CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – Egypt’s former anti-corruption chief was sentenced Thursday to one year in prison on charges of having exaggerated the impact of graft on the country. Hisham Geneina, head of the Central Auditing Authority until his dismissal in March by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, was also ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (around $2,000). The retired judge’s troubles began after he quoted a study by the authority based on 2012-2015 reports that […]
International
Indonesia rejects international pleas to halt executions
CILACAP, Indonesia (AFP) – by Muhammad Azka Indonesia on Thursday rejected mounting international pressure and desperate pleas from relatives to halt the execution of 14 drug convicts who are expected to imminently face the firing squad. The group, including foreigners from Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe as well as Indonesians, have been placed in isolation on a prison island where Jakarta carries out executions. Authorities stepped up preparations, with ambulances seen transporting coffins over to the […]
Turkey reshuffles military after half of generals fired
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) by Stuart WILLIAMS Raziye AKKOC Turkey’s top military commanders met Thursday to replace almost half of their generals in a radical shake-up after the failed coup, as authorities shut down dozens of media outlets in a widening crackdown. The hastily-convened meeting came after the government ordered the discharge of 149 generals — nearly half of the armed forces’ entire contingent of 358 — for alleged complicity in the putsch bid. Separately, a total […]
Olympic torch riot deepens Rio Games woes
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) by Sebastian Smith A riot during the Olympic torch relay cast a shadow over the Rio Games starting in just over a week Thursday, marking a new low in a ritual that had been meant to unite Brazil. The torch is nearing the end of a 300-city relay that will end with the lighting of the Olympic flame in the Maracana stadium at the opening ceremony on August 5. But […]
Olympics: UK anti-doping chief hails ‘innovative’ swimming tests
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – The head of United Kingdom Anti-Doping believes a partnership programme of pre-Olympic drug tests conducted by world swimming governing body FINA and 15 national anti-doping agencies will help “safeguard the integrity” of events in the pool at the Rio Games. FINA announced a Games ban on seven Russian swimmers on Monday, a day after the International Olympic Committee caused widespread controversy by declining to impose a blanket suspension on Russia, despite evidence […]
Mexico moves jailed drug lord to house arrest
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) by Jennifer GONZALEZ COVARRUBIAS Mexican authorities transferred aging drug lord Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo to house arrest Thursday after serving 31 years in prison for the killing of a US undercover agent. Eduardo Guerrero, head of Mexico’s penitentiary system, said Fonseca Carrillo was moved to a house near Mexico City before dawn to finish the last nine years of his 40-year sentence following a judge’s order. “We tried for more than a year […]
Miami blood donations halted over Zika fears
MIAMI, United States (AFP) – US regulators Thursday called for a halt to blood donations in the Miami area as investigators probe four potential non-travel associated cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which can cause birth defects. If confirmed, the cases would mark the first time that mosquitoes carrying the virus are known to be present in the mainland United States. The US territory of Puerto has already seen a surge in local transmission of Zika, […]
Terror ‘contagion’ hits a fragile Europe
PARIS, FRANCE (AFP) by Joshua MELVIN The wave of terror attacks afflicting Europe is showing signs of “contagion”, experts warn, at a time when the continent is already in the throes of an existential crisis. In less than two weeks Islamic State group jihadists claimed four bloody assaults in France and Germany that killed nearly 90 people, wounded hundreds and left the continent on edge. Experts say each attack can inspire another, with jihadists egged on further […]
Obama passes torch to Clinton, warns election is test of US democracy
by Andrew BEATTY PHILADELPHIA, United States (AFP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on Democrats to carry Hillary Clinton to victory over Donald Trump, saying the 2016 White House race was not just about party politics, but the nature of American democracy. The two-term president offered potent testimony on the third night of his party’s national convention about how Clinton, his onetime rival, became an ally and trusted advisor. Painting Republican nominee Donald Trump […]
WikiLeaks releases hacked Democratic National Committee audio files
ENGLAND, United Kingdom (Reuters) — WikiLeaks released files on Wednesday (July 27) of what it said were audio recordings pulled from the emails of the Democratic National Committee that were obtained by hacking its servers. The latest release, which came in the middle of the Democratic National Convention where Hillary Clinton was officially named the party’s presidential nominee, is the second batch in a series that has deeply rattled the party and prompted the organization’s […]
Hawaiian Airlines makes another emergency landing in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Hawaiian Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Tokyo, its second such incident in Japan this month, an official said Thursday. Flight HA 442, which departed the northern Japanese city of Sapporo for Honolulu, made an emergency landing at Narita airport just outside the Japanese capital at 10:53 pm Wednesday (1353 GMT). The pilot cited an abnormality with the Boeing 767’s hydraulics system, said an official at Narita International Airport […]
Islamic state posts video of men it says were French church attackers
REUTERS — Islamic State’s news agency on Wednesday (July 27) released a video of two men it said were those who attacked a church in France in which they pledged allegiance to the group’s leader. The video was published on a social media website carrying the logo of Amaq news agency a day after two men burst into the Catholic church in Normandy during a service, forced the priest to his knees and slit his […]
