Monday, June 27, 2016

Julipro Breaking news (July 2016)

Britain should act quickly to leave the European Union, to limit uncertainty that is rattling investors, the European Union's digital economy commissioner has said.
A two-year process to quit the European Union will begin when Britain's prime minister invokes Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty......"Every day of uncertainty prevents investors from putting their funds into Britain, and also other European markets," Mr Oettinger told the Deutschlandfunk German radio station.

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141 comments:

  1. Pentagon's Renewed Program to Train, Equip Syrians Focuses on Growth ...

    The U.S. military's renewed program to train and equip Syrian rebels is helping anti-Islamic State forces make "significant steps forward" across the Syrian battlefield, officials say, as the Pentagon works to evaluate recent changes in the program.

    "We have U.S.-trained opposition forces near the Mara line, we have U.S.-trained opposition forces down in the at-Tanf garrison, and we have provided advice, assistance and training to the Syrian Democratic Forces that are conducting the Manbij operation," Colonel Chris Garver, a spokesman for the coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, told reporters Wednesday.

    Rather than trying to build entire units, as the Pentagon did in its first attempt at a train-and-equip program, the U.S. military is now focused on training small numbers of fighters as "spotters," who can coordinate resupply efforts and describe enemy positions, according to U.S. officials.

    The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say fewer than 100 Syrian fighters have been trained in the new program, which they described to reporters as a six- to eight-month window of starting "example programs" to build upon.....voanews.com

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  2. Brazilian Senate confirms Rousseff impeachment vote will happen after Olympics ends ...

    Brazilian Senate President Renan Calheiros said Thursday that the final impeachment vote for suspended President Dilma Rousseff will happen between August 25-27, after the end of the Rio Olympics.

    Rousseff is set to testify before the Senate's impeachment committee on July 6.

    There had been concerns over the date of the final vote, since senators in favor of the impeachment opted for a date before the Olympics. However, Rousseff's defense team is going to call on 40 witnesses, requiring more time.

    Both presidents, Rousseff and her interim successor Michel Temer, may seek to take part in the Olympic Games' opening ceremony on August 5.

    In an interview with foreign media on Wednesday, Rousseff said she was still expecting an invitation by the International Olympic Committee to participate in the opening ceremony.

    Rousseff was temporarily suspended from the presidency on May 11, pending an impeachment trial in the Senate on charges of alleged fiscal irregularities.
    globaltimes.cn

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  3. U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday signed into law a bipartisan bill allowing Puerto Rico to restructure its $70 billion debt, just one day before the island would have careened into default...

    Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which establishes a financial control board to restore fiscal discipline on the island. It also blocks potential litigation between the island and its creditors.

    Puerto Rico already had missed several payment deadlines and the signing came just hours before the island was expected to default on some $2 billion in debt payments due Friday.

    "We've got millions of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico who have been suffering under one of the worst financial crises, fiscal crises in memory," Obama said at a White House signing ceremony.

    The president added that the measure, while "not a perfect bill, at least moves us in the right direction."....AFP

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  4. Australia goes to polls tomorrow to elect new government...

    Over 15 million people are expected to exercise their votes when Australia goes to polls tomorrow with over 1600 candidates, including five of Indian- origin, contesting from over 55 political parities.

    The main contest is between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten who is vying to become the country's fifth prime minister in three years.

    The polls will elect all 226 members including 150 members for the lower house of the 45th Parliament after an eight-week official campaign period following the double dissolution announced by Prime Minister Turnbull in April this year..PTI..india.com
    1/7/16

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    1. Australia votes in dead-heat polls as PM seeks reform mandate...

      Australia has voted to elect a government for the next three years amid concerns an anticipated close vote will deny current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull the outright majority he needs to enact major economic reforms.

      The leader of Australia's conservative Liberal Party-led Coalition dissolved both houses of parliament in May in a bid to oust intransigent independents in the upper house Senate who had blocked his agenda.

      But Mr Turnbull's gamble is at risk of backfiring as the coalition faces a strong challenge not only from the main opposition Labor Party but from independents who could win enough seats to hold the balance of power in the Senate or force a minority government in the lower house.

      The latest Newspoll in News Corp Australia publications placed the coalition just ahead at 50.5 percent to Labour's 49.5 percent in two-party preferred terms.....http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0702/799687-australia-elections/
      2/7/16

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  5. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday for the first time since Moscow and Ankara mended ties that were shattered by the downing of a Russian jet last year...

    "We hope that this encounter will set the right tone for the normalisation of relations," Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency at the start of their meeting on the sidelines of a regional economic cooperation conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

    The encounter comes after Moscow on Thursday ended a ban on the sale of package tours to Turkey in the first step to ending broader sanctions slapped on Ankara after it shot down a Russian fighter jet on the Turkish-Syria border in November.

    The tourism move was agreed in a breakthrough phone call by leaders Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, after the Turkish strongman sent a letter that Moscow said contained an apology.

    Turkey has argued that the Russian plane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Russia insisted it did not cross the border and accused Turkey of a "planned provocation".....AFP

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  6. A Syrian warplane crashed northeast of Damascus on Friday and its pilot was captured by "rebels" in the area", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said...

    Syrian state media said, "The crash was caused by a technical fault and a search was under way for the pilot, who had ejected."

    Insurgents said the plane had been shot down, but did not say what weaponry was used.

    A spokesman for Jaish al-Islam rebels, who control territory on the Syrian capital`s eastern and northeastern outskirts, circulated a photo they said, "Showed the captured pilot".

    "Rebels" shot down two warplanes earlier this year....REUTERS

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  7. Taiwan mistakenly fires supersonic missile killing one ...

    Taiwan's navy mistakenly launched a supersonic anti-ship missile from a naval base, killing one person and injuring three, officials say.
    A patrol boat was undergoing a drill inspection in Kaohsiung when the Hsiung Feng III missile was set off, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

    It was fired in the direction of mainland China, and hit a fishing boat off the Penghu islands, it added.

    The boat's captain, who is Taiwanese, has been killed, defence officials say.

    The missile has a range of about 300km (200 miles)....BBC
    1/7/16

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  8. French President Francois Hollande said Friday that Brexit cannot be "cancelled" or "delayed", after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron...

    "The decision has been taken, it cannot be delayed and it cannot be cancelled, now they have to face the consequences," Hollande told reporters on the sidelines of Battle of the Somme centenary ceremonies in northern France.

    "Being in the European Union has advantages," he said. "And that's... what the British are starting to understand. Those who were tempted by the Brexit are starting to think it over."

    Hollande said a speedy Brexit "would avert all the uncertainties and instability, especially in the economic and financial domains. The faster it goes, the better it will be for them."
    AFP
    1/7/16

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  9. Vietnam has called for an international tribunal in The Hague to deliver a "fair and objective" ruling in an arbitration case lodged by the Philippines that challenges China`s expansive claims in the South China Sea...

    In a carefully worded statement two days after the court announced July 12 as the verdict date, Vietnam`s foreign ministry said it hoped the ruling would provide a basis for peacefully resolving rows.

    Vietnam is not a direct party to the case but stands to gain if the verdict favours Manila. Like the Philippines, it is also at odds with China, although it is wary not to push too far against a major trade partner.

    "Vietnam has always been observing the development of the case and wants the arbitration court to deliver a fair and objective decision, creating a basis to peacefully resolve disputes in the (South China Sea)," Vietnam`s foreign ministry spokesman, Le Hai Binh, said in a statement late on Friday...REUTERS..http://zeenews.india.com
    2/7/16

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  10. Security is tight across the United States as Americans get ready for the long Independence Day holiday coming after this week's terror attacks in Turkey and Bangladesh...

    Law enforcement officials say there are no specific threats against the U.S. over the holiday.

    But Central Intelligence Agency chief John Brennan warned after the triple suicide bombing at the Ankara airport that Islamic State may try the same thing in the U.S.

    Armed police officers, many accompanied by dogs, are patrolling airports and train and bus stations.

    There will also be increased security at large July Fourth gatherings in places such as Washington, New York and Chicago where hundreds of thousands gather to watch fireworks, listen to music and have picnics.

    More than 1,200 newly sworn-in police officers in New York City will be put to work right away, along with the city's newly formed Critical Response Command, a heavily armed counterterrorism force.

    The Department of Homeland Security is again reminding citizens to be alert, using its trademarked "if you see something, say something" slogan.
    voanews.com
    1/7/16

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  11. Russian officials were cautious on June 30 about revisiting plans for the construction of an underwater gas link to Turkey, despite a breakthrough in relations between Moscow and Ankara...

    Russia broke virtually all economic ties and banned tourists from visiting Turkish Mediterranean resorts after a Turkish jet downed a Russian plane on a mission in Syria last November.

    On June 29, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed regret in a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Moscow pledged to revive mutual relations.

    Russia has long harbored plans to build a pipeline along the bed of the Black Sea to Turkey and then onto southern Europe bypassing Ukraine - the main route of Russian gas to Europe - due its numerous disputes with Kyiv, including over gas prices.

    The Kremlin said on June 30 it was premature to say whether the pipeline project named TurkStream would be resumed...REUTERS....hurriyetdailynews.com

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  12. German spy chief says can't rule out Istanbul-style attacks at home...

    Attacks by Islamist militants pose the biggest security threat for Germany and events like the shooting and bombing in Istanbul this week could happen in Germany, the head of the country's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) told a Saturday newspaper.

    Three suspected ISIS suicide bombers killed 44 people at Istanbul's main airport on Tuesday, the deadliest in a string of attacks in Turkey this year.

    "We can't rule out attacks like those in Istanbul also happening in our country," Hans-Georg Maassen told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

    He said recent military defeats for ISIS were not demoralizing extremists here, and attacks in Europe were becoming ever more important for ISIS to intimidate people and send the message to followers that "we're still here."
    REUTERS

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  13. A pro-Islamic State (IS) Twitter account has threatened to attack Los Angeles International, John F Kennedy International and Heathrow airport as the US prepares to celebrate July 4 Independence Day weekend, the media reported on Saturday...

    The attacks will be carried out on planes "flying from Heathrow to the US" and warned that "there will be a device placed in either [sic] Heathrow, LAX or JFK airports," Telegraph reported, citing the Twitter account.

    The terror attack warning was revealed by the Site Intelligence Group, an organisation that tracks the online activity of terrorist groups.

    "We all need to be vigilant to the global threat of terrorism -- in Britain we keep all aspects of aviation security under constant review and work closely with our international partners to mitigate risks," Transport Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon was quoted as saying.

    Security has already been beefed up across the US airports.


    The threat comes in the wake of a deadly attack on Istanbul`s Ataturk airport where three Islamic State suicide bombers killed 41 persons injured over 239 others.


    At least five persons were killed and 18 rescued as Bangladeshi forces on Saturday started an operation to free up to 40 hostages held by about eight to nine gunmen -- claimed to be affiliated to the IS militant group -- who attacked a restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka late on Friday.
    [IANS /zeenews.india.com]
    2/7/16

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  14. A law firm is taking action to ensure the formal process for the UK leaving the EU is not started without an act of Parliament...

    Mishcon de Reya, lawyers acting for a group of business people and academics, said it would be unlawful for a prime minister to trigger Article 50 without a full debate and vote in Parliament.

    It comes after the UK voted to leave the EU in the 23 June referendum.

    The government said Parliament had "a role" to find "the best way forward".

    Following the referendum, David Cameron announced he would stand down as prime minister by October and would leave his replacement to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

    Once the legal process is triggered there is a two-year time limit to negotiate an exit deal from the EU....BBC
    4/7/16

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  15. L'Australie est plongée dans l'incertitude après des élections législatives qui n'ont pas permis au Premier ministre sortant Malcolm Turnbull de renforcer sa position comme il le désirait en convoquant ce scrutin anticipé...

    Les marchandages politiques ont commencé dimanche 3 juillet en Australie pour tenter de sortir de l'impasse après les premiers résultats des élections parlementaires anticipées de samedi qui n'ont pas permis de donner la majorité absolue ni à la droite sortante ni à l'opposition travailliste.

    Le Premier ministre sortant et chef du Parti libéral Malcolm Turnbull, qui gouverne avec le soutien du Parti national, avait dissous en mai les deux chambres du Parlement, dans l'espoir d'obtenir une majorité stable et les coudées franches pour mettre en œuvre son programme de réformes économiques

    Mais il risque à présent de devoir négocier avec des indépendants ou de petits partis pour se maintenir au pouvoir. D'après les projections de la Commission électorale après dépouillement d'environ deux tiers des bulletins de vote, la Coalition libérale-nationale du Premier ministre devrait en effet obtenir 67 députés à la Chambre des représentants et le Labour 71, tandis que cinq sièges iraient aux indépendants et aux Verts. Sept sièges restent à pourvoir....france24.com

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  16. A search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government has recovered all mapped human remains under water at the crash site of EgyptAir flight MS804 in the Mediterranean, Egypt’s aircraft accident investigation committee said on Sunday...

    The John Lethbridge, belonging to Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, headed to Alexandria port to hand over the remains to coroners and prosecution officials, the committee said in a statement. It will return to the crash site to make further checks for any possible remains there, the statement said.

    The Airbus A320 plunged into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 and all 66 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

    The plane is believed to have crashed in the deepest part of the Mediterranean. Investigators have started analyzing one of its so called black box flight recorders and are extracting information from the other.

    Debris from the jet was brought to Cairo airport last week, where investigators will try to reassemble part of the frame to help establish what might have caused the disaster.....REUTERS
    4/7/16

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  17. Briten wollen Steuern für Unternehmen drastisch senken...

    Ein EU-Austritt würde die britische Wirtschaft hart treffen. Finanzminister Osborne will daher Unternehmen mit aller Kraft im Land halten. Dazu plant er unter anderem eine drastische Senkung der Körperschaftssteuer.

    Mit einer deutlichen steuerlichen Entlastung will der britische Finanzminister George Osborne Unternehmen nach dem Brexit-Votum zu einem Verbleib in Großbritannien bewegen. Die Körperschaftsteuer solle von derzeit 20 Prozent auf unter 15 Prozent gesenkt werden, berichtete die „Financial Times“ am Sonntagabend. Dieser Satz wäre im Vergleich der großen Volkswirtschaften der Erde der niedrigste.

    Osborne sagte der Zeitung, die britische Wirtschaft müsse sich mit einer Verbesserung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit auf das Ausscheiden aus der EU vorbereiten. „Wir müssen den Horizont und den Weg vor uns in den Blick nehmen und das Beste aus der Hand machen, die uns ausgeteilt wurde“, sagte der Minister der „Financial Times“.

    Mit den Plänen reagiert Osborne auf Befürchtungen, Unternehmen könnten nach dem Brexit-Votum wegen der Unsicherheit über die künftigen Beziehungen Großbritanniens mit der EU das Land verlassen......handelsblatt.com

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  18. Call for Australian leader's resignation amid election chaos...

    With Australia's government in chaos amid a dramatic national election that failed to deliver an immediate winner, the country's opposition leader called Monday for the prime minister to resign, dubbing him "the David Cameron of the southern hemisphere."

    The dig by opposition leader Bill Shorten comes as the country faces up to a month of uncertainty while officials scramble to count the millions of mail-in and remaining ballots that will determine who, if anyone, won Saturday's knife-edge election.

    With about a quarter of the votes left to be tallied, neither Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's conservative Liberal Party-led coalition nor Shorten's center-left Labor Party had secured the required 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to form a government - raising the prospect of a dreaded hung parliament....Associated Press

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  19. Heavy rain has killed 93 people in 11 Chinese provincial regions in four days, leaving another 19 missing...

    Continuous rainfall since June 30 has destroyed 22,000 houses and forced 726,000 to relocate in provinces including Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan and Sichuan, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

    Floods have also damaged crops, roads, telecommunication and electricity facilities, stopping traffic and delaying trains in some regions, it said.

    Authorities estimated an economic loss of 20.43 billion yuan (3 bln U.S. dollars).
    globaltimes.cn

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  20. Argentinian President Mauricio Macri said Monday that his country's claim to the Falkland Islands remained unchanged following Britain's vote to leave the EU...

    "Brexit or not, our claim will never change," Macri told reporters in Brussels after talks with European Union leaders.

    Britain's vote to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23 has cast uncertainty on the country's global position, including whether European states would continue to back Britain's possession of the Falklands.

    Spain said after the vote that it was closer to asserting control over Gibraltar, the rocky outcrop on its southern tip, following the Brexit vote, prompting London to jump to the defense of its overseas territory.

    "That is something long-lasting and we hope one day that we can discuss (the issue with Britain). Without that we cannot discuss other cooperation with Britain," Macri said....AFP

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  21. Islamist rebels and jihadists in Syria are guilty of war crimes, Amnesty International said in a report on Tuesday, accusing them of "a chilling wave of abductions, torture and summary killings"...

    The London-based rights group named five Syrian anti-regime factions operating in northern Syria: al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front, hardliner Ahrar al-Sham, Nureddin Zinki, the Levant Front and Division 16.

    The groups have detained and tortured lawyers, journalists,and children -- among others -- for criticizing them, committing acts seen as immoral, or being minorities, the report said.

    "Many civilians live in constant fear of being abducted if they criticise the conduct of armed groups in power or fail to abide by the strict rules that some have imposed," said Philip Luther, head of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa prograe.

    "In Aleppo and Idlib today, armed groups have free rein to commit war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law with impunity," he added.....i24news.tv by AFP

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  22. Britain `will remain in the EU`: Austrian minister...

    Britain will not quit the European Union despite voting to do so in a June 23 referendum, Austria`s finance minister Hans Joerg Schelling said in an interview published on Tuesday.

    "In five years there will still be 28 member states," Schelling told German business daily Handelsblatt.

    European leaders were discussing "all possibilities" -- from Britain remaining in the EU to sealing "a free trade agreement on the Swiss or Norwegian model", the former businessman said.

    Schelling said that the United Kingdom could break up, with Scotland and Northern Ireland -- where the majority of the electorate voted to stay -- remaining members of the EU while pro-Brexit England goes its own way.

    In the historic vote, 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU and 48 percent voted to remain...AFP...india.com
    5/7/16

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  23. Beijing must prepare for "military confrontation" in the South China Sea, state-run media said Tuesday, as it began naval drills in the area ahead of an international tribunal ruling over the maritime dispute...

    China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich strategic waterway despite rival claims from Southeast Asian neighbors -- raising tensions with the United States, which has key defence treaties with many allies in the region.

    On Tuesday, China began a week of naval exercises in waters around the Paracel Islands.

    They come a week before a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague rules on a case brought by the Philippines challenging China's position.

    Beijing has boycotted the hearings and is engaged in a major diplomatic and publicity drive to try to delegitimize the process.

    In an editorial, the Global Times -- a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone -- said China should accelerate the build-up of its defense capabilities and "must be prepared for any military confrontation".

    "Even though China cannot keep up with the US militarily in the short-term, it should be able to let the US pay a cost it cannot stand if it intervenes in the South China Sea dispute by force," it added.

    In recent years Beijing has rapidly built up reefs and outcrops into artificial islands with facilities capable of military use.

    Manila lodged its suit against Beijing in early 2013, saying that after 17 years of negotiations it had exhausted all political and diplomatic avenues to settle the dispute....i24news.tv by AFP
    5/7/16

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  24. Austria to hold new presidential vote on Oct 2...

    Austrians will again vote in a presidential election on October 2 after the far-right managed to get its narrow defeat from May declared null and void, the government said Tuesday.

    The election gives Norbert Hofer, 45, of the opposition Freedom Party (FPOe) another shot at becoming the European Union's first far-right anti-immigration president.

    Hofer lost out to Alexander Van der Bellen, a 72-year-old Greens-backed independent, by just 31,000 votes in May....AFP

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  25. Feuer an Bord der Egypt Air vor dem Absturz...

    Eineinhalb Monate nach dem Absturz der Egypt-Air-Maschine hat die Auswertung des Stimmenrekorders neue Erkenntnisse über die Vorgänge in der Maschine kurz vor dem Unglück ergeben. Aus der zuständigen Untersuchungskommission verlautete, die Aufzeichnungen deuteten auf einen Versuch hin, ein Feuer in der Maschine zu löschen. Das stimmt mit Angaben nach Auswertung des Datenschreibers überein, wonach es vor dem Absturz Rauch in der Kabine gab.
    Der Airbus A320 war am 19. Mai mit 66 Menschen an Bord auf dem Weg von Paris nach Kairo über dem östlichen Mittelmeer abgestürzt. Einen Notruf gab es nicht. Nach dem Absturz wurde über eine Explosion an Bord und einen möglichen Terroranschlag spekuliert, was die ägyptische Regierung jedoch zurückwies. (Reuters)

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  26. President Nicolas Maduro marked the 205th anniversary of Venezuela's independence on Tuesday by vowing to expand the country's military might even as he expressed confidence in the armed forces' ability to prevail in the "unconventional war" that he says his government confronts...

    "Let us continue to increase military power," he said. "An independent republic needs a military power that is ever more powerful."
    EFE
    6/7/16

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  27. Crash d'EgyptAir: encore du temps pour tirer des "conclusions" ...

    Les experts qui enquêtent sur le crash du vol d'EgyptAir qui s'est abîmé en Méditerranée en mai ont besoin de plus de temps pour analyser les informations avant de pouvoir tirer des "conclusions très élémentaires", a annoncé la commission d'enquête mardi.

    Les experts vont comparer les informations extraites des cartes mémoires du Flight Data Recorder (FDR), qui conserve les diverses données de vol, et "établir des corrélation temporelles" avec les données de l'enregistreur qui capte les conversations et les bruits à l'intérieur du poste de pilotage, a déclaré la commission dirigée par les Egyptiens dans un communiqué....AFP

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  28. The ISIS group said on Wednesday that it carried out a suicide bombing that killed 16 people in a mainly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria...

    Tuesday evening's blast in Hassakeh struck outside a bakery in a Kurdish neighborhood where a large crowd had gathered as they prepared to break the last daytime fast of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

    The bomber infiltrated the Salihiah district then blew up his explosives belt in the middle of the crowd, IS said in a statement on social media.

    A Kurdish police source said the bomber, who was on a motorbike, also wounded 40 people.....AFP
    6/7/16

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  29. Findings of Chilcot inquiry puts role of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2003 Iraq War under intense scrutiny...

    As if post-Brexit British politics couldn’t implode upon itself any more, there’s a real possibility that Blair, who was the UK’s PM from 1997 — 2007, will be labelled a “war criminal” by the leader of his own party.

    What Jeremy Corbyn, the embattled head of Britain’s Labour Party, will actually say about his predecessor — and nemesis — is still up in the air.

    But if the findings of an exhaustive inquiry into the UK’s handling of the 2003 Iraq War finds fault with Blair, who was PM at the time, Mr Corbyn is widely expected to use parliamentary privilege to dump on the former British leader from a great height.

    The report’s release will only add to the febrile atmosphere in the UK, which has seen Prime Minister David Cameron resign in the wake of the EU referendum, his expected successor and Leave campaigner Boris Johnson decline to run as party leader, calls for Corbyn to resign for his handling of the Brexit vote and fresh independence calls from Scottish nationalists.

    But it’s likely the ruling Conservative Party will welcome the report as it will give them a break from the front pages as the opposition tears itself to shreds.....news.com.au
    6/7/16

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    1. Guerre en Irak: Tony Blair avait promis à Bush de le suivre "quoi qu'il arrive" ...

      Tony Blair avait promis au président américain George W. Bush de le suivre sur l'Irak "quoi qu'il arrive", a relevé mercredi John Chilcot, le président de la commission britannique chargée d'enquêter sur le conflit irakien.

      "Le 28 juillet (2002), M. Blair a écrit au président Bush pour lui assurer qu'il serait avec lui quoi qu'il arrive", a dit John Chilcot, présentant un rapport qui critique sévèrement le rôle de l'ancien Premier ministre travailliste dans ce conflit, qui a coûté la vie à 179 soldats britanniques et des dizaines de milliers d'Irakiens.

      "Le Royaume-Uni a décidé d'envahir l'Irak de manière prématurée"

      Le Royaume-Uni a envahi l'Irak de manière prématurée en 2003, sans chercher à trouver "de solution de dernier recours", a déclaré John Chilcot. "Nous avons conclu que le Royaume-Uni avait décidé de se joindre à l'invasion de l'Irak avant que toutes les alternatives pacifiques pour obtenir le désarmement (du pays) ne soient épuisées. L'action militaire n'était pas inévitable à l'époque".

      Par ailleurs, les plans britanniques pour l'après-invasion de l'Irak en 2003 étaient "complètement inadéquats", a estimé John Chilcot. "Malgré les avertissements, les conséquences de l'invasion ont été sous-estimées. La planification et les préparatifs pour l'Irak après Saddam étaient complètement inadéquats".

      Tony Blair exprime sa "peine", ses "regrets" et ses "excuses"

      L'ancien Premier ministre britannique Tony Blair a exprimé sa "peine", ses "regrets" et ses "excuses" après la publication de ce rapport : "C'était la décision la plus difficile que j'aie jamais prise (...) je l'ai prise de bonne foi. J'en endosse l'entière responsabilité. J'éprouve plus de peine, de regrets et d'excuses que vous ne pouvez l'imaginer", a déclaré l'ex-chef du gouvernement, visiblement ému, lors d'une conférence de presse à Londres......rtbf.be
      6/7/16

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  30. Tensión en Asia: "Сhina puede hacer que EE.UU. 'pague un precio muy alto' por su intromisión" ...

    "China es un país pacífico que da la bienvenida al diálogo, pero debe prepararse para una confrontación militar en el mar de la China Meridional. Esto se debe a que la disputa territorial entre China y Filipinas es complicada por la intervención de Washington y por la alta probabilidad de una escalada del conflicto con EE.UU.", advierte el diario chino 'The Global Times'.

    Como una confirmación de estas palabras, la Armada china ha comenzado unos ejercicios, que se prolongarán hasta el 10 de julio, cerca de las islas en disputa de esta zona.

    El artículo aparece poco antes de que el tribunal internacional de La Haya dé su veredicto sobre la disputa.....RT.COM
    6/7/16

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    1. The flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party on Wednesday warned Washington that there would be a “price” to pay if it crosses China's “bottom line” by meddling in disputes over the South China Sea...

      The People's Daily editorial comes as Beijing ramps up efforts to assert its stance ahead of a ruling by an international tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China's claims to most of the South China Sea. China is boycotting the case before The Hague-based court and says it will not accept the verdict.

      The paper said that bilateral ties and regional stability were at stake and that the U.S. should recognize that “there is a bottom line with every issue, and a price will be paid if that line is crossed.”

      “If the United States, regardless of the cost, chooses the path of `brinkmanship' that pressures and intimidates others, there will be only one result, that is, that the U.S. bears all the responsibility for possibly further heightening tensions in the South China Sea,” the editorial said.....voanews.com

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  31. "Free Syrian Army" agrees to Eid ceasefire, but alleges government violations...

    The Free Syrian Army rebel alliance said on Wednesday it would respect an Eid holiday ceasefire, but only if government forces also abided by it, accusing the government of having already violated the truce.

    "We, the armed revolutionary groups in Syria, welcome any effort towards a ceasefire for the happy Eid al-Fitr period. We declare we will abide by it so long as the other side does the same," said the statement, posted on the Twitter account of Mohammed Alloush, the former chief peace negotiator for Syria's mainstream opposition.

    "Until now, (the government) has not abided by what it has announced, in that it has launched a number of attacks in various areas today," the statement said.

    Alloush is also the representative of the powerful Jaish al Islam rebel faction in the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC)......reuters.com
    6/7/16

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  32. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday lashed out at some western countries for "raising" terrorism in the Muslim world...

    "Unfortunately, the Eid al-Fitr in some of the Muslim countries this year was turned into mourning ceremonies by the terrorists who want to introduce the fake Islam as the real Islam," Khamenei made the remarks while leading the prayers of Eid al-Fitr in the capital Tehran.

    "Such crimes are the results of raising terrorism by the intelligent services of the United States, Israel and the United Kingdom," he said.

    However, the creators of terrorism will not remain secure from the repercussions of terrorist acts either, he warned.

    In the early hours of Wednesday, the Iranians attended the mosques and holy shrines across the country to celebrate Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of fasting month of Ramadan.
    globaltimes.cn
    6/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  33. Beijing warns US on sovereignty ahead of South China Sea ruling...

    The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of a key court ruling on China's claims in the disputed waterway.

    Speaking by telephone on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry the United States should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, China's foreign ministry said.

    China hopes the United States "speaks and acts cautiously, and take no actions that harm China's sovereignty and security interests", the statement paraphrased Wang as saying.......Reuters
    7/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  34. Turkish authorities are investigating an explosion at a house sheltering Syrians in a town near the border that killed two suspected bomb-makers, the local governor's office said late Wednesday...

    Wednesday's blast took place in the southern town of Reyhanli, local media reported. Two Syrians died in hospital of their injuries.

    The pair are believed to have been preparing explosives, the governor's office said, adding that police had confiscated a gun and a silencer at the scene.

    In 2013, twin car bombs in Reyhanli killed 46 people in attacks blamed on Syrian pro-regime forces suspected of targeting opposition supporters who fled the war across the border. The Syrian government denied any involvement....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  35. France: Syria's three-day truce not enough for fresh peace talks...

    France said on Thursday that a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army was not good enough and it was unrealistic to expect a revival of peace talks without a long-term truce.

    Syria's military declared the three-day "regime of calm" - a term it uses to denote a temporary truce - on Wednesday to cover the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrated by Muslims at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But some fighting has continued.

    Taking note of the truce announcement, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said it fell far short of "commitments made in Vienna for a lasting comprehensive ceasefire.

    "We will judge the announcement of a 'regime of peace' in terms of concrete results on the ground," the spokesman said. "Without a full and lasting truce, and without full and continuous humanitarian access to all people in need in Syria, it is unrealistic to expect a resumption of negotiations." ....REUTERS

    ReplyDelete
  36. Russian security officials said Thursday that one special forces agent and seven alleged rebel fighters were killed in an operation in the Dagestan region of the volatile North Caucasus...

    The country`s anti-terrorism committee said in a statement released to Russian news agencies that the FSB security agency raid had "neutralised" seven members of a "group that had more than once murdered law enforcement officials and civilians.

    "In the course of the battle with the bandits one FSB agent died and three were wounded, it said.

    The Dagestan region neighbours Chechnya where Russia fought two brutal separatist conflicts...AFP

    ReplyDelete
  37. Dallas police shooting: Five officers killed, six hurt by snipers...

    Five Dallas police officers have been killed and six wounded by sniper fire during protests against the shooting of black men by police, authorities say.

    Police are in a stand-off with one armed man in a multi-storey car park. Three other people have been detained.

    Gunfire broke out at around 20:45 local time on Thursday (01:45 GMT Friday) as demonstrators marched through the city.

    The protests were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

    Dallas Police Chief David Brown said officers remained in a stand-off with one armed man at the car park who was firing off rounds with a rifle.

    He said: "The suspect that we are negotiating with has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he is going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement, and that there are bombs all over the place in this garage and in downtown."....BBC
    8/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  38. The United States is to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea, the two sides said Friday, as North Korea warned the latest US sanctions against its leader amounted to a "declaration of war"...

    News of the unprecedented sanctions targeting Kim Jong-Un came as North Korea marked 22 years since the death of its founding president Kim Il-Sung, grandfather of the current "Supreme Leader".

    Tensions have soared since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of missile launches that analysts said show the North is making progress toward being able to strike the US mainland.

    The US and South Korea began talks on deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to the Korean peninsula in February after the North launched a long-range rocket.

    "Based on these consultations, the (South) and the US made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD... as a defense measure to ensure the security of the (South) and its people," the allies' defense ministries said in a joint statement.

    It did not reveal exactly when and where in the South the system would be deployed, saying the two nations were in the final stages of selecting a potential venue.....i24news.tv by AFP
    8/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  39. Philippines 'does not have its facts right’ on South China Sea: Former Chinese minister...

    Ahead of The Hague court's ruling on the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China, former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister tells Conversation With that the Philippines needs "better lawyers" as this is about sovereignty issues.

    In less than a week, an international tribunal in The Hague will rule on a case lodged by the Philippines that challenges China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.

    But no matter the closely watched verdict expected on Jul 12, China will not “recognise nor will it accept whatever verdict” the international court delivers, says China’s former Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei.

    In an interview with Channel NewsAsia’s Conversation With, Mr He reiterated China’s assertion that the court “has no jurisdiction over sovereignty disputes”.

    “The Philippines, whatever it is thinking, does not have the facts right. Maybe deliberately, I do not know. But certainly they need to have, maybe, better lawyers,” said Mr He, who served under the Wen Jiabao administration in 2008 and later as China’s Ambassador to the United Nations in 2010.

    Mr He said that China was just as interested in freedom of navigation in the disputed waters as the other Southeast Asian claimant countries. He added that this is about “sovereignty disputes” that “need patient, peaceful political negotiations, bilateral negotiations”.....http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/philippines-does-not-have/2939682.html
    8/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  40. Russia issues stern warning over US missiles in S.Korea...

    Russia warned Friday that the U.S. deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea would have "irreparable consequences", echoing warnings by China of a threat to regional security.

    "The United States, supported by its partners, are continuing to build up the potential of the Asia-Pacific segment of the global anti-missile defense system, which undermines the established strategic balance in the (region) and beyond," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

    These actions "most negatively affect global strategic stability," the statement said, following the announcement by the U.S. and South Korea that they would deploy the system to thwart potential attacks from North Korea.

    China and Russia have been saying for months that the defense system, called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, is unnecessary and would tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards the United States.

    China Friday said the system would "seriously damage the strategic security interests of countries in the region" and urged to stop the deployment process.
    AFP

    ReplyDelete
  41. Philippines willing to share South China Sea: Govt...

    The Philippines has said that it is willing to share natural resources with Beijing in the contested South China Sea areas even, if it wins a legal challenge next week, the Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told AFP on Friday (July 8).

    Mr Yasay said President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration hoped to quickly begin direct talks with China following Tuesday’s verdict, with the negotiations to cover jointly exploiting natural gas reserves and fishing grounds within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

    “We can even have the objective of seeing how we can jointly explore this territory. How we can utilise and benefit mutually from the utilisation of the resources in this exclusive economic zone where claims are overlapping,” Mr Yasay said.

    The Philippines, under Mr Benigno Aquino’s previous administration, filed a legal challenge with a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague contesting China’s claims to nearly all of the strategically vital sea....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  42. Heavy clashes erupted between QSD and ISIS terrorists in Manbij city in Aleppo northeastern countryside...

    Media outlets circulated news about fierce clashes between QSD groups and ISIS terrorists in the eastern, southern and western neighborhoods of Manbij city under an intensive cover by the US-led Coalition’s warplanes.

    12 ISIS terrorists were killed and 3 vehicles belonging to ISIS were destroyed, while a number of QSD fighters were killed and others were injured.

    Meanwhile, identical sources said that ISIS terrorists kidnapped 16 persons, including women from al-Sukkaria village in al-Bab area and took them to the front lines to use them as human shields.

    Last month, ISIS terrorist organization committed a massacre in al-Bab area, killing 40 civilians, and kidnapped more than 1000 persons and took them to an unknown destination.
    SANA

    ReplyDelete
  43. Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that Britain's shock vote to quit the European Union does not mean the country will play a smaller role in world affairs...

    "Britain is not going to be playing a lesser role in the world," Cameron said as he arrived for a NATO summit in Warsaw dominated by concerns over Britain's post-EU future.
    AFP

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  44. Iran has rejected as "unrealistic" a report by the U.N. leader that criticized its ballistic missile launches as inconsistent with its nuclear deal with world powers, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Friday...

    Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted ballistic missile tests in early March and called them a demonstration of its non-nuclear deterrent power.

    The United States and its European allies said that by testing nuclear-capable missiles, Tehran had defied a U.N. Security Council resolution and urged U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to tackle the matter.

    Reuters reported on Thursday that a confidential report by Ban had found Iran's missile tests to be inconsistent "with the constructive spirit" of the 2015 deal under which Iran curbed sensitive nuclear activity and won sanctions relief in return.

    "We suggest that Mr. Ban and his colleagues ... produce a realistic report ... They should not yield to political pressures from some members of the (Security) Council," Tasnim quoted an unnamed Foreign Ministry official as saying.....REUTERS
    8/7/16

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  45. Press Secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov commented on July 8, rename Moskovsky prospect in Kiev, received the name of Stepan Bandera...

    Rename the Avenue supported the majority of deputies of Kyiv city Council to vote July 7. In addition to the Moscow Avenue was renamed a few streets: the street Kutuzov was the General Almazov street, lane street lane Eugene Gutsalo, Bauman street – the street of Janusz Korczak, Suvorov street is now a street of Mikhail Omelyanovich-Pavlenko.

    Not been renamed Prospekt Generala Vatutina (he offered to assign the name of Roman Shukhevych) and the street Wanda Wasilewska.

    Dmitry Peskov has expressed a regret in connection with the renaming of the Moscow Avenue and said that a «historic kinship» between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples in a way impossible to destroy. He said that the Kremlin is not going to react to this decision of the Kiev administration, reports TASS.
    israel-today.ru

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  46. Der ehemalige EU-Kommissionspräsident José Manuel Barroso arbeitet künftig für die US-Investmentbank Goldman Sachs in London...

    Der 60-jährige Barroso werde Berater und "Präsident ohne Geschäftsbereich" bei Goldman Sachs International mit Sitz in der britischen Hauptstadt, teilte die Bank mit. "José Manuel bringt eine enorme Erfahrung mit und vor allem ein tiefes Verständnis von Europa."

    Der Portugiese werde die Bank bei der Beratung von Kunden unterstützen, die "mit dem herausfordernden und unsicheren wirtschaftlichen Marktumfeld" zurechtkommen müssten, teilte die Bank mit. Barroso war von 2002 bis 2004 Regierungschef von Portugal. Danach leitete der Konservative bis 2014 die EU-Kommission in Brüssel.

    Seinen Job bei Goldman Sachs beginnt Barroso mitten im Trubel um das Brexit-Referendum. US-Banken trifft das Votum Großbritanniens für ein Ausscheiden aus der EU besonders. Sie nutzen das englischsprachige Finanzzentrum London bislang als Eintrittspforte zur Europäischen Union. Goldman Sachs International hat etwa 6.000 Mitarbeiter, davon etwa 5.000 in London.
    zeit.de
    8/7/16

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  47. The senior command of the Colombian Farc rebels has said it will disown one of its guerrilla units if it refuses to demobilise...

    A commander in eastern Colombia said units that did not accept peace terms being finalised with the government would have to leave the organisation.

    On Friday, a senior Colombian official said two Farc units were refusing to lay down their arms.

    Alejandro Ordonez said they were heavily involved in drug trafficking.

    President Juan Manuel Santos has said that rebels who reject the peace deal will end up in prison or in the grave.

    Mr Ordonez's office is independent of the president and he has been a critic of the peace talks that have been taking place for more than three years in Havana....BBC
    9/7/16

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  48. South Korean sources reported on 9 July that the armed forces of the DPRK conducted another missile test. Recently it became known that Washington and Seoul agreed on a deployment in Korea batteries of missile defense system...

    According to the military of South Korea, North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a submarine. The tests were conducted at sea near the port of Shinpo.

    South Korean military believes that the test failed at an early stage, reports the news Agency Reuters.

    Earlier it was reported that the U.S. plans to deploy in South Korea ABOUT the THAAD battery, which acted against at the same time China and Russia, accusing Washington of provoking an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
    israel-today.ru
    9/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  49. Obama decided to cut short a European tour for the trip to Dallas...

    President Barack Obama will shorten touring Europe and will travel to Dallas, where they were killed five policemen. About it reports the press service of the White house.

    9 Jul Obama, as planned, will travel to Madrid, where he will hold talks with members of the government of Spain. Then he will visit the Spanish port of Rota, where is a large American naval base to meet with soldiers.

    At the same time, the US President will not go to Seville, reducing their European tour for a day. He will return to Washington, and then at the invitation of the mayor of Dallas Mike Rawlings will visit early next week, this city....http://rushincrash.com
    9/7/16

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  50. China holds combat drill in the South China Sea...

    The Chinese navy conducted combat drills near its southern island province of Hainan and the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, the Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

    The drills come ahead of a July 12 ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on a case brought by the Philippines disputing several of China's territory claims in the South China Sea.

    Ships from China's northern, eastern and southern fleets participated in Friday's drills, which focused on air control, surface operations and anti-submarine warfare, among other training exercises, the ministry said in a website statement.

    China claims nearly all the South China Sea, but its claims overlap in part with those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.....reuters.com

    ReplyDelete
  51. NATO-Gipfel in Warschau : Der ewige Streit um das Geld ...

    Zwei Prozent der Wirtschaftsleistung sollen die 28 NATO-Staaten in die Verteidigung stecken - aber nur fünf Länder tun dies auch. Vor allem Deutschland sorgte dafür, dass die bisherigen Vorgaben weich formuliert sind. Nun erhöhen die USA den Druck.

    Es war eine flammende pro-europäische Rede, die US-Präsident Barack Obama Ende April in Hannover hielt, als er Deutschland besuchte. Ausgerechnet ein Amerikaner versuchte, den Menschen die tief in der Krise steckende EU nahezubringen. Doch eines vergaß Obama dabei auch nicht: die Europäer an ihre Verantwortung zu erinnern. "Ich will ehrlich sein: Europa ist manchmal selbstgefällig gewesen in Bezug auf seine Verteidigung", sagte Obama.

    Wieder einmal legte ein US-Präsident den NATO-Alliierten nahe, dass sie doch bitte mehr Geld ausgeben mögen für ihre Streitkräfte. Es ist eine ewige Klage der Amerikaner, dass sie mit ihrem riesigen Verteidigungs-Haushalt die knauserigen Europäer sozusagen mit "durchfüttern"‘ müssten. Und das in einer Zeit, in der die USA China als eigentlichen Rivalen auf dem Globus ausgemacht haben und deshalb planen, sich nach und nach aus Europa zurückzuziehen.............http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/nato-gipfel-geld-101.html

    ReplyDelete
  52. Russia says expelled two U.S. diplomats...

    Russia said on Saturday it had expelled two U.S. Embassy staff members in June after a similar 'unfriendly' move by Washington.

    One of the expelled diplomats was involved in an incident with a Russian policeman near the U.S. Embassy entrance in Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

    Another diplomat was "also a CIA operative", Ryabkov said.

    Relations between Russia and the United States have chilled following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, after which the West imposed sanctions against Russia.

    Ryabkov said the two U.S. diplomats were declared persona non grata.
    REUTERS

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  53. Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) hat in Warschau gegenüber dem türkischen Präsidenten Recep Tayyip Erdogan das Unverständnis der deutschen Seite darüber zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass Bundestagsabgeordneten der Zugang zur türkischen Luftwaffenbasis Incirlik verwehrt wird, umstimmen konnte sie ihn jedoch nicht...

    Dort sind seit Jahresbeginn rund 200 deutsche Luftwaffensoldaten stationiert, die mit Aufklärungsflügen über Syrien und dem Irak Beiträge zum Kampf der internationalen Allianz gegen das Terrorregime des „Islamischen Staats“ leisten.

    Die türkische Weigerung, deutschen Delegationen den Zugang zu dem Stützpunkt zu gestatten, war in Berlin als Reaktion aufgefasst worden auf eine mit großer Mehrheit verabschiedete Resolution des Bundestages, in der im Juni ausdrücklich der türkische Völkermord an den Armeniern vor 100 Jahren verurteilt worden war.

    Die Bundeskanzlerin sagte nach dem Gespräch mit dem türkischen Präsidenten, es seien „alle anstehenden Fragen“ erörtert worden. Sie nannte ausdrücklich die Lage in Syrien und die Situation der Flüchtlinge in der Türkei und an den türkischen Küsten als Gesprächsgegenstand.....faz.net

    ReplyDelete
  54. Spain's Socialist party will oppose a government led by acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose party won the most votes in last month's election, increasing the odds that an almost seven-month political stalemate will trundle on...

    Spanish politics has been frozen since a national election last December stripped Rajoy's conservative People's Party (PP) of its majority and forced parties to negotiate - so far without success - over forming a coalition government.

    The PP managed to increase its number of votes in a repeat election on June 26 but again fell far short of a parliamentary majority, meaning it needs support from its long-time foe, the second-placed Socialists, or a cluster of smaller parties.

    But Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, speaking publicly for the first time since the election, said on Saturday that his party would neither vote in favour of Rajoy in a confidence vote nor abstain to enable a PP-led government.
    REUTERS

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  55. The UN Security Council has called on warring factions in South Sudan to immediately end the recent fighting and prevent the spread of violence...

    In a unanimous statement, the council condemned the fighting "in the strongest terms" and expressed "particular shock and outrage" at attacks on UN sites.

    It also called for additional peacekeepers to be sent to South Sudan.

    More than 200 people are reported to have died in clashes since Friday....BBC
    11/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  56. Mexico's president hit back at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's claim that if elected, he would make Mexico build a wall along its US border...

    The bombastic billionaire has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and insulted Mexican immigrants by calling them rapists, criminals and drug dealers.

    As his party's presumptive presidential candidate, Trump is now eyeing a clash in the November election with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

    "There is no way to have Mexico pay (for) the wall. But any decisions inside (the) USA -- is a decision of its government," Pena Nieto told CNN in English, on Sunday.

    The Mexican president earlier had said Trump's campaign pledge was a non-starter, but he did not address the issue as specifically.

    Pena Nieto said US-Mexican relations were based on coordination, collaboration and cooperation on security issues.

    The Mexican president earlier compared Trump's rhetoric to the rise of European dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
    i24news.tv
    11/7/16

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  57. Le secrétaire américain à la Défense Ashton Carter est arrivé lundi à Bagdad pour des entretiens avec le Premier ministre Haider al-Abadi axés sur la lutte contre l'organisation terroriste État islamique (EI) et la reprise à ce groupe jihadiste de la ville de Mossoul...

    La visite non annoncée de Ashton Carter survient deux jours après la reprise par les forces irakiennes d'une base aérienne au sud de Mossoul (nord), perçue comme une étape cruciale en vue de la bataille pour la reconquête de la deuxième ville du pays, tombée aux mains de l'EI en juin 2014.
    AFP/rtbf.be

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  58. Soudan du Sud: nouveaux combats à Juba où l'ONU veut plus de Casques bleus...

    Les habitants de la capitale du Soudan du Sud se sont réveillés lundi matin au son de tirs d'armes automatiques, au lendemain d'un déferlement de violence qui a traumatisé la population et suscité la réprobation d'une communauté internationale impuissante.

    Ces nouveaux combats provenaient notamment de Jebel, un des quartiers où les affrontements de la veille ont été les plus virulents, ainsi que du quartier de Munuki. Un travailleur humanitaire installé à Juba et contacté par l'AFP à Nairobi a confirmé ces tirs.

    Selon la mission de l'ONU au Soudan du Sud et des médias locaux, les affrontements gagnaient en intensité dans la matinée.

    Depuis vendredi, les combats auraient fait près de 300 morts, selon des sources locales....AFP/rtl.be
    11/7/16

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A calm morning in South Sudan's capital after ceasefire...

      Quiet fell on South Sudan's capital Juba on Tuesday after a ceasefire declaration appeared to halt, at least temporarily, four days of deadly gun battles in the city.

      It was too early to tell whether the ceasefire, called by both President Salva Kiir and his opponent Vice President Riek Machar, would hold but the lull allowed civilians to leave their homes.

      There were no helicopter gunships in the sky, no tanks on the streets, no artillery barrages and soldiers in their machine gun-mounted pick-up trucks appeared to have stayed in their barracks.

      The calm was welcomed by Juba residents who have stayed mostly indoors for days....AFP
      12/7/16

      Delete
  59. Erdogan defends plan offering Syrians Turkish citizenship...

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his plan to give Syrian refugees Turkish citizenship, arguing there was ample space in the country after a backlash against the suggestion, in comments published Monday.

    Erdogan said on July 2 that Syrians could eventually be granted Turkish citizenship "if they want it", in remarks which were met with anger from opposition politicians and social media users.
    More than 2.7 million Syrian refugees now live in Turkey, where they have guest status, according to the Turkish government.

    In his first comments on the issue since announcing the plan, the president said if Syrians had dual citizenship it did not mean they had to return to Syria once the conflict was over.

    "Is it a must for dual citizens, for people with citizenship, to return to their countries of birth?" he told Turkish reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Warsaw, quoted by the Hurriyet daily.

    "When Turks went to Germany in 1963, no one asked whether they would or would not return to Turkey," he said, referring to the Turkish so-called Gastarbeiter who helped Germany's economic recovery after World War II.

    He added: "There is no need to worry, this country has 79 million people living on 780,000 square kilometres of land.

    "Germany is half our size and has 85 million people," he added, lightly overstating the German population.

    "We are a country that can easily overcome (challenges)."...AFP

    ReplyDelete
  60. Pékin et Manille attendent la décision sur les contentieux en mer de Chine...

    La Chine et les Philippines attendent la décision d'arbitrage sur les contentieux en mer de Chine. Pékin a déjà prévenu qu'il ne tiendrait aucun compte d'un verdict susceptible de remettre en cause sa souveraineté sur la zone.

    C'est ce mardi 12 juillet, que la Cour permanente d'arbitrage (CPA) doit rendre à La Haye sa décision sur les contentieux territoriaux en mer de Chine méridionale, opposant Pékin à Manille.

    La Chine considère comme relevant de sa souveraineté la quasi-totalité de cette zone, réputée riche en hydrocarbures, au grand dam de pays riverains aux prétentions rivales : les Philippines, le Vietnam, la Malaisie et le Brunei. Pékin se fonde sur une délimitation en "neuf pointillés" apparue sur des cartes chinoises datant des années 1940.....france24.com
    12/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  61. David Cameron chairs his final cabinet meeting on Tuesday after six years as Britain's prime minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit...

    Cameron's last full day as prime minister came sooner than expected after dramatic twists in the race to replace him led to his swift exit from power less than three weeks after the nation's seismic vote to quit the European Union.

    Home Secretary May, the interior minister, was declared the new leader of the governing center-right Conservative Party on Monday after junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, her only remaining challenger for the post, withdrew from the contest.

    Cameron announced he would step down after leading the failed campaign for Britain to remain in the EU in the June 23 referendum....AFP
    12/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  62. France's intelligence chief believes that Islamist extremists like those who carried out two waves of attacks in Paris last year will look to increase their capacity to kill by using booby-trapped cars and bombs...

    The remarks by Patrick Calvar, testifying before a parliamentary commission examining French means to fight terrorism, were published Tuesday in a 300-page report.

    The Nov. 13 attack on a stadium, a concert hall, bars and restaurants were carried out by suicide bombers and assailants with assault rifles. But Calvar said in his May 24 testimony that he thinks attack methods will evolve.

    He said: "I'm convinced they'll go to booby-trapped vehicles and bombs, thus upping their power."

    The commission's work uncovered intelligence letdowns that led to the failure to foil the attacks that killed 147.
    Associated Press
    12/7/16

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  63. The British Parliament announced on Tuesday that a debate on a petition for a second European Union membership referendum will be held on September 5...

    Over 4 million people signed the petition on the House of Commons website asking for another referendum if the either side received less than 60 percent of votes with a turnout less than 75 percent.
    EFE
    12/7/16

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  64. Italy Apulia train crash recovery continues near Bari..

    Dozens of rescue workers in southern Italy are still searching the wreckage of a head-on train collision which killed at least 27 people on Tuesday.

    It is still unclear what caused the crash, which happened on a remote single-track line north of Bari.

    However, one of the trains' black boxes has been recovered at the scene....BBC
    13/7/16

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  65. Cairo denies that the IDF conducted counter-terrorism operation in Sinai...

    Military sources in Cairo refute the information Agency Bloomberg that over the past years after consultation with Egypt, the IDF drones attacked the positions of armed militants in the Sinai Peninsula.

    The Israeli radio station «Reshet bet» cites Egyptian source who says that the Egyptian army is actively fighting with is militants in the Sinai Peninsula, without any assistance from the Israeli air force.

    The source stressed that Israel did not violate the Egyptian sovereignty in the Sinai.....israel-today.ru

    ReplyDelete
  66. L'Iran convoque l'ambassadeur de France après une réunion d'opposants à Paris...

    L'ambassadeur de France à Téhéran a été convoqué par le ministère des Affaires étrangères qui lui a remis un message de protestation après le rassemblement d'opposants iraniens en exil le 9 juillet près de Paris, a appris mercredi l'AFP de source diplomatique.

    "La tenue de ce rassemblement par ceux qui ont les mains tachées du sang du peuple iranien (...) est inacceptable", indique le message remis mardi soir par un haut responsable du ministère, Abolqassem Delfi, à l'ambassadeur François Sénémaud, selon l'agence de presse officielle Irna.

    M. Delfi a assimilé le Conseil national de la résistance iranienne (CNRI, opposition en exil) à des groupes tels que "les talibans, Al-Qaïda et l'Etat islamique".

    Il a ajouté que "tenir des propos inappropriés contre la République islamique d'Iran en France" était également inacceptable.

    L'Iran avait vivement condamné mardi la tenue du rassemblement annuel du CNRI au Bourget. Avoir accueilli ce rassemblement "d'un groupe terroriste anéanti et détesté (en Iran) et avoir donné de l'air à un corps puant est un signe de faiblesse et d'incapacité", avait déclaré le porte-parole de gouvernement iranien, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht.

    "La République islamique d'Iran continuera à combattre ce groupuscule hypocrite et condamnera tout gouvernement (...) le soutenant", qu'il soit "européen ou de la région", avait-il ajouté.....france24.com
    13/7/16

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  67. The United States will welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year as promised by President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Tuesday...

    Washington has been criticized by some activists for moving too slowly to settle those fleeing the conflict, while Obama's opponents warn their number may include terrorists.

    But Kerry said the United States is now on course to admit 10,000 vulnerable refugees, chosen from U.N. camps and vetted by U.S. security and intelligence agencies.

    "It's also representing six-fold increase over what we did the year before," Kerry said, referring to the U.S. fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30.....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  68. France shuts missions in Turkey until further notice over security threat...

    France on Wednesday said it had closed its embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul until further notice for security reasons, after cancelling events to mark the July 14 Bastille Day holiday.

    "The Embassy of France in Ankara, as well as the Consulate General in Istanbul will be closed from Wednesday July 13, 1:00 pm (1000 GMT), until further notice," the embassy said in a statement after scrapping the July 14 receptions at the missions on security grounds.

    It did not give any further details on how the closure would be implemented.

    France's consulate in Istanbul, its embassy in Ankara and its mission in the Aegean city of Izmir were all to have held celebrations marking the July 14 Bastille Day...AFP...france24.com

    ReplyDelete
  69. Japanese Emperor Akihito 'wishes to abdicate'...

    Japan's Emperor Akihito has expressed his desire to abdicate in the next few years, public broadcaster NHK reports.

    The 82-year-old, who has had health problems in recent years, reportedly does not wish to remain emperor if he has to reduce his official duties.

    But a palace spokesman denied that there is any official plan for the monarch to abdicate in what would be an unprecedented move in modern Japan.

    Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

    An unnamed government source told Japan's Kyodo news agency that the emperor, who plays a largely ceremonial role but is respected deeply by many Japanese, has been contemplating the move for about a year....BBC
    13/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  70. A Pakistani Taliban militant wanted for his role in a school massacre has been killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan, the Pakistani military said Wednesday...

    Security officials said Umar Narai, also known as Khalifa Umar and Khalid Khurasani, died in Nangarhar province Sunday.

    US General John W. Nicholson called Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif and confirmed Narai's death, military spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter.

    Pakistani security officials said Narai was one of those responsible for the Taliban attack at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014 in which more than 150 people were killed, most of them children.....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  71. The families of the 298 people who died when flight MH17 was downed over Ukraine are steeling themselves for a slew of bitter legal battles, on the eve of the tragedy's second anniversary...

    Sunday marks the deadline for relatives to launch action against Malaysia Airlines, which operated the passenger jet that was shot down with a surface-air-missile over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

    The Boeing 777 was on a routine flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile, fired from territory held by pro-Russian separatists locked in a fierce conflict with Kiev.

    Dozens of Dutch relatives are close to filing a lawsuit by the weekend if negotiations fail to secure compensation for "psychological trauma", news reports said.

    A 1999 convention allows bereaved families to launch claims against airlines for up to two years, but "psychological trauma" does not qualify.

    Malaysia Airlines "will also be reluctant to set a precedent" if it pays damages for psychological trauma, added Pablo Mendes de Leon, an air and space law professor at Leiden University.

    The ailing Malaysian national carrier is already facing a legal challenge by families of six crew members who are blaming the airline for the tragedy.

    Yet another claim could be added this week, lawyer Mathew Thomas Philip told AFP....AFP.....france24.com

    ReplyDelete
  72. South Korean gov't exploits THAAD deployment to draw public attention on security threats ....

    South Korea's decision to comply with the US Pivot-to-Asia strategy by deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system may help the government draw public attention on security threats, experts in Seoul said.

    "The Park Geun-hye government may have approached the THAAD issue in consideration of the lame duck period," said Kim Yong Hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

    Kim said at a forum hosted on Wednesday by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) that President Park Geun-hye may have thought of the THAAD deployment as an issue capable of drawing public attention on security threats.

    When tensions get high on the Korean peninsula, South Korean people tended to vote for conservative candidates. The THAAD deployment caused groundless fears here among the general public that South Korea's territory cannot be protected without the US missile defense system.

    Seoul and Washington announced their decision last Friday to deploy one THAAD battery to US Forces Korea (USFK) by the end of next year. Just five days later, the Seongju county, some 300 km southeast of the capital Seoul, was designated as the deployment site.

    The ruling Saenuri Party was shockingly defeated by the main opposition Minju Party at the April 13 general elections as public dissatisfactions mounted with a soaring unemployment among college graduates and a widening income inequality between the rich and the poor and between the regular and irregular workers.................http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/994231.shtml

    ReplyDelete
  73. Britain has yet to decide when to trigger Article 50 to begin the formal process of leaving the European Union, newly appointed finance minister Philip Hammond said Thursday...

    When asked by LBC radio whether Article 50 would be invoked by the close of this year, he said: "No, that's a decision that we haven't made yet."

    "We've now got the key players who will be involved in this decision-making process in place and when the prime minister has finished making her appointments later today I am sure that we will sit down and start to talk about Britain's negotiating strategy and how we are going to take it forward," he said.

    When pressed on when Britain would trigger the formal divorce procedure, he said he could not answer that question yet.

    Hammond also said that the decision to vote for Brexit would mean Britain leaves the single market but Britain would then have to negotiate a new deal as trading partners, rather than members.

    "We will come out of the single market as a result of our decision to leave the European Union," he said......REUTERS

    ReplyDelete
  74. A heavily-armed Ugandan military convoy crossed into South Sudan on Thursday to evacuate citizens trapped by recent fighting in the capital Juba, an AFP reporter at the border said...

    The convoy of around 50 trucks escorted by machine gun-mounted armoured vehicles crossed the border at Nimule to rescue Ugandans in the capital 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the north, and open up a secure corridor for fleeing civilians who have been attacked by bandits and renegade soldiers.....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  75. France will not extend state of emergency beyond 26 July...

    France will not extend the state of emergency imposed after last year's Islamist militant attacks in Paris in November beyond 26 July, President Francois Hollande has announced.

    The president said in his traditional Bastille Day interview that it would not make sense for the emergency to be extended indefinitely.

    That would mean the rule of law "no longer applied", Mr Hollande said.

    France has twice extended the state of emergency since it was first imposed.

    The last extension was granted to cover the Euro 2016 soccer tournament and the end of the Tour de France cycling race....BBC
    14/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  76. China protests Australia's South China Sea freedom of navigation comment...

    China said on Thursday it had issued a formal protest after Australia announced it would continue to exercise its right to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea following a court ruling against China`s claims.

    The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded this week that China had no historic claim to the waters and it had violated the Philippines` economic and sovereign rights.

    China rejected the ruling, having declined to participate in the case saying the court had no jurisdiction.

    Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop urged all South China Sea claimants to resolve their disputes peacefully, saying Australia would keep exercising its international rights to freedom of navigation and overflight, and support the right of others to do the same.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had formally protested against Australia`s "wrong remarks", and that China hopes Australia does nothing to harm regional peace and stability.

    "Honestly speaking, I`m a bit shocked at Bishop`s comments," Lu said.

    Australia should join the majority of the international community in not taking the result of the "illegal outcome" of the case as international law.

    "We hope that Australia can set more store by international law, and not treat it as a game," Lu added, repeating that China respected freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law.

    While China and Australia have close business ties, including a free trade agreement, Canberra is also a strong security ally of the United States....Reuters

    ReplyDelete
  77. Fifty people injured in the Bastille Day attack in Nice are in a critical condition "between life and death", President Francois Hollande has said...

    At least 84 people died, including more than 10 children, after a lorry crushed them along 2km (1.2 miles) of the Promenade des Anglais on Thursday.

    The driver, named by sources as French-Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, was shot dead by police.

    Guns and a grenade found inside the lorry were reported to be fakes....BBC

    ReplyDelete
  78. May says won't trigger EU divorce until UK-wide approach agreed...

    Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday that Britain would not trigger formal divorce talks with the European Union until a "UK approach" had been agreed, bidding to appease Scots who strongly oppose Brexit.

    May made the comment after meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, head of the pro-independence Scottish government which says pro-EU Scots should not be dragged out against their will and has been looking at ways to keep Scotland in the bloc.

    Scotland voted by 62-38 percent to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum while the United Kingdom as a whole voted 52-48 percent to leave, a result which Sturgeon has said made the prospect of another vote on Scottish independence "highly likely".

    "I have already said that I won't be triggering Article 50 until I think that we have a UK approach and objectives for negotiations - I think it is important that we establish that before we trigger Article 50," May said, referring to the procedure through which a country would withdraw from the EU.....reuters.com
    15/7/16

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  79. Pas de preuve de l'implication de responsables saoudiens dans l'attentat du 11 septembre...

    Les Etats-Unis ne disposent pas de preuve d'une implication de responsables saoudiens dans les attentats du 11-Septembre, selon des pages d'un rapport d'enquête parlementaire rédigé en 2002 ayant été publiées seulement vendredi. Les agences américaines de renseignement n'ont pas pu "identifier de manière définitive" des liens entre des autorités d'Arabie saoudite et les auteurs des attaques du 11 septembre 2001, affirment ainsi dans ces 28 pages déclassifiées les commissions sur le Renseignement du Sénat et de la Chambre des représentants.....rtl.be
    16/7/16

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  80. 194 dead, 1,563 people arrested in Turkey coup...

    194 people have been killed and 1,563 detained in a night of violence across Turkey sparked when elements in the military staged an attempted coup, a senior Turkish official has said.

    "The coup attempt has been foiled", said acting army chief General Umit Dundar, adding that 47 civilians were among the dead.

    Some 104 coup plotters were killed in the attempt to bring down the Turkish government, he said.

    1,154 people were wounded, he said before warning that anyone who betrays the country will not go unpunished.

    1,563 members of the Turkish armed forces were arrested across the country after the coup attempt blamed by the government on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.....http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0716/802799-turkey-coup/

    ReplyDelete
  81. The office of President Erdogan has called on supporters to take to the streets this evening...

    A tweet reads:

    "Regardless at what stage this attempt is, we need to be in the streets tonight. A new coup attempt could take place any minute."
    BBC

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  82. Forces loyal to Turkey's government have moved to crush the last remnants of a military coup attempt which collapsed after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan's call to take to the streets...

    More than 160 people were killed, including many civilians, after a faction of the armed forces tried to seize power using tanks and attack helicopters.

    Some strafed the headquarters of Turkish intelligence and parliament in the capital Ankara and others seized a major bridge in Istanbul.

    Mr Erdogan accused the coup plotters of trying to kill him and launched a purge of the armed forces, which last used force to stage a successful coup more than 30 years ago.

    "They will pay a heavy price for this," said Mr Erdogan, who also saw off mass public protests against his rule three years ago.....rte.ie

    ReplyDelete
  83. Discord over South China Sea clouds Asia-Europe summit...

    A key summit between Asian and European leaders in Mongolia ended on Saturday without direct mention of the South China Sea dispute in its closing statement, with diplomats describing intense discord over the issue between Europe and Asia.

    China has refused to recognize Tuesday's ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague invalidating its vast claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines. It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to.

    China had flagged ahead of the Ulaanbaatar get-together that it did not want the South China Sea to be discussed, saying it was not an appropriate venue.

    The closing statement said leaders reaffirmed a commitment to promote maritime security, safety and cooperation, freedom of navigation and overflight and to refrain from using threatening force.

    It also said disputes should be resolved via international law, the United Nations charter and U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.....reuters.com
    16/7/16

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  84. The US and Turkey have had to co-operate closely over the past two years as the US uses the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey to launch its raids on the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria...

    But Turkey's ties with the US are more fraught now than 24 hours ago.

    Fetullah Gulen, who Turkey blames for the failed coup, lives in the US. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said any country that will "stand by" Mr Gulen "won't be a friend of Turkey and will be considered at war with Turkey".

    What's now being reported is that Turkey is shutting off access to Incirlik - and so stopping the US jets conducting sorties against IS....BBC

    ReplyDelete
  85. The Turkish parliament convened Saturday for an extraordinary session in the aftermath of the attempted coup Friday night...

    "What is necessary will be done and [the perpetrators] will be punished in the heaviest manner," Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman said in a speech opening the session.

    He also expressed his belief that public order would be restored soon.

    Kahraman said a joint declaration by all four parties in parliament – the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) – would be read out soon.
    aa.com.tr

    ReplyDelete
  86. Switzerland and EU to intensify immigration negotiations...

    Negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union on immigration restrictions will be stepped up in the next few weeks, the Swiss government said on Saturday, with a high-level meeting planned for September.

    Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann will meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on September 19 to seek a solution to an issue that has dominated relations between the two sides since Switzerland voted to limit immigration in 2014.

    Switzerland wants to negotiate a compromise with Brussels, which has insisted it cannot accept any impediments to the free movement of people enshrined in bilateral accords.

    If Switzerland unilaterally introduces limits, the move could end the bilateral economic agreements and damage the Swiss economy....Reuters...channelnewsasia.com
    16/7/16

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  87. Scores of activists were detained in Vietnam`s capital on Sunday as they gathered to protest against China after it rejected a recent international ruling that dismissed its claims to much of the South China Sea...

    Anti-Chinese sentiment runs deep in communist Vietnam but the country`s authoritarian rulers move swiftly to tamp down expressions of public anger, fearful that allowing such protests might embolden criticism of their rule.

    Activists had used social media to call for protests in Hanoi on Sunday in the wake of this week`s ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague which found there was no legal basis for Beijing`s claims to vast swathes of the South China Sea.

    The case was brought by the Philippines but the ruling has been a boon for other regional countries like Vietnam who also have competing claims to the strategic sea.

    Authorities in the capital Hanoi were ready for protests on Sunday.

    Plainclothes security forces were out in force, blanketing much of the city centre and keeping a close eye on any crowds that might be gathering, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

    Throughout the morning around 30 activists were swiftly bundled onto waiting buses and cars by security forces after they gathered to hold a protest near the city`s famous Hoan Kiem lake, a common spot for demonstrations.

    Some chanted "Down with China invasion!" as they were led away to detention....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  88. French defense minister announces new strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

    ReplyDelete
  89. Erdogan says Turkey will consider reinstating death penalty...

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would consider reinstating the death penalty after the attempted coup.

    "In democracies, decisions are made based on what the people say. I think our government will speak with the opposition and come to a decision," he said, reacting to crowds in Istanbul calling for capital punishment.

    "We cannot delay this anymore because in this country, those who launch a coup will have to pay the price for it," he told supporters after attending funerals for the putsch victims."....AFP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If Turkey decides to reintroduce death penalty after the coup d’etat attempt, this would put an end to negotiations on its EU membership, a spokesman for the German government Stephen Zeibert said on Monday.
      http://tass.ru/en/world/888966

      Delete
  90. Freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end "in disaster", a senior Chinese admiral has said, a warning to the United States after last week's ruling against Beijing's claims in the area...

    China has refused to recognize the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines.

    It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to....REUTERS

    ReplyDelete
  91. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he supported bringing perpetrators of the attempted coup in Turkey to justice, but warns the government against going "too far" while restoring order in the country...

    "We stand squarely on the side of the elected leadership in Turkey," he told a news conference after meeting EU counterparts in Brussels. "But we also firmly urge the government of Turkey to maintain calm and stability throughout the country."

    "We also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation's democratic institutions and the rule of law," he continued. "We will certainly support bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice but we also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that."...voanews.com
    18/7/16

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  92. General Akin Ozturk, former commander of the Turkish Air Force, has confessed to prosecutors to plotting the military coup, Anadolu news agency said on Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Turkey coup: 15,200 education staff suspended...

    More than 15,000 education staff in Turkey have been suspended after last week's failed coup, as a purge of state officials widens still further.

    The ministry of education accused them of links to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric the Turkish government says was behind Friday's uprising.

    Mr Gulen denies any involvement in the coup attempt .

    The resignation of more than 1,500 university deans has also been ordered by Turkey's high education board....BBC
    19/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  94. A major explosion rocked Turkey’s capital Ankara on Tuesday, a few days after the military coup attempt, Sky News Arabia TV channel reported.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Chinese people who blame Washington for an international tribunal`s dismissal of Beijing`s maritime claims have called for a boycott of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in protests outside branches in 11 cities, reports said...

    Crowds gathered to wave placards and shout anti-US slogans outside restaurants stretching from the northern province of Hebei to Hunan province, some 1,600 kilometres (1000 miles) away on Monday, internet portal Sohu said.

    "Get out of China, KFC and McDonalds," one protestor`s banner read.

    Chinese state-media blamed the US for encouraging the Philippines to take a dispute over China`s claims in the South China Sea to an international tribunal, which last week said Beijing`s stance had no legal basis.

    KFC is a potent symbol of American capitalism in the world`s most populous country, with over 4,000 branches....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  96. Videos have emerged online that appear to show Syrian rebels taunting and then beheading a boy they say is a captured Palestinian pro-government fighter...

    One video shows five men posing with the frightened child, who could be as young as 10, in the back of a truck. One of the men grips him by the hair.

    The same man is later filmed apparently cutting the boy's head off.

    The incident is reported to have taken place in Handarat, north of Aleppo, where there has been heavy fighting.

    The area is the location of the unofficial Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El Tal, which was home to some 7,000 people before they were displaced by armed groups in 2013.

    Pro-government forces have been attempting to capture Handarat in recent weeks, as part of an offensive that has seen the last remaining road out of rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo cut, trapping an estimated 300,000 people living there....BBC

    ReplyDelete
  97. The controversial anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks says Turkey has ordered a nationwide blocking of its website, after the group released some 300,000 emails hacked from the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...

    Details remained sketchy early Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear whether access to the material had yet been blocked.

    WikiLeaks announced Monday it planned to release documents described as detailing Turkey's political power structure, just days after a failed military coup attempt that rattled the country and governments across much of the world.

    In announcing its intent on Twitter to publish the material, WikiLeaks warned: "Get ready for a fight as we release 100k+ documents on #Turkey's political power structure."

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian national, sought asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy nearly four years ago to avoid arrest by British police seeking to serve an international arrest warrant. He remains ensconced in the facility.

    Sweden wants him in connection with a rape investigation. Assange has denied any connection to the allegations.
    voanews.com

    ReplyDelete
  98. France votes to extend state of emergency...

    France's National Assembly has voted to extend the country's state of emergency for six months following last week's killing of 84 people in Nice.

    The state of emergency has been in place since the Paris attacks in November.

    The extension would see the emergency security measures - which give the police extra powers to carry out searches and place people under house arrest - remain in place until the end of January 2017.

    It is the fourth time that parliament has proposed prolonging the state of emergency, and the move now needs to be approved by the Senate.

    President Francois Hollande had last Thursday announced a plan to lift the emergency measures, but he changed tack hours later after a man drove a lorry through a crowd leaving a Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice, killing 84 people in an attack later claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.

    Mr Hollande's Socialist government has been under heavy criticism for its response to extremist attacks.

    Last week's attack was the third deadly assault in 18 months for which the so-called Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility.....http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0720/803541-france/
    20/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  99. La Première ministre britannique Theresa May a informé le président du Conseil européen Donald Tusk que le Royaume-Uni renonçait à assurer la présidence tournante du Conseil de l'UE de juillet à décembre 2017, a-t-on appris mercredi auprès de l'exécutif britannique...

    Mme May a annoncé la nouvelle mardi au téléphone à M. Tusk faisant valoir que son pays "sera très occupé avec les négociations pour quitter l'UE", a déclaré un porte-parole. Londres devait initialement assumer cette présidence après Malte et avant l'Estonie. Cette décision intervient un peu moins d'un mois après le vote britannique en faveur d'une sortie de l'Union européenne.
    AFP

    ReplyDelete
  100. North Korea said Wednesday its latest ballistic missile tests were personally ordered and monitored by supreme leader Kim Jong-un and simulated nuclear strikes on US bases in South Korea...

    The three missiles launched on Tuesday were a dry run for attacks on South Korean ports and airfields hosting US military "hardware", the North's official KCNA news agency said.

    The tests "examined the operational features of the detonating devices of nuclear warheads mounted on the ballistic rockets at the designated altitude over the target area", it said....aljazeera.com

    ReplyDelete
  101. The Turkish Air Force bombed positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq for the first time since the failed coup attempt last Friday, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday...

    Citing security officials, the agency reported that the bombardment by F-16 fighter jets occurred between 3.22pm and 3.43pm GMT on Tuesday in the region of Kahurk, northern Iraq, killing 20 suspected Kurdish guerrillas.

    Turkey is on alert for terrorist threats and in recent months both the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group and the PKK have carried out attacks causing dozens of deaths.

    The last attack attributed to the PKK killed three policemen yesterday in Trabzon province on the Black Sea coast in the northeast of the country, when a police patrol was attacked.

    The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
    EFE
    20/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  102. Trois militaires français ont été tués en Libye, a annoncé mercredi le ministère français de la Défense, confirmant ainsi pour la première fois la présence de soldats français dans ce pays...


    "Le ministre de la Défense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, déplore la perte de trois sous-officiers français décédés en service commandé en Libye", a annoncé dans un communiqué le ministère, sans plus de précisions.

    "Il salue le courage et le dévouement de ces militaires engagés au service de la France qui accomplissent, tous les jours, des missions dangereuses contre le terrorisme", ajoute le communiqué. Le ministre adresse ses "condoléances" aux familles et proches des trois militaires et "les assure de la reconnaissance de la Nation".

    La France admettait jusqu'ici que ses avions militaires survolaient ce pays pour collecter de l'information et du renseignement. Elle n'avait en revanche jamais confirmé la présence de forces spéciales françaises en Libye, évoquée notamment par le quotidien Le Monde.

    Depuis la chute du régime de Mouammar Kadhafi, la Libye est livrée aux milices armées et minée par des luttes de pouvoir et des violences qui ont favorisé la montée en puissance des djihadistes du groupe Etat islamique (EI).
    [rtbf.be]
    20/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  103. Ratings agency S&P on July 20 downgraded Turkey's sovereign credit rating after July 15 failed coup attempt...

    "Following the attempted coup in the Republic of Turkey on July 15, we believe the polarisation of Turkey's political landscape has further eroded its institutional checks and balances," said the agency, warning of "a period of heightened unpredictability."

    “In addition, we expect a period of heightened unpredictability that could constrain capital inflows into Turkey’s externally leveraged economy,” S&P added in a statement after lowering the foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings a notch.

    “The negative outlook reflects our view that Turkey’s economic, fiscal, and debt metrics could deteriorate beyond what we expect, if political uncertainty contributed to further weakening in the investment environment, potentially intensifying balance-of-payment pressures,” S&P warned, saying it had put Ankara on negative watch.

    S&P estimated Turkey must roll over just under half of its total external debt -- which it put at around $170 billion -- over the next 12 months.
    AFP

    ReplyDelete
  104. MH370 search team raises prospect plane could lie elsewhere...

    Sydeny: Top searchers at the Dutch company leading the underwater hunt for Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 say they believe the plane may have glided down rather than dived in the final moments, meaning they have been scouring the wrong patch of ocean for two years.

    Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew onboard en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Searchers led by engineering group Fugro have been combing an area roughly the size of Greece for two years....REUTERS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The oceanographer whose calculations helped an American adventurer find potential debris from Flight 370 said Thursday the Malaysia Airlines jetliner could have crashed slightly north of the current search area...

      Adventurer Blaine Gibson has handed Malaysian authorities three pieces of debris and personal belongings he found on Madagascar beaches and which he suspects came from the Boeing 777 that vanished March 8, 2014.

      Western Australia University oceanographer Charitha Pattiaratchi said the same drift modeling that Gibson relied on while looking for Flight 370 debris led his team of oceanographers to suspect the plane could have gone down just north of the search area in the southern Indian Ocean.

      “The best guess that we think is that it's probably around the Broken Ridge region, which is slightly to the north of the area that they're looking at,” Pattiaratchi said...AP...voanews.com
      21/7/16

      Delete
  105. A British nuclear-powered submarine was forced to dock in Gibraltar's port after suffering damage in a collision with a merchant ship, authorities said Thursday...

    The incident, involving "HMS Ambush" and an unspecified tanker, occurred Wednesday afternoon in waters near the tiny British territory, according to a Royal Navy statement.

    The Spanish government said it had called on the British Embassy in Madrid to explain "the extent of the damage suffered and all information that is relevant in relation to the circumstances," of the accident, Spain's foreign ministry said.

    The RN opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident in which the Astute-class vessel, a 7,400-ton nuclear attack submarine, which was submerged at the time, suffered a "glancing" collision close to Gibraltar, a territory involved in a long-standing territorial dispute between Spain and the United Kingdom.

    The sub's nuclear reactor did not suffer any damage and no sailors were injured, said the RN note, adding that the incident happened at 1:30 pm local time (11:30 am GMT.)

    The RN said the high-tech submarine had been in the area on a training exercise.....EFE

    ReplyDelete
  106. EU's Mogherini and Han urge Turkey to respect law, rights during state of emergency...

    European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn Thursday urged Turkey to respect the rule of law, rights and freedoms after declaring a state of emergency following a failed military coup.

    The EU is "concerned" about developments after Turkey imposed emergency rule earlier in the day and measures taken so far in the fields of education, judiciary and media are "unacceptable," Mogherini and Hahn said in a statement.

    Tens of thousands of public-sector workers have been sacked, suspended or detained as the government seeks to purge its bureaucracy of suspects behind the attempted intervention on July 15. Officials blame a religious movement for the plot.

    Any temporary suspension of the European Convention of Human Rights must follow the rules of derogation, they said without elaborating, after a Turkish deputy prime minister said Turkey would do so during emergency rule.
    REUTERS
    21/7/16

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  107. Brazilian police have arrested 10 members of a group alleged to be preparing acts of terrorism, two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games...

    They were not members of so-called Islamic State but had tried to make contact with the group, officials said.

    The justice minister said the group was in the planning stage of an attack and police acted as a preventative measure.

    Alexandre Moraes described the cell as "absolute amateurs" and "ill-prepared" to launch an attack.

    All those arrested were Brazilian and two more suspects were being sought, he said.

    They were detained across 10 different states, and had been in contact via messaging services such as Whatsapp.

    Group members had attempted to contact a weapons supplier in neighbouring Paraguay to get AK 47 assault rifles, but there was no evidence of any being bought.

    An emergency meeting of the Brazilian cabinet has been called.

    More than 80,000 police and soldiers will patrol Rio streets for the games which end on 21 August....BBC
    21/7/16

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  108. Syrian activists have called for widespread protests after dozens of civilians were reportedly killed in US-led coalition air strikes near a northern town held by the so-called Islamic State group...

    Children were among at least 56 civilians killed Tuesday in raids by coalition warplanes as they fled the village of Al-Tukhar near the key IS stronghold of Manbij, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    Facebook pages managed by Syrian activists urged people around the world to take to the streets to protest the deaths under the banner "Manbij is being exterminated".

    "We ask all Syrians, whatever their affiliations or sects, and all free people of the world and especially the people of Manbij to stand in solidarity with our devastated city on Sunday, July 24," wrote one page that publishes local news about Manbij.

    It said it was calling for demonstrations in reaction to "the massacres carried out by coalition warplanes, with the latest... in Al-Tukhar".

    The village lies 14km north of Manbij, which has been repeatedly targeted by coalition raids in support of an offensive to wrest the town from IS control.....rte.ie
    21/7/16

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  109. Conflit en Syrie - Le groupe Al-Nosra exécute 14 combattants prorégime...

    Le groupe Al-Nosra, la branche d'Al-Qaïda en Syrie, a exécuté 14 hommes qu'il accusait de combattre aux côtés des forces du président Bachar al-Assad, d'après une vidéo diffusée par le mouvement djihadiste.

    Cette vidéo montre 14 hommes dont beaucoup sont blessés, décliner leur identité alors qu'ils sont alignés devant la bannière noire du groupe djihadiste. "Peine de mort contre un groupe de prisonniers du régime en raison de leur attaque contre le village de Harira dans la région de Wadi Barada", près de Damas, annonce la vidéo. Wadi Barada et ses environs sont majoritairement contrôlés par plusieurs groupes rebelles, dont Al-Nosra. Selon l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH), ce dernier avait menacé dans une précédente vidéo d'exécuter les prisonniers en cas d'entrée des forces gouvernementales dans Harira. En septembre 2015, Al-Nosra avait mis à mort au moins 56 combattants prorégime dans un aéroport militaire dans la province d'Idleb (nord-ouest). (Belga)

    ReplyDelete
  110. Les États-Unis ont fait état jeudi d'une "menace imminente" contre leurs ressortissants vivant ou se rendant à Jeddah, en Arabie saoudite, citant notamment les centres commerciaux et restaurants fréquentés par des Occidentaux dans cette ville côtière de l'ouest du royaume...

    "L'ambassade des États-Unis a reçu des informations sur une menace potentielle, imminente contre des citoyens américains dans des zones de Jeddah", a indiqué le département d'État dans un communiqué publié sur son site internet, sans préciser de quelle "menace" ses ressortissants pourraient être la cible.
    AFP

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  111. An Indian military plane with more than 20 people on board has gone missing over the Bay of Bengal, the Indian air force (IAF) has confirmed to the BBC...

    The Antonov-32 transporter aircraft took off from Chennai (Madras) at 08:30 local time (03:00 GMT), bound for Port Blair in the eastern archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar.

    It was scheduled to land at 11:30. A search operation has been launched.

    The IAF operates more than 100 Antonov-32 aircraft.

    A navy spokesman told the Reuters news agency that surveillance planes and ships were looking for the missing aircraft, which was carrying service personnel to strategic islands near the Malacca Straits, where India has a military base.
    BBC
    22/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  112. Nearly 40 Syrian soldiers and pro-regime fighters were killed when rebels blew up a tunnel under a government position in Aleppo city, a monitor said Friday...

    The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 38 members of government forces were killed in the blast on Thursday, which brought down a building used by the regime in Aleppo's Old City.
    AFP
    22/7/16

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  113. France's appeals court on Friday confirmed that the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is due to appear in court in order to face charges of alleged negligence over a state payout to a French business tycoon...

    As minister of the economy in 2007, Lagarde allowed a payout of 404 million euros ($445 million at today's value) to prominent French businessman Bernad Tapie after he alleged he had been defrauded during the sale of his company, Adidas, in 1994 undertaken by the French bank Credit Lyonnais.
    EFE
    22/7/16

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  114. Des avions russes ont bombardé en juin un poste militaire en Syrie utilisé par des soldats d'élite américains et britanniques et en juillet un camp lié à la CIA, a rapporté le Wall Street Journal dans son édition de vendredi, citant des responsables américains...

    Ces frappes, qui ont eu lieu respectivement le 16 juin et le 12 juillet selon le quotidien américain, avaient pour but de faire pression sur les États-Unis pour qu'ils coopèrent plus étroitement avec la Russie dans le ciel syrien.

    Armes à sous-munitions

    La veille de la première attaque, un contingent de 20 forces spéciales britanniques venaient de quitter le poste, situé dans le sud de la Syrie, à une quinzaine de kilomètres de la frontière jordanienne à At-Tanf.

    Le poste a été touché par des armes à sous-munitions, ont précisé au journal des responsables américains et rebelles.

    Les initiatives américaines pour chasser les forces russes n'ont pas empêché une nouvelle attaque le 12 juillet contre un camp lié à la CIA, l'agence américaine de contre-espionnage.

    Trois semaines après la première attaque, des avions russes ont bombardé un camp de rebelles syriens utilisé par des familles de combattants soutenus par la CIA, situé à environ 80 kilomètres à l'ouest de At-Tanf.

    Compromis

    Ces attaques ont renforcé l'opposition de responsables, au Pentagone et à la CIA, à coopérer avec Moscou, selon les responsables militaires et du renseignement cités par le quotidien......rtbf.be
    22/7/16

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  115. A major police operation is underway after shots were fired at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall in Munich, Germany, police said...

    The shooting is ongoing and police are at the scene, Munich police said.

    Authorities did not immediately confirm if there were any casualties.

    Additional details were not immediately available.
    abcnews.go.com

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    Replies
    1. German media reporting multiple deaths at shooting in Munich shopping center

      Delete
  116. Facebook hat wieder seine Safefunktion aktiviert.

    ReplyDelete
  117. Police in the German city of Munich have asked members of the public to submit any videos, photos or audio recordings from Friday's mass shooting...

    Nine people were killed and 16 wounded, three of them critically, at a shopping mall by a lone gunman who later shot himself dead nearby, police say.

    No motive for the German-Iranian man's actions has yet been established.

    The attack is the third on civilians in western Europe in eight days, following the violence in Nice and Wuerzburg.

    Police will give an update on their investigation later on Saturday. They are asking people to upload any recordings that could help them to a special account.

    Special forces have reportedly searched the killer's home in the Munich district of Maxvorstadt....BBC
    23/7/16

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  118. Eleven civilians were killed, among them a child and two women, while 44 others were injured in terrorist attacks with rocket shells and sniper bullets on neighborhoods and the public facilities in Aleppo city on Friday...

    A source at Aleppo Police Command said that eight civilians were killed and 34 others injured in a rocket shell fired by terrorist groups on the public park.....SANA
    23/7/16

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  119. Turkey on Friday detained almost 300 members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidential guard and began shaking up the security forces one week after a failed coup, as US President Barack Obama denied having any prior intelligence of the putsch...

    Supporters celebrated the coup's failure to unseat Erdogan, but the Turkish strongman faced growing global criticism over the mass detentions and sackings of tens of thousands of people....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  120. Deux personnes sont mortes et 14 à 16 autres ont été blessées dans une fusillade survenue aux premières heures de lundi dans une boîte de nuit, le Club Blu, à Fort Myers en Floride, a confirmé la police...

    Le pronostic vital de certains blessés est engagé, a ajouté la police. Une fête d'adolescents avait lieu dans la boîte de nuit quant ont éclaté les tirs, selon des chaînes de télévision. Selon ABC, le ou les auteurs auraient ouvert le feu vers minuit trente avant de prendre la fuite. Fuite au cours de laquelle ils auraient à nouveau ouvert le feu. Plusieurs interpellations auraient été effectuées toujours selon la police locale.

    En juin, un homme armé d'un fusil d'assaut et d'une arme de poing avait tué 49 personnes dans une discothèque fréquentée par des homosexuels à Orlando en Floride. Cette tuerie de masse, commise par un homme se revendiquant du groupe Etat islamique, est la plus meurtrière de ce genre à avoir été commise dans l'histoire des Etats-Unis.
    rtbf.be
    25/7/16

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  121. Indian air force teams, searching for a missing military transport plane, are scrambling to determine if four to five pings heard on the ocean floor are from an emergency beacon on the Russian-made aircraft that vanished with 29 people aboard...

    Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar told India's upper house of parliament that the government is using all of its resources to search for the aircraft, which departed from Tambaram, a suburb of Chennai, at 8:30 a.m. Friday for a three-hour flight to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands.....upi.com
    26/7/16

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  122. Syrian government forces on Tuesday seized a rebel-held neighborhood in the northwest edge of Aleppo, tightening their siege of opposition-controlled parts of the city, a monitor said...

    The government also carried out renewed barrel bomb attacks on opposition-held districts, a day after bombardments killed at least 24 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

    The Britain-based monitor said regime troops had full control of the Leramun district after heavy clashes. It also reported intense fighting for neighbouring rebel-held district of Bani Zeid.

    The two areas have been used by rebels to launch rockets into government-held districts in the city's west.....AFP
    26/7/16

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  123. Human Rights Organizations called on the Australian government to broaden the investigations into abuses in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory to all juvenile detention centers in the country, local media reported today...

    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced yesterday that there will be a royal commission into what happened at the Don Dale juvenile detention center, in the northern city of Darwin, following a report by ABC airing videos of the brutal treatment of teenagers by prison guards.

    A teenager with his neck strapped to the back of a chair and his head covered by a hood and the use of tear gas against children in their cells are some of the abuses, according to the aired material.

    The Australian Cabinet plans to consider the terms of reference for the investigation on Thursday....EFE
    27/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  124. Deutsche Bank, toujours affaibli, risque de devoir intensifier sa restructuration...

    Engagé dans une lourde restructuration, le groupe bancaire allemand Deutsche Bank pourrait devoir accélérer encore l'allure, a fait savoir mercredi son patron, face à un contexte difficile qui a pesé sur ses performances au deuxième trimestre.

    "Si l'environnement de marché actuel persiste à être faible, nous allons avoir besoin d'être plus ambitieux concernant les délais et l'intensité de notre restructuration", a mis en garde le Britannique John Cryan, à la tête du groupe depuis un an.

    Le plan stratégique de la banque prévoit actuellement de fermer d'ici 2020 quelque 200 filiales en Allemagne et de supprimer près de 9.000 postes au niveau mondial. En abandonnant un certain nombre d'activités, la banque veut se concentrer sur ses principaux métiers.

    Mais cette restructuration, dont le point d'orgue est prévu pour cette année, n'a pas encore produit ses effets sur les comptes du géant bancaire allemand.

    D'avril à juin, le groupe de Francfort a vu ses bénéfices fondre à 18 millions d'euros, chutant de 98% et faisant nettement moins bien qu'attendu.....AFP
    27/7/16

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  125. At least 31 people were killed and over 100 others wounded when twin bombings rocked the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishli in northern Syria on Wednesday, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said...

    The report said that the death toll is still preliminary, as the authorities in Qamishli is urging people to donate blood for the wounded people many of whom are in critical conditions.

    The blasts in Qamishli rocked near a security headquarters of the Kurdish Assayish security forces and another Kurdish forces outpost.

    Qamishli, largely controlled by the Kurds, has been the target of repeated bombings by the Islamic State (IS) terror group, due to the enmity and clashes between the Kurdish fighters of the U.S.-backed People' Protection Units and the IS.
    Xinhua
    27/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  126. Indonesia quickly rebuffed appeals from the U.N. human rights chief and the European Union to abandon plans to execute 14 people for drug crimes as preparations intensified Thursday at the prison island where the death row inmates are held...

    High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the U.N. Human Rights Office is “deeply concerned” by death penalty cases that lack transparency and compliance with the right to receive a fair trial, including the right to an appeal. He called on the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to impose an immediate moratorium on executions.

    The European Union said the death penalty is an unacceptable denial of human dignity and called on Indonesia to “consider joining the wide community of over 140 states that have abolished the death penalty entirely or have adopted a moratorium.”..AP..voanews.com
    28/7/16

    ReplyDelete
  127. China, Russia navies to hold drills in South China Sea: China...

    China and Russia will hold 'routine' naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, China said on Thursday, adding that the drills were aimed at strengthening their cooperation and were not aimed at any other country.

    The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in the Hague ruled this month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticized its environmental destruction there.

    China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case.

    "This is a routine exercise between the two armed forces, aimed at strengthening the developing China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership," China's defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a news conference.

    "The exercise is not directed against third parties.".....REUTERS
    28/7/16

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  128. President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday issued a legislative degree No 15 for the year 2016 stipulating for granting an amnesty for those who turn themselves in to the competent authorities and lay down their weapons and those who set free in a safe way persons they kidnapped.
    SANA
    28/7/16

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  129. France to form National Guard to counter terrorist threat, Hollande says...

    French President François Hollande on Thursday confirmed that a National Guard would be formed from existing reserve forces to better protect citizens facing terror attacks.

    A "defence council" to be held early next month will hammer out the force's hierarchy and command structure, Hollande's office said in a statement.

    The president said parliamentary consultations on the formation of the force would take place in September "so that this force can be created as quickly as possible".

    He said he hoped the guard, made up of volunteers from the police, paramilitary police and military, would be operational by early autumn.

    Hollande had called on French “patriots” to enlist in the country's operational reserves in the wake of the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice in which 84 people were killed....france24.com
    28/7/16

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  130. Des inondations et glissements de terrain au Népal et en Inde ont fait plus de 90 morts ces derniers jours et contraint au moins deux millions de personnes à quitter leurs logements, a-t-on appris jeudi de sources officielles...

    Au Népal, pays le plus durement touché, les pluies de mousson, intenses depuis lundi, ont fait déborder les rivières, provoquant inondations et glissements de terrain qui ont détruit des maisons et des ponts.

    "Depuis lundi, 73 personnes sont mortes dans les inondations et les glissements de terrain", a dit à l'AFP le porte-parole adjoint du ministère de l'Intérieur, Jhanka Nath Dhakal.

    Des images diffusées par l'armée, engagée dans les opérations de sauvetage, montrent des habitants attendant sur des toits d'être évacués par canots pneumatiques....AFP

    ReplyDelete
  131. Chinese J-11 fighter jets conduct air combat training in South China Sea...

    Two J-11 fighter jets of People’s Liberation Army Navy fly in formation for a sortie during an air combat training exercise.

    An aviation division of the South China Sea Fleet with the PLA Navy organized its J-11 fighter jets to conduct an air combat training exercise recently in undisclosed waters in the South China Sea.

    Earlier China used its latest bomber, the H-6K, in recent patrol over Huangyan Island in South China Sea, that reported by Air Force spokesman....defence-blog.com
    29/7/16

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  132. "Cimetière des traîtres", le panneau planté sur un monticule de terre, près d'un chantier dans la banlieue d'Istanbul, annonce la couleur: c'est dans ce décor sans gloire que doivent être inhumés les mutins du putsch raté du 15 juillet...

    Pas un millimètre d'ombre sur cette parcelle de terrain rocailleuse exposée au soleil brûlant de juillet. A quelques mètres, des ouvriers construisent un refuge pour animaux errants.

    Les autorités turques ont décidé d'enterrer ici les 24 mutins tués lors de la tentative de coup d'Etat qui n'a pas réussi à renverser le pouvoir du président Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Au total, le putsch raté a fait 270 morts.

    Jusqu'ici, un seul soldat mutin a été inhumé sommairement dans ce cimetière désolé. Le capitaine Mehmet Karabekir aurait tué un notable durant le putsch raté et sa famille aurait refusé de s'occuper de ses funérailles. Seul un monticule de terre signale sa tombe. Trois autres fosses ont été creusées à proximité.

    - Ni prière, ni paix -

    "Le corps a été transporté ici en ambulance. Une poignée de gens l'ont mis en terre et puis tout était fini", a raconté un témoin à l'AFP.....france24.com
    29/7/16

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  133. A commission of Chavist lawmakers asked the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice, or TSJ, to declare illegal any act or decision of its legislature, the National Assembly, for having sworn in three indigenous opposition legislators who had been suspended for alleged electoral fraud...

    "We have introduced into both the Electoral Chamber and the Constitutional Chamber the request that yesterday's measures or any measures taken by an illegally constituted National Assembly be declared illegal," Chavist legislator Hector Rodriguez told reporters.
    EFE
    30/7/16

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  134. Un tribunal turc a ordonné samedi le placement en détention préventive de 17 journalistes accusés de liens avec le prédicateur exilé aux Etats-Unis Fethullah Gülen, qu'Ankara désigne comme le commanditaire du putsch raté, a rapporté l'agence de presse Anadolu...

    Les dix-sept journalistes sont poursuivis pour appartenance à "un groupe terroriste". Vingt-et-un d'entre eux comparaissaient vendredi, dix-sept ont été écroués et quatre remis en liberté.

    Parmi les reporters mis derrière les barreaux figure Nazli Ilicak, ancienne députée, licenciée du quotidien progouvernemental Sabah en 2013 après avoir critiqué des ministres empêtrés dans un scandale de corruption -- orchestré, selon Ankara, par Gülen.

    Bulent Mumay, ancien éditeur du quotidien Hurriyet et figure connue du monde des médias, a en revanche été remis en liberté.

    Les médias sont en première ligne des vastes purges en cours en Turquie après le coup d'Etat avorté du 15 juillet qui avait fait vaciller le pouvoir islamo-conservateur du président Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Plus de 130 médias ont été fermés par le gouvernement cette semaine et près de 90 mandats d'arrêts émis contre des journalistes, des mesures très critiquées par les ONG de défense des droits de l'Homme.
    france24.com
    30/7/16

    ReplyDelete

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