World News 13, April 2013

Ten arrested after football match violence in London

Ten people have been arrested after London’s Wembley Stadium erupted in violence during match between Millwall and Wigan. The disturbance happened just before half-time and involved both sets of supporters and security staff. No serious injuries were reported, but several fans were bloodied. Wigan went on to win the game 2-0.

Russia imposes border control with China over bird flu

Gennady Onishchenko, chief of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog, has ordered passenger control on the border with China as the number of people infected with H7N9 virus continues to grow. “I have given instructions that control over arriving passengers be put in place on the border, especially in the Far Eastern region where the intensity of flights is higher. At least [body] temperature measurements could be taken,” he said, as cited by Itar-Tass. Onishchenko also recommended Russian citizens to cancel trips to China if they can do so. The news comes as Beijing reported its first case of a new strain of bird flu on Saturday. So far, the virus has killed 11 people. Over 40 have been infected in China.

18:27

Moscow police detain dozens of young nationalists

Several dozen people have been detained in Moscow for violating public order.  On Saturday, several unsanctioned protest actions – including a nationalist rally – were staged in the center of the capital, the Interior Ministry told Interfax. Some 20 young nationalists and two members of the Left Front movement were brought to administrative liability. The rest were released after a talk on discipline, the police press-service said.

18:26

Tunisia posts photos of suspects in secular leader’s murder

Tunisia’s government has published the names and photos of five suspects in the February 6 killing of a prominent secular politician Chokri Belaid, and asked people to help them find the men, Reuters reports. Authorities promised protection and confidentiality for anyone who helps them locate the suspects in the murder, for which no one has claimed responsibility. Police believe Belaid’s assassin was a member of an Islamist Salafist group, PM Ali Larayedh said earlier. The murder of the politician sparked the biggest public unrest in the North African country since the overthrow of president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011 which launched the Arab Spring uprisings.

Palestinian President Abbas accepts PM Fayyad’s resignation – officials

Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad formally presented his resignation to President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday and the president accepted it, a Palestinian official said. “Fayyad met Abbas for half an hour in the president’s headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank and officially handed him his written resignation,” the official told AFP. Rumors that Fayyad would either resign or be told to step down by Abbas have been rife in recent weeks after longstanding differences between the two men came to a head over the finance portfolio.

At least 26 killed in bus plunge down ravine in Peru

At least 26 people were killed and seven injured when a bus plunged 200 meters down a ravine in northern Peru, police said. The accident happened on a mountain road near the town of Otuzco some 570 kilometers north of the capital. The driver allegedly lost control of the bus; the cause has not yet been established. Road accidents are common in the Peruvian Andes due to poorly maintained roads.

US, China to push for N. Korean de-nuclearization

The US and China have agreed that the Korean Peninsula must be denuclearized, top diplomats from both countries said during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Beijing. Kerry and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi agreed to joint efforts to resume nuclear talks with North Korea. “We maintain that the issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation,” Yang said. Amid the growing tensions on the peninsula, the Pyongyang has repeatedly said it will not abandon its nuclear arsenal as it is a “treasured” guarantor of security.

Italian hostages freed in Syria

Four Italian journalists kidnapped in Syria on April 5 by opposition militants have been freed, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced. The abducted Italian citizens – Amedeo Ricucci, Elio Colavolpe, Andrea Vignali and Susan Dabous – were working on the ‘History Is Us’ documentary project. One of the journalists is a staff correspondent for Italy’s Rai state TV, and three others are freelancers. The film crew has already been brought to Turkey, TV channel Tgcom 24 reported.

12:38

US lifts Iran-linked sanctions on select maritime firms

Washington has lifted sanctions on three maritime firms that helped Iran transport oil two years ago, violating US-imposed financial restrictions against trading with Tehran. Singaporean firm Tanker Pacific Management, Monaco’s Société Anonyme Monégasque D’Administration Maritime Et Aérienne and Liberia’s Allvale Maritime Inc. aided in the transfer of $8.65 million of oil in 2011. Washington has placed a number of hard-hitting financial penalties on Tehran in a bid to halt its alleged nuclear weapons program.

12:34

9 killed in bus bomb blast in northwest Pakistan – officials

Nine people were killed and at least seven more wounded when a time bomb exploded on a bus in the northwestern Pakistani city Peshawar, police official Fazal Wahid Khan said, according to AFP. The bus was traveling from Peshawar to a nearby town. No groups have yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The city of Peshawar is the provincial capital of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Pakistani police blame pro-Taliban militant groups for the frequent deadly attacks in the region.

Iran successfully tests 3 new missiles – state media

Three new missiles were successfully tested during the first day of Iranian army ground exercises, Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force General Kioumars Heydari said, according to Fars News Agency. The tests took place near Kashan in Isfahan Province, about 340 km south of the Iranian capital. No details were revealed about the weapons, but the general said that the “ground-to-ground missiles are different from the Naze’at 10 and Fajr missiles,” which the country already has in its arsenal. The general stressed the significance of the military drills in boosting the country’s deterrent power. The Iranian Ground Force will also demonstrate its new personnel carriers in parades for National Army Day on April 18.

Outspoken Sri Lankan newspaper set ablaze by armed men

The Uthayan newspaper in northern Sri Lanka, which has been repeatedly targeted and seen its employees killed, was attacked by armed men who stormed into the building before dawn on Saturday, AP reported. The men scared away staff and poured kerosene inside the building, burning four printing wheels and the main part of the printing press. Uthayan is an outspoken Tamil newspaper that supports political autonomy for the Sri Lankan Tamils. Over the years it has faced threats from the Sri Lankan military, Tamil militants and unidentified thugs. In 2006, two members of staff were killed by gunmen. Since this attack, the editor has not left the building except to visit his heart specialist every three months, and has had a small flat built next to the newsroom.

Bus collision in South Africa injures about 100, fatalities reported

Two buses collided near the Strydom Tunnel on the N4 road in South Africa, causing multiple injuries and deaths, including children, a national private emergency medical care service ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak reported. The report said that one of the buses was carrying schoolchildren at the time of the accident. After the crash, one of the buses tumbled down a mountainside after slamming into an embankment. Paramedics at the scene reported at least 100 injuries and some fatalities, without elaborating further. Emergency and rescue services have been dispatched, and are now freeing the trapped victims and evacuating the critically injured by helicopter.

Israel rejects appeals to release ailing hunger striker

Israel has rejected pleas to release a Palestinian prisoner whose 8-month-long hunger strike has left him on the verge of death, Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqea told AFP on Saturday. Palestinian authorities had requested that the prisoner, Samer Issawi, be temporarily released to the West Bank town of Ramallah. Issawi, who is serving a 26 year sentence for militant activity, is the last of four Palestinian prisoners who went on extended hunger strikes in Israeli prisons to continue refusing food.

Pope selects cardinal committee to advise him

Pope Francis has established a committee of eight cardinals from around the globe to advise him on reforming the Vatican bureaucracy. The group has been tasked with helping the Pope implement changes to the Roman Curia – the administrative apparatus of the Holy See –  which was plagued by scandal during the eight-year reign of his predecessor Pope Benedict.  The group, which is set to hold their first meeting in early October, is composed of cardinals from Europe, the Americans, Australia and Asia.

French prisoner blasts way out of prison, takes hostages

A notorious robber used explosives to blast his way out of a prison in northern France, taking five hostages during his daring escape, AFP quoted local officials as saying. Police and helicopters are on the hunt for the escapee, who released the hostages shortly after fleeing the detention center. The prison, located in the town of Sequedin, was significantly damaged when the explosives detonated and ripped through an airlock security door.

Mubarak to stand retrial on Saturday

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been transferred from a military hospital to a police academy in Cairo, Al Arabiya reported. Mubarak will stand trial again on Saturday. He has already been convicted for his involvement in the killing of more than 800 protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster, and has been serving a life sentence. Both the defense and the prosecution asked Egypt’s highest appeals court for a retrial.

First case of new bird flu strain reported in Beijing

A 7-year-old girl in Beijing was confirmed to be infected with the new strain of bird flu on Saturday, according to Xinhua news agency. This is the first case of H7N9 outside eastern China. The girl was reportedly hospitalized on Thursday with flu symptoms, and is now showing signs of recovery. Her parents, neither of whom are infected, are in the live poultry business. Eleven people have already died from the H7N9 virus since it was first discovered to have infected humans last month. The total number of those infected has risen to 44.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Beijing

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Beijing for his first visit to China as America’s top diplomat. His trip comes amidst rising tensions and threats of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula. Kerry, who will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, is expected to press Beijing to use its influence over Pyongyang to help resolve the ongoing crisis. Kerry kicked off a four-day diplomatic tour in East Asia with a visit to South Korea on Friday. He is set to fly to Japan on Sunday.

‘Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead’ tops UK charts following Thatcher’s death

The BBC has rejected calls to ban the seventy-four-year-old “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” following record sales of the song from The Wizard of Oz following a Facebook campaign to celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher. Though BBC Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper said he found the campaign “distasteful,” sales have propelled the song to the number three spot on UK charts as of Friday, and thus it could not be ignored. As a form of compromise, the BBC will only play a brief excerpt in a news report to explain how it came to suddenly top the music charts.