Global News

22 08 2013

Rockets from Lebanon hit Israel, no casualties

At least two rockets fired from Lebanon hit northern Israel on Thursday, Israeli police and Lebanese security sources said. There were no reports of casualties or damage. A security source in Lebanon said two rockets were fired, but Israeli police said it appeared that at least three had struck, Reuters reported. Israeli media say that one of the rockets was intercepted by the “Iron Dome” anti-missile system. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Human Rights Watch urges Egypt authorities to protect churches

Egyptian authorities must protect churches and Christian homes and businesses from attack and Islamists must stop inciting sectarian violence, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. The group said it had documented attacks on 42 churches and dozens of Christian institutions, schools and homes across the country. It added that at least four people were reported killed in sectarian violence, three Christians and one Muslim. The group also said that Islamists, including ousted president Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, had failed to properly condemn the violence and prevent future attacks.

Greek state broadcaster resumes programming

Greece’s new state television channel began airing news programs Wednesday, two months after the government’s abrupt closure of the broadcaster, ERT, led to a political crisis. The conservative-led government abruptly shuttered ERT in June and fired all 2,700 staff, citing the need to cut costs. ERT’s sacked workers then took over the company’s headquarters in Athens and continued to produce programs. The European Broadcasting Union streamed their broadcasts by satellite and on its website. The union announced earlier this week that it would halt its streaming. More than 500 people had been hired on a two-month contract for Greece’s new interim state public television.

German woman attacked by shark in Hawaii dies

A young German woman who was attacked by a shark and had her right arm bitten off died Wednesday at a hospital in Hawaii, medics said. Jana Lutteropp, 20, passed away at Maui Memorial Medical Center after spending days on life support and in a critical condition, AFP reported. She had been snorkeling in murky waters not far from the shore on the island of Maui when she was attacked by a shark last Wednesday.

Egypt prosecutor orders prison to release Mubarak

An Egyptian prosecutor has ordered a Cairo prison to release deposed President Hosni Mubarak, an official in the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday. Written instructions have been sent to Tora Prison to release Mubarak, Reuters quoted the official as saying. The former Egyptian leader was toppled in a revolt in 2011.

Japan says 2 Russian bombers briefly entered airspace

The Japanese Defense and Foreign Ministries have claimed two Russian bombers briefly entered Japan’s airspace near its major southern island of Kyushu on Thursday. The two TU-95 bombers allegedly arrived shortly after noon on Thursday for less than two minutes, Reuters reported, citing the ministries. Japan scrambled F-2 combat jets in response. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said he was unaware of the reports and would look into them.

Syrian opposition claims bodies still being found after alleged chemical attack

Bodies are still being discovered after an alleged chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus that reportedly killed hundreds of people, a Syrian opposition spokesman said on Thursday. “We expect the number [of dead] to grow because we just discovered a neighborhood in Zamalka where there are houses full of dead people,” Reuters quoted Syrian National Coalition spokesman Khaled Saleh as saying. The opposition has demanded that UN chemical weapons inspectors investigate the besieged rebel-held region outside the capital.

Retired US sailor guilty of attempted espionage

A federal jury has convicted Robert Patrick Hoffman II, a retired sailor from Virginia Beach, of trying to pass classified information to “Russian spies.” The jury unanimously rejected on Wednesday his defense that he was trying to lure his handlers into a trap. Hoffman, 40, a petty officer first class who retired in 2011, is to be sentenced December 2 in US District Court and faces up to life in prison for the one count of attempted espionage. The FBI opened the investigation in 2012. According to testimony, Hoffman, passed classified information to undercover FBI agents posing as Russian intelligence officers.

Czech President Zeman to dissolve parliament on August 28

Czech President Milos Zeman will formally dissolve the lower house of parliament on August 28, Reuters quoted his spokeswoman as saying on Thursday. The deputies voted to disband the chamber earlier this week. The president must now call an early election within 60 days, and Zeman is expected to call the vote for October 25 and 26.

Miranda’s lawyers apply for interim injunction over seized data

David Miranda’s lawyers have applied for injunction to stop UK government and police copying data seized at Heathrow. Lawyers for partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald were to present the case for injunction at high court on Thursday. They had applied for an interim injunction to prevent the police or the government using, copying or sharing any of the data they may have taken from his laptop, phone and other electronic equipment they seized at Heathrow, The Guardian said. The defense says the Metropolitan police misused Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and had no powers to detain a transit passenger who had not formally entered the UK or Northern Ireland.

Tunisian Islamists accept union plan for elections

Tunisia’s governing Islamists moved closer to negotiations with secular opponents on Thursday by agreeing in principle to a plan for a transition toward new elections. The UGTT trade union federation, which is mediating between Ennahda and its opponents, has proposed that the government step down and let a neutral interim cabinet prepare new elections, Reuters said. Ennahda rejected this in the past but changed course this week. Rached Ghannouchi, chairman of the Islamist Ennahda party, said the talks could resolve the political crisis.

Gunmen kill 5 people in northern Iraq

Gunmen killed five people, including two soldiers, in Iraq on Thursday, officials said. Four people were killed in the northern province of Nineveh, including two soldiers, and another was wounded, AFP reported. There were two separate attacks, one of them targeting a checkpoint. In the northern city of Kirkuk, gunmen kidnapped and executed a lawyer. Also, a car bomb in a government car park wounded four people, police said.

All ‘red lines’ crossed in Syria – Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that “all red lines” had been crossed in Syria. However, the UN Security Council “has not even been able to take a decision,” Reuters quoted the minister as saying in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack. “This is a responsibility for the sides who still set these red lines and for all of us,” Davutoglu said in Berlin.

Thai court hands Iranian life sentence over botched Bangkok bombing

An Iranian man who blew off his own legs was sentenced to life in prison by a Thai court on Thursday for his involvement in a botched bomb plot that rocked Bangkok on February 14, 2012, in which five people were wounded by a series of blasts. A court found Saeid Moradi, 29, guilty of attempted murder in an attack that authorities say was intended to target Israeli diplomats, Reuters reported. A second defendant, Mohammad Khazaei, 43, was given 15 years in jail for possession of explosive devices. The explosions have been linked to a car-bomb attack on the wife of an Israeli diplomat in India and a third, unsuccessful attack in Georgia a day earlier.

Disgraced China politician Bo Xilai goes on trial

Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, one of the most senior party leaders to fall from power in years, went on trial Thursday, charged with abuse of power and netting more than $4 million in bribery and embezzlement. None of the charges against Bo appear to involve the widespread human rights abuses alleged to have been carried out during his unfettered rule as Chongqing party chief. The scandal was triggered last year when Bo’s police chief fled to a US consulate, an event that embarrassed the party’s leadership ahead of a key political transition.Media agencies