Global News July 14 ,2013

15072013

87 killed, 178 missing in China rain, landslides

 

At least 87 people have been killed and 178 others missing as floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain hit China, rain-triggered disasters have also caused 1.63 billion yuan (USD 265.8 mn) in direct economic losses. Heavy rains since last week have caused 24 deaths, left four people missing in northern Shaanxi Province, the provincial civil affairs department said. Over 620,000 people had been affected in the province, it added. Central authorities have dispatched disaster survey and relief teams to rainstorm-hit regions in Shanxi Province and northwest Shaanxi Province, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement. Rain-triggered disasters have also caused 1.63 billion yuan (USD 265.8 million) in direct economic losses, it said. In Shaanxi, torrential rain had killed four people and affected 8.40 lakh, according to the province’s civil affairs department. Meanwhile, typhoon Soulik moved further inland to eastern Jiangxi Province today after lashing southeastern Fujian Province bringing downpours and strong gales to the region. The seventh typhoon to hit Chinese mainland this year, Soulik entered Jiangxi this morning bringing precipitation as high as 200 mm within five hours and winds of 64.8 km per hour. Sixteen counties and cities in Jiangxi had over 100 mm of precipitation, the Xinhua report said.

ElBaradei sworn in as Egypt VP: Presidency

 

Prominent liberal leader Mohammed ElBaradei was sworn in as Egypt’s interim vice president for foreign relations on Sunday, even as PM Hazem al-Beblawy continued negotiations to form the new Cabinet following the ouster of Prez Mohammed Morsi. ElBaradei, 71, was initially tipped to be the Prime Minister, but his nomination was rejected by the Salafist party Al-Nur. ElBaradei was sworn-in on Sunday by interim President Adly Mansour as Egypt’s interim vice president for foreign relations, the presidency said in a statement.

Israeli PM phones Palestinian leader, urges peace talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, saying he had high hopes that the two sides could re-enter peace talks which have been on a three-year hiatus. Netanyahu offered Ramadan greetings, telling Abbas that “I hope we will have the opportunity to speak with one another not only during festivals, and will start negotiating. It’s important,” Reuters reported, citing a statement from Israeli officials. Relations between the two governments disintegrated following Israel’s 2010 settlement of the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want to incorporate into their future state.

Body of French hostage discovered in Mali – French media

The body of kidnapped French geologist Philippe Verdon was found in northern Mali on Sunday, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported. He was taken hostage in November 2011 and may have died several weeks ago, according to French President Hollande, who spoke about the matter in his Bastille Day speech. His death has not yet been officially confirmed by France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which merely stated that a body had been found. However, DNA checks showed that the body was that of Verdon, RFI reported, adding that his remains will be taken back to France in the coming days. Al-Qaeda’s arm in the Islamic Maghreb region claimed to have beheaded Verdon in response to France’s intervention in Mali last March.

Merkel says NSA is nothing like Stasi

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to compare US electronic surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden last month with the activities of the defunct East German security agency Stasi. “Such comparisons only lead to a trivialization of what the Stasi did to people,” the politician told Die Welt magazine. The parallel has been widely drawn by German journalists and politicians, and internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom collaborated with visual artist Oliver Bienkowski to project the words “United Stasi of America” onto the walls of the US embassy in Berlin earlier this week.

15 killed in Iraqi Ramadan bombings

At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in a wave of explosions which struck cities south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Sunday, AP reported. Police say the bombs went off shortly before the evening iftar meal that ends the daylong fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Four people were killed in the city of Karbala, five in Nasiriyah, and six in the town of Musayyib. The death toll was confirmed by hospital officials.

4 policemen shot dead in Russia’s Dagestan

Four policemen were killed Sunday in Russia’s North Caucasus province of Dagestan when unidentified gunmen attacked their car, local investigators said. The police officers were returning back from a village of Burshi, where they investigated a theft case some 100 km (62 miles) south-west of regional capital Makhachkala, when their car was shot at by two assailants. The wounded officers were taken to the hospital where they died of blood loss, a police spokesperson told the media.

19 alleged militants killed in Pakistan

Nineteen alleged militants have been killed in Pakistan. Two of the suspected insurgents were killed by a US drone strike. Their identities have not yet been revealed. The other 17 suspected militants were killed by the Pakistan Air Force, security officials said in Sunday. An unnamed military source told Reuters that the airstrikes had taken place “somewhere between Orakzai and Khyber.” At least seven hideouts were destroyed and 13 people wounded during the military operation, other security officials said. Pakistan has seen a large number of militant attacks since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office last month, vowing to curb the insurgency.

Over 55.000 Congolese refugees flee to Uganda

The number of Congolese refugees to Uganda exceeded 55.000 late Saturday and increased by nearly 20.000 compared with the day before. Thousands of newcomers temporarily settle at schools in Bundibugyo, about 20km (12 miles) from the border with Congo. Mass exodus began as the town of Kamango in the northernmost part of DR Congo’s North Kivu province was attacked Thursday by a Ugandan-led rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces, which was formed in the mid-1990s

Former ambassador to US becomes Egypt’s foreign minister

Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the US, was appointed foreign minister on Sunday in the interim government formed after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi. Fahmy’s predecessor Mohamed Kamel Amr left his post as he believed the new stage of transition required a new minister, adding that he will continue to run ministry affairs until a replacement is appointed. Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawy is continuing talks on the cabinet, which is expected to be formed this week.

Driver blamed for massive road collision in Moscow detained

The truck driver responsible for the gruesome Moscow road accident where 18 people, including a child, were killed and over 40 injured, is being detained for 48 hours. Moscow investigators have begun questioning the driver, who is currently in a hospital. A 46-year-old driver survived the accident as he was thrown out of his own vehicle after ignoring the right of passage rule when turning on to the primary road and crashing into a city bus, tearing it in two. The driver has been fined seven times this year alone for traffic violations, Moscow police stated.

Spain PM faces calls to resign over slush fund scandal

Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy faced calls to step down over a slush fund scandal roiling his ruling Popular Party, the issue blew up again after the publication of friendly mobile text messages he purportedly sent to the disgraced treasurer at the heart of the affair. The leader of Spain’s main opposition Socialist Party, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, said he was severing all contact with the prime minister and his party on Saturday. “Given the unsustainable political situation in Spain, the Socialist Party calls for the immediate resignation of Mariano Rajoy as head of the government,” he told reporters in Madrid. “Mr Rajoy’s conduct in this situation can be summarised quite simply: silence, lies, and after what we have learned today, collusion, extremely serious collusion,” Rubalcaba said.

7 injured as helicopter makes emergency landing in Russia

Seven people have been injured in the emergency landing of the Mi-8 helicopter in the Tomsk Region, Russia, the Emergency Ministry said. The helicopter, owned by Gazprom-Air, rolled over on its side before emergency landing. There were 17 people on board. According to preliminary reports, nobody was killed.

Canadian star found dead in Vancouver hotel room

Canadian actor Cory Monteith, best known for his role on the hit show ‘Glee’, was found dead at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. The 31-year-old star was found Saturday noon on the hotel’s 21st floor, Vancouver police said. He checked into the hotel on July 6, and was expected to check out Saturday. After Monteith missed his checkout time, hotel staff went to his room and discovered his body. Police say he was alone at the time of his death, and do not suspect foul play.

UK firefighter dies tackling major blaze

A firefighter has died tackling a major blaze in a shop in Manchester city center in the north of England, the fire service says. Stephen Hunt was part of a team of 60 firefighters responding to the fire at the store-room of a shop in Oldham Street. The 38-year-old man and a fellow firefighter got into difficulties on Saturday night. Both were rescued and taken to hospital, where Hunt died, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said.

​ Thousands take to Tel Aviv streets to protest Israel’s economic policies

Thousands of people marched on Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on Saturday, marking the two-year anniversary of social protests against the high cost of living and economic policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minster Yair Lapid. The organizers planned a vigil to last until Sunday morning, marking two years since the massive street demonstrations of 2011. Protesters blocked traffic in downtown Tel Aviv as police declared the demonstration illegal and attempted to disperse the crowd. Protesters shouted, “Bibi [Netanyahu] and [deposed Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi are the same revolution.” One person was arrested in the protest, which lasted until midnight. The city’s mayoral candidate, Nitzan Horowitz, told Haaretz that the demonstrations are “more just than ever…People are crying out for two years, and the problem only gets worse.” He added that Lapid – who essentially built up his popularity by supporting the previous protests – has turned into a servant of the same system, enacting worse budget laws than his predecessors. The leader of the 2011 protest has called on Lapid to step down, hoping this year’s demonstration will provide “an opening for a new season of protest,”underlining that it is not about food or medicine, but that “a response to thieves must be revolution” – one that belongs to everyone, not just the middle classes.

18 killed in stampede at boxing match in Indonesia

At least 18 people were killed in a stadium stampede after spectators rioted to protest a local boxer’s loss in a championship match in eastern Indonesia, police said on Monday. The victims, mostly women, were trampled to death as about 1,500 spectators scrambled out the stadium to escape the riot that broke out just before midnight Sunday, said Lt. Col. Gede Sumerta Jaya, police spokesman in Papua province. Kota Lama Sport Stadium in the town of Nabire had only two working exits. Points awarded by a panel of judges decided the championship match for the Bupati Cup, or Regent Cup. The losing boxer’s supporters threw chairs at the judges and the winner’s supporters responded by throwing bottles and broken chairs, panicking people in the stadium, Jaya said.

Media agencies