MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – by Max DELANY with Dmitry ZAKS in Kiev Russia and Ukraine stepped up security around Crimea on Thursday as tensions soared over accusations by Moscow that Kiev had attempted armed incursions into the disputed peninsula. Russia’s FSB security service said on Wednesday it had thwarted “terrorist attacks” in Crimea this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, but Kiev fiercely denied the claims. The allegations ratcheted up the […]
International
More than 27,000 dismissed from Turkish education sector since failed coup -minister
(REUTERS) Turkey has canceled the work permits of 27,424 people working in the education sector as part of its investigations into the movement of the U.S.-based cleric it blames for a failed military coup, Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Thursday. “27,424 personnel working in institutions and schools as part of the parallel state structure have had their work permits canceled,” Yilmaz told reporters in comments broadcast on several Turkish television channels. “These personnel […]
Glimpses from Gstaad, Switzerland
From Eagle News Europe Bureau
Bomb blast injures 13 in SW Pakistan days after major attack
QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — A roadside bomb apparently targeting a judge injured at least 13 people in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, officials said, days after a major attack killed most of the city’s senior lawyers. “The bomb was planted on a bridge in the city, which went off immediately after the vehicle of an Islamic court judge passed by it,” Akbar Harifal, the home secretary of southwestern Balochistan province, told AFP. The […]
Orphaned baby rhino resuscitated after its heart stops beating
SOUTH AFRICA (AFP) — Conservation workers in South Africa were quick to act when the heart of an orphaned baby rhino in their care stopped beating while it was being dehorned — a measure that deters poaching.
Trump accuses Obama of founding IS
WASHINGTON, Unted States (AFP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State (IS) group. Addressing supporters at a rally in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said the jihadist group is “honoring President Obama.” “He is the founder of ISIS,” Trump said, using a term for the IS group. “He’s the founder of ISIS, okay?” he added. “He’s the founder! He founded ISIS.” The brash […]
Clinton warns Trump ‘crossed the line’ with gun comment
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sternly warned her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump about his “casual inciting” of violence, saying his startling remarks suggesting gun rights supporters could act against her “crossed the line.” It was the Democratic nominee’s most forceful denunciation after Trump caused a firestorm by suggesting to supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday that “Second Amendment people” — those who support gun rights — could […]
Russia declares three-hour daily ceasefire in Aleppo
by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber with Karam al-Masri in Aleppo MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s defense ministry on Wednesday said it would hold fire around Syria’s ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the UN said is insufficient to meet the city’s needs. “To guarantee total security for the convoys to Aleppo there will be humanitarian windows established from 1000 to 1300 local time starting tomorrow during which […]
Trump Tower climber captured after three-hour ascent
by Jennie MATTHEW NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A man spent three hours Wednesday scaling Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, before police captured him through an open window. Live television footage showed uniformed New York police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man with curly auburn hair — dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap — some three hours after […]
After coup bid, Erdogan seeks to ride national unity wave
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS One nation. One flag. One homeland. One state. These eight words have been the key slogan of Turkish politics in the last years, strongly favoured by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a symbol of national unity. But in the months before the July 15 failed military coup, there had been precious little such unity in Turkey with the southeast riven by conflict, the opposition in a constant war […]
Abuse rife in Australian immigration centre: leaked reports
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – More than 2,000 leaked reports detailing allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in Australian immigration centres on Nauru were published Wednesday, prompting rights groups to renew calls for refugees to be resettled elsewhere. Under Canberra’s current policy, asylum-seekers arriving by boat are sent to the remote Pacific island nation of Nauru or to Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island. They will not be allowed to resettle in Australia even if […]
US report savages Baltimore police over racial bias
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – by Jennie MATTHEW A US government report on Wednesday delivered a scathing indictment of the Baltimore police department, concluding that officers had disproportionately and illegally stopped, searched and arrested African Americans for years. The Justice Department findings follow a 14-month investigation, launched after a 25-year-old black man, Freddie Gray, died from injuries sustained in police custody. His death sparked riots in a city troubled by crime, poverty and segregation problems, […]
