Friday, March 29

Month: July 2016

Angela Merkel faces fresh backlash over open door immigration policy after latest German attacks by Syrian refugees
ENGLISH, Europe

Angela Merkel faces fresh backlash over open door immigration policy after latest German attacks by Syrian refugees

    Angela Merkel is to come under renewed criticism of her open-door immigration policy after another horrific attack on German soil. Last night a Syrian refugee wielding a machete killed a pregnant woman and injured two other people before being arrested by police. The attack happened in the south western city of Reutlingen near a doner kebab stand in a bus station at Listplatz Square. German media have been reporting that the motive for the attack in the city south of Stuttgart was unclear. The 17-year-old, who a witness said shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) during the attack, severely wounded four Hong Kong residents on the train late on Monday, then injured a local woman after fleeing, before police shot him dead. He had entered Germany last summer with waves of migr...
Brexit must work for Northern Ireland: Insists May on Stormont visit
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Brexit must work for Northern Ireland: Insists May on Stormont visit

    Prime Minister Theresa May has arrived in Northern Ireland for talks with the region's political leaders on the fall-out from the EU referendum result. Mrs May is meeting Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont Castle, Belfast. Brexit is set to dominate the agenda. In Northern Ireland 56% voted to Remain and the UK-wide vote to Leave has triggered intense political wrangling in the region. The result has sparked a renewed debate on a potential referendum on Irish reunification with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. The Stormont Executive is divided on the EU issue, with Mrs Foster's Democratic Unionists backing Brexit and Mr McGuinness's Sinn Fein advocating Remain. Ahead of her visit, Mrs May insisted the UK...
Bollywood Star Salman Khan acquitted in blackbuck chinkara poaching cases
Asia, ENGLISH

Bollywood Star Salman Khan acquitted in blackbuck chinkara poaching cases

    In a huge relief for Bollywood actor Salman Khan, the Rajasthan high court on Monday acquitted him in the Jodhpur blackbuck and chinkara poaching cases. Khan was accused of killing a blackbuck and a chinkara in two separate incidents in 1998. The actor had appealed to the Rajasthan high court challenging a lower court's verdict that convicted him and sentenced him to one and five years in jail for the two cases of poaching. The high court completed hearing the cases in the last week of May but reserved its decision at the time. Khan was accused of killing one of the animals in Bhawad on the outskirts of Jodhpur on September 26, 1998, and another in Ghoda Farms on September 28, 1998. At that time of the alleged incidents Khan was shooting for the film "Hum Sath Sath Hain" i...
Two dead and 16 wounded in Florida teenage disco mass shooting with clubbers dodging bullets to escape as victims fight for their lives in hospital
America, ENGLISH

Two dead and 16 wounded in Florida teenage disco mass shooting with clubbers dodging bullets to escape as victims fight for their lives in hospital

    Two people have been murdered and 16 have been wounded in a mass shooting at a Florida night club. The gunman opened fire in the parking lot hitting people as young as 12 outside Club Blu Bar and Grill, in Fort Myers in Florida. The incident happened shortly after 12.30am. The shooting took place at Club Blu in Fort Myers, Florida shortly after 12.30am at a teenage disco Two people have been confirmed dead and approximately 16 people have been wounded in the shooting Timothy Settles broadcast on Facebook from his hospital bed and said he did not want to die after the shooting Witnesses said the scene was that of a 'mad house'. Four people are described as being in a critical condition in hospital including a 12-year-old child. The victims are aged between 12 and 27 accordi...
UK’s first ever double hand transplant patient who suffered horrific work accident says he feels whole again and is looking forward to holding a beer and riding a bike
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

UK’s first ever double hand transplant patient who suffered horrific work accident says he feels whole again and is looking forward to holding a beer and riding a bike

    The first person in the UK to have a double hand transplant is now looking forward to holding a bottle of beer and wearing shirts with real buttons again. Chris King, 57, lost both his hands - except the thumbs - in an accident involving a metal pressing machine at work three years ago. Now, he has become the first person to have both hands replaced and only the second to have a hand transplant in the UK. Recovering after the surgery at the UK's specialist centre for the operation at Leeds General Infirmary, he said: 'I couldn't wish for anything better. 'It's better than a lottery win because you feel whole again.' Pub landlord Mark Cahill, from Yorkshire, became the first person in the UK to have a hand transplant in 2012 - performed by the same surgeon as Mr King. The f...
Labour MP accuses Corbyn aides of entering her office without permission
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Labour MP accuses Corbyn aides of entering her office without permission

    A Labour MP has accused aides to Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell of entering her House of Commons office without permission. Seema Malhotra said the action constituted a "breach of parliamentary privilege" and has lodged a formal complaint with Commons Speaker John Bercow. In a statement to The Observer, Ms Malhotra – who quit the shadow cabinet last month in protest at Mr Corbyn's leadership and is now backing the challenger Owen Smith – said her staff felt "harassed, intimidated and insecure" as a result of what had happened. A spokesman for Mr Corbyn played down the incident and said that claims of intimidation were "untrue". The latest extraordinary twist comes against repeated claims that critics of the Labour leader – particularly women MPs – have ...
EU considers migration emergency brake for UK for up to seven years
ENGLISH, Europe

EU considers migration emergency brake for UK for up to seven years

    Plans to allow the United Kingdom an exemption from EU rules on freedom of movement for up to seven years while retaining access to the single market are being considered in European capitals as part of a potential deal on Brexit. Senior British and EU sources have confirmed that despite strong initial resistance from French president François Hollande in talks with prime minister Theresa May last week, the idea of an emergency brake on the free movement of people that would go far further than the one David Cameron negotiated before the Brexit referendum is being examined. If such an agreement were struck, and a strict time limit imposed, diplomats believe it could go a long way towards addressing concerns of the British people over immigration from EU states, while allow...
Turkish Prime Minister: State of emergency will not be extended unless there will be a need to do so
ENGLISH, Europe

Turkish Prime Minister: State of emergency will not be extended unless there will be a need to do so

    A few hours after the Turkish President ordered that more than a thousand private schools in the country be shut down, the Turkish Prime Minister announced that the government is not planning to extend the state of emergency beyond the three months period that has been decided upon. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said last night (Saturday) that the government is not planning to extend the state of emergency beyond the three months period that has been decided upon, unless it is forced to do so. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared a state of emergency, which allows him to enact laws without the support of the parliament and deny rights and freedoms if necessary. “Our goal is not to extend the state of emergency but if there will be a need t...
Graft money used in militancy, says ACC chairman
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

Graft money used in militancy, says ACC chairman

    Fund raised through corruption is used in militancy, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmud said today. No one will remain safe if terrorism and militancy cannot be curbed, the anti-graft body chairman told journalists at a view-exchange meeting at his office. About corruption in banking sector, the ACC chairman said the anti-graft body will take measures against private banks if evidence of graft and financial irregularities are found against them. “We will leave no stone unturned to stop corruption in the banking sector,” Mahmud said. The anti-graft watchdog will hold talks with the central bank over corruption both in private and public banks, he said. The ACC has given maximum priority to the private banks to fight corruption in the country’s banking se...
Kuwait swelters in record-breaking 54C heat: the highest temperature ever recorded on earth
Arab world, ENGLISH

Kuwait swelters in record-breaking 54C heat: the highest temperature ever recorded on earth

    If you're feeling flustered by the mini-heathwave over parts of the UK and Europe at the moment, then you'll want to avoid the Middle East right now. On Thursday a blistering temperature of 54C (129.3F) was recorded in Kuwait, firmly putting our hot spell into context. It is the highest temperature ever recorded in the eastern hemisphere and almost certainly the highest temperature ever recorded on earth. A weather station in Mitribah, a remote featureless area of north-west Kuwait, took the temperature last week during an intense heatwave that continues in parts of the Middle East. The mercury in neighbouring Iraq on the same day soared to 53.9C (129F) in the ancient city of Basra. If verified by the World Meteorological Organisation, they will almost certainly be the two...