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Three people are killed in violent clashes between protesters and police in Mangalore and Lucknow.

Three people have died in India and thousands have been detained amid demonstrations against a controversial new citizenship law. A protest ban has been imposed in parts of the capital Delhi and throughout the states of Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. The new law offers citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Critics fear the law undermines India's secular constitution, and say faith should not be the basis of citizenship. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dismissed their concerns, and said the opposition had been spreading lies. There have been days of protests against the law. India's home minister has called a crisis meeting to discuss the demonstrations. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the country on Thursday, despite the police order based on a severely restrictive law which prohibits more than four people from gathering in a place. Two people died in the city of Mangalore after officers opened fire on demonstrators allegedly trying to set fire to a police station. Commissioner Dr PS Harsha told reporters that a curfew is in place in the city, and that he was waiting for a post mortem before announcing the cause of death for either man. Internet services have also been suspended in Mangalore for 48 hours. Another man also died in the city of Lucknow, where violent clashes between demonstrators and police earlier in the day saw vehicles set alight. More than a dozen officers were injured and 112 people were reportedly detained in the city. Civil society groups, political parties, students, activists and ordinary citizens put out a steady stream of messages on Instagram and Twitter, urging people to turn out and protest peacefully. Among those who were briefly detained were Ramachandra Guha, a prominent historian and outspoken critic of the government, in the southern city of Bangalore; and political activist Yogendra Yadav in Delhi. Speaking to the BBC's Newshour programme, Mr Guha said he had been arrested with hundreds of others from various different backgrounds, "which clearly shows that a large section of Indians are actually opposed to this discriminatory legislation". Thousands gathered to demonstrate in Mumbai. Bollywood actors and filmmakers were expected to join the demonstration there. The law - known as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) - offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The federal government says this is to protect religious minorities fleeing persecution in the three Muslim-majority countries. But what has made the law especially controversial is that it comes in the wake of the government's plan to publish a nationwide register of citizens that it says will identify illegal immigrants - namely, anyone who doesn't have the documents to prove that their ancestors lived in India. A National Register of Citizens (NRC) - published in the north-eastern state of Assam - saw 1.9 million people effectively made stateless. The NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Act are closely linked as the latter will protect non-Muslims who are excluded from the register and face the threat of deportation or internment. Many Muslim citizens fear that they could be made stateless if they don't have the necessary documents; and critics also say the law is exclusionary and violates the secular principles enshrined in India's constitution. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the law would have "no effect on citizens of India, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Buddhists". He also blamed the opposition for the protests, accusing them of "spreading lies and rumours" and "instigating violence" and "creating an atmosphere of illusion and falsehood".

Riot

December 2019

['(BBC)']

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at the launch of the 25th Africa–France summit in Nice, calls for Africa to be represented on the United Nations Security Council, and promises to back changes when France chairs the G8 and G–20 major economies groups in 2011.

The French president has called for Africa to be given a bigger say in world affairs and better representation on the UN Security Council. President Nicolas Sarkozy, rounding off a two-day France-Africa summit in Nice, also said Africa would be a key source of global growth in the coming decades. He pledged to push for Security Council reform when France heads the G8 and G20 groups of leading economies next year. The summit was attended by 38 heads of state and some 200 business leaders. Mr Sarkozy told them: "How can we accept a world where 25% of the population lives in Africa and yet it does not have a permanent seat at the Security Council? "This is an anomaly, an injustice and a source of imbalance." At present, African countries hold three out of 10 non-permanent seats on the Security Council. African states have lobbied since 2005 for two permanent seats with veto powers on an expanded Security Council, as well as rotating seats. "None of the problems, absolutely none of the problems that the world faces today can be resolved without the active participation of the African continent," Mr Sarkozy said. "Africa's formidable demographics and its considerable resources make it the main reservoir for world economic growth in the decades to come." Hosting his first France-Africa summit, Mr Sarkozy dispensed with the traditional "dinner among friends" - attended only by former colonies - in favour of inviting all attendees. "France doesn't just want to be friends with Francophone countries. What we want is for France to talk to all of Africa," he said at the closing session. France, which is vying with China and other emerging powers for markets in Africa, has used the summit as a platform to promote business ties with the continent. It agreed to support the African Union in strengthening security on the continent, including training 12,000 African troops for African Union and United Nations peacekeeping duties. Climate change was also high on the agenda and the leaders agreed to support creation of a renewable energy plan, including the use of solar power. France announced the creation of the African Agriculture Fund, an investors' fund, for food distribution and other projects, to initially raise $120 million (£82m) and potentially reach $300 million, according to a final statement. It also pledged to help Africa combat piracy, terrorism and drug trafficking, with Mr Sarkozy stressing the continent "cannot cope on its own". South African President Jacob Zuma described the summit as "very useful". He told AFP news agency that leaders had agreed to discuss at their next African Union summit a French proposal to seek two Security Council seats with 10-year mandates as an interim step to permanent membership. "We cannot have institutions that were established in the 1940s, when there were fewer countries and colonialism," he said. Mr Zuma had earlier criticised the fact that military junta leaders of two former French colonies, Guinea and Niger, were among those in attendance and as such were being given "recognition". However, Madagascar - still embroiled in a political crisis - was not invited, and Zimbabwe refused to send a delegation after France objected to the attendance of President Robert Mugabe.

Famous Person - Give a speech

May 2010

['(Aljazeera)', '(BBC)']

Voters in Northern Cyprus go to the polls for an election for a new President to represent them in peace talks with the southern Republic of Cyprus.

NICOSIA, April 19 (Reuters) - Voters in breakaway northern Cyprus elect a president on Sunday whose main task will be to represent them in reunification talks that are expected to resume on the ethnically divided island next month. Opinion polls put conservative incumbent Dervis Eroglu in the lead ahead of the six other candidates but he is not expected to win enough votes in the first round, paving the way for a runoff with his nearest rival on April 26. Only Turkey recognises the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The international community views the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia as the legitimate government of the whole island. Turkish Cypriots have become deeply sceptical about the prospects for reunification and so another conservative candidate, Kudret Ozersay, may also do well, eroding support for Eroglu and inadvertently helping one of the candidates more supportive of the talks, political analysts say. "Presidential elections have always given a clear indication of the Turkish Cypriot community's view on the Cyprus problem. This time however it might be different," said sociologist Kudret Akay. "In recent years the Turkish Cypriots' attitude has hardened as a result of perceived Greek Cypriot intransigence in negotiations, a view most closely represented by Dervis Eroglu." "However Eroglu's vote is likely to be significantly eroded by Kudret Ozersay, who to some extent also represents this view," he said, adding that a more pragmatic contender may therefore make it through to the second round. Ozersay is an academic with years of experience in the stop-go reunification negotiations with the Greek Cypriots. Other leading presidential candidates include leftist Mustafa Akinci and centrist Sibel Siber. Almost 177,000 Turkish Cypriots are eligible to vote in Sunday's election. Cyprus was split by a Turkish military invasion in 1974 which followed a brief Greek-inspired coup. Peace talks have floundered for years, but a United Nations envoy said recently said he was optimistic that the negotiations could resume soon. Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, with the Greek Cypriot government, whose writ now runs only in the south, officially representing the whole island. (Editing by Gareth Jones)

Government Job change - Election

April 2015

['(Reuters via Daily Mail)']

A Vietnam–registered oil tanker explodes off Hong Kong's southern coast, killing at least one person and leaving three others missing.

An oil tanker has exploded off the coast of Hong Kong, killing at least one person and leaving three missing. The Vietnam-registered vessel burst into flames as it prepared to refuel at an anchorage off Hong Kong's southern coast, according to authorities. Residents of the nearby island of Lantau said they heard a big blast which rattled doors and windows. "It felt like when there is a strong typhoon, when the wind shakes your doors violently. It was really strong," one woman, Rhea Nee, said. "I thought maybe there was an earthquake. I saw my neighbours all coming out of their houses. "The windows of my house were shaking." The South China Morning Post reported the tanker, Aulac Fortune, was about one nautical mile south of Lamma Island at about 11:30am local time when the incident happened, with the crew either falling or jumping into the water. Police vessels, three fireboats and a government helicopter were deployed as part of a rescue operation, it reported. Twenty-one crew members were rescued from the water. Authorities said one was pronounced dead at the scene and four others were hospitalised. Authorities said rescuers are searching for three missing crew members. At 3:42pm, fire services said the blaze was under control, the Post reported.

Shipwreck

January 2019

['(ABC News)']

Thailand's Supreme Court issues an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who didn't appear in court for the verdict in her negligence trial regarding a rice subsidy program for farmers. The court also issued a statement questioning her attorney's report that she is unwell and a potential flight risk, citing the lack of a physician's certificate. The reading of the verdict has been rescheduled to September 27. Sources within Shinawatra's party Pheu Thai Party have said that she has allegedly fled the country, though not saying where to, in response current prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered the border checkpoints to be closely monitored to prevent Shinawatra leaving the country if she has not already.

Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra has fled abroad, sources say, ahead of a verdict in her trial over a rice subsidy scheme. Sources in her party say she made the decision to leave unexpectedly, shortly before she was due to appear at the Supreme Court on negligence charges. Her lawyers told the court she had been unable to attend because she was ill. But when she failed to appear, the court issued an arrest warrant for her and confiscated her bail. Judges also postponed the verdict until 27 September. Ms Yingluck has denied any wrongdoing in the scheme which cost Thailand billions of dollars. If found guilty at the end of her two-year trial, she could be jailed for up to 10 years and permanently banned from politics. Sources within Ms Yingluck's Puea Thai Party told Reuters that she had "definitely left Thailand" but did not give details of her whereabouts. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads Thailand's military government, said all routes out of the country were being closely monitored. "I just learned that she did not show up [at court]," he told reporters. "I have ordered border checkpoints to be stepped up." Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan initially said he had no information on Ms Yingluck's whereabouts but as he left a meeting in Bangkok he said: "It is possible that she has fled already." Analysis by Jonathan Head, BBC News, Bangkok Yingluck Shinawatra was the most high-profile criminal defendant in Thailand and was constantly monitored by the military authorities. So how was she able to leave the country just hours before the verdict was due to be read out? Immigration authorities say they have no record of her leaving the country. However, it is a poorly-concealed secret that some in the military government would have been happy to see her leave the country before the verdict. Had she been convicted and jailed, she could have been seen as a victim by her supporters. The government was nervous about their reaction. Acquitting her, though, would have been equally unacceptable to her hard-line opponents, many of them very influential. That would also have undermined the justification for the military coup which overthrew her government. So it is unlikely anyone tried to stop her leaving, or that they will try to get her back. She could have gone to the VIP area of one of Bangkok's airports and taken a private jet out of the country or she might have driven across the border into Cambodia or Laos. However she is most likely to have joined her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been living mainly in Dubai since he went into exile, fleeing a Supreme Court verdict, in 2008. Ms Yingluck's lawyer had requested a delay in the ruling, telling the Supreme Court that she had vertigo and a severe headache and was unable to attend. But the court said in a statement it did not believe she was sick as there was no medical certificate and that the claimed sickness was not severe enough to prevent her travelling to court. "Such behaviour convincingly shows that she is a flight risk. As a result, the court has issued an arrest warrant and confiscated the posted bail money," the statement said. Ms Yingluck posted $900,000 (703,000) bail at the beginning of her trial. Friday's turn of events took many by surprise, including the hundreds of people who turned up outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok to support Ms Yingluck. BBC Thai reporter Nanchanok Wongsamuth said the announcement prompted shocked reactions in the courtroom, and then a flurry of activity as journalists ran out to report the news. Ms Yingluck, who became Thailand's first female prime minister in 2011, was impeached in 2015 over the rice scheme by a military-backed legislature, which then brought the legal case. The scheme, part of Ms Yingluck's election campaign platform, launched shortly after she took office. It was aimed at boosting farmers' incomes and alleviating rural poverty, and saw the government paying farmers nearly twice the market rate for their crop. But it hit Thailand's rice exports hard, leading to a loss of at least $8bn and huge stockpiles of rice which the government could not sell. Though it was popular with her rural voter base, opponents said the scheme was too expensive and open to corruption. During her trial, Ms Yingluck had argued she was not responsible for the day-to-day running of the scheme. She has insisted she is a victim of political persecution. In another development on Friday, former Thai minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was jailed for 42 years in connection with the rice subsidy scheme. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the exceptionally heavy sentence for Mr Boonsong suggests the court would not have been lenient with Ms Yingluck and it is possible she was warned about this before making her decision to flee. Ms Yingluck's time in office was overshadowed by controversy as well as strong political opposition. The youngest sister of Mr Thaksin, she was seen by her opponents as a proxy for her brother, who was controversially ousted by the military in 2006. Both siblings remain popular among the rural poor, but are hated by an urban and middle-class elite. Their Puea Thai party has - under various different names - won every election in Thailand since 2001. Some of Ms Yingluck's supporters outside the court on Friday expressed understanding at her failure to show. "The Thai prime minister has done her best, she has sacrificed a lot," said Seksan Chalitaporn, 64. "Now the people have to fight for themselves." Telecommunications billionaire Mr Thaksin, who once owned Manchester City FC, has lived in self-imposed exile since leaving Thailand. It is believed he travels between homes in London, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. May 2011- Yingluck Shinawatra is elected PM, and shortly afterwards begins rolling out her rice subsidy scheme. January 2014 - Thailand's anti-corruption authorities investigate Ms Yingluck in connection to the scheme. May 2014 - She is forced to step down from her post after Thailand's constitutional court finds her guilty of abuse of power in another case. Weeks later the military ousts what remains of her government. January 2015 - An army-backed legislature impeaches Ms Yingluck for corruption over her role in the rice scheme, which effectively bans her from politics for five years. It also launches legal proceedings against her. August 2017 - Ms Yingluck fails to appear at court for the verdict, claiming ill health.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

August 2017

['(Reuters)', '(The Sydney Morning Herald)', '(The New York Times)', '(BBC Asia)']

Former Mayor of the American city of New Orleans, Louisiana Ray Nagin is sentenced to ten years in prison for corruption, money laundering and other related offences. ,

NEW ORLEANS — C. Ray Nagin, the former New Orleans mayor, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison on corruption charges, a remarkable fall from grace for a man who came to office pledging to root out cronyism. The sentence by Judge Helen Berrigan of Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana was less than the recommended range, around 15 to 20 years. Judge Berrigan quickly dispensed with the many technicalities of federal sentencing guidelines. She balanced the mayor’s ill-gotten gains against the profits of other defendants in the schemes, reprimanded him for letting the city down after Hurricane Katrina, and noted approvingly that he remained a loyal husband of 32 years and a devoted father to his three children. She said that she would recommend that the federal Bureau of Prisons incarcerate Mr. Nagin at a prison at Oakdale, La., so he could be close to his family. “The seriousness of Mr. Nagin’s offenses can hardly be overstated,” the judge said of a jury’s decision in February to convict Mr. Nagin on 20 of 21 counts, most related to kickbacks from contractors looking for city work. Mr. Nagin, a Democrat who was mayor from 2002 to 2010, was indicted in January 2013, nearly three years after he left office. He was accused of taking cash, cross-country trips or help with the family-run granite countertop company. The bribes were handed out by men looking for city business ranging from software supplies to sidewalk repair. Most of the schemes took place after Hurricane Katrina, when contractors crowded into the city for rebuilding work. Many of those involved eventually pleaded guilty and testified at length against Mr. Nagin at his trial. “Mr. Nagin claimed a much, much smaller share of the profits of the crime than any other member of the group,” Judge Berrigan said, noting that he was not an organizer or leader of the schemes. She said he “displayed a genuine if infrequent” effort to help the city recover from Katrina. Asked by the judge if he had anything to say before the sentencing, Mr. Nagin, 58, thanked her and the court staff for their “professionalism,” but expressed no remorse and did not budge from his sworn insistence at trial that he had done nothing wrong. Nagin Sentenced on Corruption Charges “We stand by the memorandums and testimonies that have been presented,” Mr. Nagin said. “I’m trusting God is going to work all this out.” Outside the courtroom afterward, he waited for an elevator with his lawyer, Robert Jenkins, surrounded by family and supporters. His wife, Seletha, threw her arms over his shoulders, pressed her face into his suit and wept. The federal prosecutor in the case, Matthew M. Coman, said the government could appeal the sentence based on his objection to the judge’s reduction from what the government recommended. “It’s up to the solicitor general in Washington,” Mr. Coman said. Once outside the courthouse, Mr. Nagin began walking briskly toward the cluster of cameras and reporters. A local civil rights activist, Jerome Smith, rushed up to greet and embrace him and whispered in his ear. “I just let him know he has spiritual support, and this was like a new-day lynching,” said Mr. Smith, an elder of the civil rights movement in New Orleans. Others were more critical. Edward E. Chervenak, a University of New Orleans political science professor and a critic of Mr. Nagin’s during most of his eight years as mayor, said, “I think that he got off lightly considering the violations of the public trust.” Asked what message the Nagin sentence sends to other elected officials, Mr. Chervenak said: “You hope that it sends a message. The problem is a lot of elected officials are in an insular bubble.” Michelle Alford, 37, a native of New Orleans and one of the city’s many hotel employees, said: “I think he should have gotten more time. He did nothing to benefit the city. I think he should have gotten 20 years at least. I think it’s ridiculous.” At the nearby Commerce Restaurant, where the Nagin jury once dined on shrimp po’ boys and roast beef sandwiches, newly arrived tourists found themselves caught up in the local political excitement.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

July 2014

['(D)', '(USA Today)', '(New York Times)']

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil a peace plan developed by the Trump administration for three years. The plan recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, as well as the annexation of the Jordan Valley, in exchange for a freeze on new Israeli settlements in certain areas for four years. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismisses the plan as "nonsense", while Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz casts his support for the plan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan Tuesday alongside a beaming Benjamin Netanyahu, presenting a vision that matched the Israeli leader’s hard-line, nationalist views while falling far short of Palestinian ambitions. Trump’s plan envisions a disjointed Palestinian state that turns over key parts of the West Bank to Israel. It sides with Israel on key contentious issues that have bedeviled past peace efforts, including borders and the status of Jerusalem and Jewish settlements, and attaches nearly impossible conditions for granting the Palestinians their hoped-for state. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the plan as “nonsense” and vowed to resist it. Netanyahu called it a “historic breakthrough” equal in significance to the country’s declaration of independence in 1948. “It’s a great plan for Israel. It’s a great plan for peace,” he said. He vowed to immediately press forward with his plans to annex the strategic Jordan Valley and all the Israeli settlements in occupied lands. Netanyahu said he’d ask his Cabinet to approve the annexation plans in their next meeting on Sunday, an explosive move that could trigger harsh international reaction and renewed violence with the Palestinians. “This dictates once and for all the eastern border of Israel,” Netanyahu told Israeli reporters later. “Israel is getting an immediate American recognition of Israeli sovereignty on all the settlements, without exceptions.” Given the Palestinian opposition, the plan seems unlikely to lead to any significant breakthrough. But it could give a powerful boost to both Trump and Netanyahu who are both facing legal problems ahead of tough elections. Trump called his plan a “win-win” for both Israel and the Palestinians, and urged the Palestinians not to miss their opportunity for independence. But Abbas, who accuses the U.S. of unfair bias toward Israel, rejected it out of hand. “We say 1,000 no’s to the Deal of the Century,” Abbas said, using a nickname for Trump’s proposal. “We will not kneel and we will not surrender,” he said, adding that the Palestinians would resist the plan through “peaceful, popular means.” The plan comes amid Trump’s impeachment trial and on a U.S. election year, and after Netanyahu was indicted on counts of fraud, breach of trust and bribery in three separate cases. The longtime Israeli leader, who denies any wrongdoing, also faces a March 2 parliamentary election, Israel’s third in less than a year. He hopes to use the plan, and his close ties with Trump, to divert attention from his legal troubles. The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for an independent state and the removal of many of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers from these areas. But as details emerged, it became clear that the plan sides heavily with Netanyahu’s hard-line nationalist vision for the region and shunts aside many of the Palestinians’ core demands. Under the terms of the “peace vision” that Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been working on for nearly three years, all settlers would remain in place, and Israel would retain sovereignty over all of its settlements as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. “The Israeli military will continue to control the entire territory,” Netanyahu said. “No one will be uprooted from their home.” The proposed Palestinian state would also include more than a dozen Israeli “enclaves” with the entity’s borders monitored by Israel. It would be demilitarized and give Israel overall security control. In addition, the areas of east Jerusalem offered to the Palestinians consist of poor, crowded neighborhoods located behind a hulking concrete separation barrier. Trump acknowledged that he has done a lot for Israel, but he said he wanted the deal to be a “great deal for the Palestinians.” The plan would give the Palestinians limited control over an estimated 70% of the West Bank, nearly double the amount where they currently have limited self-rule. Trump said it would give them time needed to meet the challenges of statehood. The only concession the plan appears to demand of Israel is a four-year freeze on the establishment of new Israeli settlements in certain areas of the West Bank. But Netanyahu clarified later that this only applied to areas where there are no settlements and Israel has no immediate plans to annex, and that he considered the plan to impose no limitations on construction. Thousands of Palestinians protested in Gaza City ahead of the announcement, burning pictures of Trump and Netanyahu and raising a banner reading “Palestine is not for sale.” Trump said he sent a letter to Abbas to tell him that the territory that the plan has set aside for a new Palestinian state will remain open and undeveloped for four years. “It’s going to work,” Trump said, as he presented the plan at a White House ceremony filled with Israeli officials and allies, including evangelical Christian leaders and wealthy Republican donors. Representatives from the Arab countries of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were present, but there were no Palestinian representatives. “President Abbas, I want you to know, that if you chose the path to peace, America and many other countries ... we will be there to help you in so many different ways,” he said. “And we will be there every step of the way.” The 50-page plan builds on a 30-page economic plan for the West Bank and Gaza that was unveiled last June and which the Palestinians have also rejected. It envisions a future Palestinian state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza, connected by a combination of roads and tunnels. It also would give small areas of southern Israel to the Palestinians as compensation for lost West Bank land. But the many caveats, and ultimate overall Israeli control, made the deal a nonstarter for the Palestinians. Netanyahu and his main political challenger in March elections, Benny Gantz, had signed off on the plan. “Mr. President, because of this historic recognition and because I believe your peace plan strikes the right balance where other plans have failed,” Netanyahu said. “I’ve agreed to negotiate peace with the Palestinians on the basis of your peace plan. The Jordan Valley annexation is a big part of Netanyahu’s strategy and a key promise meant to appeal to his hard-line nationalist base, which mostly applauded the Trump plan. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the plan’s release, said they expected negative responses from the Palestinians, but were hopeful that Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab nations to have peace treaties with Israel, would not reject it outright. Jordan gave the plan a cool reaction, saying it remained committed to a two-state solution based on Israel’s pre-1967 lines. It also said it rejected any unilateral move by Israel, referring to the annexation plan. The reaction of Jordan, which would retain its responsibilities over Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque under the plan, is particularly significant. Located next to the West Bank, Jordan also is home to a large Palestinian population. Egypt, the first Arab country to reach a peace deal with Israel, urged Israelis and Palestinians to carefully study the plan. The European Union also said it needed to study it more closely. Saudi Arabia, another key Arab country, said it appreciated the Trump administration’s efforts and encouraged the resumption of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians “under the auspices of the United States.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations supports two states living in peace and security within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, according to his spokesman. The Palestinians see the West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state and east Jerusalem as their capital. Most of the international community supports their position, but Trump has reversed decades of U.S. foreign policy by siding more blatantly with Israel. The centerpiece of his strategy was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the American Embassy there. He’s also closed Palestinian diplomatic offices in Washington and cut funding to Palestinian aid programs. Those policies have proven popular among Trump’s evangelical and pro-Israel supporters. But the Palestinians refuse to even speak to Trump and they called on support from Arab leaders. ___

Government Policy Changes

January 2020

['(Associated Press)']

French police arrest three men and a 16yearold girl found with bombmaking materials in a Montpellier flat. The female suspect had been spotted online saying she wanted to either leave for the SyriaIraq conflict or mount an attack in France, and recorded a video in which she pledged allegiance to ISIL.

An "imminent" terror attack on French soil has been averted with the arrest of four suspects in Montpellier, Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said. Three men and a girl of 16 were found with bomb-making materials by anti-terrorist police in a raid on a flat in the southern city. Home-made explosives similar to those used in the Paris attacks of November 2015 were discovered. Reports suggest the girl had made jihadist declarations online. Since the beginning of 2015, at least 230 people have been killed in jihadist attacks in France. Last week, a soldier received minor injuries when a machete-wielding man tried to enter the Louvre museum in Paris. The man, a 29-year-old Egyptian named Abdullah Hamamy, was shot and critically injured. Photos from the scene in Montpellier show debris outside the door of the flat that police stormed on Friday morning. Early reports suggested that one of the Montpellier detainees was a would-be suicide attacker. A local news site, M6 Info, said the four were planning to attack a tourist site in Paris but a police source told AFP news agency that investigators had not been able to establish the exact target. The suspects were arrested after buying acetone, a police source told AFP. Acetone is an ingredient used in the making of triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a high explosive. TATP, the same explosive used in bomb vests worn by militants in the Paris attacks, was found in the city along with the acetone, a judicial source said. According to AFP, the female suspect had been spotted on social networks saying she wanted to leave for the Syria-Iraq conflict zone or mount an attack in France instead. She recorded a video in which she pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State (IS), M6 Info reports. Meanwhile, France's top constitutional court struck down a law which penalised those who consult jihadist websites. The Constitutional Council found that the law infringed on people's freedom of communication unnecessarily. Separately, prosecutors in Denmark charged a 16-year-old girl with attempted terrorism for allegedly planning to bomb two schools in and around Copenhagen, one of them Jewish. The girl, a convert to Islam, was arrested in Kundby, near the capital, in January last year, and had been held in custody ever since. Prosecutors believe she was trying to prepare TATP herself. She will go on trial in Holbaek in April. A 25-year-old man arrested in the same case has been released without charge.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

February 2017

['(BBC)']

Alain "Spiderman" Robert climbs another building barehanded, this time in Sydney; he is later arrested.

A French stuntman renowned for climbing skyscrapers has once again been arrested in Sydney after he scaled a building using his bare hands. Alain Robert was taken into police custody as soon as he reached the top of the 57-storey Lumiere Building on Bathurst Street about 10.50am today while onlookers applauded. French Spiderman Alain Robert was arrested this morning after climbing a 57-storey skyscraper in Sydney's CBD. The 48-year-old, known as the French Spiderman, took 20 minutes to scale the skyscraper without safety equipment and using just his hands. "It's a wonderful achievement," his agent Max Markson said. "He's the best at what he does. Alain Robert shows off his handiwork.Credit:AFP "I'm sad he's been arrested, but hopefully he'll get out soon and we can have some champagne." Robert, wearing red trousers, a T-shirt and a baseball cap, started to climb the skyscraper at 10.30am. About 100 passers-by gathered to cheer him on, while police set up a crime scene on Bathurst Street. Rachel Pepper, 11, said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Robert climb up the building. A police officer waits with a smile to take Alain Robert into custody at the end of his 57-storey climb.Credit:AFP "I think it's amazing to climb that high without falling," she said. "He's got superhuman strength." Alain Robert looks wistful after another adventure ends the same way ... in handcuffs.Credit:AFP Her mother Wendy Pepper agreed. "It was a nice surprise when we turned the corner and got to see him," she said. I'm sad he's been arrested, but hopefully he'll get out soon and we can have some champagne The crowd cheered as Robert reached the top of the building where police were waiting for him. He was put into a police van and driven away. It is not the first time Robert has fallen foul of the law in Australia. Last year, he was fined $750 for illegally climbing the 41-storey Royal Bank of Scotland building in central Sydney. At the time, Downing Centre District Court Judge Graeme Henson lectured Robert for disrespecting the laws as a guest in the country. In June this year, Robert was forced to call off a planned climb of the Deutsche Bank in Sydney after building security guards blocked his access. And in 2003 he was arrested for scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He was charged later today with risking the safety of another by climbing a building and entering enclosed land and granted conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday. Robert has climbed about 80 buildings around the world to raise awareness of global warming and to draw attention to the One Hundred Months campaign. The campaign stems from a belief that 100 months from August 2008 it may no longer be possible to avoid potentially irreversible climate change. Robert, who has said in the past he suffered from vertigo, started climbing when he was 12 and was locked out of his home. Instead of waiting for his parents to return, he scaled eight storeys to get in. Since then he has climbed all sorts of buildings including the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Eiffel Tower and The New York Times building.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

August 2010

['(The Sydney Morning Herald)', '(BBC)', '(Xinhua)', '(Sky News)', '(France24)']

An explosion and fire in Ludwigshafen, at the largest production site of BASF in Germany, kills at least two people and injures six more with two people still missing. BASF is the world's biggest chemical producer.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - At least two people died and six were severely injured on Monday in an explosion and fire at chemicals maker BASF’s biggest production site in Germany, the company said. Two people are still missing, BASF said. The explosion occurred on a supply line connecting a harbor and a tank depot on the Ludwigshafen site at around 1120 local time (0920 GMT), according to BASF, the world’s biggest chemicals company. A fire that broke out following the blast sent up plumes of smoke for hours, prompting BASF and the city of Ludwigshafen to urge residents in the surrounding area to avoid going outside and to keep their windows and doors shut. Measurements taken in the area so far have indicated no risk from toxic fumes, BASF said. “We deeply regret that employees died and several people were injured. Our sympathy is with the affected people and their families,” the Ludwigshafen site’s chief, Uwe Liebelt, said in a statement. The company said it was unclear so far what caused the explosion. BASF also said it could not say what financial impact the explosion might have. It shut down 14 facilities, including its two steam crackers, large units that make basic chemical components, for safety reasons and because the supply of raw materials was disrupted by the blast. The Ludwigshafen site, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Frankfurt, is the world’s largest chemical complex, covering an area of 10 square kilometers (four square miles) and employing 39,000 workers, according to BASF. It is located on the Rhine river and receives many of its raw materials by ship. The harbor at which the explosion occurred is a terminal for combustible fluids such as naphtha and methanol that are important for BASF’s supply of raw materials. News of the explosion came less than two hours after BASF said four people were injured in a gas explosion at its Lampertheim facility, a plant near Ludwigshafen that makes additives for plastics. Reporting by Jans Hack and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Larry King and Jane Merriman

Gas explosion

October 2016

['(Reuters)']

South Korea offers to hold talks with North Korea over reopening a joint factory complex in the North Korean town of Kaesong which shut down in April.

A woman rests under an umbrella while a man walks past her near a statue known as the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification, which symbolizes the hope for eventual reunification of the two Koreas, in Pyongyang, North Korea. File photo   South Korea’s government said on Thursday that it has reached out to North Korea to discuss restarting a jointly run factory park after weeks of testy silence between the two sides. The industrial complex in the North Korean city of Kaesong, just north of the Demilitarised Zone dividing the two Koreas, has been shut since a political showdown in April. As South Korea held military exercises with the U.S. not far from the border, North Korea pulled its 53,000 workers in protest. South Korea then ordered its managers to leave as well, against their wishes. The closing of Kaesong, the centrepiece of joint projects hatched during a previous era of warming ties between the wartime foes, dealt a symbolic and financial blow to the Korean Peninsula. The project had been the last reconciliation project left as relations soured over the past five years. On Thursday, South Korea said it proposed holding working-level talks with North Korean officials in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ. Seoul wants to set the grounds for discussions on restarting the idled factory park, as well as ways to manage the facilities and goods that South Korean businesses left behind. South Korea proposed holding talks Saturday, the Unification Ministry said. There was no immediate response from Pyongyang. Pyongyang previously had refused the South Koreans permission to cross the border into Kaesong to check on their idled factories. The two Koreas had tried last month to hold talks on Kaesong. The high-level talks, to be held in Seoul, would have been the first Cabinet-level meeting in years. But the plans broke down over a protocol issue.

Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting

July 2013

['(AP via The Hindu)']

A 7.0 magnitude undersea earthquake strikes east of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Tsunami warnings for New Caledonia and Vanuatu are cancelled. There are no immediate reports of damage.

The November 19, 2017, M 7.0 earthquake east of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean occurred as the result shallow of normal faulting within the oceanic crust of the Australia plate, just west of the South New Hebrides Trench which marks the plate boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates in this region. Focal mechanism solutions indicate faulting occurred on a moderately dipping fault striking either to the northwest or to the south-southeast. At the location of this earthquake, the Australia plate moves towards the east-northeast with respect to the Pacific at a rate of approximately 78 mm/yr. At the South New Hebrides Trench, Australia lithosphere converges with and sinks beneath the Pacific plate, descending into the mantle and forming the New Hebrides/Vanuatu subduction zone, stretching from New Caledonia in the south to the Santa Cruz Islands in the north, a distance of about 1,600 km. The November 19, 2017, earthquake occurred approximately 20 km to the west of this trench, in the tectonic region sometimes known as the “outer rise”, where the subducting plate begins flexing (extending) before sinking into the mantle. The location, depth, and focal mechanism solution of this earthquake are all consistent with the event occurring as a result of intraplate faulting in this outer rise region. The November 19, 2017 earthquake is seventh M 6+ earthquake to occur in this region over the past three weeks, and is part of an intense sequence of events that began on October 31st, 2017 with a M 6.8 interplate thrust faulting earthquake just to the east of the South New Hebrides Trench and about 70 km to the southeast of the November 19, 2017 earthquake. Over this time period, about 135 M 4+ earthquakes have been recorded in this region by the USGS, most to the west of the plate boundary, in the outer rise. The Loyalty Islands region is very active seismically, and the region within 250 km of the November 19, 2017 earthquake has hosted 21 other M 7+ earthquakes over the preceding century. The largest was a M 8.1 earthquake in September 1920, which was located about 140 km to the north of today’s event, just to the east of the oceanic trench. 4 of these M 7+ earthquakes have occurred to the west of the oceanic trench, including a M 7.7 earthquake in May 1995, 225 km to the southeast, and a M 7.1 earthquake in January 2004, 145 km to the southeast. Neither are known to have caused any damage or fatalities. The January 2004 M 7.1 earthquake was also part of an active sequence of about 270 events, beginning in December 2003. That sequence included both interplate thrust faulting earthquakes (the largest event in the sequence was a M 7.3 thrust faulting earthquake on December 27, 2003) and normal faulting earthquakes to the west of the oceanic trench. Between December 25, 2003, and January 3, 2004, 12 earthquakes of M 6+ occurred. The 2003-2004 sequence eventually died down in early-mid February of 2004.

Earthquakes

November 2017

['(Gulf News)', '(Reuters)', '(USGS)']

Two men who were photographed carrying plastic hand restraints in the Senate chamber during the storming of the United States Capitol, are arrested in Tennessee and Texas.

U.S. counterterrorism prosecutors are investigating two men who allegedly wore tactical gear and held plastic restraints or zip ties in the U.S. Senate during the breach of the U.S. Capitol last week, the Justice Department announced. The men were arrested Sunday. Larry Rendell Brock, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, was arrested in Texas and charged with one count of knowingly entering a restricted building and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct, prosecutors said. Brock identified himself to the New Yorker last week as the man photographed in the well of the Senate chamber wearing a green combat helmet, tactical vest, and black and camo jacket. The photo shows the man holding a white flex cuff, used by police to restrain subjects, prosecutors said. The man in the photo was also recorded apparently exiting the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). A mob insurrection stoked by false claims of election fraud and promises of violent restoration Eric Gavelek Munchel, arrested in Tennessee, was charged with the same counts, prosecutors said, after being allegedly photographed climbing over a railing in the Senate gallery carrying plastic restraints, a holstered object on his right hip and a cellphone mounted on his chest. Information about attorneys was not immediately available for the two men, who did not respond to requests for comment by The Washington Post but have given news interviews explaining their actions. The cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington and the counterterrorism section of the Justice Department’s national security division, with assistance from federal authorities in northern Texas and central Tennessee. Counterterrorism authorities are involved in a wide range of cases, and their participation speaks more to the focus of the Justice Department’s investigation of Wednesday’s events than the actions of any particular defendant, analysts noted. FBI agents are exploring whether some of those who stormed the Capitol intended to do more than disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s November victory, including whether anyone sought to kill or capture lawmakers or their staffers, The Post has previously reported. Their work includes trying to determine the motivations of those who had weapons or other gear suggestive of a plot to do physical harm. Zip ties, for example, are a plastic version of handcuffs. FBI focuses on whether some Capitol rioters intended to harm lawmakers or take hostages Brock joins a growing list of military veterans who have been arrested and charged in connection with extremist events over the last few years, including the August 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Brock, 53, a father of three from Grapevine, Tex., retired from the Air Force as deputy director of its admissions liaison officer program, which oversees personnel who recruit prospective military officers, the Air Force said. An Air Force official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Sunday night that Brock’s role in that position was administrative in nature and “fairly removed from students.” The official said it was possible that Brock did occasionally interact with students before retiring. He previously served as an A-10 pilot, the Air Force said. And the New Yorker reported that he said in an interview that he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brock spoke to the magazine after members of the public traced him down partly through patches on his helmet and armor, which included the insignia of the 706th Fighter Squadron and a vinyl tag of the Texas flag overlaid on the skull logo of the Punisher, a Marvel comic-book character who has been adopted by police and military groups, and, more recently, by white supremacists and followers of the QAnon far-right conspiracy theory. Brock denied to the New Yorker that he held racist views, echoed Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud and said he assumed he was welcome to enter the building. “The President asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there,” he said, according to the New Yorker. An FBI arrest affidavit cited two tips about Brock it received based on his photograph, including from one person who said Brock’s associates at a defense contractor where he previously worked knew he was traveling to D.C. Interviews with family members and a close friend indicate Brock’s political views had become increasingly radical in the past few years, to the point of alienating those closest to him. But Brock told the New Yorker that he did not identify as part of any organized group. Brock added that he wore tactical gear because “I didn’t want to get stabbed or hurt,” citing “B.L.M. and antifa” as potential aggressors. He said he had found the zip-tie handcuffs on the floor. “My thought process there was I would pick them up and give them to an officer when I see one . . . I didn’t do that because I had put them in my coat, and I honestly forgot about them,” he told the magazine. Online sleuths who linked Munchel to the man in the Senate gallery carrying zip ties said the person photographed wore a patch on his tactical vest in the shape of Tennessee with a thin blue line, a pro-police symbol. Munchel, 30, and his mother, Lisa Marie Eisenhart, 57, spoke with the Sunday Times as they were leaving D.C. and confirmed they were inside the building during the riot. “It was a kind of flexing of muscles,” Munchel told the publication. “The intentions of going in were not to fight the police. The point of getting inside the building is to show them that we can, and we will.” Munchel did not mention to the Times whether he was carrying restraints. He, family members and neighbors did not respond to calls from The Post. Military veterans have criticized Brock, saying an active-duty service member who participated in the riot could face court-martial. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), an Iraq veteran who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, suggested on social media Saturday that military authorities should recall Brock and charge him under military jurisdiction considering he is a retired officer who could still receive a pension. Devlin Barrett and Alex Horton contributed to this report. Latest: Several Republicans who oppose Jan. 6 commission are potential witnesses about Trump’s conduct that day | He bragged at the dentist’s office about attending the Capitol riot, feds say. A tipster turned him in. A sprawling investigation: What we know so far about the Capitol riot suspects Six hours of paralysis: Inside Trump’s failure to act after a mob stormed the Capitol Video timeline: 41 minutes of fear from inside the Capitol siege The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

January 2021

['(The Washington Post)']

Seven people are killed in hurricane–force winds reaching 130 km/h in Poland and two more are killed by wind in the Czech Republic. Hail falls on 60,000 hectares of crops in Austria, causing damage of at least €20 million.

EXTREME weather has killed and injured dozens of people across Europe, with Spain, France and Italy hit by summer wildfires and parts of central Europe deluged by storms. The deadly fires spread in Spain, France, Italy and Greece, while violent storms felled trees and ripped off roofs in central Europe. Western and south-western Poland were hardest hit, with hurricane-force winds reaching 130 km/h in some areas. "Seven people died in all, while 82 sustained serious injuries," Poland's national fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak said. High winds also claimed two lives in the neighbouring Czech Republic. In Austria, hail pounded 60,000 hectares of crops, causing damage worth an estimated €20 million ($35 million).

Hurricanes_Tornado_Storm_Blizzard

July 2009

['(Sydney Morning Herald)', '(BBC)']

A bomb explodes near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others. No one claims responsibility. Thai Society president Songvut Manoonpong says that parties opposing the Thai military government are responsible. , , , ,

updated: 18 Aug 2015 at 09:37 writer: Online Reporters A bomb explosion inside one of Bangkok’s most popular tourist attractions killed at least 19 people and injured 123 others mostly foreign tourists on Monday. Of the 19 dead victims, 12 died at the scene. The figures were based on information released by the Royal Thai Police Office as of 11.20pm on Monday. An improvised explosive device placed inside the Erawan shrine complex at the Ratchaprasong intersection detonated at 6.55pm. The scale of the explosion set motorbikes and taxis ablaze inside the intersection and bowed the iron fence of the Hindu shrine outward. Casualties were immediate, with body parts scattered across the area, leaving broken glass and the smouldering wreckage of burned-out motorcycles behind. Military and police, including national police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang, rushed to the scene. Military explosive ordnance-disposal technicians checked two suspicious objects there and confirmed they were not bombs. The BTS remained open throughout the ordeal with only the Ratchaprasong Skywalk closed. The nearby Siam Centre and Siam Paragon malls closed early at 9.30pm but announced they will open as normal Tuesday. The Skywalk between the BTS Chidlom and Siam stations will remain closed Tuesday. Photo of a patient arrive at the emergency room at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. (Photo by Taweechai Tawatpakorn) Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha denied rumours he had declared a state of emergency and ordered schools and businesses closed Tuesday. The Bank of Thailand also declared a rumour that it would call a bank holiday on Tuesday, according to Ronadol Numnonda, assistant governor of the supervision group. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced around 10pm, however, that all 438 city schools would be closed Tuesday for safety reasons. Triam Udom Suksa and Materdei schools standing in the vicinity of the explosion scene would be closed on Tuesday too. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan expressed condolences to the families of the dead and injured victims. He said it was too soon to say if the attacks were politically motivated or terrorism. "But it was clear that the perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism, because it occurred in the heart of (Bangkok's) business district," Gen Prawit said, condemning the act. It was clear, he said, human casualties were the goal of the attack. But Defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanich said later the bombing was “the work of those who have lost political interests and want to destroy the ‘happy time’ of Thai people. It’s an attempt to ruin Thailand’s tourism image and cause damage to the country’s business sector.” The incident targeted the lives of innocent people in a public venue, Maj Gen Kongcheep said, adding similar violent incidents have occurred in Bangkok and other provinces in recent years. “The group behind the bomb must stop the savage act done to their fellow Thais and stop hurting the nation,” Maj Gen Kongcheep said. Police said the IED that exploded inside the shrine area was composed of three kilogrammes of TNT stuffed in a pipe and wrapped with white cloth. Its destructive radius was estimated at 100 metres. Authorities quickly recovered an electronic circuit suspected to be part of the device about 30 metres from the blast scene. Purported video of the blast from CCTV cameras was posted to Facebook after 8pm. A screen capture from CCTV footage shows the moment of the explosion at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok Monday night. Most of those injured in the explosion were said to be predominantly Asian tourists, with the majority taken to Police General Hospital and Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, both of which were appealing for blood by 8.45pm. The Japanese embassy said it is rushing to confirm whether any Japanese were caught in the blast. Security officials initially cordoned off the bomb site for a radius of 200-300 metres to facilitate investigation. Police said the area was cleared of bombs, but will remain off limits to the public for thorough checks. Pol Gen Somyot said shortly before 10pm that Ratchadamri Road from the Pratunam intersection to the Sarasin intersection, and Rama I Road from the Phloenchit intersection to the Chaloempao intersection would be closed until noon Tuesday for evidence collection and clearance of suspicious objects. He condemned the bombing and said it was apparently intended to kill people and damage property because it was set to detonate when the shrine was crowded. Authorities have begun checking several other high-risk locations in Bangkok including Silom, Pathumwan, Thong Lor and Sukhumvit Road. National police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang inspects the damage from a large bomb outside the Erawan shrine in Bangkok Monday night. (Photo by Krit Promsaka na Sakolnakorn) Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tweeted on his @ThaksinLive account at 11.22pm that he was now in Berlin and he was appalled and saddened by the deadly bomb attack at Ratchaprasong. "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack," he wrote. He urged concerned authorities to work with local and foreign experts to bring the culprits to justice as soon as possible. The Hindu Erawan shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres and offices, is a major tourist attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia. Many ordinary Thais also worship there. The Ratchaprasong intersection where the bombing occurred has been the site of massive political protests in the past decade and a target for bombers. Two bombs on the Ratchaprasong Skywalk outside the nearby Siam Paragon shopping mall in February injured two people and are believed to have been politically motivated. A car bomb exploded in the parking garage a Central Festival Koh Samui in April. Both incidents remain unsolved. LONDON: England's ambitions to be crowned kings of Europe got a cold dose of reality as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a gutsy Scotland side in a Euro 2020 'Battle of Britain' on Friday. The government has abandoned a plan for a 16-week gap between doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and will opt for a shorter interval of 10 to 12 weeks instead, a senior health official said on Friday. Prawit Wongsuwon tightens his grip on the Palang Pracharath Party with right-hand man Thamanat Prompow on his side as the new party secretary-general.

Armed Conflict

August 2015

['(Sky News)', '(Reuters)', '(The Bangkok Post)', '(The New Zealand Herald)', '(Al Jazeera)']

Umberto Bossi resigns as the head of the Italian Northern League following a corruption scandal.

Leading Italian populist politician Umberto Bossi has resigned as head of the Northern League after a financial scandal engulfed the party. The Northern League is the only party in opposition to the current technocratic government led by Prime Minister Mario Monti. A former party treasurer is suspected of misusing funds. Mr Bossi, known as a fierce critic of corruption in public life, denies any wrongdoing himself. Northern League treasurer Francesco Belsito resigned on Tuesday after prosecutors alleged he had used party funds to pay for, among other things, the remodelling of Mr Bossi's villa and holidays for the leader's children. There was no immediate comment from the former treasurer on the accusations laid against him. News of Mr Bossi's resignation emerged on Thursday, with no comment from the leader himself. The scandal has been all the more embarrassing for him because he has always been bitterly contemptuous of the corruption that plagues so much of Italian public life, the BBC's Alan Johnston reports from Rome. Mr Bossi has been one of the most colourful figures on the Italian political stage, coming to prominence on a separatist platform, our correspondent says. In fiery speeches he frequently criticised "the corrupt and lazy South" for draining hard-earned wealth away from the North. Mr Bossi once described the European Union as a nest of communist bankers and freemasons. Despite the rhetoric, the Northern League formed coalition governments with the right-wing parties supporting the governments of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Following his resignation the party instantly gave him the honorary position of president. But Alan Johnston says the amount of influence Mr Bossi may wield in future will perhaps depend on how the current fraud inquiry plays out. Profile: Italy's Umberto Bossi

Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal

April 2012

['(BBC)']

The Pentagon rejects a Russian proposal to stage joint airstrikes against Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria.

The Pentagon is dismissing a Russian proposal to carry out joint airstrikes against al Qaida-linked terrorists in Syria. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu floated the notion Friday during a meeting that was broadcast on Russian state television, adding that the strikes could begin as early as May 25, and would be coordinated with the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. “We believe the adoption of these measures will allow a transition to a peaceful process to be achieved in the entire territory of Syria," said Shoigu. “Nothing’s formally been presented to us,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Friday.   “I can only tell you from where I sit, and from where we sit today that we do not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria,” Davis said. “We don’t have military-to-military relations with Russia.” The U.S. suspended all military ties with Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent annexation of Crimea. U.S. and Russian military officials have engaged in deconfliction talks, however, to make sure U.S. and Russian forces operating in Syria do not accidentally engage each other. “They [the Russians] are certainly aware in a broad sense of where we are on the ground and have been advised not to do anything that would put our personnel at risk,” Davis said. The U.S. and Russia are both part of the multi-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which met earlier this week in Vienna. The group has been working to enforce a cease-fire in Syria and speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas hit hard by ongoing fighting. It also this week urged rebels groups to end any associations they have with Jabhat al Nusra, the al Qaida affiliate in Syria, as well as with the Islamic State terror group. Neither Jabhat al Nusra nor Islamic State are covered under the cease-fire agreement, and both have been targeted by U.S. and Russian airstrikes. Still, the Pentagon’s Capt. Jeff Davis said it made little sense for the U.S. and Russia to join forces. “Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime, and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL,” he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Government Policy Changes

May 2016

['(VOA News)', '(Reuters)', '(Huffington Post)']

Swaziland's justice minister and senator Ndumiso Mamba resigns from both positions over allegations of an affair with a wife of King Mswati III; the wife has denied the allegations.

Swaziland's justice minister has resigned following allegations he was having an affair with one of King Mswati III's 13 wives. The prime minister said Ndumiso Mamba had resigned from his position as both cabinet minister and senator. He said it was because of "allegations circulating in the country". Correspondents say Mr Mamba's alleged affair with Queen Nothando Dube was first reported in neighbouring South Africa's media. The king's 12th wife has reportedly denied the allegations and there has been no comment from Mr Mamba. But Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said Mr Mamba had agreed to step down so the allegations could be investigated. "I have consulted with him and he has forthwith resigned," said the prime minister in a statement. Some Swazis are critical of King Mswati - an absolute monarch whose lavish lifestyle and many wives contrast with the poverty of many of his subjects. Country profile: Swaziland Swaziland king celebrates in style Swazi anger at royal wives' trip Government of Swaziland

Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal

August 2010

['(BBC)', '(Times LIVE)', '(IOL)', '[permanent dead link]', '(The Guardian)']

Activist Joshua Wong announces he is running for the legislature, setting up a new legal battle with authorities after he was barred from running in the previous election.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong said on Friday he planned to run for a seat in the Chinese-ruled city’s legislature, setting up a new battle with authorities after being barred from running in previous polls. Wong, who was 17 when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement, has not been a leading figure of the often-violent protests that have shaken the semi-autonomous financial hub for the past 12 months. However, he has drummed up support for the pro-democracy movement overseas, meeting with politicians from the United States, Europe and elsewhere, drawing the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a “black hand” of foreign forces. He was disqualified from running for the less important district council elections last year on grounds that advocacy of Hong Kong’s self-determination violates electoral law, which he described at the time as political censorship. He intends to run in a primary for the pro-democracy camp that will choose candidates for the Legislative Council vote on Sept. 6. “If more people vote for us ... it could generate more pressure and more hesitation for Beijing,” Wong said, in front of campaign posters with the slogan “Ballot, or bullet.” Wong has said he supports the idea of a non-binding referendum for people to have a say over Hong Kong’s future but that he is against independence. Electoral rules after Hong Kong’s 1997 return to China from Britain effectively guarantee that the legislature is stacked in Beijing’s favour, with only half the seats directly elected. The rest are picked by business and professional groups called “functional constituencies,” which are dominated by pro-establishment figures. In 2016, the pan-democratic camp won 29 seats, but then lost six when candidates were disqualified after China’s national parliament ruled their oaths of office were invalid.

Government Job change - Election

June 2020

['(Reuters)']

A Cairo court clears former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak on murder charges related to the death of hundreds of protesters in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. ,

A court in Egypt has dropped charges against former President Hosni Mubarak over the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him. The Cairo court erupted in cheers when the judge said Mubarak should not have been a defendant in the case as the charges against him were added late. Charges against seven senior ex-officials were also dropped. The decision could be appealed. Victims' relatives waiting outside expressed dismay and frustration. And later police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of about 2,000 people who gathered near Tahrir Square to voice their opposition to the decision. In a TV interview after the ruling, Mubarak said he had done "nothing wrong at all". The former president, 86, is serving a separate three-year sentence for embezzlement of public funds. In a rare and risky act of defiance crowds gathered close to Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the 2011 revolution. It was a relatively small protest, but hugely symbolic. Both liberals and Islamists called for freedom. For some it felt - briefly - like an echo of the revolution. The security forces moved in after a few hours, causing mayhem with teargas. We heard the crackle of live ammunition in the night air. What happens next is a critical test for Egypt. Will the protesters try to regroup - in spite of a law banning unauthorised demonstrations? Or will the authorities manage to stamp out this this latest eruption of dissent, as they have crushed others? Egypt's revolution: Interactive map Mixed reactions as Mubarak case dropped He is currently being held in a military hospital, and is expected to serve at least a few more months of this sentence. Mubarak, his former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adly, and six others had been convicted of conspiracy to kill and were sentenced to life in prison in June 2012, but a retrial was ordered last year on a technicality. In all, some 800 people are thought to have been killed as security forces battled protesters in the weeks before Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011. However, the court documents at the retrial related to the deaths of 239 people and injuries sustained by 1,588, across 11 of the country's regions. As well as the murder charge, Mubarak was also cleared of a corruption charge involving gas exports to Israel. His sons Gamal and Alaa were also cleared of separate corruption charges by the same court on Saturday. As supporters cheered the verdict, his sons and co-defendants stooped down to kiss his forehead. Mubarak's lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, told AFP news agency the verdict was a "good ruling that proved the integrity of Mubarak's era". Later the former president gave an interview by phone to private Sada al-Balad TV. "I did nothing wrong at all," he said, adding that he was "relying on God" as he waited for the second verdict in the case. But relatives of those killed in 2011 reacted with anger. "There is no justice for the poor," said Ramadan Ahmed, who lost his son Mohammed in Alexandria during the unrest, quoted by the Associated Press. "This is Mubarak's law." Meanwhile a member of the activist group April 6th Youth Movement told the BBC that the verdict had dealt a mortal blow to the Egyptian revolution and showed that human rights in the country were not being properly defended. "It makes [sic] a big question mark about the judiciary system in Egypt, whether it is able to... bring back the rights to other people," Mahmoud Bashar said. Mubarak's elected successor, President Mohammed Morsi, lasted only a year in power before being ousted by the military in July 2013 during mass anti-government protests. Army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was subsequently elected in his place and under his rule, TV stations and newspapers have largely dropped criticism of the Mubarak era, correspondents say.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

November 2014

['(AFP via Channel News Asia)', '(BBC)']

Shifa Gardi, a prominent female reporter for Rudaw Media Network, is killed by a roadside bomb while reporting on the battle for Mosul.

A Kurdish reporter has been killed while covering on the battle for Mosul in Iraq. Shifa Gardi, who worked for Iraqi Kurdish channel Rudaw, was killed by a roadside bomb as she covered the advance of Iraqi forces into western areas held by so-called Islamic State. Rudaw said that Gardi, 30, had broken the stereotypes of male-dominated journalism. Iraqi forces continue to face stiff resistance from IS as they advance. The Iraqi troops entered western districts of Mosul for the first time on Friday as part of an offensive begun in October to drive the jihadists from their main stronghold. Rudaw said that Gardi's cameraman, Yunis Mustafa, was injured in the explosion. Gardi had been presenting a daily programme on the Mosul offensive for Rudaw TV and had recently started to cover the war from inside Mosul, the channel said on its website. After paying tribute to her, Rudaw recalled the recent incident where Gardi had found a wounded rabbit. "The rabbit is suffering from malnutrition which has caused visible damage to its face. I brought it back with me. We will be treating the rabbit and then give it to an animal protection agency which is willing to look after it," she said. Iraqi forces continue to face stiff resistance from IS fighters bunkered in western districts. Special forces Lt Gen Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi told Associated Press his soldiers were "moving very slowly" in the face of attacks with car bombs, snipers and armed drones. He said the plan was to cut supply lines and link up with eastern districts that Iraqi forces declared "fully liberated" last month. IS jihadists overran Mosul as they spread across much of northern and western Iraq in 2014. They lost large areas of territory, in Iraq and Syria, in 2016.

Famous Person - Death

February 2017

['(BBC)']

The Obama administration through the United States Department of Commerce transfers oversight of the technical management of the Internet by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to an international consortium of stakeholders.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A long-planned transfer of the internet’s technical management from the U.S. government to a global community of stakeholders is expected to take place on Saturday despite last-minute attempts by conservative politicians and officials to delay the changeover. The U.S. Department of Commerce is due to cede stewardship of ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, as scheduled after a lawsuit seeking to halt the transition was denied by a federal judge in Texas on Friday. The U.S. government has been the primary manager of the internet’s address book since 1988 largely because it was invented in the country. Critics of the handover have attempted to block or delay it on grounds it could jeopardize free speech online, claims that the Obama administration and technology companies have said lack merit. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday against the federal government by the Republican states of Arizona, Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma argued the handover was unconstitutional and required congressional approval. ICANN, a California-based nonprofit, manages the database for top-level domain names such as .com and .net and their corresponding numeric addresses that allow computers to connect. After the transfer, ICANN will be governed by a collection of academics, technical experts, private industry and government representatives, public interest advocates and individual users around the world, in what it calls a “multi-stakeholder process.” Federal officials began discussing a plan to move ICANN under international oversight in the 1990s, and rolled out a formal plan in March 2014. Conservatives in the U.S. Congress, led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, sought to prevent the handover earlier in September by attaching an amendment to an unrelated stop-gap funding bill for the U.S. government. Cruz called the transfer a “giveaway to Russia” and other governments, but his effort failed to gain traction. A delay would have backfired by undermining U.S. credibility in international negotiations over internet standards and security, the Obama administration and technical experts have said. Asked whether the four states which had sued the administration would appeal Friday’s court ruling, Monica Moazez, a spokeswoman for Nevada’s attorney general, responded in an email that they were weighing options. The other states could not be immediately reached. The transfer is “a symbolic, but important step in preserving the stability and openness of the Internet, which impacts free speech, our economy and our national security,” Ed Black, chief executive of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a statement.

Government Policy Changes

October 2016

['(Reuters)']

Governor of Lazio, Nicola Zingaretti, wins the leadership election by a landslide, defeating Maurizio Martina and Roberto Giachetti, and becoming the new Secretary of the Democratic Party.

The president of Lazio, the favourite to win, captured 67% of the vote in which 1.6m party supporters cast ballots First published on Sun 3 Mar 2019 15.16 GMT Nicola Zingaretti, the president of Italy’s Lazio region, has become the new leader of the centre-left Democratic party after capturing a projected 67% of the vote in an election on Sunday. More than 1.6 million party supporters cast their ballots across the country in a turnout that was higher than expected, giving the party hope that it can re-establish itself as a credible force against Italy’s populist government. “Long live Italian democracy, which gives us lessons whenever it can,” said Zingaretti. “I am happy for Italy.” The vote was seen as a litmus test for the strength of Democratic party and comes a year after its administration was ousted in an embarrassing defeat in general elections that led, eventually, to the formation of a coalition government between the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S). The trouncing deepened rifts within the party which, until the national elections, was led by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, whose confrontational style also lost supporters. Renzi congratulated Zingaretti on Sunday, saying he won “a wonderful and clear-cut victory”. “Now this friendly fire must stop,” he added. “Our political opponents are not at home but in the government.” Zingaretti, whose brother Luca plays the title role in the TV series Inspector Montalbano, has led Lazio since 2013. He is regarded as a moderate leftwinger capable of uniting the party. The other two main candidates were Maurizio Martina, the party’s former caretaker leader, and Roberto Giachetti. The Democratic party has been accused of losing touch with voters, something that paved the way for Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and leader of the League, to thrive. The League leads in national polls, while support for M5S has slipped. Supporters of the Democratic party argue that it must now unite, particularly as it is fighting European elections in May, and convince people that it is a strong alternative. “The important thing today is that there is big participation,” said Mauro Valorani, a professor in Rome who backed Zingaretti. “We need to send a strong message that we don’t like what is going on in Italy and elsewhere in the EU. There is a far-right movement building across Europe that is much better organised than it used to be. Europe is a stronghold of democracy and we need to take care of this.” Giuseppe DeFinis, who also backed Zingaretti, said he voted “because the danger to Italy is Salvini”. He said: “He represents an obscure part of fascism, hatred towards diversity.” Franco Pina, who voted for Martina, said the situation was “dangerous and xenophobic”. He said: “The Democratic party leadership has made mistakes in the past, but now we must unite.” The three leadership candidates were among the estimated 200,000 people who converged in Milan on Saturday for a demonstration against racism. “It’s important to underline this demonstration,” said Mattia Diletti, a politics professor at Rome’s Sapienza University. “Not because of the Democratic party, but because it shows that society is pushing back against Salvini’s thoughts and hegemony.”

Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration

March 2019

['(The Guardian)']

Group of Seven finance ministers who met in Washington with International Monetary Fund chief and World Bank president announce a plan to combat the crisis including the use of "all available tools" to support key institutions and prevent their failure.

Group of Seven finance chiefs have announced a plan of action to fight the global crisis including the use of "all available tools" to support key institutions and prevent their failure. "The G7 agrees today that the current situation calls for urgent and exceptional action," a statement released by the US Treasury said. "We commit to continue working together to stabilise financial markets and restore the flow of credit, to support global economic growth." The plan says the G7 will "take decisive action and use all available tools to support systematically important financial institutions and prevent their failure". The communique was released after a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada in Washington. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in a separate statement, said the G7 had "finalised an aggressive action plan to address the turmoil in global financial markets and the stresses on our financial institutions". "This action plan provides a coherent framework that will direct our individual and collective policy steps to provide liquidity to markets, strengthen financial institutions, protect savers, and enforce investor protections," said Paulson, the architect of a $US700 billion ($A1.02 trillion) bank bailout passed by Congress last week. "Never has it been more essential to find collective solutions to ensure stable and efficient financial markets and restore the health of the world economy," he said. "It is critical for governments to continue to take individual and collective actions to provide much-needed liquidity, strengthen financial institutions, enhance market stability, and develop a comprehensive regulatory response. "We must continue to closely coordinate our actions and work within a common framework so that the action of one country does not come at the expense of others or the stability of the system as a whole.". The G7 statement said the members will "take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets and ensure that banks and other financial institutions have broad access to liquidity and funding". Members would "ensure that our banks and other major financial intermediaries, as needed, can raise capital from public as well as private sources, in sufficient amounts to re-establish confidence and permit them to continue lending to households and businesses". The statement also said the G7 would ensure that national deposit insurance and guarantee programs "are robust" to allow people to have confidence in the safety of their deposits. The plan also calls for "action", where appropriate, to restart secondary markets for mortgages and other securitised assets. The G7 statement came against a backdrop of a growing financial firestorm as panic spread in global markets. The G7 finance chiefs met ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings opening on Saturday, involving finance leaders and private financiers from the twin 185-nation institutions members. The major industrial powers have already pumped massive amounts of liquidity into the global banking system in an effort to unclog credit markets, and led a coordinated cut in interest rates. But panic has still gripped the markets, which have hit multi-year lows in the United States and most other countries amidst a loss of confidence.

Government Policy Changes

October 2008

['(NineMSN)']

Bulgarians vote to elect a new Prime Minister after the resignation of Boyko Borissov. Opinion polls predict a close contest between Borissov's centre-right GERB and the Socialist Party.

AS OF a few months ago, it was possible to hope that Bulgaria’s parliamentary election on March 26th might be fought over the crucial issue of corruption. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, of the centre-right GERB (“coat of arms”) party, called the elections in November after his party’s candidate lost the presidential race to Rumen Radev, a former air-force general backed by the rival Socialists. Mr Borisov, who became prime minister in 2014 after a banking crisis and a wave of anti-corruption protests, had turned the presidential vote into a referendum on his leadership. Voters, disappointed by slow anti-corruption efforts as well as controversial reforms in education and health care, gave him a thumbs-down. The polls are showing a tight race, with GERB and the Socialists each getting about 30% support. “None of the big parties has a clear lead,” says Daniel Smilov of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, a think-tank. Meanwhile, a new anti-corruption party, Yes Bulgaria, hopes to capitalise on anger against self-dealing elites. The party models itself on the Save Romania Union, which won 9% of the vote in Romania’s elections in December. But Yes Bulgaria’s chances of making it into parliament are uncertain, and the election is likely to be decided on economic issues, rather than the deeper question of corruption.

Government Job change - Election

March 2017

['(The Economist)']

Voters in Anguilla go to the polls for a general election with the Anguilla United Front led by Victor Banks elected to government.

Thursday, April 23, 2015 | 9:34 AM     THE VALLEY, Anguilla (CMC) – The main opposition Anguilla United Front (AUF) was swept into power here after winning six of the seven seats in the general elections on Wednesday, according to the preliminary figures released here. The incumbent Anguilla United Movement (AUM) did not win a seat. Medical practitioner Dr Ellis Lorenzo Webster who took over the leadership of the AUM after Hubert Hughes, 82, Anguilla’s oldest chief minister had indicated he was stepping down after 40 years in active politics, received 412 votes in District One, losing to independent Pamovan Webster, a lawyer and businessman, who polled 460 votes.  In 2010, the AUM won five of the seven seats to take control of the Legislative Council. The 11-member Council will be completed by the appointment of four members. Both the AUF and the AUM were contesting all seven seats in the election that was being observed by a six-member team from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) British Islands and the Mediterranean. AUF leader Victor Banks, a former finance minister, comfortably won District Four, polling 1057 votes as against 655 for the AUM’s Evans Gumbs and 28 for the DOVE party that fielded only three candidates in the election. The closest results were in District Five where the AUF’s Evalie Bradley edged out Patrick Hanley of the AUM by one vote. Bradley polled 394 votes. Approximately 11,000 Anguillians were eligible to vote in the 35 square mile British Overseas Territory with a population of just over 13,000. The economy, job creation, infrastructural development and good governance were among the main issues a lengthy election campaign, spanning a little over 12 months.

Government Job change - Election

April 2015

['(Jamaica Observer)']

Spain and the Netherlands are both fined by FIFA for their antics during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

World Cup winners Spain and their opponents Netherlands have been fined by Fifa for their players' poor discipline in July's final. Football's governing body fined the Dutch federation £9,080, while the Spanish association must pay £6,053. English referee Howard Webb booked eight Dutch players and sent off defender John Heitinga in a bad tempered final in South Africa. Spain, who won the game 1-0 after extra-time, had five players booked. Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong was one of the players booked - for a 'Kung Fu' kick on Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso which received world-wide condemnation. De Jong planted his studs into Alonso's chest, leaving the Real Madrid star needing treatment before he was able to continue playing. The former Liverpool midfielder later called it "one of the worst tackles" he had received. Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff also launched a scathing attack on Netherlands' display in the final, deriding it as "anti-football". "Sadly, they played very dirty," Cruyff told Spanish newspaper El Periodico. "This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style... If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they lost." The match set a record for the most cards received in a World Cup final, beating the six yellows shown when Argentina beat West Germany 3-2 in the 1986 final. The final was also the worst behaved of the 64 matches played in South Africa.

Organization Fine

August 2010

['(BBC Sport)', '(Sky Sports)', '(The Monitor – Uganda)']

Zimbabwe intends to release 62 mercenaries connected to failed coup attempt in the Equatorial Guinea last year. Most of the suspected mercenaries are South African.

belongings in possession of Zimbabwean authorities would have to be returned to them. There was also a lot of paperwork to be completed, Griebenow added. "The plane tickets cannot be bought before we know exactly when they are going to be freed. "Our embassy officials there (in Harare) are in discussions with prison and immigration officials on how and when the release will take place." Lawyers will pay for plane tickets Mamoepa said the men's lawyers would pay for their plane tickets. Griebenow was due to leave for Harare on Thursday (this) afternoon and arrive there at 9pm. "I should have more clarity by tomorrow morning as to what will happen (and) when." Sixty-seven of the original 70 men arrested in connection with an alleged coup d'etat plot in Equatorial Guinea were in prison in Zimbabwe. Two were acquitted and one died in jail. Pilots might not be freed with others Griebenow said 64 of them were expected to be released this week. Two pilots might not be freed with the others. The Zimbabwean High Court on Wednesday reduced the men's sentences by four months. They also qualified for a one-third remission of sentence for good behaviour under Zimbabwean laws. As a result, 64 of the men — who were sentenced to 12 months in jail each — qualified for an immediate release. Two pilots, who each got 16-month sentences, would be due for release only on May 10, Griebenow said. "But we will be negotiating with the Zimbabwean authorities, asking them to release the two with the others as an act of goodwill." Simon Mann will stay behind The 67th prisoner, the group's apparent leader Simon Mann, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, later reduced to four years, and would have to remain behind. The group was arrested at Harare International Airport in March last year when they apparently landed to refuel and pick up military equipment. They were all travelling on South African passports. Zimbabwean authorities claimed they were on their way to join 15 other suspected mercenaries — including eight South Africans —

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release

March 2005

['(Reuters SA)', '(IAfrica)', '(BBC)']

The composer and pianist Elton John cancels his third concert in several days due to flu.

Sir Elton John has been forced to pull out of a second major UK show after his flu symptoms failed to improve. The musician had been due to play at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena as part of his Red Piano tour, but doctors have said he is too ill to perform. He had to cancel a show in Sheffield on Friday night after he came down with the bug. He had hoped to feel better following a night's rest, said a spokesman, but doctors who visited him today said he was no better. A spokesman for Sir Elton commented: "Elton is bitterly disappointed at missing tonight's Red Piano concert in Newcastle, it remains one of his favourite areas in the country to perform, the crowds are always great music fans and not being able to this special show for Newcastle is upsetting." Sir Elton now has a couple of days to recover before his next scheduled show on Tuesday at London's Wembley Arena. Promoter Marshall Arts said that ticket holders for both cancelled shows should retain tickets and an announcement about the concert would be made on Monday.

Famous Person - Sick

October 2009

['(BBC)', '(The Daily Telegraph)', '(CBC)']

Hawaii Democratic Party Senator Daniel Akaka announces that he will not be standing for reelection in the United States Senate election in Hawaii.

Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka will not seek re-election in 2012, the fifth Democratic or Democratic aligned incumbent to bow out already this election cycle. "After months of thinking about my political future, I am announcing today that I have decided not to run for re-election in 2012," Akaka said in a statement. "As many of you can imagine, it was a very difficult decision for me. However, I feel that the end of this Congress is the right time for me to step aside." Akaka, who is 86 years old, had been regarded by both parties as a potential retiree and his meager fundraising -- he collected less than $2,000 in the final three months of 2010 -- only added to that sense. He joins Sens. Jim Webb (Va.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), and Joe Lieberman (Conn.) on the sidelines for Democrats. (Lieberman is an independent but caucuses with Senate Democrats.) Two Republicans -- Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) and Jon Kyl (Ariz.) -- have announced they will retire at the end of their terms in 2012. Former two-term Gov. Linda Lingle (R) has been openly pondering the race and would now seem more likely to run. She would clearly be Republicans' strongest candidates. "With several strong candidates already looking at this race, even before Senator Akaka's announcement, Hawaii presents an unexpected opportunity for Senate Republicans and we intend to make the most of it in 2012," said National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Brian Walsh. But, the state's clear Democratic lean -- particularly in a presidential year with native son Barack Obama leading the ticket -- will work in favor of the party's eventual nominee. "With a heavily-leaning Democratic electorate and their native son up for re-election as President of the United States, we are confident the people of Hawaii will continue to have two Democrats serving them in the United States Senate," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Patty Murray (Wash.). Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, former Rep. Ed Case and former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann are mentioned as possible Akaka successors for Democrats. Another intriguing name for Democrats is Tammy Duckworth, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2006 from Illinois but went to high school in Hawaii.

Government Job change - Election

March 2011

['(The Washington Post)']

The outcome of the election for the next leader of the United Kingdom Labour Party is announced with Jeremy Corbyn winning the contest ahead of Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall while Tom Watson is elected as the new deputy leader. ,

Jeremy Corbyn records extraordinary victory in Labour leadership election with more than 251,000 of 422,000 votes • Jeremy Corbyn wins with 60pc of first round vote • Tom Watson announced as deputy leader• Shadow ministers resign after Corbyn victory• Dan Hodges: The day the Labour Party died• Corbyn's ex-wife: I gave money to Yvette's campaign • Five pillars of Jeremy Corbyn's bid to run Britain • Jeremy Corbyn has won the Labour leadership contest with almost 60 per cent in the first round of voting. The landslide victory saw him take 251,000 of the total 422,000 votes cast. He won the most support from members, registered supporters and affiliated members alike. • In his victory speech, Mr Corbyn said: "During these amazing three months, our party has changed. We have grown enormously, because of the hopes of so many ordinary people for a different Britain, a better Britain, a more equal Britain, a more decent Britain. They are fed up with the inequality, the injustice, the unnecessary poverty. All those issues have brought people in in a spirit of hope and optimism." • Mr Corbyn also revealed he is planning a shake-up of Prime Minister's Questions to allow other Labour MPs to ask questions in his place sometimes. He told the Huffington Post: "I want prime minister’s Question Time to be less theatre, more fact, less theatrical, more understandable. I think it’s very exciting for political obsessives, it’s utterly boring for most of the population, who think it’s an utter irrelevance. I will be trying to conduct my part in prime minister’s Question Time on the basis of the questions and also share out a lot more stuff in within the parliamentary Labour party. I’ll obviously be there and do all the things that I’m asked to do. But we’ve got a lot of very talented people within the parliamentary Labour party. They can call ask questions, they can all do things, let’s share it all out a bit. It won’t all be me everywhere all the time." It’s a whole party, and a whole movement. We are about bringing people on, not stopping people. • He reasserted his message that Britain does not need nuclear weapons – ahead of a plan to persuade his party to back his controversial stance. • Thousands of people packed out Parliament Square for a pro-refugee rally at which Jeremy Corbyn received ecstatic screams and cheers as he defiantly proclaimed: "We are all humans. We must spend our resources on helping people, not hindering people. None of this is easy. But surely we have the principle that we are all human beings on the same planet and we all want the next generation to be better off than we are." • Tom Watson won the deputy leadership contest. After the third round of voting, Mr Watson was announced as deputy leader with 198,962 votes. In his victory speech, he said: "Only Labour can speak for the real Britain. We can win in 2020." • A number of existing shadow cabinet ministers said they will not take up their positions in Mr Corbyn's cabinet. Tristram Hunt, Yvette Cooper, Emma Reynolds, Angela Smith, Chris Leslie, Liz Kendall and Rachel Reeves are among those stepping down. Ed Miliband also said he was content on the backbenches. Mr Corbyn will spend Sunday appointing his shadow cabinet, with most decisions expected by Monday. He cancelled a planned interview on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning to clear space in his busy schedule for making the appointments. Those that have said they would serve in his cabinet if asked include Hilary Benn, Angela Eagle, Caroline Flint, Chris Bryant and Maria Eagle. • The Conservatives launched an assault on Labour after Mr Corbyn's appointment, warning that they "pose a threat to our economy and national security" but some senior Tories warned the party not be "complacent" or "cocky" in their attacks on Mr Corbyn. What does Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader mean for British politics? Here are some of the questions being asked. The party is set for a radical shift to the left, under a leader who won office on a wave of enthusiasm for his anti-austerity, anti-war programme. He has called for an end to benefit cuts, higher taxes on the richest, renationalisation of the railways and energy sector, rent controls, an end to zero-hours contracts, the abolition of student tuition fees and the scrapping of the Trident nuclear deterrent. This is the big question for Labour. While a very large electorate by party standards, the 400,000 people who voted in the leadership poll represents only a small and unrepresentative minority of the population. Corbyn supporters point to the success of the Scottish National Party, as well as Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain, as indications that left-wing parties can win popular support. They argue that he can win back voters who defected to the SNP and Ukip by offering a clear alternative to the Conservatives. But critics including Tony Blair have warned that his "Alice in Wonderland" policies will be toxic for Labour at the ballot box. There is little doubt that Mr Corbyn's policy platform will be greeted with enthusiasm by large swathes of the grassroots, particularly the 370,000 who signed up as members or supporters following May's general election defeat. However, it remains to be seen whether the new leader can unite his MPs - only a handful of whom voted for him - behind his agenda. Some will feel little compunction in disobeying the whip of a man who rebelled more than 500 times under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Corbyn has called for a new kind of politics, moving away from the "theatrical abuse" often seen in the chamber of the Commons. His polite and serious-minded approach and reluctance to indulge in personal attacks mean that Prime Minister's Questions can be expected to become a more sober and forensic event. He has even suggested he may invite colleagues to share PMQs duties with him. However, he is not the first new leader to declare an end to "Punch and Judy politics", and all of those before him found themselves swiftly sucked into the arcane rituals of the Commons. Although some senior MPs - including Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper, Tristram Hunt, Chris Leslie and Rachel Reeves - have already made clear they will not join his frontbench, Mr Corbyn is certain to be able to recruit enough to fill the 27 shadow cabinet places. The larger issue is whether he succeeds in his goal of building an "inclusive" team reflecting broader opinion in the party, or is forced to rely on the tight circle of hard-left MPs like Diane Abbott and John McDonnell who he has worked with on the backbenches. He is expected to offer jobs to figures like Andy Burnham and Chuka Umunna, who have not ruled out serving under him. Angela Eagle has been tipped as a possible candidate for the key role of shadow chancellor. An early test of Mr Corbyn's ability to command the loyalty of his party could come if the Government calls a vote on expanding RAF air strikes against Islamic State into Syria. While the new leader has set his face firmly against extending military action, many Labour MPs feel differently, and he could face a rebellion on a large scale. Conservatives can be expected to engineer a string of votes on key issues like deficit reduction, benefit cuts and Trident renewal to force Labour MPs to decide whether to pin their colours to the Corbyn mast. Under Labour's rules, the leader is re-elected each year at party conference. Leaders are usually unopposed, but can face a challenge if 47 MPs unite behind a rival candidate to force a vote. Until the results were announced, there was speculation that a plot may be hatched to have an alternative leader ready in time for the 2016 conference, by which time his appeal to the electorate will have been tested in polls for Scottish and Welsh devolved assemblies, the London mayoralty and English councils. However, the scale of his victory will make it far more difficult for opponents to unseat him without sparking civil war in the party and could mean he is safe until the general election of 2020. While other candidates openly warned of splits if Corbyn won, no plans for a breakaway party along the lines of the 1980s Social Democratic Party have yet emerged. The history of the SDP's brief flowering and failure to make an electoral breakthrough before being absorbed into the Liberal Democrats will give any potential splitters cause to think twice. Defeated candidate Yvette Cooper, who came third, has tweeted a nice message to Jeremy Corbyn: Congratulations @jeremycorbyn & thank you to everyone who gave me amazing support. Time for us all to focus on country & elections next yr Channel 4's Jon Snow caught up with Jeremy Corbyn this afternoon and asked him about whether he will tackle the issue of campaigning against Trident. He said: My views on Trident are very well known. There has to be a discussion about that, and I’m hoping that the party will come together around this issue. We don’t need nuclear weapons. We need to keep those people who make them in good jobs so we have defence diversification. But we need to fulfil our obligations under the non-proliferation treaty. My colleague Tim Ross has this video of Mr Corbyn thanking the unions for their backing: It has been quite a momentous day in the political world as Jeremy Corbyn gets to grips with being Labour leader. But what did the internet make of it all? Arthur Kirby has a round-up of the funniest things said online on this day, which will (apparently) be forever known as #CorbynDay. Here are a couple of my favourites: Donald Trump clearly not knowing who Jeremy Corbyn is... "@HamishP95: @realDonaldTrump My Dad is thinking of voting for the first time ever for you. pic.twitter.com/1u9qi8qUPc" Great. ...and the appointment of Jeremy and his deputy Tom has been billed as... Thousands of people have packed out Parliament Square to take part in a 'Refugees Are Welcome' rally. Jeremy Corbyn was met with ecstatic screams and cheers as he took to the stage to demand Britain "finds peaceful solutions to the problems of this world". He defiantly said: "We are all humans. We all have a sense of humanity and reaching out to others. He has thanked the people of Europe for "showing the way that should be followed" in being tolerant to refugees. He said: "We must spend our resources on helping people, not hindering people. None of this is easy. But surely we have the principle that we are all human beings on the same planet and we all want the next generation to be better off than we are. "Today, here, in parliament Square we ordinary people stand up and say to our government 'recognise your obligations in law', recognise your obligations to help people but above all open your heart, open your minds and open your attitudes." Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said human-rights causes "could not ask for a better supporter" than Mr Corbyn. Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: "Today we have a memory of a small boy on a beach which changed our focus and brought us to our senses. "Unfortunately, our government didn't respond in a way we thought appropriate." My colleague Ben Riley-Smith illustrates here just how busy Parliament Square is right now. This is Telegraph cartoonist Christian Adams' take on today's events. Jeremy Corbyn has revealed he wants to change the way Prime Minister's Questions works. The weekly meeting usually sees a confrontation between the Prime Minister and the opposition leader, but it has often been criticised for putting people off politics. He now wants to share the six questions usually asked by the opposition leader between MPs to create a more inclusive atmosphere. According to the BBC, Mr Corbyn said: "We should share it out a bit. I've been in touch with the speaker's office to ask about this." Mr Corbyn has told supporters: Today we celebrate an amazing victory of an amazing inclusive campaign. "Lots of people, lots of backgrounds, lots of diversity, united together in wanting to achieve something better and something decent, a society based on socialist values. "There are huge battles ahead. My job is going to be a complicated one, that I fully understand. It is going to be a campaigning one, that I understand and absolutely relish. "And I will be campaigning all around the country all of the time." Tens of thousands of people are marching through the streets in a rally supporting the rights of refugees. Protesters will gather in London's Parliament Square where a number of politicians and pubic figures are due to give speeches. Jeremy Corbyn, the new leader of the Labour Party, is expected to make an appearance. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett are also due to speak. Musician Billy Bragg, who is performing at the event, said he is "encouraged" by Mr Corbyn's success and added "hopefully this will mean a return to civic culture". "People are beginning to understand that we do have a lot in common with one another and it's possible to create a society where people's needs are put first," he said. It didn't take long before the Conservatives began their campaign of attack on Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. But some Twitter users were left less than impressed by the remark: Singer Charlotte Church had a thing or two to say about it too: But Tory MP Nick Hurd issued this note of caution for his party: Tory MEP Daniel Hannan also warned that "there is now a real danger of Tory cockiness and complacency". Speaking at The Sanctuary pub this afternoon, Jeremy Corbyn held aloft a tea towel bearing left-wing icon Tony Benn's words: Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself." Veteran Labour supporter Harry Leslie Smith, author of Harry's Last Stand who moved a Labour conference to tears with his speech about the NHS, has said that even at his age of 92 he wants to help Jeremy Corbyn become Britain's Prime Minister at the 2020 general election: Just before he headed into the pub to thank supporters, Mr Corbyn said: "There has been so many magic moments." He admitted that he had been " a bit surprised" at the scale of his majority. When questioned about his shadow cabinet he said: "There is going to be an inclusive and open process. "I hope everyone will recognise the mandate we've received and that party members expect our party to deliver for them in Parliament." Mr Corbyn's first task is to appoint his front bench team, but many key figures in the party have already ruled themselves out. During the election contest, rival Liz Kendall made it clear she would not serve under the Islington North MP and after the result was announced, Yvette Cooper indicated she would not take a job. Mr Corbyn's predecessor Ed Miliband has ruled himself out of returning to the front benches. Shadow chancellor Chris Leslie, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, Emma Reynolds, shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, and shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves have all said they will return to the backbenches. Shadow health minister Jamie Reed has also quit. Mr Corbyn will need to bring in modernisers to key positions to keep the party united and all eyes will be focused on who he appoints to the most crucial roles, particularly shadow chancellor. As a seasoned rebel who defied the party whip more than 500 times, the new leader is likely to find it tough to impose discipline on the party and who he chooses as chief whip will prove telling about how he intends to lead it. Mr Corbyn will have no time to ease himself into the job.

Government Job change - Election

September 2015

['(The Telegraph)', '(Evening Standard)']

Japan detects a new case of what is believed to be a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza at a poultry farm in Fukuoka Prefecture. This is the first confirmed case outside of Kagawa Prefecture. As a result, the prefectural government will cull 93,500 chickens at a farm in Munakata to prevent the spread of the infection.

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan has detected a new outbreak of bird flu on a chicken farm in southwestern Fukuoka prefecture, in addition to the eight already reported in Kagawa prefecture west of Tokyo, the government said on Wednesday (Nov 25). The wave of avian influenza that began earlier this month is proving to be the worst in around four years and the first serious spread of the virus in two years. "The ninth case of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed," Japan's chief government spokesman, Katsunobu Kato, told a regular briefing. "An epidemiological investigation team consisting of officials from the ministry of agriculture and epidemiology experts plans to conduct an investigation regarding the route of infections," Kato said. About 93,500 chickens on a farm in Munakata city in Fukuoka will be culled, the Asahi newspaper reported. In Kagawa prefecture more than 1.3 million chickens have been culled this month. Japan's last outbreak of bird flu was in January 2018, also in Kagawa prefecture, when 91,000 chickens were culled. The last big outbreak was between November 2016 and March 2017, when a total of 1.67 million chickens were culled due to the H5N6 strain of bird flu.

Disease Outbreaks

November 2020

['(The Straits Times)']

Russian police arrest 290 protesters calling on President Vladimir Putin to resign. ,

MOSCOW/ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Police detained more than 200 opposition activists on Saturday for taking part in a wave of anti-Kremlin protests across Russia in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, ahead of a presidential election in March, a monitoring group reported. Under grey skies and intermittent rain, over two thousand people gathered in central Moscow’s Pushkin Square and chanted “Russia will be free” and “Russia without Putin” before walking towards the Kremlin and parliament. Police briefly detained a few people, but did not charge anyone. It was a different story at rallies in other cities however, and the OVD-Info monitoring group, a non-profit organization, said at least 262 people had been detained in 27 towns. In St Petersburg, Putin’s home town, a Reuters witness saw riot police roughly detain at least 11 people. OVD-Info said at least 66 people had been detained in the city. Navalny, who is serving a 20-day jail term for violating rules on public meetings, called the rally in Moscow and other cities to coincide with Putin’s 65th birthday. Putin, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for almost 18 years, is widely expected to run for what would be his fourth term. Navalny hopes to run too, despite the central election commission declaring him ineligible due to a suspended prison sentence he says was politically-motivated. Related Coverage One of the Moscow protesters held a homemade poster of Putin sitting on a mountain of banknotes, wearing a crown with the legend: “Happy Birthday you little thief!” Others carried posters citing their right to protest, some waved Russian flags, and a few carried inflatable yellow ducks, a jokey reference to Navalny accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of owning a lavish estate with a duck house. Medvedev called the claims politically-motivated nonsense. In St Petersburg, some 1,500 activists waving red and white banners gathered in a square before heading for the city’s main street shouting “Putin is a thief” and “Free Navalny”. The size of Saturday’s Moscow rally and others across Russia looked far more modest than Navalny-backed mass protests in March and June, which were widely recognized to be some of the biggest since 2012. Many of the Moscow protesters were teenagers or in their twenties. Carrying a yellow duck, Ulugbek Apsapayev, 17, said he had turned up because he wanted a better future for Russia. “The duck is a sign that we support Alexei Navalny who also wants only good things for the country. But unfortunately we only have Vladimir Putin and his gang in power.” Putin is popular across the country however, especially outside major cities where his strong leadership style and tough foreign policy stance go down well. He is expected to confirm later this year that he will run for another six-year term. Opinion polls show he would comfortably beat Navalny if the opposition leader was allowed to run. Navalny says such polls are meaningless because there is no fair political competition. Putin spent his birthday taking congratulatory calls from other world leaders, and chaired a security council meeting. Authorities had refused to approve most of Saturday’s rallies, but Navalny says Russians’ right to protest is enshrined in the constitution. A Reuters reporter at a rally in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg saw police detain at least eight people among a crowd of over 1,000 protesters. Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow and Natalya Shurmina in Ekaterinburg; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Andrew Bolton Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Exclusive: Fed’s Neel Kashkari opposes rate hikes at least through 2023 as the central bank becomes more hawkish

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

October 2017

['(Reuters)', '(CNN)']

Dozens of Chinese taxi drivers attempt a mass suicide in Beijing to protest the way taxi companies renewed their vehicle leases.

BEIJING — A group of taxi drivers drank from bottles of pesticide in central Beijing on Saturday to protest what they said was poor treatment by their taxi companies, state and social media outlets reported. At least 10 men, some of them frothing from the mouth, fell to the ground on a busy sidewalk at the Wangfujing shopping center about 11 a.m. after drinking the pesticide, according to the Beijing police force’s official microblog account. The men were rushed to nearby hospitals and all survived, the police said. Videos of the protest quickly spread on Chinese social media sites, showing the men splayed on the ground and large crowds staring at them from behind police cordons. According to The South China Morning Post, the men were all from a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and tried to kill themselves to protest the way taxi companies renewed their vehicle leases. Drinking pesticide is a common way to commit suicide in China, particularly in rural areas. People with grievances in China have long sought to petition the central government in Beijing. But the ruling Communist Party presses local officials to thwart those seeking redress. Petitioners are often detained for protesting and trying to file lawsuits. Many are beaten, threatened and sometimes sent away to mental hospitals to prevent them from airing their grievances in the capital. Some desperate protesters attempt suicide in public to raise awareness to their cause. Last year, a family of five tried to kill themselves by drinking pesticide outside the offices of a newspaper in Beijing in a protest against local officials who took their land and demolished their homes.

Protest_Online Condemnation

April 2015

['(The New York Times)', '(The Telegraph)']

In cricket, Australia win the women's ICC World Twenty20 tournament and Sri Lanka win the men's tournament.

Last updated on 6 April 20146 April 2014.From the section Women's Cricket Australia thrashed England by six wickets to win a third successive Women's World Twenty20 title. England collapsed from 55-1 to post a modest 105-8 after losing the toss in Mirpur, with Heather Knight's 29 the highest score as Sarah Coyte took 3-16 and Ellyse Perry 2-13. Captain Meg Lanning's 44 off 30 balls hurried Australia to a comprehensive victory with 4.5 overs to spare. "We were completely outplayed," said England captain Charlotte Edwards. "We weren't good enough - 105 was never going to be good enough in a World Cup final." If the 2012 final between these sides was a close affair - Australia won by four runs - the latest meeting was anything but. 2009: England beat New Zealand by six wickets, Lord's 2010: Australia beat New Zealand by three runs, Barbados 2012: Australia beat England by four runs, Colombo 2014: Australia beat England by six wickets England laboured with the bat on a blameless pitch, and the result was never in doubt once Australia raced to 43-1 after the first six-over powerplay. Jess Jonassen provided the early impetus before Lanning, the leading run scorer in the tournamentexternal-link with 257, hit four fours and two sixes. No England player, by contrast, managed a six in the entire competition. Neither Edwards nor opening partner Sarah Taylor scored freely during a stand of 23 that spanned almost six overs. Both fell to the impressive Coyte, Edwards caught by a tumbling Jess Cameron at mid-on and Taylor lbw attempting to reverse-sweep. Wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy's diving catch accounted for Lydia Greenway, Knight was well held by Perry, running in from deep mid-wicket, and England limped to three figures as four wickets fell in the last five overs. Left-hander Jonassen set the tone for Australia's reply by taking two fours and a six off the second over, bowled by Danielle Hazell. She drove to mid-on in the next as player of the tournament Anya Shrubsole took her wicket tally to 13, before Jenny Gunn removed Elyse Villani. But Lanning ended England's faint hopes of repeating their 2009 triumph during a third-wicket stand of 60 with Perry, who finished 31 not out. That Lanning and Alex Blackwell fell in the space of three balls shortly before victory was sealed was irrelevant.

Sports Competition

April 2014

['(BBC)']

The NFL and the NFL Referees Association reach an agreement, ending the referee lockout that has been ongoing since June of this year.

Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays (Kids run the bases at Fenway), 09/07/2014, at Fenway Park ... Find Tickets By Greg A. Bedard, Globe Staff The national football nightmare is over. The real referees are back. The National Football League and the union representing on-field officials agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement late Wednesday night that will end the lockout imposed by the league in time for the full slate of Week 4 games, according to two league sources involved in the talks. League spokesman Greg Aiello later confirmed the agreement on Twitter and a release from both sides said the deal was for eight years. The two sides were putting the agreement on paper in order for the NFL Referees Association to ratify the document. That’s considered a formality, and a crew of officials was being put in place to work the Thursday night game between the Ravens and Browns in Baltimore. The timing is important because a new deal means every team would have three games worked by replacement officials. Competitive balance would have been shifted this week since two teams, the Steelers and Colts, have bye weeks. Three days after chaos reigned during and immediately following the Patriots’ 31-30 last-second loss Sunday night to the Ravens, in which New England coach Bill Belichick grabbed an official looking for a rule clarification that resulted in a $50,000 fine, the three-month lockout has come to an end. ‘‘I accept the discipline and I apologize for the incident,’’ Belichick said in a statement. Washington assistant Kyle Shanahan was fined $25,000 for what the league called ‘‘abuse of officials’’ in the Redskins’ loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Denver coach John Fox and assistant Jack Del Rio were hit in the wallet Monday for incidents involving the replacements. The tipping point was likely the nationally televised Monday night game when the Packers were robbed of a victory when replacement officials failed to call offensive pass interference, and then incorrectly ruled that the Seahawks had scored a touchdown on the final play.

Sign Agreement

September 2012

['(CNN)', '(AP via Boston Globe)']

Soldiers in Buea and Bamenda, Cameroon, shoot dead a total of at least eight people during various protests by Anglophone separatists.

BUEA/BAMENDA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Soldiers shot dead at least eight people and wounded others in Cameroon’s restless English-speaking regions on Sunday during protests by activists calling for its independence from the majority Francophone nation, an official and witnesses said. The demonstrations - timed to take place on the anniversary of Anglophone Cameroon’s independence from Britain - came as a months-old movement against perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government gathered pace. The protests, which began late last year, have become a lightning rod for opposition to President Paul Biya’s 35-year rule. Donatus Njong Fonyuy, mayor of the town of Kumbo, said five prisoners were killed at around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) after the jail where they were being held caught fire. “We don’t know what caused the fire in the prison ... But five prisoners were killed by soldiers. Two were wounded by bullets and are at the hospital,” he told Reuters, adding that another two civilians were also injured. In other incidents in Kumbo, soldiers shot and killed a demonstrator and wounded two others who had raised the blue and white flag of the Ambazonia separatist movement in the town. Another woman was killed inside her home, Fonyuy said, without giving further details. Police and army officials were not immediately available to comment on the shootings. “We won’t use violence unless there is major cause. There are numerous risks, even terrorist risks. We’re keeping calm,” a security source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said earlier in the day. Writing on his official Facebook account, President Biya condemned the violence. “Let me make this very clear: it is not forbidden to voice any concerns in the Republic. However, nothing great can be achieved by using verbal excesses, street violence, and defying authority,” he said. Cameroon’s divide has its roots in the end of World War One, when the League of Nations divided the former German colony of Kamerun between the allied French and British victors. “OUR GREATEST NIGHTMARE” Authorities had banned all gatherings of more than four people, ordered bus stations, eateries and shops to shut and forbade movement between different parts of the English-speaking regions ahead of the protests. The government also ordered Cameroon’s border with Nigeria closed for the weekend. Access to popular social media and messaging apps, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, was disrupted from Friday. Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary on Sunday threatened to shut any media outlets giving a voice to separatists, saying they “must not encourage those who advocate division, who want to destroy and destabilize our country”. Businesses were shuttered in the regions’ main cities, Buea and Bamenda, where military helicopters circled overhead. The security deployment included troops from the Cameroonian army’s Rapid Intervention Brigade, a unit that typically fights Islamist Boko Haram militants in the country’s north. One protester was killed on the edge of Buea as security forces attempted to block pro-independence marchers from entering the city, three witnesses said. Hundreds nevertheless slipped through the countryside to get around the blockade and into the city, where security forces used teargas to try to stop them from marching on the regional governor’s office. A Reuters witness also heard gunfire, though it was not clear whether the shots were targeting protesters or being fired in the air. “The military, which is supposed to protect lives and property, has turned into our greatest nightmare,” said one Buea resident, who asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisal. In Bamenda, where a bomb attack blamed on separatists wounded three policemen last week, young men brandishing improvised secessionist flags clashed with security forces who attempted to disperse them with teargas. Thousands of government supporters meanwhile marched in Douala, Cameroon’s main port city and its commercial hub, voicing their opposition to calls for independence or more autonomy for the Anglophone regions. “We are here ... to reject sectarianism, to condemn all kinds of hate, all forms of violence carried out under any pretext whatsoever,” Justice Minister Laurent Esso told the pro-government crowd.

Armed Conflict

October 2017

['(Reuters)']

A lone gunman opened fire at a café in Žitište, Serbia, killing five people and injuring 20 more. The perpetrator was arrested shortly afterward while attempting to flee the scene.

Serbian police say five people were killed and at least 20 wounded when a man opened gun fire inside a cafe in the country's north. A police statement said the man "entered the cafe and opened fire with an automatic rifle, killing his wife and another woman, then he continued to shoot at other citizens in the cafe." Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic visited the scene and was quoted by N1 television channel as saying that the weapon was illegal that and jealousy was believed to be the motive. It is the third mass shooting in recent years in Serbia, which has tried to reduce the number of illegal weapons in circulation since the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The latest incident happened just after midnight in Zitiste, about 80 kilometers from the capital, Belgrade. Police arrested the alleged shooter, born in 1978 and named only by his initials Z.S., and opened an investigation into the killings. Stefanovic said the attacker tried to flee the scene, but police stopped and arrested him. "We are all shocked that something like this could happen, since this was a very quiet man who had no police record," Stefanovic said, according to the state-run Tanjug news agency. N1 channel reported that the attacker argued with his wife in the cafe, left the building, and returned with a Kalashnikov-type rifle with which he opened fire. Two people were killed instantly, while three died after being taken to hospital in the nearby city of Zrenjanin, the channel reported. Police said that seven of the wounded -- at least three of whom are minors -- are in "very serious condition." The mass shooting is just the latest in recent years in Serbia. In 2015, a 55-year-old man went on a shooting spree in a northern Serbian town in an apparent drunken rage over his son's wedding, killing six people, including the bride and her parents. In 2013, a 60-year-old Serbian war veteran shot dead 13 people in the country's worst massacre in two decades as he rampaged through his tiny village about 50 kilometers south of Belgrade.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

July 2016

['(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)']

A suicide bomber detonates a vehicle full of explosives at a military camp in Gao, Mali, killing at least 76 people and wounding scores more in Mali's deadliest terrorist attack in history.

Attack marks significant setback for peace efforts in region after vehicle explosion hits joint operational mechanism base Last modified on Thu 15 Oct 2020 14.26 BST A suicide bomber in a vehicle full of explosives has attacked a camp in northern Mali, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens of soldiers and former fighters. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on Islamic extremist groups operating in the area. The attack marks a significant setback for efforts to achieve peace in the region. The blast hit the joint operational mechanism base in the city of Gao, home to Malian soldiers and hundreds of former fighters who had signed a peace agreement with the government. Dismembered bodies could still be seen two hours after the blast. The death toll rose over the course of Wednesday morning and had reached more than 50 by 1.30pm local time (1330 GMT), a military official said. Sadou Maiga, a doctor at Gao’s hospital, said all other hospital activities had ceased as medical staff focused on the dozens of wounded blast victims arriving. “Some have died from their wounds, and others are in a very grave state,” he said. “At this point, it’s not the toll of dead and injured that interests me, it’s saving who I can.” Witnesses said the car bearing explosives breached the camp at about 9am as hundreds of fighters were gathering for a meeting. The bomber “succeeded in tricking soldiers’ vigilance” and penetrated the camp, said army spokesman Col Diarran Kone. The attack underscores the enormous challenges that remain in northern Mali four years after the French military led an intervention to drive jihadis from power in the major towns across the north. The peace agreement has proved difficult to implement and unpopular with the forces wreaking havoc in the region. The former fighters who signed the 2015 peace deal include ethnic Tuareg secular rebels who once fought the Malian military. Now they are supposed to be forming joint patrols in the area, though the programme has yet to begin. Mali has become the world’s deadliest United Nations peacekeeping mission. Twenty-nine UN personnel were killed last year in attacks blamed on armed jihadi groups, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Wednesday. The report details how extremists are extending their reach further into central Mali, trying to implement their strict interpretation of sharia law and pressuring families to give up their children as soldiers for the cause. It also denounces rising levels of banditry, a phenomenon victims say is fuelled by the slow implementation of the 2015 peace accord. Mali’s security minister, Salif Traoré, declined to respond to the report’s specifics but said he was well aware of security challenges throughout the region.

Armed Conflict

January 2017

['(The Guardian)']

Several people are killed during protests in Indian–administered Kashmir after the worst anti–government violence in two years.

Four people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir, as the worst anti-government violence to hit the disputed region in two years continues. Demonstrators have been pouring on to the streets and attacking police stations, defying attempts by the authorities to enforce a curfew. More than 30 people have been killed in the violence since early June. Indian-administered Kashmir's Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, appealed to the population not to use violence. He was speaking on Monday after emergency talks with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the capital, Delhi. "Tragically, we have locked ourselves into a cycle of violence where protests lead to death leading to further protests, leading to further casualties," he told a news conference. The four men killed on Monday were shot by Indian police and paramilitary forces in separate incidents across Muslim-majority Kashmir. Normal life has been severely disrupted for more than seven weeks by a series of curfews, protests and strikes. Protests against Indian rule erupted after a 17-year-old student was killed by a police tear gas shell in early June. The BBC's Chris Morris in Delhi says the political stalemate in the Himalayan valley has been a running sore of Indian governments for decades.

Protest_Online Condemnation

August 2010

['(The Hindu)', '(BBC)']

Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush dies of Parkinsonism at the age of 94, at about 10:10 p.m. CST.

Updated at 7:05 a.m. ET George Herbert Walker Bush died Friday at the age of 94. Former President George W. Bush released a statement, saying for himself and his siblings, "Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died." "George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for," he said of the 41st president. "The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens." There were fears that after his wife, Barbara, died in April, Bush might die, too. He was admitted to the hospital with a blood infection on April 23, one day after the funeral for the former first lady, and remained there for 13 days. He also spent time in the hospital in May and June, but lived to be the first former president to reach the age of 94. Bush was the patriarch of a political dynasty that included one son who served as president, another as a governor and a grandson who currently holds statewide office in Texas. President Ronald Reagan greets President-elect George H.W. Bush at the White House on Nov. 10, 1988. Charles Tasnadi/AP hide caption President Ronald Reagan greets President-elect George H.W. Bush at the White House on Nov. 10, 1988. The senior Bush had a lifetime of public service before he became president — as a young Navy pilot in World War II, Texas congressman, CIA director and faithful vice president to Ronald Reagan. "His loyalty to Ronald Reagan was legendary," said biographer Timothy Naftali. "He did not always agree with Ronald Reagan. And he was so secretive about those moments where he disagreed, we don't even have good documentation — at least not available yet — on when he disagreed." Bush famously disagreed with Reagan when he ran against him in the Republican primary of 1980. Bush branded Reagan's supply-side faith that government could slash tax rates without losing revenue as "voodoo economic policy." History would prove that assessment right. Reagan later had to reverse some of his tax cuts in the face of mounting deficits. But by the time Bush ran to succeed Reagan, he knew what it took to win the confidence of conservative Republicans. "Read my lips," Bush pledged at the 1988 GOP convention. "No new taxes." Bush trounced Democrat Michael Dukakis that year to win the White House. But he ultimately backtracked on his lip-reading promise. During 1990 budget negotiations with Democratic congressional leaders, Bush, like Reagan before him, agreed to a tax increase. Bush talks with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during a signing ceremony at the White House on June 1, 1990. Bush and Gorbachev signed the foundation of a treaty for the first-ever cuts in nuclear missiles and a pact to slash chemical weapon stockpiles. J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images hide caption Bush talks with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during a signing ceremony at the White House on June 1, 1990. Bush and Gorbachev signed the foundation of a treaty for the first-ever cuts in nuclear missiles and a pact to slash chemical weapon stockpiles. His press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, recalled a budget meeting where the deal was presented. "The minute I saw it, I looked around the table and the Democrats looked like the cat who ate the canary," Fitzwater said. "They knew they had negotiated a winner." The tax hike cut the deficit, but it cost Bush dearly with conservatives. Years later, he would receive a Profile in Courage award from John F. Kennedy's grandson, who said, "America's gain was President Bush's loss." Bush's most notable accomplishments in the White House came in the area of foreign policy. While Reagan is often credited with winning the Cold War, it was Bush who successfully navigated the aftermath. His low-key approach avoided inflaming communist hard-liners and allowed for the peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union. "The soft landing that occurred, which was not inevitable, is in large measure due to George H.W. Bush's diplomacy," said Naftali. Bush, who served as U.S. envoy to China as well as a globe-trotting vice president, had a thick Rolodex and plenty of experience working the phones. His lifetime of foreign contacts also came in handy when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in 1990. Bush methodically assembled an international coalition to push them back. Bush poses with soldiers during a stop at an air base in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 22, 1990. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption Bush poses with soldiers during a stop at an air base in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 22, 1990. A five-week bombing campaign was followed by a 100-hour ground assault that routed the Iraqis from Kuwait. Some wanted allied troops to push on to Baghdad and topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. But Bush said no. "The president's decision was we are not going on to Baghdad," the late diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger recalled. "If we do, we will have violated the agreement we have with our allies, which was to bring Saddam out of Kuwait. It was not to bring Saddam down. And in addition, it will tie us into an area where we cannot be sure how soon we can withdraw." Bush with (from left) his son Neal Bush; wife, Barbara Bush; daughter-in-law Laura Bush; and son former President George W. Bush at a reception in honor of the Points of Light Institute at the White House on Jan. 7, 2009. Ron Edmonds/AP hide caption Bush with (from left) his son Neal Bush; wife, Barbara Bush; daughter-in-law Laura Bush; and son former President George W. Bush at a reception in honor of the Points of Light Institute at the White House on Jan. 7, 2009. Bush's son George W. would revisit that decision a dozen years later, with costly results. The first Gulf War was a clear victory for U.S. forces. As commander in chief, George H.W. Bush saw his approval ratings soar to nearly 90 percent. His lock on a second term seemed so solid that many national Democrats opted to sit out the 1992 election, leaving it to the governor of a small Southern state to challenge him. Bill Clinton of Arkansas had one big advantage, though: the economy, stupid. As the country sank into recession, Bush's popularity sank with it. There was no parachute or soft landing this time. He lost a three-way race in the November election, carrying just 38 percent of the vote. More than two decades later, George W. Bush, who experienced his own roller-coaster ride in the polls, wrote an affectionate portrait of his father, titled 41. "I want people to better appreciate George Bush, as not only a great person but a very successful president," the younger Bush said. Bush was also the linchpin of a political dynasty that now spans four generations — including a second son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ran for the White House and lost in the 2016 Republican primaries as Donald Trump became the dominant force in a GOP that had evolved far from where it was when the 41st president was in office. Whatever the senior Bush's political shortcomings, hindsight has cast his presidency in a kinder, gentler light. President Trump praised George H.W. Bush on Twitter as someone who "led a long, successful and beautiful life." "Whenever I was with him I saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family," Trump tweeted. "His accomplishments were great from beginning to end. He was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all!" The White House also issued a statement saying, "Melania and I join with a grieving Nation to mourn the loss of former President George H.W. Bush, who passed away last night." The statement also referenced George H.W. Bush as a president who "guided our nation, and the world, to a peaceful and victorious conclusion of the Cold War." Bush was the definition of establishment success: Yale graduate. Prosperous business career. Forty-first president of the United States. But to one admittedly biased observer, the elder Bush has always been shortchanged. "As a result of him being a one-term president, historians hadn't paid much attention to him," George W. Bush told NPR in a 2014 interview. He called his father "one of the greatest one-term presidents in the nation's history." A caption in an earlier version of the photo slideshow incorrectly said former President George H.W. Bush served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. He enlisted in 1942. NPR thanks our sponsors

Famous Person - Death

November 2018

['(NPR)', '(CNN)']

Former Saenuri Party member of the South Korean National Assembly Cho Hyun–ryong is jailed for five years for accepting bribes.

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- The nation's top court on Friday upheld a five-year jail term for a ruling party lawmaker for taking bribes from a railway parts supplier in exchange for business favors. The Supreme Court found Rep. Cho Hyun-ryong of the ruling Saenuri Party guilty of taking 160 million won (US$146,000) from the head of Sampyo E&C; between December 2011 and July 2014 in exchange for awarding the private company contracts. The 70-year-old lawmaker was also ordered to pay a fine of 60 million won and forfeit an additional 160 million won. Cho was stripped of his parliamentary seat as the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court, lowering the number of seats held by the ruling party in the 300-member parliament to 157. Earlier this month, two lawmakers, Song Kwang-ho of the ruling Saenuri and Kim Jae-yun of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy were stripped of their parliamentary seats for separate bribery convictions.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

November 2015

['(Yonhap)']

England becomes the first host nation and first former finalist to be knocked out of the Rugby World Cup during the group stages following their defeat to Australia.

Last updated on 3 October 20153 October 2015.From the section Rugby Union England are out of the World Cup after being torn apart by a superb Australia display at a stunned Twickenham. Two converted first-half tries and four penalties from Wallaby fly-half Bernard Foley in a virtuoso display brought a richly deserved win on a black night for England's men in white. The result means both Australia and Wales are into the quarter-finals. It is the first time that a host nation has gone out at the group stage of the tournament. Listen to the best of the action on BBC Radio 5 live And to complete their humiliation, it is also the first time England have failed to make the knockout stages. For England coach Stuart Lancaster it has been an awful World Cup, and questions will now be asked about his position, long-term contract or not. His side have decelerated into this tournament and his selections fallen flat, his captain Chris Robshaw overwhelmed by the double-teaming David Pocock and Michael Hooper at the breakdown. The Wallabies meanwhile will march on, as impressive on this night as any side so far and delighted to take revenge for defeat by England in their last three World Cup meetings. England started uncertainly and only a desperate tackle from last man Mike Brown on Israel Folau denied the Wallabies an early try. Folau then spilled a cross-kick on the try-line as he out-jumped Anthony Watson before both sides exchanged penalties, but on 20 minutes a series of yellow-shirted drives deep into England's 22 prised open the safe door. England were stretched, Will Genia spotted a mismatch down the right and Foley stepped between Joe Launchbury and Ben Youngs before skipping inside Brown to dive over the line. Twice England lost promising attacking positions on the opposition 22 to rapacious Australian turnovers, and five minutes before half-time they were torn open once again. Off quick ball Foley accelerated onto Genia's pass, found Kurtley Beale on his inside shoulder and exchanged quicksilver passes to go clear for his second try, the conversion making it 17-3 at the break. England were in quicksand, the Wallabies on fast-forward. When Foley's second penalty made it a 17-point lead the game looked gone. But with George Ford on at fly-half - winger Jonny May's injury saw England shuffle everyone from Owen Farrell out one spot - England at last began to probe, and when Watson powered through two defenders down the right with 25 minutes left and Farrell landed the conversion from out wide there was at last hope. England's replacements were making a difference, a Ford kick ahead setting up a Farrell penalty that made it 20-13 with 15 minutes to go. But Farrell was then sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, with replacement Sam Burgess lucky not to be yellow carded for a worse hit milliseconds later, and Foley drilled over the penalty to kill that precious momentum. A second penalty meant England were effectively out, and veteran Wallaby centre Matt Giteau dived joyously over in the last action of the match to twist the knife. Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley has sometimes been criticised for lacking the flair of his rival Quade Cooper, but he ran the show for his side and outshone his opposite number Farrell.

Sports Competition

October 2015

['(BBC)']

In tennis, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut meet again following last year's record–breaking epic at Wimbledon.

WIMBLEDON, England -- By the time they reached the third set Tuesday evening, the setting sun was already hovering above the western rim of Court No. 3. The golden light lingered on the players when they were serving on the southern baseline, casting them in bronze for all time. This was appropriate, for John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are already celebrated here at the All England Club for a little match they played a year ago. Their side-by-side bronze statues can be found in the reception area of the broadcast center. The likenesses are quite striking, except for the fact that the Mahut (diving for a backhand volley he will never quite reach) figure looks larger than the 6-foot-9 Isner. Rarely does the sequel exceed the original, and on Tuesday it was no different. How could it possibly? The British oddsmakers were taking bets at 500,000 to 1 that last year's 11-hour, 5-minute, 183-game match would not be surpassed. They were, of course, right. It's tough to beat 70-68 in the fifth set. This time, when Mahut sprayed a too-forceful forehand long, it ended in three reasonably concise sets -- 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (6) -- and consumed only 2 hours, 3 minutes. Although last year's three-day affair ended with several thousand spectators jammed around Court 18, when this one was over there were more empty green seats than full ones. When the on-court interviewer, clever fellow, called it a quick and easy match, Isner begged to differ. "It wasn't easy," he said, shaking his head. "But obviously it was considerably quicker than the last time we played." When he was down a break to Mahut in the last set, Isner told himself he had to find a way win in three. "If I lose the third set, we're probably not going to finish," Isner said. "Then you're looking at a second day and maybe into a third day. I was really glad to win it, because we were running out of daylight." The funny thing? Last year's match went an eternity because both players served so well -- and returned so bloody poorly. This time, Isner returned fairly well. He finished with 41 winners, balanced against only 10 unforced errors. "I'm disappointed with the result, and the manner," said Mahut. "And I'm disappointed with my season on grass in general. Since I arrived at Queen's, I couldn't work as I wanted and wished. It's very frustrating. " Last year they combined for a record 216 aces (113 by Isner). This year the total was a paltry 16 (eight apiece), which pretty much summed up the match. There was a buzz around the grounds when Isner's name came out of the hat and was placed on the line next to Mahut's. Later, Isner sent him a simple text: a frowning not-so-smiley face. They made a $5 bet on whether the All England Club would send Mohamed Lahyani back to the chair as umpire. Mahut said no -- it was the authoritative Lars Graff -- and he escaped with at least a little cash. Isner, who jogged to the net, said Mahut seemed to be bothered by a knee injury. The two players shared a warm embrace, but showed very little emotion otherwise. There was a flat, listless vibe as they packed up their bags. "This match was really important for me, I wanted to take revenge," Mahut said. "The conditions were different from last year, more wind, colder. Physically, I couldn't have the intensity that I wanted." Isner was asked if he would have enjoyed playing on Court 18, where the two players had made history. "I don't know if those were good memories," Isner said, laughing but being serious. "They were long memories. I don't think they wanted to tarnish the reputation of Court 18. Chances were this match wasn't going to live up to last year's match." It didn't, and now both players will try to move on. Unlike last year, Isner said he will be fresh for his second-round match against Nicolas Almagro, a contest he should win. "It's tough, obviously," Isner said later. "Someone was going to have to lose that match last year. You know, unfortunately it was him. But, really, I mean, he has nothing to hang his head about at all. He fought just as hard today. "I definitely didn't want to play him first round because one of us was going to go home a loser. And I think both of us could do well or can do well at this event.

Sports Competition

June 2011

['(ESPN)', '(The New York Times)', '(USA Today)']

A bombing in Chaman, Balochistan, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, kills three people and injures 13 others. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack.

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Three people including a child have been killed and 13 others injured in a bomb blast near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The blast occurred in the town of Chaman, which is one of two major crossing points between Afghanistan and Pakistan and used by thousands of people daily. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast in a statement shared with Reuters. “It was a remote-control bomb planted in a motorbike,” Deputy Commissioner of the district Tariq Javed Mengal told Reuters, adding that the explosion was targeting a vehicle carrying a senior police officer. Mengal said the explosion occurred as the police vehicle was passing by. A shopkeeper, a passer-by and a child were killed, and two security personnel were among the 13 others injured. The injured were immediately shifted to district hospital in Chaman, and nine were taken to a hospital in the provincial capital of Quetta, a police officer told Reuters. The senior police officer who was apparently the target of the blast was not injured. Security forces launched a search operation in the area after the incident. The bombing comes amid a sharp rise in violence by the Pakistani Taliban, a group that once used the border region to launch attacks inside Pakistan as well as host militants including al-Qaeda, operating in neighbouring Afghanistan and globally. The group was largely in disarray after a major Pakistani military ground operation, but last year several splinter groups announced a new alliance and since then attacks on security personnel as well as civilians have risen.

Armed Conflict

March 2021

['(Reuters)']

Wales achieve the Grand Slam by beating France 29–12 in the final match of Rugby Union's 2008 RBS Six Nations.

Wales completed their transformation from World Cup flops to secure their second Grand Slam in four years and send the nation into raptures. An early 9-3 lead was whittled away by France after Gavin Henson's sin-binning on the stroke of half-time. But Shane Williams got the crucial score on 60 minutes, becoming Wales' all-time top try scorer in the process. Stephen Jones's steady hand from the bench helped them home, with the superb Martyn Williams adding a second try. Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory. Highlights: Wales 29-12 France France entered the game having not lost a championship game in Cardiff since 1996 and needing a 20-point win to steal the RBS Six Nations title from Wales. But with the packed crowd brewing the enclosed Millennium Stadium into a fervent cauldron of expectation, Wales were spurred into early action. From turnover ball in midfield, James Hook created space for Mark Jones down the right with a magical sleight of hand. A try was begging, but Jones could not find Lee Byrne on his inside shoulder and the home side had to be content with an opening penalty from Hook. Woeful French kicking - with David Skrela the main culprit - and direct midfield running from Tom Shanklin and Henson increased the pressure, but Hook missed a tricky penalty chance. The fly-half made amends with an 18th-minute kick, cancelled out by a Jean-Baptiste Elissalde penalty following Ryan Jones's untidy work at the restart. The gift-giving from restarts continued, Thierry Dusautoir's error allowing Hook to ease the Wales lead back out to 9-3 with his third penalty. Les Bleus finally began to find a foothold in the Wales half, until an outstanding on-the-floor steal from man-of-the-match Martyn Williams relieved some of the pressure. Wales' blitz defence finally showed flaws in the final play of the half, and - with France already playing a penalty advantage - Henson's head-high tackle on Fulgence Ouedraogo led to a yellow card for the centre. Elissalde slotted the final kick of the half to cut the gap to three points, Hook missing an opportunity to cancel that out after the break when Shane Williams pinned the counter-attacking Vincent Clerc deep in his own 22. Then Elissalde made no mistake with his third penalty to level the scores, the visitors scoring six points in Henson's absence. Ian Gough was winning his 50th cap for Wales, and he was joined on that landmark by Duncan Jones who temporarily stepped off the bench following a head injury to Gethin Jenkins. Wales coach Warren Gatland decided to replace Hook at fly-half, Stephen Jones coming off the bench along with hooker Matthew Rees for Huw Bennett. It was a France mistake that hurt the visitors, though, Yannick Jauzion spilling an unsympathetic pass from Skrela 40 yards from his own line. Shane Williams pounced, hacking through and showing composure to ground for the try after the ball bounced off the post, taking him clear of Clerc as the 2008 tournament's leading try scorer, and ahead of Gareth Thomas on 41 in Wales' all-time list. France coach Marc Lievremont changed his half-backs, but it was Stephen Jones who got the next score, a penalty stretching the lead to 19-9. The visitors were pushed off an attacking five-metre scrum by the Welsh eight, but any thought that the game was won was dispelled by Dimitri Yachvili's 71st-minute penalty. Stephen Jones immediately replied with a long-range goal of his own to restore the comfort zone. Mark Jones was narrowly denied the chance of immortality, breaking from near his own line and embarking on a dazzling run only to be hauled down inches short of a memorable score. It was left to Martyn Williams to crown the day, the flanker picking up from a ruck 25-yards out and dashing home through a ragged defence. Wales' 10th Grand Slam was secured 100 years after they won their first, and home fans left to carry on the party of the century. Watch the match in full on BBC iPlayer for seven days from Sunday (UK users only) Wales: Byrne, M. Jones, Shanklin, Henson, S. Williams, Hook, Phillips, Jenkins, Bennett, A. Jones, Gough, A. Jones, Thomas, M. Williams, R. Jones.Replacements: S. Jones for Hook (56), Rees for Bennett (56), D. Jones for A. Jones (71), Evans for Gough (71). Not Used: Delve, Peel, Parker. Sin Bin: Henson (40). France: Floch, Clerc, Jauzion, Traille, Malzieu, Skrela, Elissalde, Barcella, Szarzewski, Mas, Nallet, Thion, Dusautoir, Ouedraogo, Bonnaire.Replacements: Heymans for Floch (67), Trinh-Duc for Skrela (63), Yachvili for Elissalde (67), Servat for Szarzewski (44), Poux for Mas (62), Mela for Thion (75), Vermeulen for Ouedraogo (62). Att: 75,000. Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa).

Sports Competition

March 2008

['(BBC News)']

U.S. authorities charge two operatives, Samer El Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, and Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, belonging to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah with terrorism offenses, accused of plotting to target American and Israeli targets in New York and Panama.

U.S. authorities have charged two operatives belonging to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah with terrorism offenses, accused of plotting to target American and Israeli targets in New York and Panama. Police arrested Samer El Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, and Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, on June 1. They both appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday. U.S. authorities said the pair had been supporting "Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad organization" and had been in Lebanon for weapons and bomb-making training. Kourani is accused of scouting targets in the U.S., specifically Israeli military personnel and U.S. military and law enforcement facilities. He looked for firearms suppliers, airport security information and returned information to the group via coded emails sent to a handler. He had receiving military training with the group on several occasions between 2008 and 2014. Debek, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is accused of looking for targets in Panama, including the U.S. and Israeli embassies, as well as looking at the vulnerability of ships passing through the Panama Canal on a visit in 2012. "Pre-operational surveillance is one of the hallmarks of Hezbollah in planning for future attacks," New York Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill told Associated Press. Both, if convicted, face decades in prison. Panama's government said it was satisfied with the arrests as its cooperation "with international intelligence bodies" continues to "prevent this type of threat." Hezbollah, a movement that Iran supports financially, considers Israel to be its arch-enemy. It opposes the U.S., a key supporter of Israel and enemy of Iran's hardline leadership and supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the six-year-long civil war. The U.S., EU, and Israel considers Hezbollah to be an extremist group. The largest armed group in Lebanon remains popular in Lebanon because of its opposition to Israel, which it fought a one-month war against in 2006 on the southern border the country shares with Israel.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

June 2017

['(Newsweek)']

The Pentagon announces the suspension of joint military exercises with South Korea, including the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian and marine training exercises.

The U.S. Defense Department announced Friday that it had “indefinitely suspended select” military exercises with South Korea less than two weeks after President Donald Trump’s historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. “To support implementing the outcomes of the Singapore Summit, and in coordination with our Republic of Korea ally, Secretary Mattis has indefinitely suspended select exercises,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement referring to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “This includes suspending FREEDOM GUARDIAN along with two Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises scheduled to occur in the next three months. The statement left the door open to further suspensions of joint exercises, as talks with Pyongyang progress and as speculation grows that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will make his third visit to the North in the coming week. “In support of upcoming diplomatic negotiations led by Secretary Pompeo, additional decisions will depend upon the DPRK continuing to have productive negotiations in good faith,” the statement said, using the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The decision was reached after Mattis, Pompeo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford, and national security adviser John Bolton met to discuss efforts to implement the results of the Singapore meeting, the statement added. The North has repeatedly called for an end to the joint exercises, blasting them as a rehearsal for invasion. The Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises are part of the Okinawa-based III Marine Expeditionary Force’s “dedicated effort to learning and sharing tactics” with South Korean Marine Corps, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. It said the exercises focus on “building personal, enduring relationships” and becoming “more proficient partners.” Trump abruptly said that he would halt “provocative” U.S.-South Korean “war games” after his summit with Kim on June 12. The decision was formally announced by the Pentagon on Monday. South Korea’s Defense Ministry simultaneously confirmed the suspension of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises. Last year, 17,500 U.S. troops and more than 50,000 South Korean troops joined those drills, although the exercise is mostly focused on computerized simulations rather than field exercises. The decision, which apparently came without consultations with Seoul or the Pentagon, surprised many in South Korea and the United States who see training as a central pillar of their countries’ decadeslong military alliance dating to the 1950-53 Korean War. The move has also alarmed Tokyo, which fears the decision could weaken the regional deterrence effect provided by the U.S. military.

Military Exercise

June 2018

['(The Japan Times)']

25 people are killed in a bomb assault in the Nigerian town Suleja.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 08, (THEWILL) - A dirty bomb which exploded inside the Suleja, Niger State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has killed 25 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and severely wounded about 48 others, according to multiple sources in Suleja. THEWILL gathered that the explosion occurred at about 5.47. pm at the Kwamba area office of the commission just when corpers hired as adhoc staff by INEC for Saturday’s election were checking the notice board to know where they have been posted to. Multiple sources told THEWILL correspondent in Niger State that the impact of the blast was so severe that it left many victims dismembered. “The bomb must have been planted very close to the corpers because body parts were scattered all over the premises. The place was packed full when suddenly there was a loud bang,” one of our sources said. THEWILL gathered that the remains of the dead and those wounded have been taken to the Suleja General Hospital. The Niger State Police Commissioner Bala Hassan has relocated to Suleja while investigation into the incident has commenced, according to police spokesman for Niger State, Mr. Richard Oguche, who confirmed the blast. He added that those who carried out the bombing would be apprehended. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. Recall that last month, multiple blasts during a PDP campaign rally killed about 9 persons in the area. Meanwhile, the Niger State Governor, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu has condemned the blast saying the bloodshed is unfortunate. He urged allresidents of the state to remain calm as the perpetrators of the actintended to use it to cause panic and chaos in order to scare votersaway fromparticipating in the elections. Speaking through his Director General of Media,Mallam Bala Ibrahim Abdulkadir,the governorsympathised with the families of the victims of the blasts and assured that the state government would bear the cost of treatment for the wounded. He further urged residents not to be deterred by the bombingbut instead should turnout en masseduring the polls to show that the will of the people cannot be broken.

Armed Conflict

April 2011

['(THEWILL)']

Cambodia declares a day of mourning for at least 378 people killed in a stampede in the capital Phnom Penh.

Families in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh have been scouring morgues and hospitals in search of relatives missing after a deadly stampede. Search teams have also been trawling a river for bodies after the crush on a footbridge left at least 378 people dead and hundreds more injured. Prime Minister Hun Sen declared Thursday a day of mourning and promised an investigation into the disaster. The stampede happened on the final day of the traditional Water Festival. Witnesses said the bridge had become overcrowded. Hun Sen described the stampede as the "biggest tragedy" to hit Cambodia since the mass killings carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. He has ordered all government ministries to fly the national flag at half-mast. At the Preah Kossamak hospital, San Supa told how she discovered that her daughter and son-in-law had died in the stampede. "They both told me that they wanted to watch the light boat parade at night and then they went missing and I came straight away to the hospital and I found out that they died," she said. Another woman, Sem Sreyleak, said she had been scouring makeshift morgues and the city's hospitals looking for her niece. "She came to Phnom Penh a day before the Water Festival started. There is still no news about her," she said. The bridge crosses the Bassac river, which on Tuesday was being searched for victims believed to have drowned after falling into the water. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said 755 people had been injured and warned that the death toll could rise further. No foreigners were said to be among those killed. Authorities had estimated that more than two million people would attend the three-day festival, one of the main events of the year in Cambodia. Panic broke out after a concert on Diamond Island, which followed a boat race on the Tonle Sap river regarded as a highlight of the festivities. Sean Ngu, an Australian who was visiting family and friends in Cambodia, told the BBC too many people had been on the bridge. He said some of the victims were electrocuted. "There were too many people on the bridge and then both ends were pushing," he said. "This caused a sudden panic. The pushing caused those in the middle to fall to the ground, then [get] crushed. "Panic started and at least 50 people jumped in the river. People tried to climb on to the bridge, grabbing and pulling [electric] cables which came loose and electrical shock caused more deaths." Khon Sros told Reuters news agency from her hospital bed that the area had been packed. "People were pushing each other and I fell," she said. "People were shouting 'go, go'." The 19-year-old said she had been pinned in the crowd from her waist down until police pulled her out. "One man died near me. He was weak and didn't have enough air." A day after the disasters, sunglasses, flip-flops and brightly coloured clothes lay scattered on the bridge. Revellers watched as the bodies of youths in party clothes were carried away from the bridge, which was still decked with bright lights from the festival. Many of the dead appeared to be teenagers. The stampede is the world's worst since August 2005, when more than 1,000 Shia pilgrims were crushed to death or drowned in the Tigris river in Baghdad, Iraq, after rumours of a suicide bomb attack sparked a panic.

Riot

November 2010

['(BBC)']

French taxidrivers, air traffic controllers and school teachers go on strike over working conditions and competition from non–traditional services such as Uber.

Paris police fired tear gas and taxi drivers lit bonfires on a major highway Tuesday amid nationwide strikes and protests over working conditions and competition from non-traditional services such as Uber. Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with taxi drivers in an apparent attempt to defuse tensions. He condemned the drivers' violence but promised to strengthen a police crackdown on the competing taxi services the drivers are protesting. He is also forming a panel of taxi company representatives and government ministers to discuss reforms in the sector. Tuesday's protests are the latest challenge to the Socialist government as it tries to modernize the economy and find France's place in an increasingly globalized, online marketplace. One in five flights were canceled at Paris airports and other flights faced delays as air traffic controllers staged a walkout and taxi drivers disrupted roads. Twenty people were detained at protests around the French capital, according to Paris police, and i-Tele television reported that two people were injured at Orly Airport when a shuttle bus tried to force its way past a taxi drivers' blockade. Some teachers and other public servants are also on strike over wages, education reforms and working conditions. Hundreds of French taxis, joined by a few from Belgium and Spain, blocked a massive intersection leading into western Paris. Dozens of taxi drivers tried to march onto an eight-lane bypass, but police pushed them back with tear gas. Some drivers set pre-dawn bonfires, put out later by firefighters. Traditional taxi drivers say they're suffering unfair competition from Uber, which has faced legal challenges around Europe. Uber's lowest-cost service is banned in France and two Uber executives go on trial next month in Paris for fraud. Previous French taxi protests have also turned violent, with ambushes of Uber drivers and passengers. Karim Asnoun, head of the CGT Taxi Union, said at Tuesday's Paris protest: "Unfortunately the governments are weak and as unemployment is pressuring them, they cede. They think they are creating jobs, whereas for every created job there is one that's destroyed." Uber sent a message to French customers warning of potential violence, saying the goal of Tuesday's protest is "to put pressure on the government to ... limit competition." It warned that limiting app-based car services would raise costs, put drivers out of work and send customers back to the era "before apps and smartphones." Protests were also held in other French cities. Uber drivers "vandalize professionals who are paying taxes, who respect the rules," said Rachid Boudjema, 37, president of the taxi drivers union in Marseille. He described "American cowboys" who "want to destroy our system, the system we are all attached to."

Strike

January 2016

['(AP via ABC News America)']

Queen Elizabeth II is admitted to hospital for observation after experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis. Buckingham Palace has described it as a "precaution".

The Queen is in hospital as a precaution, while she is assessed for symptoms of gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace says. The 86-year-old monarch has been taken to King Edward VII's Hospital in London, a palace spokesman said. She was driven to hospital in a private car on Sunday afternoon. The palace said she was "in good spirits". All official engagements for this week, including the Queen's trip to Rome, will be either cancelled or postponed. She had earlier carried out a medal presentation at Windsor Castle, where she has been resting over the weekend. A spokesman for the Queen said she was in "good health", besides the symptoms of gastroenteritis. He said: "This is a precautionary measure. "She was not taken into hospital immediately after feeling the symptoms. This is simply to enable doctors to better assess her." Prime Minister David Cameron sent his "best wishes" to the Queen, adding in a tweet: "I hope she makes a speedy recovery." The BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt says the Queen will remain in hospital under observation for about two days. She was last in hospital 10 years ago for a minor knee operation. The BBC's Ben Ando, outside the central London hospital, says there is a small police presence and members of the press from around the world have gathered near the entrance. There is no sign of any visitors to the Queen as yet, says our correspondent. News of her illness emerged on Friday night, and she was forced to cancel a trip to Swansea on Saturday to mark St David's Day in a military ceremony. Gastroenteritis causes inflammation of the stomach lining and intestines. The infection can be transmitted through contact with an infected person or contaminated food and drink. Symptoms can include vomiting, fever and stomach ache. The Queen's treatment, which has not been disclosed, could include rehydration and tests to establish if the illness has been caused by an infection or an underlying problem. The Queen had been due to spend two days in Rome with the Duke of Edinburgh next weekend, at the invitation of Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano. It is not now clear whether the visit will be re-scheduled. A reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for MPs and MEPs will go ahead with other members of the royal family present. According to the BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, the Queen may well have gone to hospital slightly unwillingly, as her inclination is not to make a fuss. During last year's celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen spent a rain-drenched day journeying down the Thames as part of the river pageant - after which her husband, the 91-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, was taken to hospital with a bladder infection. Sick Queen cancels Swansea visit GP: 'Gastroenteritis very common'

Famous Person - Sick

March 2013

['(BBC)']

Average peak concentrations of PM2.5 are more than twice as great in Delhi as in Beijing during the first three weeks of the year.

NEW DELHI — In mid-January, air pollution in Beijing was so bad that the government issued urgent health warnings and closed four major highways, prompting the panicked buying of air filters and donning of face masks. But in New Delhi, where pea-soup smog created what was by some measurements even more dangerous air, there were few signs of alarm in the country’s boisterous news media, or on its effervescent Twittersphere. Despite Beijing’s widespread reputation of having some of the most polluted air of any major city in the world, an examination of daily pollution figures collected from both cities suggests that New Delhi’s air is more laden with dangerous small particles of pollution, more often, than Beijing’s. Lately, a very bad air day in Beijing is about an average one in New Delhi. The United States Embassy in Beijing sent out warnings in mid-January, when a measure of harmful fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 went above 500, in the upper reaches of the measurement scale, for the first time this year. This refers to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which is believed to pose the greatest health risk because it penetrates deeply into lungs. But for the first three weeks of this year, New Delhi’s average daily peak reading of fine particulate matter from Punjabi Bagh, a monitor whose readings are often below those of other city and independent monitors, was 473, more than twice as high as the average of 227 in Beijing. By the time pollution breached 500 in Beijing for the first time on the night of Jan. 15, Delhi had already had eight such days. Indeed, only once in three weeks did New Delhi’s daily peak value of fine particles fall below 300, a level more than 12 times the exposure limit recommended by the World Health Organization. “It’s always puzzled me that the focus is always on China and not India,” said Dr. Angel Hsu, director of the environmental performance measurement program at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. “China has realized that it can’t hide behind its usual opacity, whereas India gets no pressure to release better data. So there simply isn’t good public data on India like there is for China.” Experts have long known that India’s air is among the worst in the world. A recent analysis by Yale researchers found that seven of the 10 countries with the worst air pollution exposures are in South Asia. And evidence is mounting that Indians pay a higher price for air pollution than almost anyone. A recent study showed that Indians have the world’s weakest lungs, with far less capacity than Chinese lungs. Researchers are beginning to suspect that India’s unusual mix of polluted air, poor sanitation and contaminated water may make the country among the most dangerous in the world for lungs. India has the world’s highest death rate because of chronic respiratory diseases, and it has more deaths from asthma than any other nation, according to the World Health Organization. A recent study found that half of all visits to doctors in India are for respiratory problems, according to Sundeep Salvi, director of the Chest Research Foundation in Pune. Clean Air Asia, an advocacy group, found that another common measure of pollution known as PM10, for particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter, averaged 117 in Beijing in a six-month period in 2011. In New Delhi, the Center for Science and Environment used government data and found that an average measure of PM10 in 2011 was 281, nearly two-and-a-half times higher. Perhaps most worrisome, Delhi’s peak daily fine particle pollution levels are 44 percent higher this year than they were last year, when they averaged 328 over the first three weeks of the year. Fine particle pollution has been strongly linked with premature death, heart attacks, strokes and heart failure. In October, the World Health Organization declared that it caused lung cancer. The United States Embassy in Beijing posts on Twitter the readings of its air monitor, helping to spur awareness of the problem. The readings have more than 35,000 followers. The United States does not release similar readings from its New Delhi Embassy, saying the Indian government releases its own figures. In China, concerns about air quality have transfixed many urban residents, and some government officials say curbing the pollution is a priority. But in India, Delhi’s newly elected regional government did not mention air pollution among its 18 priorities, and India’s environment minister quit in December amid widespread criticism that she was delaying crucial industrial projects. Her replacement, the government’s petroleum minister, almost immediately approved several projects that could add considerably to pollution. India and China strenuously resisted pollution limits in global climate talks in Warsaw in November. Frank Hammes, chief executive of IQAir, a Swiss-based maker of air filters, said his company’s sales were hundreds of times higher in China than in India. Advertisement “In China, people are extremely concerned about the air, especially around small children,” Mr. Hammes said. “Why there’s not the same concern in India is puzzling.” In multiple interviews, Delhiites expressed a mixture of unawareness and despair about the city’s pollution levels. “I don’t think pollution is a major concern for Delhi,” said Akanksha Singh, a 20-year-old engineering student who lives on Delhi’s outskirts in Ghaziabad, adding that he felt that Delhi’s pollution problems were not nearly as bad as those of surrounding towns. In 1998, India’s Supreme Court ordered that Delhi’s taxis, three-wheelers and buses be converted to compressed natural gas, but the resulting improvements in air quality were short-lived as cars flooded the roads. In the 1970s, Delhi had about 800,000 vehicles; now it has 7.5 million, with 1,400 more added daily. “Now the air is far worse than it ever was,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of the Center for Science and Environment. Indians’ relatively poor lung function has long been recognized, but researchers assumed for years that the difference was genetic. Then a 2010 study found that the children of Indian immigrants who were born and raised in the United States had far better lung function than those born and raised in India. “It’s not genetics; it’s mostly the environment,” said Dr. MyLinh Duong, an assistant professor of respirology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In a study published in October, Dr. Duong compared lung tests taken in 38,517 healthy nonsmokers from 17 countries who were matched by height, age and sex. Indians’ lung function was by far the lowest among those tested. All of this has led some wealthy Indians to consider leaving. Annat Jain, a private equity investor who returned to India in 2001 after spending 12 years in the United States, said his father died last year of heart failure worsened by breathing problems. Now his 4-year-old daughter must be given twice-daily breathing treatments. “But whenever we leave the country, everyone goes back to breathing normally,” he said. “It’s something my wife and I talk about constantly.”

Environment Pollution

January 2014

['(fine particulate air pollution)', '(New York Times)']

The Islamic City Council of Tehran appoints Pirouz Hanachi as the new mayor of Tehran, the third in 18 months.

The Tehran city council has elected a little-known technocrat to the politically sensitive post of mayor, Iranian state media report. Pirouz Hanachi, 54, is the third mayor of Tehran to be elected since reformists swept the city-council elections in May 2017. Hanachi's selection needs to be approved by the Interior Ministry within 10 days in a mostly procedural process. Hanachi, an architecture professor at Tehran University, has previously served as deputy minister at the Roads and Urban Development Ministry. He replaces Mohammad Ali Afshani, who came out of retirement to take the mayor's position in May but had to give up office after a law adopted in September banned retirees from holding official posts. Afshani's predecessor, Mohammad Ali Najafi, who became mayor following the May 2017 polls, resigned in March citing health concerns.

Government Job change - Appoint_Inauguration

November 2018

['(RFE/RL)']

Three explosions occur in the former Burmese capital of Yangon during the city's Water Festival, killing at least 9 people and injuring 178.

The BBC's Rachel Harvey: "It does seem to have been very deliberately targeted" Three explosions in Burma's former capital city, Rangoon, have killed at least nine people, reports say. The blasts happened in a park by Kandawgyi Lake as residents marked the New Year water festival. Reports said scores of people had been injured and one hospital official said the death toll was expected to rise. Burmese state TV said the blasts had been caused by bombs. Burma's generals usually blame attacks on dissidents or ethnic groups fighting for autonomy. State TV at first confirmed that six people - and later eight - had been killed, but multiple reports quoting hospital sources and officials put the death toll at nine. There were no claims of responsibility but state TV blamed the attacks on "terrorists", without naming any group. Bomb blasts occur sporadically in and around Rangoon, which is the military-ruled nation's commercial hub. But co-ordinated attacks which cause a large number of casualties are very rare. 'Drenched in blood' Reports said the explosions happened at about 1500 local time (0830 GMT) near pavilions erected for the celebrations. Witnesses said the emergency ward of Rangoon hospital was closed to outsiders after at least 30 injured people were rushed there, AP news agency reported. One described a scene of chaos and commotion, with injured people arriving drenched in blood and people crying and moaning. State TV said 75 people had been wounded. The blasts come as Burma prepares to hold its first elections in two decades. Imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, has already said it will not take part because of election laws which it says are unjust. Burma's rulers announced in 2005 that Rangoon was to be replaced as the country's capital by Nay Pyi Taw.

Armed Conflict

April 2010

['(Xinhua)', '(BBC)', '(Radio Australia News)']

Turkey launches a military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, in response to attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party that killed at least 24 Turkish soldiers in southeastern Turkey.

At least 26 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels at police and army posts in south-east Turkey, the government says. The attacks, in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari, are thought to have inflicted the biggest loss on Turkish security forces in years. In response, Turkish troops are reported to have crossed into northern Iraq where the rebels are based. President Abdullah Gul has vowed a "great vengeance". The attacks come a day after a blast in the south-east Bitlis province killed five police officers and three others. President Gul recently visited troops in the region to boost morale in an area that has recently seen a spike in violence by Kurdish rebels. Turkey has responded to this with a police crackdown on suspected rebel sympathisers and air strikes on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq. Rebels are seeking greater autonomy in the country's Kurdish-dominated south-east, and have killed dozens of members of the country's security forces, and at least 17 civilians, since mid-July. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984. The latest violence - thought to be at least two simultaneous ambushes - took place in Cukurca and the district of Yuksekova overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday. The ministry of interior said 26 soldiers had died and 16 were injured. "We have been clashing with the Turkish forces in two areas since around 03:00," Dostdar Hamo, a spokesman for the rebel group, told AP news agency by telephone. This is the biggest attack in terms of soldiers' loss of life since 1993, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul, and the public pressure to respond will be intense. Turkey's army is a conscript one and many families will have sent sons to serve. Security sources say Turkish planes are bombing Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq, while local news sources say soldiers have also entered the area. Fighter jets and gunships have been leaving the main air base in the south-east. "No-one should forget that those who make us suffer this pain will be made to suffer even stronger," President Gul told reporters. "They will see that the vengeance for these attacks will be great." The prime minister and foreign minister had both cancelled overseas trips in response to the bloodshed, reports said. In response to a mid-August rebel attack in Cukurca which killed nine Turkish soldiers, Turkish jets bombed Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq, killing up to 160 rebels, Turkish officials said. The Turkish government complains that the border with northern Iraq is leaky, allowing rebels to infiltrate with relative ease, our correspondent says. But previous attempts to pummel rebel bases in northern Iraq have not had the desired effect on rebel activity, he says. There is little talk now of renewing the so-called "democratic opening", an initiative from two years ago, which aimed to end the conflict in the south-east by expanding the rights of the Kurdish minority, our correspondent adds. Bomb blast kills eight in Turkey Turkey strikes 'killed 160 rebels' Turkey country profile PKK attack kills Turkish soldiers

Armed Conflict

October 2011

['(Hurriyet Daily News)', '(BBC)']

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks sweep the Yomiuri Giants to win the Japan Series.

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — The Japanese baseball season started late and the schedule was cut back, but the end result the same as usual. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won their fourth straight Japan Series title on Wednesday, sweeping Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants in four games in the best-of-seven series. The Hawks won the clinching game 4-1 in the southwestern city of Fukuoka after taking the first three by the mostly one-sided scores of 13-2, 5-1 and 4-0. The Hawks won last season the same way, taking four straight from the Giants in the season-ending series. The Hawks have become a dynasty in Japan. They have now won the last four titles, six of the last seven, and seven of the last 10. The four games in the series were played in stadiums half-filled with fans because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fans wore masks and concession stands were open, but the singing and cheering that is typical at Japanese games was more subdued. Attendance on Wednesday at the PayPay Dome in Fukuoka was 19,679 in a stadium that holds 38,500 for baseball. The Giants played the first two games of the series as the home team in the Kyocera Dome in Osaka. The Tokyo Dome, the Giants’ home field, was booked for another event and unavailable because of the late end to the season. Japan opened its season, shortened to 120 games from the usual 143, in June playing in empty stadiums, but after several weeks small crowds of 5,000 were admitted. That was boosted eventually to allow about 50% capacity at most games.

Sports Competition

November 2020

['(AP)']

Republican lawmakers block the United States Senate from taking up a bill to grant voting rights to Washington DC.

Republican lawmakers yesterday blocked the Senate from taking up the D.C. vote bill, a potentially fatal setback for the District's most promising effort in years to get a full member of Congress. The vote was on a motion to simply consider the bill. Fifty-seven senators voted in favor, three short of the 60 needed to proceed. Without enough support to vault the Senate's procedural hurdles, the bill is expected to stall this year and possibly next year. The Senate action was a crushing disappointment to many activists in the decades-long campaign for voting representation in Congress. The bill, which passed the House in April, has gone further than any other D.C. vote measure in almost 30 years. Glum-faced supporters vowed to fight on. "We have not given up," said Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District's nonvoting congressional delegate. "The session is not over. We have come too far to stop now." The bill was a compromise aimed at appealing to both parties. It would expand the House by two seats: one for the overwhelmingly Democratic District and the other for the next state in line to add a seat. That state currently is Utah, which is heavily Republican. Utah would also gain an electoral vote. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and the White House have strongly criticized the legislation. They maintain that, because the District is not a state, the bill violates the constitutional mandate that House members be chosen by the "People of the several States." "I opposed this bill because it is clearly and unambiguously unconstitutional," McConnell said in a statement. "If the residents of the District are to get a member for themselves, they have a remedy: amend the Constitution." In addition to voicing legal concerns, opponents were wary of the bill's potential political repercussions. Some Republicans feared that the measure could eventually lead to the addition of two full D.C. senators, who probably would be Democrats. Yesterday's vote marked the first time the full Senate had considered the D.C. voting rights issue since 1978, when it passed a constitutional amendment that would have given the city voting representatives in the House and Senate. The amendment died seven years later after getting approval from only 16 of the 38 states required for ratification. Proponents have portrayed the bill as a civil rights measure, saying that depriving a majority African American city of a vote echoes discriminatory practices outlawed decades ago. They also have said it is hypocritical for the United States to fight for voting rights in Iraq while denying them in its own capital. "It's time to end the injustice, the national embarrassment that citizens of this great capital city don't have voting representation in Congress," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a brief floor session before the vote. Opponents did not make speeches.

Government Policy Changes

September 2007

['(Washington Post)']

The United Nations warns that the situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate as humanitarian aid starts to arrive.

The United Nationsis calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more life-saving aid to be brought into Yemen by air and sea. Johannes Van Der Klaauw, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen,says basic services are collapsing and people are facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions as airstrikes and other armed actions have spread to 15 of the country’s 22 governorates. The world deliberative body says millions of people are at risk of physical injury or death because of the fighting and the lack of basic services, including health care, safe water and food. The World Health Organization reports 648 people have been killed and 2,191 wounded. The WHO also warned of measles, meningitis and typhoid outbreaks. Van Der Klaauw saysschools, health facilities, markets, power plants and other civilian infrastructure have been damaged and disrupted by the fighting. “Shortages of food, shortages of fuel are now being reported across the countryand, as a result, prices for food and commodities have increased significantly," he said. "Many areas in the country are now also experiencing frequent power cuts, shortages of water and fuel. In ... Aden, 1 million people risk being cut off from access to clean drinking water within a matter of days unless additional fuel is brought in." Both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. Children’s Fund succeeded in bringing urgently needed medical and other supplies into Yemen on Friday. Van Der Klaauw said he is pleased that these relief flights were given the go ahead. Van De Klaauw, however, also told VOA he is calling for a humanitarian pause because the occasional flight or shipload of goods allowed into the country is not sufficient to address the overwhelming needs. “We need many more of these flights coming in, many more of these boats coming in. So, in order to make this coordination of the aid coming in effective, we need to set up this mechanism and for that we need space…we need every day the air space cleared for the planes coming in and out,” he said. Meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency reports an increase in the number of people fleeing the war in Yemen. It said some 900 refugees have fled to Djibouti and to Somalia’s Puntland and Somaliland over the last 10 days. The vast majority are Somalis, followed by Yemenis and a small number of Ethiopian and Djiboutian nationals. The International Organization for Migration reports it has received requests from 38 governments to help repatriate 13,000 nationals.

Armed Conflict

April 2015

['(Voice of America)']

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.

A strong earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia but experts say there isn't a tsunami threat. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 7.1 quake hit Wednesday afternoon about 230 kilometres east of Tadine in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands. The quake was about 290km from Isangel in Vanuatu. The USGS says it was about 26km deep. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. READ MORE: * Tsunami waves hit alert New Caledonia and Vanuatu after big quake hits Pacific * 6.8m earthquake near Tonga and Samoa * Deep 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes cyclone-affected Vanuatu * Magnitude 5.7 quake hits north of Vanuatu The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says it does not expect a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami and there is no threat to Hawaii. New Caledonia and Vanuatu sit on the Pacific's 'Ring of Fire', an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common. The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management have said there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand. Earlier in the same day, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake rattled a wide area of Southern California. But there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.   The temblor struck about 7.33pm (local time) and was centered about 4.8km north of La Verne, a San Gabriel Valley city about 40km east of downtown Los Angeles, according to a preliminary report by the US Geological Survey. It was followed a minute later by a magnitude 3.4 quake. The quake was about four miles deep, but it was felt sharply near the epicentre. Vickie Carillo and her son were sitting on the couch of their La Verne home, watching Jaws 2, when the quake struck. "It was like if somebody had grabbed it and was shaking the house," Carillo told the Los Angeles Times. Carillo said she screamed. Her family picked up their two Jack Russell terriers and ran outside, where they joined about a dozen neighbours. Victor Flores said the temblor violently shook his two-story house in the hills. "It was moving the whole house," he told the Times. "It shook hard for what seemed like 10 to 20 seconds, and then it just kept going. It was really loud too, kind of like thunder. It just hit really hard and quick." The temblor made the water slosh in his swimming pool, Flores added. The quake shook buildings for several seconds in downtown Los Angeles. It was also felt as a rolling motion dozens of miles away and as far away as the San Diego area, about 160km south.

Earthquakes

August 2018

['(Stuff)']

All 42 people, including 27 students, who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kagara, Niger State, Nigeria, on February 17 are released by their captors.

Twenty-seven students, three staff and 12 members of their families had been abducted last week by an armed gang. Gunmen in Nigeria have released 42 people, including 27 students, who were kidnapped from a boarding school last week in the north-central state of Niger, the state’s governor said. Their release comes just a day after a separate raid on a school in Nigeria’s Zamfara state where gunmen seized more than 300 girls. Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups, many of whom carry guns and ride motorcycles, are common across many northern Nigerian states. Last week, 27 students, three staff and 12 members of their families were abducted by an armed gang who stormed the Government Science secondary school in the Kagara district of Niger state at around 2am local time, overwhelming the school’s security detail. One boy was killed during the raid. “The Abducted Students, Staff and Relatives of Government Science Collage Kagara have regained their freedom and have been received by the Niger State Government,” Governor Abubakar Sani Bello said in a tweet. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abuja, said their release followed days of tense negotiations between the government of Niger state and the government and federal forces. “They spent at least 9-10 days in captivity, and at some point a lot of people gave up that anything good will come out of these negotiations,” he said. Idris said the government was not saying whether it had paid a ransom, after previously ruling out such a move. “But we understand that the bandits demanded the release of at least six of their members held in police custody. Banditry and kidnapping has become the biggest criminal enterprise now growing fast across Nigeria,” Idris said. The recent attacks have raised concern about rising violence by armed gangs and groups and in Nigeria. Armed group Boko Haram carries out abductions in Nigeria’s turbulent northeast, as does a branch of the ISIL (ISIS) group. The unrest has become a political problem for President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has faced mounting criticism in recent months over high profile attacks by the gangs known locally as “bandits”. Buhari replaced his longstanding military chiefs this month amid worsening violence in Nigeria. Violence and insecurity have compounded the economic challenges faced by citizens in Africa’s most populous country and top oil exporter, which is struggling to cope with a fall in revenues due to a slump in crude prices in addition to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armed Conflict

February 2021

['(Al Jazeera)']

Hungarian MEP, EPP Chief Whip and Vice-President, and one of the founders of the anti-LGBT Fidesz party, József Szájer, resigns after being detained by police at a homosexual orgy in Brussels alongside several other diplomats. He stands accused by Belgian authorities of being in possession of illegal drugs and violating COVID-19 restrictions.

An MEP from Hungary's ruling party, which is hostile to LGBT rights, has quit after he was caught attending what Belgian media describe as a gay sex party in Brussels on Friday. Jozsef Szajer, a top member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, was stopped by police after reports of a house party violating lockdown rules. Prosecutors say he was found with drugs as he tried to flee the gathering, reportedly shinning down a drainpipe. He apologised for "a personal failing". On Friday he had pleaded parliamentary immunity but he is now under investigation - for both non-compliance with measures relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and violation of drug laws. The European Parliament said the immunity rule only extended to an MEP's official duties, not to their private life. At around 21:00 (20:00 GMT), prosecutors say, police were alerted by neighbours who complained about noise and potential lockdown breaches in an apartment located on Rue des Pierres in the centre of the Belgian capital. Inside the flat, police found about 20 people, two of whom - not including Mr Szajer - invoked diplomatic immunity. Most of those present were men, some of whom were naked when police burst in, Belga news agency reports. They were cautioned for having broken the lockdown rules. A passer-by who told police he had seen a man descending a drainpipe was able to identify him. The man's hands were bloody and it is possible he was injured while fleeing. "Narcotics were found in his backpack," a statement by prosecutors says. "The man was unable to produce any identity documents. He was escorted to his place of residence where he identified himself as S. J. (1961) by means of a diplomatic passport." Criminal proceedings may only be brought if parliamentary immunity is waived, the statement adds. The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest says Mr Szajer's sudden resignation as an MEP on Sunday surprised his political friends and foes alike. He had blamed "increasing mental strain" for the decision. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Szajer admitted he had attended the party on Friday but did not describe it. "I didn't use drugs, I told the police on the spot I was willing to undergo an official test, but they didn't do one," he said. "The police said an ecstasy pill was found. It was not mine, I don't know who planted it or how. I made a statement to the police about this." "I am sorry that I broke the rules of assembly," he added, "this was irresponsible on my part, and I will take the sanctions that come with it." Belgium's De Standaard daily says the usual fine for breaking the Covid rules on assembly is 250 (224). Jozsef Szajer's resignation, followed by his confession that he took part in what media have described as a "gay orgy", is a serious blow for Fidesz, which has governed Hungary for the past decade. Mr Szajer was one of the founders of Fidesz in March 1988, and remains a close confidant of Prime Minister Orban. He has been an MEP for 16 years, for the past 11 as chief whip and vice-president of the European People's Party. He has played a key role in keeping Fidesz inside the conservative political grouping, despite fierce criticism. He is married to Tunde Hando, former president of the National Judiciary Office, now a Constitutional Court judge. The sex scandal is particularly embarrassing for a party which campaigns for traditional family values and recently proposed a law to ban gay adoption.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

December 2020

['(BBC)']

An investigation by Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News found that since 1998, about 380 Southern Baptist church clerics, laypersons, and volunteers have faced credible accusations of sexual abuse and that of those, roughly 220 were convicted of sex crimes or received plea deals, in cases involving more than 700 victims. Many accusers were young men and women, who allegedly experienced everything from molestation to rape and impregnation at the hands of church members.

This collection of mug shots includes a portion of the 218 people who, since 1998, worked or volunteered in Southern Baptist churches and were convicted of or pleaded guilty to sex crimes. Published Feb. 10, 2019 First of six parts Thirty-five years later, Debbie Vasquez's voice trembled as she described her trauma to a group of Southern Baptist leaders. She was 14, she said, when she was first molested by her pastor in Sanger, a tiny prairie town an hour north of Dallas. It was the first of many assaults that Vasquez said destroyed her teenage years and, at 18, left her pregnant by the Southern Baptist pastor, a married man more than a dozen years older. In June 2008, she paid her way to Indianapolis, where she and others asked leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and its 47,000 churches to track sexual predators and take action against congregations that harbored or concealed abusers. Vasquez, by then in her 40s, implored them to consider prevention policies like those adopted by faiths that include the Catholic Church. In this 2007 file photo, Debbie Vasquez holds a photo of herself at age 14, when she says she was first molested by the pastor of her church in Sanger, about one hour north of Dallas. (Donna McWilliam/Associated Press) "Listen to what God has to say," she said, according to audio of the meeting, which she recorded. "... All that evil needs is for good to do nothing. ... Please help me and others that will be hurt." Days later, Southern Baptist leaders rejected nearly every proposed reform. The abusers haven't stopped. They've hurt hundreds more. Prosecutors, convicted pastors discuss sexual assault. In the decade since Vasquez's appeal for help, more than 250 people who worked or volunteered in Southern Baptist churches have been charged with sex crimes, an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News reveals. It's not just a recent problem: In all, since 1998, roughly 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct, the newspapers found. That includes those who were convicted, credibly accused and successfully sued, and those who confessed or resigned. More of them worked in Texas than in any other state. They left behind more than 700 victims, many of them shunned by their churches, left to themselves to rebuild their lives. Some were urged to forgive their abusers or to get abortions. About 220 offenders have been convicted or took plea deals, and dozens of cases are pending. They were pastors. Ministers. Youth pastors. Sunday school teachers. Deacons. Church volunteers. Current as of June 2019 In 2007, victims of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist pastors requested creation of a registry containing the names of current and former leaders of Southern Baptist churches who had been convicted of sex crimes or who had been credibly accused. That didn't happen; the last time any such list was made public was by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It contained the names of eight sex criminals. In 2018, as advocates again pressed SBC officials for such a registry, Houston Chronicle reporters began to search news archives, websites and databases nationwide to compile an archive of allegations of sexual abuse, sexual assault and other serious misconduct involving Southern Baptist pastors and other church officials. We found complaints made against hundreds of pastors, church officials and volunteers at Southern Baptist churches nationwide. We focused our search on the 10 years preceding the victims' first call for a registry and on the 10-plus years since. And we concentrated on individuals who had a documented connection to a church listed in an SBC directory published by a state or national association. We verified details in hundreds of accounts of abuse by examining federal and state court databases, prison records and official documents from more than 20 states and by searching sex offender registries nationwide. In Texas, we visited more than a dozen county courthouses. We interviewed district attorneys and police in more than 40 Texas counties. We filed dozens of public records requests in Texas and nationwide. Ultimately, we compiled information on roughly 400 credibly accused officials in Southern Baptist churches, including pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers and volunteers. We verified that about 260 had been convicted of sex crimes or received deferred prosecutions in plea deals and sent letters to all of them soliciting their responses to summaries we compiled. We received written responses from more than 30 and interviewed three in Texas prisons. Find our records that relate to those convicted or forced to register as sex offenders at HoustonChronicle.com/AbuseofFaith. Nearly 100 are still held in prisons stretching from Sacramento County, Calif., to Hillsborough County, Fla., state and federal records show. Scores of others cut deals and served no time. More than 100 are registered sex offenders. Some still work in Southern Baptist churches today. Journalists in the two newsrooms spent more than six months reviewing thousands of pages of court, prison and police records and conducting hundreds of interviews. They built a database of former leaders in Southern Baptist churches who have been convicted of sex crimes. The investigation reveals that: At least 35 church pastors, employees and volunteers who exhibited predatory behavior were still able to find jobs at churches during the past two decades. In some cases, church leaders apparently failed to alert law enforcement about complaints or to warn other congregations about allegations of misconduct. Several past presidents and prominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are among those criticized by victims for concealing or mishandling abuse complaints within their own churches or seminaries. Some registered sex offenders returned to the pulpit. Others remain there, including a Houston preacher who sexually assaulted a teenager and now is the principal officer of a Houston nonprofit that works with student organizations, federal records show. Its name: Touching the Future Today Inc. Many of the victims were adolescents who were molested, sent explicit photos or texts, exposed to pornography, photographed nude, or repeatedly raped by youth pastors. Some victims as young as 3 were molested or raped inside pastors' studies and Sunday school classrooms. A few were adults women and men who sought pastoral guidance and instead say they were seduced or sexually assaulted. Heather Schneider was 14 when she was molested in a choir room at Houston's Second Baptist Church, according to criminal and civil court records. Her mother, Gwen Casados, said church leaders waited months to fire the attacker, who later pleaded no contest. In response to her lawsuit, church leaders also denied responsibility. Schneider slit her wrists the day after that attack in 1994, Casados said. She survived, but she died 14 years later from a drug overdose that her mother blames on the trauma. "I never got her back," Casados said. Others took decades to come forward, and only after their lives had unraveled. David Pittman was 12, he says, when a youth minister from his Georgia church first molested him in 1981. Two other former members of the man's churches said in interviews that they also were abused by him. But by the time Pittman spoke out in 2006, it was too late to press criminal charges. The minister still works at an SBC church. Pittman won't soon forgive those who have offered prayers but taken no action. He only recently stopped hating God. "That is the greatest tragedy of all," he said. "So many people's faith is murdered. I mean, their faith is slaughtered by these predators." August "Augie" Boto, interim president of the SBC's Executive Committee, helped draft the rejection of reform proposals in 2008. In an interview, he expressed "sorrow" about some of the newspapers' findings but said the convention's leadership can do only so much to stop sexual abuses. "It would be sorrow if it were 200 or 600" cases, Boto said. "Sorrow. What we're talking about is criminal. The fact that criminal activity occurs in a church context is always the basis of grief. But it's going to happen. And that statement does not mean that we must be resigned to it." Gwen Casados, mother of Heather Schneider, says her daughter’s life was ruined by a pageant director at Houston’s Second Baptist Church. At the core of Southern Baptist doctrine is local church autonomy, the idea that each church is independent and self-governing. It's one of the main reasons that Boto said most of the proposals a decade ago were viewed as flawed by the executive committee because the committee doesn't have the authority to force churches to report sexual abuse to a central registry. Because of that, Boto said, the committee "realized that lifting up a model that could not be enforced was an exercise in futility," and so instead drafted a report that "accepted the existence of the problem rather than attempting to define its magnitude." Q&A:Investigation into sexual abuse 'shining the light of day upon crime,' Southern Baptist leader says SBC churches and organizations share resources and materials, and together they fund missionary trips and seminaries. Most pastors are ordained locally after they've convinced a small group of church elders that they've been called to service by God. There is no central database that tracks ordinations, or sexual abuse convictions or allegations. All of that makes Southern Baptist churches highly susceptible to predators, says Christa Brown, an activist who wrote a book about being molested as a child by a pastor at her SBC church in Farmers Branch, a Dallas suburb. "It's a perfect profession for a con artist, because all he has to do is talk a good talk and convince people that he's been called by God, and bingo, he gets to be a Southern Baptist minister," said Brown, who lives in Colorado. "Then he can infiltrate the entirety of the SBC, move from church to church, from state to state, go to bigger churches and more prominent churches where he has more influence and power, and it all starts in some small church. "It's a porous sieve of a denomination." To try to measure the problem, the newspapers collected and cross-checked news reports, prison records, court records, sex offender registries and other documents. Reporters also conducted hundreds of interviews with victims, church leaders, investigators and offenders. ‘So many people’s faith is murdered. I mean, their faith is slaughtered by these predators.’ David Pittman, who says he was molested by his youth minister Several factors make it likely that the abuse is even more widespread than can be documented: Victims of sexual assault come forward at a low rate; many cases in churches are handled internally; and many Southern Baptist churches are in rural communities where media coverage is sparse. It's clear, however, that SBC leaders have long been aware of the problem. Bowing to pressure from activists, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, one of the largest SBC state organizations, in 2007 published a list of eight sex offenders who had served in Southern Baptist churches in Texas. EXPLAINER:What is the Southern Baptist Convention? Around the same time, the Rev. Thomas Doyle wrote to SBC leaders, imploring them to act. A priest and former high-ranking lawyer for the Catholic Church, Doyle in the 1980s was one of the earliest to blow the whistle on child sexual abuse in the church. But Catholic leaders "lied about it ... covered it up and ignored the victims," said Doyle, now retired and living in northern Virginia. Doyle turned to activism because of his experiences, work that brought him closer to those abused in Southern Baptist churches. Their stories and how the SBC handled them felt hauntingly familiar, he said. "I saw the same type of behavior going on with the Southern Baptists," he said. The responses were predictable, Doyle said. In one, Frank Page, then the SBC president, wrote that they were "taking this issue seriously" but that local church autonomy presented "serious limitations." In March, Page resigned as president and CEO of the SBC's Executive Committee for "a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past," according to the executive committee. Details have not been disclosed, but SBC officials said they had "no reason to suspect any legal impropriety." Page declined to be interviewed. Other leaders have acknowledged that Baptist churches are troubled by predators but that they could not interfere in local church affairs. Even so, the SBC has ended its affiliation with at least four churches in the past 10 years for affirming or endorsing homosexual behavior. The SBC governing documents ban gay or female pastors, but they do not outlaw convicted sex offenders from working in churches. In one email to Debbie Vasquez, Augie Boto assured her that "no Baptist I know of is pretending that 'the problem does not exist.'" "There is no question that some Southern Baptist ministers have done criminal things, including sexual abuse of children," he wrote in a May 2007 email. "It is a sad and tragic truth. Hopefully, the harm emanating from such occurrences will cause the local churches to be more aggressively vigilant." Gwen Casados sits in her daughter's room in Houston. Her daughter, Heather Schneider, was sexually abused inside Second Baptist Church in Houston in 1994 and later died of a drug overdose.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

February 2019

['(Houston Chronicle)', '(Houston Chronicle2)', '(San Antonio Express-News)']

The Czech government announced that it will open negotiations with the US Government over participation in the missile defense shield.

BERLIN, March 28 -- The Czech government announced Wednesday that it will open formal negotiations with the United States to build part of a missile defense shield, even as opposition to the idea has stiffened elsewhere in Europe. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters in Prague that his country "recognizes the threats against which the defense shield should be set." The proposed U.S. defense system, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles launched from countries such as Iran and North Korea, has drawn especially heavy criticism in Germany. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel has remained noncommittal, other members of her coalition government, as well as opposition politicians, have questioned whether Europe should play any role in development of the shield. Last week, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the defense system could divide Europe and antagonize Russia, which has also objected. The United States wants to construct a radar base in the Czech Republic and base 10 missile interceptors in Poland as the East European cornerstone of its proposed missile shield. The plan remains controversial in both countries -- critics worry that participation would invite retaliation from Russia or others -- but leading lawmakers have said they are leaning toward participation. On Wednesday, the Czech government took a firm step toward working out a deal, saying it had approved the start of formal negotiations on the radar base. Russia has said it considers the missile defense system a potential security threat, questioning whether the unarmed missile interceptors could be replaced by warheads in the future. Speaking at a security conference in Munich in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the proposed shield "could provoke nothing less than the beginning of a new nuclear era." U.S. officials have tried to assuage Russia's concerns, as well as those of European allies. After the Czech government's announcement Wednesday, President Bush called Putin in an attempt to persuade him that the missile interceptor was defensive in nature and not aimed at Russia, according to the Kremlin. The phone call apparently succeeded in cooling the dispute, at least temporarily. "The U.S. president's expression of readiness for detailed discussion on this subject with the Russian side, and for cooperation in the interests of joint security, was received with satisfaction," the Kremlin said in a statement. Meanwhile, a top Pentagon official visited Berlin to make a similar case to German officials. Eric S. Edelman, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters that the United States needed to do a better job of explaining the defense system's merits. "There are legitimate questions that people have, and we want to approach this in a very open and transparent manner," he said. "We bear a little bit of the burden here in not coming out of the gate as quickly as we should have with information."

Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting

March 2007

['(Washington Post)']

HewlettPackard , the world's largest computer maker based in the U.S. state of California, pays US$55 million amid allegations it defrauded the United States government. ,

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay $US55 million ($A61 million) to settle claims the US computer giant defrauded the US government, the Justice Department announced on Monday. The settlement resolves allegations that HP paid kickbacks to systems integrator companies in return for recommendations that US agencies buy HP products, the department said in a statement. It also resolves claims that a 2002 contract between HP and the General Services Administration, the US government's chief procurement body, was defectively priced because HP provided incomplete information to the GSA. The 2002 contract involved sales of computer equipment and software to federal agencies by the California-based company, the world's largest computer maker. "Contractors must deal fairly with the government when doing business with federal agencies," US assistant attorney general Tony West said. "As this case demonstrates, we will take action against those who seek to taint the government procurement process with illegal kickbacks," West said. HP said on August 2 it had negotiated a deal with US prosecutors to settle the case, but did not disclose the amount of the settlement. Earlier on Monday, HP announced it had been awarded a contract worth up to $US800 million ($887.71 million) to supply computing equipment to the US Air Force. HP also announced on Monday its board of directors had authorised spending up to $US10 billion ($11.1 billion) to buy back stock in the company, whose share price has slumped since chief executive Mark Hurd abruptly resigned this month. HP is currently waging a battle with US computer maker Dell for data storage firm 3PAR. HP on Friday said it would increase its offer for 3PAR to $US2 billion ($2.22 billion) or $US30 per share in cash, up 11 per cent from Dell's $US27 per share offer. HP's share price has shed approximately 15 per cent since Hurd's surprise resignation on August 6 in the wake of a sexual harassment charge that uncovered subterfuge with company expenses. HP shares gained 1.47 per cent to $US38.56 on Wall Street on Monday, but were down 0.13 per cent at $US38.51 in after-hours trading.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

August 2010

['(HP)', '(The Sydney Morning Herald)', '(AFP via France24)', '[permanent dead link]', '(BBC)']

Viva Leroy Nash, the oldest death row inmate in the United States, dies of natural causes at the age of 94.

Live NRL updates: New Zealand Warriors v Newcastle Knights FLORENCE - The oldest death row inmate in the US has died of natural causes at age 94. An Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman says Viva Leroy Nash died late Friday at the state's prison complex in Florence. Nash was still on death row, but spokesman Barrett Marson said he did not know if Nash died in his cell or in a medical facility at the prison. Nash was born in 1915 and had a criminal record dating to the 1930s. He spent 25 years in prison for shooting a Connecticut police officer in 1947, and was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a man to death in Salt Lake City in 1977. But he escaped from a prison work crew in October 1982 and fatally shot a Phoenix coin shop sales clerk a month later.

Famous Person - Death

February 2010

['(BBC)', '(The New Zealand Herald)', '(Taipei News)']

The Japanese Red Cross says that 250,000 people have been asked to leave their homes due to further tremors.

Nearly 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes amid fears of further quakes in Japan, an aid agency says. Naoki Kokawa, advisor to the Japanese Red Cross Society, told the BBC that more medical teams were being dispatched to evacuation centres. Two powerful earthquakes hit the south-western island of Kyushu last week killing at least 42 people. Japan's meteorological agency has also warned that more tremors are likely to hit in the coming days. More than 1,000 people are injured and there has been widespread damage to buildings, houses, roads and bridges. About 30,000 rescue workers are looking for survivors. Police said 11 people are still missing, public broadcaster NHK reported. Some evacuees have complained about limited food supplies, saying they had just two rice balls for dinner, reports said. Others complained about a lack of water. "Without water and electricity, we can't do anything. Without the TV, we can't even get information about disaster relief operations,'' Megumi Kudo told the Associated Press while queuing for water at a community centre in Aso city. "We can't take a bath - not even a shower.'' But, responding to opposition criticisms of the relief effort in parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted the government was doing its best. "We are striving to improve living conditions for the people who have sought refuge," he said. "Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we will be working toward a full recovery." A 61-year-old woman was found dead near her collapsed house in Kumamoto prefecture on Sunday, Japan Times reported. Saturday's magnitude-7.3 quake struck at 01:25 (15:25 GMT on Friday) close to the city of Kumamoto, which had been hit by a magnitude-6.4 quake on Thursday night. Both quakes were shallow, causing huge damage to roads, bridges and tunnels. Big landslides cut off remote mountain villages. The US military said it was preparing to provide aerial support for Japan's relief efforts. America has several military bases and about 50,000 troops in the country. The earthquakes are the biggest to have hit Japan since 2011 when a 9.0 magnitude quake caused a huge tsunami, leaving more then 19,000 dead and missing. Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes but strict building codes mean they usually cause minimal damage.

Earthquakes

April 2016

['(BBC)']

This month, at least 400,000 hectares of U.S. farmland were flooded from the early March blizzard storm that affected nine major grain-producing states, according to Israel Cleantech Ventures' Gro Intelligence.

CHICAGO/COLUMBUS, Neb. (Reuters) - At least 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) of U.S. farmland were flooded after the “bomb cyclone” storm left wide swaths of nine major grain producing states under water this month, satellite data analyzed by Gro Intelligence for Reuters showed. Floods ruin more than 1M acres of U.S. crop land 01:39 Farms from the Dakotas to Missouri and beyond have been under water for a week or more, possibly impeding planting and damaging soil. The floods, which came just weeks before planting season starts in the Midwest, will likely reduce corn, wheat and soy production this year. “There’s thousands of acres that won’t be able to be planted,” Ryan Sonderup, 36, of Fullerton, Nebraska, who has been farming for 18 years, said in a recent interview. “If we had straight sunshine now until May and June, maybe it can be done, but I don’t see how that soil gets back with expected rainfall.” Spring floods could yet impact an even bigger area of cropland. The U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned of what could be an “unprecedented flood season” as it forecasts heavy spring rains. Rivers may swell further as a deep snow pack in northern growing areas melts. The bomb cyclone of mid-March was the latest blow to farmers suffering from years of falling income and lower exports because of the U.S.-China trade war. Fields are strewn with everything from silt and sand to tires and some may not even be farmed this year. The water has also destroyed billions of dollars of old crops that were in storage, as well as damaging roads and railways. Justin Mensik, a fifth-generation farmer of corn and soybeans in Morse Bluff, Nebraska, said rebuilding roads was the first priority. Then farmers would need to bring in fertilizer trucks and then test soil before seeding, Mensik said. The flood “left a lot of silt and sand and mud in our fields, now we’re not too sure if we’re going to be able to get a good crop this year with all the new mud and junk that’s just laying here,” Mensik told Reuters. For farmers, “the biggest concern right now is corn planting,” said Aaron Saeugling, an agriculture expert at Iowa State University who does outreach with farmers. “There is just not going to be enough time to move a lot of that debris.” To be fully covered by crop insurance, Iowa farmers must plant corn by May 31 and soybeans by June 15, as yields decline dramatically when planted any later. Deadlines vary state by state. The insurance helps ensure a minimum price farmers will receive when they book sales for their crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast on Friday farmers would increase corn plantings by 4.1 percent from last year, but the estimate did not account for the flooding. Nearly 1.1 million acres of cropland and more than 84,000 acres of pastureland in the U.S. Midwest had flood water on it for at least seven days between March 8 and March 21, according to a preliminary analysis of government and satellite data by New-York based Gro Intelligence at the request of Reuters. The extent of the flooding had previously not been made public. The flooded acreage represents less than 1 percent of U.S. land used to grow corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, sorghum and barley. In 2018, some 240 million total acres of these crops were planted in the United States, USDA data shows. Iowa, the top U.S. corn and No. 2 soy producing state, had the most water, covering 474,271 acres, followed by Missouri with 203,188 acres, according to Gro Intelligence. That was in line with estimates given to Reuters this week by government officials in Iowa and Missouri. Gro Intelligence used satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Near Real-Time Global Flood Mapping product, to calculate the approximate extent and intensity of flooding. Gro Intelligence then identified how much of this area was either cropland or pastureland, according to data from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Gro Intelligence analysts cautioned the satellite imagery did not show the full extent of flooding in Nebraska, where officials declined to provide acreage estimates to Reuters, or in North Dakota. Nebraska’s governor has said the floods caused agricultural damage of $1 billion in his state. Cloud cover or snow on the ground makes it difficult to identify the flood waters in NASA satellite data, said Sara Menker, chief executive of the agricultural artificial intelligence company. In Missouri, floodwaters covered roughly 200,000 acres in five northwest counties adjoining the Missouri River as of Wednesday morning, said Charlie Rahm, spokesman for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Columbia. In Wisconsin more than 1,000 dairy and beef animals were lost during winter storms and 480 agricultural structures collapsed or damaged, according to an email from Sandy Chalmers, executive director of the Wisconsin state office of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. In the Dakotas and Minnesota, melting snows in coming months will put spring wheat planting at risk. Gro Intelligence found nearly 160,000 acres have already been flooded in Minnesota. “That’s yet to come and we will deal with that at least until the middle of April,” said Dave Nicolai, an agriculture expert at the University of Minnesota. Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago and Humeyra Pamuk in Nebraska; Additional reporting by Tom Polansek and Karl Plume in Chicago; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Simon Webb, Matthew Lewis and James Dalgleish

Floods

March 2019

['(1 million acres)', '(Reuters)']

Police announce that investigative journalist Viktoria Marinova was found murdered yesterday in a park in Ruse, Bulgaria. Marinova's latest work was on "GPgate", a scandal involving alleged corruption and abuse of European Union subsidies in Bulgaria.

SOFIA -- A Bulgarian TV reporter has been found dead in a northern border city and authorities say they are investigating into whether the killing was a random crime or connected to her reporting work. Officials said on October 7 that Viktoria Marinova, whose body was found in a park in the city of Ruse a day earlier, had also been sexually assaulted. Iliyan Enchev, the deputy regional chief of the Interior Ministry in Ruse, told a news conference that a person walking in a park in Ruse, a Danube River city on the border with Romania, notified police of a female corpse on October 6. He said her body could not be immediately identified, because there was no identification on the body, and her mobile phone was also missing. Some of her personal items were scattered near the walkway, and her body was found lying several meters away from one of her shoes, he said. A local prosecutor, Georgi Georgiev, told reporters that her mobile phone, her car keys, her eyeglasses, and some of her clothing were missing. Marinova died "of combined trauma to her head and asphyxiation," he said. Interior Minister Mladen Marinov was later quoted by news agency Focus as saying that Marinova had been sexually assaulted. Georgiev said investigators were looking into several theories, whether it was a random crime or if the attack was connected to her work. He declined to answer reporters' question about whether there was signs she had been sexually assaulted. A colleague at her employer, the private TV station TVN, confirmed Marinova’s death to RFE/RL, but declined to say anything more pending an official statement from the station. "We are in shock," the man said, asking not to be named since he was not authorized to speak publicly. A Bulgarian news site, Rusemedia.bg, said Marinova may have been jogging at the time, training for an upcoming road race. A veteran TV reporter, Marinova for many years hosted a lifestyle show and also served as a member of the management team of TVN. Several months ago, she became the host of an investigative program called Detector. The most recent show featured interviews about alleged corruption involving private companies misspending European Union funding. At a previously scheduled meeting on October 7 of officials from the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor-General's Office, and security agencies, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov promised that investigators would solve the case. Though it wasn’t immediately clear whether the killing was connected to Marinova's professional work, her death prompted a concerned response from reporting organizations in Europe. #PressFreedom: In #Bulgaria, regional TV TVN director/presenter Victoria Marinova was assassinated in Ruse last night. Her last broadcast: an interview w/ RISE Romania reporter @Biro_A and @BivolBg's Dimitar Stoyanov on #GPGate. We await more information. https://t.co/gzIcF0CA6b The press freedoms office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called for a full investigation. In a statement on October 7, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bulgarian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of Marinova's killing. "CPJ is shocked by the barbaric murder of journalist Victoria Marinova," said Tom Gibson, the organization's European Union representative. "Bulgarian authorities must employ all efforts and resources to carry out an exhaustive inquiry and bring to justice those responsible." Ivan Bedrov is the director of RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. Mike Eckel is a senior correspondent in Prague, where he reports on developments in Russia, Ukraine, and around the former Soviet Union, as well as news involving cybercrime and money laundering. Before joining RFE/RL in 2015, he worked for the Associated Press in Moscow. He has also reported and edited for The Christian Science Monitor, Al Jazeera America, Voice of America, and the Vladivostok News.

Famous Person - Death

October 2018

['(Thuner Tagblatt)', '(RFE/RL)']

Paraguay passes a bill, requested by President, Fernando Lugo, that suspends constitutional rights for 30 days in parts of the country after the Paraguayan People's Army kills four people.

Paraguay has passed a bill imposing a temporary suspension of constitutional rights in parts of the country in a crackdown on violence, it is reported. The 30-day suspension in parts of the north gives the armed forces greater powers to combat a left-wing group. The Paraguayan People's Army (PPA) is responsible for killing four people, sources in the country's congress said. The emergency will allow troops and police to detain suspects and ban public meetings for 30 days. President Fernando Lugo asked for the measures three days ago after a police officer and three farm workers were killed in an attack on Wednesday. Investigators in the country claim the rebels belong to the PPA, a small group with suspected links to left-wing rebels in Colombia. "These fugitives of the Paraguayan People's Party should be captured, because everyone has the right to live in peace," Mr Lugo said as he defended his request for a state of suspension, AFP news agency reported on Saturday. What are these?

Government Policy Changes

April 2010

['(PPA)', '(BBC)']

The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, that a state cannot be sued in another state's court, overturning a 40–year–old precedent. The 5–4 decision overrules the Nevada v. Hall stare decisis set in 1979 which allowed private suits from one state to be brought in another state's court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court decided Monday that one state cannot unwillingly be sued in the courts of another, overruling a 40-year precedent and perhaps, foreshadowing an argument over the viability of other high court decisions. The outcome left one dissenting justice wondering “which cases the court will overrule next.” The justices divided 5-4 to end a long-running dispute between California officials and Nevada inventor Gilbert Hyatt. Hyatt is a former California resident who sued California’s tax agency for being too zealous in seeking back taxes from him. Hyatt won a judgment in Nevada courts. But Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court’s conservative justices that the Constitution forbids states from opening the doors of their courts to a private citizen’s lawsuit against another state. In 1979, the high court concluded otherwise. The four liberal justices dissented, saying they would have left alone the court’s decision in Nevada v. Hall. Justice Stephen Breyer said there are good reasons to overrule an earlier case, including that it is no longer workable or a vestige of an otherwise abandoned legal doctrine. But Breyer said that justices should otherwise adhere to the principle of stare decisis, Latin for to stand by things decided. “It is far more dangerous to overrule a decision only because five members of a later court come to agree with earlier dissenters on a difficult legal question,” Breyer wrote. He included a reference to the court’s 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey that reaffirmed the right to abortion the court declared in Roe v. Wade in 1973. The future of abortion rights at the court is a matter of intense interest as several states have enacted increasingly restrictive abortion laws in the hope that a more conservative Supreme Court majority will uphold them. In his majority opinion, Thomas cited other Supreme Court precedent that held “stare decisis is not an inexorable command.” The Hyatt case had been to the Supreme Court twice before. In 2016, the justices split 4-4 over the same question that was finally answered on Monday. The case is Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 17-1299.

Government Policy Changes

May 2019

['(SCOTUS)', '(PBS)', '(SCOTUS Blog)']

Pakistan sentences former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Yadav to death for espionage and sabotage.

In a rare move, a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on Monday handed Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav the death sentence after trial for involvement in espionage and sabotage activities in Karachi and Balochistan. Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan's Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. "The spy was tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded the death sentence. Today Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM," the military's media wing said. The accused had been provided with a defending officer as per legal provisions. India summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit and handed over a demarche saying, "If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder." The India's Ministry of External Affairs in its statement claimed that "the proceedings that led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him". The Indian authorities further claimed that they had repeatedly sought consular access to Jadhav. "Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between March 25, 2016, and March 31, 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities," reads the demarche. What we know Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 in Balochistan He was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial Jadhav confessed before the court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organise subversive activities in Karachi, Balochistan Jadhav was provided a defending officer as per legal provisions Pakistan had, however, turned down India's request seeking consular access to Jadhav last year due to his involvement in "subversive activities" in Pakistan. Experts view the military's announcement about Jadhav's trial and prosecution as an unprecedented move, viewing it as a strong message to India as well as other foreign intelligence agencies. Jadhav was tried by the FGCM under Section 59 of the PAA and Section 3 of the official Secret Act of 1923, the statement said. Jadhav confessed before a magistrate and court that he was tasked by Indian spy agency Research and Analysis wing to plan, coordinate and organise espionage and sabotage activities seeking to destabilise and wage war against Pakistan through impeding the efforts of law enforcement agencies for the restoration of peace in Balochistan and Karachi, the ISPR said. Jadhav's earlier confessional statement was aired by then ISPR head Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, in which he admitted to involvement in terror activities in Balochistan and Karachi. Terming the Indian spy's arrest a 'big achievement', Bajwa said at the time that Jadhav was directly handled by the RAW chief, the Indian National Security Adviser and the RAW joint secretary. "His goal was to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar port as a special target," Bajwa had said, adding, "This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism... There can be no clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan." "If an intelligence or an armed forces officer of this rank is arrested in another country, it is a big achievement," Bajwa had said, before going on to play a video of Jadhav confessing to Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) involvement in Balochistan separatist activities in Pakistan. Dawn reported that Jadhav now has got 40 days to file an appeal against the FGCM in the army’s court of appeal, according to retired Col Inamur Rahim, a military law expert. In case the appeal court upholds the FGCM verdict, Jadhav would have the opportunity to seek mercy from the army chief and the president of Pakistan. Simultaneously, Col Inam said, the convict could approach a high court if he felt that due process was not observed during his trial and his fundamental rights as an accused were not fulfilled. Leading Indian journalist Suhasini Haidar raised the question of how the sentencing may affect Pak-India ties. "With India-Pakistan relations at their lowest, wonder if diplomacy can work. Even US-Russia were able to conduct spy swaps during cold war," she said. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti speaking to DawnNews said he believes the decision is a good one. "There are foreign elements involved in terrorist activities in Balochistan," he claimed. "I believe this is a good decision." Defence analyst Ikram Sehgal agreed with Bugti's view, saying, "What happened today was correct. He [Jadhav] confessed his crime, he had people killed... After due process, his punishment should be carried out. They [India] will deny that he was not a spy, but he accepted that he was a spy. He gave full details in his confession of his networks as well." "Pakistan has sent a message that if somebody does such activities here, it will hand them severe punishment. Those operating against the state will face a similar fate," Sehgal added. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Asad Umar also believes Jadhav's sentencing is "a good decision". Read more: Transcript of RAW agent Kulbhushan’s confessional statement Today's development comes at a time when tensions between Pakistan and India run high. The past six months have seen a war of words between officials from the Indian and Pakistani governments. Ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours worsened after India blamed Pakistan for an attack on an Indian military camp in Uri inside India-held Kashmir on Sept 18, 2016 where around 20 Indian soldiers were killed. India alleged that Pakistan-backed terrorists were involved in the attack and initially claimed that weapons recovered from them bore Pakistani markings. However, this assertion was debunked by the Indian media itself, forcing the Indian DGMO to retract the claim. Since then, frequent episodes of firing have been reported by the Pakistan military on the Line of Control. The escalation continued when India claimed it carried out "surgical strikes" across the control line on Sept 29, claims Pakistan rejected as baseless. Certain sections of Indian media have reported prominently that Pakistan has sentenced a former Indian naval officer to death. They also claimed that Jadhav possessing an Indian passport proves he is innocent as no "intelligence agency ever runs an agent in enemy territory with identity documents connecting him to the agency’s country". Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Jadhav had been sentenced by a military court, not the Field General Court Martial.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

April 2017

['(Dawn)', '(NDTV)']

The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand meet in Kuala Lumpur to discuss people smuggling and the migrant crisis. Malaysia and Indonesia agree to accept asylum seekers providing that they can be resettled or repatriated within a year. ,

Updated 20 May 2015, 5:41pmWed 20 May 2015, 5:41pm Malaysia and Indonesia say they will no longer turn away migrant boats, responding to world pressure by offering to take in a wave of asylum seekers provided they can be resettled or repatriated within a year. The nations have sparked outrage by preventing vessels overloaded with starving migrants from Bangladesh and from Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority from landing on their shores. "The towing and the shooing [away of boats] is not going to happen," Malaysian foreign minister Anifah Aman said at a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi after talks on the issue. "We also agreed to offer them temporary shelter provided that the resettlement and repatriation process will be done in one year by the international community." The talks in Malaysia had also included Thai foreign minister Tanasak Patimapragorn but he was not present for the press conference. Their meeting comes as about 400 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were rescued from their wooden vessels off Indonesia's Aceh province, officials said. One of the boats found by Indonesian fishermen was a vessel that went missing more than three days ago after being spotted off Thailand, AFP journalists said. Hundreds of men, women and children were found pleading for help on the drifting trawler after Thai authorities turned the boat away from Thai waters last week. Fears had been growing for those on board after contact was lost with the vessel late on Saturday. Chris Lewa, from the Arakan Project, which monitors migrant journeys across the Bay of Bengal, said her group had also confirmed the same boat landed in Aceh. International migration observers estimate there are thousands of people at sea in South-East Asia attempting to flee persecution or poverty, including at least 2,000 people trapped for more than 40 days on boats off Myanmar without food or water. Myanmar, the source of many of the asylum seekers, reportedly refused to attend Wednesday's meeting. However, the country said it was "ready to provide humanitarian assistance" to boat people, in its most conciliatory comments yet. Nearly 3,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants have made it to shore in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days after a Thai crackdown disrupted people-trafficking routes, prompting operators of rickety boats to dump their human cargo. But those countries have also rejected boats trying to enter their territory and vowed not to allow any more in, resulting in what the United Nations has called "maritime ping-pong", as boats go from one country to another. The region has faced criticism for its timid diplomacy, particularly its failure to curb what is seen as Buddhist-majority Myanmar's systematic abuse of its unwanted Rohingya people, which has sent masses of the Muslim ethnic minority fleeing abroad. Myanmar insists the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh for whom it is not responsible. Myanmar has acknowledged international "concerns" about the boat people but denied it was solely to blame. Meanwhile, the Philippines said it was ready to help the boat people, offering hopes of a potential solution as its neighbours pushed the migrants away. The Philippines' foreign affairs department spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was obliged to help the migrants, many of whom were fleeing persecution, because it was party to the UN refugee convention. The government did not elaborate on what help might be extended. An estimated 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar boarded smugglers' boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many as in the same period of 2014, the UN refugee agency has said. A three-year-old child is attached on a drip at a makeshift medical centre Langsa, Aceh. May 17, 2015. (ABC News: George Roberts) Young rescued Rohingya asylum seeker in the dome tent. (ABC News: George Roberts) Three-year-old Rohingya Musta Kamal sips water in a makeshift refugee camp in Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia, May 17, 2015. (ABC News: George Roberts) Dome tents are being used as temporary shelters for hundreds of migrants brought to shore in Indonesia's Aceh province. (ABC News: George Roberts) Makeshift medical centres have been set up at Langsa in Indonesia's Aceh province to treat the hundreds of migrants that were rescued by local fishermen. (ABC News: George Roberts) Rescued migrants, mostly Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladesh, receive medical treatment upon their arrival at the new confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province. (AFP: Chaideer Mahyuddin) Rohingyas, including Mohammad Rafique, 21, (R) at Langsa, Aceh, showing their UNHCR refugee cards. (ABC News: George Roberts)

Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting

May 2015

['(Straits Times)', '(wires and ABC Online)']

Four people are sentenced to death for their involvement in a bank fraud scandal in Iran.

Four people have been sentenced to death for their roles in Iran's biggest-ever bank fraud scandal. Two other defendants received life sentences, while 33 more will spend up to 25 years in jail, the chief prosecutor was quoted as saying. The scandal involved forged documents reportedly used by an investment company to secure loans worth $2.6bn. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year denied allegations that his government was involved. The identities of the defendants have not been made public. The case broke in September 2011 when an investment firm was accused of forging documents to obtain credit from at least seven Iranian banks over a four-year period. The money was reportedly used to buy state-owned companies under the government's privatisation scheme. As part of their probe, authorities froze the assets of an Iranian businessman thought to be the mastermind behind the scam. The BBC's Sebastian Usher said the firm at the heart of the scandal had moved from a small start-up capital to being worth billions of dollars. The affair fuelled weeks of political infighting between Mr Ahmadinejad and Iran's ruling hierarchy of clerics. Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini scraped through an impeachment vote in November after conservative hardliners accused him of failing to take action over the fraud.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

July 2012

['(BBC)']

77–year–old Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii is hospitalised after suffering from high blood pressure and fatigue.

TOKYO - JAPAN'S Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, 77, was hospitalised on Monday for a rest and medical tests due to high blood pressure and fatigue after weeks of hard work on the budget, his ministry said. Financial markets reacted calmly to the announcement, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index striking a four-month high. 'The minister was hospitalised at 10.00 am (0100 GMT) today to rest and get check-ups,' a finance ministry spokesman said. 'He has been tired and his blood pressure was a bit high as he had been working hard to draft the budget.' Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's three-month-old government on Friday approved a record budget worth 92.3 trillion yen (S$1.4 trillion) for the next financial year starting in April, seeking to revive the economy. Mr Fujii, a veteran lawmaker, was picked by incoming premier Hatoyama in September to steer the world's number two economy out of its worst recession in decades, returning to a post he held briefly in the early 1990s. He is expected to attend the next cabinet meeting, possibly on Wednesday, the ministry spokesman said, adding that the length of hospitalisation would be decided by doctors. Kyodo News reported that Mr Fujii would stay in hospital for several days. Mr Fujii, a fan of baseball and Japanese rice wine, told reporters in September when he was appointed: 'My view on life is that if you square your shoulders too much, your body becomes stiff. I'll work while being relaxed.' Investors took news of his hospitalisation in their stride, with the Nikkei-225 index rising 139.52 points to end at 10,634.23, the best finish since August 26. 'There is no impact on the currency market,' said Barclays Capital analyst Masafumi Yamamoto, noting that at the yen's current level, speculation about whether Mr Fujii might order intervention to weaken the currency has faded. -- AFP

Famous Person - Sick

December 2009

['(The Straits Times)']

In basketball, the Toronto Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors four games to two to win their first NBA championship. The Toronto Raptors are also the first NBA team outside of the United States and the first from Canada to win the NBA Finals.

The Raptors on Thursday beat the Golden State Warriors, 114-110, in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals. It is their first championship in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard, who scored 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, took home Finals MVP. In a game where the Warriors defense stifled Leonard, holding him below his series average, the Raptors were led by their two point guards, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Lowry kicked things off by scoring the Raptors first 11 points and finished with 26. VanVleet carried the load in a tight fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 22 in the final frame. Pascal Siakam scored 26. The finish was a chaotic one, with the Raptors taking a late lead, but the Warriors refusing to go down quietly. With 9.6 seconds left and the Raptors leading by one, Danny Green was trapped at midcourt by Draymond Green and threw away the ball, giving the Warriors one last chance to get the win. As it did all postseason, the bounces went the Raptors way. Stephen Curry sprang open on a beautifully designed play, but his fade-away three-pointer rimmed in and out. The ball was tapped out to midcourt, where Draymond Green dove on it and called timeout with .9 seconds left. However, the Warriors were out of timeouts, resulting in a technical foul. Kawhi Leonard sank the free throw, his first points of the fourth quarter, to essentially secure the championship. Though the series was evenly matched and dramatic, the specter of injuries lingered over the six games. In Games 1-4, questions about when Kevin Durant would return from a calf injury persisted. Durant, of course, returned in Game 5, but tore his Achilles tendon just 14 minutes into the game. In Game 6, the Warriors, already short-handed and bruised, suffered another casualty as Klay Thompson went down with a knee injury in the third quarter. Though he briefly returned in a dramatic scene, he later left the game and was ruled out. Both teams now head into the offseason with big questions — Leonard, Durant, Thompson, and Danny Green are all free agents. Some believe the Warriors dynasty may have ended on Thursday night. In the meantime, the Raptors achieved the exact purpose of the bold Kawhi Leonard trade they made 11 months ago.

Sports Competition

June 2019

['(Los Angeles Times)', '(Business Insider)']

Seven civilians are killed and ten are injured in a roadside attack by the PKK in Kulp, Diyarbakir Province, Turkey.

At least seven civilians were killed and nine injured when PKK terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying forest workers in southeastern Turkey, Turkey's interior minister said early Friday. "Our seven brothers were martyred by an improvised explosives blast while the vehicle was carrying them. Rest in peace. We had 10 injured, and one was immediately discharged," Suleyman Soylu said following his visit to the injured at hospitals in the Diyarbakir province. Soylu added that two of the injured being treated at Selahaddin Eyyubi Hospital were seriously wounded. The terrorist attack took place in Diyarbakir's Kulp district at around 6 p.m. (1500GMT), according to the Diyarbakir Governorship. In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Armed Conflict

September 2019

['(Anadolu Agency)']

Football coach Manuel Preciado Rebolledo, due to be unveiled as the new Villarreal manager on Friday, is found dead from a heart attack at the age of 54.

By Sportsmail Reporter Published: 08:37 BST, 7 June 2012 | Updated: 14:10 BST, 7 June 2012 24 View comments Manolo Preciado, who was due to be unveiled as new Villarreal manager on Friday, has died of a heart attack. The 54-year-old Spaniard left relegated Sporting Gijon this summer and was due to take charge of their former La Liga rivals. Villarreal, who were also relegated last month, only announced on Wednesday that they had reached an agreement with Preciado to take charge of the club next season. He was due to be officially unveiled to the media by the 2006 Champions League semi-finalists on Friday. Tragedy: Manolo Preciado was due to take charge of Villarreal Spanish newspaper Marca report that he was suffering from a virus before he passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning. A statement on Villarreal's website read: 'Coach Manuel Preciado died early this morning in Valencia and as a result of a heart attack. 'Villarreal wants to show its deep regret at the sad loss and wants to show their condolences to his family and all his relatives.' A statement on the Sporting website read: 'With deepest regret, Sporting Gijon wish to express their sorrow at this sad loss, for someone who formed an integral part of this club's history, and send their deepest condolences to his family in this time of grief.' Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho led the tributes from the Primera Liga for Preciado, writing an open letter on the Real Madrid website. One of Preciado's high points during his six years in charge of Sporting came against Madrid when, in April 2011, his side won 1-0 at the Bernabeu. That was the first home league defeat Mourinho had suffered in more than nine years whilst in charge of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Madrid. Move: Manolo Preciado had left Sporting Gijon this summer Earlier that season Preciado had a well-publicised war of words with Mourinho after the Portuguese had accused Sporting of gifting Barcelona three points by fielding a weakened team in a league match. Tensions between the two eased though, and earlier this year Preciado said during a visit to Madrid's Valdebebas training ground that he had a 'magnificent relationship' with Mourinho. In his letter, Mourinho said: 'Manolo was always an honourable opponent, who I got to know well when he came to visit us in March. 'He had everything that I like in a person and in sportsmen: character, openness and the courage to fight against blows. 'We have been left by a football figure and above all by a very special person. My memory of him will be heartfelt and permanent.' Barcelona also offered their sympathies, saying: 'FC Barcelona want to pass on their condolences to the family and friends of Manuel Preciado. May he rest in peace.' Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas tweeted: 'I can't believe the bad news i just woke up with. Hugs for the family of Manolo Preciado. RIP my friend.' Shock: The manager was due to take the reins at the El Madrigal stadium Sergio Ramos, who is with Fabregas in the Spain squad preparing for Euro 2012, also tweeted: 'Football is mourning. I got up and the first thing I heard is the news about Manolo Preciado. Life is unfair and a great person has gone.' Gerard Pique, another member of Spain's European Championship squad, said on his Twitter account: 'A big hug to the family of Manolo Preciado. One of the greats of this sport has gone. Rest in peace.' Preciado parted company with Gijon in January following six years in charge of the Asturian outfit. Preciado took over Sporting in the summer of 2006 and in his second season led them into the Primera Division for the first time in 10 years. His record of 232 official matches in charge at El Molinon is second only to Jose Manuel Diaz Novoa, who sat in the Sporting hotseat for 282 games. Prior to his time at Sporting, Preciado was coach of the likes of Racing Santander, Levante and Murcia, while as a player he represented Racing, Real Mallorca and Alaves among others. Sporting were relegated from the Primera Division in the recently-completed season, as were Villarreal.

Famous Person - Death

June 2012

['(Daily Mail)']

At least 14 Tunisian soldiers are reportedly killed following Islamist militant attacks at two checkpoints near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, a group called the Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has claimed responsibility.

At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, the defence ministry says. They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi. It is reportedly the heaviest death toll registered by the army since independence in 1956. The Tunisian army has been waging a crackdown on militants operating in the mountainous region over the past year. Islamist militants, including fighters linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM), are believed to be hiding out in the border region. Tunisians are in shock after what is being described as the deadliest attack on its armed forces since independence. The public is calling into question the strategy of the government, with renewed criticism being directed at Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou. Following the attack, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa set up a "crisis cell" to come up with a coordinated government strategy. Details of exactly which militant group carried out the attack remain opaque - more information is expected later in the day. Tunisia's security forces are under pressure to secure not only the western border with Algeria, but also the border to the east with Libya. It has one of the smallest armies in the region, with little experience in the kind of counter-terrorism operation it is now engaged in. The country has received support both in terms of training and equipment from Europe and the United States. 2014 was meant to be the year of rebranding the country as the cradle of stability and progress in North Africa. The Tunisian government wants to attract more tourists, especially to less travelled regions in the north-west and south of the country, but attacks like this are likely to trigger travel warnings abroad and keep visitors away. The soldiers were attacked "by terrorist groups" on Wednesday evening as they were breaking their fast as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Tunisia's Tap state news agency reports. A group called the Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has reportedly said it carried out the attack in a post on its Facebook page. The office of the Tunisian presidency has declared three days of mourning starting on Thursday, Tunisian TV reports. Eight soldiers were killed in an attack in the Mount Chaambi district in July 2013, days before the assassination of secular politician Mohamed Brahmi, which plunged the country into political turmoil. Islamist militants have been increasingly active around the Algerian-Tunisian border since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled long-term leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Armed Conflict

July 2014

['(BBC)']

In Egypt, referendum favours constitutional changes for presidential elections with 83% in favour

Egyptian voters approved constitutional changes that open the way for the country’s first multi-candidate presidential elections, the interior ministry said on Thursday. Interior Minister Habib el-Adly said that 83% of voters approved the amendment to Article 76 of the constitution in Wednesday’s balloting. Turnout was 54% of registered voters, a figure the interior minister said was higher than in any previous presidential referendum. The high turnout came despite calls by six opposition parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to boycott the referendum. The results mean that President Hosni Mubarak will face opposition when he runs for a fifth presidential term in September. Mubarak won his four previous six-year terms in elections in which he was the only presidential candidate after being approved by a legislature dominated by his ruling National Democratic Party. But the Opposition groups say that the proposals allowing multi-candidate elections put so many obstacles in the way of opposition candidates to register, and thus the election will remain a one-horse race. It complains that the text proposed by the government restricts independent candidates and overwhelmingly favors the ruling party. According to the proposed changes, independent candidates for the presidential election, scheduled to be held in September, should collect 250 signatures from members of national and provincial assemblies that are dominated by Mubarak’s party.

Government Job change - Election

May 2005

['(Al–Jazeera)', '(BBC)']

The African Union choose Nkosazana Dlamini–Zuma of South Africa as its leader, making her the first woman to occupy the post, in a hard fought battle with incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon.

The African Union has chosen South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its leader, making her the first woman to hold the post. Ms Dlamini-Zuma beat incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon after a closely fought contest for the chairmanship of the organisation. In January, neither got the required two-thirds majority, leaving Mr Ping in office for another six months. The dispute has overshadowed other issues, especially security and trade. Voting had been broadly split along linguistic lines, with English-speaking countries tending to support Ms Dlamini-Zuma and French-speaking countries lining up behind Mr Ping. Senior officials had warned that failure to resolve the leadership deadlock would divide the AU and undermine its credibility. Ms Dlamini-Zuma, the former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, won the leadership of the AU commission in a third round of voting. She got 37 votes at the 54-member body, giving her the 60% majority she needed to be elected. The 63-year-old is currently South Africa's home affairs minister, and has also had spells as minister of health and of foreign affairs. She is one of her country's longest-serving ministers. But critics said her candidacy had broken an unwritten tradition that the chairmanship should not be occupied by one of Africa's major nations. Earlier this week, Mr Ping denied a South African media report speculating he was going to withdraw from the race. His use of the AU's website and letterhead for his statement prompted the southern African regional bloc Sadc to accuse him of misusing AU resources for his re-election bid. Ms Dlamini-Zuma's election came at a summit in Addis Ababa, the organisation's home city. As in January, the official theme of the summit was boosting intra-African trade. It is also due to focus on the continuing instability in Mali, mounting violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and tension between Sudan and South Sudan.

Government Job change - Election

July 2012

['(BBC)']

Haiti's election results are delayed "out of concern for transparency".

The Provisional Electoral Council said it would not publish 19 seats' results "out of concern for transparency", but did not say if there would be recount. The move comes after the international community raised concerns over fraud. The United Nations questioned why the results in several constituencies had been overturned, mostly in favour of President Rene Preval's Unity Party. The results gave the Unity Party 46 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and an absolute majority in the Senate with 17 of 30 seats. But on Monday, the head of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that it would delay publishing the results of 19 legislative races. Gaillot Dorsinvil said in a statement that the decision was "for the sake of transparency and in the best interests of the nation". Mr Dorsinvil did not say if the CEP planned to order recounts, or give any details about the 19th seat - one more than diplomats had questioned. On Friday, the US embassy asked why one winning candidate from the incumbent party in one constituency had gone "from 90,000 in the preliminary results to more than 145,000 in the final results". "The Haitian people, who have participated with great patience in the two rounds of elections, deserve nothing less," a statement said. President-elect Michel Martelly also urged the international community not to recognise the results of the legislative elections, saying they were "unacceptable and do not reflect the will of the people". Mr Martelly, a popular Haitian singer, won the presidency in a run-off election, with over two-thirds of the vote. But his party has won only a handful of seats in the incoming legislature. There have also been sporadic protests about the results. On Monday, demonstrators reportedly set up barricades in parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Government Job change - Election

April 2011

['(BBC)']

A United States airstrike in Afghanistan early Saturday kills 10 children and 3 adults. The family was displaced because of the conflict according to early findings by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

KABUL (Reuters) - Ten children, part of the same extended family, were killed by a U.S. air strike in Afghanistan, along with three adult civilians, the United Nations said on Monday. The air strike early on Saturday was part of a battle between the Taliban and combined Afghan and U.S. forces that lasted about 30 hours in Kunduz, a northern province where the Taliban insurgency is strong. The children and their family had been displaced by fighting elsewhere in the country, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said, releasing its preliminary findings about the incident. UNAMA said in a statement that it is verifying that all 13 civilian casualties occurred around the time of the air strike. Three other civilians were wounded. The incident happened in the Telawka neighborhood near Kunduz city. Sgt. Debra Richardson, spokeswoman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, confirmed that U.S. forces carried out an air strike, but she said on Monday that the mission still had not confirmed that it had caused civilian casualties. She said the mission aims to prevent civilian casualties, while the Taliban intentionally hides among civilians. A record number of Afghan civilians were killed last year as aerial attacks and suicide bombings increased, the United Nations said in a February report. Child casualties from air strikes have increased every year since 2014. Fighting has accelerated during a period of recurring talks between U.S. and Taliban officials aimed at ending Afghanistan’s 17-year war. Reporting by Rod Nickel in Kabul; Editing by Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore

Armed Conflict

March 2019

['(Reuters)']

A Danish court sentences a Norwegian-Iranian man to seven years in prison for spying on behalf of Iranian intelligence and for conspiring to assassinate the leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz. He will be expelled permanently from the country upon the end of his sentence.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Danish court on Friday sentenced a Norwegian citizen to seven years in jail after convicting him of spying for an Iranian intelligence service and complicity in a suspected plot to kill an Iranian Arab opposition figure in Denmark. Mohammad Davoudzadeh Loloei, a 40-year-old Norwegian with Iranian heritage, was arrested in October 2018 after a major police operation in which Denmark temporarily closed its international borders. For several days in late September that year, Loloei observed and took photos of the home of an Iranian exile in Denmark, as well as the streets and roads surrounding the home, Roskilde District Court said in a statement. “The court found that the information was collected and passed on to a person working for an Iranian intelligence service, for use by the intelligence service’s plans to kill the exile,” the court said. Loloei was sentenced to seven years in prison and permanent expulsion from Denmark, public prosecutor Soeren Harbo told Reuters. Loloei will be denied entrance to Denmark after serving his sentence. “It’s a historic case,” Harbo said. “And it’s a powerful message to (foreign) intelligence services: they have to handle their conflicts among themselves and stop involving us.” Harbo added that Danish authorities had filed an international arrest warrant with the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, for Loloei’s Iranian case officer. Loloei, who has denied all charges, immediately appealed against the verdict, Harbo said. The exile, who was not named in the statement, is the leader of an Iranian Arab resistance group known as the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA). Separately, Danish police have charged three members of ASMLA, including the group’s leader, with spying for Saudi intelligence services and financing and supporting terrorism in Iran.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

June 2020

['(Reuters)']

Bombings in Baghdad kill at least 37 people hours before the city's curfew was due to end. ISIL claims responsibility. ,

Bombings in the Iraqi capital Saturday killed more than three dozen people hours before the city’s longtime curfew was set to come to an end. The deadliest attack happened in the New Baghdad section of the city. Police officials said a suicide bomber targeted a street filled with hardware stores, killing 22 people and wounding at least 45. The second attack took place shortly afterward in central Baghdad’s popular Shorja market. Police said two devices detonated 25 meters apart, killing at least 11 people and wounding 26. Also, at the Abu Cheer market on a Shiite block of southwestern Baghdad, at least four people were killed and 15 wounded when a bomb detonated outside an outdoor food market. There has been no claim for any of the attacks thus far. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously as they are not authorized to brief the media. The incident comes ahead of Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s decision to lift Iraq’s longtime curfew beginning at midnight Sunday. Baghdad has remained relatively calm amid a rampage in northern and western Iraq by the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State group. Recent bombings have frequently targeted Shiite-majority areas in the capital, but the violence has been considerably subdued from the darkest days of sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007. Iraqi officials have repeated assured that the capital is secure, despite the occasional targeting of Baghdad’s Shiite-majority neighborhoods by the Sunni militant group.

Armed Conflict

February 2015

['(AP via Los Angeles Times)', '(AP via KSL)']

Around 1,000 protesters block a key road in Moscow, Russia, following the killing of a fellow football fan blamed on a group from the North Caucasus.

The fragile nature of Russia’s inter-ethnic relations came to the fore once again as nationalists and football fans shut down a stretch of Leningradsky Prospekt on Tuesday evening. About 1,000 football supporters gathered to demand justice after the death of Yegor Sviridov, 28, a fellow fan killed in a street brawl early on Monday. Immigrants from Russia’s North Caucasus have been blamed for the killing and investigators say the fatal shots were fired by Aslan Cherkesov, RIA Novosti reported. But the meeting also attracted Russian nationalist groups – leading to ugly scenes overtaking a peaceful vigil.   Vigil hijacked The gathering started peacefully, according to gzt.ru. Fans set up candles in a snow drift outside the prosecutor’s office near Aeroport metro station. And Sviridov’s widow, Yana, received a collection from his friends to help her meet the funeral expenses. She urged journalists not to characterise her late husband as an “ultra”, one of the hardline fans often implicated in organised violence. But later things turned ugly, with sections of the crowd chanting nationalist slogans and blocking traffic on Leningradka. There were also threats to destroy kiosks operated by “non-Russian” traders, though attempted attacks were thwarted by riot police. The organisers of the original vigil tried to stop the situation escalating, but were met with claims that “we will take action ourselves” if the killing was not properly investigated.   Prosecutors to blame Dmitry Demushkin, leader of the Slavyansky Soyuz nationalist group, blamed prosecutors for inciting the violence. “All was calm until a representative of the prosecutors office came out and mumbled something unintelligible, which did not suit everyone,” he told Moskovsky Komsomolets. “After this we decided to block the traffic and clashed with the riot police.” While cops say there were no arrests, Demushkin claimed at least two buses full of his colleagues had been herded on to buses and detained.   Fatal brawl Reports say Sviridov died during a fight between Spartak fans and economic migrants from the North Caucauses. Another fan, Dmitry Filatov, 25, was seriously injured in the same incident. Vladislav, member of the Spartak fan club Fratria told gzt.ru that the fight started when the group of Caucasians took offence at the laughter of the fans, who were looking for a taxi on Krondstadtsky Bulvar. “Our guys were talking to each other and laughing over their jokes,” Vladislav said. “The Caucasians decided they were laughing at them.” Six people were arrested and Cherkesov, 26, apparently confessed to the shooting. But Spartak fans fear the investigation will be a whitewash and the guilty men will be able to bribe their way out of punishment.   Previous problems Spartak’s fans have encountered problems when their team played teams from the North Caucasus – particularly against their namesakes Spartak Nalchik. Last season a banner accusing Nalchik fans of an unnatural affection for sheep was unveiled when the teams met in Moscow. And visits to Nalchik have often been accompanied with reports of violence before and after the game. This season Spartak’s trip to Makhachkala, in Dagestan, also prompted crowd trouble after the match with Anzhi. It was reported that shots were fired at a supporters’ coach, and midfielder Aiden McGeady told Irish journalists the team bus was pelted with stones on the way out of town. Meanwhile ethnic tensions boiled over last month in the Moscow Region town of Khotkovo, with nationalist groups leading a rally threatening a lynch mob after a fatal stabbing was blamed on Central Asian migrants.   .

Protest_Online Condemnation

December 2010

['(The Moscow News)', '(BBC)']

Sam Gyimah resigns as British Minister of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in protest to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal deal.

The universities minister, Sam Gyimah, has resigned in protest at the prime minister’s Brexit plan and pledged to vote against the agreement in parliament. On Friday, he became the seventh minister to quit Theresa May’s government over the issue. Gyimah said the deal on offer would mean the UK lost its voice in the European Union, while still having to abide by the bloc’s rules. “In these protracted negotiations, our interests will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come. Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers,” he wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph. “It has become increasingly clear to me that the proposed deal is not in the British national interest, and that to vote for this deal is to set ourselves up for failure. We will be losing, not taking control of our national destiny.” And the Conservative MP for East Surrey, who voted to remain in the EU, said May should not rule out holding a second referendum. After careful reflection, I will not be supporting the Government on the EU Withdrawal Agreement. As such, I have tended my resignation as Universities & Science Minister – read more on my Facebook page: https://t.co/EFQrBjkJZG The resignation is a fresh blow to the prime minister, who has been trying to get on the front foot in the fight to force her deal through parliament on 11 December. The Democratic Unionist party, which struck a confidence and supply deal with the Tories after the last election and upon whom May relies heavily, has already indicated it would not support her plan. And many of her own MPs, as well as the Labour party, do not back it either. Gyimah’s resignation triggered an outpouring of support from Tory remainers, including two former ministers, who highlighted his suggestion that a second referendum was an idea worth considering now May’s deal had been made public. Jo Johnson, who quit from his job as rail minister over Brexit earlier this month, said Gyimah’s resignation was “strong and principled” and welcomed his openness to “giving the public the final say”. The former education secretary and leading supporter of the campaign for a second referendum Justine Greening said: “Like many MPs he has recognised the huge shortcomings of the prime minister’s deal and the need to find an alternative path forward for Britain.” She was backed by the Lib Dems’ education spokesperson, Layla Moran, who said Gyimah’s resignation was yet more evidence the prime minister did not have the support of parliament. “The list of Tory rebels for May’s deal gets longer and longer and she is now searching for a new universities minister as well as votes. This government is falling apart and the decision must be taken back to the public.” Earlier this week, Gyimah was spotted at a breakfast meeting in Westminster with Johnson and the soft Brexit-supporting ministers, Greg Clark, David Gauke and Margot James, prompting speculation about plotting by those on the left of the party. With speculation about further resignations swirling on Friday night, James swiftly declared she was not going to quit, saying: “I fully intend to support the deal the PM is putting to parliament on 11 December.” Gyimah is likely to join the People’s Vote second referendum campaign, after talking to Johnson and Greening in the run up to his departure. But, with the ink barely dry on his resignation letter, he has yet to decide precisely what he intends to do. Chief among his concerns was the protracted negotiations over Galileo, the EU’s strategic satellite navigation system. The government has said UK defence and security services would no longer participate after Brexit and it emerged on Friday that the country may never claw back £1.2bn it had already invested. Gyimah said the prime minister was right to withdraw from the negotiation, which he said was “stacked against us from the very beginning”. But he added: “Galileo is only a foretaste of what’s to come under the government’s Brexit deal.” He wrote: “There is a mountain to climb, and we are still in the foothills. Under the deal we will have only two, at most four, years to agree at least five times what has been settled to date. “With so much left to negotiate, we must take a clear-eyed view on the strength of our position.” Gyimah said the EU had held the cards so far in the negotiations and time was not on the UK’s side. “All of this points to an off-the-shelf deal dictated by the EU that will be materially worse for my constituents in East Surrey than staying in.”

Government Job change - Resignation_Dismissal

November 2018

['(The Guardian)']

UK Prime Minister Theresa May announces that henceforth April 22 will be marked nationally as Stephen Lawrence Day to commemorate the black teenager murdered 25 years ago in a racist assault. The high-profile crime led to the Metropolitan Police being labeled "institutionally racist".

A national day of commemoration for murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence will take place on 22 April every year, the prime minister has said. It came as the family of the black teenager attended the 25th anniversary memorial of his death in London. The 18-year-old was stabbed to death in a racially motivated attack in Eltham, south London, in 1993. Royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the service at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. Prime Minister Theresa May said that Stephen's mother Doreen - now a peer in the Lords - and his father Neville "have fought heroically to ensure that their son's life and death will never be forgotten". Mr Lawrence was set upon by a gang, stabbed and left to die in Eltham on the evening of 22 April 1993. Two of the group of up to six men who attacked the teenager and his friend Duwayne Brooks have been convicted of murder, but the rest have evaded justice. David Norris and Gary Dobson are both serving life sentences. The Macpherson Report into the investigation into Stephen Lawrence's death found that there had been "institutional racism" in the police. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also attended the memorial. Mrs May said: "It is right that Stephen's name and legacy lives on." Baroness Lawrence said she looked forward to delivering the first Stephen Lawrence Day in 2019 alongside the government, adding: "I feel honoured she has recognised the changes that have been made in Stephen's name and the changes that are still needed." She thanked those who had helped her throughout the years and said that after 25 years "it is time to draw a line". The government will work alongside the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust - set up to transform the lives of young people and campaign for social change - to deliver an annual commemoration to the death of Stephen Lawrence, which was considered a watershed moment in race relations in the UK. Prince Harry said: "It hardly seems possible that 25 years have passed since Stephen Lawrence was so cruelly taken from his family. "I remember vividly the profound shock that I felt at his senseless murder, a feeling shared by so many people across this country and beyond. "I remember, too, just how deeply moved I was by the determination of Stephen's family to build something positive from the tragedy they endured and to ensure that Stephen's story did not end with despair, but continued with hope."

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

April 2018

['(BBC)', '(The Telegraph)']

70 protesters, including television actress Piper Perabo, are arrested at the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination.

U.S. Capitol Police said they arrested 70 people Tuesday during the the first day of hearings on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In a statement, Capitol Police said 61 people wereremoved from the hearing room in the Hart Senate Office building and charged with disorderly conduct. The arrested protesters included a Hollywood star, Piper Perabo of the former USA show "Covert Affairs." Another nine people were removed from the second floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building for "unlawful demonstration activities" and charged with "crowding, obstructing or incommoding." Protesters repeatedly interrupted the proceedings Tuesday while members of the Senate Judiciary Committee gave their opening remarks. Many of the protesters urged senators to adjourn the hearings and vote no on Kavanaugh. The hearings are slated to pick back up at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for what is expected to be a marathon 12-hour day of questioning.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

September 2018

['(People)', '(The Hill)']

In Morocco, Ali Salem Tamek, human rights activist and supporter of independence of Western Sahara, is arrested when he returns from Europe. Government accuses him of fomenting riots

A leading Western Sahara human rights activist has been arrested by police on suspicion of encouraging rioters in the disputed territory controlled by Morocco. Ali Salem Tamek was arrested on Monday upon his arrival from Europe at Laayoune airport in Western Sahara, a Moroccan government source said. "His name has been mentioned several times during interrogations of rioters arrested after the events of Laayoune in June. He has been encouraging and instigating trouble via telephone from Europe during the events," the source said. Court hearing Tamek was freed last year under an amnesty by King Mohammed VI after spending nearly 15 months in jail over his alleged support for the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence in the northwest African desert territory. He has over the past year given interviews to local and foreign newspapers indicating his support for the independence of Western Sahara through the long-delayed referendum plan proposed by the United Nations. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975Tamek will be brought before the courts once the inquiry has been completed, Morocco's official MAP news agency said. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975 "It's a normal procedure. He will be interrogated by criminal police upon order of the king's prosecutor," said the government source, who declined to be named. Friends who waited for him at the airport said he was quickly whisked away by the authorities from the plane, which arrived from Las Palmas. Ongoing conflict Six Western Sahara residents were sentenced last month to jail terms of one to five years for taking part in anti-Morocco riots. The mineral-rich territory has seen an escalation in clashes with the authorities in recent months. Morocco in 1975 annexed the former Spanish colony in a move that was not recognised internationally, sparking a guerrilla war with the Polisario Front. A UN ceasefire was brokered in 1991 with the promise of holding a referendum to decide the fate of the area, believed to have offshore oil deposits. Disagreements about who is eligible to vote have prevented it from taking place. In recent years, Morocco steered clear of the independence option and stated its readiness to grant the area only semi-autonomy while remaining under its sovereignty. The Polisario Front pledged in May to resume its armed struggle against Morocco if there was no breakthrough in UN-led peace talks within six months. 

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

July 2005

['(Al–JAzeera)']

At a meeting of the OPCW, 17 of the 41 countries abstain from a vote on not allowing Russia to participate in the inquiry. 15 countries vote in favour and six against. Three countries were not present at the meeting.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Russia’s call for a joint inquiry to be held into the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in England failed on Wednesday when it was outvoted 15-6 at a meeting of the global chemical weapons watchdog. Russia had called an emergency meeting of the decision-making executive of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to counter accusations by Britain that it was behind the March 4 nerve agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. UK’s security services believe they have pinpointed the location of Russian laboratory that manufactured the nerve agent Novichok used in Salisbury attack, The Times reported on Wednesday. Britain was aware of the existence of the site before March 4, the report said. It cited an unidentified security source as saying they have a “high degree of confidence in the location”. Britain’s charges of Russian involvement, strongly denied by Moscow, have triggered mass expulsions of diplomats by both Britain’s allies in the West, including the United States, and similar retaliatory action by Russia. When the meeting convened on Wednesday, Russia proposed a joint investigation into the poisoning as it was not invited to participate in an independent probe being carried out by the OPCW at Britain’s request, results of which are due next week. Britain called the Russian proposal for a joint investigation a “perverse” attempt to escape blame for the poisoning of the Skripals, and part of a disinformation campaign mounted by Moscow. Russia’s proposal in the end drew support from China, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Algeria and Iran, a source told Reuters, with U.S. and European members voting against the plan. There were 17 abstentions among members of the organization’s 41-member council, only 38 of whose members were present and eligible to vote on Wednesday. Russia’s ambassador to the OPCW, Aleksander Shulgin, confirmed that the vote had been lost. Related Coverage Separately on Wednesday, Russia requested a public meeting of the United Nations Security Council on April 5 to discuss the British accusations against Moscow, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson welcomed Russia’s defeat. “Russia has had one goal in mind since the attempted murders on UK soil through the use of a military-grade chemical weapon - to obscure the truth and confuse the public,” he said in a statement. “The international community has yet again seen through these tactics and robustly defeated Russia’s attempts today to derail the proper international process.” The closed-door OPCW meeting itself triggered sharp verbal exchanges between the Britain and Russia’s representatives. In a tweet, the British delegation called Moscow’s idea for a joint investigation “a diversionary tactic, and yet more disinformation designed to evade the questions the Russians authorities must answer”. John Foggo, Britain’s acting envoy, said Russian assertions that the attack may have been carried out by Britain, the United States or Sweden were “shameless, preposterous statements”. Shulgin, at a news conference, said the vote showed more than half of the OPCW’s members had “refused to associate themselves with the West’s point of view” - referring to those who voted in favor of Russia’s proposal or abstained. He repeated that Russia had had nothing to do with the attack on the Skripals, which he said looked like “a terrorist attack.” Britain’s remarks were “a dirty flow of complete lies ... outright Russia-phobia,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the OPCW should draw a line under a case that has triggered the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War. Scientists at the Porton Down biological and chemical weapons laboratory in England have concluded that the toxin was among a category of Soviet-era nerve agents called Novichok, though could not yet determine whether it was made in Russia. The OPCW, which oversees the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, has taken samples from the site of the Salisbury attack and is expected to provide results from testing at two designated laboratories next week. Shulgin said earlier that if Moscow was prevented from taking part in the testing of the Salisbury toxin samples, it would reject the outcome of the OPCW research. Russia’s request to open a parallel, joint Russian-British inquiry has been portrayed by Western powers as an attempt to undermine the investigation by OPCW scientists. The EU said it was very concerned Moscow was considering rejecting the OPCW findings. Instead of cooperating with the OPCW, Russia had unleashed “a flood of insinuations targeting EU member states ... This is completely unacceptable,” an EU statement read to the council session said. Skripal, 66, a former Russian military intelligence officer who betrayed scores of Russian agents to Britain and was exchanged in a Russia-West spy swap, remains in a critical but stable condition. His daughter, Yulia, 33, has shown signs of improvement.

Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting

April 2018

['(Reuters)']

Sergeant Alexander Blackman, also known as Marine A, a Royal Marine who shot dead a wounded Taliban insurgent in 2011 during Operation Herrick, is released from HM Prison Erlestoke after serving more than three years of a seven-year sentence.

The Royal Marine jailed for shooting dead a wounded Taliban fighter has been released from prison. Sgt Alexander Blackman received a life term in 2013 for murder, but his conviction was reduced to manslaughter. The 42-year-old from Taunton, Somerset, served more than three years of a seven-year sentence. Judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court were told he had a recognised mental illness at the time of the killing in September 2011. Blackman - who was known as Marine A during the original trial process and fully identified when he was convicted - was serving his sentence at Erlestoke Prison, near Devizes, Wiltshire. He was released at 00:18 BST. His original murder conviction was quashed in March. The appeal hearing came after his wife Claire led a campaign alongside author Frederick Forsyth and the Daily Mail newspaper. Blackman had more than 13 years of service and had previously been deployed to Iraq on three occasions and to Afghanistan in 2007. The Royal Marine's barrister, Jonathan Goldberg, said he had been approached about making a film about Blackman's story. "The case is controversial - this is obviously why Hollywood want to make a film about it," he said. "I was there last week meeting some important people, and the idea is that Kate Winslet might be cast as Claire, Tom Hardy as Al and - can you believe it - Al Pacino as me." His supporters had hoped the quashing of the murder conviction would lead to his reinstatement in the Royal Marines. However, the judges at the appeal hearing said his dismissal from the service should remain. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning The killing on 15 September 2011 took place during the final month of 42 Commando's six-month tour of duty to Helmand province - a deployment which saw the unit lose seven men. Footage from an unofficial helmet-mounted camera of another marine was found during an unrelated investigation and showed Blackman shooting the Afghan prisoner in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol. The shooting took place after a British patrol base came under fire. One of two insurgents was seriously injured by gunfire from an Apache helicopter sent to provide air support, and the marines from 42 Commando found him in a field. In their sentencing remarks, the judges said that although Blackman's responsibility was diminished, he "still retained a substantial responsibility for the deliberate killing". They said other "aggravating factors" included the vulnerability of the insurgent, who could not defend himself, and "the decision to ensure that the killing was not witnessed by the overhead helicopter and thereafter to cover up the evidence of what had happened". Two other marines from 42 Commando were tried alongside Blackman in 2013 but acquitted. Blackman lost an appeal against his conviction in May of the following year, but his 10-year minimum term was reduced to eight years. The Criminal Cases Review Commission later granted him a fresh appeal after his lawyers submitted expert evidence relating to his mental state at the time of the offence.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release

April 2017

['(BBC)']

Rahan Alou and Talal Alameddine are charged with assisting Farhad Jabar to kill New South Wales Police Force accountant Curtis Cheng in Parramatta, Australia on 2 October 2015.

Raban Alou, 18, from Wentworthville, faces terrorism charges, while Talal Alameddine, 22, has been charged with supplying a weapon First published on Thu 15 Oct 2015 05.14 BST Two men have been charged in relation to the murder of Curtis Cheng outside Parramatta police station earlier this month. An 18-year-old man arrested eight days ago in connection to the fatal shooting of the police IT worker is facing terrorism charges and a 22-year-old man, arrested on Thursday morning, has been charged with providing a firearm, NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione has said. Raban Alou, an 18-year-old man from Wentworthville, has been charged with aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring the commission of a terrorist act under section 101 of the federal Criminal Code Act 1995. He was refused bail and was due to appear at central local court in Sydney on Friday. The 22-year-old man, Talal Alameddine, was arrested in Merrylands in western Sydney at 10.35am by officers from the Middle East organised crime squad and the joint counter-terrorism squad. He was charged with supplying a firearm, breaching a firearm prohibition order, and hindering police. He was also refused bail and was due to appear at Parramatta local court on Friday. Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Thursday, Scipione described the charges as “significant developments”. But he would not be drawn into speculation that might jeopardise the case, telling the waiting media: “You will have far more questions than we can give you answers. That’s the reality.” The Australian federal police commissioner, Andrew Colvin, was also at the press conference. He would not say which terrorism organisation the 18-year-old was alleged to have been involved with. “As part of the charge we don’t need to link this to a terrorist organisation, we are not going to speculate on this,” Colvin said. The justice minister, Michael Keenan, praised New South Wales and federal police for making progress on the case, saying it was, “another example of the world-class law enforcement that we have protecting us here in Australia”. Keenan led a national counter-terrorism conference in Canberra on Thursday. He said the conference discussed the need for more teacher training, to identify young people at risk of radicalisation, as well as better intra-state coordination and training to help communities better use social media. He said a report from Colvin that a 12-year-old was on police radar was “disturbing”. “We unfortunately know that this is happening,” Keenan said. “Isil [Islamic State] is very sophisticated in the way they groom people once it identifies people who might be vulnerable to its message.” Keenan said police would attempt to “save” young people who may be at risk of radicalisation without charging them, if possible, but urged people to report any concerns they had to national security authorities anyway. “The earlier that we know the more likely that we are going to be able to work to save somebody,” he said. Anti-terrorism coordinator, Greg Moriarty, said that messages put out by terrorist organisations had to be challenged. “Isil propaganda needs to be contested,” he said. “Challenging those narratives is an absolutely vital part of that spectrum.”

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Accuse

October 2015

['(The Guardian)', '(ABC News Australia)']

A suicide bomber kills at least three people in an attack on a marketplace in Borno state.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device strapped to her body near a market in the northeastern Nigerian State of Borno, killing at least three people, police and civilian vigilante sources said on Saturday. No one claimed responsibility for the attack that bore the hallmarks of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has conducted a six-year insurgency to carve out a caliphate in Nigeria’s northeast.

Armed Conflict

August 2015

['(Reuters via The New York Times)']

A woman is killed and 12 other people injured in a series of hit and run incidents in Cardiff, south Wales. A 31–year–old van driver is arrested by police.

A woman was killed and 11 other people, including seven children, were injured in a series of hit-and-run accidents through busy suburban streets in Cardiff yesterday. Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder and seized a white van following half an hour of chaos at school pick-up time on Friday. Witnesses described how mothers and children were knocked over and others leapt to safety. One woman was said to have been dragged underneath the van. The ambulance service described injuries suffered by some survivors as "serious". Superintendent Julian Williams, of South Wales police, said a 31-year-old man was being held on suspicion of murder. Williams said: "Whether the actions were deliberate or reckless is a matter for the inquiry and the person will obviously be spoken to." Police were not naming the 32-year-old woman who died, but she was identified locally as mother-of-three Karina Menzies. She is believed to have been walking with her children when she was hit. Williams said it was too early to say what part the police pursuit of the vehicle played and could not confirm whether pedestrians had been deliberately targeted. "It is a complicated series of incidents which we are trying to piece together. It is a tragic event," Williams said. The incident is believed to have begun at about 3.30pm near the City of Cardiff Stadium in Leckwith, to the west of the city centre. Witnesses claimed there was a violent row and a white van drove off at speed, hitting a woman as it left the scene. It is believed the van headed further west towards the suburb of Ely. Police confirmed the fatal collision happened at Cowbridge Road West, outside the fire station. Witnesses said the driver appeared to veer towards the building. Firefighters on duty dashed out to help the woman and others who had been hit. The fire station forecourt was sealed off and forensic experts were working at the scene on Friday night. The 31-year-old man was arrested near the Merrie Harrier pub in Llandough, to the south west of the city centre, and was being held at Cardiff Bay police station. Officers were examining a white Iveco van. Witnesses described their shock at the chain of events. Shopkeeper Phil Jones said: "It was absolutely incredible – right outside my shop the van aimed straight at a mother and two children walking on the pavement and mowed them down. He then drove straight across the road and smashed into a man and woman with their baby in a pushchair. He just smashed into them before heading away. "In about 100 yards, he veered off the road and hit another two boys and a mother and a boy on a bike. People were rushing out of houses trying to help the injured and covering them with blankets until the ambulances arrived. The baby was covered in blood; people were lying on pavements moaning." Natalie Howell, 28, said people tried to block the van to stop it driving off after one accident. "But he went up on the pavement and sped off," she said. Tony McGuinness, 48, said: "We saw a young woman being resuscitated at the roadside – it didn't look too good for her. There were police everywhere, a helicopter up above and ambulances were going past every minute." Harbhajan Dhaliwal, 42, who runs a convenience store,said: "People are very upset and panicked by what has happened. I had one woman come in who said her niece has been injured. She is really upset and worried and was going to go to the hospital." Among the victims were Annie Lewis, 22, her two-year-old daughter Amelia-May, who was in a pram, and her partner Adam Lewis. Amelia-May was left covered in blood from facial injuries and Annie, a student, suffered a broken leg. Adam's grandmother, Maureen Lewis, 80, said: "It was total mayhem out there – the driver of the white van was driving fast and furious at anyone in his path." Ely resident Gail Harford, 40, said: "The driver was not just running over people but reversing over them, too. It's too horrendous for words."

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

October 2012

['(BBC)', '(Western Mail)', '(The Guardian)']

The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia announces that Jacob Chansley (also known as Jake Angeli or "QAnon shaman"), who was photographed wearing horns, has been arrested. Additionally, Adam Christian Johnson is also expected to face charges for carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern.

The guy most everyone (infamously) remembers as the bare-chested insurrectionist with animal horns and face paint who stormed into the Capitol is now in federal custody. Jacob Chansley -- more commonly known as Jake Angeli, per prosecutors -- was arrested Saturday in Phoenix on charges of knowingly entering/remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He was arrested along with two other Arizona men, who officials say also stormed the premise. However, Chansley stands above the rest because of his wild outfit. BTW, apparently, it was pretty easy to identify him ... prosecutors say they matched the guy's many photos from Wednesday with social media posts, including his YouTube channel. He also appears to have posed with one Rudy Giuliani not too long ago, this past November ... something Twitter users were quick to repost from his purported FB once it was deleted. Not only that, but he even called the FBI and straight-up confessed to being the horned man everyone saw roaming around with a spear and flag, and desecrating the building. According to prosecutors, Chansley said he came with other "patriots" because President Trump had instructed them to on Jan. 6 ... plain and simple. Prosecutors went on to say they're considering even more charges against Chansley. Of course, this comes on the heels of a growing number of arrests stemming from the Capitol insurrection. The guy who walked with Nancy Pelosi's lectern was also picked up by cops this weekend ... and many more are wanted by the FBI as well.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

January 2021

['(The Guardian)', '(TMZ)']

British multinational electrical and telecommunications retailer Dixons Carphone says it is closing all standalone Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK, with the loss of 2,900 jobs, as part of a company restructuring. The closures are not believed to be related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

LONDON (Reuters) - British electricals retailer Dixons Carphone DC.L will close all 531 UK standalone Carphone Warehouse stores and shed 2,900 jobs as part of a plan to turn around its loss-making mobile phones business, it said on Tuesday. Shares in the group, which also trades as Currys and PC World in Britain, were up 3.7% at 0858 GMT after it also said it had not yet seen a material impact from the coronavirus outbreak and was maintaining its full year profit forecast. Though it is preparing for a future impact from the outbreak it noted that recent trading had been solid. “As customers prepare for time at home, fridges and freezers, small domestic appliances and laptops have seen notable increases in sales,” it said. The Carphone Warehouse stores, representing 8% of Dixons Carphone’s total UK selling space, will shut on April 3. A further 1,800 workers are expected to take new roles internally. Dixons Carphone will continue to sell mobile phones through Carphone Warehouse shop-in-shops in 305 large Currys PCWorld stores and online. The group has had to revamp its mobile business because customers are changing the way they buy devices and connectivity, replacing their handsets less often and buying them separately or as part of more flexible bundles. “Our customers have been changing for some time how they shop with us and we have to respond,” chief executive Alex Baldock told reporters. Coronavirus was not an immediate driver for the closures, he maintained. “It’s always been the plan to announce it today,” he said. “All the current health crisis does is underline the importance of getting the business in shape for future success.” The mobile phones business is forecast to make a 90 million pound ($110 million) loss in the 2019-20 year but breakeven by 2021-22. The group said it remained on track to meet its guidance for overall adjusted pretax profit in 2019-20 of 210 million pounds despite a hit to profit at its Dixons Travel airport stores and the negative impact of currency exchange, as well as for net debt to be lower year-on-year. “We are aware that our stores could experience a significant reduction in sales in the months ahead and we are modelling a range of downside scenarios and planning accordingly,” it said. Plans include switching more fulfilment to the group’s online channels and managing costs and cash closely. The group’s Greek stores will be closed, probably for at least two weeks, from March 18. ($1 = 0.8193 pounds)

Organization Closed

March 2020

['(Reuters)']

Los Angeles, California, police arrest a 21–year–old homeless man after five bodies of apparent transients are found in the wreckage of a vacant former medical building that burned down Monday night. Firefighters had been able to rescue three people.

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (UPI) -- Police arrested a homeless man Tuesday after five bodies were found in the wreckage of a Los Angeles building that burned down the night before. Police believe Johnny Sanchez, 21, intentionally started the fire in a dispute with others who also living in the building, Los Angeles police Capt. Billy Hayes told reporters. Sanchez, who police said has a record for domestic violence and drugs, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. Three people were rescued from second-story windows of a vacant former medical building, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders said in a statement. A "person of interest" was detained as a possible arson suspect. He was hospitalized and then, according to police, arrested. A body was found in the remains of the structure Monday, with the bodies of two men and two women, found Tuesday. All appeared to have been homeless, officials said. Nearly 150 firefighters needed more than two hours to put out the blaze, authorities said. It was the third fire in the building, which has been vacant since last year, witnesses told the Los Angeles Times.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Arrest

June 2016

['(Los Angeles Times)', '(LA Weekly)', '(UPI)']

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly plans to restrict student visa holders, most of whom are from China, from staying in the United States for over a year.

Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security are floating a proposal that would require foreign students to reapply for permission to stay in the United States every year, a controversial move that would create new costs and paperwork for thousands of visa holders from China, India and other nations, according to two federal officials with direct knowledge of the discussions. Officials caution that the plan is in the preliminary stages and would require regulatory changes that could take a minimum of 18 months. The plan may also require agreement from the State Department, which issues visas. The officials say the proposal seeks to enhance national security by more closely monitoring the students. The discussions are emerging at a time when foreign student enrollment has reached a historic high in the United States and is injecting billions of dollars into the economy, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), a New York nonprofit group. [Surge in foreign students may be crowding Americans out of elite colleges] It also comes as the Trump administration is working to tighten screening for foreign visitors and implement a travel ban on certain citizens from six Muslim-majority countries. DHS spokesman David Lapan declined to comment on the specifics of the discussions Friday but confirmed that the international student program is one of many under review. “DHS is exploring a variety of measures that would ensure that our immigration programs — including programs for international students studying in the United States — operate in a manner that promotes the national interest, enhances national security and public safety and ensures the integrity of our immigration system,” he said. Foreign students make up 5 percent of the 20 million students attending colleges and universities across the United States. Universities are increasingly courting such students because they add diversity and boost school coffers by paying full tuition. Foreign students added more than $35 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015, according to IIE. Some DHS officials have raised concerns that student visas are too open-ended. An estimated 2.8 percent of the more than 1.4 million student and exchange visa holders overstayed their visas last year, more than double the national average for visitors, according to a DHS report. Though the State Department issues student visas, DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency plays a key role in overseeing them through its Student and Exchange Visitor Program. That program coordinates with colleges and universities so that school administrators vouch for the foreign students attending their schools. Students are charged a one-time fee of about $200 for that program, but under the changes being discussed, such fees would be charged every year, according to officials familiar with the conversations. Officials are also considering attaching definitive end dates to students’ study programs that would require them to reapply for permission to stay in the United States if they move from one program to another, such as from undergraduate to graduate school. Or, if foreign students do not graduate on time, they might have to apply to extend their study program. Under current federal regulations, foreign students’ immigration status in the United States is valid as long as they are enrolled in school and follow the rules. Students can transfer from one educational institution to another and many stay in this country for years without having to reapply for permission. Officials expect the proposal under discussion could generate stiff resistance among university officials because it could cost schools dearly. The changes could lead to fewer foreign students coming to the United States and greater administrative costs for the schools to keep their students’ paperwork up to date, according to people familiar with the discussions. Jill Welch, deputy executive director for public policy for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, called requiring foreign students to reapply each year for permission to be here “duplicative and unnecessary.” “Generations of foreign policy leaders agree that international students are an asset to our nation, not a threat,” Welch said. “We urge the Department of Homeland Security to consult carefully with stakeholders like NAFSA who have worked for decades to protect our security and increase our economic prosperity before making any rash decisions that can have potentially irreversible consequences.” Pedro Ribeiro, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities who is a former deputy assistant secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration and a former assistant ICE director, called the policy “both a policy and logistical nightmare.” The DHS and the State Department “simply don’t have enough counselor and immigration personnel to properly administer a change to the visa program like the one proposed,” Ribeiro said. “It would also have a tremendous chilling effect on students who would have to spend more time doing paperwork than studying.” As of May, Asian students accounted for 77 percent of international students this year, according to a recent ICE report. China has 362,368 students in the United States this year, the most of any country, according to ICE. India, which has one of the fastest-growing populations of citizens on student visas in the United States, has 206,698. South Korea ranks third (71,204 students), and Saudi Arabia is fourth, though its enrollment dropped 19 percent this year to 55,806 students. California has the highest number of foreign students, more than 200,000, followed by New York and Texas, according to ICE. Other states with significant numbers include Massachusetts and Illinois. New York University has the largest number of foreign students, followed by the University of Southern California. In Maryland, foreign student enrollment rose 10 percent among bachelor’s-degree candidates this year. Nearly half of foreign students — and 84 percent of those from India — are studying science, technology engineering or mathematics. Susan Svrluga contributed to this report.

Government Policy Changes

July 2017

['(The Washington Post)']

A fire occurs in the Channel Tunnel and the tunnel is closed until further notice.

The Channel Tunnel has been closed after a fire broke out on a freight train about seven miles from Calais. Thirty-two people on board were led to safety, 14 of whom had suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation. The blaze broke out on a lorry on board the shuttle train at about 1400 GMT, about 11km (7 miles) from the French entrance, the operator Eurotunnel said. The fire has been contained but all trains have been suspended and thousands of passengers are stranded. The French Interior Ministry said the lorry, which is understood to have overturned on the train, was carrying the chemical phenol, a toxic product used by the pharmaceutical industry. The incident resulted in "minor injuries" but no-one was seriously hurt, Eurotunnel officials said. A train was sent to collect the people from the service tunnel and take them back to France. The UK Foreign Office said seven of those evacuated from the tunnel were British. The French state train company SNCF said services would not resume until Friday. It is understood that no trains are stuck in the tunnel. The tunnel carries Eurostar express trains between London, Paris and Brussels, as well as freight and passenger shuttles between Folkestone and Calais. Eurostar said five of its trains were en route when the fire broke out, with 2,000 passengers affected. All trains have now returned to the stations where they began their journeys. Travel chaos Traffic built up at the British end of the tunnel, with queues of lorries and cars tailing from the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. Kent police have closed junctions eight to nine of the coastbound section of the M20 and sections of the motorway have been used to queue lorries as part of Operation Stack. The Highways Agency has told motorists to expect delays of up to an hour on the M20. Motorists at the Channel Tunnel entrance were being given vouchers by staff to board ferries at Dover. Meanwhile, passengers waiting to board trains at London's St Pancras International terminal were told to come back on Friday morning when they will be boarded onto trains on a first-come first-served basis. Long queues formed as passengers tried to get information. Eurostar said anyone with a ticket for Friday would be able to travel if the trains were running, and some travellers said Eurostar had agreed to cover the cost of their overnight stays in London. A spokesman said anyone who had been unable to use the tickets because of the fire would be given as much help as possible with continuing their journey. There were similar scenes at Gare du Nord station in Paris, with hundreds of passengers stranded. Eurolines, which is part of National Express, said it had capacity to take Eurostar passengers to Paris and Brussels by coach, via cross-Channel ferry services. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Channel Tunnel passengers on 'nightmare' journey Clive Evans and Albert Cole were on board a Eurostar train to Brussels, with plans to stay with friends for the week, when their journey was terminated. Mr Evans told BBC News website: "We got as far as Ashford and they said 'You're not going any further. You can either get off here and get the ferry to France' - God knows where the ferry goes from in Ashford - 'or you can go back to London.'" He said: "We've just got back [to London]. It's total chaos. They say they can't put us up in hotels because there's too many of us. It's total disorder." The Channel Tunnel has suffered several incidents since it opened to traffic in 1994 although only one - a fire in 1996 - caused injuries. In August 2006, 34 people had to be led to safety after a fire broke out on a lorry being carried on a freight train. Security exercises are staged in the Channel Tunnel by police, fire and ambulance services from both England and France to ensure preparedness for such incidents.

Fire

September 2008

['(BBC News)']