Sagar Media Inc

Abridged Global snap

7102013

Ireland votes against abolition of Senate

Ireland has voted in a nationwide referendum against abolishing the country’s Senate. The supporters of the constitutional amendment to close the 60-senator chamber have said that the upper house wields no essential powers and its closure could save taxpayers US $27 million annually. Their opponents have said the measure is aimed at strengthening the powers of the government by removing an upper house that occasionally delays the passage of bills. Instead they proposed to reform the Senate.

Blast hits security HQ in southern Sinai town

A massive explosion on Monday hit a security headquarters building in southern Sinai. It killed two people and wounded nearly 50, Egyptian security officials said. The blast was followed by a drive-by shooting east of Cairo, where one army officer and four soldiers were killed. The attacks came a day after at least 51 people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Rothman, Schekman, Südhof

The Nobel Committee on Monday awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof. The three scientists have “solved the mystery of how the cell organizes its transport system,” the committee said. “Molecules are transported around the cell in small packages” and the laureates have discovered “the molecular principles that govern how this cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time in the cell,” it added. Rothman is chairman in the Department of Cell Biology of Yale University. Schekman is a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell biology of the University of California at Berkeley, and Südhof is professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University.

09:20

Al-Qaeda claims suicide attacks in northern Iraq

Al-Qaeda’s local branch in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a spate of suicide attacks last month in the northern self-ruled Kurdish region. At least six security forces were killed and more than 30 people wounded in the September 29 bombings. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said Monday on a militant website the attacks were in retaliation to statements made by the regional President Massoud Barzani expressing readiness to help Syrian Kurdish militias.

2 trains collide near Rome

At least 13 people were reportedly slightly hurt after two trains operating on a regional line collided in Rome on Monday. There were no reports of any serious injuries, ANSA said. Emergency services are working to help the passengers. The traffic on the line was blocked.

Dutch search for 3 sailors missing as ship sinks in North Sea

Dutch coastguards were searching for three sailors missing in the North Sea after their ship collided with a fishing trawler and sank early Monday. The 32-meter Maria, a ship deployed to guard an oil drilling platform about 40km southwest of the Dutch navy port of Den Helder, collided with fishing trawler Texel 68, at around 11:30 GMT, AFP reported. Two crewmembers were rescued. Coastguards scrambled two helicopters and several boats for the search of the three others, as divers were exploring the wreck.

Saudis post 17.5mn tweets demanding better pay

Many Saudis are turning to the micro-blogging website Twitter to complain about salaries. A hashtag launched in early summer ‘The salary is not enough’ triggered more than 17.5 million tweets, AFP reported. The campaigners in the country that is the world’s top oil exporter called on King Abdullah to order “by decree, an increase in the salaries of all civil servants.” The basic monthly salary of a public employee ranges from between $1,051 and $6,599 dollars, in addition to various allowances, a study prepared by insurance companies said. In the private sector, the average wage is $1,700, compared with $4,000 in most other Gulf monarchies, according to a study prepared by the World Bank and the Saudi Economy Ministry.

Washington State police suspect hate crime in US soldier stabbing

Police in western Washington State are looking for five black suspects in the stabbing death of a white US Army soldier. “We are exploring the possibility that this could be a hate crime or racially motivated,” Reuters quoted Lakewood Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Chris Lawler as saying. The victim, identified as Tevin Geike, 20, was walking with two fellow soldiers early Saturday morning in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, when a car drove past them and its occupants yelled “something about being white,” witnesses said. One of the suspects “bumped into the victim” before the car sped away, and Geike’s friends then realized that he’d been stabbed.

Hong Kong journalists shout at Philippines leader, kicked out of APEC meeting

The credentials of several Hong Kong journalists at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meeting in Indonesia have been withdrawn after they shouted questions at the Philippines leader. As President Benigno Aquino entered a meeting of APEC business leaders on Sunday, the reporters demanded to know whether he would meet Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying in Bali. They also ‘aggressively’ questioned the president about a hostage siege in Manila that left eight Hong Kong citizens dead in 2010. APEC host Indonesia on Monday denied stifling press freedom and said the journalists had posed a security threat. They were free to remain in Bali, but could no longer access venues being used for the summit.

At least 6 killed as bomb targets Pakistan anti-polio campaigners

At least six people were killed on Monday by a bomb apparently targeting anti-polio campaigners in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar. Those killed included police officers, after the blast struck a van near a hospital in the Budh Bher area, the BBC reported. The blast appeared to target police who protected the vaccination team. The Taliban has denounced vaccination as a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

At least 19 people die in Peru bus crash

At least 19 people were killed and 15 others wounded after a bus plunged off a road in Peru’s southeastern Huancavelica region, police told AFP. One injured person told regional police that the bus driver was traveling at excessive speed, RPP radio reported. Fifteen people were rescued and those in serious condition were transferred to a hospital in the city of Huancayo, Lieutenant Alberto Begazo told AFP. Accidents are frequent in the country due to poor road conditions and routes without asphalt in mountainous regions. According to a report by the government’s National Institute of Statistics and Information, 781 people died in Peruvian traffic accidents in the first quarter of 2013.

Authentic Greek flame to light torches at 2014 Winter Olympics relay

At every stage of the 65,000 kilometer Olympic Torch Relay for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, relay participants will light their torches from the original, authentic flame which was lit in the ancient Greek city of Olympia and delivered from Athens on Sunday, chairman of the Sochi Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, told R-Sport news. The statement follows online and media discussions focused on the Sunday incident in which a torch went out during the relay in Moscow and was re-lit with a lighter. Chernyshenko explained that the torch was not properly prepared, and assured that it was otherwise designed to resist wind of any strength. The organizers have 30 backup lanterns containing the Olympic flame, so “there will not be any problem” during the flame’s 123-day trip across Russia, he added.

Tunisian govt ‘downplays’ number of women traveling to Syria for ‘sex jihad’

The number of Tunisian women traveling to Syria for ‘sex jihad’ is low, a senior Interior Ministry official told AFP, addressing a previous statement from Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi ben Jeddou which said that the practice is widespread. “At most, about 15 Tunisian women went to Syria, most to care for fighters or to do social work,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Four of them came back from Syria, and one is pregnant,” he added. However, the head of the relief association for Tunisians abroad, Badis Koubakji, said on Sunday that there is “a complete network and the Interior Ministry is not being transparent on this issue.” He added that the young women, aged between 17 and 30, would not talk about their experiences because their families wanted to “preserve their honor.”

At least 20 killed as Nigerian forces clash with Islamists

At least twenty people were killed in clashes in northeastern Borno State between Nigerian troops and Islamist group Boko Haram, the military said. Boko Haram attacked the town of Damboa in the early hours of Saturday, killing five worshippers at a mosque during their morning prayers, said a spokesman for Nigerian forces. Militant terrorist organization Boko Haram has been fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s north, targeting civilians in the area.

UNICEF worker kidnapped in Yemen

Gunmen have kidnapped a Sierra Leone citizen who works for the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen, diplomatic sources told AFP. The official was traveling from the capital Sanaa to the Red Sea coastal town of Hudaidah when he was abducted. Earlier Sunday, Germany’s ambassador to Yemen narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt in Sanaa, during which her bodyguard was killed.

Israeli court charges Belgian with spying for Iran

An Israeli court has charged a Belgian man of Iranian descent with espionage and “assistance to the enemy during wartime.” The court stated that 55-year-old Ali Mansouri was recruited by Iran’s intelligence service in 2012 to “harm the Jewish state.” Mansouri was detained at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on September 11 while traveling under the guise of Belgian Alex Mans. He was allegedly carrying photos of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. Mansouri was an agent of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and belonged to a special unit which was “involved in a large number of terrorist attacks around the world,” according to the Shin Bet security agency.

Turkey begins building wall along Syria border – reports

Turkey’s military has reportedly started building a wall alongside its border with war-torn Syria, in a bid to halt illegal passing and smuggling, according to local Doğan News Agency. The wall at the border by Nusaybin, right across from Syria’s Qamishli, is set to be two meters high and will have barbed wire fencing over it, the agency reported. Officials have also been setting lights in the area to aid the work of border patrols, Anadolu Agency reported. Turkey previously announced the construction of a 2.5-kilometer-long wall along the Cilvegozu border gate with Syria to fight against illegal immigration.

8 killed in attack on Damascus’ Christian neighborhood – report

Eight people have been killed and 24 wounded by mortar fire that hit a Christian neighborhood in central Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA reports, citing a police source. Terrorists targeted the Church of the Holy Cross in the area, injuring three citizens and damaging the church. Several houses and cars were also damaged by the shell.

Germany hands its key Afghan military base to local security forces

Germany has handed over control of a military base in the northern province of Kunduz to Afghan security forces. The base lies some 250 km north of the capital Kabul and it comes as part of the gradual withdrawal of the NATO forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, reports AP. During the ten-year operation, 20,000 German troops were deployed at the base and 20 of the country’s 35 combat deaths in Afghanistan occurred in the province. According to Defense Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, the base shaped German armed forces “like hardly any other place.” It was also the place where “grave decision was made,” he added. After the pullout, Germany plans to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan from 4,000 troops to about 800 and they will be stationed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, responsible largely for training and support of Afghan troops.