The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, announced the appointment of Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett as a global Goodwill Ambassador on Monday (May 2). The announcement comes as Blanchett returns from a mission to Jordan to witness the ongoing humanitarian operation for people displaced by the conflict in Syria. She met Syrian refugee families to hear first-hand about the perilous journeys they had undertaken and the daily challenges they face. “I am deeply proud to […]
International
Trump eyes knockout blow against Cruz in Indiana
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — Donald Trump is aiming for a thumping victory Tuesday in Indiana to squelch lingering doubts about his viability as the Republican presidential nominee and pivot toward presumptive Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton. The “stop Trump” movement faces a moment of truth in the Midwestern state, as the campaign of chief challenger Ted Cruz struggles to win over voters ahead of its potentially decisive primary. Polls open at […]
Guatemala arrests dozens of gang members in raids
GUATEMALA CITY ,Guatemala (AFP) — Security forces on Monday launched raids on one of the biggest gangs in Guatemala, arresting 72 suspected members of a cell specializing in extortion, officials said. More than 120 raids were carried out by nearly 300 law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the south, center and northeast of the country. “The operation is focused on fighting the scourge of extortion,” the chief state prosecutor, Thelma Aldana, told a news conference. […]
Anti-Muslim acts triple in France in 2015: report
PARIS , France (AFP) — Anti-Muslim acts in France tripled in 2015, with peaks in activity coming after two sets of deadly terror attacks, a government advisory commission said Monday. A total of 429 anti-Muslim threats or hate crimes were reported last year, up from 133 in 2014, according to a report from France’s National Human Rights Commission (CNCDH). Two “peaks” in abuse came after jihadists attacked satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and […]
U.S.: NATO weighs four battalions in Eastern states to deter Russia
(REUTERS) The NATO alliance is weighing rotating four battalions of troops through Eastern member states, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, in the latest proposal by allies to guard against aggressive behavior by Russia. The Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which joined NATO in 2004, have requested greater presence of the alliance, fearing a threat from Russia after it annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Carter acknowledged NATO […]
EU set to extend Schengen border controls
BRUSSELS, Belgium – AFP The EU is set this week to allow countries to extend border controls in the passport-free Schengen area as a result of the migrant crisis and recent terror attacks following a request by five countries, European sources said Monday. Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Sweden wrote to the European Commission saying the border situation remains “extremely volatile” and asking them to prolong their right to keep frontier checks. “We have a […]
Kerry sees hope of extending truce to Syria’s Aleppo
(Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday talks were closer to extending a Syrian truce to Aleppo, the divided northern city where a sharp escalation of violence in recent weeks has torpedoed peace talks. Kerry was in Geneva for talks with other dignitaries to try to revive the first major ceasefire of the five-year Syrian war, which was put in place in February with U.S. and Russian backing but has since all […]
Denmark extends controls on German border, EU set to authorize more
(Reuters) Denmark extended temporary controls at its border with Germany on Monday, imposed to help control an influx of migrants, as the European Commission confirmed it would shortly authorize more such extensions within the passport-free Schengen zone. Seven members of the Schengen zone, including Germany and Denmark, have introduced temporary border controls after more than one million migrants entered the European Union last year, mostly via Greece. The European Commission, struggling to prevent the […]
Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright says he created Bitcoin
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) by Katherine Haddon Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright on Monday identified himself as the creator of Bitcoin, following years of speculation about who invented the pioneering digital currency. Wright was identified by three media outlets — the BBC, The Economist and GQ magazine — and posted a blog on the subject on his website. However, in a defiant interview with the BBC, he insisted that he would have preferred his identity to remain secret […]
EU laments ‘misconceptions’ about leaked US trade deal files
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The EU hit out Monday at “misconceptions” over leaked documents about a planned free trade deal with the United States that are said to show it poses risks to the climate, environment and consumers. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem insisted that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) said the papers released by Greenpeace merely reflected negotiating positions by Washington and Brussels. Malmstroem said “there seems to be quite a number of […]
China trains ‘fishing militia’ to sail into disputed waters
(Reuters) The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the disputed South China Sea. The training and support includes exercises at sea and requests to fishermen to gather information on foreign vessels, provincial government officials, regional diplomats and fishing company executives said in recent interviews. “The […]
IHS: Islamic State boosts attacks in response to territorial losses
(REUTERS) Islamic State attacks have increased this year, particularly in Iraq and Syria as the group responds to substantial territorial losses, a U.S.-based analysis firm IHS said on Sunday. There were 891 attacks during the first quarter of 2016 in neighbors Iraq and Syria, more than in any three-month period since the militants’ sweeping advance in mid-2014, IHS said in a new report. Those attacks killed 2,150 people, a 44 percent rise over the […]
