World views news

19072013

Myanmar allows public tribute to Gen. Aung San 

 

Myanmar’s government has for the first time allowed citizens to pay tribute to the country’s slain independence hero General Aung San. He’s the father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The move is seen as a symbol of the country’s move toward democracy.

In the country’s largest city Yangon on Friday, Aung San Suu Kyi laid flowers at her father’s cenotaph. He was assassinated 66 years ago.

About 400 citizens gathered in front of Aung San’s statue in the city to commemorate his death. Drivers honked their horns at the exact time of his killing.

One citizen said the country is still on the way to democracy but that it’s good to be able to hold such an event.

Myanmar’s government and former military rulers had not allowed public tributes to Aung San for fear that he could become a pro-democracy symbo

Thousands rally in support of opposition activist Navalny in RussiaRussian riot police detained dozens of protesters during unauthorized but peaceful rallies held in several Russian cities after anti-corruption blogger Aleksey Navalny was sentenced to five years for embezzlement on Thursday morning. 

Out with the Mafia!’ Mass anti-govt protests backed by Anonymous grip Spain (PHOTOS)In 30 cities across Spain thousands of people protested government corruption and called for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s resignation. In solidarity with the demonstrations, hacktivist group Anonymous knocked out the ruling People’s Party website,

Japan to deploy ships after China detected drilling in disputed waters – reportJapan has allegedly ordered geological survey ships to prepare for possible deployment after the Chinese were reportedly detected drilling in Japanese waters near the disputed area of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, a media source.

Italy interior minister survives no-confidence vote

Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano survived a no-confidence vote on Friday, averting a political crisis that could have brought down the fragile coalition government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Alfano. Alfano, the secretary of Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom party (PDL), faced calls to resign over the hurried deportation of the family of a dissident Kazakh oligarch in May, Reuters reported. A senate vote defeated the no-confidence bid filed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the leftist Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) party by 226 votes to 55.

Kerry to meet with Palestinian leaders in West Bank

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders on Friday, US and Palestinian officials said. “Secretary Kerry will travel to Ramallah this afternoon to meet with President Abbas,” a senior State Department official said from Amman, Jordan, where Kerry is currently visiting, Reuters reported. “It seemed Kerry wanted to hear more from the [Palestinian] president,” a senior Palestinian official said. Kerry is meeting Palestinian leaders in a last-minute diplomatic flurry aimed at resuming peace talks with Israel.

Bomb blast inside Iraq Sunni mosque kills 20

A bomb blast inside a Sunni mosque in central Iraq killed at least 20 people on Friday, Reuters said, citing police and medics. The explosion took place in the town of Wajihiya in Diyala province. More than 2,500 people have died in violent attacks in Iraq since April, according to UN figures released this month.

Romanian miners stage underground protest over coal price

About 1,100 miners refused to leave the underground tunnels at three old coal mines in Romania’s mountainous Jiu valley on Friday to protest a state holding company’s refusal to honor a pricing agreement. Miners also demanded that leftist Prime Minister Victor Ponta join them in Jiu valley to help solve the problem, Reuters said. Last year, Romania decided to close the valley’s state-owned hard coal mines in stages by 2018, and merge its remaining four viable mines with two coal-fired power producers to create the holding Hunedoara. But it refused to receive hard coal from the three mines at the price agreed with the EU under the mine closure program.

Germans unsettled over US surveillance – Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged Germans have been unsettled by allegations of widespread US surveillance. At a news conference Friday, she also said there were no “prerequisites” to grant political asylum to former National Security Agency (NSA) subcontractor Edward Snowden, Itar-Tass reported. Merkel said the German government was still awaiting answers from the US to detailed questions about surveillance, adding that it was impossible for her “to provide an analysis of Prism.” The chancellor said, “On German territory, German law must be complied with.”

Kurd militants issue ‘final warning’ on Turkey peace process

Kurdish militants issued what they said was a “final warning” to Turkey on Friday to take concrete steps to advance a peace process to end a three-decade long conflict, Reuters reported. “We are warning the [ruling party] AKP government for the last time… If concrete steps are not taken in the shortest time on the subjects set out by our people and the public, the process will not advance and the AKP government will be responsible,” the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said in a statement on one of its websites.

Cambodian opposition leader Rainsy returns from exile

Thousands of supporters greeted Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy as he returned from self-imposed exile Friday. “I have come home to rescue the country,” Rainsy said at Phnom Penh’s airport, after kneeling to kiss the ground. The French-educated leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party has been in exile since 2009 to avoid serving 11 years in prison on charges many consider politically motivated. Rainsy is expected to spearhead his party’s election campaign against well-entrenched Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Obama urges Netanyahu to restart talks with Palestinians

US President Barack Obama encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to closely work with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in order to restart peace talks with Palestinians. Speaking by phone on Thursday, the leaders also discussed the unwinding political crisis in Egypt, continuing civil war in Syria and Iran’s nuclear program. On Friday John Kerry is to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders as part of his Mediterranean tour. The call from Washington coincides with the EU’s decision to cut off funding to disputed Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel sees launch of 24-hour news channel

A new 24-hour news channel based out of Israel launched on Wednesday, broadcasting in French, English and Arabic. Conceived by former French diplomat Frank Melloul, the new channel, I24, bills itself as an alternative to Middle East watchers around the world who follow other regional broadcasters, such as Al-Jazeera, the BBC and France 24. The new broadcaster is being funded by private investors, with the bulk of funding coming from French-Israeli media mogul Patrick Drahgi. Over 150 journalists were recruited to work out of its Jaffa headquarters, where they will produce content in the three languages simultaneously. I24 will be broadcast via satellite throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa, while a US launch for satellite and cable frequencies is slated for January. The new station will be headlined by former Gaza correspondent for Israel’s Channel 2 Suleiman Al-Shafi.

​JAL Dreamliner returns to Boston over fuel pump warning

A Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787 en route to Tokyo had to return to Boston over a potential fuel pump problem, the airline announced. The plane departed Boston at 12:57pm local time but reversed course and landed back at its departure airport at around 6:00 pm. ”As a standard precautionary measure due to a maintenance message (fuel pump) indicator, JL007 bound for Tokyo-Narita decided to return to Boston Logan for check and landed safely,” Carol Anderson, a US-based JAL spokeswoman, told AFP. Last week, the same type of aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at London’s Heathrow airport. JAL ANA Japanese airline, recently experienced around a dozen of complaints with the 787 after the series resumed operating after being grounded for battery failure between January and April.

​Police disperse protesters demanding Spanish PM resignation

Thousands took to the streets of Madrid and other Spanish cities to rally against the ruling Popular Party and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Protesters gathered outside the Party’s headquarters amid allegations that the Prime Minister received bribes before his party won elections in 2011. Local media says at least one person was injured and one arrested when police charged the protesters in Madrid. Scuffles started after demonstrators got into a fight with a driver who was blocked off by the protestors. In total some 40 cities, including Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, and Malaga, joined the protest after opposition leaders called on Rajoy to explain himself before Parliament.