Sunday, April 10, 2016

MayisMemo global order news (May 2016)

John Kerry will not offer an apology for the United States' use of the atomic bomb against Japan when he becomes the first US secretary of state to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum tomorrow, a senior US official said.

Mr Kerry is visiting the city, which was obliterated by a US atomic bomb on 6 August 1945, to attend a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies......John Kerry will not offer an apology for the United States' use of the atomic bomb against Japan


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81 comments:

  1. At least one person has died and 13 were injured in a car bomb blast near a police headquarters in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, officials say...

    The blast hit the southern city, 10km (six miles) from the Syrian border, at about 09:30 local time (06:30 GMT).

    CNN Turk said the blast was heard several kilometres away.

    Turkey has been hit by a series of deadly blasts over the past year, linked either to Kurdish militants or so-called Islamic State (IS).

    Ankara, Istanbul and Bursa are among cities that have been targeted by suicide bombings.

    Nine of the injured were police officers, Gaziantep's regional governor was quoted as saying....BBC
    1/5/16

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  2. Turquie: trois soldats tués, 14 blessés dans une attaque attribuée au PKK...

    Trois soldats ont été tués et 14 autres blessés dimanche lors d'une attaque dans le sud-est à majorité kurde de la Turquie, attribuée au Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), a annoncé l'armée.

    L'attaque s'est produite dans le district de Nusaybin, dans la province de Mardin, où l'armée mène une opération militaire d'envergure contre le PKK. L'armée a accusé le "groupe terroriste séparatiste", terme qu'elle emploie pour désigner le PKK sans le nommer. Selon l'agence de presse Dogan, les rebelles kurdes turcs ont tiré des roquettes sur une unité de démineurs de l'armée.

    Le chef militaire du PKK, Cemil Bayik, avait affirmé il y a une semaine que le groupe était prêt à "intensifier" les combats contre les forces de sécurité turques et accusé le président Recep Tayyip Erdogan de provoquer une "escalade". Après plus de deux ans de cessez-le-feu, le conflit kurde a repris l'été dernier et sonné le glas des pourparlers de paix engagés à l'automne 2012 par le gouvernement avec le PKK pour mettre un terme à une rébellion qui a fait 40.000 morts depuis 1984.

    Le sud-est à majorité kurde de la Turquie vit au rythme des combats quotidiens entre forces de sécurité turques et rebelles. Plus de 350 soldats ou policiers en ont été victimes, selon les autorités, qui évoquent un chiffre invérifiable de plus de 5.000 morts dans les rangs du PKK.
    rtl.be
    1/5/16

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  3. China trains ‘fishing militia’ to sail into disputed waters...

    The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan Island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the disputed South China Sea.

    The training and support includes exercises at sea and requests to fishermen to gather information on foreign vessels, provincial government officials, regional diplomats and fishing company executives said in recent interviews.

    “The maritime militia is expanding because of the country’s need for it, and because of the desire of the fishermen to engage in national service, protecting our country’s interests,” said an adviser to the Hainan government who did not want to be named.

    But the fishing militia also raises the risk of conflict with foreign navies in the strategic waterway through which $5 trillion of trade passes each year, diplomats and naval experts say.

    The United States has been conducting sea and air patrols near artificial islands China is building in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, including by two B-52 strategic bombers in November. Washington said in February it would increase the “freedom of navigation” sail-bys around the disputed sea.....REUTERS
    1/5/16

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  4. The Ukrainian government has decided to increase tariffs for gar from May 1...

    From that day a single market price for gas for the population comes into force, which will total 6878 hryvnia ($275) per 1,000 cubic meters. Thus, Kiev refused social preferential price. Earlier, during the heating season, part of the population of Ukraine was able to pay for the consumption of up to 200 cubic meters per month 3,600 hryvnia (about $144) per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. When consuming large volumes of gas, price became the same for everybody - 7,200 hryvnia (about $288) per 1,000 cubic meters......http://tass.ru/en/economy/873549
    1/5/16

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  5. Iraq's prime minister ordered the arrest of Shia Muslim activists Sunday who stormed parliament in Baghdad a day earlier...

    Haider al-Abadi said anyone who caused damage and attacked police will to be brought to justice, the BBC reported. A state of emergency was declared following the protest.

    Protesters, supporters of the Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, broke through barricades of the heavily fortified Green Zone around the capital over repeated delays in approving a new cabinet.

    Abadi called on his country's ministry of interior to "chase" the trouble-making protesters a day after they penetrated the Green Zone, sending Iraqi politicians fleeing...upi.com
    1/5/16

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  6. Two car bombs claimed by Islamic State killed at least 14 people and wounded 37 others in the centre of the southern Iraqi city of Samawa...

    The first blast was near a local government building and the second one about 60 metres away at a bus station, police sources said.

    Unverified online photographs showed a large plume of smoke rising above the buildings as well as burnt out cars and bodies on the ground at the site of one of the blasts, including several children.

    Police and firefighters carried victims on stretchers and in their arms.

    IS holds positions mostly in Sunni areas of the country's north and west, far from the mainly Shia southern provinces where Samawa is located. Such attacks are relatively rare.....AFP/Reuters/rte.ie
    1/5/16

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  7. Iran's Parliamentarians on Sunday approved a bill to reinforce the country's missile production capacity to strengthen the country's defensive capabilities and deterrence...

    As per the bill, the MPs have agreed to expand the country's ability to produce missile, reinforce the air defense at short, medium and long ranges and develop the electronic war strength, etc.....IRNA

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  8. Venezuela Clocks Set Forward to Save Money...

    Venezuela has pushed its clocks forward a half hour to save power.

    President Nicolas Maduro ordered the change to deal with the country's chronic shortage of electricity.

    Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela's science and technology minister, said the change will reduce the night-time use of lighting and air conditioning.

    The government has initiated a packet of changes designed to save electricity, including rolling blackouts, a two-day public sector work week, and schools closed on Fridays.

    Venezuela is now four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time....voanews.com
    2/5/16

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  9. Shelling by Turkish artillery and drones which took off from southern Turkey struck Islamic State targets in Syria on Sunday, killing 34 militants, the Turkish military said...

    It said the strikes, in response to Islamic State rocket attacks which hit the southern Turkish province of Kilis, destroyed six vehicles and five Islamic State gun positions.

    The border town of Kilis and surrounding area has been hit frequently by rocket fire from Islamic State-controlled Syrian territory in recent months, killing civilians.....reuters.com
    2/5/16

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  10. Iran: Dialogue between Syrian government and real opposition groups is only way to resolve crisis in Syria...

    Dialogue between Syrian government and real opposition groups and the formation of a national government is the only way to resolve the crisis in Syria, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi told IRNA.

    Salehi made the remark during his meeting with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka in Tehran on Tuesday.

    The latest developments in the region, particularly in Syria were discussed during the meeting.
    For his part, Sobotka noted that his country is following up the regional developments and the crisis in Syria, clarifying that Prague is in contact with Damascus in fighting against terrorist organizations including ISIS.....http://sana.sy/en/?p=76245
    3/5/16

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  11. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Congress on Monday of the risk of "cascading defaults" by the Puerto Rican government if lawmakers do not approve legislation on restructuring the island's $72 billion debt...

    "With no orderly restructuring framework to address its debts, Puerto Rico will face a series of cascading defaults" and lawsuits on the matter will multiply and take years to resolve, Lew said in letter to Congressional leaders.
    EFE
    3/5/16

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  12. L'opposition au Venezuela a remis aux autorités électorales près de deux millions de signatures en faveur d'un référendum pour révoquer le président socialiste Nicolas Maduro, cible du mécontentement de la population face à la crise économique...

    La coalition de la Table pour l'unité démocratique (MUD), majoritaire au Parlement, a déposé lundi auprès du Conseil national électoral (CNE) "1,85 million de signatures!!!", s'est réjoui sur Twitter Jesus Torrealba, son secrétaire général.

    Dimanche, l'opposition en avait revendiqué 2,5 millions, un chiffre communiqué avant révision pour leur dépôt officiel, prévu initialement mardi.

    Ces signatures ont été obtenues en à peine deux jours la semaine dernière, les habitants s'étant déplacés en masse aux différents points de collecte installés dans le pays.....AFP
    3/5/16

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  13. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is in a strong position despite political unrest in Iraq, thanks in part to battlefield successes and his commitment to a multi-sectarian state, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday...

    “He seems to be in a very strong position. Obviously we support him strongly because of what he stands for,” Carter told reporters traveling with him shortly before landing in Germany.

    Carter’s full-throated backing of Abadi, one of his most forceful to date, follows months of intense Iraqi political wrangling that has put the country on edge.

    Abadi has attempted to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats as part of an anti-corruption drive. A divided parliament has failed to approve the proposal amid scuffles and protests.

    “Prime Minister Abadi stands for and has been a partner in all of the things that are important to Iraq’s future, namely a country that holds together and doesn’t just spiral off into sectarianism,” Carter said....REUTERS
    3/5/16

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  14. Brazil: Former leader Lula 'played key role' in Petrobras corruption...

    Brazil's Attorney General Rodrigo Janot has asked the Supreme Court to authorise an investigation against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for alleged corruption.

    Mr Janot accused Lula of playing a key role in the huge corruption scandal at the state oil company, Petrobras.

    Local media report that Mr Janot also requested that current President Dilma Rousseff be investigated.

    The reports say she is suspected of obstructing the corruption inquiry.

    However, there has been no official confirmation yet of the request for investigation of President Rousseff....BBC
    4/5/16

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  15. The UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Syria’s frontline city of Aleppo, where fighting threatens to unravel international peace efforts...

    France and Britain called for the meeting as Russia said a new ceasefire in Aleppo could be announced within hours.

    French Ambassador Francois Delattre described Aleppo as the “martyred center of the resistance” to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and compared the city to besieged Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

    “Aleppo is burning and it is crucial that we focus on this top priority issue,” said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

    The 15-member council will hear a report from the UN’s top political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman on the situation in Aleppo, where fresh fighting including a rocket attack [??!!] on a maternity hospital left 19 dead on Tuesday......alarabiya.net
    4/5/16

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  16. Iranian commander threatens to close Strait of Hormuz to US...

    The deputy commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Iranian forces will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the United States and its allies if they "threaten" the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

    The comments by Gen. Hossein Salami, carried on state television, follow a long history of both rhetoric and confrontation between Iran and the U.S. over the narrow strait, through which nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes....AP
    4/5/16

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  17. Turkey approves law among final hurdles for EU visa deal...

    Turkey's parliament has approved a law on setting up a panel to monitor discipline for law enforcement officials, one of the last hurdles remaining before the country wins visa-free access to Europe for its nationals.

    The 28-nation European Union depends on Ankara's cooperation to maintain a March pact that has helped stem the flow of refugees and migrants arriving from Turkey, from which more than a million people reached Greece and Italy last year.

    The European Commission is expected to declare on May 4 that Turkey has broadly met the criteria for visa liberalization and to ask European Union governments and the European Parliament to approve the decision by the end of June.

    Late on May 2 the Turkish cabinet approved waiving visas for visitors from all 28 EU member states, once Europe relaxes its own visa requirements for Turks, another of the 72 criteria for the deal......REUTERS

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  18. Russia’s aviation carried out 87 sorties over the past four days and delivered strikes on the targets of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria’s Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces, Russia’s Defense Ministry official spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Wednesday...

    "Over the past four days the Aerospace Forces carried out 87 sorties for delivering strikes on the IS facilities in the Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces," Konashenkov said.

    The aviation is used near Araq for supporting the offensive of the government forces and self-defense militia units. "Seven command points of IS terrorists in this area were destroyed by our aviation," he said.
    Russia, US reach "full mutual understanding" on aviation flights over Syria

    According to Konashenkov, the Russian and US military have reached complete mutual understanding on organizing aviation flights over Syria.

    "At present, there is complete mutual understanding in this issue. Data exchange with our colleagues has been established on where and how flights are organized. Everything has been regulated in this matter," Konashenkov said.
    Russian airbase presence in Syria depends on IS liquidation time

    The official has also pointed out that the period of the Russian airbase’s presence in Syria depends on the timeframe of the liquidation of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups in the country.

    "They [the terrorist groups] still control a considerable part of Syrian territory," he said.
    More:
    http://tass.ru/en/defense/873786
    5/4/16

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  19. The UN's envoy for Syria on Wednesday made a plea for a halt in fighting in the second city of Aleppo, warning that failure to do so could lead to a "catastrophic" outcome...

    "The alternative is truly quite catastrophic, because we could see 400,000 people moving towards the Turkish border," Staffan de Mistura said after talks in Berlin with France and Germany's foreign ministers.
    AFP

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  20. Israeli air strikes hit four targets in Gaza overnight, wounding four people, three of them children, medical and security sources said on Thursday, as violence surged on the border...

    It was the biggest flare-up in months and raised concerns for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers that has held since the last Israeli offensive on the strip that ended in summer 2014.

    The Israeli army said that a major target of the strikes was suspected infiltration tunnels under the border like those whose destruction it cited as one of the principal achievements of the 2014 conflict.

    "Overnight, in response to the ongoing attacks against Israeli forces, an Israel Air Force aircraft targeted four Hamas terrorist infrastructure sites in the northern Gaza Strip," the Israeli military said in a statement.

    It gave no word on casualties but medical sources in Gaza said a raid on the Al-Zeitoun district wounded four members of the same family -- three children and a 65-year-old man.

    The raid hit a garage, its owner Hasan Hasaneen told AFP, saying the vehicles that caught fire were not used by security forces but only for "reconstruction works."

    Gaza has been devastated by three Israeli military offensives since 2008, and reconstruction has been painstakingly slow amid an Israeli blockade on all imports that could have military purposes....AFP

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  21. Turkey is not expected to hold a snap election after the ruling AK Party elects a new leader and will continue "securely" until the current government's mandate expires in 2019, presidential adviser Cemil Ertem said on Thursday...

    Turkey and its economy will stabilise further when a prime minister more closely aligned with President Tayyip Erdogan takes office, Ertem said in a live interview with broadcaster NTV.

    The current economy management will stay in place, he said, adding he does not expect any changes in monetary and fiscal policies. Declines in Turkish assets, especially the lira, amid worries about political turmoil will not continue and the lira may even become overvalued, undermining exports, he said.
    REUTERS
    5/5/16

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  22. Abe meets Cameron, says Brexit would make U.K. less attractive for Japanese investors...

    Shinzo Abe cautioned Britain on Thursday that a vote to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum will make Britain less attractive for Japanese investors.

    “A vote to leave would make the U.K. less attractive as a destination for Japanese investment,” Abe, who leads the world’s third largest economy, said through a translator at a news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron.

    Abe’s intervention in Britain’s referendum campaign comes less than two weeks since U.S. President Barack Obama bluntly warned Britain that it would be “in the back of the queue” for a trade deal with the United States if it drops out of the EU.

    While Abe said that EU membership is a matter for the British people, he added that Japanese interests are also at stake in the referendum....Kyodo

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  23. Greek islands hope to gain from EU-Turkey visa deal...

    Greek islands expect Turkish tourists to increase substantially if the visa-free deal between EU and Turkey comes through, Greek chamber and tourism officials said Thursday.

    Thrasos Kalogridis, president of the Association of Greek Insular Chambers, told Anadolu Agency that he expected the visa-free deal to increase the number of Turkish tourists traveling across Greek islands, which was recorded at up to a million people last year.

    “Visa-free travel proposal will inflate the number of Turkish tourists visiting Greek islands,” Kalogridis said.

    He also welcomed the European Commission’s recommendation Wednesday on the visa-free deal, which would benefit around 80 million Turkish citizens.

    He pointed out that the process of a visa-free deal for Turks should be implemented as soon as possible as it concerns them closely, saying the move would also "prompt fresh investment cooperation as well".

    "The income of Greek islands is based on tourism. I believe this deal will benefit Turkish-Greek business relations and create new opportunities for both countries. Our wish is to grow tourism and trade volume," he said......http://aa.com.tr

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  24. Syria: Army General Command refutes allegations on targeting a camp for displaced in Idleb countryside ...

    The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces dismissed as” untrue” the news broadcast by some media outlets that the Syrian Army targeted a camp for displaced people in Idleb countryside.

    ” News circulated by some media outlets, which are involved in the bloodshed of the Syrian people, that the Syrian Army’s air force targeted a camp for the displaced people in Idleb countryside are completely baseless.”the Army Command said in statement on Friday.

    ” We have certain information that some terrorist groups have recently started , upon directives of known foreign sides , to hit civilian targets deliberately to cause large causalities among civilians and accuse the Syrian Arab Army,” the statement added.

    The statement pointed out that the hitting civilian targets by the terrorists aims at ” diverting attention from the crimes committed by the terrorist groups against the Syrian people and using them as a leverage in the political track in addition to covering the state of turmoil, despair and failure as a result for the victories achieved by the Syrian Arab army in its war on terrorism.
    [sana.sy]
    6/5/16

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  25. A BBC reporter, a producer and a cameraman have been detained in North Korea and are being expelled from the country, the BBC has said...

    Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, producer Maria Byrne and cameraman Matthew Goddard were detained on Friday as they were about to leave the reclusive communist state.

    Mr Wingfield-Hayes was questioned for eight hours and made to sign a statement by North Korean officials, the corporation said.

    All three were in Pyongyang ahead of the Workers Party Congress.

    They were accompanying a delegation of Nobel prize laureates on a research trip.

    Another BBC journalist, Stephen Evans, the Seoul correspondent, is still in Pyongyang.

    He said the North Korean leadership was displeased with their reports.

    The secretary-general of the North Korea's National Peace Committee, said news coverage by Mr Wingfield-Hayes distorted facts and "spoke ill of the system and the leadership of the country".

    He said Mr Wingfield-Hayes wrote an apology, was being expelled and would never again be admitted into the country.
    rte.ie
    9/5/16

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  26. Griechenland soll den Euro abgeben...

    In der Griechenland-Krise hat FDP-Chef Christian Lindner einen Euro-Austritt des Landes und einen Schuldenschnitt gefordert. „Griechenland braucht einen finanzpolitischen Neustart ohne Euro. Dann aber mit einem Schuldenschnitt und mit zweckgebundenen EU-Hilfen“, sagte Lindner der „Bild“-Zeitung (Montagsausgabe). Er äußerte sich vor einem Sondertreffen der Finanzminister der Eurozone, die am Montag in Brüssel zusammenkommen.....handelsblatt.com

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  27. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has resigned after losing the support of Social Democratic party colleagues...

    Mr Faymann came to power in 2008 but has faced criticism within his party since the far right won the first round of presidential elections last month.

    He told a press conference that Austria needed a chancellor who had his party "fully behind him".

    Deputy Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner is to take over on an interim basis, APA news agency reports.

    Mr Faymann called for the government to make a new start.

    "I'm stepping down from my role as chancellor and SPO leader," he said, acknowledging he had lost support within the party....BBC

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  28. The United States on Monday announced a $50 million humanitarian aid program for the Gaza Strip...

    US officials said the money will be used over five years to provide basic humanitarian assistance and create jobs in the impoverished coastal strip.

    The money will be distributed by the US Agency for International Development in partnership with Catholic Relief Services.

    The US Consul General in Jerusalem, Donald A. Blume, said the effort is meant to help with "the dire needs that are obvious in Gaza."

    Gaza's economy has sharply declined since the Islamic militant group Hamas took over the coastal territory nearly a decade ago. Unemployment there is estimated to be over 40 percent......i24news.tv

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  29. A US naval warship has sailed near a contested reef in the South China Sea, in what Washington described as a "freedom of navigation" operation...

    The ship neared the disputed Fiery Cross Reef, which China controls, on Tuesday, US officials said.

    China said the move was illegal and "damaged regional peace".

    China and several of its neighbours are locked in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

    China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicting claims over reefs and islands in the sea.

    China turned Fiery Cross Reef into an artificial island through a massive dredging operation, constructing buildings and an airstrip.

    China says the structures are for civilian purposes. However, neighbouring countries are concerned at their possible military use...
    BBC
    10/5/16

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  30. Brazilian President Rousseff’s impeachment to go ahead...

    The interim speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress on Tuesday said he had reversed a decision to annul the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

    Waldir Maranhao said in a statement that he “reversed the decision” on Monday to cancel the April vote by lawmakers that launched the process, a formality that clears the way for Rousseff’s impeachment to go ahead, Brazilian media reported.

    His move comes after Senate President Renan Calheiros on Monday dismissed Maranhao’s annulment, saying the Senate would still go ahead with the impeachment.
    AFP

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  31. China scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as a U.S. navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, a patrol China denounced as an illegal threat to peace which only went to show its defense installations in the area were necessary...

    Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence traveled within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said.

    The so-called freedom of navigation operation was undertaken to "challenge excessive maritime claims" by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam which were seeking to restrict navigation rights in the South China Sea, Urban said.

    "These excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise," Urban said in an emailed statement.....REUTERS

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  32. Australia says it has detained five men who they believe were planning to sail by boat to Indonesia and the Philippines en route to join radical Islamist groups fighting in Syria...

    Authorities say the quintet was arrested in northern Queensland state, after towing a seven-meter boat almost 3,000 kilometers from Melbourne to Cairns, where they planned to set sail.

    "They were committed, obviously very committed. The fact that they'd gone all the way from Melbourne, all the way to far North Queensland (state), indicates that these people were extremely committed in their adventure and their attempt to leave the country," said Neil Gaughan, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner.....voanews.com
    11/5/16

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  33. MH370: Mauritius and South Africa debris 'almost certainly' from missing plane...

    Two pieces of aircraft debris found on beaches in Mauritius and South Africa almost certainly came from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, say Malaysian and Australian officials.

    It is the latest development in efforts to solve the mystery of the aircraft, which went missing in March 2014.

    The plane, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had 239 people on board when it vanished.

    It is presumed to have crashed into the sea after veering off course.

    Three ships are searching a 120,000 sq km area of the southern Indian Ocean but have so far found no trace of the plane.

    Five pieces of debris have been confirmed as definitely or probably from the plane.

    Each was found thousands of miles from the search zone, though within the area models of ocean currents have indicated debris could wash up....BBC

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  34. Majority of Brazil senators back Rousseff impeachment...

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff prepared Thursday to cede power to her vice president-turned-enemy, Michel Temer, after a majority of the Senate backed suspending her and opening an impeachment trial.

    With a marathon 17-hour debate continuing through the night ahead of a vote, the writing was already on the wall for Brazil's first female president.

    Only a simple majority of the 81-member Senate is required to suspend Rousseff for six months pending judgement on charges that she broke budget-accounting laws. And shortly after 3:15 am in Brasilia (0615 GMT), the 41st senator declared his intention to back impeachment ahead of the vote.

    A trial could take months, with a two-thirds majority vote eventually needed to force Rousseff, 68, from office altogether......i24news.tv

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  35. An explosion rocked the Sancaktepe district of Istanbul near a military barracks Thursday. Local media reported that at least five people were injured in the blasts, including military personnel...

    Initial reports said that the explosion originated from within a vehicle in the military zone, but that was not confirmed by officials.

    Turkey remains on high security alert after a series of attacks on its soil blamed on Kurdish militants and IS jihadists, who still control territory in Syria right up to the Turkish border. The country has seen tourism fall sharply since the start of the year and a number of countries including the United States and Israel have issued travel warnings to their citizens about traveling to Turkey.
    i24news.tv

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  36. Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has condemned the move to impeach her as a "coup" and a "farce", denying she has committed any crimes...

    She was addressing the nation on TV, her first comments since senators voted overnight to suspend her from office and put her on trial.

    Ms Rousseff said her government was "undergoing sabotage".

    Vice-President Michel Temer will assume the presidency while Ms Rousseff's trial takes place.

    The trial may last up to 180 days, which would mean Ms Rousseff would be suspended during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which start on 5 August.

    Senators had voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22 after an all-night session that lasted more than 20 hours....BBC
    12/5/16

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  37. A total of 30 Syrian refugee children, aged between 8 and 12, have been sexually assaulted over a period of three months by a cleaning worker in Turkey’s Nizip refugee camp located in the southeastern province of Gaziantep and administered by the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD)...

    The disaster agency confirmed the claims, which it was “following closely,” while the suspect faces up to 289 years of jail time.

    A cleaning personnel worker identified as E.E. “sexually assaulted” some 30 Syrian boys, the oldest of whom were only 12 years old, in the camp’s washrooms, daily BirGün reported on May 12.

    The report alleged that the worker lured children into “blind spots” which were not seen by surveillance cameras by offering them money, around 1.5 to 5 Turkish Liras.....kurdishdailynews.org

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  38. Helicopter Turkish air force crashed in the South-East of the country while carrying out operations against Kurdish rebels. It is reported Reuters...

    The car fell in the province of Hakkari, killing two Turkish soldiers. Ankara claims that the helicopter was not shot down but crashed due to technical problems.

    The helicopter took part in operations against Kurdish rebels from the Kurdistan workers ‘ party (PKK). According to the Turkish military, they managed to destroy six fighters of the Kurds in the fighting killed as many soldiers of the Turkish army, and eight more were injured.....http://rushincrash.com

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  39. At least 39 Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists killed in Hama and Idleb...

    Many members of terrorists organizations have been killed in continued operations by the army units and the Air Force over the past 24 hours, while more of their dens, weapons and vehicles were destroyed.

    Hama

    An army unit killed 28 Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists near Skeik Hill in the northern countryside of Hama province, a military source told SANA on Friday.

    Idleb

    The Army’s air force targeted positions for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists east of al-Tamanaa in the southern countryside of Idleb province, killing 11 of them and destroying a vehicle......http://sana.sy/en/?p=77168
    13/5/16

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  40. Belgium will extend its F-16 air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq into Syria, the government said Friday, as it grapples with the aftermath of deadly ISIS-claimed bomb attacks in Brussels in March...

    “In accordance with UN Resolution 2249, the engagement will be limited to those areas of Syria under the control of ISIS and other terrorist groups,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Charles Michel told AFP after a cabinet meeting.

    “The objective will be to destroy these groups’ refuges,” the spokesman said, adding that the strikes would begin on July 1....AFP

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  41. Argentina's Fernandez charged in Central Bank case...

    An Argentine judge on Friday authorized charges against former President Cristina Fernandez in a case involving alleged irregularities in dollar futures contracts carried out by the Central Bank during her administration.

    Judge Claudio Bonadio approved indictments of Fernandez, former Economy Minister Axel Kiciloff, erstwhile Central Bank chief Alejandro Vanoli and 12 other people.
    EFE
    14/5/16

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  42. Argentine: Kirchner poursuivie pour une opération de la Banque centrale sur les taux de change...

    Un juge argentin a inculpé vendredi l'ex-présidente Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) pour préjudice à l'Etat après une opération de spéculation sur les taux de change menée par la Banque centrale dans les derniers mois de son mandat.

    Le juge fédéral Claudio Bonadio a considéré "évident que la présidente de l'époque avait donné des instructions - sans doute élaborées de façon conjointe - à son ministre de l'Economie pour que cette opération financière soit menée", dans une décision publiée sur le site internet de la Cour suprême.

    Le magistrat a aussi ordonné le gel d'actifs de Mme Kirchner pour une valeur de 15 millions de pesos (un million de dollars).

    Il a prononcé les mêmes poursuites et le même embargo à l'encontre de son ministre de l'Economie de 2013 à 2015, Axel Kicillof, de l'ex-président de la Banque centrale Alejandro Vanoli ainsi que 12 autres anciens membres du directoire de cet organisme.

    La justice accuse Mme Kirchner d'avoir causé des pertes à l'autorité monétaire avec cette opération de spéculation sur les taux de change fin 2015, peu de temps avant l'élection du nouveau président de centre-droit Mauricio Macri.....france24.com
    14/5/16

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  43. Boko Haram may be sending fighters to Isis in Libya – US officials ...

    There are signs that Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadists are sending fighters to join Isis in Libya, and of increased cooperation between the two groups, a senior US official said on Friday.

    Nigeria has asked the US to sell it aircraft to fight Boko Haram, which has been waging a seven-year insurgency in the north and last year pledged loyalty to Isis, which is active in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

    Little is known about the extent of cooperation between the two radical Islamist groups. But western governments worry Isis’s growing presence in north Africa and ties with Boko Haram could herald a push south into the vast, lawless Sahel region and create a springboard for wider attacks.

    US deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken said there were “reports” Boko Haram fighters were going to Libya, where Isis has established a large presence, taking advantage of security chaos.....theguardian.com
    14/5/16

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  44. Energiekrise in Venezuela : Maduro verlängert Ausnahmezustand ...

    Die Krise in Venezuela spitzt sich zu: Präsident Maduro hat den Ausnahmezustand um weitere drei Monate verlängert. Wegen der Energieknappheit läuft der Staatsbetrieb seit Monaten auf Sparflamme. Beamte und Schüler bekommen frei, die Stromversorgung wird täglich stundenlang gekappt.

    Angesichts der Energiekrise in Venezuela verlängert Präsident Nicolás Maduro den "Wirtschaftsausnahmezustand" zunächst um drei weitere Monate. Er werde für die Monate Mai bis Juli ein neues Dekret unterzeichnen, kündigte der sozialistische Staatschef im Staatsfernsehen an. Die Maßnahmen würden aber "mit Sicherheit" auch noch für das kommende Jahr notwendig sein, sagte Maduro.

    Maduro hatte ein erstes Dekret Mitte Januar für eine Dauer von 60 Tagen unterzeichnet und im März verlängert. Die das Parlament beherrschende Opposition verweigert dem Staatschef jedoch die Gefolgschaft und bestreitet sein Recht, derartige Maßnahmen zu ergreifen.
    Fast täglich wird der Strom abgestellt

    Wegen der Energiekrise wird mittlerweile mit Ausnahme von Caracas fast im ganzen Land täglich der Strom für mehrere Stunden abgestellt. Großverbraucher wie Hotels müssen seit Februar neun Stunden am Tag die Stromversorgung aus eigener Kraft sicherstellen. Einkaufszentren kürzten daraufhin ihre Öffnungszeiten. Staatsbedienstete und Schüler bekamen zusätzliche freie Tage. Zudem gehört das Land seit Mai einer neuen Zeitzone an, um von einer halben Stunde mehr Tageslicht zu profitieren.....tagesschau.de
    14/5/16

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  45. Syrie: 20 soldats et miliciens tués dans une attaque de l'EI sur un hôpital à Deir Ezzor...

    (Belga) Au moins 20 soldats syriens et miliciens pro-régime ont été tués samedi dans une attaque du groupe Etat islamique (EI) sur un hôpital de Deir Ezzor (est), rapporte l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH).

    "L'EI a attaqué l'hôpital al-Assad, situé à l'entrée Est de la ville, tuant au moins 20 soldats et miliciens", a indiqué à l'AFP Rami Abdel Rahmane, directeur de l'OSDH, précisant que six djihadistes avaient été tués dans les combats qui ont suivi et qu"'il n'y a plus de contact avec l'équipe médicale". (Belga)
    rtl.be

    ReplyDelete
  46. UN says turning migrants away 'won't work'...

    The UN high commissioner for refugees says the migrants crisis is now a global phenomenon and that simply turning them away "won't work".

    Filippo Grandi told the BBC that more nations had to help the "few countries" shouldering the burden, by increasing both funding and resettlement.

    He said that, last year, fewer than 1% of 20 million refugees had been resettled in another nation.

    More are fleeing conflict and hardship than at any other time in history.

    Mr Grandi was speaking to the BBC during a day of special live coverage examining how an age of unprecedented mobility is shaping our world.

    Later, the UN refugee agency's special envoy, Angelina Jolie-Pitt, will deliver a keynote speech, in which she will warn about the "fear of uncontrolled migration" and how it has "given space, and a false air of legitimacy, to those who promote a politics of fear and separation".......http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36299835
    16/5/16

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  47. Syria permits evacuation of students in "rebel"-held areas to write exams...

    The Syrian government allowed hundreds of students to leave two rebel-held areas near Damascus over the weekend in order to take their year-end exams, the Associated Press (AP) reports, as the government seeks to rebuff criticism that it is not providing essential services to civilians in besieged rebel-held areas.

    Around 360 students from the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, and another 68 from the rebel-held town of Madaya were permitted to travel to government-held areas to take their high school exams, activists and Syrian state media reported.....i24news.tv

    ReplyDelete
  48. Colombie: gouvernement et Farc s'accordent sur un départ des enfants combattants ...

    Les mineurs combattants des Farc quitteront progressivement les rangs de cette guérilla, selon les termes d'un accord conclu dimanche avec le gouvernement dans le cadre de négociations de paix menées à Cuba.

    Les Farc, guérilla la plus importante du pays avec environ 7000 combattants, "s'engage à faire partir les mineurs de 15 ans (...) dès qu'un accord sur le protocole et le plan transitoire d'accueil aura été trouvé", indique un communiqué signé par les deux parties.

    Ce devrait être chose faite d'ici 15 jours, ont ajouté les négociateurs, précisant que les mineurs non suspectés de crimes graves bénéficieraient d'une amnistie, alors que le sort des accusés de ce type de crime serait défini ultérieurement.

    6000 mineurs en 17 ans

    Le départ des mineurs débutera par les moins de 15 ans en attendant la définition d'une "feuille de route" pour les autres, indique encore le texte.

    Les parties n'ont pas dévoilé de chiffres sur le nombre de mineurs combattants qui pourraient bénéficier de cette mesure. Mais selon des données officielles, parmi les quelque 6000 mineurs qui ont quitté les rangs de groupes armés ces 17 dernières années, 60% provenaient des Farc.

    Le groupe rebelle s'est toujours défendu de recruter des enfants soldats, préférant expliquer qu'il prenait en charge des orphelins et des victimes de violences....rtbf.be

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  49. Cinquante ans après la Révolution culturelle en Chine, période noire qui, sous la férule du parti communiste et de Mao Tsé-toung, a fait des centaines de milliers de morts, Pékin cultive la discrétion sur ces évènements et en garde l'héritage...

    Un demi-siècle après la tourmente meurtrière de la Révolution culturelle, que reste-t-il en Chine de ces heures noires de l'histoire du pays ? Malgré le triomphe de la "voie capitaliste", la crainte diffuse d'un "coup de barre à gauche" du régime n'a pas disparu sous la férule d'un Parti communiste chinois (PCC) en apparence assagi, mais toujours admiratif de Mao Tsé-toung.

    Renonçant à affronter sa propre histoire, le PCC n'entend pas rouvrir la plaie. Aucune cérémonie n'est prévue pour marquer le lancement, communément daté du 16 mai 1966, par Mao de "la plus gigantesque flambée de frénésie collective que la Chine ait connue depuis l'insurrection des Taiping" au XIXe siècle, selon l'expression de Simon Leys, chroniqueur émérite de ces années. "Aujourd'hui est un jour normal en Chine", rapporte Pierre-Philippe Berson, correspondant de France 24 à Pékin. Parlant de la révolution culturelle, il évoque "une quasi-guerre civile", qui reste "un véritable tabou dans la société chinoise". "Les témoins n'osent pas en parler et les jeunes générations en ignorent tout", ajoute-t-il....france24.com

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  50. SANA-Meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) started on Tuesday in Vienna with the participation of 20 states and organizations co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his American counterpart John Kerry.
    17/5/16

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  51. Canada wildfire: Oil workers urged to leave Fort McMurray camps...

    Around 12,000 people have been urged to leave Canada's oil sands camps near the fire-hit town of Fort McMurray as a resurgent wildfire heads towards them.

    A regional official told the BBC that 8,000 people were given precautionary evacuation orders late on Monday evening, in addition to some 4,000 who had already been advised to leave.

    More than 80,000 people fled Fort McMurray two weeks ago when a wildfire swept through the town.

    Around 2,400 buildings were destroyed.

    The vast fire had moved away from the city but in recent days it has started to threaten the area again....BBC
    17/5/16

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  52. French roads blocked over labour law...

    Truckers are blocking highways around France to protest longer working hours in a new labour bill, but President Francois Hollande says he won't abandon the contested reform.

    France is facing a week of new strikes and other union action against the bill, which has met fierce resistance in Parliament and in the streets.

    Truck drivers joined in the protests Tuesday, blocking roads around Marseille and the western cities of Nantes and Le Mans. They fear a drop in income because the bill cuts overtime pay.....AP
    17/5/16

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  53. Venezuela gives sweeping 'emergency' powers to security forces ...

    Venezuela's army is to be backed by civilians grouped into ancillary security units, to tackle food shortages and public unrest, under a state of emergency decree published on Monday.

    The decree, published in the government gazette, brings into effect for at least 60 days sweeping powers President Nicolas Maduro announced on Friday.

    The measures give his government and security forces broad authorization to ignore most constitutional safeguards in a bid to keep order and supply basic food and services, and to counter a crippling energy shortage.

    But the opposition, which controls the National Assembly and is seeking Maduro's ouster through a referendum, is to put the decree's public-control measures to the test on Wednesday with nationwide marches.

    Police and soldiers used tear gas to break up similar protests last week....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  54. French President François Hollande said on Tuesday an international conference planned for late May in Paris to relaunch peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis had been postponed until the summer...

    With US efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters and Washington focused on the November US presidential election, Paris has lobbied countries to hold a conference before then to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table......france24.com

    ReplyDelete
  55. At least 50 "fighters" and two civilians were killed Tuesday in clashes between rival anti-regime groups east of Syria's capital, the UK-based opposing Syrian Observatory said...

    Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) group has been involved in nearly three weeks of clashes with rival factions led by Al-Qaeda's local affiliate in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Gouta.
    Source: AFP

    ReplyDelete
  56. US Senate passes legislation allowing September 11 survivors, families to sue Saudi Arabia...

    THE US Senate has passed legislation which allows survivors and relatives of those killed in the September 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages against the government of Saudi Arabia.

    The legislation, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, passed in the Senate by unanimous voice vote on Tuesday.

    If it passes the House of Representatives and is signed into law by US President Barack Obama, JASTA would allow lawsuits to proceed in federal court in New York as lawyers try to prove that the Saudis were involved in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

    The Saudis, who deny any involvement in 9/11, have threatened to sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets should the bill be signed.....news.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  57. Rescuers in Sri Lanka are searching for scores of people missing after massive landslides following days of rain...

    The Red Cross says more than 200 families are feared buried in the mudslides that hit three villages in central Kegalle district.

    At least 13 bodies have been recovered so far. Another three bodies were found elsewhere in the district.

    Disaster officials say about 150 people have been rescued but more than 60 houses have been buried by mud.

    At least 32 people have been killed in flooding during three days of torrential rain in Sri Lanka, according to official figures.

    Nearly 350,000 people have been displaced by the flooding.

    The huge landslide happened above the villages of Siripura, Pallebage and Elagipitya late on Tuesday afternoon.

    Images show a vast stretch of hillside which has sheared off, sending mud, rocks and trees crashing down.

    "We have deployed more than 300 officers for rescue operations... they have been able to rescue around 150 people last night. They recovered 13 dead bodies this morning," military spokesman Brig Jayanath Jayaweera told the BBC.....Bbc
    18/5/16

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  58. US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian opposite number Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday proposed that the US and Russia could assist World Food Program airdrop parcels into Syria if President Bashar al-Assad's regime continued to block aid...

    The suggestion came as world power talks on ending the Syrian conflict broke up with no clear breakthrough and new faction-fighting erupted, with the death toll continued to mount.

    The top US diplomat again accused Assad's forces of deliberately starving besieged areas and said UN humanitarian agencies would be ordered to drop food....AFP....i24news.tv
    18/5/16

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  59. EgyptAir flight: Search intensifies for missing plane...

    A massive search is continuing for a second day for an EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean.

    Greek, Egyptian, French and UK military units are taking part in the operation near Greece's Karpathos island.

    Flight MS804 was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it vanished early on Thursday.

    Greece said radar showed the Airbus A320 had made two sharp turns and dropped more than 25,000ft (7,620m) before plunging into the sea.

    Egypt says the plane was more likely to have been brought down by a terrorist act than a technical fault....BBC

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  60. Taiwan's new president urged China today to "drop the baggage of history" in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing's Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence...

    President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan's export-driven economy on the ropes and giant neighbour China looking across the Taiwan Strait for signs of creeping independence or anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties.

    President Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favoured independence from China, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January and takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou.

    Ms Tsai, Taiwan's first female president, said Taiwan would play a responsible role and be a "staunch guardian of peace" in its relationship with China....rte.ie
    20/5/16

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  61. Une nouvelle lycéenne de Chibok, kidnappée par Boko Haram il y a deux ans, Serah Luka, a été libérée jeudi lors d'une opération de l'armée nigériane. Quelques heures plus tôt, Amina Ali, la première rescapée, avait été reçue par le président...

    Une deuxième lycéenne de Chibok a été retrouvée jeudi 19 mai. Selon le porte-parole de l'armée nigériane, le colonel Sani Usman, la jeune fille se trouvait parmi 97 femmes et enfants libérés jeudi lors d'une opération conjointe de l'armée et des miliciens menée à 11 h aux alentours de Damboa, dans l'État de Borno (nord-est).

    "Son nom est Serah Luka, elle est au numéro 157 de la liste des filles enlevées. On pense qu'il s'agit de la fille du pasteur Luka", a ajouté Sani Usman, précisant que la jeune fille recevait des soins médicaux dans une caserne de Biu....france24.com

    ReplyDelete
  62. China demands end to U.S. surveillance after aircraft intercept...

    Beijing demanded an end to U.S. surveillance near China on Thursday after two of its fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

    The incident, likely to increase tension in and around the contested waterway, took place in international airspace on Tuesday as the plane carried out "a routine U.S. patrol," a Pentagon statement said.

    A U.S. Defense official said two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet (15 meters) of the U.S. EP-3 aircraft. The official said the incident took place east of Hainan island.

    "Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe," the Pentagon statement said.....reuters.com

    ReplyDelete
  63. Israel defence minister quits as PM mulls replacing him with far-rightist...

    Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon announced his resignation on Friday, citing poor faith in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Netanyahu proposed replacing him as part of a move to expand the coalition government.

    Political sources say Netanyahu offered ultra-nationalist politician Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday the defence portfolio, a post crucial for a country on a perennial war footing and which also runs civil affairs in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians struggling for statehood live in friction with Jewish settlers.

    "I informed the PM that after his conduct and recent developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and parliament and taking a break from political life," Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Twitter.

    Yaalon's exit could put a new dent in domestic and Western confidence in the Netanyahu government.....REUTERS

    ReplyDelete
  64. Grèce: un accord est "à portée de main" et pourrait intervenir à l'Eurogroupe du 24 mai ...

    Le commissaire européen chargé des Affaires économiques, Pierre Moscovici, a estimé vendredi qu'un accord était "à portée de main" sur la reprise du plan d'aide accordé l'été dernier par la zone euro à la Grèce mais bloqué depuis plusieurs mois.

    "Il me semble qu'un accord, avec de la volonté, du travail - il en reste - est à portée de main et qu'il pourrait être réalisé lors de l'Eurogroupe du 24 mai", a déclaré M. Moscovici à la presse, en marge du G7-Finances au Japon.

    Le 9 mai, les ministres des Finances de la zone euro avaient ouvert la voie à la poursuite de l'aide financière à la Grèce, en saluant les dernières réformes menées par le gouvernement d'Alexis Tsipras, et promis un accord sur l'allègement de la dette fin mai......rtl.be
    20/5/16

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  65. Le volcan Turrialba, dans le centre du Costa Rica, est entré ce vendredi dans une forte activité éruptive, projetant des quantités de fumée et de cendres que le vent pousse jusqu'à la capitale San José...

    On pouvait sentir une forte odeur de soufre à San José, à 30 kilomètres à l'est du volcan, et dans des localités voisines, où les cendres réduisaient la visibilité et recouvraient les voitures et les meubles.

    "L'éruption la plus forte de ces six dernières années"

    "Je crois que c'est l'éruption la plus forte de ces six dernières années", a déclaré le volcanologue Gino Gonzalez, alors que la colonne de cendres était haute de 3 kilomètres.

    Plusieurs établissements d'enseignement ont été fermés à San José et dans d'autres villes du Costa Rica, en raison des problèmes de santé qui commençaient à affecter de nombreux élèves, selon des informations de presse.

    Des centaines de personnes présentant des problèmes respiratoires ou des maladies de peau se pressaient dans les hôpitaux. La Commission nationale des situations d'urgence (CNE) a recommandé à la population d'utiliser des masques et des vêtements fermés pour réduire les contacts avec les cendres.....RTBF et Belga
    21/5/16

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  66. A Syrian asylum seeker has won a landmark victory in his appeal before an independent tribunal to have his deportation order to Turkey overturned, the Guardian reports. The ruling could affect thousands of similar cases, further undermining the EU-Turkey migration deal, which sets out that asylum seekers landing in Greece can be sent back to Turkey...

    In its ruling, the appeals tribunal argued that the asylum seeker's rights under the Geneva convention could not be guaranteed in Turkey, leading to his deportation order being overturned by two votes to one, the Guardian says.

    As such, his case will now be reassessed from the beginning.

    The man had been one of the first Syrians due to be deported under the EU-Turkey migration deal. According to the Guardian, nearly 400 asylum seekers of other nationalities have been sent back to Turkey so far.

    "At its very first test, the EU-Turkey deal crumbles," Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International's deputy Europe director said, quoted in the Guardian......i24news.tv
    21/5/16

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  67. Strong winds and heavy downpours unleashed by Cyclone Roanu have already left five people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, as the storm is poised to make landfall in southern Bangladesh...

    Officials said the cyclone was expected to hit the Bangladesh coast on Saturday around 12:00pm local time (06:00 GMT), packing winds of 88km an hour.

    Authorities took 60,000 people to cyclone shelters following a warning that an expected storm surge of up to 1.5 metres could flood villages and towns along the coast.

    "It will make the landfall between the Barisal and Chittagong coast," said Ruhul Quddus, a forecaster in the government's meteorological department, according to AFP news agency.

    "The peripheral wind of the cyclone has already hit the coastal areas."...AFP

    ReplyDelete
  68. After counting about 90% of the votes during the second round of the presidential election in Australia, both candidates gain about the same number of votes, the Associated Press reports...

    Recall that for the post of President of Austria are fighting Norbert Hofer, representing the right populist Austrian freedom party, and former leader of the «green» Alexander van der Bellen.

    The candidates of the political forces forming the ruling coalition – the Social democratic party of Austria and the Austrian conservative people’s party – for the first time in the postwar period have not passed the second round of voting.

    In Austria the President is elected by popular vote for a term of 6 years and performs mainly representative functions, the Executive branch is headed by the Federal Chancellor.
    [israel-today.ru]
    22/5/16

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  69. Scores dead in multiple IS group bombings in coastal regime strongholds in Syria ...

    Syrian state TV says more than 65 people have been killed in multiple attacks in the coastal cities of Tartus and Jableh, strongholds of President Bashar Assad.

    The TV report Monday said at least one suicide bomber on foot followed by a car bomber attacked a packed bus station in Tartus. An interior ministry official says more than 20 were killed and many injured.

    FRANCE 24’s expert in militant Islamist groups Wassim Nasr confirmed that the Islamic State (IS) group has taken responsibility for the attacks.

    A witness at the scene who spoke to FRANCE 24 estimated that at least 40 people were killed in Tartus and 20 in Jableh. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 100 people died in the attacks.

    Separately, Syria news agency SANA said three rockets were launched into Jableh, which lies 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Latakia city, landing in a bus station, near the town’s entrance.

    The rare attacks occurred in the normally quiet pro-government coastal areas where Russia keeps a naval base in Tartus and an air base in Latakia province. Insurgents maintain a presence in rural Latakia.

    (FRANCE 24 with AP)

    ReplyDelete
  70. Greece has agreed a deal to unlock a further 10.3bn euros ($11.5bn; £7.8bn) in loans from its international creditors, after talks in Brussels...

    Eurozone finance ministers also agreed to potentially offer Greece debt relief - a concession that was necessary to keep IMF on board.

    The 19 ministers said the deal had been made possible by Greece's economic reforms and called it a breakthrough.

    Greece needed this tranche of cash to meet debt repayments due in July....BBC
    25/5/16

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  71. France uses strategic oil reserves to counter refinery blockade...

    France has started using its strategic oil reserves to counter union blockades of its refineries, the French oil industry federation said on Wednesday.

    "Yes, a small quantity of the stock has been drawn. It was authorized by the government, only the government can authorize it," UFIP spokeswoman Catherine Enck said.

    Union Francaise des Industries Petrolieres (UFIP) President Francis Duseux told RMC radio that the industry had been using the strategic reserves for two days.

    "Every day we use the equivalent of about one day of consumption. At worst, if the situation remains very tense, we can do this for three months," he said.
    REUTERS

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  72. France said Wednesday it will deploy more than 60,000 police to provide security for Euro 2016 as it vowed to "everything possible to avoid a terrorist attack" during the tournament that starts next month...

    The comments from Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve came after the Stade de France in Paris, which will host the event's opening match and final, descended into chaos Saturday before the national cup final after smoke bombs were set off inside the stadium, sparking panic among crowds that clustered at the stadium's exits.

    Cazeneuve told the sports daily l'Equipe that the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille "did not serve as a test" for Euro 2016....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  73. Egypt court overturns jail sentence for Red Sea islands deal protesters ...

    A Giza court of appeals overturned on Tuesday a five-year jail sentence for 47 people for participating in protests against the Egyptian-Saudi Red Sea maritime border demarcation deal announced last month.

    However, the court upheld an EGP 100,000 fine for each defendant.

    Thousands of people, including activists and politicians, protested last month against the government decision to acknowledge Saudi sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir.

    The protests are believed to be the largest to take place in Egypt since President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was elected president in 2014.

    In April, the defendants were referred to court by the prosecution for "illegally protesting, attempting to overthrow the government, rioting, inciting against state institutions, disturbing public peace and disrupting traffic."
    ahram.org.eg

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  74. Far-right Lieberman Named Israeli Defense Minister ...

    Far-right Israeli lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman has agreed to join Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet as defense minister, Lieberman's spokesman announced Wednesday.

    The controversial Lieberman, Israel's former foreign minister, will join his Yisrael Beitenu party with Netanyahu's Likud in a coalition government. The two parties are expected to sign the agreement later Wednesday.

    Lieberman has a reputation for inflammatory comments....voanews.com

    ReplyDelete
  75. Survivors of a fishing boat shipwreck in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya on Wednesday said that some 100 migrants may have drowned, the International Organization of Migration said Thursday...

    "The survivors who talked to our teams when they landed at Porto Empedocle (Sicily) spoke of 100 missing people who were stuck in the hull," IOM spokesman in Italy Flavio Di Giacomo told AFP.
    AFP
    26/5/16

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  76. President Barack Obama will make history on Friday when he travels to Hiroshima -- becoming the first sitting US leader to visit the site that ushered in the age of nuclear conflict...

    The trip comes more than seven decades after the world was first shown the potential key to its own destruction when an American plane, the Enola Gay, dropped its payload, dubbed "Little Boy" over the western Japanese city.

    The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while many succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards.

    The US dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki three days later.....i24news.tv
    27/5/16

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  77. Five Ukrainian troops killed by rebels near Donetsk...

    The Ukrainian military says five of its soldiers have died in fighting just north of Donetsk - the second-highest death toll in one day this year.

    Pro-Russian separatist rebels killed four in an ambush at Verkhnetoretskoye, near Avdiivka. The fifth died when his vehicle hit a landmine.

    Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk confirmed the death toll. Early on Monday rebel mortars targeted Ukrainian troops in the same area.

    Reports say two rebels were killed.

    A spokesman for the self-styled "Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)", Eduard Basurin, said the two died during Ukrainian shelling of DPR positions.

    Speaking on Sunday, he said the rebels had blocked a Ukrainian army attempt to break through between Avdiivka and Yasynuvata....BBC
    30/5/16

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  78. Les forces irakiennes sont entrées dans la ville de Falloujah, aux mains des jihadistes de l'EI...

    L'offensive pour reprendre la ville située à 50 km de Bagdad a été lancée il y a une semaine.

    L'assaut sur Falloujah a été lancé. Les forces d'élite irakiennes sont entrées lundi 30 mai au matin dans la ville située à seulement 50 km à l'ouest de Bagdad, pour en chasser les jihadistes de l'organisation État islamique (EI).

    "Les forces irakiennes sont entrées dans Falloujah avec le soutien aérien de la coalition internationale et de l'armée de l'air irakienne ainsi que l'appui de l'artillerie et des chars", a indiqué le général Abdelwahab al-Saadi, commandant de l'opération.

    "Les forces du service du contre-terrorisme (CTS), la police (de la province) d'Al-Anbar et l'armée irakienne ont commencé à entrer dans Falloujah par trois directions vers 4 h", a-t-il précisé. "Il y a une résistance de la part de Daech", a-t-il également affirmé......france24.com

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  79. More than 20 people were killed and about 50 injured in three bombings, including two suicide attacks, that hit Baghdad on Monday, police and medical sources said...

    The attacks came as Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militias are fighting Islamic State militants in Falluja, their stronghold just west of the capital.

    Twelve people were killed and more than 20 injured when a car bomb blew up in Baghdad's northern Shaab Shi'ite district.

    Eight were killed and 21 wounded by a suicide bomber who detonated a car packed with explosives near a government building and a police station in Tarmiya, a predominantly Sunni suburb north of Baghdad.

    Another suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off his explosive belt in Sadr City, a popular Shi'ite district of Baghdad, killing three and injuring nine.
    REUTERS
    30/5/16

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  80. Civilians fleeing an ISIS offensive in northwestern Syria have been prevented by Syrian Kurdish authorities from entering areas under their control in response to rebel shelling of a Kurdish-held area of Aleppo, the United Nations said...

    The civilians have been fleeing fighting between Syrian rebels and ISIS that advanced into the opposition-held town of Marea at the weekend, a significant advance by the militants against Turkish-backed insurgents.

    The United Nations has expressed concern about an estimated 8,000 Syrians trapped by fighting in northern Aleppo....alarabiya.net

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  81. Erdoğan raises concerns with Merkel over German draft bill on ‘genocide’...

    In a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 31, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised concerns about a draft bill in the German Parliament to recognize the 1915 killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide.

    The bill is due to be voted at parliament on June 2, and Erdoğan warned of negative effects on “economic, political and military” relations between Turkey and Germany if it is passed.

    “I think all this will be considered,” he said during a press briefing on May 31, declining to comment further on a “decision that has not been made yet.”

    Erdoğan recalled that there are 3 million Turkish-origin citizens living in Germany and bilateral relations are today at a very high level.....hurriyetdailynews.com

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