The Obama administration has decided to formally recognize Transitional National Council, the Libya’s main opposition group as the legitimate authority in the country, Associated Press quotes the US Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as saying on Friday. The announcement was made at a conference on conflict-torn Libya in Istanbul, involving delegates from more than 30 countries.
15:57 permalink
Libya’s opposition to be recognized – Italy
The Contact Group on Libya has decided to recognize the Libyan opposition as “the legitimate authority,” Associated Press quotes Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini as saying on Friday. Delegates from more than 30 countries have met in Istanbul to discuss the ways the group can support Libyan opposition, presented by the Transitional National Council. The country has been hit by armed conflict since February 2011, when antigovernment protests rocked Libya.
15:34 permalink
Three criminal cases opened over Bulgaria tragedy
Three criminal cases have been opened in connection with the Bulgaria pleasure cruiser tragedy, RIA Novosti quotes the head of the Investigation Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin as saying on Friday. The first is for violation of service regulations with grave consequences. The second is for violation of the code of service with severe consequences. And the third one is over failure to render assistance to people in distress. The vessel sank in the Volga River on July 10, claiming the lives of 114 people, with 14 more missing.
15:06 permalink
Ukrainian president cancels Independence Day military parade
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich has signed a decree, canceling military parades all over the country on August 24, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence Day, Itar-Tass news agency reports on Friday. According to the document, all the money saved will be used to strengthen social security. The parades were planned to be held in Ukrainian capital Kiev, in Kerch, Odessa, Sevastopol and other cities hosting operational command and armed forces offices. According to the preliminary estimates, the event would cost $40 million to stage.
14:08 permalink
Eight injured in blast in Russia’s Caucasus
Eight people have been wounded, including four traffic policemen, in an explosion that rocked the Russian republic of Dagestan, Interfax news agency quotes a chief doctor of the local hospital as saying on Friday. Seven of the injured were taken to the trauma department, the eighth received all necessary medical treatment and has been discharged the hospital. The blast occurred on the road in the republic's Khasavyurt district near the traffic police, who were inspecting a car. The Dagestan’s Interior Ministry has confirmed the explosion.
13:29 permalink
S&P agency threatens to downgrade US
The Standard & Poor’s rating agency has announced it may cut the United States' AAA debt rating in three months if a deal with congress members on raising $14.3 trillion the country’s debt limit is not agreed upon soon, Reuters news agency reports on Friday. Obama’s Administration suggests increasing the debt limit another $2.4 trillion, while Republicans in turn insist that the administration should produce a plan to cut government spending. According to S&P, if the tough talks between Republicans and Democrats are at a stalemate, the US may face technical default on August 2. S&P has become the second rating agency to warn the US about its possible downgrade after Moody’s did the same on Thursday.
13:08 permalink
Chief of Murdoch’s media corporation in UK resigns
Rebekah Brooks, head of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in Britain, has resigned, Associated Press quotes News International journalists as saying on Friday. Brooks, as well as the News Corporation Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch and the chairman of News International James Murdoch, is to give evidence on phone hacking scandal case next Tuesday. The Murdoch empire’s newspapers are accused of hacking telephone calls and voice mails of politicians, celebrities, victims of terrorism, murder victims, families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the British royal family.
12:28 permalink
Pakistan demands that CIA suspend any secret operations on its territory
Pakistan has demanded that the CIA authorities suspend any secret operations it may be conducting on its territory and report on all intelligence officers operating in the area, Itar-Tass news agency quotes Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as saying. The announcement was made during his meeting with an acting CIA Director Michael J. Morell in the US. The relations between the two countries became worse after Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US raid on May 2.Ahmad Shuja Pasha’s ongoing visit to the US is aimed at negotiating resolutions to US-Pakistani disagreements
12:04 permalink
Another Russian plane attacked by laser hooligans
A Tu-134 passenger plane has been attacked by a laser beam when approaching the airport in the Russian city of Ufa, Interfax news agency reports. The plane, with 23 passengers and seven crew on board, was flying from Samara to Surgut and was to stop in the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. The pilot says he suddenly noticed a ray of green light, targeted at the plane, when the jet was at a height of 600 meters above the ground. However, the plane successfully landed. Several jets were attacked by laser hooligans during the last several weeks In Russia.
11:22 permalink
Two planes collide at American airport
Two passenger jets have collided on the runway at Boston's Logan International Airport, Reuters quotes an airport spokesman as saying. One passenger was slightly injured and taken to a local hospital. The wing of a Boeing 767 en route to Amsterdam clipped the tail of a smaller plane on its way to Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina. According to the source, there were 204 passengers and 11 crew aboard the Delta Airlines Boeing, and 74 passengers and three crew aboard the second jet, owned by Comair. The flights were delayed as a result.
11:13 permalink
Body of 114th Bulgaria sinking victim recovered
The death toll from the Bulgaria tragedy has climbed to 114, as the body of a woman has been found in the Volga River near the sunken vessel on Friday, Itar-Tass news agency quotes Emergencies Ministry. The fate of 15 missing people is still unknown. The search and recovery operations are still ongoing. The Bulgaria, carrying about 208 passengers and crew, sank near the Russian city of Kazan on July 10. Seventy-nine people were rescued.
10:47 permalink
BBC journalists begin 24-hour-long strike against redundancy
The journalists of the UK’s BBC channel have staged a 24-hour strike in protest against job cuts in the corporation, the National Union of journalists (NUJ) reports. According to NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet, the union representatives were trying to resolve the issue through the talks, but the BBC management showed "no real interest". She added that “it is hard to avoid the conclusion” that its management wanted journalists to stage strike rather then “settle the dispute.” The number of the protesters involving in the strike is still unknown.
10:08 permalink
Gaddafi says French president is “mentally handicapped”
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has described French President Nicolas Sarkozy as a “war criminal” who is “putting a black mark on the history of the French nation,” Europe 1 radio station quotes Gaddafi as saying at a gathering of his supporters in Tripoli. The Libyan leader added that Sarkozy is “mentally handicapped.” Earlier, on July 13, the French parliament voted to continue the military operation in Libya. France has been supplying weapons to rebels fighting the Libyan regime for “self-defense” in line with a UN resolution. However, Russia has raised concerns over the ambiguity of the UN Security Council resolution on Libya.
09:42 permalink
Sunken Bulgaria ship examined and prepared to be lifted
The pleasure cruiser Bulgaria, which sank on July 10 near the Russian city of Kazan, has been examined by recovery experts and now the vessel is ready to be raised to the surface, Itar-Tass news agency quotes the Emergencies Ministry as saying on Friday. However, the search and recovery operations near the sunken ship continue. Earlier, on Friday special equipment arrived in Kazan from St. Petersburg. The remainder of the equipment needed for raising the vessel is expected to arrive at Saturday. The boat with about 208 passengers, including 40 children, on board sank in the Volga River, claiming the lives of 113 people. Sixteen people are still missing.
07:43 permalink
Pentagon admits theft of 24,000 files in hacker attack
The Pentagon has admitted suffering one of the largest-ever hacker attacks, with 24,000 sensitive defense files stolen. The deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, said on Thursday that all the data was taken in a single intrusion in March. Officials blame an unspecified foreign government for the attacks. This comes as the Pentagon is developing a new strategy, treating cyberspace as a new warfare domain alongside land, air and sea.
06:15 permalink
Israeli attack on Gaza leaves four injured
Israel has launched fresh air strikes on Gaza, wounding four Palestinians, including two children, Al Jazeera television reports. Witnesses say that the Israeli aircraft hit three targets on its raid, two of which were in Gaza City and one in the city of Khan Younis. According to Gaza officials, all the sites were bases used by Hamas and other groups. Israeli authorities confirmed that their aircraft had attacked Gaza, but provided no further details on the strikes. The development came late on Thursday, after at least five projectiles had been fired at southern Israel from Gaza territory on the same day.
05:46 permalink
Biggest-ever marijuana plantation discovered in Mexico
Authorities in Mexico announced on Thursday that they have discovered a huge marijuana plantation in the Baja California desert. The discovery, the biggest ever, was made by soldiers on patrol 250 kilometers south of Tijuana. The field covers 120 hectares and is supplied with water by an advanced irrigation system. Last year investigators found two long sophisticated tunnels running from Mexico to the US along with over 40 tons of marijuana located in and around them. The tunnels which ran from Mexico to San Diego were fitted with lighting and ventilation and a railway to transport the drugs.
04:54 permalink
Libyan government denies Gaddafi is prepared to destroy Tripoli
The Libyan government has denied a report published by the Russian newspaper Izvestia on Thursday, which cited Mikhail Margelov, the Russian president’s special envoy to Africa, as saying that the Libyan regime has threatened to blow up Tripoli, AP reports. “The Libyan premier in Tripoli told me, ‘If the rebels capture the city, we will deluge it with missiles and blow it up. I presume Gaddafi’s regime has this kind of suicidal plan in mind,’” Margelov was quoted as saying by Izvestia. However, the Libyan government spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim later denied the report, saying the Gaddafi government would never bombard Tripoli or any other Libyan town. Moussa Ibrahim added that Margelov’s office told him that the Russian envoy had never issued such a statement, according to AP. Libya has been torn by conflict since February, when anti-Gaddafi protests hit the country. In March NATO started its UN-backed military campaign, citing the necessity to protect the country’s civilians from Gaddafi’s attacks.
03:46 permalink
Hugo Chavez to receive cancer treatment in Brazil
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will receive treatment for his cancer in Brazil, reported Reuters quoting a source in the Brazilian government. Chavez will be admitted to Brazil’s Sirio-Libanes Hospital, which is known as a center for cancer treatment, though as yet no date has been set for his arrival, the source told the agency. On July 4, the Venezuelan leader returned to his country from Cuba after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pelvic region. He addressed his supporters in Caracas on Thursday, calling cancer one of his life’s greatest battles, AP reports.
02:50 permalink
Three suspected militants killed in Dagestan
Three men have been killed after offering armed resistance to police in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan. In the incident, which occurred late on Thursday in the capital Makhachkala, the men opened fire on police after they stopped their car for a check. The three were shot dead by return fire. At the site of the shootout, investigators have found two pistols, two grenades and components of explosive devices. The men may be connected to the killing of the special task forces’ deputy commander Shamil Murtuzaliyev, who was killed earlier in the day, Interfax news agency reports.
01:07 permalink
FBI opens case into hacking of 9/11 victims by News Corporation
The FBI has opened an investigation into alleged hacking attempts by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation into the phones of 9/11 victims. A law enforcement official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the investigation is still in its initial stages. The source declined to comment on the scope of the investigation. Concerns of the hacking have spread after the Daily Mirror’s report claiming that a reporter from a Murdoch paper had allegedly sought telephone numbers of the victims of the tragedy. A number of American senators have called on the US Justice Department to launch an immediate investigation into the allegations.
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