a small group of demonstrators who damaged the vehicle and briefly prevented it from entering the
U.S. Embassy compound in Beijing.
A YouTube video of the incident
showed the protesters chanting slogans such as "down with the
U.S. imperialists" and, in an apparent reference to the Chinese government's
purchase of U.S. government debt, "return the money!" The five-minute video
shows a black car approaching the embassy and attempting to turn into the
gate. As demonstrators surround the vehicle, several dozen Chinese police
and uniformed guards rush to the scene. Several water bottles are thrown at
the car and one man can be seen banging on the hood of the vehicle. The
security forces quickly surround the automobile and push the demonstrators
away from it.
A State Department
spokesperson said Ambassador Gary Locke's car sustained minor damage but the
ambassador was unharmed. The spokesperson said U.S. officials had "registered
our concern" with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[Updated, 6:21 a.m. Sept. 19: Locke told reporters
that he was on his way to the Japanese Embassy when his car was surrounded by a few dozen protesters who chanted slogans and briefly blocked his vehicle. "It was all over in a few minutes, and I never felt in danger," he said.]
The U.S. Embassy is
located near the Japanese Embassy, which in recent days has been targeted by thousands of
Chinese protesters voicing complaints over Tokyo's move to purchase islands in the East China Sea that are also
claimed by China.
In an apparent reference
to that dispute and the United States' security treaty with Japan, some of the
demonstrators Tuesday chanted: "The U.S. government is the mastermind." | Protest_Online Condemnation | September 2012 | ['(Los Angeles Times)'] |
The predominantly African American Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville Mississippi burned down to brick walls and spray painted with "Vote Trump" in what appeared to be a political hate crime. Andrew McClinton, a black member of the church was arrested, charged and later pleaded guilty to burning the church in a race hoax | A member of a black church in Mississippi has pleaded guilty to burning the church, which was also spray painted with the slogan “Vote Trump,” a week before the 2016 presidential election.
Andrew McClinton, 47, pleaded guilty to arson Thursday, the Delta Democrat-Times reported. His sentencing is set for late April.
Investigators said McClinton belonged to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, which was vandalized and burned.
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who is also the state fire marshal, told The Associated Press that investigators believe the graffiti was intended as a distraction from some other sort of wrongdoing. Chaney would not specify what that was.
“He tried to make the arson appear it was politically motivated, but it was not,” Chaney said.
This is a Mississippi Department of Public Safety-provided and undated state driver’s license photograph of Andrew McClinton, of Leland, Miss. McClinton, a member of a black church in Mississippi, has pleaded guilty to burning the church, which was also spray painted with the slogan “Vote Trump,” a week before the 2016 presidential election.
Greenville, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Jackson, is a Mississippi River port city that’s a hub of commerce in the cotton-growing Delta. About 78 percent of the city’s 32,100 residents are African-American.
McClinton will be sentenced as a habitual offender because he was convicted of attempted armed robbery in 1997 and armed robbery in 2004, both in another part of Mississippi.
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1905 in the heart of an African-American neighborhood, and the congregation has about 200 members. Some walls of the beige brick church survived the fire, but the remaining walls were torn down. A new structure was built in its place.
During the first months after the fire, Hopewell members have worshipped in the chapel at First Baptist Church of Greenville, which has a predominantly white congregation.
Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons initially urged officials to investigate the church burning as a possible hate crime. Simmons is African-American and had been elected months earlier on a platform of seeking racial unity.
The mayor’s twin, Democratic state Sen. Derrick Simmons, told AP in December 2016 that his brother had taken the right approach.
“There is a dark past in America and in the Deep South regarding the burning of African-American churches,” Derrick Simmons said. “The way law enforcement authorities initially investigated this matter as a hate crime I believe was warranted, considering the past and the history.” | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | November 2016 | ['(WREG)'] |
China claims to have foiled the disruption of the 2008 Summer Olympics by suspected terrorists of separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement from Xinjiang province. | Chinese authorities say 82 suspected terrorists have been arrested this year for plotting to sabotage the Olympic Games in Beijing. They say they have broken up five terrorist groups in the mainly Muslim western region of Xinjiang. The news follows earlier reports that police had killed five militants who wanted to wage holy war in the region. International security experts have questioned the level of the threat that China says it faces.
Human rights campaigners accuse China of exaggerating an alleged threat to the Olympics to justify repression of the Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang. The BBC's James Reynolds, in Beijing, says the report from China's public security bureau sums up much of what is already known. In January the police carried out a raid in the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi, in which two militants were killed, and two months later China said there had been an attempted hijacking of a flight from Urumqi. In April, China said that its security forces had broken up a number of plots to carry out suicide bombings and to kidnap athletes during the Olympics. Most recently, Chinese state-controlled media reported that the police had killed five militants in Urumqi, injured two more and arrested eight others. Hundreds of checkpoints
Our correspondent says that China has suggested the threat it faces comes mainly from a group called the East Turkestan Islamic movement. China says this movement has links to Al Qaeda but international security experts have questioned the threat that China says it faces. As the Olympics approaches, China is stepping up security measures. A dual ring of hundreds of checkpoints is due to go up around Beijing starting next week. What are these? | Armed Conflict | July 2008 | ['(BBC News)'] |
Legislative elections are held in Kazakhstan. The election is criticized for a lack of opposition to the leading party Nur Otan and is therefore expected to be considered neither free nor fair by international observers. | Kazakhstan's ruling Nur Otan party appears set to sweep a parliamentary election in a vote lacking any serious opposition and with dozens of protesters detained in at least three major cities, including the capital.
Former authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev's Nur Otan, the ruling party since 1999, won almost 72 percent of the vote on January 10, according to an exit poll by a local pollster, the Public Opinion research institute.
Two other parties also cleared the 7 percent threshold needed to gain seats in the Mazhilis, or lower house of parliament. Nur Otan controlled 84 of the 107 seats in the outgoing Mazhilis.
International election observers say that past elections in Kazakhstan have been neither free nor fair, citing electoral fraud, repression of opposition candidates, and restrictions on a free press.
The opposition boycotted the January 10 vote, saying nothing had changed this time around despite Nazarbaev's pivot to a less conspicuous public role nearly two years ago.
After detaining several activists in the run-up to the vote, police kept up the pressure on election day, detaining dozens of protesters across the country.
Deputy Interior Minister Arystangani Zapparov said late on January 10 that all those detained had been released without charges.
Zapparov, who spoke at a briefing at the Central Election Commission in Nur-Sultan, ignored questions about the number of people who had been detained across the country.
Zapparov said the detainees "refused to obey the demands" of the authorities to stop their attempts to organize illegal marches and rallies, and the police "were forced to detain them."
Internet blockages were reported as ballots were cast in the country's largest city, Almaty, where one demonstration was organized.
At least one banned opposition party gathered for an afternoon rally in the capital, where they joined scattered calls for a boycott of the vote.
Police surrounded the demonstrators and detained more than a dozen people at that event.
In Nur-Sultan, several activists were abducted from their homes.
In addition to the detentions in Nur-Sultan and other cities, there were reports of independent observers being denied access or detained at some polling stations.
No media source currently available
Election official said that turnout was slightly above 63 percent.
Along with Nur Otan (Radiant Fatherland), four other political parties loyal to the government -- Adal (Honest), Auyl (Village), Ak Zhol (Bright Path), and the People's Party (formerly the Communist People's Party) -- took part in the elections.
The only officially registered political party that labels itself as an opposition group, the All-National Social Democratic Party (OSDP), announced in November that it was boycotting the elections because Kazakhstan's political landscape continues to be dominated by the "same" political elite.
The lack of competition has dashed the hopes of the country's Western partners, who had hoped for deep political reforms. Nonetheless, some say continuity will bring the stability needed to attract foreign investment -- primarily into the oil, gas, and mining sectors.
The vote was the first legislative poll in the Central Asian state since the resignation of Nazarbaev, who ruled the nation for three decades before stepping down in favor of his handpicked successor, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, in March 2019.
Despite stepping down, Nazarbaev maintains huge influence in the country's politics. He is the head of the powerful Security Council, and also enjoys almost limitless powers and immunity as "elbasy" -- leader of the nation.
"This election campaign is no different than the previous [elections]: the same rules, the same law, the same procedures, the same political parties," OSDP leader Askhat Rakhimzhanov said.
International election observers say that past elections in Kazakhstan have been neither free nor fair, citing electoral fraud, repression of opposition candidates, and restrictions on a free press.
In at least three regions of Kazakhstan -- including Turkestan and Shymkent -- observers complained that they were being prevented from entering polling stations.
Other independent observers have previously complained of obstacles to receiving the basic PCR coronavirus tests that authorities have demanded in at least some cases of election officials and party and other observers.
Several RFE/RL Kazakh Service reporters have been excluded from polling stations, including one who was physically shoved out of a voting place in Almaty.
Meanwhile, civil rights activists and opposition politicians have accused Kazakh authorities of intentionally refusing to officially register opposition political groups in recent months, calling it a government ploy to prevent opposition parties from participating in the elections.
Dozens of activists have been jailed in recent weeks in what rights defenders describe as a campaign of pressure on activists and independent election observers, and a clampdown on free speech ahead of the polls.
No media source currently available
The elections will decide 98 of 107 seats in the Mazhilis. Nine other seats will be separately elected by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan -- a political body chaired by Nazarbaev designed to represent ethnic groups in the country.
The highest turnout was reported in the remote North Kazakhstan Province, where some 75.5 percent of the voters cast their ballots, the Central Election Commission said. The lowest turnout -- about 30 percent -- was recorded in Almaty.
RFE/RL's Kazakh Service offers informed and accurate reporting in the Kazakh and Russian languages about issues that matter in Kazakhstan, while providing a dynamic platform for audience engagement and the free exchange of news and ideas. | Government Job change - Election | January 2021 | ['(Radio Free Europe)'] |
Police and protesters battle during May Day demonstrations in Germany, Greece, and Turkey. | Clashes have broken out in a number of countries as unions used traditional May Day marches to protest against the handling of the global economic crisis.
In the Turkish city of Istanbul, riot police fired tear gas and water cannon as protesters threw petrol bombs and attacked banks and shops. Police made dozens of arrests in the German capital, Berlin, where protesters set fire to cars. Greek police battled to quell rioters in Athens after banks were attacked. There have also been marches in France and Russia, as well as the Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong, where demonstrators called on the authorities to do more to protect jobs. Major demonstrations were also planned in Spain, Italy and Cuba. "Workers are reiterating their demand that the government should find a way to stop mass lay-offs of workers and it should provide decent jobs, not short-lived jobs, not jobs for three months," said Leody de Guzman, of the Union of Filipino Workers. Bottles and stones
Some 300 rallies are taking place across France, which has already seen strikes by hospital staff, fishermen and university staff, among others.
Across the country, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities such as Marseille, Bordeaux and Grenoble, ahead of a major demonstration in Paris. This year's traditional Labour Day in France comes against a backdrop of mounting social tension, reports the BBC's Paris correspondent Emma Jane Kirby. There is a growing perception that little has been done to protect the ordinary person's job and wages, while executives from banks bailed out by the government have enjoyed generous pay-offs and bonuses, she says. The country's eight main unions have urged people to come out and protest in their third such day of action this year. Violence erupted in Istanbul as hundreds of left-wing and trade union groups tried to pass through police checkpoints into the city's main Taksim square. The protesters had been refused permission to hold rallies in the square but, as in previous years, they chose to ignore the ban, reports the BBC's David O'Byrne in Istanbul. The marchers took to the back streets after they were met with police water cannon, and hurled stones and other missiles at police who responded by firing tear gas.
A large number of people are believed to have been arrested and there is considerable damage to shops and vehicles, but no serious injuries, our correspondent reports. In Berlin, demonstrators clashed with police. Bottles and stones were thrown at police, passing cars and trams, and rubbish bins were set alight. The unrest began when some 200 protesters began chanting anti-capitalism slogans after a street party ended in the early hours. Twenty-nine police were injured, and at least 12 people were arrested. Violence has been a feature of past May Days in Germany. Some 5,000 police are set to be deployed in Berlin. What are these? | Protest_Online Condemnation | May 2009 | ['(BBC)', '(The Straits Times)'] |
Oxford finish a length and a half ahead of Cambridge to win the 159th annual University Boat Race. | "Which blue are you?" inquired the signs erected around Putney bridge for the start of this year's Boat Race, the 159th edition of an arcane ritual that was won by Oxford, whose victory was more emphatic than the boat length and a bit that separated the boats at Chiswick bridge suggests.
Hypothermic, Scott-of-the-Antarctic blue was the most appropriate rejoinder, following a decidedly bracing 17-minute jaunt down the Thames on board an exposed wooden launch for the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate that was part of the following flotilla.
After the events of last year, when an anti-elitist act of civil disobedience earned Trenton Oldfield global notoriety and a six-month stretch in Wormwood Scrubs, this year's race was disappointingly incident-free. Rogue invaders and broken oars were conspicuously absent on the murky waters, unlike the noticeable police, army and lifeboat presence.
It is probably fair to say that Oldfield's heroic foray into the drink was in vain. A sporting event generally enthused over by the kind of Midsomer-dwelling middle Englanders who don't really like sport, an accurate idea of the Boat Race's place in the cosmic scheme of things can be gleaned by a perusal of this year's sponsors: a global financial services firm with assets valued in trillions of dollars, a Champagne merchant and an exclusive gentleman's outfitters whose "perfect dot" silk pocket squares retail at £26 each.
But while it is easy to sneer at the kind of event where triumphant, red trouser-wearing hooray-henrys greet their returning heroes with a rousing rendition of the timeless rowing shanty I'd Rather Be A Leper Than A Cam, the obvious post-race exhaustion of both crews, not to mention their contrasting moods of unbridled elation and utter despair, dictate that those competing in a sporting conundrum that has endured since 1829 are worthy of the heartiest respect.
The participants of recent years no longer espouse the British Corinthian spirit for which this contest was once fabled. From cox to bow, the losing Cambridge boat contained four Americans, two Australians, a Czech and just two Britons, while the victors boasted five Britons, bolstered by two Americans, a New Zealander and a Canadian.
Oxford went into the race as red-hot favourites and seemed to scupper any faint hopes of an upset by winning the toss of the ceremonial gold sovereign and choosing Surrey, on the Putney Barnes side of the course, leaving Cambridge with Middlesex. Under starter's orders from Sir Matthew Pinsent, who was umpiring a Boat Race for the first time, Oxford pulled their way into a slender early lead, immediately putting their Cambridge counterparts on the back foot; a setback from which Cambridge never recovered. Upon passing Hammersmith bridge it became apparent the jig was up for the Light Blues, who were two kilos a man lighter than their rivals.
"What limited brainpower I have was devoted to deciding which warning to give and when," said Pinsent, who beyond occasional bouts of flag-waving and megaphone-shouting enjoyed a relatively stress-free maiden voyage. "Towards the end of the race Oxford rowed a bit strangely, but I think Oskar [Zorrilla, their cox] was looking behind him to see where Cambridge were."
Having accepted the trophy and attended to the team custom of throwing the victorious cox into the freezing water, The Oxford president, Alex Davidson, a loser last year, voiced his delight at his team's change in fortune. "It's completely chalk and cheese, it's such a different feeling," he said. "I'm very happy with the performance and proud of the result. I'm very proud of the guys. It was so gutting last year, to lose in those circumstances."
Oxford's win crowned a clean sweep on an excellent afternoon for the Dark Blues, with Isis having prevailed over Goldie in the reserve team race, while their women were also triumphant. | Sports Competition | March 2013 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles settles 45 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests for $60 million. | LOS ANGELES The nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese said Friday it has agreed to pay $60 million to settle 45 lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priests.
The deal is the most significant step to date toward resolving extensive litigation against the archdiocese that has dragged on for years.
"I pray that the settlement of the initial group of cases will help the victims involved to move forward with their lives and to build a brighter future for themselves and their families,'' Cardinal Roger Mahony said in a news release.
Negotiations for the settlement of the uninsured cases have been in progress for at least a year.
Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney, said the settlement involved 22 priests and was the largest settlement the Los Angeles archdiocese had reached "by far.'' He said more than $50 million would come from the archdiocese and about $8 million from religious orders.
"I wasn't certain we would ever get it done, but thankfully 45 very injured people will have a change to begin to heal, particularly at this time of the year,'' he said.
The Los Angeles archdiocese still faces more than 500 lawsuits from people who allege they were abused by about 200 priests and laypeople dating as far back as the 1930s.
The payout is the second-largest in California, behind the Diocese of Orange's 2004 agreement to spend $100 million to settle 90 abuse claims. It is also one of the fourth-largest in the nation since the clergy abuse crisis erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, according to an Associated Press review.
Sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests has cost the U.S. church at least $1.5 billion since 1950. Several American dioceses have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with victims in the last few years, as bishops have tried to resolve the crisis and move on.
Four dioceses Tucson, Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore., and Davenport, Iowa sought bankruptcy protection from a flood of lawsuits. Tucson has emerged from the process.
Settlement talks have been under way in the remaining California cases since 2002, when legislators passed a state law that suspended for one year the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | December 2006 | ['(AP via MinneapolisSt Paul Star Tribune)'] |
Two Egyptian journalists, critics of President Mohammed Mursi, are to be put on trial for their alleged incitement to murder Mursi and lead sectarian discord. | Two Egyptian journalists will go on trial accused of incitement to murder President Mohammed Mursi and sowing sectarian discord, prosecutors say.
Tawfiq Ukasha, the owner of the private al-Faraeen TV station, and Islam Afifi, the editor of the private al-Dustour newspaper, will be tried in Cairo.
The move is seen by some analysts as an attempt by Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood to suppress the opposition. Mr Mursi, who was elected in June, is a member of the Islamist movement. On Sunday, he ordered the retirement of the influential head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, and the chief of staff, Gen Sami Annan.
Mr Mursi also issued a constitutional declaration giving him broad legislative and executive powers.
Relations between Islamists and the military have been increasingly tense since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
The announcement about the forthcoming trial of Mr Ukasha and Mr Afifi was made on Monday by a spokesman for the prosecutor general. Adel Saeed said that Mr Ukasha, who is also a leading presenter on his TV station, was accused of "incitement to murder" President Mursi.
The spokesman added that Mr Afifi would be tried for publishing "false information" deemed insulting to Mr Mursi and which could also stoke sectarian tension.
Mr Saeed did not say when the trial would begin. Mr Ukasha is seen as a fierce critic of the Brotherhood and supporter of the military.
Last week, al-Faraeen was ordered off the air for a month and warned that its broadcast licence could be cancelled over the allegations against Mr Ukasha. Several days earlier, a court order saw the 11 August edition of the al-Dustour - which has been critical of Mr Mursi and his group - seized over allegations that it had insulted the president and instigated sectarian discord.
An editorial in the confiscated copies had warned of a Brotherhood "emirate" taking over Egypt and called on Egyptians to join the military's fight against Islamism.
Some commentators in Egypt say that Mr Mursi and the Brotherhood are now resorting to tactics employed to great effect by Mubarak and his party to gain influence over media policy, the BBC's Muhammad Sukri says.
He says the appointment of Salah Abdul Maqsud, a Brotherhood member, as information minister earlier this month has been viewed as an attempt to wrest control of state media from supporters of Mubarak and the military. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | August 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
Ukrainian forces recapture the pro-Russian armed separatists' main strongholds of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk after the separatists defending it escaped an encirclement. | Ukrainian government forces have hoisted the national flag over the pro-Russian rebels' main stronghold of Slovyansk after flushing them out of the eastern industrial city in overnight fighting.
Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey told President Petro Poroshenko in a statement posted on the Ukrainian administration's website on July 5 that the flag had been raised over the Slovyansk city-council building, one of the main buildings where the rebels had been based.
Ukraine's interior minister said earlier in the day that most pro-Russian rebels and their top commander had fled the industrial city of nearly 120,000, which they had occupied since April 6.
Arsen Avakov told reporters in Kyiv, "This morning, intelligence reported that Girkin (Igor Strelkov) and a substantial part of the rebels had fled Slovyansk" amid intense fighting overnight.
Avakov said in a Facebook post that the militias were fleeing to Horlivka, a city of 260,000 about 50 kilometers southeast of Slovyansk that remains largely under the militias' control.
Allegations Of Kremlin Funding
Ukraine alleges that Strelkov is a colonel in Russia's military intelligence unit know as the Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
Both Strelkov and Moscow deny any GRU link despite Western claims that the Kremlin is covertly funding and arming the uprising to destabilise Kyiv's new pro-European leaders and retain control over Russia-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine.
Routing the rebels in Slovyansk would be Kyiv's biggest success of its nearly three-month campaign to regain control of separatist-held parts of its eastern region.
Poroshenko's website said the newly appointed head of the armed forces general staff had told him separatist fighters came under mortar fire as they tried to break through government forces' lines around Slovyansk. The website said the separatists had lost one tank and other armored vehicles.
The news TV channel Rossia-24 said the militia had fought their way out of Slovyansk, and their headquarters has been relocated to Kramatorsk.
RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27languages in 23countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. | Armed Conflict | July 2014 | ['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'] |
Former President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak is detained on charges of taking bribes when he was in office. | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean former president Lee Myung-bak was detained early on Friday on charges of taking bribes when he was in office, becoming the country’s fourth leader to end up behind bars.
Lee was grilled by prosecutors earlier this month over nearly 20 charges that involve suspicions he took around 11 billion won ($10.28 million) unlawfully from a number of institutions and individuals He denies any wrongdoing.
A South Korean judge issued the arrest warrant late on Thursday, saying Lee could destroy evidence. The former president was driven to a detention center in Seoul soon after midnight.
Lee, in office from 2008 to 2013, says the investigation into the bribery allegations is politically motivated by prosecutors under the incumbent liberal administration.
Last year, Lee’s successor ex-president Park Geun-hye was ousted from office after an influence-peddling scandal and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion. South Korean prosecutors are seeking a 30-year jail term for Park and a Seoul court will deliver a verdict in early April.
Reporting by Christine Kim and Jane Chung; Editing by Andrew Heavens
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | March 2018 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Queen Elizabeth II becomes Britain's longest–reigning monarch , surpassing the record set by Queen Victoria, her great–great–grandmother. , , | The Queen has thanked well-wishers at home and overseas for their "touching messages of kindness" as she becomes Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the 89-year-old monarch said the title was "not one to which I have ever aspired". At 17:30 BST she had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes - surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
David Cameron said the service the Queen had given was "truly humbling". Dressed in turquoise with her trusty black handbag at her side, the Queen spoke briefly to the gathered crowds earlier.
"Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - my own is no exception - but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness," she said.
In the day's main events:
The exact moment the Queen became the longest-reigning sovereign is unknown. Her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952, but his time of death is not known.
Business in the Commons was postponed for half an hour so that MPs, led by Mr Cameron, could pay tribute to the Queen. The prime minster said she had been a "rock of stability" in an era when so much had changed, and her reign had been the "golden thread running through three post-war generations".
He said it was "typical of the Queen's selfless sense of service" that she thought today should be a normal day. Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said it was "no exaggeration" to say the Queen was "admired by billions of people all around the world". Ministers are to present the Queen with a bound copy of cabinet papers from the meeting in 1952 when Sir Winston Churchill's government approved the content of her first Queen's Speech.
In the House of Lords, leader Baroness Stowell said the Queen had served the country with "unerring grace, dignity and decency", adding: "And long may she continue to do so". There have been glowing tributes and much talk about the significance of this moment. No such words were uttered by the subject of all the attention.
She undertook a run-of-the-mill engagement on a far from run-of-the-mill day. And in her brief remarks - her lengthy reign hasn't lessened her aversion to making speeches - she displayed some classic British understatement. Overtaking her great-great-grandmother wasn't something she'd ever aspired to, she said. She was simply the beneficiary of a long life. In Scotland - and indeed in other parts of the United Kingdom - that life and her reign have been celebrated very publicly.
Privately, later, the Queen will mark the moment she enters the record books. Prince Philip will be with her - her husband of 67 years has been the one constant in a reign of sometimes dizzying change.
Buckingham Palace has released two official photographs to mark the occasion, taken by Mary McCartney in the Queen's private audience room.
This is where she holds weekly audiences with prime ministers of the day, and receives visiting heads of state and government. The Queen is taking her traditional summer break at this time of year at her private Scottish home, Balmoral.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Scotland on holiday and are expected to have dinner with the Queen at Balmoral later.
Elizabeth and Victoria in numbers
Elizabeth II: Britain's Diamond Queen
Woman who redefined the monarchy
Queen Victoria became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days.
Queen Elizabeth's reign has included 12 prime ministers, two more than served under Victoria.
One of those prime ministers, Conservative Sir John Major, rejected any suggestion the Queen had been too passive as head of state: "The monarchy wouldn't be as popular if they were part of politics - they're above and beyond it. "But when the Queen meets her prime minister she has the opportunity to question, to ask, to counsel. Nobody knows and no prime minister is going to tell you exactly what happens at those meetings. So those who say she's been too passive, how can they possibly know?"
The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth and sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK, and the organisation's Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, sent his congratulations.
"As a symbol of continuity during decades of unprecedented change, and by drawing our people together in their rich diversity, Her Majesty has embodied all that is best in the Commonwealth," he said.
"With vision and dedication her example has encouraged successive generations of leaders and citizens to embrace the promise of the future."
Anti-monarchist group Republic said the Queen's long reign was a reason for reform not celebration.
Chief executive Graham Smith said: "It is now time for the country to look to the future and to choose a successor through free and fair elections, someone who can genuinely represent the nation." | Break historical records | September 2015 | ['(63 years and seven months)', '(BBC)', '(The Huffington Post UK)', '(Al Jazeera English Online)'] |
Researchers at the Imperial College London report the discovery of the Lingwulong genus, a subgroup of Sauropods that lived in China about 174 million years ago, which is 15 million years earlier than any previously-known member of the group. | A Look Inside the Museum of Natural History's Dinosaur Hall Paleontologists have discovered the fossils of a new species of dinosaur in northwestern China.
The discovery of Lingwulong shenqi, shows there was an early member of the well-known group of plant-eating dinosaurs called sauropods -- early meaning 15 million years earlier than any previously-known member of the group.
The newly-discovered dinosaur was a neosauropod, a group of long-necked vegetarians that includes brontosaurus and diplodocus.
It is estimated to have been between 35 and 57 feet long from head to tail. The discovery was published in the British journal, Nature Communications on Tuesday.
Lingwulong shengi translates to "Amazing Dragon from Lingwu". Lingwu, is the region where they were found; long is Mandarin for 'dragon' and shenqi is Mandarin for 'amazing'.
Research has previously shown that neosauropods thrived from between 163 million and 145 million years ago, in the late Jurassic period.
But Lingwulong shengi fossils date back to 174 million years ago, suggesting neosauropods were roaming Pangea much earlier, in the Middle Jurassic period.
This has prompted the paleontologists to re-examine their hypothesis of the largest diplodocoid dinosaur roaming 15 million years earlier from previously thought.
It also suggests that these dinosaurs dispersed into East Asia much earlier than previously believed -- when Pangea was still a large landmass. | New archeological discoveries | July 2018 | ['(BBC)', '(ABC News)'] |
Nineteen people die when a bus skids off a bridge in Zabaykalsky Krai in the Russian Far East, and falls onto a frozen river. | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Nineteen passengers died when a bus skidded off a bridge in Russia’s far east on Sunday and plunged into a river, local government said.
“According to updated information, 19 people died, 21 have various injuries,” the local government for the Zabaikalsk region said in a statement.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said in a statement on its website that the bus, traveling from the town of Sretensk to the city of Chita, 6,320-km (3,930 miles) east of Moscow, fell from a bridge into the Kuenga river at around 0938 Moscow time (0638 GMT).
It said about 43 passengers and a driver were on the bus.
A police spokeswoman told Russia-24 TV that the cause of the accident was being investigated.
Russia’s record on road safety is one of the worst in the world. According to the country’s traffic police, 18,214 people died in road accidents last year. That is more than the 15,000 Soviet servicemen who were killed during the whole of the Soviet war in Afghanistan in 1979-1989. | Road Crash | December 2019 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Avalanches in Van Province, eastern Turkey, kill at least 38 people, leaving more trapped. | Rescue efforts have been put on hold after two avalanches killed at least 39 people in eastern Turkey.
Most of the dead were hit by an avalanche on Wednesday while trying to recover the victims of another downslide which happened a day earlier.
Further rescue work continued but was paused because of concerns about a possible third avalanche.
The operation, involving more than 700 personnel, is expected to continue on Thursday after inspections.
Images from Wednesday showed dozens of people using shovels and sticks to dig people out from under the snow.
The recovery is being led by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (Afad). But conditions hampered the recovery, with one rescue vehicle having to be pulled out from under 5m (16ft) of snow.
Van province governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said police officers, firefighters and volunteer rescuers were among the dead. There are fears the death toll may rise further.
A further 75 people have also been injured, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Kocaaso. The head of Afad's Van office, Osman Ucar, was one of those hospitalised after the second avalanche.
"I was halfway buried," he told Ihlas News Agency. "I got out by my own means."
Officials were alerted to the first avalanche by a man who escaped after his snow-clearing vehicle was buried under snow. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | February 2020 | ['(BBC)'] |
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says he plans to cut ties with his country's former colonial ruler, the United States, while strengthening ties with China. | On visit to China the leader repeats his denunciation of Barack Obama as a ‘son of a whore’ Last modified on Thu 20 Oct 2016 06.20 BST
President Rodrigo Duterte met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping Thursday, state media said, as the Philippines’ leader seeks closer ties with the Asian giant while blasting his US allies.
Duterte is in China for a four-day trip that is expected to confirm his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing’s sphere of influence.
The two leaders were to hold official talks and sign a “series of cooperation documents”, the official Xinhua news service reported.
Duterte is hoping to take advantage of Beijing’s deep pockets to score a raft of trade and infrastructure deals.
His recent rhetoric blasting the US and President Barack Obama and promising to sideline a territorial dispute over the strategically vital South China Sea has been welcomed in Beijing.
During a speech addressing the Filipino community in Beijing Wednesday, the firebrand president said the Philippines had gained little from its long alliance with the US, its former colonial ruler.
“Your stay in my country was for your own benefit. So time to say goodbye, my friend,” he said, as if addressing the US.
He also repeated his denunciation of Obama as a “son of a whore”.
China, he said earlier, was “good”. “It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations.”
Foreign policy under Duterte has dramatically shifted from that pursued under predecessor Benigno Aquino, who took Beijing to an international tribunal over its extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea – where it has built artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities – and won a resounding victory.
The move infuriated Beijing. But Duterte, who took office in June shortly before the tribunal ruling, has made a point of not flaunting the outcome.
He has also suspended joint US-Philippine patrols in the South China Sea, and has threatened an end to joint military exercises.
The South China Sea is of intense interest to Washington and it has repeatedly spoken out on the various territorial disputes between China and its neighbours over the strategically vital waters.
In 2012, China seized control of Scarborough Shoal, a fishing ground in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Tensions have risen between the US and China over Washington’s so-called “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific, a move that Beijing says is intended to contain it. | Government Policy Changes | October 2016 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
Hurricane Earl moves away from the Leeward Islands towards the east coast of the United States with a hurricane watch issued for most of the North Carolina coast. | MIAMI (Reuters) - Powerful Hurricane Earl churned toward the eastern seaboard on Tuesday and looked to sideswipe the densely populated coast from North Carolina to New England, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Earl slams Caribbean, eyes U.S.
Forecasters expected the main core of the Category 4 hurricane to stay offshore as Earl moved parallel to the coast during the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend that traditionally marks the end of summer.
A hurricane watch was issued for most of the North Carolina coastline as officials warned any westward deviation from the forecast track could prompt coastal evacuations or even bring the storm ashore.
“A small error of 100 miles in the wrong direction could be a huge impact difference,” National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read told a conference call with journalists.
“Even a minor shift back to the west could bring impacts to portions of the coastline from the mid-Atlantic northwards.”
The hurricane watch, issued by the Miami-based hurricane center, alerts residents that hurricane conditions -- sustained winds of 74 mph -- are possible within 48 hours. It covered the North Carolina coastline from Surf City to Duck, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.
Earl, the second major hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, was moving west-northwest in the open Atlantic on Tuesday, keeping well east of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
At 5 p.m. (2100 GMT), it was centered about 1,000 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Earl was forecast to clip the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday night and bring drenching rain, rough seas, pounding surf and gusting wind to the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to New England and Atlantic Canada.
Evacuations were ordered, or expected, for Wednesday for the most vulnerable spots on the Outer Banks, including the Cape Lookout National Seashore and Ocracoke Island, which has about 800 year-round residents and is accessible only by boat. It is one of the barrier islands where the pirate Blackbeard once roamed.
Earl had top sustained winds of 135 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. It was expected to stay just shy of a maximum Category 5.
It was too early to predict how close the hurricane would come to New York when it churned offshore east of the city during the weekend.
“We’re just telling everybody to keep their eyes on the track and just keep checking back,” hurricane center meteorologist Barry Baxter said.
The hurricane center said Earl’s forecast track in the coming days shifted slightly to the west, which could bring its outer fringes closer to the U.S. coast.
U.S. and Canadian East Coast oil refiners said they were monitoring Earl but that it was too early to begin to take any precautionary measures.
Hurricane Earl posed no threat to major U.S. oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona in a satellite image taken August 31, 2010. REUTERS/NOAA
Tropical storm warnings and watches were in effect for the Turks and Caicos, where flights were suspended, and for the sparsely populated southeast Bahamas.
On Monday, Earl battered the northeastern Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico, downing power lines, blowing off roofs, toppling trees and causing some flooding. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
“We have been quite fortunate. We did not take a direct hit ... it was not as serious as it could have been,” Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno told CNN.
Tropical Storm Fiona followed in Earl’s wake on a similar path, though farther east.
At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), Fiona was 270 miles east of the Caribbean Leeward Islands on a course that was expected to take it northeast of those islands on Wednesday. Most forecast models kept Fiona far away from the Gulf of Mexico.
With sustained winds of 40 mph, Fiona was just barely a tropical storm and the much more powerful Earl was hindering Fiona’s development. Earl churned up the seas and brought cold water to the surface, starving Fiona of the warm water needed for rapid strengthening.
The storms were far apart but Fiona was moving much faster. If Fiona closes the gap, high-level winds spiraling from the top of Earl could shear off and weaken Fiona, the hurricane center’s Baxter said.
“If it gets really close, Earl could actually chew it up and just kind of kill it,” he said.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, a broad area of low pressure about 425 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands in the eastern Atlantic had only a 10 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone within 48 hours, the hurricane center said.
Early computer models showed that system moving mostly west in the Atlantic but toward South America.
| Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | August 2010 | ['(Reuters)', '(MSNBC)'] |
Gunmen attack a Vietnamese vessel near TawiTawi, Philippines, killing at least one sailor and abducting seven others, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. Abu Sayyaf militants are suspected of being behind the attack. | Gunmen in southern Philippine waters killed one crewman of a Vietnamese vessel and abducted seven in what appeared to be the latest attack by pirates in the area, the Philippine coastguard said on Monday.
Coastguard and marine soldiers rescued 17 Vietnamese who were part of the 25-man crew of MV Giang Hai, which was attacked on Sunday evening near Baguan Island in Tawi-Tawi, an area close to the stronghold of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group.
An investigation was underway and the coastguard had launched a pursuit in coordination with the military and police, said coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo.
Well armed and equipped with fast boats and high-tech navigation devices, the Abu Sayyaf is a stubborn problem for the Philippine military, which has failed to curtail piracy and kidnappings in the area, despite major troop deployments in the in the Sulu Archipelago.
The Islamic State-linked group has been involved in frequent acts of piracy and has beheaded captives when ransom demands have not been met.
Before the latest attack, the militants were holding 27 hostages, according to a tally of reports about kidnappings and a few releases.
The captives are Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese seamen, as well as Filipinos, a Dutchman, a German and a Japanese national.
A surge in piracy off parts of the Philippines is forcing ship-owners to divert vessels through other waters, pushing up costs and shipping times.
President Rodrigo Duterte said last month he had asked China for help in the fight against the militants by sending ships to patrol the dangerous waters. | Armed Conflict | February 2017 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Iraqi traffic police are allegedly given AK47 assault rifles for their use in Baghdad. | Traffic police in the Iraqi capital Baghdad are reportedly being given Kalashnikov assault rifles to defend themselves after a series of attacks.
Previously they only carried pistols but at least 12 policemen were reported killed during the past week alone.
Traffic policemen have died in cross-fire and bombings since the US-led invasion seven years ago.
But recently they have been singled out for attack in an apparent bid to sabotage basic law and order efforts.
"The traffic police are security forces so they have to be armed with weapons to be able to defend themselves," Lt-Gen Ali Gaidan, commander of Iraq's ground forces, told reporters.
"The terrorists target them because they are easy targets."
Lt Ahmed Ali, who works on the central Baghdad junction of Karamana Square, told AFP news agency that insurgents were pursuing a "sick strategy".
"We are working to serve the people, to organise the traffic," he said.
"These attacks are being carried out by al-Qaeda, which wants to target the government, and so attacks those who represent the state in an attempt to topple it." | Armed Conflict | August 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(IOL)', '[permanent dead link]', '(Reuters via Arab News)'] |
Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig announces his decision, via a four-minute YouTube video, to end his campaign for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination. | Little-known Evan McMullin finally takes up the mantle of anti-Trump conservative, three months before the election. There are three months until Election Day, and anti-Trump Republicans finally have their man—even if they’ve never heard of him. On August 8, Evan McMullin announced he is running as an independent for president. If you’re not familiar, don’t feel bad: McMullin is an almost entirely unknown quantity. A Mormon from Utah, he went to Brigham Young University and later got an MBA from the Wharton School of Business—an alma mater he shares with Donald Trump. He joined the CIA and after serving a stint in intelligence went to work for Goldman Sachs. More recently, he served as chief policy director of the House Republican Conference. McMullin, 40, may not be well known, but it’s hard to imagine a more establishment resume. He says he’s running out of disgust with the two major-party candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. “Like millions of Americans, I had hoped this year would bring us better nominees who, despite party differences, could offer compelling visions of a better future,” he writes in an announcement letter. “Instead, we have been left with two candidates who are fundamentally unfit for the profound responsibilities they seek.”
McMullin will have the backing of some anti-Trump Republicans, including the wily veteran strategist Rick Wilson. But he doesn’t have a prayer. Even if McMullin succeeds in getting on the ballot in a large number of states, his public profile is nil, and he’s unlikely to have the time or money to do much to change that. Some reporters and pundits guffawed at the prospect of National Review writer David French, a previous anti-Trump hope, running for president, but next to McMullin, French looks like … um, who’s a widely known celebrity running for president? There’s a bitter irony to McMullin as the last hope. Anti-Trump Republicans have rejected Trump for many reasons—including his policy views, his temperament, and his personal life—but many have cited his lack of qualifications. In McMullin and before that French, however, the anti-Trumpers have set their sights on two men who, whatever their moral or intellectual qualifications, have never run for office or won a single vote from Americans. (Trump is fond of pointing out that he won more votes than any Republican candidate ever.) McMullin’s late entry might represent conservatives backing away from Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee. He’s tried to court Republicans who can’t stand to vote for Trump, even bringing on former Massachusetts GOP Governor Bill Weld as a running mate, to the consternation of some Libertarians. But Johnson’s freewheeling style and peculiar comments about religious freedom seem to have dampened any movement toward him on the right. | Government Job change - Election | November 2015 | ['(Politico)', '(The Atlantic)', '(YouTube)'] |
One of the suspects involved in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery testifies that the gunman who shot and killed Arbery had shouted a racial slur at the victim moments after his death. The allegation opens up the possibility for hate crime charges. | A judge in Glynn County, Ga., ruled Thursday that three white men accused of killing a black jogger in Georgia in February will stand trial for murder, after a day-long hearing that revealed the shooter allegedly uttered the words “f---ing n-----” as the victim lay dying in the road.
William “Roddie” Bryan, who captured Ahmaud Arbery’s death on cellphone video, told investigators that Travis McMichael, 34, used the slur before police arrived at the scene, according to testimony by a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent. In his closing statement, prosecutor Jesse Evans described a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as the defendants used their vehicles to corner Arbery before McMichael “gunned him down in broad daylight.”
The three men Bryan, McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael were charged last month with felony murder in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Arbery, 25. The defendants face a minimum of life in prison if convicted on the murder charges, or more severe penalties of life with parole or death.
Lawyers for the McMichaels argue that their clients had acted lawfully as they pursued a man they believed to be responsible for burglaries in the neighborhood, and that the younger McMichael acted in self-defense when Arbery was shot. But GBI investigator Richard Dial countered that argument Thursday, saying it was Arbery who was fighting for his life.
The case has been plagued by allegations of bias and passed through multiple prosecutors, before the McMichaels were arrested 74 days after Arbery’s death. Activists in Georgia took to the streets to protest the delay, weeks before demonstrations spread nationwide over the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died after police held him down for more than eight minutes as he gasped for air.
Arbery’s death attracted nationwide attention after Bryan’s video went viral, showing Arbery attempting to evade the McMichael’s truck before engaging in a struggle over Travis McMichael’s shotgun. Bryan’s attorney has said he was an innocent bystander who merely filmed the deadly encounter on his cellphone. The McMichaels face an additional aggravated assault charge while Bryan is also charged with attempting to illegally detain and confine.
A local district attorney, George E. Barnhill, argued in April the suspects’ actions were lawful that they were trying to make a citizen’s arrest of a suspected burglar. The case is now on its fourth prosecutor.
It took 74 days for suspects to be charged in the death of a black jogger. Many are asking why.
Travis McMichael’s attorney, Jason Sheffield, on Thursday asked the special agent in charge of the case whether Arbery’s killing was really a story of “self-defense.”
“You are of the opinion that this was not self-defense by Mr. McMichael?” he asked Dial, after reviewing the details of the encounter.
“I don’t believe it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael. I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery,” Dial responded. “I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran until he couldn’t run anymore. And it was: turn his back to a man with a shotgun, or fight with his bare hands against a man with a shotgun, and he chose to fight.”
Dial spent several hours on the stand Thursday testifying to the events of Feb. 23, as the three men two of whom were armed chased Arbery through Satilla Shores, a marshy enclave near his home where he often jogged.
The incident began when Gregory McMichael saw Arbery running through the neighborhood and suspected he was responsible for recent burglaries, Dial said. Security video had shown Arbery had been spotted in a nearby house that was under construction, prompting a neighbor to call 911, although there is no indication he took anything from the site.
Dial said McMichael called for his son, Travis McMichael, and the pair hopped into a pickup truck and gave chase the son armed with a shotgun, the father carrying a .357 magnum. Soon after, Dial said, they were joined by a neighbor, Bryan, who helped corner Arbery and later recorded his death on his cellphone camera. None of the suspects called 911 before pursuing Arbery, Dial said.
Dial said Gregory McMichael told authorities he shouted at Arbery: “Stop! Stop! We want to talk to you” as they tried to effect a kind of citizen’s arrest before McMichael fired the first shot and a scuffle ensued that ended in Arbery’s death.
In his testimony, Dial described aspects of the case that have been debated among prosecutors and people across the country.
He said Arbery was shot after trying to evade Bryan and the McMichaels for several minutes and engaged only after he appeared to run out of options to flee. He also gave testimony that disputed Bryan’s version of events that he was just a witness and a bystander.
Gregory McMichael “described that Mr. Bryan was trying to block him in as well,” Dial said. “Mr. Bryan admits to joining the pursuit of Mr. Arbery. He admits to trying to block Mr. Arbery in, trying to detain him several times.”
Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, argued Thursday that he was nothing more than an “innocent bystander” doing the duty that any “patriotic” American would do.
Thursday’s testimony was a marked contrast to the version of events authorities in Georgia had detailed in April before the damning video came to light and caused a national firestorm. In an April letter to the Glynn County police chief, Barnhill, a local prosecutor, had characterized the fatal shooting of Arbery as justifiable.
The McMichaels were “in hot pursuit” of a suspect with a checkered criminal history, the district attorney wrote, which helped “explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man.” The McMichaels were making a citizen’s arrest of a person they believed to be involved in a burglary, he argued and Arbery contributed to his own death by attacking Travis McMichael as he held a gun.
“Arbery initiated the fight,” Barnhill wrote. While McMichael’s finger was on the trigger, “we do not know who caused the firings. Arbery would only had to pull the shotgun 1/16th to 1/8th of one inch to fire the weapon himself and in the height of the altercation this is entirely possible.”
On Thursday, Travis McMichael’s attorney, asked Dial about Arbery’s history of mental health problems which Barnhill had earlier implied contributed to the altercation, along with a criminal history that included a weapons violation and shoplifting accusation.
The prosecutor raised an objection. “There’s no evidence before the court … that these defendants even knew what history the deceased victim in this case had, so this serves no purpose in this case other than to cast his character into question,” he said.
Arbery, Dial said, had been previously diagnosed with a mental illness that manifested as hallucinations, he said. He did not know the date of that diagnosis. He said Arbery was not being treated for any mental illness at the time of his killing.
The lead investigator on Thursday also detailed other examples of Travis McMichael’s alleged racism.
“Have you seen any other evidence that he has used that horrible ‘n-word’ anywhere else?” Sheffield asked Dial.
Dial said that investigators found an Instagram post where Travis McMichaels had suggested that someone should blow a “f---ing n---er’s head off” and also wrote on social media that he loved his job in the U.S. Coast Guard because he was out on a boat, and “there weren’t any n words anywhere.”
Authorities worried that the day’s testimony would further inflame tensions in a nation already on edge after the killing of Floyd on May 25. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on the black man’s neck for more than eight minutes. Protests calling for police reform, equal justice and an end to systemic racism have convulsed dozens of cities around the world over the past week.
A day before the hearing, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said security around the demonstrations in the state would be increased. “We will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable if they try to infiltrate peaceful gatherings to cause chaos,” Kemp said. “Let me be clear: We will not tolerate disruptive, dangerous behavior or criminal conduct. We will put the safety of Georgians first.”
Abigail Hauslohner contributed to this report.
An earlier version of this report stated that all three defendants appeared via video at the hearing. Only Gregory and Travis McMichael appeared. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | June 2020 | ['(The Washington Post)'] |
Far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is expected to win the first round of the presidential election. His opponent in the runoff election in June is still to be determined, amidst a political and economic crisis. | LIMA, April 9 (Reuters) - Peru will vote for a new president on Sunday in a wide-open election framed by a deadly surge in coronavirus cases, and under the long shadow of a constitutional crisis last year that saw the Andean nation go through three leaders in a week. | Government Job change - Election | April 2021 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Despite ending their 22–match unbeaten streak after losing to South Africa, New Zealand win the 2014 Rugby Championship in rugby union. Also on the final day of the tournament, Argentina defeat Australia for their first win in the competition since joining it in 2012. (BBC, South Africa–New Zealand) (BBC, Argentina–Australia) | Last updated on 5 October 20145 October 2014.From the section Rugby Union
Argentina came from 14-0 down to defeat Australia and earn their first win since joining the Rugby Championship.
The Wallabies struggled for discipline and had both Nick Phipps and captain Michael Hooper sin-binned in Mendoza.
Although tries from Tevita Kuridrani and Scott Higginbotham gave them an early advantage, Leonardo Senatore's try cut the deficit before half-time.
Argentina took the lead thanks to Juan Imhoff's converted try on 53 minutes and maintained their advantage after.
Australia's Bernard Foley hit the post with a penalty with 10 minutes to go, although his cause was not helped by a laser pen aimed at his face as he teed up the attempt.
Nicolas Sanchez kicked a penalty with six minutes to go after Hooper was sin-binned and the Wallabies were unable to find the try they needed in the closing stages.
The Pumas' first win in 18 Rugby Championship matches was also their first over Australia since 1997 and ended an eight-match losing streak.
Argentina: Joaquín Tuculet; Juan Imhoff, Horacio Agulla, Juan Martín Hernandez, Luis Gonzalez Amorosino; Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Leonardo Senatore, Benjamín Macome, Rodrigo Baez; Tomas Lavanini, Mariano Galarza; Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Agustín Creevy (capt), Marcos Ayerza
Replacements: Matías Cortese, Bruno Postiglioni, Ramiro Herrera, Matías Alemanno, Javier Ortega Desio, Tomas Cubelli, Marcelo Bosch, Jeronimo de la Fuente
Australia: Israel Folau; Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane; Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Scott Higginbotham, Michael Hooper (capt), Scott Fardy; James Horwill, Sam Carter; Sekope Kepu, Saia Fainga'a, James Slipper
Replacements: Josh Mann-Rea, Benn Robinson, Ben Alexander, Will Skelton, Jake Schatz, Matt Hodgson, Nic White, Rob Horne | Sports Competition | October 2014 | [] |
Police in India arrest two people in relation to the Samjhauta Express bombing. | The two were picked up from central city of Indore. Police believe they sold the suitcases used to make the bombs that were set off on the train. The blasts and blaze on the cross-border train killed 68 people. It is not clear who was behind the attack on the Friendship Express and no group has admitted carrying it out.
Senior police official RC Mishra said the authorities believe the bombers purchased suitcases in Indore that were stuffed with explosives and petrol.
India has said it would share with Pakistan the results of its inquiry into the 18 February bombing.
Many of the passengers killed in the incident were Pakistanis returning home. Indians have also given Pakistani authorities the sketch of a man said to be from Pakistan who was allegedly involved in the bombing. The twice-weekly cross-border Friendship Express - one of only two rail links between India and Pakistan - was restarted in 2004 after a two-year gap as part of the peace process. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | March 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
A fire at a hospital in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan kills at least 12 people and injures up to 60 others. | An early morning fire at a hospital in southern Taiwan has killed 12 patients and injured at least 60 more. The fire swept through a nursing home inside the hospital in Tainan City that housed elderly and mostly bed-ridden patients.
A hospital official said the victims died of smoke inhalation. Injured residents were being treated at several different hospitals. Police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of starting the fire. Local reports say the man is a patient at the nursing home. The nursing home housed more than 100 people, many of whom were on respirators and unable to move on their own.
"It was pitch black and the heavy smoke was unbearable, it's really horrifying," a person who escaped the fire told Taiwan's Central News Agency.
One 94-year-old woman had to use her wheelchair to escape the blaze, hiding on the second floor until rescuers found her, local media reported. Thirty fire engines were sent to the blaze, which was extinguished by 04:16 local time (20:16 GMT), just over 45 minutes after it was reported, officials said. Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te said the hospital's remote location and the fact that most of the patients were unable to move on their own made the situation worse.
Firefighters arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the fire broke out, but because of the large number of patients nearby residents had to pitch in to help transport some of them to other hospitals, says the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei.
The fire is believed to be one of deadliest at a Taiwanese hospital and one of the most serious on the island in recent years, says our correspondent.
Premier Sean Chen said in a statement that he had sent condolences to the victims' families. | Fire | October 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
The first deaths from disease have been recorded. The water borne bacterium Vibrio vulnificus has killed 5. | Fears of infection in the wake of Hurricane Katrina were raised last night after three people in the Mississippi and Texas died from bacteria closely linked to cholera. Another person is seriously ill with Vibrio vulnificus, a common marine bacteria. Tests have confirmed that the water flooding New Orleans is a stew of sewage-borne bacteria. Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the message was clear to evacuees who are reluctant to leave the city. "You must do so," she said. "This water is not going away any time soon."
| Disease Outbreaks | September 2005 | ['(Independent)', '(TVNZ)'] |
Police across the nation arrest a total of 29 alleged coup participants on suspicion of terrorism. | At least 29 people were arrested in Turkey over their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said on Wednesday.
The arrest came after Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in western Izmir province issued arrest warrants for 35 suspects in 11 provinces as part of the investigation into terror group’s “NGO structure.” During the operations, the police arrested 21 FETO-linked suspects accused of using ByLock -- an encrypted mobile phone application used by coup plotters -- and financing the terror group, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media. The security forces are hunting for the remaining 14 suspects. In a separate operation in northwestern Bursa province, anti-terror police units apprehended at least eight people, including two Turkmen nationals, on the charges of using ByLock, the sources added. Also, in the eastern province of Erzincan, Deputy Governor Yasar Kemal Yilmaz was suspended from his post over his suspected links to the terrorist group. Yilmaz was appointed deputy governor on Dec 1, 2016. FETO orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | April 2018 | ['(Anadolu Agency)'] |
Australia's Department of Defence acknowledges its participation "among a number of international aircraft" in the Deir ez-Zor air raid. It says it would "never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh " and offers its condolences. | Australian aircraft were involved in a US-led coalition operation which killed dozens of Syrian soldiers who were apparently mistaken for Islamic State fighters, the Defence Department has confirmed.
Between 62 and 83 Syrian soldiers who had been fighting IS militants were reportedly killed in the air strikes around the Deir al-Zor military airport in Syria's east.
"Australian aircraft were among a number of international aircraft taking part in this Coalition operation," the Defence Department said in a statement.
"Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (IS). Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident."
The Russian military earlier said two F-16s and two A-10 jets that flew into Syrian airspace from neighbouring Iraq carried out the actual attack. Neither type is listed as being in operation with the RAAF.
The strikes came less than a week into a fragile ceasefire aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Syria's five-year civil war, as Russia accused what it termed "moderate rebels" of causing the truce to fail.
Reuters
The US military and Australia's Defence Department said the attack was called off after Russia informed the coalition that Syrian military personnel and vehicles may have been hit.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in an emailed statement that Russian officials did not voice concerns earlier on Saturday when informed that coalition aircraft would be operating in the strike area.
Despite a breakthrough peace deal in Syria, after five years of war each side is sceptical of the other's willingness to adhere to a ceasefire, Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill writes.
The 15-member United Nations Security Council met after Russia demanded an emergency session to discuss the incident and accused the US-led coalition of jeopardising the Syria deal and helping Islamic State.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, chastised Russia for the move.
"Russia really needs to stop the cheap point-scoring and the grandstanding and the stunts and focus on what matters, which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them," Ms Power said.
When asked if the incident spelled the end of the Syria deal between Moscow and Washington, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said: "This is a very big question mark."
"I would be very interested to see how Washington is going to react. If what Ambassador Power has done today (Sunday) is any indication of their possible reaction then we are in serious trouble," Mr Churkin said.
Russia said the attacks, which allowed Islamic State fighters to briefly overrun a Syrian army position near Deir al-Zor, were evidence that the US was helping the jihadist militants.
For more than five years, the Syrian people have suffered a catastrophic series of wars that have killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
"We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world that the White House is defending Islamic State. Now there can be no doubts about that," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
"Warplanes from the international anti-jihadist coalition carried out four air strikes today (Sunday) against Syrian forces surrounded by IS in the Deir Ezzor air base," a Russian army statement said.
"Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and a hundred others were injured in these strikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group gave a toll of 83 soldiers killed, and said the strikes were US-led coalition raids.
Reuters: Ints Kalnins
Coordination between the US, which backs some Syrian rebels, and the Russian military, which backs the Syrian government, is a controversial issue.
Russia has long insisted on it and, if the ceasefire brokered by the two nations holds, the two nations are supposed to start coordinating attacks on Islamic State.
Russia says the incident is evidence the US has stubbornly refused to coordinate so far.
But the US says the coalition did inform Russia of the forthcoming strike.
Syria's army has been fighting off a fierce Islamic State offensive around the Deir al-Zor airport since last year.
The IS-linked Amaq news agency said coalition strikes also hit Islamic State positions around the airport, while there were also reports of Russian planes bombing Islamic State targets..
Russian military officials meanwhile lashed out at both the United States and mainstream rebels over the ceasefire struck last week in Geneva.
"The situation in Syria is worsening," said Russian General Vladimir Savchenko in a briefing.
Under the US-Russia deal, if the truce lasts seven days and humanitarian access is granted, Moscow and Washington are to work together to target jihadists including IS.
"Russia is exerting all possible effort to restrain (Syrian) government troops from returning fire," Senior Army General Viktor Poznikhir said.
"If the American side does not take the necessary measures to carry out its obligations... a breakdown of the ceasefire will be on the United States."
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry accused what it termed "moderate rebels" of causing the ceasefire to fail.
| Armed Conflict | September 2016 | ['(ISIS)', '(SANA)', '(ABC)'] |
Proud Boys supporter Eduard Florea is arrested in New York for threatening to lead an armed caravan to Washington, D.C. Additionally, Florea also threatened the life of Senator-elect Raphael Warnock. | A heavily armed Proud Boys wannabe from Queens stood back and stood by Wednesday as Brooklyn federal prosecutors accused him of leveling death threats against Georgia Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock and other politicians.
Eduard Florea, 40, watched via video feed as prosecutors described the discovery of his hateful and murderous posts on the far-right Parler app, along with a raid on his home, where authorities seized about 1,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, 24 shotgun shells, 75 combat knives, two hatchets and two swords.
“Dead men can’t write s--t laws,” read one of Florea’s Jan. 6 posts in the online forum. Authorities said the menacing remark referenced Warnock, a Black Democrat elected in Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoff election.
The post was written from the defendant’s Middle Village home on the same day as last week’s U.S. Capitol riot, officials said.
One day earlier, Florea under the screen name “LoneWolfWar” cast a wider net with another post referencing lawmakers in general: “I catch one of you f-----s in D.C. tomorrow, I’m definitely slicing a throat.”
Photos obtained Wednesday by the Daily News captured an armored FBI vehicle rolling down the suspect’s street and the moment Florea raised his hands in surrender Tuesday night outside his home.
“Florea, a previously convicted felon, made various social media posts about his plan to travel to Washington, D.C., to engage in acts of violence,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney. “We saved him a trip and paid him a visit instead.”
Florea was ordered held without bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara after Brooklyn federal prosecutor Francisco Navarro argued the defendant was a flight risk. Florea is due back in court Jan. 27.
“This is not just idle talk,” Navarro said of the threats. “The defendant told the FBI he supports the Proud Boys, an extremist organization, and he had applied to join. ... You can’t condemn what happened at the Capitol and hang out with the Proud Boys.”
According to the prosecutor, Florea accompanied members of the ultraright group when they vandalized a Washington church Dec. 12. And in another Jan. 6 web posting, he advocated violence in the aftermath of President Trump’s November election loss to Joe Biden.
“The time for peace and civility are over,” he wrote. “Three cars of armed patriots, guns cleaned and loaded, got a bunch of other guys waiting to deploy.”
Defense attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg of Brooklyn Federal Defenders, while acknowledging that Florea wrote “some blather on the internet,” noted he was not in any car, does not own a car and never went to Washington for the riot at the U.S. Capitol following an incendiary speech by Trump.
She added that Florea is simply charged in the federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday with illegal possession of ammunition, not with making online threats.
“He rejects the entrance of any individual into the Capitol,” she said. “He does not condone [what happened on Jan. 6].”
An ex-pal of the suspect said he didn’t believe Florea is as dangerous as the feds claim.
“He’s a dog with all bark and no bite,” said Jake Preda, 41, who says he was friends with Florea for more than 25 years until they had a falling-out in 2015.
“He’s just a passive-aggressive guy,” Preda said. “When he’s faced with a lot of stress he will pop off.”
Florea was nabbed as part of a nationwide manhunt for alleged extremists who either participated in the Capitol siege or may be plotting a repeat around the presidential inauguration next Wednesday.
Navarro made much of Florea’s conviction in 2014 for possession of illegal guns on Staten Island, and a criminal case the same year in involving choking his wife.
But Eisner-Grynberg noted her client served a year in jail on the gun offense, his lone criminal conviction. She added that Florea was a software engineer employed since 2002, and lives with his wife and their two children ages 8 and 4.
In the end, Judge Bulsara sided with prosecutors and locked Florea up without bail.
“While events were unfolding [at the Capitol], Mr. Florea continued to post and make clear frankly what reflects a premeditated plan to exact violence against people in New York and people in Washington against United States senators,” Bulsara ruled.
With Morgan B. Chittum
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | January 2021 | ['(WNBC-TV)', '(Fox News)', '(The New York Daily News)'] |
Police in Brazil arrest almost the entire council in the city of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, on suspicion of fraud and corruption, leaving the city without a government. | Brazilian police have arrested almost the entire local council in the southern city of Dourados, leaving an unprecedented power vacuum.
Mayor Ari Artuzi, his wife, deputy, and 25 other people were detained on suspicion of fraud and corruption.
Prosecutors accuse the mayor of heading a complex corruption racket. Mr Artuzi's allies reject the charges. A judge has been appointed to run the city of 200,000 people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Legal experts say there are no legal provisions in Brazil for the situation in Dourados, where in effect there is no-one to run the government.
A spokesman for the council said Dourados had been left in limbo by the arrests.
Police say some 200 officers were involved in the anti-corruption operation, which began in May.
They say 100,000 reais ($57,000; 37,000) was seized from the mayor's house during the investigation.
Prosecutors accuse Mr Artuzi and his collaborators of taking a 10% cut of all public works contracts and using the money for election campaigns and to bribe other local politicians. Among those arrested are the city's councillors for finance and administration and a hospital director.
The police have up to five days to charge or release the suspects.
Brazil governor faces fraud probe
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | September 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Latin American Herald Tribune)'] |
Indonesia's Sinabung volcano erupts, displacing more than 19,000 people. | More than 19,000 people have been displaced by a volcano in Indonesia that has been erupting for months and shot lava into the air nine times overnight.
Mount Sinabung on Sumatra sent hot rocks and ash 7,000 metres in the air last night and this morning, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. "Mount Sinabung remains on the highest alert level and we have warned there should be no human activity within a five-kilometre radius of the crater," Mr Nugroho said.
"On Monday night, 19,126 people had fled their homes, and we expect that number to rise."
Police and soldiers were patrolling the danger zone to evacuate people who have chosen to stay in their homes, Mr Nugroho added.
Mount Sinabung - one of dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia which straddles major tectonic fault lines - erupted in September for the first time since 2010 and has been rumbling ever since.
In August, five people were killed and hundreds evacuated when a volcano on a tiny island in East Nusa Tenggara province erupted.
The country's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions in 2010.
| Volcano Eruption | January 2014 | ['(ABC News)'] |
Six people have been killed in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, with two Mississippi fishermen missing, in this week's flooding in the America's Deep South. More than 24 inches of rain has fallen in some of the hardest–hit areas with more rain today that is expected to lead to additional flooding later this week. | HATTIESBURG , Miss., March 13 (UPI) -- Parts of the Deep South are bracing for more rain Sunday and flooding later this week after six people died in historic flooding that has also destroyed homes and washed out roads.
At least three people died in Louisiana, one in Texas and one in Oklahoma. Two fishermen were reported missing in Mississippi. More than 24 inches of rain has fallen in some of the hardest-hit areas of Mississippi, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Mississippi officials said 95 homes have major damage and nearly 300 have minor damage in 41 counties. The flooding is the worst since 2012, when Hurricane Issac dumped more than 24 inches of rain in the area.
In Louisiana, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said nearly 5,000 homes have been damaged by flooding. Thousands have been forced from their homes.
"Our first goal is to help our local partners through the response phase of this event," GOHSEP Director James Waskom said. "We will begin to transition into the recovery phase as conditions improve. We have been working with [Federal Emergency Management Agency] for the past several days in an effort to streamline the disaster assessment process that will ultimately determine what level of federal support will be available for individuals, parishes and state agencies dealing with flood."
Forecasters said the nasty weather will continue Sunday through the Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas areas, with the possibility of large hail, strong winds and tornadoes late Sunday.
The National Weather Service said the flooding won't end for days. The Big SunFlower River, a main tributary of the Yazoo River in Mississippi, is expected to crest at 28.5 feet on Wednesday. | Floods | March 2016 | ['(Fox News)', '(UPI)'] |
Justin Milne resigns as chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation following allegations that he interfered in the broadcaster's employment and editorial practices on behalf of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. | Justin Milne has resigned as ABC chairman after his board turned against him and staff threatened to walk off the job.
ABC directors met on Thursday and decided Mr Milne should stand aside while a government investigation took place, which prompted him to resign.
Sources at the ABC said employees had made it clear to board members on Thursday that ABC staff were so angry they were prepared to walk off the job in protest if Mr Milne did not resign.
Justin Milne has been under pressure to step down after it was revealed he had told former managing director Michelle Guthrie to fire journalists who he thought the government did not like.
In an interview with the ABC's 7.30 program, Mr Milne described the week's events as a "firestorm" and said he "wanted to provide a release valve".
"Clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation and, as always, my interests have been to look after the interests of the corporation," he said.
"It's clearly not a good thing for everybody to be trying to do their job with this kind of firestorm going on."
His resignation marks a significant change in direction since a phone conference on Wednesday afternoon between some board members ended with "support" for Mr Milne’s position and affirmation of the board's decision to sack former managing director Michelle Guthrie on Monday.
Ms Guthrie's firing and Mr Milne's resignation leave an unprecedented leadership vacuum at the top of the ABC.
It follows revelations Mr Milne told Ms Guthrie to sack high-profile presenter Emma Alberici and political editor Andrew Probyn - and also tried to intervene in other editorial matters - following complaints from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
ABC chairman Justin Milne leaves his home on Thursday morning.
Credit:Nick Moir
Board members had already been made aware of Mr Milne's directives to Ms Guthrie in a document she prepared for the board after she was asked to resign as managing director on September 13. They agreed to sack her just over a week later.
But the subsequent publication of Mr Milne's interventions - starting with Fairfax Media's revelation he told Ms Guthrie to "get rid of" Alberici - forced the board to re-evaluate Mr Milne's position.
Mr Milne said there had been "absolutely no interference" from the government in the independence of the ABC.
"Nobody from the government has ever rung me and told me what to do in relation to the ABC," he said. "Nobody ever told me to hire anybody, fire anybody, or do anything else; they absolutely didn't."
Meanwhile, the Morrison government has ordered the Communications Department to investigate the allegations levelled at Mr Milne. Earlier on Thursday, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield declined to support the chairman continuing in the role.
"It’s a matter for every high office holder to continually assess whether they retain the capacity to effectively discharge the duties of their office," he said.
| Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | September 2018 | ['(The Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
Shinzō Abe is re-elected prime minister as his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition wins 312 seats and retains its two-thirds supermajority in the 465-member House of Representatives. | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition has won a resounding victory in Sunday's general election, according to exit polls. On hearing of his victory he said he would "firmly deal with" threats from North Korea.
The public broadcaster NHK put Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition at 312 seats, allowing it to retain its two-thirds "super majority".
This is vital to his ambition to revise Japan's post-war pacifist constitution.
Mr Abe has pushed for a shift in Japan's defence policy, calling for formal recognition of the military in the constitution.
He said he would try to "gain support from as many people as possible" for the task.
He said on Sunday: "As I promised in the election, my imminent task is to firmly deal with North Korea.
"For that, strong diplomacy is required."
Mr Abe announced the election on 25 September, saying he needed a fresh mandate in order to deal with the "national crises" facing Japan.
The crises include North Korea, which has threatened to "sink" Japan into the sea. Pyongyang has also fired two missiles over Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan.
A win in the election raises Mr Abe's chances of securing a third three-year-term as leader of the LDP when the party votes next September.
That would give him the opportunity to become Japan's longest serving prime minister, having been elected in 2012.
Japan went to the polls on Sunday as Typhoon Lan lashed parts of the country. The category four storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to the south of the country, causing flights to be cancelled and rail services to be disrupted.
It is expected to blow into the Tokyo area early on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Speaking to the BBC, one observer described voting for Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party as TINA, or "there is no alternative".
| Government Job change - Election | October 2017 | ['(BBC)', '(Reuters)'] |
President Joe Biden repeals the Trump administration's decision to ban transgender people from serving in the United States military. | New president overturns ban ordered by Donald Trump in a tweet during his first year in office
First published on Mon 25 Jan 2021 15.04 GMT
Joe Biden on Monday reversed a Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender individuals from joining the US military, dumping a ban ordered by Donald Trump in a tweet during his first year in office.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) greeted the move as “an incredible victory” in the fight for transgender rights.
The president had been widely expected to overturn the Trump policy in his early days in office.
In a statement, the White House said: “President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity.
“Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.”
The move has the support of Biden’s newly confirmed defense secretary, retired army Gen Lloyd Austin, who discussed it in his Senate hearing last week.
“If you’re fit and you’re qualified to serve and you can maintain the standards,” Austin said, “you should be allowed to serve”.
Biden was scheduled to hold a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony on Monday for Austin, who became the nation’s first Black defense secretary. Austin and Biden met in the Oval Office before that ceremony, Biden signing the order on transgender service personnel at the Resolute Desk after reporters were ushered into the room. He said he would answer questions later.
In a tweet, Biden said: “It’s simple: America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride.”
Ahead of last week’s inauguration, a memo from Ron Klain, now White House chief of staff, sketched out a plan to use Biden’s first full week as president “to advance equity and support communities of color and other underserved communities”.
The move was welcomed by campaigners for equal rights.
“A grateful nation salutes all who have served and hoped for this moment,” said the Human Rights Campaign, adding: “For years, transgender patriots were forced to continue to hide their identity while serving in our military. But today, thanks to President Joe Biden, Secretary Lloyd Austin, and pro-equality voters across America, they may live and serve openly as themselves.”
The ACLU hailed “an incredible victory for our clients and sends a message that transgender people not only belong in our armed services, but in our country”.
The move to overturn the transgender ban is the latest example of Biden using executive authority to dismantle Trump’s legacy. Other early actions include orders to overturn a ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, stop construction of the wall at the US-Mexico border, and launch an initiative to advance racial equity.
It was unclear how quickly the Pentagon will put a new policy in effect. Until a few years ago service members could be discharged for being transgender, but in 2016 defense secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender people already serving would be allowed to do so openly. The military set 1 July 2017 as the date when transgender individuals would be allowed to enlist.
The Trump administration delayed the enlistment date and called for additional study to determine if allowing transgender individuals to serve would affect military readiness or effectiveness.
A few weeks later, Trump caught military leaders by surprise, tweeting that the government wouldn’t accept or allow transgender individuals to serve “in any capacity”.
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” he wrote.
It took nearly two years, but after a lengthy and complicated legal battle and additional reviews the defense department in April 2019 approved the new policy that fell short of an all-out ban but barred troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex and required most to serve in their birth gender.
As of 2019, an estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the reserves identify as transgender, but not all seek treatment. Since July 2016, more than 1,500 service members were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. As of 1 February 2019, there were 1,071 serving. According to the Pentagon, the department spent about $8m on transgender care between 2016 and 2019. The military’s annual healthcare budget tops $50bn.
All four service chiefs told Congress in 2018 they had seen no discipline, morale or unit readiness problems with transgender troops. But they also acknowledged that some commanders were spending a lot of time with transgender individuals who were working through medical requirements and other transition issues. | Government Policy Changes | January 2021 | ['(The Guardian)'] |
One person is killed and 11 others are wounded when rockets strike oil refineries near al-Bab and Jarablus, Syria. | A series of missile attacks near oil facilities ignited major blazes in northern Syria near the Turkish border and killed one person on Friday.
Explosions rocked oil refineries near the towns of al-Bab and Jarablus and set off large fires, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
A source in the Turkish military, which controls swaths of northwest Syria where Turkish troops have a presence, said missile attacks had caused the blasts, which also wounded 11 people.
Anadolu said they were ballistic missiles and it was not clear who carried out the attacks.
In Syria, Russia is a main supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government while Turkey backs a handful of opposition factions.
Turkey has carried out three major forays into northeastern Syria since 2016 to drive away Kurdish fighters and the armed group ISIL (ISIS) from the border area.
In 2019, it sent in troops to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers “terrorists” from the area and to create a “safe zone” where it hoped to resettle refugees.
Turkey halted the offensive following separate deals with the United States and Russia that promised the withdrawal of the Kurdish militia.
.
| Armed Conflict | March 2021 | ['(Al Jazeera)'] |
15 people, including 9 nursing students, are killed while 12 others are injured in an blaze that gobbles up two buildings in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan province in northern Philippines. | TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan Valley, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) At least 15 people, most of them nursing graduates, were killed in a fire that gutted a hotel in this city early morning Sunday.
Police and fire officials said nursing graduates, many of them from Santiago City in Isabela who were scheduled to take their licensure examination on December 19 and 20, were staying at the Bed and Breakfast Hotel and Restaurant on Mabini and Luna Streets here. The fire, which investigators suspected to have been caused by faulty wiring, broke out at past 1 a.m.
Senior Inspector Neil Caranguian, city fire officer, said firefighters recovered 15 bodies from the five-story hotel as of 1:30 p.m.
Caranguian did not identify the victims but said among those who died in the fire were a couple and their child, all of whom were related to the owner of the hotel.
Romeo Opido, an instructor at the University of La Salette in Santiago City, told the police that more than 30 nursing graduates from his university were staying in the hotel.
Opido said at least 27 were able to leave the hotel unhurt when the fire broke out while six others were taken to different hospitals in Tuguegarao due to minor burns and for difficulty in breathing.
| Fire | December 2010 | ['(Xinhua)', '(Philippine Inquirer)', '(BBC)'] |
Official figures indicate that at least 144 people were injured at an Armenian government campaign event in Yerevan's central square after an explosion during a political rally. | Scores of people have been injured in the Armenian capital Yerevan after clusters of gas balloons exploded at a political rally. Crowds were attending a government campaign event in the city's central square ahead of parliamentary polls.
Health officials said some 144 people had been injured, with over 100 taken to hospital with burns, none of which are thought to be life-threatening.
Officials blamed the explosions on a cigarette being lit near the balloons.
Health ministry spokesperson Shushan Hananyan told the Novosti Armeniya news agency that some of the injured were hurt in the panic after the blast.
There was chaos as people tried to escape the flames, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia. Video on Armenian websites showed people screaming and running away, some of them with their clothes on fire.
"People rushed away from the square, and I saw a man with a burnt face and a girl whose back was on fire," one eyewitness told Reuters. However, so far most of the injuries appear to be light burns, our correspondent adds. Despite the incident, President Serge Sarkisian went on to address thousands of people at the rally.
The balloons were decorated with the governing Republican Party's slogan "Let's believe in change".
Armenia is due to hold parliamentary elections on Sunday | Armed Conflict | May 2012 | ['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, during a visit to Slovakia for talks on the future of NATO, says Russia is more dangerous than the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant . “By all evidence, Russia’s activity is a sort of existential threat because this activity can destroy countries,” Waszczykowski told reporters in Bratislava. He described ISIL as a very serious threat but said “it is not an existential threat for Europe”. | Witold Waszczykowski describes Russian activity as an ‘existential threat to Europe’ during a debate on the future of Nato
Last modified on Wed 12 Apr 2017 15.08 BST
Russia is more dangerous than Islamic State, Poland’s foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski, told reporters during a visit to Slovakia.
“By all evidence, Russia’s activity is a sort of existential threat because this activity can destroy countries,” said Waszczykowski, who was speaking in a debate on the future of Nato at the annual Globsec security forum in Bratislava on Friday. “We also have non-existential threats like terrorism, like the great waves of migrants,” he added, according to Poland’s PAP news agency.
He described Isis as a very serious threat but said “it is not an existential threat for Europe”.
Waszczykowski also called for Nato to approve the deployment of troops on the alliance’s eastern border at its July summit due to be held in Warsaw.
“This will be a symbol of the determination to defend the eastern flank,” he said. “We can discuss the scale of this deployment.”
The Czech defence minister, Martin Stropnický, said at the conference that strengthening the Nato’s collective defence capability would be the main point on the agenda at the summer summit, while warning that Russia “should not be isolated”.
He added that Russia was actively “testing the defensive capabilities of Nato in the Baltic region” where a number of countries have come under pressure, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
Russia will use rare talks with Nato next week to protest the alliance’s “absolutely unjustified” military buildup in the Baltic states, Moscow’s Belgian ambassador said on Friday, adding that the alliance was using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext.
Russian and Nato ambassadors will meet in Brussels on 20 April for their first formal talks in nearly two years to discuss security issues, including the crisis in Ukraine, where Moscow is accused of backing pro-Russia rebels against the pro-western government in Kiev. | Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | April 2016 | ['(ISIL)', '(The Guardian)'] |
A. Raja resigns as the Indian Telecommunications Minister over claims that licenses had been improperly given to mobile phone companies. | Parliament in India has been adjourned in uproar after the government rejected a joint inquiry into an alleged telecoms scandal.
Such was the commotion in the chamber, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not even make a statement on the matter.
Telecommunications minister A Raja quit on Sunday, denying allegations that he had undersold mobile phone licences.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ruled out a joint inquiry, saying "impartial" agencies were already investigating.
Opposition leader Sitaram Yechury, of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said a "meaningful" joint probe was needed to investigate the "scam and set up rules and benchmarks for the future".
My conscience is very clear - I did much for the country”
Mr Raja presided over the world's fastest growing mobile market; there are about half a billion mobile phone subscribers in India.
His political party, DMK, is one of the largest partners in India's ruling Congress-led coalition.
Mr Raja is accused of issuing 2G licences in 2008 on a "first-come, first-served" basis instead of auctioning them, costing the government billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Critics said the low return was underscored when India's auction in May of 3G bandwidth for mobile phone services ended up reaping $15bn, twice the sum expected.
After quitting on Sunday, Mr Raja said he had made his decision to "avoid embarrassment to the government".
In televised remarks outside the home of the prime minister, he said: "I will prove my innocence, I did everything in accordance with the law. "I did a revolution in the telecom sector. My conscience is very clear. I did much for the country."
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had been clamouring for Mr Raja's dismissal, called his departure a "victory for democracy".
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad labelled the 2G licence sale the "mother of all scams" and said Mr Raja should be prosecuted.
Last week, two senior Congress party members resigned over separate corruption allegations.
Ashok Chavan quit as the chief minister of western Maharashtra state amid claims homes reserved for war widows went to politicians and military officers.
Controversial Commonwealth Games organiser Suresh Kalmadi also quit his party post; preparations for October's sporting spectacular were overshadowed by sleaze allegations.
Mr Raja was the second federal government minister to quit this year. In April, Shashi Tharoor, a former senior UN diplomat, resigned as India's junior foreign minister after a cricket team ownership scandal.
The top UN court rejects claims by Serbia and Croatia of genocide against each other during the war which saw the break-up of Yugoslavia. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | November 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
England wins the 2005 Ashes 2–1. Final Test match ends in a draw. | Kevin Pietersen smashed his first ever Test century to earn the draw that gave England a 2-1 series win and the Ashes for the first time since 1987.
Pietersen, who was dropped twice, hit 158 and Ashley Giles 59 before England were bowled out for 335 at The Oval, to snuff out Australian hopes of victory.
Australia batted for just four balls before bad light intervened, and a draw was eventually declared by the umpires.
The result brings to an end a series many have dubbed the "best ever".
The Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair led the tributes to captain Michael Vaughan and his victorious team after the match.
Parade details in full
London will stage a victory parade for them on Tuesday, but the champagne flowed as soon as Vaughan lifted the tiny brown Ashes urn aloft and they were showered in ticker tape and streamers.
The players then completed a victory lap of the Oval pitch to salute the 23,000-strong crowd that had roared them on all day.
How symbolic that the removal of the bails officially decides the Ashes
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Fans had spread onto the roofs and balconies of houses around the south London ground, and also celebrated in style, as did the country at large.
Yet England had been in trouble early on the final day of the fifth Test, losing four wickets before lunch, and leading by just 133 with five hours left.
But Pietersen's super knock, which saw him named man of the match, guided them home.
In his final Test in England, Shane Warne took the last two wickets to finish with 6-124 and 12 wickets for the match, taking his career haul of England wickets to a record 172. However, he had little to celebrate as Australia's batsmen faced just four balls before play was stopped in confused circumstances and then abandoned after a 15-minute stand-off.
Pietersen hit seven sixes to set a new Ashes record for an England batsman
McGrath had Michael Vaughan caught behind for 45 and saw Ian Bell edge to slip in the ninth over of the day.
Pietersen survived the hat-trick ball, which reared up to bounce off his shoulder and into the hands of Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting.
There was another sharp intake of breath before he got off the mark, when an edge caught keeper Adam Gilchrist's glove and was then missed by Matthew Hayden at slip.
But the easiest chance came with his score on 15, when Warne put down a simple head high chance at first slip.
Soon afterwards, an emboldened Pietersen slog-swept the veteran leg-spinner for two sixes in a single over to bring up the England 100.
Warne bowled 32 consecutive overs from the Vauxhall End and was dazzling early on as he ripped a leg-break out of the footholds to trap Marcus Trescothick lbw for 33.
Andrew Flintoff did not last long either as he was lured into a loose straight drive which Warne collected at shin height.
Warne weaved his magic again - but it wasn't to be for Australia
But Pietersen's aggression, combined with some gritty batting from Paul Collingwood and then Giles wore the veteran leg-spinner down.
Collingwood contributed 10 to a sixth-wicket stand of 60 that began to shift the momentum in England's direction, before Giles contributed a vital knock. He ended a sterling series with the bat with a career-best score, putting on a further 27 with Matthew Hoggard.
Pietersen hit seven sixes in all, beating Ian Botham's Ashes record of six in an innings, set at Old Trafford in 1981.
But it was the fifth, a hook over square leg off Brett Lee, which hammered in the final nail, taking the England lead past the 250 mark with 39 overs left to Australia. By the time he was bowled by McGrath, England were 314 ahead and the teams were left to go through the motions until the stalemate, which sparked England celebrations, was finally agreed. | Sports Competition | September 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
Acting on a tipoff about a planned attack, authorities in Shariff Aguak detain two suspected would-be bombers and disable an improvised explosive device. | MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — A group of vigilant residents in Shariff Aguak shall receive incentives for preventing what could have been a bloody bomb attack in the municipality on Friday night.
Two of the four men who were to carry out the plot were arrested immediately by civilian volunteers led by Shariff Aguak Vice Mayor Hadji Akmad Ampatuan, acting on a tip by watchful constituents.
Esmael Abdulkarim, 44 and his 52-year-old accomplice, Boy Kamid, are now in the custody of the Shariff Aguak municipal police, undergoing tactical questioning on their group affiliation and their real motive for the botched bombing.
Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division said Saturday bomb disposal experts had promptly deactivated the improvised explosive device the two men and their companions laid near a roadside security outpost of volunteer community watchmen helping authorities guard the municipality from Islamic State-Inspired militants.
Shariff Aguak’s vice mayor and barangay tanods who cornered the fleeing Abdulkarim and Kamid after a brief chase recovered from them a .45 caliber pistol and a fragmentation grenade.
More than a dozen police and Army personnel have been wounded in recent roadside bombings by the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Shariff Aguak and nearby towns in the second district of Maguindanao.
Ampatuan, a first-termer vice mayor, said he will provide the villagers who informed him about the plan to set off an IED in Shariff Aguak with earnest cash incentives as a reward.
“They are not asking for anything in exchange for the good work. What they did was something first ever in the history of this municipality. We have to reciprocate,” he said in Filipino on Saturday morning.
Ampatuan declined to identify the informants for security reasons.
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, chairman of the inter-agency provincial peace and order council, said he is ready to give monetary incentives to them too.
“That was a noble act that deserves recognition from me too. I am a survivor of several attempts on my life using IED,” Mangudadatu said.
He said he wants the now detained Abdulkarim and Kamid prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.
It is fear of getting locked in a rido, which means vendetta feud, that discourages residents of Maguindanao’s 36 towns to openly help in government efforts to address the spread of misguided Islamic militancy in conflict flashpoint areas in the province. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | April 2018 | ['(Philstar Global)'] |
Crowds gather at the headquarters of the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon, Burma, in anticipation of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. | Reports from Burma say military authorities have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
But hopes she would be freed on Friday were dashed: there has been no official confirmation of a release order. A leader of her NLD party told 2,000 supporters gathered at its headquarters to go home and return on Saturday. Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, and her house arrest term expires on Saturday.
There has been increased police activity outside her house in Rangoon, Burma's largest city, but no formal statement from military officials. However, Ms Suu Kyi is not expected to accept a conditional release if it excludes her from political activity.
The 65-year-old was originally due to be released last year, but a case involving an American who swam across Inya Lake to her home, claiming he was on a mission to save her, prompted the latest 18-month detention.
The BBC is banned from reporting in Burma but correspondent Alastair Leithead is monitoring developments from the capital of neighbouring Thailand, Bangkok.
He says a number of sources inside Burma have told the BBC that documents authorising Ms Suu Kyi's release have been signed.
Officials have reportedly visited her home in University Avenue to deliver them.
About 2,000 of her supporters gathered at NLD headquarters in anticipation of her release. Some wore T-shirts saying: "We stand with you."
"Young and old, NLD members and non-members are gathering here with excitement to welcome her. At one point, we got the news that she was released and we all shouted with joy," Yazar, an NLD youth leader, told the BBC's Burmese service.
But by early evening a party leader told people to go home because it seemed unlikely she would be freed on Friday. A man waiting outside the gate to Ms Suu Kyi's home said little had changed.
"People are waiting in groups here and there, maybe more than 100 in total - many of them are journalists," he told the BBC. "Security is normal as usual. No increase. The gate is closed as before, that's it."
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer said: "There is no law to hold her for another day. Her detention period expires on Saturday and she will be released."
"They should release her for the country," Nyan Win added.
Earlier this week, he told the BBC that she would "not accept a limited release".
"[It] must be unconditional. As we all know, she never accepted limited freedom in the past."
Nyan Win said she would meet with the NLD's central committee, members of the media and the public once she was freed. The British ambassador to Burma, Andrew Heyn, has told the BBC that the UK and EU are pressing hard for Ms Suu Kyi's unconditional release, and that her freedom would have a "significant impact".
The increasing speculation that the ruling generals may sanction Aung San Suu Kyi's release follows the country's first elections in 20 years on Sunday.
On Thursday, state media announced that partial results showed that the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), had secured a majority in both houses of parliament.
The USDP had won 190 of the 219 seats so far declared in the 330-seat lower House of Representatives, and 95 of 107 seats in the 168-seat upper House of Nationalities, the reports said. Those elected included the leader of the USDP, Prime Minister Thein Sein, who retired from the military as a general in April to stand.
The junta has said the election marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy, but the opposition, many Western governments and human rights groups have said the election was neither free nor fair.
The NLD - which won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power - was ordered to dissolve after refusing to take part.
A quarter of seats in the two new chambers of parliament will be reserved for the military. Any constitutional change will require a majority of more than 75% - meaning that the military will retain a casting vote.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | November 2010 | ['(The Irrawaddy)', '(BBC)'] |
A Bolivian spectator dies in the seventh stage between Bolivia and Argentina after being hit by a Mitsubishi driven by French driver Lionel Baud. | Organisers say a Bolivian spectator has been killed at the Dakar Rally after he was hit by a Mitsubishi driven by Frenchman Lionel Baud during the seventh stage from Bolivia to Argentina.
"The organisation's medical service could only confirm, unfortunately, the death of the person involved (in the accident)," they said in a statement on Sunday morning after the stage from Uyumi in Bolivia to Salta in northwest Argentina.
Reports said the 63-year-old man was hit at the 82km mark of the stage.
It was the 64th death in the history of the annual endurance race since 1979, which has included 23 competitors killed, and the sixth since it was moved from Africa to South America in 2009 for security reasons.
The prologue stage to this year's event in Argentina was also marred by an accident when a Mini driven by Chinese Guo Meiling went into the crowd and injured eight spectators including three children and a pregnant woman.
The Dakar Rally started out as a gruelling race from Paris across the Sahara to the Senegalese capital Dakar and remains one of the most formidable challenges in motorsport.
| Famous Person - Death | January 2016 | ['(ABC News Australia)'] |
Two US and three Afghan soldiers are killed in Wardak Province in the latest insider attack against coalition forces. In a separate incident, two Afghan civilians are shot dead by American soldiers after failing to stop at a checkpoint near Kabul. | Two US soldiers in Afghanistan have been shot dead in a so-called insider attack, US and Afghan sources say. A number of Afghan troops also died in the shooting at a remote military base in Wardak province, not far from Kabul.
The US military called the attack a "betrayal". The killer - a member of the Afghan security forces - was shot dead at the scene. Last year more than 60 Nato troops were killed by Afghan security personnel or insurgents posing as them. The gunman - a member of the Afghan army or police - opened fire as US special forces and Afghan commandos held an early morning meeting. Another 10 US troops were wounded, the US military said. The number of Afghan casualties has not been made public.
The attacker was also killed and the US-led special operations task force said the area had been secured. Wardak province is the scene of particular tension between the Afghan authorities and US troops fighting Taliban militants. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had ordered US special forces to leave the province by the middle of this month because of allegations of torture and disappearances carried out by Afghan troops working with them. Earlier on Monday, police in Kabul said two civilian lorry drivers were killed and one wounded when they were fired on by an Isaf convoy. The international security force Isaf said soldiers had opened fire to protect themselves when the two drivers failed to comply with a warning. The latest deaths come amid continuing tension between the Afghan government and the US, as Nato troops prepare to end combat operations next year. President Karzai has been strongly critical of US and allied forces for causing civilian casualties. So-called "insider attacks" by members of the Afghan security forces, or Taliban infiltrators posing as them, have accounted for a growing proportion of Isaf casualties. | Armed Conflict | March 2013 | ['(BBC)', '(Al Jazeera)'] |
Chadian soldiers kill Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an al-Qaeda commander in Africa responsible for a mass hostage-taking at an Algerian gas plant. | Islamist militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been killed by Chadian soldiers in Mali, Chad's armed forces say. His death was announced on Chadian state television but has not been confirmed by other sources. Mokhtar Belmokhtar is a former al-Qaeda leader said to have ordered January's attack on an Algerian gas plant where at least 37 hostages were killed. Chadian troops are fighting Islamist militants in Mali as part of an international force led by France.
The French president's office says a French soldier was killed in northern Mali on Saturday - the third to die since France launched its intervention in Mali on 11 January.
The statement carried by Chadian television on Saturday said: "Chadian forces in Mali completely destroyed the main jihadist base in the Adrar de Ifhogas mountains... killing several terrorists including leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar."
Weapons, equipment and 60 vehicles were seized, it added. Reports of the killing came a day after Chadian President Idriss Deby said the country's forces killed al-Qaeda militant Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in northern Mali.
Abou Zeid - whose death is still to be confirmed by DNA evidence - is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is fighting foreign forces in Mali.
The French military - which is leading the military offensive in northern Mali - has not confirmed either death. BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says the death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been falsely announced several times before.
Although this is the most official claim to date, there are questions about how the Chadian military were able to confirm the militant's identity so quickly, our correspondent says.
On Friday French President Francois Hollande said the Mali operation was in its final stages. Islamist militants took refuge in the remote mountains in northern Mali, close to the Algerian border, after being forced out of the main towns and cities by French troops backed by jets and helicopters. Mali's army and troops from several African countries, including 2,000 from Chad, have also been involved in the fighting. Islamist rebels took control of northern Mali a year ago after a military coup in the capital Bamako, in the south. France intervened militarily in January amid fears they were preparing to advance on Bamako.
Algerian-born Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been fighting as an Islamist militant for more than two decades. He claimed to have received military training in Afghanistan before returning to Algeria, where he lost an eye fighting in the Islamist insurgency in the 1990s.
He then joined AQIM - which operates across the Sahara - before breaking off to lead his own group. The attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria - which he claims he was behind - was his group's first large-scale armed attack. He is also known as "Mr Marlboro" because of his alleged role in cigarette smuggling in the region. Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Abu Zeid have also been involved in numerous kidnappings.
Abu Zeid is known as the most ruthless al-Qaeda field commander in the region and is believed to have executed at least two European hostages in recent years, our West Africa correspondent reports.
If the two deaths are confirmed, they won't mean the war in Mali is over, but they will leave a vacuum in the chain of command for the jihadi fighters hiding in the mountains bordering Algeria, he says.
The reported killings also raise concerns about the fate of several foreign hostages believed to be in the two men's custody, our correspondent says.
Setback for EU in legal fight with AstraZeneca
But the drug-maker faces hefty fines if it fails to supply doses of Covid-19 vaccine over the summer. | Famous Person - Death | March 2013 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)'] |
A Saudi national opens fire at the AlSalam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing two guards and injuring three others. Security guards shoot and kill the gunman. , | A shooting at a royal palace in Saudi Arabia has left two security guards dead and three others injured, according to state media.
A Saudi interior ministry statement said a 28-year-old man was killed after he drove up to the Al Salam palace gates in Jeddah and shot at security.
The man was named as Mansour al-Amri, a Saudi national.
The US embassy had earlier warned citizens after unconfirmed reports on Saturday of an attack in the area. US Mission KSA Security Message - Security Incident at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah 7 Oct"Due to the possibility of ongoing police activity, American citizens are advised to exercise caution when travelling through the area," the embassy said in a brief statement.
Local media reported that incident happened at about 15:15 (12:15 GMT).
Security guards stopped the attack and killed the gunman.
No further information about the attack or the gunman's motive is known.
Days ago, Saudi police raided three addresses in the capital Riyadh connected to a suspected "terror" cell with links to so-called Islamic State, SPA news agency reported.
Two people were killed and five arrested.
| Armed Conflict | October 2017 | ['(Arab News)', '(BBC)'] |
More than 385,000 residents are told to flee the cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, in Texas saying as much as 13 feet of storm surge topped by waves could submerge entire communities. | GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — In the largest U.S. evacuation of the pandemic, more than half a million people were ordered to flee the Gulf Coast on Tuesday as Laura strengthened into a hurricane that forecasters said could slam Texas and Louisiana with ferocious winds, heavy flooding and the power to push seawater miles inland.
More than 385,000 residents were told to flee the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and another 200,000 were ordered to leave low-lying Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana, where forecasters said as much as 13 feet (4 meters) of storm surge topped by waves could submerge whole communities.
Forecasters Tuesday night expected the storm to increase in strength by 33%, from 90 mph (144 kmh) to 120 mph (193 kmh) in just 24 hours. They project Laura to strike the coast as a major Category 3 hurricane. The strengthening may slow or stop just before landfall, forecasters said.
“The waters are warm enough everywhere there to support a major hurricane, Category 3 or even higher. The waters are very warm where the storm is now and will be for the entire path up until the Gulf Coast,” National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Ed Rappaport said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Laura is shaping up to look a lot like Hurricane Rita did 15 years ago when it ravaged southwest Louisiana. “We’re going to have significant flooding in places that don’t normally see it,” he said.
Ocean water was expected to push onto land along more than 450 miles (724 kilometers) of coast from Texas to Mississippi. Hurricane warnings were issued from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, and storm surge warnings from the Port Arthur, Texas, flood protection system to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
The evacuations could get even bigger if the storm’s track veers to the east or west, said Craig Fugate, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Fearing that people would not evacuate in time, Edwards said those in southwest Louisiana need to be where they intend to ride out Laura by noon Wednesday, when the state will start feeling the storm’s effects.
Officials urged people to stay with relatives or in hotel rooms to avoid spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Buses were stocked with protective equipment and disinfectant, and they would carry fewer passengers to keep people apart, Texas officials said.
Whitney Frazier, 29, of Beaumont spent Tuesday morning trying to get transportation to a high school where she could board a bus to leave the area.
“Especially with everything with COVID going on already on top of a mandatory evacuation, it’s very stressful,” Frazier said.
The storm also imperiled a center of the U.S. energy industry. The government said 84% of Gulf oil production and an estimated 61% of natural gas production were shut down. Nearly 300 platforms have been evacuated.
While oil prices often spike before a major storm as production slows, consumers are unlikely to see big price changes because the pandemic decimated demand for fuel.
As of Tuesday evening, Laura was 435 miles (700 kilometers) southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, traveling west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kmh). Its peak winds were 85 mph (140 kph).
Laura passed Cuba after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola, including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power and caused intense flooding. The deaths reportedly included a 10-year-old girl whose home was hit by a tree and a mother and young son crushed by a collapsing wall.
As much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain could fall in some parts of Louisiana, said Donald Jones, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
At Grand Isle, Louisiana, Nicole Fantiny said she planned to ride out the hurricane on the barrier island along with a few dozen other people.
“It could still change, but we keep on hoping and praying that it keeps on going further west like it’s doing,” said Fantiny, who manages a restaurant.
In Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas, mandatory evacuation orders went into effect shortly before daybreak Tuesday. “If you decide to stay, you’re staying on your own,” Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said.
Shelters opened with cots set farther apart to curb coronavirus infections. People planning to enter shelters were told to bring just one bag of personal belongings each, and a mask to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
“Hopefully it’s not that threatening to people, to lives, because people are hesitant to go anywhere due to COVID,” Robert Duffy said as he placed sandbags around his home in Morgan City, Louisiana. “Nobody wants to sleep on a gym floor with 200 other people. It’s kind of hard to do social distancing.”
Officials in Houston asked residents to prepare supplies in case they lose power for a few days or need to evacuate homes along the coast. Some in the area are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey three years ago.
Laura’s arrival comes just days before the Aug. 29 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which breached the levees in New Orleans, flattened much of the Mississippi coast and killed as many as 1,800 people in 2005. Less than a month later, Hurricane Rita struck southwest Louisiana as a Category 3 storm.
Laura wasn’t much of a concern for Kerry Joe Richard of Stephensville, Louisiana. As the storm approached, he was angling for catfish from a small dock overlooking the bayou that’s behind his elevated wood-frame home.
“The only thing I’m worried about is if the fish quit biting,” he said. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | August 2020 | ['(3.96 meters)', '(AP)'] |
Insurgents stop minibuses in Ghōr Province, Afghanistan and execute 14 Shiite Muslims. | KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan official says Taliban insurgents halted minibuses in western Afghanistan, identified 14 Shiite passengers and shot them dead by the side of the road.
Sayed Anwar Rahmati, the governor of the western Ghor province, says the Taliban halted three minibuses traveling from Kabul overnight Friday which were carrying around 30 passengers.
After questioning the passengers, the Islamic militants identified 14, including three women, as Hazara Shiites. The insurgents then bound the passengers' hands, let them away and shot them.
Rahmati says the other passengers were released.
The dead included a couple who were engaged and two relatives travelling with them. Rahmati says the passengers had gone to Kabul to shop for the upcoming holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. | Armed Conflict | July 2014 | ['(AP via New York Daily News)'] |
Khadim Hussain Rizvi, chief of Pakistani political party Tehreek–e–Labbaik Pakistan , together with his party leaders, is arrested after TLP's refusal to postpone their call for a public rally planned for 25 November at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi. Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry clarifies that the action has no connection with the Asia Bibi case. , | Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi was taken into "protective custody" by police from Lahore as law enforcement agencies launched a massive crackdown against workers of TLP and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) on Friday night.
"Khadim Hussain Rizvi has been taken into protective custody by police and shifted to a guest house," said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry late Friday night, confirming reports of the incendiary leader's arrest via Twitter. High/red alert had been generated to heighten the security in the provincial capital.
The crackdown came ahead of Rizvi's call to party members to observe martyrs’ day on November 25 (Sunday). He had asked workers and supporters to gather at Faizabad in the federal capital — the same venue where the party had staged a weeks-long sit-in last year that had virtually paralysed the federal capital and led to several people losing their lives.
Law enforcement personnel on Friday night also took in custody TLYRA head Dr Asif Ashraf Jalali. Furthermore, according to security sources, TLP patron Pir Afzal Qadri was also arrested the same night from Gujrat.
Soon after the news of the arrest of the clerics spread, hundreds of activists of the two parties took to the streets and blocked many roads for traffic.
A constable was seriously injured at Multan Road where the violent activists clashed with police.
Following the unrest and severe clashes, Rangers reached Lahore, taking control of city’s major roads. Prior to the agitation, a police officer said, hundreds of trained police commandos and personnel of the anti-riot force were dispatched to the Multan Road after the information that violent activists of the TLP had held a senior police officer — Iqbal Town SP Syed Ali — hostage along with his guards.
The district authorities in Rawalpindi issued detainment orders for TLP divisional leader Inayatul Haq. According to the notification, Haq will be detained in a jail for 15 days.
According to a correspondent in Sialkot, police arrested Sufi Mohammad Rafiq, district emir of the TLP, and four main activists of the party, identified as Saleem Shahid, Mehbub Hassan, Nasir Dogar and Syed Kaleemul Hassan Shah.
On Saturday, security officials said that since last night, at least 30 of the party's workers have been arrested from various parts of the capital. Around 100 police personnel have been deployed at Faizabad interchange.
According to police sources, 143 TLP workers have so far been arrested from Rawalpindi, 18 from Attock, 55 from Jhelum and five from Chakwal, taking the total arrests from the four cities to 221. More than a hundred arrests were also made in Karachi, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) East Azfar Mahesar, who visited Numaish Chowrangi to brief police officials. According to a senior police official, “a total of 154 TLP workers were apprehended from different areas of the city”.
Among them, 53 were arrested from district East, 34 from Korangi, 31 from Malir, 17 from Central and 19 from district West. At least 27 other workers were detained by Pakistan Rangers Sindh who were later on handed over to the police for further legal action.
"The action was prompted by TLP's refusal to withdraw its call for protest on November 25. It’s to safeguard public life, property and order," Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry shared on Twitter on Friday night. The arrest "has to do nothing with Asia Bibi case", Chaudhry said, adding the TLP had insisted on coming to Rawalpindi "refusing [the government's] proposal for alternative arrangements".
"The TLP has become a continuous threat to the life and properties of the citizens and is doing politics under the guise of religion ... the situation is fully under control, people should remain peaceful and fully cooperate with authorities," he said in a tweet in Urdu.
The minister said the government "did it[s] best" to convince the party against convening for the protest, "but they refused every offer and started to provoke violence".
"State is responsible to defend finality and respect of Holy Prophet PBUH. Law shall take its course and it cannot be left to individuals," Chaudhry concluded.
Prior to Chaudhry's tweets, a family member of Rizvi had confirmed to DawnNewsTV that the TLP chief had been taken into custody. “He was arrested from his hujra in Lahore,” a family member of Rizvi told Samaa TV.
Rizvi's son, Saad, while talking to 7 News said along with his father, all district leaders of TLP had been arrested.
The Punjab information and law ministers, however, had said they did not know about any such action being taken against Rizvi.
Examine: Is TLP here to stay?
TLP leader Pir Afzal Qadri in a video message had corroborated that police "was raiding [their] mosques in order to arrest leaders".
The reports of the arrests come weeks after the TLP led three-day protests across the country against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman whose blasphemy conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court at the end of last month.
The demonstrators during the protests had termed the chief justice “liable to be killed” and had called for a rebellion against the army chief “because he is a non-Muslim”.
This had led to Prime Minister Imran Khan issuing a stern warning to the agitators and telling them: "Do not clash with the state".
“Do not take us [to a situation] where we are compelled to take [strict] action,” the prime minister had said in a televised speech.
Two days later, however, the TLP had agreed to end the nationwide protest sit-ins after reaching an agreement with the federal and Punjab governments under which the latter agreed to initiate the legal process to put Aasia Bibi's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) and refrain from objecting to review of the court judgement.
The TLP, in turn, had only offered an apology "if it hurt the sentiments of or inconvenienced anyone without reason".
In November 2017, TLP workers demanding the resignation of then law minister Zahid Hamid had staged a weeks-long sit-in at the Faizabad interchange that had virtually paralysed the federal capital and led to several people losing their lives.
On November 21 of the same month, the apex court had taken notice of the sit-in and directed the defence and interior secretaries to submit a detailed report on the matter.
Days later, the then PML-N government had launched against the protesters an operation which, when failed, had forced the authorities to cave and Hamid to resign.
The Supreme Court on Thursday had reserved its verdict on the suo motu case over the Faizabad sit-in. The reserved verdict pertains to a variety of issues stemming from TLP's infamous sit-in, including its party registration as well as its violent protest. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest | November 2018 | ['(TLP)', '(Dawn)', '(Pakistan Today)'] |
A 2 meter tall 12th century sandstone statue of a human figure is unearthed by archaeologists during an excavation of a Khmer Empire-era hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap Province. | Archaeologists at Cambodia's celebrated Angkor Wat temple complex have unearthed a large statue believed to date back to the late 12th century. The 2m (6.5ft) sandstone human figure probably functioned as a guardian who stood at the entrance to an ancient hospital, researchers say.
The Cambodia Daily described Saturday's find as "like something that only happens in the movies".
Angkor Wat is one of south-east Asia's most popular tourist destinations. Last year the complex - which was built over different periods of the Khmer empire from the ninth to the 15th centuries - attracted about 2.5 million visitors.
But many of the complex's most valuable items have been looted. Experts say that is why the latest find is so extraordinary. It is described as the most important statue to have been found at Angkor in recent years.
Archaeologists found the statue buried 40cm (16in) underground while excavating a hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII who reigned from 1181 to around 1220.
The king had a reputation for social programmes, with the hospital being one of the most prominent.
The statue's arms and legs are broken but engravings on its body and head can still clearly be seen.
Experts say the hope now is that other objects will be unearthed at the site so that more information can be gleaned on the lifestyles of people of the era.
Historian Rethy Chhem told the Cambodia Daily that the hospital is one of four built in the area, none of which has been properly excavated.
Each hospital contained various statues of divinities, he said, the most prized of which was a statue of the Medicine Buddha.
"We would hit gold if we found the statue of the Buddha," Dr Chhem said.
Most Buddha statues were destroyed after Jayavarman VII's reign as part of a push by Jayavarman VIII to reintroduce Brahmanism. Many of those that were not damaged were looted, although it is thought some were buried so they could be preserved. | New archeological discoveries | August 2017 | ['(6.5 feet)', '(BBC)'] |
Five police officers are killed and twelve others wounded in a suicide bombing in Grozny, the capital of Russia's North Caucasian republic of Chechnya. | A suicide bomber has blown himself up in the Chechen capital Grozny, also killing five police officers and wounding at least 12 other people.
The attack took place outside a hall where a concert marking Grozny's City Day was about to take place.
An interior ministry statement said police were searching a "suspicious" young man when he detonated a device.
Grozny was ravaged by two wars between Russia and Chechen separatists but has been relatively calm in recent years.
The Russian statement said that police officers on duty at the event "noticed a suspicious young man near metal detectors set up at the concert hall".
"When the police decided to search him and establish his identity, the man blew himself up," it said.
The bomber was identified as 19-year-old Opti Mudarov, a resident of Grozny. The ministry said he had disappeared two months ago and had had no contact with his family since then.
There has been no information about any civilian casualties.
Analysis: Sarah Rainsford, BBC Moscow correspondent
This was a high-profile and symbolic target. This year, Grozny City Day celebrations coincide with the birthday of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. He recently asserted that extremist Islamic insurgents - who carried out major bomb attacks in Russia in the run-up to the Winter Olympics - were no longer a threat in Chechnya, and no longer recruiting.
Mr Kadyrov claimed there were just "five to 12 bandits" left in the mountains. The southern Russian republic of Chechnya saw two, brutal separatist wars in the 1990s that gradually morphed into a fight for an Islamic state in the region which is led by a group calling itself the "Caucasus Emirate".
This is the first major attack since the insurgents' long-time leader, Doku Umarov, was killed last year. Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said he would decorate the police officers involved for preventing what it described as a major terrorist act.
"They gave their lives to save thousands of people who had come to the concert," Itar-Tass news agency quoted the ministry as saying.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said the bomber "wanted to ruin people's joy on their day of celebration, but he has not succeeded".
The authoritarian leader also pledged to find and punish the perpetrators.
Chechnya profile
| Armed Conflict | October 2014 | ['(BBC)'] |
The Houthis say they have hit King Khalid Air Base, near the city of Khamis Mushait, in Saudi Arabia, with explosive drones. There is no immediate comment from the Saudi government. | DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi movement has attacked King Khalid air base in the Saudi Arabian city of Khamis Mushait with explosive drones, the Houthis' military spokesman said on Twitter on Saturday.
| Armed Conflict | April 2021 | ['(Reuters)'] |
Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, resigns from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with 10 party colleagues resigning from the government as well. | JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's outspoken Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday pulled his hardline party out of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government in protest at renewed peace talks.
"I informed Olmert that we were quitting the coalition and the government," Lieberman said at a press conference in parliament announcing the departure of his ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party.
"I said that if there are negotiations on the core issues we will not remain in the coalition," he said.
"Therefore things seem very clear to me," said the 49-year-old Lieberman. "Everyone knows that this process will lead nowhere... the principle of land for peace is a fatal mistake that is hard to understand."
His move is likely to shake Olmert's coalition just as peace talks get underway, although the government retains a majority in parliament.
In a statement issued by his office after the announcement, Olmert said: "There is no alternative to serious peace negotiations.... The prime minister is determined to continue the talks which hold the only real chance to assure Israel's security and peace."
Lieberman's resignation came two days after Israeli and Palestinian negotiators officially launched talks on the thorniest issues of the Middle East conflict, including Jerusalem, refugees and settlements.
The negotiations came hot on the heels of a landmark visit to the region by US President George W. Bush last week during which he predicted that the two sides would sign a peace treaty before he left office in January 2009.
The departure of Yisrael Beitenu's 11 MPs still leaves Olmert's government with 67 seats in the 120-member parliament.
But it weakens the premier ahead of the January 30 release of a final report by a government-appointed commission investigating the political and military leadership's conduct during the 2006 34-day war.
The report is expected to be highly critical of Olmert.
With Lieberman out, the focus in Israel turns on the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which has 12 seats in parliament and has also threatened to pull out if the issue of Jerusalem is discussed during the renewed negotiations.
Lieberman's move came 14 months after he and his party, which draws support mainly from ex-Soviet immigrants, joined the government in the wake of the 2006 war against Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.
He was appointed minister of strategic affairs and deputy prime minister in charge of dealing with the Iranian issue, which Israel considers its main strategic threat.
It was his third time serving as a minister in an Israeli government.
An immigrant from ex-Soviet Moldova, Lieberman has sparked outrage among Israel's Arab minority with some of his statements over the years.
Among Lieberman's statements to have caused the most furore was a call for land and population exchanges to create homogeneous Jewish and Palestinian states, and for the execution of Israeli Arab MPs who have had dealings with the hardline Hamas movement, which Israeli considers a terrorist organization. | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | January 2008 | ['(AFP via Google News)'] |
The United Nations will send emergency aid to Vanuatu with at least four people officially dead and reports of dozens more dead after Cyclone Pam hit yesterday. | By Reuters Published: 09:58 BST, 14 March 2015 | Updated: 09:58 BST, 14 March 2015 By Christopher McCall
SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - One of the Pacific Ocean's most powerful ever storms devastated the island nation of Vanuatu on Saturday, tearing off roofs, uprooting trees and killing at least eight people with the toll set to rise, aid officials said.
The United Nations was preparing a major relief operation and Australia said it was ready to offer its neighbour whatever help it could.
With winds up to 340 kph (210 mph), Cyclone Pam left Vanuatu cut off, with little power, poor communications and a looming threat of hunger and thirst.
Unconfirmed reports said the number of dead could run into dozens but aid workers said it would be days or weeks before the full impact was known.
"It felt like the world was going to end," Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said from Vanuatu.
"It's like a bomb has gone off in the centre of the town. There is no power. There is no water."
Tom Skirrow, country director for the Save the Children aid group, told Reuters that Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office had confirmed eight dead and 20 injured. He said he expected those figures to rise substantially.
Aid workers in Papua New Guinea said at least one person had been killed by the storm there.
Satellite photographs showed the storm covering virtually all of Vanuatu, a sprawling country of 83 islands and 260,000 people 2,000 km (1,250 miles) northeast of the Australian city of Brisbane.
The president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, told a disaster risk conference in Japan he had no confirmed report of the impact of the storm but he appealed to the world to "give a lending hand".
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Canberra would be willing to offer Vanuatu whatever help it could.
Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu was jointly ruled by France and Britain until independence in 1980. It is among the world's poorest countries and highly prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and storms.
Witnesses described sea surges of up to eight metres (26 feet) and flooding throughout the capital, Port Vila, after the category 5 cyclone hit late on Friday.
Aid officials said the storm could be unprecedented in the island's history and one of the worst natural disasters the Pacific region has ever experienced.
They said the storm was comparable in strength to Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013 and killed more than 6,000 people.
FEARING THE WORST
Chloe Morrison a spokeswoman for the World Vision aid group said the storm had been terrifying.
"Trees are across the roads. Some of them are piled up so you can barely see over them," she said. "There are reports that there have been casualties across all of the islands.
"This is going to need a long and sustained response. People in Vanuatu are subsistence farmers. They grow food for their own consumption. Crops will be absolutely wiped out from this."
Outlying islands may take weeks to reach, aid officials said, while a lack of clean water and widespread damage to crops meant the situation could deteriorate sharply in coming days.
There were no reports of looting but Skirrow described men whose homes had been destroyed walking the streets of Port Vila with machetes and families huddling without shelter after their flimsy homes of thatch were torn away by the wind and rain.
Many residents were in evacuation centres, he said, but the authorities were ill prepared.
"These people are homeless now. These people are going to be there for probably six weeks," Skirrow said.
As darkness fell on Saturday, the storm was moving off to the south but the wind was still strong.
U.N. relief workers were gearing up for a rapid response on Sunday, with members drawn from as far away as Europe.
However, with the airport closed and high wind still blowing it was not clear how they could reach Vanuatu. | Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard | March 2015 | ['(Reuters via Daily Mail)', '(AP)'] |
The Indian government bans veterinary drug diclofenac because of a connection to the near extinction of vultures. | Conservationists say that the population of three species of Asian vultures has fallen by 97% in 12 years, and they are now at risk of extinction.
The livestock painkiller diclofenac, consumed by vultures when they eat a carcass, has been blamed for the fall. Studies in India, Pakistan and Nepal have found extensive evidence of diclofenac in dead vultures.
Captive breeding programmes
"The decline of three raptor species of vulture across South Asia has been absolutely catastrophic," said Debbie Pain, head of international research at the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
"Even though diclofenac has now been banned, it will take some time before the drug is removed from the food chain.
"It is essential that the authorities in India carry on with vulture captive breeding programmes if several species of the bird are to survive," she said. Once very common, vultures are now becoming rare (Image: Asad Rahmani)
Vultures have an important ecological role in the Asian environment, where they have been relied upon for millennia to clean up and remove dead livestock and even human corpses. Dr Pain and other ornithologists have warmly welcomed the ban imposed by the government, despite some initial scepticism in India that the drug could be the cause of the birds' decline. Vultures hold a critical position in the food chain and are renowned for their ceaseless scavenging. But their once-abundant numbers have been in decline for more than a decade. In 1999, the Bombay Natural History Society noted a 97% drop in the Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis) population at the Keoladeo National Park in the state of Rajasthan.
Kidney failure
Today the bird is considered to be "critically endangered", as are long-billed (Gyps indicus) and slender-billed (Gyps tenuirostris) vultures which have been through a similar decline. The decision to ban diclofenac was taken last week during a meeting of the government-affiliated National Board for Wildlife.
The decline of three raptor species of vulture across South Asia has been absolutely catastrophic
Debbie Pain, RSPB
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh endorsed the board's recommendation to phase out the veterinary use of the drug over the next six months. Mr Singh said that he expected the ministries of health and animal husbandry to promote options to replace the drug such as ketoprofen and meloxicam. Both are believed to be less toxic to vultures.
Last year, a study in the Journal of Applied Ecology showed how only a little exposure is needed to knock back vulture numbers. The birds succumb to kidney failure and visceral gout when they eat a dead animal that has been treated with diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug.
Early signs that the raptors are affected can be seen from the way they hang their heads down to their feet for long periods. The link between the drug and the dramatic fall in raptor numbers was established in 2004 by a US-led team. | Government Policy Changes | March 2005 | ['(Indian Express)', '(BBC)'] |
In Kosovo, a Jordanian UN police officer opens fire upon a convoy of UN police officers killing two female Americans and injuring eleven others. The attack reportedly stemmed from an argument between American and Jordanian UN police over Iraq policies. | UN officials have confirmed that the incident began when Jordanian police fired on vehicles carrying US police.
The US officers returned fire and two Americans and one Jordanian were killed and 11 others were wounded.
The Jordanians could not be formally interviewed until the UN waived their right to diplomatic immunity.
UN officials have denied rumours that a quarrel about the war in Iraq sparked the gunfight.
"As far as we know, there was no communication between the officer who fired and the group of victims," AP news agency quoted UN spokesman, Neural Singh, as saying.
The shooting came a day after King Abdullah of Jordan said during a visit to the United States that the war in Iraq had created unprecedented animosity towards Americans across the Middle East. The UN uses more than 3,000 international police to maintain order between Kosovo's Serbs and Albanians.
But it has confirmed no Serbs or Albanians were involved in the latest shoot-out, which took place in the compound of a prison in Mitrovica.
Special police unit
The incident occurred as the US officers left the detention centre after undergoing initial training. They had only been in Kosovo for 10 days.
The UN says that as they left the compound, at least one member of a Jordanian special police unit opened fire on the US vehicles.
The Americans returned fire. Two female Americans and one male Jordanian died. UN police commissioner in Kosovo Stefan Feller said that among those killed was a member of the prison's management staff and a member of the special police unit.
Two of the injured are in a serious condition. Four Jordanian officers are being held as witnesses to the incident.
'Drop the gun!'
Doctor Milan Ivanov told the BBC that wounds to the injured were predominantly in the chest and abdomen and "were caused by firearms and possibly explosive devices".
A witness to the incident quoted by the Associated Press news agency said he heard gunshots followed by the cries of American officers yelling, "Drop the gun! Drop the gun!"
The BBC's Nick Hawton in Pristina says the incident could put fresh pressure on the UN, which has also been accused of falling behind in its plan for political reform in the province.
The top UN official in Kosovo, Harry Holier, said he was "deeply shocked and dismayed" over the incident. The UN took charge of the Serbian province of Kosovo after an 11-week air war, in which Nato forces aimed to push back Serbian troops accused of war crimes against the ethnic Albanians.
The divided town of Mitrovica was the scene of fierce fighting between the two ethnic groups in March. | Armed Conflict | April 2004 | ['(BBC)'] |
Seven Myanmar Army soldiers are convicted of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison for their participation in the execution of ten Rohingyas in Inn Din. | YANGON (Reuters) - Seven Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to “10 years in prison with hard labor in a remote area” for participating in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in a village in northwestern Rakhine state last September, the army said on Tuesday.
Myanmar soldiers sentenced for Rohingya massacre
00:56
The military said in a statement published on Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing’s office Facebook page that seven soldiers have had “action taken against them” for “contributing and participating in murder”.
The massacre was being investigated by two Reuters journalists - Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 - who were subsequently arrested in December and are still behind bars facing charges of violating the country’s Official Secrets Act.
The authorities told Reuters in February the military opened an internal investigation independently and that it is unrelated to the Reuters reporters who are accused of obtaining unrelated secret government papers.
The Rohingya men from the northern Rakhine village of Inn Din were buried in a mass grave in early September after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbors and soldiers. Reuters published its story on the murder in February.
The murders were part of a larger army crackdown on the Rohingya, beset by allegations of murder, rape, arson and looting, unleashed in response to Rohingya militant attacks on security forces in late August. The United Nations and the United States described it as ethnic cleansing - an accusation which Myanmar denies.
“Four officers were denounced and permanently dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 years with hard labor at a prison in a remote area. Three soldiers of other rank were demoted to the rank of ‘private’, permanently dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 years with hard labor at a prison in a remote area,” read the military statement.
It added that legal proceedings against the police personnel and civilians “involved in the crime” are still under way.
On Jan. 10, the military said the 10 Rohingya men belonged to a group of 200 militants who had attacked security forces. Buddhist villagers attacked some of them with swords and soldiers shot the others dead, the military had said.
The military’s version of events is contradicted by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses published in the February story.
Buddhist villagers reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among hundreds of men, women and children who had sought safety on a nearby beach.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine state and crossed into southern Bangladesh since August, creating one of the world’s largest refugee camps.
A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether the two Reuters reporters will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
On Wednesday, the judge will rule on a motion by defense lawyers for dismissal of the case.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | April 2018 | ['(Reuters)'] |
A bomb explodes at a cemetery in the Afghan province of Nangarhar, killing at least 14 people. | A bomb has killed 12 women and two children in a cemetery in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar. They were visiting the grave of a wife of a pro-government tribal leader during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, when the device went off.
It appears that many of the victims were from the same family. At least three people were also injured.
The graveside bombing is the latest in a series of attacks in the province on the border with Pakistan. It follows a massive blast at the Indian consulate in the provincial capital, Jalalabad, on Saturday. The latest attack occurred in Nangarhar's Ghanikhel district, according to Channel One TV, a private Afghan broadcaster.
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the Nangarhar governor's spokesman, told AFP news agency that the bomb appeared to have been hidden near the grave.
Among the injured was at least one child.
Mr Abdulzai suggested the motive may have been personal enmity. No group said it had carried out the attack.
Earlier, President Hamid Karzai used his Eid message to urge Taliban militants to lay down their weapons and stop killing innocent civilians.
"Come and serve your soil and put down the weapon which the stranger has put on your shoulders and that you kill your people with," he said. "Put it down and serve your people."
. | Riot | August 2013 | ['(BBC)'] |
After a narrow victory of Turkey's main opposition party CHP against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP in Istanbul's mayoral election last month, Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council annulled the results and ordered a rerun of the election for the mayor of Istanbul. | ISTANBUL — Turkey’s electoral authorities wiped away a crushing defeat for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, ordering a rerun of the race for mayor of Istanbul won by the opposition and heightening the prospect of social unrest and a new economic crisis.
The decision by the High Election Council was immediately condemned by the opposition party as a capitulation to Mr. Erdogan and a blow to the democratic foundations of the country, which have drifted closer to authoritarianism under his 18 years in power.
Mr. Erdogan has jailed journalists, isolated adversaries and conducted mass purges of the police, the military and the courts. He has strengthened his powers under the Constitution. Now, critics say Mr. Erdogan has managed to invalidate what had been a humiliating defeat for his party in Istanbul, the country’s largest city, commercial capital — and the president’s hometown.
Though Mr. Erdogan secured another five-year term as president with sweeping new powers in an election last year, he was rendered suddenly vulnerable by his party’s poor showing in the March 31 voting, which took place as the economy has begun to falter.
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Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, the A.K.P., also lost control of the capital, Ankara, as well as several important industrial towns in southern Turkey. But the defeat in Istanbul, which has remained his political base and private fief, as well as a source of great wealth and prestige for his family and inner circle, was especially bitter.
The opposition Republican People’s Party had denounced demands for a new Istanbul election as a bid by Mr. Erdogan and his party to undo the will of the voters, who handed a narrow but fiercely contested victory to the opposition candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu.
After a recount of certain contested districts, Mr. Imamoglu was certified as the winner by electoral officials and took up office.
There had been hope among the opposition that the High Election Council would rebuff Mr. Erdogan’s harangues for a new vote. Its decision reinforced suspicions that the council’s members were beholden to Mr. Erdogan’s party for their jobs and vulnerable to coercion.
His party’s mayoral candidate, Binali Yildirim, welcomed the decision, saying “Let it bring good to Istanbul and Istanbul people.”
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An opposition lawmaker, Mahmut Tanal, described the decision on Twitter as “the murder of law” and “a black stain.” The new vote was scheduled for June 23.
Opposition party leaders met in emergency session amid talk that they might boycott the second vote. Mr. Imamoglu exhorted supporters not to despair.
“We have won this election with the sweat of millions of people. You are the biggest witness to that sweat, you are our biggest comrades,” he said in televised remarks. “You may be upset now, but don’t lose your hope. We are here. Do not give up.”
Hearing the news, citizens in some Istanbul neighborhoods who oppose Mr. Erdogan took to the streets, banging pots and pans to vent their frustration. “There is a thief here!” protesters chanted in Kadikoy, an opposition stronghold.
“I think this is the greatest distortion of democratic elections in Turkey since the country’s first free and fair polls in 1950,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“This is a sad day for Turkey,” he added. “Never before has the loser in Turkey refused to recognize the outcome of an election. This decision throws into doubt hard-earned consensus in Turkey built over decades that power and government changes hands through democratic elections.”
Turkish political analysts, speaking on condition that they not be named for fear of retribution from the palace, said Mr. Erdogan had been furious at the loss of Istanbul.
By one account, he threw a tantrum on the night of the election, which was ultimately decided by a margin of 13,000 votes.
According to another account, the ruling party’s candidate, Mr. Yildirim, a former prime minister and close ally of the president, was ready to cede the election but was stopped at the last minute and made to declare victory, most probably by Mr. Erdogan himself.
As electoral officials prepared to certify that Mr. Imamoglu had narrowly won, the president and his party alleged irregularities so broad that they took the extraordinary step of petitioning for the election to be held over.
Mr. Erdogan’s party made its last-ditch appeal on the grounds that banned officials and voters had taken part in the election and that thousands of names had been dropped unlawfully from the electoral rolls.
The proof they offered was far from overwhelming — mainly focused on allegations of a conspiracy — and many of those allegations were dismissed by the 11 judges of the High Election Council.
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But Monday’s decision indicated that the judges had accepted the allegations that some polling station officials were not appointed from among public officials, as required under Turkish law.
The decision was 7 to 4 in a body whose independence has been questioned by the opposition since the judges’ terms were extended for another year at the end of 2018 in an amendment put forward by Mr. Erdogan’s party.
Recep Ozel, the A.K.P.’s representative to the election council, said that Mr. Imamoglu’s mandate was now canceled and that the Interior Ministry would appoint an interim mayor until the rerun.
The opposition had proved itself seemingly well organized for the March 31 vote, stationing supporters to monitor the count in every polling station.
Once challenged, Mr. Imamoglu, the opposition candidate, insisted he was ahead and had the documentation to prove it.
There followed a flurry of conflicting messages and political maneuvering from Mr. Erdogan’s camp as the leadership played for time.
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Mr. Erdogan himself at times seemed to be ready to concede, amid warnings in Turkey and abroad that, if he tried to cancel the election, the ensuing political turmoil would risk a deeper economic crisis.
Behind the scenes on election night and the days that followed, a fierce power struggle was unfolding between a tight circle of ambitious, hawkish officials around the president who were determined to hold on to Istanbul, and a wider circle of older heads in the party who advised acknowledging defeat in the city.
In the end, Mr. Erdogan decided to fight the humiliating results.
“With the influence of those circles around him that I identified as a group, he made himself believe that he might get results with the appeal process,” said Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist known for his close contacts in the government.
That group is believed to be led by Mr. Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, 41, who was promoted to minister of finance and treasury last year. The interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, 49, has also emerged as an aggressive player.
Mr. Erdogan never went as far as claiming victory, but he did play for time, and he and his allies immediately began trying to reverse the outcome in Istanbul.
The morning after the election, the judge heading the High Election Council confirmed that Mr. Imamoglu was indeed ahead in the race, but the count dragged on and was only completed two days after the election.
Officials of the ruling party then issued a deluge of objections and appeals across Istanbul’s 39 districts to challenge the numbers. Recounts were ordered in five districts and invalid ballots examined and recounted across all districts.
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Politicians, party supporters and analysts feverishly followed every recount, claim and counterclaim. The gap between the candidates narrowed bit by bit.
The opposition-run district of Buyukcekmece became a focus. An A.K.P. official announced that two people from the district had been arrested. They included a municipal worker in the census office who had removed more than 3,000 people from the electoral rolls.
Altogether, the worker had made 7,000 irregular entries by registering people in nonexistent or half-built properties, or by adding them to buildings that were already occupied.
Mr. Imamoglu derided the claims, saying that in fact the A.K.P. had been found to be behind several efforts to register people illegally in the district. More than 700 people were removed from the electoral roll by election officials during the formal registration process earlier in the year, opposition officials said.
Ten days into the process, with the numbers still not showing in his favor, Mr. Erdogan said that the irregularities had been organized and criminal and that the election should be canceled. Pro-government newspapers picked up the cry.
After that, Mr. Erdogan held a meeting of his party administration, which was leaning toward applying for cancellation, according to Mr. Selvi, the columnist.
Ali Ihsan Yavuz, deputy chairman of the A.K.P., delivered three suitcases of documents to the High Election Council and gave an hourslong briefing to reporters with a PowerPoint display.
There had been forgery, fraud and unlawfulness, he said.
Nine ballot-box officials had been purged from their public posts, so their appointment as election officials was unlawful, he said, adding that the government was deepening its investigation around the two people arrested in Buyukcekmece in connection with registration and census irregularities.
He suggested that officials purged in the extensive government crackdown since the failed coup of 2016 should not be allowed to vote. A further complaint claimed that 41,000 ineligible voters may have voted unlawfully.
“There is fraud here, corruption,” Mr. Erdogan told an assembly of businessmen on Saturday. “Removing this corruption, this fraud will exonerate the High Election Council, and also fill our nation’s heart with peace.” | Government Job change - Election | May 2019 | ['(The New York Times)'] |
Israel and Palestinians agree to resume peace talks on September 2. | The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to resume direct negotiations with Israel only after intense pressure from the United States and Europe, diplomats said Friday, as the Obama administration sought to restart the Middle East peace process but left many key questions unanswered.
In formally announcing the new talks on Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the negotiations would cover all the issues that had bedeviled peace negotiators since 1979 the status of Jerusalem, the borders of a Palestinian state, the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their homes and security provisions for Israel. But she pointedly did not mention a basic plank of previous talks using Israel’s pre-1967 borders as a basis for territorial negotiations.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | August 2010 | ['(The Guardian)', '(Aljazeera)', '(Xinhua)', '(The New York Times)'] |
The United States announces it is to deploy troops along the US–Mexico border in August in what it sees as an effort to improve its security. | US National Guard troops will begin deploying along the US-Mexico border from 1 August, officials say. The 1,200 troops, ordered to the border by President Barack Obama, form part of efforts to tackle illegal immigration and drug-trafficking.
They will be in the four border states, with Arizona getting the largest share. A controversial new state law is due to come into effect in Arizona on 29 July making it a crime to be in the state without without immigration papers. Several lawsuits, including one by the federal government, have been filed challenging the legislation. The National Guard troops would be fully operational by September, Alan Bersin, the commission of Customs and Border Protection, told a news conference on Monday. "The border is more secure and more resourced than it has ever been, but there is more to be done," he said. In May, President Obama announced that he would seek $500m (£350m) in new funding and deploy the troops to help secure the border. The soldiers, who will be armed but can only fire in self-defence, will mainly be deployed to observe suspicious movement along the border and will report to Border Patrol agents. They are to stay for a year, allowing time to hire and train more agents, officials said. Arizona will receive 524 troops; Texas 250, California 224 and New Mexico 72, while 130 will be part of a national liaison office.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer welcomed the administration's efforts but said the deployment did not "appear to be enough or tied to a strategy to comprehensively defeat the increasingly violent drug and alien-smuggling cartels" that operate in Arizona on a daily basis". The new Arizona legislation will require state and local officers to query the immigration status of people stopped for a legitimate reason who arouse suspicion of being in the US illegally.
The Arizona legislature says it was forced to act because the federal government failed to do so.
The US justice department is challenging the law, arguing it as it usurps the federal administration's authority to set immigration policy.
| Government Policy Changes | July 2010 | ['(BBC)'] |
Chinese state media announce that the country's government will abolish its national agricultural tax starting January 1, 2006. | China to abolish ancient agricultural tax (AP) Updated: 2005-12-29 19:17
China is abolishing its 2,600-year-old agricultural tax effective Jan. 1, the government announced Thursday, part of the goverment's effort to improve the lot of hundreds of millions of poor farmers. A farmer takes a break at a crop field Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002 in Fengyang, Anhui Province, China. China will abolish its 2,600-year-old agricultural tax effective Jan. 1, the government announced Thursday.
China's leaders announced in 2004 plans to eliminate many basic taxes within five years and to subsidize grain output. Most of the 800 million people living in China's countryside have been left behind by the country's economic boom. The government has made improving the lives of the rural poor a priority. The National People's Congress approved Thursday "a motion on abolishing the regulations on the (farm) tax," the Xinhua News Agency reported.
"China's 2,600-year-old agricultural tax will no longer exist as of Jan. 1, 2006," it said. | Government Policy Changes | December 2005 | ['(Reuters)', '(China Daily)'] |
The Syrian Democratic Forces reports that it apprehended a 39-member ISIL cell in Al-Hasakah, Al-Hasakah Governorate, a few days ago. The cell was reportedly planning an attack during Eid al-Fitr. | ERBIL, Kurdistan Region The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dismantled an Islamic State (ISIS) cell of nearly 40 militants on Thursday in northeastern Syria, the force announced.
The SDF said its forces arrested the group, which included 39 members, in the countryside around al-Shuhail, in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. The cell was believed to be planning an attack during the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
The SDF said they also seized a large number of weapons and documents owned by the terror group. Kurdish security forces say they have destroyed several ISIS hideouts and detained a number of the militant group’s members in northeastern Syria in recent operations.
The SDF announced they arrested 14 ISIS members in Deir ez-Zor on Tuesday and a media outlet affiliated with the SDF said Kurdish forces arrested a leader of the militant group in Hasaka on Sunday. The arrests follow a series of assassinations, targeting civilians, tribal leaders, and members of the SDF.
Three SDF members were killed in separate attacks on Tuesday and Monday. Both attacks were carried out by unknown gunmen.
ISIS has been territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria but the militants continue to carry out bombings, hit-and run attacks and abductions on both sides of the border. The SDF and Syrian regime forces control separate areas of Deir ez-Zor province.
Kurdish-led forces announced in a statement that they concluded on Wednesday a four-day military operation against ISIS on the Syria-Iraq border, which was launched with the support of the global coalition.
In its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed it had conducted 12 attacks in Syria between April 29 and May 5, killing and injuring 17 people. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | May 2021 | ['(Rudaw)'] |
American rapper JayZ and his philanthropic organization Team Roc file a federal lawsuit against Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner Pelicia E. Hall and Mississippi State Penitentiary superintendent Marshal Turner over the abusive and neglectful treatment of their prisoners, which they claim has led to the deaths of at least three people. | Rapper Jay-Z has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against US prison officials on behalf of 29 inmates whose lives he says are at risk.
The action claims the men's lives "are in peril" due to "understaffing and neglect" in Mississippi's prisons.
Jay-Z launched the action through Team Roc, the philanthropic division of his entertainment empire Roc Nation.
It comes after five prisoners were killed in attacks in the state's prisons in one week over the New Year.
The lawsuit alleges chronic underfunding and understaffing has resulted in "prisons where violence reigns" and an "unthinkable" spate of deaths.
"The underfunding also forces people held in Mississippi's prison to live in squalor, endangering their physical and mental health," the action continues.
It claims the prison at Parchman - where three of the five recent victims died - is subject to flooding, black mould and an infestation of mice and rats.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the inmates and an order forcing the Mississippi Department of Corrections to take action.
The case was filed on Tuesday against outgoing MDOC commissioner Pelicia Hall and Marshal Turner, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
A spokesperson for the MDOC said it "does not discuss pending litigation".
The action, filed by Jay-Z's lawyer Alex Spiro in the US District Court in Greenville, Mississippi, follows a letter sent last week to the state's governor Phil Bryant and Commissioner Hall.
"Roc Nation and its philanthropic arm, Team Roc, demand that Mississippi take immediate steps to remedy this intolerable situation," the letter read.
Jay-Z was declared hip-hop's first billionaire last year thanks to such assets as a $75m (57.5m) music catalogue and a $70m (53.7m) stake in ride-sharing app Uber.
Born Shawn Carter in 1969, he hit fame in 1996 with his debut album Reasonable Doubt and married fellow superstar Beyonce Knowles in 2008.
On its official website, Team Roc says it seeks to "raise awareness around issues of injustice" and "work to effect positive change". | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | January 2020 | ['(NBC News)', '(BBC News)'] |
Voters in Colombia go to the polls in the first round of a presidential election. | Colombia is heading for a run-off in its presidential election after no candidate achieved 50% of the vote in Sunday's first round.
With nearly all ballots counted in Sunday's first round, conservative Ivan Duque was leading with 39.7% ahead of left-wing rival Gustavo Petro on 24.8%.
It is the first election since the government signed a peace agreement with the Farc rebel group in 2016.
The deal has polarised political opinion across the country.
Mr Duque has opposed the peace deal, saying it is too lenient on the Farc. But Mr Petro, an ex-guerrilla and former Bogota mayor, supports the accord.
Incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos cannot stand again, after serving two terms. Analysis by BBC South America correspondent Katy Watson
The results of this first round sum up the political scenario in Colombia - a society that is deeply polarised. Ivan Duque is a man who represents traditional politics. He has publicly criticised the peace deal agreed with the former Farc rebels, striking a chord with many conservative voters. But in the second round, he will go head to head with a man on the other end of the political spectrum. Gustavo Petro is a former member of the M19 rebel group who has made inequality and corruption priorities in this campaign. He has pushed for radical economic policies and a redistribution of wealth and he has also been far more supportive of the peace deal. The ultimate success of that agreement will depend greatly on who wins next month.
President Santos, a centre-right politician, sought to end the decades-long conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the country's main guerrilla group. The peace deal he signed in 2016 was reached after years of negotiations but it was regarded as too lenient by many voters and rejected in a referendum.
A revised accord was approved by Congress later that year.
Mr Duque has promised to reverse some of the provisions of the deal if he becomes president.
He is an ally of former President Alvaro Uribe, who led the campaign against the agreement.
Mr Petro, who backs the deal, would be Colombia's first-ever left-wing president if he is elected. In the 1980s he was a member of the M-19 rebel group, which disbanded itself in 1990 to become a political party.
Correspondents say that with the main civil conflict over, voters are much more worried about economic issues. The candidates have mainly campaigned on issues such as inequality, unemployment, housing and corruption. | Government Job change - Election | May 2018 | ['(BBC News)'] |
The United States announces that it will provide $60 million of food and medical aid, but not weapons, to rebel fighters. | The US is to step up its support for the Syrian opposition as it fights to topple President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of State John Kerry says. Mr Kerry said the US would provide direct support to rebel forces in the form of medical and food supplies. He also promised an additional $60m (£40m) in aid to the opposition to help it deliver basic governance and other services in rebel-controlled areas. Mr Kerry was speaking at a gathering of the Friends of Syria group in Rome. On Friday he is travelling to Ankara to discuss the Syria crisis with top Turkish officials. The promise of direct, non-lethal aid to the rebels represents a shift in US policy on Syria, correspondents say.
However it falls short of providing the weapons and munitions that the rebels say they need to defeat government forces.
Mr Kerry said the decision was designed to increase the pressure on President Assad to step down and allow a democratic transition.
"The US decision to take further steps now is the result of the brutality of superior armed force propped up by foreign fighters from Iran and Hezbollah.
"President Assad is out of time and must be out of power," said Mr Kerry, adding that the Syrian leader could not "shoot his way out" of the situation. The $60m in aid to the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) represents a doubling of US support.
It was intended to help the opposition deliver governance and basic services in rebel-controlled areas, said Mr Kerry. "As the regime continues to lose ground it will help the opposition extend stability and build representative government and the rule of law," he added.
After the meeting, the European Union announced changes to its arms embargo on Syria, allowing EU states to provide armoured vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid to the rebels, but not weapons.
At the meeting with Mr Kerry, leader of the SNC, Moaz al-Khatib, said he was still frustrated by the lack of military help for rebel fighters. He initially refused to attend the Rome talks in protest at a lack of international support for the Syrian rebels, but was persuaded after the US and UK indicated there would be specific promises of aid.
Speaking at the meeting Mr Khatib called on President Assad to make "one wise decision in your life" and stand down "for the future of your country".
Earlier this month he also suggested for the first time that talks with the Assad government might be possible, though that suggestion remains controversial among opposition groups.
The SNC says it plans to set up a government to administer rebel-held areas of Syria, primarily in the north of the country close to the Turkish border.
But a meeting to select the prime minister, scheduled for the weekend, was unexpectedly postponed on Thursday, and no new date has been set.
Meanwhile fighting in Syria continues and the humanitarian situation is worsening.
In the latest fighting, rebel forces have captured the historic Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, according to an activist group.
The mosque was damaged and its museum caught fire as rebels forced government troops to withdraw, UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Fighting also raged elsewhere in Aleppo's old city, including near the Palace of Justice, it added.
Aleppo - Syria's second city - has been a key battleground in the conflict.
Mr Kerry highlighted the fate of the city in his address, accusing President Assad of engaging in "ruthless attacks" with Scud missiles against rebel-held areas.
According to UN estimates, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the revolt against President Assad began nearly two years ago. Opposition fighters have been constantly outgunned as President Assad's forces deploy tanks, aircraft and missiles against them.
The UN's refugees agency says the number of Syrians who have fled the conflict into neighbouring countries is now approaching one million, while two million have been internally displaced.
The World Health Organisation has warned of disease outbreaks and worsening medical services.
Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Friends of Syria were determined to "ramp up" assistance to the opposition. "We are entering a new phase in the response of Western and Arab nations to the crisis in Syria," he said.
The Friends of Syria organisation has broad international support, but does not include Syrian allies Russia and China. On Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks on Syria with his French counterpart Francois Hollande. He conceded that there were differences in the positions of Russia and France, but said both had agreed that Syria should not be allowed to break apart as a result of the conflict.
| Financial Aid | February 2013 | ['(BBC)', '(The Washington Post)'] |
A suicide bombing at a police academy in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a kills at least 20 people. | At least eight people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at the police academy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, medics and security officials say.
Police sources said the bomber blew himself up among a large crowd of cadets as they left the academy after classes finished for the day.
Initial reports put the death toll at 20, but it was later revised down.
Islamist militants have vowed to launch attacks in retaliation for an ongoing army offensive on their strongholds.
Witnesses said dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene of the attack, which also wounded at least 15 people, according to officials.
"We ran to the place and found dozens of cadets covered in blood. Blood was everywhere. The scene was horrific," police official Fadel Ali told Reuters news agency.
The BBC's Natalia Antelava in Sanaa says there are conflicting reports on whether the suicide bomber was on a motorcycle or on foot, walking among the cadets.
No group has said it carried out the attack, but suspicion fell on a local branch of al-Qaeda.
In May, more than 90 soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber dressed in army uniform blew himself up during a parade rehearsal in Sanaa.
Ansar al-Sharia, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, said it had carried out that attack - the deadliest in the capital since Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was elected president in February.
The group took advantage of the instability resulting from the popular uprising that forced Mr Hadi's predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down in November after 32 years in power.
After becoming president, Mr Hadi said one of his most important tasks was the continuation of the war on al-Qaeda and he instructed the military to regain control of several key towns in the southern province of Abyan.
Last month, the army recaptured the provincial capital Zinjibar after a campaign which left hundreds of militants and dozens of soldiers dead.
In a separate development on Wednesday, the government announced that it had arrested two of the five al-Qaeda militants who had tunnelled out of a prison in the western province of Hodeida last month.
One of the two men, Nasser Ismail Ahmed Muttahar, was suspected of taking part in an attack on the US embassy in Sanaa in 2008 in which 19 people were killed, including an American woman.
| Armed Conflict | July 2012 | ['(BBC)'] |
A Cambodian court sentences a Thai man on charges of spying for Thailand to 7 years imprisonment. | BANGKOK, Dec 8 (TNA) – A Cambodian court on Tuesday sentenced a Thai national to seven years in prison and fined him 100,000 baht (US$3,000) for stealing flight information details of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Siwarak Chutipong, an employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was found guilty of spy charges. His mother Simarak Na Nakhon Panom, attending the trial on Tuesday, burst into tears and gave no comment to the media regarding her reaction to the Khmer court verdict.
It is expected that Mr Siwarak’s mother and his lawyer will seek a royal pardon to help free him.
Former Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh earlier drafted a letter to seek a royal pardon for Mr Siwarak, in another attempt to help him.
Mr Siwarak was arrested by Cambodian police a month ago on charges of stealing information on the flight schedule of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and passing it to a Thai diplomat in Phnom Penh.
Mr Thaksin spent five days in Cambodia in early November in his new role as an economic adviser appointed by the Cambodian government.
The former Thai prime minister was ousted in a coup in 2006, and was found guilty in absentia on violating conflict of interest regulations in helping his wife to buy land from a state agency at a reduced price. He was sentenced to two years in prison by the Thai Supreme Court. (TNA) Political News : Last Update : 18:00:38 8 December 2009 (GMT+7:00) Archives
• PAD signature campaign to impeach 102 MPs • Hun Sen to visit disputed border: Thai Deputy PM • PM chairs security meeting as Cambodian premier plans border visit • Government braces for security threat • Thailand's Red Shirts rally against coup at military camps • Red Shirts plan nationwide rallies at military barracks • Five coalition parties announce go-ahead to amend Constitution
BANGKOK, Dec 8 (TNA) – A Cambodian court on Tuesday sentenced a Thai national to seven years in prison and fined him 100,000 baht (US$3,000) for stealing flight information details of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Siwarak Chutipong, an employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was found guilty of spy charges. His mother Simarak Na Nakhon Panom, attending the trial on Tuesday, burst into tears and gave no comment to the media regarding her reaction to the Khmer court verdict.
It is expected that Mr Siwarak’s mother and his lawyer will seek a royal pardon to help free him.
Former Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh earlier drafted a letter to seek a royal pardon for Mr Siwarak, in another attempt to help him.
Mr Siwarak was arrested by Cambodian police a month ago on charges of stealing information on the flight schedule of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and passing it to a Thai diplomat in Phnom Penh.
Mr Thaksin spent five days in Cambodia in early November in his new role as an economic adviser appointed by the Cambodian government.
The former Thai prime minister was ousted in a coup in 2006, and was found guilty in absentia on violating conflict of interest regulations in helping his wife to buy land from a state agency at a reduced price. He was sentenced to two years in prison by the Thai Supreme Court. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | December 2009 | ['(Thai News Agency)', '(Financial Times)'] |
Professional footballer Gavin Grant is found guilty of murder. | A professional footballer has been found guilty of murdering a man on a north-west London estate.
Former Millwall striker Gavin Grant, 26, shot dead Leon Labastide on the Stonebridge Park Estate in Harlesden in 2004, the Old Bailey was told.
Grant, who also played for Wycombe Wanderers and Bradford City, was involved in a series of "tit-for-tat" shootings on the estate, jurors heard. Grant, who had denied murder, is due to be sentenced on Monday.
Gareth Downie, 25, from Markby Road, Birmingham, was also found guilty of murdering Mr Labastide.
And Damian Williams, 32, from Tower Bridge Road in Southwark, was convicted of conspiring with them to murder Mr Labastide.
The court heard that Mr Labastide's killing led to the murder of Jahmall Moore in 2005 and Grant's arrest.
Grant, from Shrewsbury Avenue, Kenton, north-west London, was later cleared of shooting Mr Moore, 22, who died in a hail of bullets fired by three gunmen. He had also denied involvement in Mr Labastide's killing, claiming the 21-year-old was a friend, but was found guilty of murder following trials in December and this month.
Jurors heard trouble flared after a burglary in which three women were terrorised and it was suspected that £20,000 in drug money was taken.
A 16-year-old girl, who had been in the house, gave evidence under an assumed name.
Mr Labastide was rumoured to have been behind the burglary and Williams arranged for Grant and Downie to shoot him, the court was told.
Officers from Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community, believe as a result of the burglary there were up to 30 connected shooting incidents in the area.
Following the arrests of Grant and others, officers said shootings fell by almost 50% in the area.
Det Insp Steve Horsley said: "Gavin Grant thought he had got away with murder.
"He carried on his footballing career while, all along, he had blood on his hands."
During the trial, Prosecutor Stephen Batten QC said many of the people involved in the case had been linked to shootings and drug dealing on the estate.
He said: "Attitudes and standards are different. It is more the law of the jungle than the law of civilised England."
Roberto Parchment, 24, originally convicted of Mr Moore's murder, was found guilty again following a retrial in December.
He was jailed for life again and ordered to serve the remainder of his 28-year sentence.
Downie and Williams will also be sentenced on Monday.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence | July 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(The Independent)'] |
Investigators launch a criminal probe into yesterday's fire and subsequent explosion at a hash oil manufacturing building in downtown Los Angeles, which injured a dozen responding firefighters. | LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police and fire investigators launched a criminal probe Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent firefighters running for their lives.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s major crimes division were working with the city Fire Department’s arson investigators to determine what might have sparked the blast that shot a ball of flames out of the building Saturday night and scorched a fire truck across the street, police spokesman Josh Rubenstein said. “We’re in the very early stages of the investigation ... to understand what happened and figure out how to move forward,” he said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting local fire investigators, an agency spokeswoman said.
The blast injured a dozen firefighters. Some of them who ran out onto sidewalks, where they tore off their burning protective equipment, including melted helmets, officials said.
“Everybody off the roof!” a firefighter shouted in scanner traffic captured on Broadcastify.com. “Mayday mayday mayday! All companies out of the building. Mayday mayday mayday!” another shouted.
Firefighters first thought they were battling a routine structure fire, city fire Capt. Erik Scott told KNX Radio, but as they got a little farther in the building they started to hear “a loud hissing sound and a significant rumbling that you could feel vibrating throughout the area.” He said “one significant explosion” shook the neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. Firefighters inside had to run through a wall of flames he estimated as 30 feet (9 meters) high and wide, and those on the roof scrambled down a ladder that was engulfed in flames.
Three firefighters were released after spending the night in the hospital, fire department spokesman Nicholas Prange said Sunday. Of the eight who remained hospitalized, two were in critical but stable condition, he said. Officials initially announced that 11 firefighters were injured. But Prange said a 12th was treated and released for a minor injury. All were expected to survive.
“Things could have been so much worse,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Medical Director Dr. Marc Eckstein, who helped treat the injured at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. There was light to moderate smoke when firefighters entered the one-story building in the city’s Toy District and went on the roof — normal procedures to try to quickly knock down any flames. Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said one of the firefighters inside the building thought things didn’t seem right — the pressure from the smoke and heat coming from the rear of the building were increasing. He directed everyone to get out, and they quickly started exiting the building as it was rocked by the explosion. Firefighters on the roof scrambled down ladders with their protective coats on fire. The wall of flames shot out the building and burned seats inside a fire truck across the street.
More than 200 firefighters rushed to the scene, and dozens of engines, trucks and rescue vehicles clogged the streets. The fire spread to several nearby buildings, but firefighters were able to douse it in about an hour. Scott said the building was a warehouse for SmokeTokes, which he described as a supplier for makers of “butane honey oil.” Butane is an odorless gas that easily ignites, and it’s used in the process to extract the high-inducing chemical THC from cannabis to create a highly potent concentrate also known as hash oil. The oil is used in vape pens, edibles, waxes and other products.
A call to SmokeTokes went unanswered on Sunday, and the company’s voicemail was full.
On its website, SmokeTokes advertises a variety of products including “puff bars,” pipes, “dab” tools, vaporizers, “torches and butane,” and cartridges. The company says it is “an international distributor and wholesaler of smoking and vaping products, and related accessories.” Prange, the LAFD spokesman, said carbon dioxide and butane canisters were found inside the building but that it was still not clear what caused the blast.
Adam Spiker, executive director of the cannabis industry group Southern California Coalition, said he didn’t know what activities were taking place inside the building. However, if the business was using butane in cannabis extraction it would be illegal because the city has never issued a license for that type of operation.
Because of safety concerns, such businesses are typically restricted to industrial areas and kept away from urban centers.
“If they were doing volatile extraction with butane ... they couldn’t be legal in the city of LA to do those types of activities,” Spiker said.
He said the coalition was unaware of the business having any type of license and “something about this doesn’t pass the smell test.” Information so far “puts up a lot of alarm bells,” Spiker said.
In 2016, there was another major fire at a business called Smoke Tokes at a nearby address. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that it took more than 160 firefighters to put out the blaze and that they encountered pressurized gas cylinders that exploded in the fire.
No one was injured in the fire. It was unclear whether that business and the one that burned Saturday were connected.
___
Associated Press writers Michael Blood and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate | May 2020 | ['(The Associated Press)'] |
Rescue operations commence after the Seacor Marine lift boat MV Seacor Power sinks off the coast of Louisiana, United States. Coast Guard officials say that six of the crew have been rescued and the remaining twelve are missing. | Rescuers are searching for the missing crew members of a large commercial vessel after it capsized off the US state of Louisiana.
The US Coast Guard confirmed one person was found dead and six others had been rescued. Twelve people are missing.
A spokesman said the search team was "giving it all we got" but described conditions as "challenging".
The lift boat capsized about eight miles (12km) from Port Fourchon on Tuesday afternoon.
The 129ft (39m) vessel was identified as belonging to marine transport firm Seacor Marine.
A lift boat is a self-propelled vessel with an open deck, often using legs and jacks, and is deployed to support drilling or exploration.
Seacor spokesman Armond Batiste told the New York Times that the ship was the Seacor Power.
The Coast Guard said boats and aircraft were covering a wide area looking for survivors.
Earlier, spokesman Will Watson said the vessel overturned amid strong winds and heavy seas that were "challenging under any circumstances".
But he said he was hopeful that survivors could still be found.
"We're giving it all we have," Capt Watson said. "You can't do this work if you're not optimistic."
The Coast Guard said it had received an emergency radio notification at 16:30 (21:30 GMT) that there was a distressed commercial vessel about eight miles from the coast.
It said an "urgent marine information broadcast" had been issued which "multiple good Samaritan boat crews responded to".
Two Coast Guard ships rescued one person each, while civilian boat crews pulled four additional people out of the water.
Another person was found dead as rescue operations continue amid choppy waters.
There are now four Coast Guard vessels, four civilian boats, and an Ocean Sentry search and rescue aeroplane searching the water for the rest of the crew.
The New York Times quoted a Coast Guard official as saying it was possible some of them might still be trapped inside the vessel.
The National Weather Service's New Orleans area head, Benjamin Schott, told NBC News that a "wake low" weather phenomenon on Tuesday afternoon caused winds of 70-80mph, which would have made the seas very rough.
While incidents are decreasing year-on-year, there are still dangers associated with commercial shipping. According to the AGCS Safety and Shipping Review 2020, a total of 951 ships have been lost in the past 10 years - 15 of them in 2019.
One-third of ship losses in 2019 happened in South China, Indochina, the Philippines and Indonesia, the report added - describing this area as "the global hotspot".
Missing sailor found clinging to capsized vessel
US Coast Guard raids 'drugs submarine'
Coast guard crew have near-miss with shark in Pacific Ocean | Shipwreck | April 2021 | ['(BBC)'] |
In Isiolo, Kenya, catholic missionary and bishop Luigi Locati is shot to death (Link dead as of 00:39, 15 January 2007 ), | Bishop Luigi Locati was killed as he walked to a pastoral centre in the town of Isiolo where he worked, said a Vatican official in Nairobi.
It is unclear why Bishop Locati, who was Italian, was shot.
Police are investigating possible links to ethnic clashes in the north. Isiolo has the same ethnic mix as areas where at least 70 people have been killed.
The BBC's Ishbel Matheson in Nairobi says the bishop's killing could further inflame tensions around Marsabit, where thousands have reportedly fled, fearing revenge attacks after a massacre on Tuesday.
Both areas are inhabited by the Gabra and Borana people, who have a long-standing feud over water and cattle thefts.
"We are investigating the motive of the attack but we suspect it is linked with the conflict between the Gabra and Borana because Catholic priests have been involved in helping people," Eastern province assistant commissioner of police Robert Kipkemoi Kitur told the AFP news agency.
Mr Kitur said the bishop was shot dead by three unknown gunmen.
The 76-year-old was ordained Bishop of Zica nine years ago, having been a member of the clergy for more than half a century.
Bishop Locati died an hour and a half after being shot in the northern town, some 250km (155 miles) from the capital. | Famous Person - Death | July 2005 | ['(Reuters AlertNet)', '(UTC)', '(BBC)'] |
American retailer Bed Bath & Beyond announces it will close 60 stores by the end of the year due to declining profits. | Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is increasing the number of stores it expects to shutter in the fiscal year.
The New Jersey-based home goods retailer, which also operates buybuy Baby, Harmon Face Values and World Market, says it will close 60 stores in the fiscal year across the company, up 20 from the April estimate of 40 stores.
Most of the closings are expected after the holiday shopping season in early 2020, company officials said during a quarterly earnings call Wednesday. The company's fiscal year typically ends in early March.
Forty of the stores closing will be Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 20 will be stores in the company's other concepts, interim CEO Mary Winston said during the call.
“With this action we are increasing the profitability of our remaining portfolio and believe that our remaining fleet will benefit from our renewed focus on driving traffic and operating efficiency,” Winston said, adding the "fleet optimization" will “create a better balance between our physical and digital presence within the markets we serve.”
| Organization Closed | October 2019 | ['(USA Today)'] |
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, dies at the age of 82. | Iran's ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a dominant figure in the country's politics since the 1980s, has died at the age of 82.
Mr Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997, suffered a heart attack.
He played a pivotal role in the 1979 revolution but later in life became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hailed a "companion of struggle" despite their differences, saying that the loss was "difficult and overwhelming".
"The different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period could never entirely break up the friendship" between us, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
There will be three days of national mourning and a funeral in Tehran is due on Tuesday, which has been declared a public holiday.
Mr Rafsanjani was admitted to the Shohadaa Hospital in Tehran on Sunday, where doctors tried unsuccessfully for an hour to save him, media said.
A TV broadcaster broke into programmes to bring the news, saying Mr Rafsanjani "after a life full of restless efforts in the path of Islam and revolution, had departed for lofty heaven".
Mr Rafsanjani had warm relations with President Hassan Rouhani, who was seen at the hospital shortly before the death was announced. A crowd reportedly gathered at the hospital later to mourn.
In a tweet, the president said: "The soul of the great man of the Revolution, symbol of patience and resistance, has gone to Heaven."
The BBC's Kasra Naji says Mr Rafsanjani was a great survivor of the Iranian revolution, always managing to stay afloat in the unending political struggles between the hardliners and the moderates, always remaining influential.
In recent years, our correspondent says, he has been a central figure in the reform movement that has been trying to have a moderating influence on Iran and Ayatollah Khamenei.
He has been a mentor to President Rouhani, whom he supported after his own attempt to run in the 2013 election as a reformist candidate was rejected by the powerful Guardian Council.
Mr Rafsanjani's final role was head of the Expediency Council, which tries to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council.
A US state department official described him as a "prominent figure" throughout the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The sudden death of the veteran pragmatist politician will be a major blow to President Rouhani. The president, who is preparing himself for re-election in May, has lost a valuable ally and influential figure who was a founding father of the Islamic Republic.
This explains why Mr Rouhani was the first top official to attend the hospital where Mr Rafsanjani died. Reports say Mr Rouhani was in tears. Since the 2013 presidential election, Mr Rafsanjani has fully backed Mr Rouhani. Mr Rafsanjani was also a staunch supporter of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
But in Iran's complicated political landscape, his death could also mobilise pro-Rouhani moderates and reformists ahead of the election.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was born in 1934 in south-eastern Iran to a family of farmers.
He studied theology in the holy city of Qom with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - who went on to lead the Islamic revolution of 1979 - and was imprisoned several times under the Shah.
In the last year of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, Ayatollah Khomeini appointed him acting commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
He was seen as the main mover behind Iran's acceptance of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the war.
Mr Rafsanjani was also a key player in the development of Iran's nuclear programme.
He was a man known for a sharp wit but who could also be ruthless.
He advocated progressive economic policies, encouraging private businesses and improving infrastructure. His own business holdings were reported to be widespread.
Mr Rafsanjani ran for a third time for president in 2005 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Rafsanjani became openly critical of the victorious president and in 2009, he sided with reformers who disputed that year's elections. Nevertheless, Mr Ahmadinejad won a second term.
Mr Rafsanjani continued to champion moderate causes, such as the release of political prisoners and greater political freedoms for parties prepared to work within the constitution.
Some of the members of Mr Rafsanjani's family have also made the headlines. His daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, attracted the ire of hardliners when she met a leader of the Bahai religious minority - which Iran's leadership regards as a heretical sect - last year.
And his son, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, was jailed in 2015 after being convicted of "security offences and financial crimes".
| Famous Person - Death | January 2017 | ['(Reuters)', '(BBC)', '(Al–Jazeera)'] |
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met today in Berlin with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the recent spate of violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Kerry will meet on Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman. | BERLIN — Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to urge him to tone down his rhetoric and said he was “cautiously encouraged” that a wave of violence in Israel could be quelled.
After talking with Netanyahu for four hours, Kerry said he had some ideas he intends to discuss with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah when they meet Saturday in Amman, Jordan. He provided no details, however, of his talks with Netanyahu.
“I would characterize that conversation as one that gave me a cautious measure of optimism that there may be . . . a way to defuse the situation and begin to find a way forward,” Kerry told reporters at a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “If parties want to try, and I believe they do, want to move to a de-escalation, there are a set of choices that are available.”
The United States has grown increasingly alarmed over a lethal round of violence that has erupted in Israel this month. Nine Israelis have been killed, mostly in stabbing attacks by Palestinian youths. About 50 Palestinians have been killed, almost half of them identified by Israel as attackers.
The tensions are centered on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the third-holiest site in Islam and is revered by Jews as the site of two ancient temples. Under a decades-old agreement, Israel has maintained the status quo, an arrangement that allows Jews to visit the site but not to pray there. Rumors have spread among Palestinians that Israel wants to upend the unwritten understanding and grant Jews more access, though Netanyahu has labeled the rumors “lies.”
[Kerry decries ‘all incitement’ in deepening Israel-Palestinian unrest] Kerry is seeking to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to tamp down the accusatory rhetoric, believing it has helped fuel the wave of violence.
In his public statements, Netanyahu struck a combative tone, accusing the Palestinians again of lying about Israel and fomenting almost all the violence.
“There is no question that this wave of attacks was driven directly by the incitement, the incitement of Hamas, the incitement of the Islamist movement in Israel and the incitement, I am sorry to say, from President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority,” Netanyahu told reporters before meeting with Kerry.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu insisted to Kerry that the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, which is custodian of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, must state clearly that the status quo has not been violated.
State Department spokesman John Kirby characterized the talks as “constructive.”
“A number of constructive proposals were suggested, including steps Israel could take to reaffirm yet again the continued commitment to maintaining the status quo at Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif,” Kirby said. “Both agreed on the need to stop incitement, reduce tension and restore calm.”
Before meeting with Germany’s Steinmeier, Netanyahu told reporters that only Israel can be trusted to protect and ensure access to the holy sites.
“When you look around at the Middle East with the militant Shiites and militant Sunnis blowing up each other’s mosques and world heritage sites, let alone churches and synagogues, we’re the only ones that guarantee the integrity of the holy sites and the freedom of worship and access to all,” the Israeli leader said.
[U.N. chief in Jerusalem: Conflict risks ‘spinning out of control’] The almost daily stream of attacks in the region has alarmed diplomats who fear the violence may soon spiral out of control. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to Israel and the West Bank this week pleading for calm. He later delivered a pessimistic assessment of the situation to the U.N. Security Council.
Even as Kerry and Netanyahu were talking, the violence continued.
In the city of Beit Shemesh, about 15 miles west of Jerusalem, a Palestinian attacker was fatally shot by police Thursday after stabbing an Israeli man, authorities said. In Jerusalem, an Israeli soldier shot and killed a Jewish man suspected of being an attacker. The man scuffled with police late Wednesday after he was asked to show identification, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
Kerry alluded to the fear that an even broader conflict is on the horizon, saying that if calm can be restored, attention must then turn to finding a permanent resolution. “If anything, what’s happening now is an urgent call to all with any responsibility . . . to help try to resolve age-old differences in a frozen conflict,” he said.
Diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Russia and United Nations — all involved as Middle East mediators and known as the Quartet — will meet in Vienna on Friday to discuss ways to ease the tension. Federica Mogherini, the E.U. foreign policy chief, echoed Kerry’s road map, saying the meeting’s priority is to encourage both sides to avoid making inflammatory speeches.
The Israeli prime minister is facing a barrage of criticism for comments he made Tuesday that the mufti of Jerusalem gave Hitler the idea of killing Jews during World War II. In a speech to the World Zionist Congress, Netanyahu tried to link the historic incitement against European Jews to the current Palestinian allegations that Israel is a threat to the al-Aqsa Mosque.
| Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting | October 2015 | ['(Washington Post)'] |
After over a year in North Korean prison, the government releases the one-year comatose Otto Warmbier after negotiations from the United States Department of State. | US student Otto Warmbier has been freed from jail in North Korea, but his parents say he has been in a coma for a year.
The 22-year-old was flown to the US and landed in Ohio late on Tuesday.
The Warmbier family told US media they had found out only last week that their son has been in a coma since shortly after his trial in March 2016.
Mr Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel.
On arrival in Ohio, he was being taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, US media reported.
Who is Otto Warmbier?
Otto Warmbier is an economics student from the University of Virginia, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was in North Korea as a tourist with Young Pioneer Tours when he was arrested on 2 January 2016.
He appeared emotional at a news conference a month later, in which he tearfully confessed to trying to take the sign as a "trophy" for a US church, adding: "The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people."
Foreign detainees in North Korea have previously recanted confessions, saying they were made under pressure.
After a short trial on 16 March, Mr Warmbier was given a 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state.
His parents Fred and Cindy told CNN in early May that they had had no contact with their son for more than a year.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr and Mrs Warmbier said: "Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March 2016. We learned of this only one week ago."
They were quoted by the Washington Post as saying they had been told Otto had contracted botulism, a rare illness that causes paralysis, soon after his trial in March 2016.
He was given a sleeping pill and had been in a coma ever since, the newspaper said.
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made no mention of Mr Warmbier's condition in a statement, saying only that he was on his way home to be reunited with his family and would not make any further comment, out of respect for the privacy of the family.
There are reported to be three other US citizens in custody in North Korea. They are:
The US has in the past accused North Korea of detaining its citizens to use them as pawns in negotiations over its nuclear weapons programme.
The arrests have come at a time of heightened tension between North Korea and the US and its regional neighbours.
In other news on Tuesday, South Korea said it had found a North Korean drone that had crashed after taking photos of the US-funded Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad), which aims to protect the South from the North's missiles.
South Korea's military also reported that a North Korean soldier had defected across the heavily-protected Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a rare occurrence.
Mr Warmbier's release comes hours after US basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea.
Mr Rodman is a friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and has made several visits to the country in recent years.
There was some speculation that he might plead the case for the American detainees, but en route to North Korea he told reporters "my purpose is to actually see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea".
He also said "I'm just trying to open the door", and added that he was "pretty much sure that [US President Trump] is happy with the fact that I am over here trying to accomplish something that we both need".
Mr Trump said in 2013 of Mr Rodman's then visit to North Korea: "You look at the world, the world is blowing up around us. Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have."
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | June 2017 | ['(BBC)'] |
A military plane crashes shortly after takeoff from an airport in Sudan's West Darfur, killing the 18 people on board. | A Sudanese military plane has crashed in West Darfur state killing at least 18 people, including four children.
The aircraft crashed five minutes after taking off from an airport in the state capital of El Geneina.
It had been delivering aid to the area, where there have been deadly clashes between ethnic groups in recent days.
Army spokesman Amer Mohammed al-Hassan told AFP that among the victims were seven crew members, three judges and eight civilians, four of them children.
It is not clear what caused the Antonov 12 aircraft to crash. Mr Hassan added that an investigation was under way.
This week, at least 48 people have been killed and 241 wounded in the violence that has broken out in West Darfur, according to Sudan's Red Crescent.
Clashes broke out between Arab and African groups in El Geneina on Sunday night, and continued until the following day.
| Air crash | January 2020 | ['(BBC News)'] |
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake is reported in Northeast Ohio. No damage has been reported. | Follow NBC News A rare earthquake shook up northeast Ohio on Monday, with a magnitude of 4.0, officials said.
The quake was centered 2.5 miles northwest of Eastlake, and struck at about 10:50 a.m. ET, according to the United States Geological Survey. Eastlake is 18 miles northeast of Cleveland.
"I felt a shake but heard something different than normal," meteorologist Betsy Kling of NBC-affiliate WKYC tweeted.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or serious injuries.
"We felt it!! Eyes open everyone!" the city of Eastlake tweeted. "We are aware of the 4.0 magnitude earthquake. Please DO NOT call dispatch unless it is an emergency. They are overwhelmed with calls."
Three aftershocks were felt in the following hour, measuring between 2.1 and 2.5, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesman Eric Heis.
A representative for the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, located about 20 miles north of Eastlake, told WKYC that inspectors found "no abnormal or unusual indications" in the quake's aftermath and that it's "designed to withstand an earthquake measured at 6.0 at the plant site."
The last quake of this size in the area came on Jan. 31, 1986, when a 5.0 earthquake struck just east of Cleveland, according to WKYC and state records.
It resulted in only two injuries, a woman who suffered minor cuts from a falling ceiling tile and a child who was hurt by broken glass, according to the state. | Earthquakes | June 2019 | ['(News 5 Cleveland)', '(NBC News)'] |
U.S. news magazine Time selects U.S. President Barack Obama as its 2012 Person of the Year, following on from his 2008 award, and those of his predecessors George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1998, George H. W. Bush in 1990, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1983, Jimmy Carter in 1976, Richard Nixon in 1971 and 1972 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1967. | President Barack Obama has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2012, joining a select band of two-time winners.
The publication pictured the recently re-elected American president on its cover, and said he deserved the honour as "the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America". In an interview with Time, Mr Obama said his re-election "may have been more satisfying a win than 2008". “We’ve gone through a very difficult time,” he said. “The American people have rightly been frustrated at the pace of change, and the economy is still struggling, and this president we elected is imperfect, and yet, despite all that, this is who we want to be. That’s a good thing.”
A photograph released to Time magazine meanwhile showed how the President survived an ambush by a mini-Spiderman, the son of a White House staff member, two weeks before his re-election. Time lauded Mr Obama’s campaigning prowess, noting he was the first president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to win more than 50 percent of the vote in two straight elections and the first president since 1940 to be re-elected despite an unemployment rate above 7.5 percent. Mr Obama beat Republican Mitt Romney soundly in November’s election to win a second four year term, despite presiding over a chronic economic slump. “In 2012, he found and forged a new majority, turned weakness into opportunity and sought, amid great adversity, to create a more perfect union,” said Time, which had named Mr Obama person of the year back in 2008, when he won his historic presidential election to become the first African American US president. Malala Yousafzai, Barack Obama on the front of Time Magazine, and Mohammed Morsi of Egypt
The 2012 runner-up was Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban for campaigning for the right to female education. Others on the shortlist included Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Egypt’s post-revolutionary President Mohamed Morsi, and atomic physicist Fabiola Gianotti. Last year, Time honoured “The Protester”, citing dissent across the Middle East that spread to Europe and the United States, saying the demonstrations reshaped global politics. Person of the year, called “man of the year” until 1999, acknowledges what the magazine considers to be the world’s biggest newsmaker. The accolade was first granted in 1927 in a slow news week, and to make up for the fact that the magazine had failed to put Charles Lindbergh on its cover when he completed the first transatlantic flight. Previous double winners were Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon and George W Bush. | Awards ceremony | December 2012 | ['(Time)', '(The Daily Telegraph)'] |
Demonstrations occur against Japan in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Chongqing on the anniversary of the Mukden Incident. | They mark the anniversary of the 1931 "Mukden Incident" that led to Japan's occupation of north-east China.
In Beijing, dozens gathered outside the Japanese Embassy, while smaller demonstrations were held in Shanghai, Shenyang and Chongqing.
Anti-Japanese sentiment has been stoked by Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands.
The sailor was detained last week after his fishing vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard boats near the islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
Japan has returned the ship and its crew but still holds the captain in detention. China has demanded his release.
Both countries claim ownership of the islands and have argued over the exploration rights for a nearby gas field.
Protesters in Beijing shouted and held signs saying: "Get out of the Diaoyu Islands".
In Shanghai, two men hung a banner saying: "The Diaoyu islands belong to China... return our captain".
| Protest_Online Condemnation | September 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(Reuters)'] |
A U.S. drone aircraft's missile kills 13 people in North Waziristan, Pakistan. | Reports from Pakistan say a US drone aircraft has fired a missile in the country's north-west, killing 13 people including some foreign militants.
The attack was in North Waziristan on the Afghan border, about 3:00am (local time).
Security officials and residents say the missile hit a house where some guests were staying, an apparent reference to the foreign militants.
One resident, Amir Shah, said drones were still flying over the area several hours after the attack.
Many Al Qaeda and Taliban militants fled to north-western Pakistani border regions such as North Waziristan after US-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001.
With the Afghan insurgency intensifying, the United States began launching more drone attacks on the Pakistani side of the border last year.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) | Armed Conflict | April 2009 | ['(ABC News Australia)'] |
Lutz Bachmann, the leader of the German farright and antiIslam Pegida movement, goes on trial in Dresden on charges of hate speech. | The founder of Germany's anti-Islamist Pegida movement has gone on trial in Dresden on hate speech charges.
Lutz Bachmann, 43, is accused of inciting racial hatred in Facebook posts, in which he called refugees "cattle", "scumbags" and "filth".
Pegida's rallies have attracted thousands of supporters in Germany. Separately, police arrested five suspects near Dresden accused of attacking migrant hostels and plotting far-right, anti-immigrant terror.
Tuesday's police raid in Freital, involving a GSG9 anti-terror unit, was not linked to the trial.
Investigators suspect four men and a woman, aged from 18 to 40, of far-right violence against migrants. Three other men were arrested last November.
The group is suspected of targeting refugee accommodation in Freital and a left-wing housing project in Dresden with explosive devices in attacks last autumn. Investigators found a cache of banned firecrackers considered so dangerous that the group is suspected of attempted murder.
The group is also linked to attacks on a left-wing councillor's car as well as a party office in Dresden.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said authorities had dealt a "powerful blow to a regional right-wing terrorist group".
Lutz Bachmann's trial was being held amid tight security in Dresden. The Pegida founder claims it is politically motivated and wore large, rectangular dark glasses in an apparent swipe at German censorship rules.
Outside court, supporters held banners reading "Shame on you! Acquit Bachmann" while opponents shouted "Bachmann behind bars".
The movement has spread to numerous countries since its launch in the eastern German city in 2014.
There were 1,005 attacks on refugee homes in Germany last year - five times more than in 2014.
Mr Bachmann has several previous convictions and has served time in jail before. In 1998 he was sentenced to three years and eight months for several burglaries, but he then fled to South Africa.
After extradition, for an invalid visa, he served 14 months in jail in Dresden. In 2010 he was given a two-year suspended sentence for possession of cocaine.
Pegida was prominent in demonstrations in Cologne in January after numerous complaints of sexual assaults against women in the city on New Year's Eve.
The attacks were largely blamed on people from North Africa who entered Germany illegally or have sought asylum. No trials involving suspects from the Cologne assaults have taken place.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2016 | ['(BBC)'] |
A report blames pilot error for the 2007 crash of Kenya Airways Flight 507 in Cameroon. | Pilot error was to blame for the 2007 crash in Cameroon of a Kenya Airways flight in which 114 people died, an official investigation has concluded.
A report says the Boeing 737 took off during a storm without clearance from air traffic control in Douala. The pilot was given misleading instructions about how to stabilise the aircraft which then crashed upside down into a swamp, it says. The Kenyan authorities said lessons had been learned and safety improved. The investigation was carried out by the authorities in Cameroon in conjunction with Kenya Airways At a press conference in Nairobi following the release of the report, Kenya Airways sought to cast doubt over the degree to which human error was to blame. "We have some reservations on the report, particularly touching on the probable cause of the accident," Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways chief executive, told the BBC. 'Too shy'
The BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi says the findings make uncomfortable reading for Kenya Airways, which is partly owned by the Dutch Airline KLM. Flight recorders reveal that just 90 seconds after take-off the plane had rolled almost 90 degrees to the right. When the captain noticed the problem he said, "We are crashing." The first officer then mistakenly told the pilot to turn right, before correcting himself and saying, "Captain, left, left, left." Nine seconds later the plane crashed into the swamp, disintegrating on impact. It took rescue workers about 36 hours to find the wreckage. The report identified the age difference between the 52-year-old pilot and the 23-year-old first officer as a contributing factor, reports the Associated Press - one of whose reporters was killed in the crash. The findings speculate that the young first officer was too shy to tell the more senior pilot about the plane's problems after take-off. In January 2000 another Kenya Airways plane crashed in Ivory Coast killing more than 150 passengers. Despite these accidents the airline is widely considered one of the best in sub-Saharan Africa, our correspondent says. What are these? | Air crash | April 2010 | ['(BBC)', '(CBC)', '(Reuters Africa)'] |
N. Srinivasan steps aside as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the wake of the 2013 Indian Premier League spot–fixing case to allow an investigation. | India's cricket chief on Sunday defied calls to quit over a betting scandal in the country's top domestic competition but agreed to step aside to allow an investigation to take place, the board announced.
The move, a compromise negotiated by N. Srinivasan at an emergency meeting in the southern city of Chennai, appeared unlikely to quell the controversy which has seen the country's sports ministry call on him to resign.
Indian cricket board president N. Srinivasan.Credit:AFP
Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is the subject of multiple police investigations.
Meiyappan is a business executive for the most successful IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by 68-year-old businessman Srinivasan who has headed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2011.
"Mr. N. Srinivasan announced that he will not discharge his duties as the president of the board till such time that the probe is completed," said a statement after the meeting.
It said Jagmohan Dalmiya, a controversial former president of the BCCI from 2001-2004, "will conduct the day-to-day affairs of the board" during Srinivasan's absence.
The BCCI met on Sunday amid growing rancour among the 31-member body and a series of resignations over previous days, including the secretary, the treasurer and the chairman of the IPL, Rajeev Shukla.
The scandal in the money-spinning IPL, a Twenty20 tournament which sees top international stars play alongside domestic players, has again shaken the faith of fans in what is overwhelmingly India's most popular sport.
The arrest of Srinivasan's son-in-law came after Test paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two teammates in the IPL's Rajasthan Royals - Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - were taken into custody. All the accused deny any wrongdoing.
Police allege the players deliberately bowled badly in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars after striking deals with bookmakers.
Meiyappan, who is still in custody, is being investigated for allegedly passing information to bookies and placing bets on the IPL. This is illegal under India's laws which ban gambling on all sports except horse-racing.
Srinivasan can only be impeached if three-quarters of the BCCI board vote against him.
Cricket analyst Prem Panicker said that Srinivasan should take responsibility for the problems in Indian cricket.
"For two successive years, we have had the taint of match-fixing impact IPL," he said.
"He has failed in pretty much every respect... I can't think of a single area where he got it right," Panicker said of Srinivasan.
The crunch meeting of the BCCI came after Shukla said on Saturday he was resigning from his post "in the best interest of cricket".
BCCI board member I.S. Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, said in a statement on Saturday that "this is the worst crisis faced by Indian cricket."
He added: "My central postulate is that the sanctity and credibility of the game should be our focus and be preserved at all costs. The game is bigger than any individual." | Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal | June 2013 | ['(AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)'] |
Tashonty Toney, son of a police officer, was arrested for vehicular homicide, vehicular negligent injury, hitandrun and reckless operation of a motor vehicle after he veered into a bike line near a Mardi Gras parade route in New Orleans. He accidentally killed 2 and injured 7 cyclists while drunk and drugged. | NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The man arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed two people and injured seven in Bayou St. John Saturday night (March 3) is the son of a New Orleans Police Department officer, NOPD spokesman Andy Cunningham said in a news release.
Tashonty Toney was arrested on two counts of vehicular homicide, seven counts of vehicular negligent injury, hit-and-run and reckless operation of a motor vehicle, Cunningham said.
Investigators believe Toney was intoxicated when he crashed into a total of nine pedestrians over a span of three blocks on Esplanade Avenue, according to police. The night of the crash was Toney’s 32nd birthday, according to NOPD. As of early Sunday, police were waiting for the results of his blood-alcohol tests.
Cunningham said the fact Toney’s father is an NOPD officer will not affect the way the department handles the investigation.
“This discovery does not change and will not impact our department’s investigation which will be open and transparent,” Cunningham said.
The department is working with the NOPD’s federal consent decree monitor, according to Cunningham, in order to “ensure a just and transparent investigation.” The monitors were on the scene Saturday night, Cunningham said, and NOPD Chief Shaun Ferguson has been in “constant contact” with them.
The crash was reported just after 8 p.m. and Toney initially fled the scene after hitting all eight victims between the 3400 and 3200 blocks of Esplanade Avenue. Toney was arrested a short while later, according to police.
New Orleans EMS spokesman Lt. Jonathan Fourcade said the fatal victims were a man and a woman who were both about 30 years old.
Two 28-year-old women were injured and brought to University Medical Center’s trauma center, as was a 53-year-old woman. Two men were also brought to UMC, one is 56 and the other is 62, Fourcade said.
EMS Director Emily Nichols said three of the five people brought to UMC were in critical condition.
A 65-year-old man was also injured, but was in stable condition and refused treatment on the scene, Fourcade said. Officials initially reported there were a total of eight victims involved in the crash, but the ninth victim later sought medical attention “out of an aubundance of caution," Cunningham said. He was brought to the hospital in a private vehicle.
At least two damaged Blue Bikes -- the city’s bike sharing service -- could be seen on the street while investigators worked the scene in the 3200 block of Saturday night. Ferguson said investigators were not sure if all the victims were on bicycles when they were hit, but confirmed at least five or six were. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | March 2019 | ['(fox8live)', '(Advocate)'] |
The office of the President of Ukraine calls on the European Union and NATO to condemn the Russian-backed rebels for military action in Debaltseve. The self-proclaimed rebel government officials claim the town was not part of the recently established ceasefire. | ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine A battle for a railroad town in eastern Ukraine escalated sharply on Tuesday, with both the Ukrainian Army and Russian-backed militants saying that their soldiers were engaging in pitched street battles.
By midday, the separatists said they had captured the town, Debaltseve, a separatist news agency reported. The Ukrainian military denied that, saying it was repelling the attacks. | Armed Conflict | February 2015 | ['(AP)', '(New York Times)'] |
The World Health Organisation says that the death toll from the Ebola virus is over 2,900. | The World Health Organisation has announced that the number of people killed by the Ebola Virus Disease has reached at least 2,917.
According to the global health body, the increasing casualty figure is driven by the continuing rapid spread of the disease in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The New York Times reported that the UN agency made the announcement on Thursday.
At least 2,909 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 6,242 reported Ebola cases over all, according to the latest report of the UN health agency. Nigeria and Senegal have recorded a total of eight deaths and 21 cases of infection.
The latest estimates of the spread of the disease followed a sombre projection by the WHO that the number of people infected by Ebola could hit 20,000 by early November, and another forecast, by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, that the number of infections could reach 1.4 million by January.
Both projections presented worst-case scenarios, and officials of both organisations thought it probable that the scaling up of the international response would avert these outcomes.
More than half the total deaths and infections have occurred in Liberia, which reported more than 1,700 new cases in the last 21 days.
In Sierra Leone, two districts at the heart of its Ebola outbreak have recorded declining numbers of people infected, but the organisation said further investigation was needed to establish whether this was a clear trend and whether there was at the same time a sharp rise in the number of new cases in the capital, Freetown, as has been reported.
The situation in Guinea, although still of grave concern, appears to have stabilised, the WHO said, observing that the number of new cases in the capital, Conakry, was moderate and stable.
The outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal were pretty much contained, the health organisations Africa office reported this week, noting that Senegal had only recorded one case of infection at the end of August, and that Nigeria had not found any new cases since September 8 this year.
But seven weeks after the health organisation declared the outbreak a global health emergency, its latest report shows the capacity of treatment centres in the worst-affected countries still falling short of requirements.
According to the WHO, Liberias treatment centres have a total of 315 beds, putting the number of additional beds needed at 1,990, of which only 440 have so far been pledged. | Disease Outbreaks | September 2014 | ['(Nigeria Punch)'] |
France swears in Emmanuel Macron as the 25th President of France. | Emmanuel Macron has taken power as President of France, vowing to restore the country's status in Europe and the world and heal divisions in society — a nod to the bitter campaign the pro-EU centrist fought to defeat a far-right leader.
The 39-year-old former investment banker, unknown to the wider public three years ago and whose May 7 election marked a meteoric rise to power, was inaugurated leader of the world's fifth-largest economy in a solemn Elysee Palace ceremony.
In his first words after taking office, he pledged to restore France's standing on the world stage, strengthen national self-confidence and heal divisions that the bitterly-fought campaign had opened up.
Mr Macron beat the National Front's Marine Le Pen in a May 7 run-off vote but the long campaign exposed deep divisions over France's role in Europe, immigration, and policies to revive a sluggish economy bedevilled by high unemployment.
"The division and fractures in our society must be overcome," Mr Macron declared.
"I know that the French expect much from me. Nothing will make me stop defending the higher interests of France and from working to reconcile the French."
Although his victory over Ms Le Pen was comfortable, almost half of France's 47 million voters chose candidates with views opposed to Mr Macron's in the first round of the election.
Emmanuel Macron has pulled off an extraordinary victory, but there are several hurdles before he can govern, writes Steve Cannane.
Many say they feel dispossessed by globalisation as manufacturing jobs move abroad and as immigration and a fast-changing world blur their sense of a French identity.
"The world and Europe need more than ever France, and a strong France, which speaks out loudly for freedom and solidarity," Mr Macron said.
Seeking closer ties with EU anchor nation Germany, Mr Macron will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday. He will ram home the message that the European Union is resilient despite Britain's vote to leave and a spate of financial and migration crises that have boosted the far right.
Monday will also see Mr Macron name his prime minister, whose job will be to pilot liberalising reforms aimed at reducing joblessness and reviving economic growth.
Mr Macron becomes the youngest French leader since Napoleon and the first to be born after 1958, when President Charles de Gaulle put in place the country's Fifth Republic.
In a ceremony full of pomp, he was presented with what is effectively his chain of office — a heavy golden necklace mounted on a red cushion that makes him Grand Master of the National Order of the Legion d'Honneur.
But Mr Macron appeared determined to create an impression of personal modesty — aides went out of their way to emphasise that the dark suit he wore cost about 450 euros ($660), and that the lavender outfit worn by his wife Brigitte had been loaned by fashion house Louis Vuitton.
He displayed youthful vigour during the televised proceedings, at one point racing up the Elysee stairs to meet a protocol requirement — something not all previous French presidents might have managed.
He then chose to be driven by military jeep rather than civilian limousine to the Arc de Triomphe, where he stood in the rain, without coat or umbrella, to light the flame in tribute to France's war dead at the tomb of the unknown soldier — a powerful reminder of France's role in the NATO defence alliance.
The stylish former investment banker and political newcomer has shocked pundits in one of the most extraordinary campaigns in modern memory.
Mr Macron's rise, marked by a 21-gun salute at the Esplanade des Invalides, signalled at least a pause in the anti-globalisation trend that elevated businessman Donald Trump into the US presidency and led British voters to choose Brexit.
More than 230 people have died in France in attacks claimed by Islamic State militants over the past two years as the country has taken part in military action against the militant group that controls parts of Syria and Iraq.
Fifteen hundred police were mobilised to ensure security for Mr Macron's inauguration while a large section of Paris was closed to traffic all morning.
Mr Macron assumed power after an hour-long private meeting with outgoing President Francois Hollande, 62, in which official access to France's nuclear missile launch codes was handed over.
| Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration | May 2017 | ['(Reuters via ABC News Australia)'] |
Transport unions start talks with management and the government over pension reforms in the eighth consecutive day of strike. | Hopes have been raised that a settlement may be reached to end the industrial action that has crippled France's transportation network.
Hundreds of thousands of public servants added their weight to the strikes on Tuesday over job loss fears.
But President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to continue his controversial reforms.
'No budging'
Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand on Tuesday expressed hopes that the talks with transport unions would help end their open-ended strike. Millions of French people... are tired of being used as hostages Nicolas Sarkozy
Sarkozy: 'Thatcher moment'?
"I think the conditions are there for everyone to get out of it honourably," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
President Sarkozy also urged the protesters to go back to work now that negotiations were beginning. "Everyone must ask whether it is right to continue a strike which has already cost users - and strikers - so dear.
"I think of those millions of French people who after a day of work have no bus, metro or train to take them home and who are tired of being used as hostages."
The government has said there could be incentives of salary rises and a top-up scheme for pensions. But it has stressed that there will be no budging on the core issue of eliminating special pensions which allow 500,000 transport and utility workers to retire early. Didier Le Rester of France's General Labour Confederation has predicted that the negotiations could last up to a month.
Commuter havoc
The state-owned national rail operator, SNCF, estimated there would be slightly improved rail services on Wednesday as the number of strikers steadily declined.
'SPECIAL' PENSIONS SYSTEM
Benefits 1.6m workers, including 1.1m retirees
Applies in 16 sectors, of which rail and utilities employees make up 360,000 people
Account for 6% of total state pension payments
Shortfall costs state 5bn euros (£3.5bn; $6.9bn) a year
Some workers can retire on full pensions aged 50
Awarded to Paris Opera House workers in 1698 by Louis XIV
Can street protests succeed?
Solidarity amid French crisis
The company said around 400 of the 700 high-speed TGV trains would be running.
Paris transport operator RATP said about 25% of its metro trains would be running.
The week of strikes has caused havoc for millions of commuters across France.
Businesses have started complaining that the strikes are hurting their operations.
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said the dispute was costing France up to 400m euros (£290m) a day.
'Overdue' reforms
Hundreds of thousands of civil servants joined striking transport and energy workers on Tuesday over what they say is an erosion in their earnings and proposals to slim France's large public sector.
Teachers, postal workers, air traffic controllers and hospital staff stayed off the job in protest, as students continued to demonstrate over university funding plans. The 24-hour action was said to be the largest protest against Mr Sarkozy's reforms since he took power in May.
He said the reforms were overdue and that they were necessary "to confront the challenges set by the world".
"We will not surrender and we will not retreat," Mr Sarkozy said.
Are you being affected by the strike, or are you taking part in it? Send us your comments on this story by filling out the form below.
The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. What are these? | Strike | November 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
Police in Italy detain two more suspected mafia bosses, one day after the seizure of their brother in a raid near Naples. | Italian police say they have arrested two more suspected mafia bosses, a day after seizing their brother in a raid near the southern city of Naples.
They say Pasquale and Carmine Russo were detained in Sperone, some 30km (20 miles) east of Naples. Salvatore Russo, the head of a Camorra clan that bears his name, was held in a raid on a chicken farm on Saturday. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni described his arrest as "a heavy blow for the Camorra". Salvatore Russo, 51, is one of Italy's most wanted mafia fugitives, officials say. He had been on the run since being sentenced in 1995 to life in jail for murder and links to organised crime.
Pasquale Russo, 62, and his brother Carmine, 47, were arrested on Sunday morning at a farmhouse in Sperone, police say. Pasquale Russo is on the list of Italy's 30 most dangerous fugitives. He had been on the run since 1995 and is accused of murder and the disposal of bodies. His brother Carmine had been in hiding since 2007. On Saturday, Mr Maroni said police were "closing the net on the super-fugitives". The Russo clan, based in the town of Nola, had an iron grip on criminal activity in some 40 towns in the Naples areas, officials say. The Camorra operates in the Naples area and is believed to have about 5,000 members. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | November 2009 | ['(BBC)', '(France 24)'] |
Four United States Air Force officers are relieved of command following an investigation of an incident where live nuclear warheads were carried on a B–52 bomber from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A six-week probe into the mistaken flight of nuclear warheads across the country uncovered a "lackadaisical" attention to detail in day-to-day operations at the air bases involved in the incident, an Air Force official said Friday.
Air Force Col. Bruce Emig was stripped of his responsibilities, sources say.
The investigation found that "a limited number of airmen" at both locations failed to follow procedures, said Maj. Gen. Dick Newton, assistant deputy chief of staff for operations.
Four officers -- including three colonels -- have been relieved of duty in connection with the August 29 incident in which a B-52 bomber flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
The plane unknowingly carried a payload of nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.
"Nothing like this has ever occurred," Newton said.
"Our extensive, six-week investigation found that this was an isolated incident and that the weapons never left the custody of airmen -- were never unsecured -- but clearly this incident is unacceptable to the people of the United States and to the United States Air Force."
The probe also found there was "an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and at Barksdale Air Force Base," Newton said. "We have acted quickly and decisively to rectify this," he added.
Relieved of duty were the Minot wing commander and maintenance crew commander, and the Barksdale operational group commander.
Minot's munitions squadron commander was relieved of duty shortly after the incident.
Newton didn't name any of the officers, but Col. Bruce Emig had been the commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot.
A number of other personnel -- "under 100," Newton said, including the entire 5th Bomb Wing at Minot -- have lost their certification to handle sensitive weaponry.
The matter will be referred to an Air Force convening authority to find out whether there's enough evidence to bring charges or any other disciplinary action against any personnel, Newton said.
Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called the incident "an unacceptable mistake and a clear deviation for our exacting standards." Watch Wynne talk about the breakdown in procedures »
"We are making all appropriate changes to ensure that this has a minimal chance of happening again, but we would really like to ensure that it never happens again," he said.
Wynne has convened a blue-ribbon panel to review all of the Air Force's security procedures and adherence to them. That panel is to report back on January 15.
The probe into the incident, which ended this week, lists five errors -- all of them procedural failures to check, verify and inspect, Newton said.
The investigation found that nuclear warheads were improperly handled and procedures were not followed as the missiles were moved from their storage facility, transferred to the bomber and loaded onto it, Newton said.
The bomber carried six nuclear warheads on air-launched cruise missiles, but the warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52.
A munitions crew at Barksdale followed proper procedure when the plane landed, discovering the error and reporting it up the chain of command, Newton said.
The weapons were secured in the hands of airmen at all times and had been stored properly at Minot, Newton said.
He called it a "lack of attention to detail, a lack of effective leadership and supervision."
"Airmen did not do their jobs ... that would have prevented this incident from occurring," he said. E-mail to a friend All About Nuclear Weapons • U.S. Air Force | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate | October 2007 | ['(CNN)'] |
The People's Republic of China releases 10 South African tourists held for allegedly distributing terrorist material. | Johannesburg - All 10 South Africans detained in China a few weeks ago will soon be home, the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) said on Friday.
Five of the South Africans will be landing on Friday night while the rest will fly out of China on Saturday, said the department’s spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, in a tweet.
Monyela called it a “victory for diplomacy”.
The 10 South Africans were part of a group of 20 on a 47-day tour through China. They were arrested at Erdos Airport on Friday morning.
On Thursday, a Chinese official told news agency AFP that a group of foreigners had been detained for distributing "terrorist" materials.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release | July 2015 | ['(News 24)'] |
United States Senator Dick Durbin visits Venezuela to negotiate the release of Joshua Holt, who has been detained for two years awaiting trial on a weapons charge. The United States has been critical of his prosecution. | Josh Holt holds a letter from Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, delivered by personnel from the U.S. Embassy on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. The letter is meant to encourage Holt and assure him that the politician is continuing to fight for his release from a Venezuelan prison, where he's been held for a year and a half.
Caracas, Venezuela A powerful U.S. senator traveled to Venezuela on Wednesday as pressure mounted on President Nicolas Maduro to hand over a Utah man jailed in the turbulent South American country for nearly two years.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois was to meet with members of the government and opposition, a spokesman for his office said. He didn’t provide further details.
The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat is also expected to meet with Maduro to discuss the imprisonment of Joshua Holt, who is being held in a Caracas prison along with several top government opponents while awaiting a trial on what the U.S. has called trumped-up weapons charges.
The rare visit comes as the Trump administration weighs an embargo on Venezuela’s oil shipments on top of sanctions it already has imposed on dozens of top officials, including Maduro himself, for what the U.S. considers Venezuela’s slide into a dictatorship.
“The Venezuelan people continue to suffer immensely under the Maduro regime’s repressive actions,” Durbin recently tweeted, supporting sanctions while condemning Maduro’s “criminal regime and its complete disregard for democracy.”
Durbin’s visit follows weeks of backchannel talks over Holt between representatives of the two countries in Caracas and Washington.
Holt, 25, traveled to Venezuela in June 2016 to marry a fellow Mormon he met online practicing his Spanish. The couple were arrested during a police raid on the housing complex where she had lived.
Venezuelan authorities alleged Holt was stockpiling “weapons of war.”
U.S. officials have repeatedly demanded Holt’s release on humanitarian grounds, considering the charges against him and his wife, Thamara Candelo, to be politically motivated.
Maduro is expected to win a second term as president in a May 20 election that the U.S. and Venezuela’s largest opposition parties have rejected as being rigged in his favor, leaving the South American leader few if any allies in Washington from either political party.
Durbin played a key role in Cuba’s 2014 release of American Alan Gross, who was held in prison for five years on the communist island.
The Associated Press first reported behind-the-scenes dialogue to win Holt’s freedom. Caleb McCarry, a top Republican congressional staffer who has known Maduro for 15 years, traveled to Caracas in February to meet with the Venezuelan leader and first lady Cilia Flores to press for Holt’s release.
That dialogue prompted a visit to Washington by a trusted ally of Maduro, Gov. Rafael Lacava of Carabobo state, to discuss Holt with lawmakers.
| Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | April 2018 | ['(The Salt Lake Tribune)'] |
A car bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, kills and injures several civilians. The blast follows a bombing at Hor Rajab, Baghdad, earlier in the day that wounded one civilian. | by Mohammed Ebraheem Apr 15, 2018, 9:46 pm Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) Ten Iraqi people were killed and injured Sunday in a car bomb blast in oil-rich Kirkuk province, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alghad Press, the source said, “A booby-trapped vehicle went off in al-Khadraa district in central Kirkuk, leaving a civilian dead and nine others injured.”
“The injured civilians were moved to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the dead body was carried to the forensic medicine department,” the source pointed out.
Earlier in the day, an Iraqi civilian was wounded as a locally-made bomb went off near a market in Hor Rajab area in southern Baghdad.
According to the latest casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 104 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed and another 177 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in March.
In its monthly statement released earlier this month, the UN agency said the number of civilians killed, excluding police, was 84, while 164 others were injured.
Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, with 124 civilian casualties (33 killed, 91 injured), followed by Salahuddin with 12 killed and 26 injured, and Anbar with 11 killed and 22 injured.
Though most of the daily bombings go without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State is expected to be behind many.
| Armed Conflict | April 2018 | ['(Iraqi News)'] |
Two people die following a bomb in a shopping centre in a Christian area of North Beirut, Lebanon. The two are believed to have been foreign workers. | It was the second blast in a Christian area in days, sharpening fears of sectarian chaos weeks before elections.
The explosion at the Kaslik shopping centre occurred at about 0130 local time (2330 GMT), police said. Shop windows were shattered and glass littered streets lined with boutiques, jewellery stores and nightclubs.
The aim is chaos ... The country is the target
Ghanem al-BounChristian opposition MP
Lebanon crisis: Your views
Lebanon has been plunged into political turmoil since the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February.
President Emile Lahoud has ordered an investigation into the attack in Kaslik, near the port of Jounieh, about 15km (10 miles) north of Beirut. He said it aimed to drive Lebanon into "chaos and fear" and he renewed calls for talks between opposition and loyalist politicians "as the only means to break the current deadlock and bridge all differences".
Political message
The bomb is thought to have been left in a leather bag at the back entrance of the shopping centre, a Lebanese security official said.
Two of the three fatalities were Indians, with the nationality of the third still to be determined, police said.
The roof of the centre - which was closed at the time of the blast - collapsed, and local television showed rescuers searching through the rubble. One body was shown retrieved and covered with a blanket. The blast also shattered shop windows for some distance
One Lebanese person was also reported to have been injured in the blast. "It is clear that those who carried out this attack are targeting the security and stability of the country," opposition lawmaker Faris Bouez told reporters at the scene. "It is a political message to the [anti-Syrian] independence uprising," he said. "We don't know what is happening, but it's obvious that we are very frightened," said local resident Claude Boustani.
The opposition has blamed Damascus supporters for recent violence, saying they are keen to stir unrest to justify the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon.
At about midnight on Friday, another blast took place in the northern suburb of New Jdeideh, a part-residential, part-commercial area, injuring 11 people. Following the pressure on Damascus after Mr Hariri's assassination, some Syrian troops are now withdrawing from the country. | Armed Conflict | March 2005 | ['(BBC)'] |
The sheriff in Fort Collins, Colorado advises that criminal charges will be laid over the balloon boy hoax. |
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Authorities are pursuing criminal charges in the case of a boy who vanished into his parents' garage while the world feared he was trapped aboard a helium balloon prompting speculation of a hoax.
The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be.
Alderden didn't call Thursday's hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn't level more serious charges in the incident, which sent police and the military scrambling to save young Falcon Heene as millions of worried television viewers watched.
"We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances," Alderden said. "We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren't additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance."
Suspicion that the balloon saga was a publicity stunt arose almost immediately after Falcon was found in the garage rafters, hiding in a cardboard box. Richard Heene, a storm chaser and inventor whose family has appeared on the reality show "Wife Swap," and his wife had said one of the boy's older brothers had said Falcon was aboard the homemade balloon when it took off.
Alderden initially said there was no reason to believe the incident was a hoax. Authorities questioned the Heenes again after Falcon turned to his dad during a CNN interview Thursday night and said "you said we did this for a show" when asked why he didn't come out of his hiding place.
Falcon got sick during two separate TV interviews Friday when asked again why he hid.
Alderden said Saturday that deputies were seeking a search warrant for the family's home, and there would be more information at a news conference Sunday.
After the sheriff went inside, Richard Heene and his wife walked out. As reporters yelled questions, all Heene said was, "I was talking to the sheriff's department just now." He then walked to his car with his wife and a friend, and they drove away.
It wasn't clear where the family was late Saturday night. By 9 p.m., an AP reporter at the family home said the couple hadn't returned after leaving the sheriff's office. Their three sons were believed to have been at home being watched by sheriff's officials earlier in the day, but their whereabouts also weren't known to reporters in the evening.
The day began with Richard Heene knocking on the windows of journalists camped outside his home and promising a "big announcement." A few hours later, he did an about-face when he told reporters that they should leave questions in a cardboard box on the front doorstep.
As Heene walked away, a reporter shouted, "Can you tell us once and for all if this is a hoax?"
"Absolutely no hoax. I want your questions in the box," Heene said, waving a cardboard container before going back into his home.
A circus-like atmosphere formed outside, including men holding signs and occasionally yelling "balloon boy." One sign read, "Put balloon boy on TV: America's Most Wanted."
Other gawkers carried aluminum-foil stovetop popcorn makers that resembled the a flying saucer-like helium balloon launched from the family's backyard Thursday, with 6-year-old Falcon Heene believed to be onboard.
The Heenes have said the balloon was supposed to be tethered to the ground when it lifted off, and no one was supposed to be aboard. A video of the launch shows the family counting down in unison, "3, 2, 1," before Richard Heene pulls a cord, setting the balloon into the air.
"Whoa!" one of the boys exclaims. Then his father says in disbelief, "Oh, my God!" He then says to someone, "You didn't put the (expletive) tether down!" and he kicks the wood frame that had held the balloon.
Falcon's brother said he saw him inside the compartment before it took off and that's why they thought he was in there when it launched. Heene said he had yelled at Falcon before the launch for getting inside.
Over the years, Richard Heene has worked as a storm chaser, a handyman and contractor, and an aspiring reality-TV star.
He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," and the show's producer said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.
Despite his attempts to get on TV, Heene insisted Saturday that he didn't know what kinds of questions were being asked about him because he didn't have cable.
"I'm going to place the box out front. Please write your questions down, because friends are telling me they're saying this and that. I have no idea what the news is saying," Heene said. | Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse | October 2009 | ['(AP via Minneapolis StarTribune)', '(Sky News)'] |
Silicon Valley Bank has signed a series of cooperative framework agreements with the Shanghai Financial Office. | October 9, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has signed a series of cooperative framework agreements with the Shanghai Financial Office, a quasi-official body that promotes the city’s financial services industry, and Yangpu District Government to expand its business scope in China, the 21st Century Business Herald has learned.
Under the agreements, SVB, which specializes in providing financial services to technology and life sciences companies, as well venture capitalists and private equity firms, hopes to further explore venture capital (VC) opportunities and obtain a full financial services license.
Yangpu, an official “national innovation-oriented pilot district”, is building a cluster of domestic and foreign VC and domestic innovative enterprises. Bay Area Investment Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., the first overseas branch of San Francisco Bay Area Council, was inaugurated at Knowledge and Innovation Community in Yangpu on June 15.
Gerald Brady, managing director at SVB Venture Capital Group, said SVB is unable at present to provide a greater variety of financial services in China, but that the bank intends to obtain a full license. “We are investing for the future.”
SVB is planning an enterprise VC platform in China that is similar to the Entrepreneur Services Platform it runs in Silicon Valley, California.
"Our long-term commitment to Chinese entrepreneurs, technology, life sciences and venture capital firms is to offer the same expertise, connections and banking services we provide to our clients in the U.S.," Ken Wilcox, CEO of SVB Financial Group and SVB said last December at the opening of the bank’s Shanghai representative office.
"Together with the Yangpu District Government and many others, we are working on several ground-breaking initiatives that will help build the infrastructure for a vibrant innovation economy in China."
SVB will convene a board meeting in Shanghai in November, the first such meeting outside the U.S., according to a senior executive at SVB’s Shanghai office. | Sign Agreement | October 2010 | ['(SVB)', '(21cbh)'] |
The Polish Sejm votes to dissolve itself, causing early parliamentary elections in October 2007. | The ruling coalition collapsed last month amid corruption allegations against the leader of a junior partner.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski will now select a date for elections, which must be held within 45 days. The election will put his twin, PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski, against the main opposition Civic Platform, which favours economic reforms.
The 460-seat lower house of parliament backed the dissolution by 377 votes to 54, providing the required two-thirds majority.
The new parliament will produce a better government
Donald Tusk, Civic Platform
Analysts say the election will be a referendum on the performance of the governing twins.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition found itself unable to continue after corruption allegations against Andrzej Lepper, head of the farming-based Self-Defence party. Opinion polls say the election could be a close race between the PM's conservative Law and Justice party and Civic Platform, which favours closer ties to the European Union.
Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk said after the vote: "I believe that this evening brings people a sense of relief... The new parliament will produce a better government."
Jaroslaw Kaczynski had backed early elections to try to secure a stronger hold on parliament.
He will campaign on having overseen strong economic growth and reduced unemployment.
The opposition will target difficulties the twins have had with the European Union and Germany in particular. | Government Job change - Election | September 2007 | ['(BBC)'] |
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