Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko has quit talks with President Viktor Yanukovich, saying that no progress had been possible. The discussions were held after the deadliest day so far of the current crisis. Klitschko said that he had quit talks after Yanukovich made an unconditional demand that the central square in Kiev be cleared. “Unfortunately, I bring nothing good from the talks,” he said. “The government must immediately withdraw troops and put an end to […]
International
Thai protesters to rally against PM after deadly Bangkok clashes
(Reuters) – Protesters seeking to oust Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra plan to rally at her temporary office on Wednesday, creating another potential flashpoint a day after five people were killed in gun battles in Bangkok. A security official said police would not attempt to retake more protest sites and would focus on protecting Yingluck, whose problems are mounting after an anti-corruption agency filed charges against her over a soured rice subsidy scheme. The protests […]
NZ court rules Megaupload warrant legal, dealing blow to Dotcom
(Reuters) – A New Zealand court on Wednesday ruled that the search warrant used in the arrest of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom on U.S. online piracy charges was legal, dealing a blow to the internet entrepreneur who is fighting extradition to the United States. Acting on the request of U.S. authorities, the New Zealand government successfully appealed a 2012 ruling that police used illegal warrants when they arrested the tycoon in January 2012 at his […]
Several injured when Montana-bound United flight hits turbulence
(Reuters) – Three flight attendants and a number of passengers were injured after a United Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence as it approached a Montana airport, an airline spokesman said on Tuesday. One passenger, Bill Dahlin, told Billings television station KTVQ there was a lot of screaming when the airplane dropped sharply during its descent on Monday, and a woman struck her head on the ceiling so hard a panel cracked. The three flight attendants […]
Venezuela opposition leader surrenders, protesters flood streets
(Reuters) – Venezuelan security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of his angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas. Crowds of white-clad protesters tried to block the vehicle carrying the 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist after he made a defiant speech, said an emotional farewell to his family, and gave himself up to soldiers. Opposition leaders hope Lopez’s arrest […]
Ukraine police charge protesters after nation’s bloodiest day
(Reuters) – Ukrainian riot police charged protesters occupying a central Kiev square early on Wednesday after the bloodiest day since the former Soviet republic, caught in a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West, won its independence. Police battled their way into Independence Square, center of three months of protests against President Viktor Yanukovich, and demonstrators, some armed with clubs and wearing helmets and body armor, were losing ground. Smoke billowed from burning tents and […]
U.N. rights commissioner urges prosecution of North Korean crimes
GENEVA Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:52pm EST (Reuters) – U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged world powers on Tuesday to refer North Korea to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following a U.N. report documenting crimes against humanity. North Korean security chiefs and possibly even Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un himself should face international justice for ordering systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities, U.N. investigators said on […]
Egyptian militants warn tourists to leave or face attack
(Reuters) – A militant Islamist group has warned tourists to leave Egypt and threatened to attack any who stay in the country after February 20, raising the prospect of a new front in a fast-growing insurgency. The Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed two South Korean tourists and an Egyptian on Sunday, made the statement on an affiliated Twitter account. “We recommend tourists to get out safely […]
Winter Weather Packs Another Punch In Parts Of U.S
A new round of winter weather walloped the Philadelphia region on Tuesday (February 18). Area residents awoke to a fresh blanket of snow early in the morning and local media images from South Philly showed highways covered in white ahead of the morning commute. Further east, similar scenes were reported from Delaware Countyprompting concern that the new layer of snow was covering icy spots left behind by earlier snow storms. The snow has forced schools and businesses in […]
Four killed in Thai clashes; PM to face charges over rice scheme
(Reuters) – Gun battles erupted between Thai police and anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Tuesday and four people were killed and dozens wounded as authorities made their most determined effort yet to clear demonstrators from the streets. In a day of tangled developments in Thailand’s long-running political crisis, the country’s anti-corruption body announced it was filing charges against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra relating to a rice subsidy scheme that has fuelled middle-class opposition to her […]
Ukraine government gives protesters ultimatum during deadly day in Kyiv
The Ukrainian government has issued an ultimatum to protesters to clear Kyiv’s Independence Square or face police action. The announcement came amid an escalation in tensions and reports of fatalities. A statement on the website of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry on Tuesday afternoon warned demonstrators to halt protest action by 1800 (1600 UTC). If protesters refused to clear out from occupied sites, “we will be forced to restore order with all legal means,” the Interior Ministry […]
Bomb attacks in Baghdad and southern Iraq city kill 49
(Reuters) – Bombs exploded in predominantly Shi’ite Muslim districts of the Iraqi capital and in the southern city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 49 people, police and hospital sources said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Shi’ites are often targeted by Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining ground in Iraq over the past year and overran several towns in recent weeks. The deadliest attacks on Tuesday occurred […]