Russia accuses Ukraine of provoking incident in Kerch Strait, Security Council meeting November 2726/11/2018 MOSCOW, November 26 -- Russia’s foreign ministry on Monday accused Ukraine of deliberately provoking an incident in the Kerch Strait near Crimea in which Russia seized three Ukrainian vessels.
Moscow will summon a senior Ukrainian diplomat to complain about the incident, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on state television. Russia on Sunday seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat, which Moscow said had illegally entered Russia’s territorial waters. Meanwhile the UN Security Council will convene an urgent meeting on the situation in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said. "An emergency Security Council meeting has been called for tomorrow at 11:00 am," Haley wrote on Twitter.
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SIMFEROPOL, November 26 -- Kerch-Yenikale Canal in the Kerch Strait is open for the movement of civil ships: they already started passing through the strait, Director General of Crimean Maritime Ports Alexei Volkov told TASS on Monday.
"The permission for vessels to move through the channel was issued at about 4 am," he noted. The vessels already started moving through the strait, he said. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) earlier reported that the Ukrainian warships Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu violated the Russian state border on Sunday morning and in the evening made another attempt to carry out illegal actions in Russia’s territorial waters. Ukraine’s ships did not react to the lawful demands of the ships and boats of the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet that followed them to stop immediately and conducted dangerous maneuvers. Weapons were used to stop the Ukrainian ships, and they were detained in Russia’s territorial waters. A criminal case was launched on the violation of the Russian state border. After the ships had started moving toward the Kerch Strait, the passage of civil ships through the strait was closed.
BEIJING, November 25 -- There have been complaints about the rising costs of iPhones, but a report in China suggests that Apple users typically earn less and are less educated than people who use other phones.
iPhone users typically bring home less than 3,000 yuan (about $433) every month, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday, citing a new study by Shanghai-based research agency MobData. It revealed a class divide among phone users, including gender, age, qualifications, wage and apps popular among them. Some details of the report are unclear, however, including the number of people who participated in the study. The study showed many iPhone users in China are seen as the "invisible poor," a group of people whose appearances don't reflect their finances. They also tend to be unmarried women aged between 18 and 34 with high school qualifications, and are more likely to use the photo app Meitu, according to the study. This isn't as unusual as it may seem as many of these iPhone users have older models, with 64.3 percent of them using an iPhone 6, 6S, 6S Plus, 7 or 7 Plus. By comparison, those who use a Huawei phone are usually more affluent, getting paid between 5,000 to 20,000 yuan (about $721 to $2,886) each month. They are also typically "high-end businessmen" who are male and married, between the ages of 25 and 34 and armed with a diploma or bachelor's degree. Many of them also own properties and cars, unlike iPhone users, and enjoy playing PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. They are also more varied in their choice of a Huawei phone model. ABU DHABI, November 25 -- Max Verstappen explained that his engine went into a safety program off the start, leading to him dropping down to P10.
The Dutchman was able to recover to finish on the podium places, ending the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in P3. The Red Bull man made it five straight podiums to end the season, including taking victory in Mexico City. Having started the race on the hypersoft tyres, he needed a good getaway, but that was not the case at Yas Marina. “It was not an easy race,” Verstappen admitted. “I had a problem off the start. “Actually the launch was good but then my engine went into, like a safety program and I had it again in the restart afterwards.” Despite the issues, and dropping down into the midfield, Verstappen was able to fight his way back, and almost get into the top two. “It was not easy but we managed to go back into a good position and put a bit of pressure on the guys ahead,” he added. “I think that we stopped quite early but I had to because I was on the hypers.” The end of the race was not easy for the Dutchman, as Pierre Gasly’s Honda engine was spewing oil in front of him as he came up to lap the Toro Rosso. “Then we managed to keep the supersoft alive and I had a good pace but the last few laps were not easy,” the Red Bull man continued. “There was a Toro Rosso leaking oil onto my helmet so I couldn’t really see where I was going but in the end, I was really happy with third.” After finishing in P3, Max Verstappen finished in P4 in the Drivers’ Championship, just two points behind Kimi Raikkonen. ABU DHABI, November 24 -- Lewis Hamilton ends his championship year in style with an 11th victory as Fernando Alonso bids farewell to the sport.
Lewis Hamilton closed out the 2018 Formula 1 season with a convincing victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit, leading home title rival Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton was able to manage his tyres well after an early pit stop to secure victory, capping off his fifth drivers’ championship win in style as McLaren's Fernando Alonso signed off from his time in F1 with a spirited run to 11th place in Abu Dhabi. Starting from pole, Hamilton managed to retain his advantage off the line, and pulled clear in the early part of the race despite a four-lap Safety Car period following a frightening roll for Nico Hulkenberg after contact with Romain Grosjean. Hulkenberg walked away from the crash shaken up but uninjured, and was quickly discharged by the medical staff. Mercedes opted to bring Hamilton in for an early pit stop at the end of Lap 7 after a Virtual Safety Car period after an issue caused Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari to stop on the main straight. Hamilton was able to save time on the pit stop compared to the cars around him, but needed to make his tyres last to the end of the race. Valtteri Bottas enjoyed nine laps in the lead of the race for Mercedes before pitting to cover off third-placed Vettel, who had stopped one lap earlier. Bottas was able to emerge ahead of Vettel, with both running clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was net fourth and fighting back after dropping as low as 10th on the opening lap. With the quartet all dropping comfortably behind Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo was able to pull into the lead of the race for Red Bull after completing a long first stint on the Ultrasoft tyres. Ricciardo kept the six-second gap to Hamilton stable for much of his stint, only for a late push from the Mercedes driver to whittle the margin down to just three seconds, prompting Red Bull to bring the race leader in. Ricciardo came out of the pits in fifth place, but, armed with tyres some 16 laps fresher than the cars around him, was quickly able to put pressure on those ahead. While Hamilton sat comfortably clear in the lead, teammate Bottas was beginning to struggle for pace in P2, allowing Vettel to sweep past on the run down to Turn 11. This dropped Bottas into the clutches of Verstappen who, after seeing the Mercedes miss the chicane once, finally barged his way through at the second chicane. Ricciardo followed his teammate past Bottas, who was brought into the pits by Mercedes soon after as a precaution following the contact with Verstappen. The Finn came back out in fifth place. Despite having Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo all slowly catching on fresher tyres through the closing stages of the race – albeit stunted by a late yellow flag after an engine failure for Pierre Gasly – Hamilton was able to stay in control at the front of the pack, crossing the line to clinch his 11th win of the year as the Mercedes W09 car bowed out of F1 in style. Vettel held on for second place for Ferrari ahead of Verstappen, who completed the podium for Red Bull. The result was also enough for him to leapfrog Bottas for fourth place in the final drivers’ championship standings as the Mercedes driver ended up fifth. Daniel Ricciardo took fourth on his final appearance for Red Bull ahead of his move to Renault for 2019, narrowly missing out on a farewell podium with the team he has spent he last five seasons with. Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the year as the midfield leader, making a long opening stint on the Ultrasoft tyre work perfectly to get the jump on the early-stopping Charles Leclerc andn grab sixth place in his final appearance for Renault. Charles Leclerc held off Sergio Perez in the final few laps to finish seventh for Sauber, leaving the team just four points shy of Force India in the final constructors’ standings. It also ensured the team finished P8 in the teams’ table, ahead of Toro Rosso. Haas ended its strongest season to date in F1 with a double-points finish, with Romain Grosjean in P9 and Kevin Magnussen finishing 10th. Fernando Alonso’s glittering F1 career came to an end with an 11th-place finish for McLaren, with the Spaniard narrowly missing out on a farewell point. Alonso moved into contention for points after Gasly and Esteban Ocon both retired late on, and despite a request to pit for fresh tyres so he could try and set the fastest lap, was told to stay out. He later received a five-second penalty for cutting a corner, leaving him 17 seconds back from Magnussen at the line. Brendon Hartley finished 12th for Toro Rosso after suffering damage on the opening lap and touching the wall on Lap 4, but was able to climb up the order through the race. Lance Stroll took 13th ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne in P14 as they made their final appearances for Williams and McLaren respectively, while Sergey Sirotkin was the last classified finishers in 15th. Besides Gasly, Ocon, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson was the only other retiree, reporting a loss of power just before half-distance. BUCHAREST, November 25 -- Tens of thousands of Romanians gathered Sunday for the blessing of a grandiose Orthodox cathedral consecrated to mark 100 years since modern-day Romania was created in the aftermath of World War I.
Believers from all over the country and beyond stood outside the "Salvation of the People" cathedral to watch the service transmitted on giant screens on a misty morning in the capital. The Ecumenical Istanbul-based patriarch Bartholomew I and Romanian Patriarch Daniel led the service, broadcast live on television, joined by 100 priests dressed in white and gold cassocks. The 120-meter (394-feet) high cathedral towers over a giant palace nearby built by late Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu. Six bells rang out after the blessing. The church says the unfinished building has cost 110 million euros ($125 million), three-quarters of which was public money. Critics say the money would have been better spent on churches and hospitals. The state pays priests' salaries and for church building maintenance. Some 86 percent of Romanians are believers in the Orthodox church, which enjoyed a revival after communism ended in 1989. But its popularity has declined in recent years, particularly in cities. Builder Constantin Dumitrescu, 47, an Orthodox believer, said he believed the cathedral was "a much too big investment for a poor country." Building work began on the neo-Byzantine structure in 2010. It was voted Romania's most kitsch architectural structure in Romania in a 2017 online survey. The cathedral aims to "honor Romanian heroes of all times." Romania's King Carol I passed a law for the cathedral to be built in 1884, but two world wars and decades of communism meant it never happened. A group of ethnic Romanians from Ukraine dressed in colorful popular costume also attended the event. "This is our faith, our soul," said Elena Nandris, mayor of the southern Ukrainian village of Mahala, with tears in her eyes. "This is a once in a lifetime event." BRUSSELS, November 25 -- There was no great last-minute drama. The European Council signed off the Brexit deal in brisk fashion this morning, with leaders stressing that this is the best deal that they are going to offer the UK.
But, of course, this doesn’t mean that everything is done and dusted. For now, Theresa May has to get this deal through parliament. This morning there have been two reminders of how difficult this will be. First, Iain Duncan Smith confirmed that he will be voting against the withdrawal agreement. This is a blow as if IDS is voting against it, then the ERG rebellion is going to be north of 20—making it very hard to see a way through for this deal. At the same time, Lisa Nandy—one of the Labour MPs who had previously sounded sympathetic to voting for the deal—has said she won’t back it. Part of May’s problem is that there is now a general sense that this deal won’t get through the Commons. For that reason—and because it is hard to love—lots of MPs don’t see why they should vote for it. May needs something to change the dynamics of this debate, to make MPs think it might pass and look at it afresh. What May has going for her deal is that it offers more certainty than anything else. The EU has agreed it, so if parliament passes it there will be a two-year transition. Expect to hear ministers make this argument with increasing frequency in the next few days. But given the parliamentary arithmetic, what we are essentially seeing is a very high stakes game of chicken between May and parliament. She is betting that if she keeps on this course, MPs will eventually bend to her will. But if they don’t, then there is going to be an almighty smash and the biggest constitutional crisis of the post-war era. TAIPEI, November 25 -- After more than three decades together, Mr Wang Tien-ming and Mr Ho Hsiang finally decided to tie the knot when Taiwan's top court ruled last year that same-sex marriage must be legalised.
But those wedding plans are now on hold after conservative groups won a referendum battle over equal marriage which couples fear could water down their newly won rights. The original landmark court decision in May 2017 made Taiwan the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage - it ruled the change must be implemented within two years and sparked a wave of optimism in the LGBT community. But almost 18 months have already passed as the government drags its feet in the face of conservative opposition. A referendum on whether marriage should only be recognised as between a man and a woman in Taiwan's Civil Code won more than seven million votes on Saturday, as did another calling for same-sex unions to be regulated under a separate law. Gay rights activists had proposed that the Civil Code should give same-sex couples equal marriage rights, but only garnered three million votes. Mr Ho said that after the original court ruling, he believed he and Mr Wang would be granted rights given to heterosexual married partners, including recognition as next of kin. This made the couple think they could at last buy a house together, Mr Wang told AFP, assured that if one of them died the other would inherit. Mr Wang, 57, is also the main carer for Mr Ho, 75, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. He describes their relationship as "love at first sight". "I want to get married because I want to say to the world that I don't want to be deprived of what is my basic right," Mr Wang said. Although the government has made clear the referendum results would not impact the court's original decision to legalise gay marriage, which should automatically be implemented next May, pro-gay marriage campaigners worry that their newly won rights will be weakened. The court did not specify how it wanted gay marriage to be brought in, leaving room for conservative groups to call for separate regulations. As Saturday's conservative referendums passed the threshold of 25 per cent of eligible voters, the government must by law take steps to reflect the result. Mr Ho said he would not accept anything less than the amendment of the existing marriage law as laid out in the Civil Code to put gay couples on an equal footing with heterosexual couples.\ "Having a special marriage law (for gay couples) means we are like second class citizens," he told AFP, adding that having a two-tier system would dent Taiwan's reputation as a trailblazer for equal marriage rights on the international stage. "The Taiwanese value equality and freedom. If the gay community is been treated like second class citizens, where's the equality? This is our soft power," he said. Taiwan's government has not yet responded to the referendum result and what impact it will have. Ms Kuo Huai-wen and her partner of 13 years had also been hoping to marry on the first day that the court's decision was implemented - a day that is yet to come. Ms Kuo, 40, said she was saddened and disappointed over the referendum result, but still felt encouraged that three million people had backed the pro-gay marriage vote. Ms Kuo is pregnant with the couple's second child and said they would be forced to accept a union under a separate law for the sake of their children, even though they do not agree with it and want equal marriage rights. "We have to be practical as we have kids and we can't afford to have all or nothing," said Ms Kuo. "We will register even if it's under a separate law, not because we are satisfied with that but because we need immediate protections." SANAA, November 25 -- US President Donald Trump has threatened to close his country's border with Mexico if the situation at the crossings deteriorates as thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants arrive from Central America.
There is no other way, because the United States will not be able after decades of immigration violations to bear this costly and dangerous situation, "Trump wrote on Twitter. Trump pointed out that only persons eligible for refugee status are allowed to enter the country. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the Trump administration had reached an agreement with the Mexican government waiting for asylum seekers in Mexico during the US courts' assessment of their requests. The agreement was not formally signed, but US officials see the deal as a possible breakthrough in efforts to deter immigration. "We have agreed on a policy to keep immigrants in Mexico," the Mexican interior minister was quoted as saying by the newspaper. It is noteworthy that the convoy of immigrants from several countries in Central America arrived at the Mexican side of the border with the United States, hoping to enter for a better life. BEIRUT -- U.S. and British officials mourned the loss a Syrian anti-government activist and radio host seen as a "symbol" of the uprising.
He was shot dead along with his colleague by unidentified gunmen in a rebel-held area in the country's northwest, where government strikes on Saturday killed at least five people in violation of a cease-fire. Dozens of Raed Fares and Hammoud al-Juneid's friends held a wake Saturday in their hometown of Kafranbel in Idlib province, while scattered protests in opposition-held areas condemned their killing and blamed radical Islamists, of whom Fares was a vocal critic. Fares brought global attention to Syria's war, and Kafranbel, with his humorous English-language protest banners that took jabs at his government and the international community's response to the conflict. He also was a vocal critic of the Islamist militants who gained sway as the conflict raged on, and now control Idlib and his hometown. In 2013, Fares posted a satirical YouTube video depicting cave men repeatedly killed by the men representing the Syrian government as men wearing American and European Union flags idly sit by. "This is how the international community reacted to the genocide committed by Assad against the Syrian people," Fares wrote. AMSTERDAM, November 24 -- Radio Livery reports, citing the Netherlands media, that relatives of the 55 victims who died in the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 in the Donbas airspace filed a suit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights.
“Russia has not provided vital information to an international group of investigators. Furthermore, the facts provided by them ended up being incorrect,” the media writes citing the relatives’ lawyer. In 2016 relatives of the victims from Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand sued the Russian citizen and former “Minister of Defense” of the so-called DPR, Igor Strelkov (Girkin). They accused Strelkov of organizing the missile strike against a passenger aircraft. According to the claim, he either personally supervised or gave the order for this missile strike. The relatives of the victims claim that the head of the militant group participated in the conflict against Ukraine with the “Kremlin’s blessing.” The relatives of the victims are seeking $900 million in compensation from Girkin. The Boeing 777 aircraft belonging to Malaysia Airlines, flight MH17 left Amsterdam, the Netherlands for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and was shot down over the Donbas on July 17th, 2014. All 298 passengers died. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 over separatist-held territory of the Donetsk region. All 298 people on board were killed. Passengers of the flight included citizens of 10 countries. Most of the victims (196 people) were citizens of the Netherlands. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT)—which includes representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine—has carried out criminal investigation of the tragedy. The countries participating in the investigation have agreed not to create a separate tribunal and decided that those responsible would be brought before the Dutch court. On May 24, 2018, the JIT presented additional evidence of Russia’s crucial role in the tragic air disaster. The JIT concluded that the Buk ground-to-air missile system that shot down the passenger airplane was in service of the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk. On May 25, the Dutch government took steps to hold Russia accountable for the crash of flight MH17, a process which will be managed separately from prosecuting the perpetrators. Australia stated it will seek payment of compensation from Russia to the families of the MH17 crash victims. The President of Ukraine instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately submit proposals on joining the Netherlands-Australia-initiated case against Russia at the interstate level in connection with this air disaster. ABU DAHBI, November 24 -- Lewis Hamilton has ended the season in which he won a fifth world championship with his 11th pole of the year at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver was 0.162 seconds ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and 0.331secs ahead of erstwhile title rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen locked out the second row for Ferrari, ahead of the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. "It was emotional because it is the last time in this car," Hamilton said. "The emotional roller-coaster I have been through with this car, I am probably closer to this car than any other. It has not been easy, it has been a struggle, but I am so grateful to the team for putting it all together for me. "Today was so much fun, to be able to go out and express yourself was a great feeling." Hamilton has taken it as a point of pride this season to keep winning after clinching a title, the first time he has ever done that in his career. He was fortunate to take victory in Brazil two weeks ago, after leader Verstappen collided with a backmarker, but wants to end what many believe has been his greatest season on a high. ABU DHABI, November 24 -- Daniel Ricciardo pulled up on-track to throw his participation in qualifying into doubt.
This after Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari fought back in third free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the reigning world champion led the red cars in the top three, after Valtteri Bottas and the Red Bulls had dominated things on Fridays. Ricciardo ground to a halt in the final minutes of FP3 at turn nine after his car lost power on the back straight. The Australian has suffered a season-high eight DNFs in 2018, giving his final Red Bull season something of a miserable sheen. It was little surprise to see Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen improve as Ferrari turned up their engines. Hamilton topped the timesheets with a 1:37.176 as he continues to impress on the back of securing a fifth world title. Raikkonen was his closest competitor, two tenths off the pace, but the Finn faces a trip to the stewards ahead of qualifying, after baling out of a pitstop while in the pit-lane and crossing the white line. Hamilton did similar in FP1 and earned a reprimand, so Raikkonen can expect similar. Max Verstappen was fourth quickest, half a second away from Hamilton – a position that Red Bull may be happy to take from qualifying as they appear to hold an advantage in managing tyres compared to Ferrari and Mercedes. Ricciardo wasn't the only driver to run into trouble, with Charles Leclerc destroying his Sauber's rear wing in an incident at turn 19, but he was able to re-emerge at the end of the session after some swift work from Sauber's mechanics. |
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