Latest in World Highlight
Latest in World
Turkish police crackdown on protests condemned
Police clashed with protesters in Istanbul, firing tear gas and water cannon at people clustered on side streets, defying a government ban on demonstrations on the iconic Taksim Square – the epicentre of last year’s turmoil.
Malawi’s new president sworn in after disputed elections
Mutharika, the brother of president Bingu wa Mutharika who died in office in 2012, appealed to the 11 other presidential candidates to “join me in rebuilding the country” after some – including Banda – contested the results.
Poroshenko faces mammoth task after poll ‘victory’
Poroshenko, a 48-year-old former cabinet minister, had said Sunday he would work immediately to end a bloody pro-Russian insurgency that prevented voting across swathes of the industrial east and to fix a recession-hit near bankrupt economy.
Ukraine holds key vote shunned by rebel-held east
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had issued an appeal for voters to turn out in force on Sunday to “defend Ukraine” in the face of a crisis that has plunged relations between East-West relations to a post-Cold War low.
Shebab launch major assault on Somali parliament
Witnesses said Shebab militants, the Al-Qaeda-linked group fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed but fragile government, stormed into the complex while MPs were meeting inside.
British preacher Abu Hamza guilty on US terror charges
Judge Katherine Forrest will return to the Manhattan courtroom on 9 September to sentence Abu Hamza, 56, and wrap up what was the second high-profile terror trial in New York in three months.
Boko Haram in fresh attack as region meets on strategy
Militants stormed an encampment used by Chinese road workers late on Friday in a region of northern Cameroon just across the border from the strongholds where they sparked global outrage by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month.
Race to save trapped miners after Turkey blast kills 232
Most of the deaths have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning
Turkey PM puts death toll from mine disaster at 232: TV
AFP – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan put the death toll from a mine explosion at 232 on Wednesday, local media reported. Erdogan was inspecting the site of the accident in the western town of Soma, about 150 miles south of Istanbul in Turkey’s Aegean region.
Michelle Obama calls Nigeria girls abductions ‘unconscionable act’
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility, and threatened to “sell” the girls into slavery.
Death toll rises in Ukraine, fresh warnings of civil war
Kiev and its Western backers see Moscow’s main aims as making sure Ukraine’s east holds a planned “referendum” on Sunday calling for autonomy, and sabotaging all possibility of a nationwide presidential election two weeks later.
Deadly battles rage on fringe of east Ukraine town
One Ukrainian military commander said the shooting involved automatic small arms and heavy weaponry, believed to be from armoured vehicles the rebels captured last month as well as other big-calibre weapons and mortars.
Timeline of unrest in east Ukraine
The unrest started in the east and south of the former Soviet republic after pro-European protesters forced the Kremlin-backed government in Kiev from power on 22 February.
Blood and gunfire in Ukraine army attack on rebel checkpoint
From nearby trees, separatist gunmen shoot back with the clack-clack-clack of sporadic automatic gunfire.
Obama seeks to soothe China while boosting ties with Philippines
He directly addressed leaders in Beijing, telling them that maritime territorial disputes needed to be addressed peacefully, not with “intimidation or coercion”
South Africa celebrates 20 years of end of apartheid
The day will be marked by street parades, speeches, prayers, music and military salutes and displays.
EU calls for speedy implementation of Ukraine accord
“We call on all sides to respect the terms and conditions of the agreement in Geneva,” a spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said
North Korea ‘may be close to nuclear test’ warns Seoul
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests – in 2006, 2009 and 2013 – all at the Punggye-ri site in the northeast of the country
Biden heads to Ukraine as Russia accuses Kiev of violating accord
Russia accused Ukraine of flouting an international accord meant to diffuse the crisis over its separatist east
Pro-Moscow separatists stay put despite Ukraine PM’s overtures
Despite a vow by the country’s premier to cede more power to the regions
Afghan presidential hopefuls raise fraud concerns
Voiced concern that voting was tainted by fraud
Russian forces ‘gradually withdrawing’ from Ukraine
US and EU officials estimated over the weekend that Russia’s sudden military buildup along Ukraine’s eastern frontier had reached 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers.
Whispers of dissent in Kremlin-ruled Crimea
Ukraine’s government estimates there are 25,000 people in Crimea like Anastasiya who want to flee the region after its Russian takeover.
Putin moves to take Crimea, defying Western sanctions
The Russian strongman was due to address both houses of parliament at 1100 GMT after he signed a decree on Monday recognising Crimea’s independence.
Ukraine faces few options after Crimea breakaway vote
The Black Sea region that Moscow gifted to Kiev during the Soviet era but seized back in the days after the February 22 fall of Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin regime is now at the heart of the most dramatic East-West showdown since the height of the Cold War.
Crimea asks to join Russia as west readies sanctions
Official results from Sunday’s poll showed 96.77 percent of the voters in the mostly Russian-speaking region opted to switch to Kremlin rule, in the most radical redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
Crimea declares independence from Ukraine, applies to join Russia
The document was approved by all 85 deputies present in the 100-seat assembly, after a disputed referendum on Sunday in which Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.
Crimea holds referendum to split from Ukraine
Ukraine’s new government and most of the international community except Russia have said they will not recognise a result expected to be overwhelmingly in favour of immediate secession.
Kerry pressuring the wrong side: Israel minister
AFP – An Israeli minister on Sunday said Washington’s top diplomat was “wrong” for pressuring Israel in peace talks, a day before Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas visits the White House. His remarks came two days after US Secretary of State John Kerry criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel …
Ukraine vows not to fight Russia over Crimea
Turchynov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had so far resisted intense international pressure and refused all contacts with Kiev aimed at resolving the worst breakdown in East-West relations since the Cold War.