Global news

​Nigeria releases detained Russian cargo plane

The Nigerian authorities have released a Russian transport plane, which was previously detained on suspicion of transporting arms, RIA Novosti reported citing France’s ambassador to the country, Jacques Champagne de Labriolle. The plane was hired by the French peacekeeping mission in Chad for a delivery, but had to land in Nigeria on Saturday, because the Chad airport it was heading to closed down.

Mi-8 helicopter crashes in Northern Russia

A Mi-8 helicopter has crashed near Naryan Mar city in Nenets autonomous region Sunday. There were three crew and four Bashneft oil company employees aboard. Two people died, five others are in grave condition, according to medics. The cause of the crash could be bad weather or engine failure, officials say.

2nd senior Al-Qaeda member in 2 days killed in Pakistan

A US drone has killed a senior member of Al-Qaeda and three other militants in Pakistan on Sunday, according to local officials and Taliban. He was identified as Omar Farooq, who was close to the former and current al Qaeda heads and was in charge for Al-Qaeda’s activity in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Earlier, on Saturday, the Pakistani military killed Adnan Shukrijumah, Al-Qaeda's chief of global operations, who was wanted by US intelligence for plotting to attack the New York subway.

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US hands over detained Taliban chief to Pakistan

US forces have handed a senior member of the Taliban and two his guards to Pakistan’s authorities on Saturday. Pakistani citizen Latif Mehsud was captured by US forces in October 2013 and was kept in a detention center in Bagram military base in Afghanistan. As the US mission ends this month, US forces will not be able to hold prisoners at the base and return all third-country nationals detained in Afghanistan to their country of origin, Reuters says.

UK embassy in Cairo suspends work, issues travel warnings

The British Embassy in Cairo has temporarily suspended its public services and issued a special travel warning to UK citizens, it announced Sunday. The travel advice recommends British nationals to avoid visiting some districts of Egypt, except tourist resorts, due to “heightened threat of terrorist attacks globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.” The UK consulate in Alexandria and visa application centers will remain open, although no new visa applications will be accepted for the time being.

​11 arrested after rioters throw firebombs at Stockholm police

A group of at least 30 protesters have thrown stones and firebombs at police in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and set about 10 cars on fire on Saturday. “A witness saw a large gathering of younger individuals who marched towards the center of Rågsved, where the school is,” police spokeswoman Elisabeth Wernsten told Swedish Radio News. “The witness suspected that the youths were going to smash the school up.” At least 11 protesters were arrested by the authorities. “This gang simply decided to get together to commit crime,”Wernsten said. “There is no good reason for wanting to attack the police in this way. Nothing provoked the incident.”

​Russian plane detained in Nigeria contains French peacekeepers’ cargo 

A cargo plane detained at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, in Nigeria, is Russian but its cargo is French, said the attaché of Russia’s embassy in Nigeria, Artyom Romanov. “The plane detained in the airport of Nigerian town of Kano is Russian, but the cargo on board is military equipment and [it] belongs to the French peacekeeping mission,” he said. The plane was bound for Chad when it made an emergency landing in Kano on Saturday.

​6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit off the coast of Papua New Guineaat a depth of 10 kilometers, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake, which struck at 0122 GMT, was followed by two aftershocks with 5.2 and 5.0 magnitude, respectively. "Any tsunami generated is going to be very local... and about half-a-meter in size," Mark Leonard, a senior seismologist for the government agency Geoscience Australia, told AFP.

China to help Maldives with water following fire at capital’s only sewage plant

China is taking part in a relief operation in the Maldives, sending a military vessel with 960 tons of fresh water to the islands, after a fire took out the only sewage treatment plant in the capital Male, China’s Xinhua agency reports. The incident left some 150,000 people without safe drinking tap water. India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the US have also been contacted by the Maldives government for help. The first will be sending five planes with water and two ships with parts to be used in fixing the broken sewage plant.

​US Republicans expand Senate majority with Louisiana win

Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu conceded defeat to Republican Bill Cassidy in a runoff election on Saturday. The contender’s campaign focused on linking Landrieu to President Barack Obama, whose Louisiana approval ratings are very low. Cassidy’s victory solidifies the Republican majority on the Hill, giving the party its 54th seat in the Senate.

​Carbon monoxide kills 2, poisons dozens in New Jersey

Two people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a recording studio in Passaic, New Jersey, city's mayor announced. Dozens others have been sickened and are being treated at local hospitals. Police responded to a 911 call at about 1:30 pm local time and found the two dead on the second floor of the three-story building.

Missing Mexican student’s remains identified

One of the bodies found in Mexico near a rubbish plant was positively identified as Alexander Mora Venancio, local sources said on Saturday. He was one of 43 trainee teachers, who were allegedly captured by police in Guerrero on September 26 and handed over to drug gang members and massacred. The students’ disappearance sparked outrage throughout Mexico and triggered the worst political crisis the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto faced.

​All Aussie victims of MH17 crash identified

The remains of all 38 Australian citizens, who were killed in July after a Malaysian Airlines plane crashed over eastern Ukraine amid an armed conflict between the government and rebels, have been identified, the Australian government said. The last three sets of remains were identified in the Netherlands this week. A total of 292 of the 298 people killed in the tragedy have been identified so far.

Human Rights Watch urges CIA Torture Report's timely release

The Human Rights Watch is urging the US government to release “Torture Report” on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s detention and interrogation program without delay and on schedule. HRW statement comes as statements from the State Department raised concerns over the timing of the release and foreign policy that US Secretary of State voiced Friday. The Senate Committee on Intelligence is due to release the report early next week.

Pilot of crashed Russian fighter jet dies in hospital

The pilot of the Mig-29 fighter jet, which crashed near Moscow on Thursday during a test flight, has died in Sklifosovsky hospital in the Russian capital, Interfax reported. Sergey Rybnikov, 36, succumbed to injuries sustained in an emergency ejection, a medical source told the news agency. The jet’s second pilot remains in serious but stable condition. He is undergoing treatment in an intensive therapy unit.

​Belgium's former Queen Fabiola dies, aged 86

Queen Fabiola, widow of King Baudouin and Belgium's queen between 1960 and 1993, died on Friday at the age of 86, the royal palace announced. The couple had no children and, when Baudouin died in 1993, he was succeeded by his younger brother Albert II, who abdicated in 2013 in favor of his son Philippe. Queen Fabiola had been ill for some time, never having fully recovered from a lung infection in 2009.

​US-led anti-ISIS coalition conducted 20 airstrikes in three days - US military statement

20 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq have been conducted by the US-led coalition in the region since Wednesday, the US Central Command said in a Friday statement. In Syria, five of six strikes were aimed at the city of Kobani near the border with Turkey, having destroyed jihadists' fighting positions and a heavy weapon, the US military reported. 14 air strikes were conducted in Iraq, mostly targeting areas in the oil-producing regions, captured by the IS militants.

China arrests former security chief

China’s former security chief, Zhou Yongkang, has been arrested, put under investigation on fraud charges and expelled from the Communist Party, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. A preliminary investigation established Zhou was “seriously violating the Party's political, organizational and confidentiality discipline,” taking advantage of his posts “to seek profits for others and accepted huge bribes personally and through his family”, the media cited the ruling Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection as saying in a statement. The party’s politburo also said that Zhou "abused his power to help relatives, mistresses and friends make huge profits from operating businesses, resulting in serious losses of state-owned assets." AFP reported that an official's dismissal from the Communist Party followed by a criminal prosecution invariably leads to a guilty verdict.

​Maldives hit by water crisis after sewage plant fire

The government of the Maldives has declared a state of emergency after a fire at the capital’s only water sewage treatment plant triggered a shortage of drinking water on the archipelago. On Friday, India announced that it was airlifting drinking water into Male, one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Some 100,000 residents of nation’s capital have lost access to drinking water because of the disaster, according Mohamed Shareef, a government minister cited by the Guardian. The water shortage has led to scuffles and attacks on shops.

5 dead, 20 wounded in Somalia suicide bombing

At least five died and twenty were wounded as multiple suicide bombers attacked a restaurant in the town of Baidoa northwest of the Somali capital, police said Friday. "First a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the restaurant, and then a suicide car bomb followed when people converged to help," Captain Nur Osman, a police officer, told Reuters. Somali jihadists from the group Al-Shabaab, which has links to Al-Qaeda, have carried out similar attacks in the region before.

Israel denies Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams permission to enter Gaza

Irish nationalist leader Gerry Adams said Friday that Israel barred him from visiting the Gaza Strip during a three-day tour of the region, AP reported.“I am not surprised by the decision, but I am disappointed by it,”Adams said, adding that he was not given a reason for the Israeli decision preventing the trip. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahson said that after consultation with defense officials it had been decided to bar the Sinn Fein leader from entering Gaza because of “his longstanding anti-Israeli positions and his plans to meet in the strip with leaders of Hamas.”

Obama nominates Ashton Carter as US defense secretary

US President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Ashton Carter to be his fourth defense secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Carter would take over a Defense Department constrained by slimmer budgets, the Wall Street Journal said. “Ash is rightly regarded as one of our foremost national security leaders,” Obama said, describing Carter as “an innovator and a reformer.”

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500,000 people in Philippines evacuated from typhoon path

Around half a million people fled coastal villages and landslide-prone areas in the central Philippines on Friday, Reuters said. The evacuation came a day before a powerful typhoon was expected to hit the island nation where thousands died in a storm 13 months ago. Typhoon Hagupit weakened slightly as it churned slowly across the Pacific, dipping below the category 5 “super typhoon” level, according to the Philippines weather bureau. The typhoon is still likely to remain destructive when it hits land on Saturday.

India opposes sanctions against Russia

India “cannot be party” to any economic sanctions against its old friend, Russia, IANS quoted Ajay Bisaria, joint secretary, Eurasia, in India’s ministry of external affairs, as saying. Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting India December 10-11 for the 15th Annual India-Russia Summit. Bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be held on December 11. India and Russia are to spell out a “joint vision of their relationship for the next 10 years,” with a strong focus on redefining the economic partnership, Bisaria said.

Germany’s Bundestag votes in favor of post-NATO Afghan mandate

The German Bundestag has voted in favor of plans to aid Afghan forces when the NATO-led ISAF mission withdraws at the end of the month, Deutsche Welle said. The deputies voted in favor of the NATO follow-on mission “Resolute Support” on Friday, while only leftist party Die Linke voted against. The German government wants to further strengthen security forces in Afghanistan after the NATO operation comes to an end, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. The year-long operation is expected to begin by January 2015 after the NATO mission comes to a close, and 850 soldiers from Germany’s Bundeswehr will also remain in Afghanistan.

3rd UN peacekeeper in Liberia contracts Ebola

A UN peacekeeper in Liberia who has contracted Ebola is being treated at a clinic in the capital, Monrovia, Reuters reported. The patient is the third member of the mission infected by the virus since the outbreak began. A previous confirmed case of Ebola in the UN mission and another probable case resulted in the death of staff members on September 25 and October 13.

Militants’ attack in Chechen capital leaves 14 policemen dead

Russia’s Interior Ministry said Friday that 14 policemen were killed during a counter-terrorist operation in the Chechen capital, Grozny, the previous day, RIA Novosti reported. A group of gunmen riding in three cars attacked a traffic police checkpoint in Grozny at about 22:00 GMT on Wednesday and militants then enteredthe city’s Press House and a school. Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said that 10 militants were “neutralized.” The Chechen leadership says they had planned large-scale terrorist attacks in the republic.

2 allies of terrorists responsible for Volgograd blasts to serve 19-year terms

Two of four people accused of supporting terrorists who organized explosions at a railway station and in atrolleybus in December 2013 in Volgograd, southern Russia, have been sentenced to 19-year terms each by the city’s Dzerzhinsky District Court, TASS said. Ibragim Magomedov and Alautdin Dadayev had made explosive devices, used in the explosions, according to investigators.

ICC withdraws crimes against humanity charges against Kenyan president

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court withdrew their crimes against humanity charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, Reuters said. On Wednesday, judges gave prosecutors a week to firm up their charges against Kenyatta, or withdraw the charges entirely. Kenyatta was accused of fomenting ethnic violence in Kenya after elections in 2007. “The evidence has not improved to such an extent that Mr. Kenyatta’s alleged criminal responsibility can be proven,” according to prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. Prosecutors said, however, that they could bring new charges if they found new evidence.

Contract on delivery of Mistrals issue of France’s reputation – Lavrov

The contract on the delivery of the Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia must be strictly fulfilled, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Basel, Switzerland, on Friday. “We already have had enough of this issue, it’s not our problem, it’s the problem of France’s reputation,” TASS quoted him as saying. “And next, the contract must be strictly fulfilled,” he added.

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British Museum loans one of Elgin Marbles to Russia

The British Museum said on Friday it had loaned one of the Elgin Marbles to Russia, Reuters said. This is the first time any of the ancient sculptures have left Britain since they were taken from the Parthenon in Athens 200 years ago. The museum had temporarily parted with the headless, reclining sculpture of the river god Ilissos to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg as part of its 250th anniversary celebration.

Ukrainian president to hand over 100 heavy armaments to army

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko will visit Donetsk and Lugansk Regions on Saturday to hand over 100 heavy armaments to the armed forces, TASS reported. The armaments will include artillery, tanks and armored personal carriers.

At least 11 Indians blinded after free cataract surgery

At least 11 people have lost their sight after undergoing free cataract surgery in northern India, AFP reported. Local officials said 62 people had the surgery at a village camp run by a medical charity on November 4. The case raises fresh concerns over the quality of the country’s medical procedures after the deaths of 13 women who underwent sterilization surgery at a camp in central India.

German court jails jihadist in first Islamic State trial

A court on Friday jailed a jihadist militant for three years and nine months in Germany’s first trial of a member of the Islamic State group fighting in Syria and Iraq. Kreshnik Berisha, 20, was found guilty of membership of a foreign terrorist organization, AFP quoted presiding judge Thomas Lagebier as saying. Berisha, who was born near Frankfurt to a family from Kosovo, admitted in court to having joined Islamic State and taken part in fighting in Syria. Federal prosecutors said Berisha traveled to Syria via Turkey in July 2013 with other Islamists who were planning to join the fight.

Obama to name Ashton Carter as defense secretary 

US President Barack Obama on Friday will name former Pentagon deputy chief Ashton Carter to be the new defense secretary, AFP said, citing a White House official. Carter is set to replace Chuck Hagel, who announced his resignation last month. Carter served as deputy defense secretary under Leon Panetta from October 2011 to December 2013.

Thousands seek shelter as Typhoon Hagupit approaches Philippines

Thousands of people in the Philippines sought shelter in churches, schools and other evacuation centers on Friday as Typhoon Hagupit approached the country, AFP reported. The storm, which would be the strongest to hit the country this year, is forecast to hit eastern provinces devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan last year. There are conflicting projections from various weather agencies over the typhoon’s direct path.

Serbia, Bosnia carry out arrests over Balkan War massacre

Serbia and Bosnia carried out a pre-dawn sweep of arrests on Friday in the Balkan war’s Strpci Massacre. The two countries, which were wartime enemies, worked together to crack the case of the massacre, which took place on February 27, 1993. The raids captured five suspects in Serbia and 10 in Bosnia. “We are now on the path to solve the murder that has been hidden for more than 20 years,” Serbian war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said. The Serbian government now acknowledges Strpci as a war crime.

Militants attack Indian army near Kashmir border, 13 killed

Militants attacked an Indian army camp in disputed Kashmir on Friday morning, and a gun battle left 10 Indian troops and three suspected gunmen dead, AP reported. Up to six rebels tried to enter an artillery unit of the camp in Uri region, hurling grenades and firing automatic rifles. The camp is also the regional headquarters of the army’s artillery regiment. It sprawls near the militarized line of control that divides the Himalayan region between Indian and Pakistani sides.

Russian airline won’t allow icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh as carry-on

Russia’s Ural Airlines did not allow clergymen of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra to transport the St. Sergius of Radonezh icon as carry-on luggage, TASS said. The monks said they had been allowed to transport the icon with a part of relics from Moscow to Ekaterinburg in business class rather than in the luggage compartment. However, a “high-ranking passenger… was irritated by the ‘neighbors,’ and the clergymen had to leave the plane without any compensation for their tickets,” the agency said. The icon traveled to Ekaterinburg on an S7 Airlines flight, which observed the request from the clergymen. Sergius of Radonezh, a much revered Russian monk, founded the Holy Trinity monastery north of Moscow in the 14th century.

Hungarians protest over internet tax and corruption

Some 2,000 people have taken part in an anti-corruption demonstration in Budapest, Hungary. The activists carrying posters reading, “oligarchy” and “dictator” called on the government and senior members of Hungarian tax authority to resign as they marched across the Chain Bridge. Hungary has seen a wave of protest that started in October after the government decided to tax Internet usage.

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