MOSCOW, October 24 -- The expansion of the zone of the search for “foreign submarine activity” by Sweden is heating up tension in the Baltic region, spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Friday. “Such unjustified actions of the Swedish Defence Ministry, backed by cold war rhetoric today only exacerbate tension in the region. They may result not in the strengthening of a separate country’s security, but in undermining of the foundations of marine economic activity in the Baltic Sea region,” the official said.
0 Comments
OTTAWA, October 23 -- The recent shooting in the Canadian capital could be proof that terrorism could not be fought with "double standard policies," head of the Kremlin staff, Sergei Ivanov, said Thursday. "During the war in Chechnya we openly stressed that terrorism and extremism is not only the problem of Russia. Ten years have past since then, and what is happening today with extremism, including yesterday's events in Ottawa, in my opinion, is a clear proof of that," Ivanov told reporters. "Terrorism could be fought effectively only in joint effort and without double standards," Ivanov stressed. On Wednesday morning, a gunman shot dead a soldier guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa and then proceeded to Parliament Hill's Center Block where he was killed in a shootout with a policeman. Local media reported that gunshots were also fired Wednesday in the Canadian Parliament building and a mall in downtown Ottawa. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the public following the incident saying that Canada lacks immunity from terror attacks. On Monday, two members of the Canadian Armed Forces were attacked in the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. One of the soldiers died after the hit-and-run, while the other sustained less severe injuries. Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney said Tuesday that the attack was linked to terrorism. Also on Tuesday, Russia's Ambassador to Austria, Sergei Nechayev stressed that the threat of terrorism can only be eliminated by a large international coalition. The ambassador noted that NATO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, comprising Russia and five other post-Soviet nations, could form a "natural alliance" to counter terrorism, but NATO keeps rejecting such forms of cooperation. ANKARA, October 23 -- The Turkish president has said he is expecting 200 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters will head from Iraq to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani through Turkey after authorities agreed their passage. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he had learned of the agreement to send the fighters, while Kurdish authorities in Iraq said preparations were ongoing for the deployment. "I have learned that they finally reached agreement on a figure of 200," he said during a visit to Latvia. A senior Iraqi Kurdish official was meanwhile quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that the fighters would be equipped with heavier weapons than those being used by fighters already in Kobani. The Peshmerga fighters are being sent to Kobane to fight ISIS, which has for weeks pressed an offensive to capture the town in the face of an intense, US-led bombing campaign. US central command said it launched four attacks on Kobani over Wednesday and Thursday, destroying ISIS fighting positions, an ISIS vehicle and an ISIS command and control centre. It also attacked ISIS oil-holding tanks East of Deir Ezzor. Turkey early this week agreed to allow them to transit through its territory and cross the border into Syria to defend the town. The parliament of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday approved sending its fighters. The US on Monday also dropped 21 tonnes of supplies provided by Iraqi Kurds to fighters already inside Kobani. However, the Turkish president on Thursday renewed criticism of the US airdrop, describing the main Kurdish force already defending the town as a "terrorist" group. "Did Turkey view this business positively? No it didn't," he said. The Kurds fighting in Kobani include forces affiliated with Syria’s Democratic Union Party, known by its Kurdish acronym PYD. Turkey opposes arming PYD because it is allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands. ROTTERDAM, October 23 -- Anglo-Dutch food to detergent group Unilever saw sales fall 2% to €12.2bn in the third quarter of this year, as the poor European summer had a impact on ice cream sales. The company said unfavourable interest rates and weaker markets, particularly China, were to blame for the continued downturn. Sales were already down 5.5% at €24bn in the first half, the trading statement said. ‘We expect markets to remain tough for at least the remainder of the year,’ chief executive Paul Polman said. ‘We have further accelerated our initiatives to remove unnecessary cost, simplify the business and ensure that Unilever is both agile and resilient.’ Analysts described the results as disappointing and Unilever shares fell 3% in early trading in Amsterdam. WASHINGTON, October 23 -- A man who jumped over the White House fence has been apprehended by Secret Service agents, a spokesperson for the US agency has said, in the second such incident to happen in a few weeks. Video released on Wednesday showed the agents and their dogs surrounding the man on the north lawn of the White House, which was put on lockdown "The individual was immediately taken into custody on the north lawn of the White House by Secret Service Uniformed Division K-9 teams and Uniformed Division Officers," the spokesperson said. The fence climber was identified as 23-year-old Dominic Adesanya from Marlyand, near the US capital. "Charges are pending. Adesanya was unarmed at the time of his arrest," the spokesperson said Adesanya was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, the Secret Service said. It was not clear if US President Barack Obama or members of his family were inside the building during the latest incident. On September 19, an intruder armed with a knife jumped a fence and sprinted across the official residence of the president, and managed to run inside the building. The incident prompted a review of the security measures at the president's residence, and the eventual resignation of the head of the Secret Service. SYDNEY, October 23 -- Australian authorities have alerted Indonesia that wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may wash up on its coastline. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is leading the search for the aircraft off the coast of Western Australia, said in its latest operational update on Wednesday that floating debris from the aircraft may have drifted west away from Australia 's western coastline and towards Indonesia. The missing plane disappeared in March with 239 people on board, and despite an extensive search, there has been no sign of any part of the aircraft. ATSB said it had informed Indonesian authorities about finding possible aircraft debris. The bureau said members of the Australian public have reported finding material washed up on the Australian coastline thinking it was the MH370. "The ATSB reviews all of this correspondence carefully, but drift modelling undertaken by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has suggested that if there were any floating debris, it is far more likely to have traveled west, away from the coastline of Australia," the ATSB said. A new underwater search began in October and so far approximately 1,200 square km of the ocean floor has been covered. The search is focusing on a long, narrow arc in the southern Indian Ocean where MH370 made its last satellite communication. The updated, highest probability search area is 60,000 square km and is expected to take vessels one year to cover. Earlier this month, ATSB chief commissioner Martin Dolan told local media that while there was no certainty, there was a "high probability" that the wreckage of the plane would be found in the new search area. "There are a range of scenarios that would fit the data, it's just that some are more likely than others and there is a high probability that the aircraft will be found close to the ark," Dolan said. TEHRAN, October 23 -- National carrier Iran Air receives parts, ending a 35-year break in business prohibited under decades of US sanctions. Boeing has sold plane parts to Iran Air, the first time it has done business with the Tehran's national carrier since the 1979 hostage crisis, the US aviation firm reported. The sales generated $120,000 in revenue, Boeing said, ending a 35-year break in business between the two air companies prohibited under decades of US sanctions. "During the third quarter of 2014, we sold aircraft manuals, drawings, and navigation charts and data to Iran Air," Boeing said in its quarterly report. The sales earned Boeing $12,000 in gross profits, according to the report. In April, the US government issued a license allowing Boeing, for a "limited period of time," to provide "spare parts that are for safety purposes" to Iran. Boeing is still not allowed to sell new planes to Iran. The license was granted by the US Treasury Department in the context of an interim deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear programme signed in November. Boeing said the parts were purchased "consistent with guidance from the US government in connection with ongoing negotiations." The US company said more parts could be sold to Iran Air in the future. "We may engage in additional sales pursuant to this license," it added. Iran Air's fleet includes Boeing airplanes acquired before the 1979 revolution. Other US companies have said they want to conduct business with Iran under the sanctions ease, including General Electric, which in February requested permission to sell spare airliner parts to Iran. Washington severed diplomatic relations with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. The United States and European nations have imposed severe economic sanctions on Iran in recent years, aiming to pressure Tehran to dramatically reduce its nuclear programme for a lengthy period of time to keep it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has steadfastly insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. OTTAWA, October 23 -- The Canadian capital of Ottawa is on high security alert after a series of deadly shootings hit the city on Wednesday morning first taking place at the War Memorial, where a soldier was shot dead, and then moving on to the country’s parliament. At approximately 9:50 a.m. a suspect clad in black and reportedly carrying a double-barrel shotgun fired at a guard of honor at the World War One War Memorial in downtown Ottawa and then, according to eyewitnesses, ran in the direction of the country’s parliament. Shortly after the attack at the War Memorial, gunfire erupted inside the Parliament, where an armed suspect attempted to battle his way through the building, wounding at least two law enforcers on his way. The suspect was killed by police in return fire. The Canadian Press reported that it was Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons and 29-year RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) veteran, who shot the gunman in the parliament. According to CNN, the killed gunman, who went on a shooting spree in Ottawa, was identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian-born citizen. “Two sources tell CNN that Bibeau was a convert to Islam and had a history of drug use before he converted,” CNN reported. However, there was no official confirmation that the gunman killed in the parliament and the one involved in the shooting at the War Memorial earlier in the day were the same person, while, according to CNN, police Ottawa was looking for more suspects involved in the shooting rampage. "We have to apprehend and arrest the people that are involved in this morning's incident," CNN quoted Ottawa Police Constable Chuck Benoit as saying, "and at this time we don't have these people." The guard of honor, shot dead at the War Memorial, was identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a reservist based out of Hamilton, Ontario. CNN cited one of the witnesses at the shooting scene near the War Memorial as saying that Cirillo was shot in the back. "I was locking my bike up, and I heard four shots," CNN quoted Peter Henderson, a journalist who was at the memorial at the time of the shooting, as saying. "I saw one of the soldiers laying on the ground." The Canadian Press cited one of the witnesses, Scott Walsh, as saying that during the incident he saw “a man with long, black hair, his face covered with a white scarf and wearing a black jacket.” “He had a double-barrelled shotgun, he was about five feet from me, and he ran right beside us, ran past the woman with the stroller and child,” Walsh was quoted as saying. The Parliament was locked down immediately after the shooting and Prime Minister Stephen Harper safely left the building as police was cordoning off the area. The series of deadly Ottawa shootings swiftly provoked international concern on behalf of world leaders, who expressed their condolences. US President Barack Obama spoke with Harper after the shootings and later told journalists that time needed to establish motivations behind the tragic events and whether it was an individual act or a part of a broader conspiracy. "We don't yet have all the information about what motivated the shooting. We don't yet have all the information about whether this was part of a broader network, or plan, or whether this was an individual, or series of individuals, who decided to take these actions,” Obama told journalists. PYONGYANG, October 22 -- Pyongyang has released Jeffrey Fowle, one of three Americans being held captive by North Korea (DPRK), the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Wednesday. The US citizen has been released “pursuant to President Barack Obama’s repeated requests,” the agency said. “The US citizen who arrived in DPRK as a tourist on April 29, committed actions in violation of the country’s law,” KCNA reported previously. Fowle was detained in April after apparently leaving a Bible in the bathroom of a nightclub in the northern port of Chongjin. In September, the Supreme Court of North Korea sentenced to six years of hard labour American Matthew Miller who was kept in custody since April 2014. According to KCNA, he confessed “to committing hostile acts against DPRK where he arrived this April as a tourist.”Another US citizen of Korean descent Pae Jun Ho, known as Kenneth Bae by US authorities, was found guilty in an April 30, 2013 trial of “hostile acts to bring down its government” and planning anti-North Korea religious activities. He was sentenced to 15 years in a North Korean labour camp. The American was arrested in Rason City in the northeast of North Korea on November 3, 2012. He arrived in North Korea as a tourist. DPRK and the United States have no diplomatic relations. The interests of Washington in Pyongyang are represented by the Swedish embassy. The two countries’ bilateral political tension has been maintained over many years. LONDON, October 22 -- British police have taken a 25-year-old woman into custody on suspicion of terrorism offences related to the ongoing civil war in Syria, officials have said. London's counter terrorism command said on Wednesday that officers had arrested the woman in Bedfordshire, north of the capital, on suspicion of preparing terrorism acts. The police said she had been taken to a police station in London for questioning. Two addresses in Bedfordshire were being searched, they added. Last week, four men were charged with swearing allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), who have seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, and preparing to launch an attack on policemen or soldiers in the capital. On Tuesday, London police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said at least five Britons were travelling to Iraq and Syria every week to fight for ISIS, while the authorities estimate that about 500 Britons have already travelled to the region to join the fighting. Mark Rowley, Britain's national policing spokesman for counter-terrorism, said last week that the police had made 218 arrests so far this year, and that detectives were carrying out security investigations at an "exceptionally high" pace not seen in years.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is safe and has left Parliament Hill, according to Canadian TV quoting his office. The shooting comes two days after an Islamic convert ran down two Canadian soldiers near Montreal, killing one of them. One witness, Marc-Andre Viau, told the AFP news agency that he saw a man run into a meeting inside parliament, chased by police who yelled "take cover". That was followed by "10, 15, maybe 20 shots", possibly from an automatic weapon, he said. The gunman was described as heavy set and disguising his face with a scarf. People fled parliament by scrambling down scaffolding being used in renovations, witnesses told the Canadian Press news agency. The spokesman for the prime minister, Stephen Harper, said Harper was safe and had left Parliament Hill. Canada raised its terrorism threat level from low to medium hours before the attack, the highest it has been for four years. The incident comes two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over - and one of them killed - in Quebec. VOLGOGRAD, October 22 -- McDonald’s restaurants, located in Volgograd region in the south-east of Russia, was fined for ice-cream and fish meals containing coliform bacteria On Wednesday the Arbitration Tribunal of Russia’s Volgograd region put a $3,600 fine on the local restaurant of international fast food chain McDonald’s for sanitary standards violation. One of five McDonald’s restaurants, located in Volgograd region in the south-east of Russia, was fined for ice-cream and fish meals containing coliform bacteria, attorney of the regional consumer rights’ protection service Vladimir Smirnov told TASS. Starting this summer, Russia’s consumer watchdog has been inspecting McDonald’s chain, which includes 435 restaurants in 85 Russian cities. As a result, more than 200 fast food outlets have been thoroughly inspected, nine of which were closed and others fined for sanitary norms violations. Eventually, McDonald’s net profit in the country has slashed 30% in the third quarter of 2014, reaching $1 billion. |
Thank you for choosing to make a difference through your donation. We appreciate your support.
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategories
All
Archives
April 2024
|