| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 20:44:16 +0100 Austria avalanches kill three skiers Avalanches in Austria and the Bavarian Alps have killed three German skiers at the weekend. Two of them had strayed outside the designated ski slopes. Avalanches also blocked a number of roads. Austrian police have closed several other roads as a precaution. Three British snowboarders in the French Alps managed to get help by using their mobile telephones. They were stranded at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 20:14:17 +0100 Belgian PM rules out returning The Belgian prime minister, Yves Leterme, who tendered his government’s resignation on Friday, says he will not form part of a new government, not even as a minister. King Albert II is still holding consultations to decide whether to accept the resignation. An option the monarch is said to be considering is to keep the current government and appoint a new prime minister, a move that does not require holding fresh elections. It’s expected Mr Leterme’s Christian Democrat party will propose a new prime minister shortly. Candidates reportedly being considered include former Prime Ministers Jean-Luc Dehaene and Guy Verhofstadt as well as parliamentary speaker Herman van Rompuy. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 19:46:30 +0100 Colombian rebels seize ten villagers Suspected FARC rebels in Colombia have abducted ten people from a hamlet south of the capital Bogotá. The police say up to eight gunmen stormed the hamlet at night shouting they belonged to the left-wing rebel movement. The rebels are holding hundreds of people, including a number of politicians, hoping to exchange them for ransom. The best-known hostage is former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was freed in army raid in July. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 17:12:15 +0100 Most Egyptian internet services back up Egypt says that more than 80 percent of the country’s internet services have been restored. On Friday undersea cables in the Mediterranean were severed, possibly by a ship’s anchor, disrupting telephone and internet links between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Egypt was hit worst. Services have been restored by rerouting communications through other cables. One of the companies that operates the severed cables, France Telecom, says a ship is under way to carry out repairs with a submersible robot. The company says communications may not be fully restored before 31 December. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 16:01:16 +0100 Swiss troops to guard ships off Somalia Swiss President Pascal Couchepin says his country is ready to send soldiers to Somali waters to protect ships against pirates. He said that while there was no formal decision yet, the government was exploring all the legal and practical consequences. The landlocked country has an ocean-merchant fleet comprising more than 30 privately-operated tankers, container ships and bulk cargo vessels. Many countries, including the Netherlands, have already deployed warships in the area. China and Iran joined the international efforts, authorised by the United Nations, a few days ago. Somali pirates have seized over 100 ships this year alone. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 15:44:50 +0100 Iran raids Nobel winner’s human rights group Police in Iran have closed the office of a human rights group led by Nobel Peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi. The group’s deputy head says dozens of policemen entered the office without a warrant. Ms Ebadi, who is an outspoken critic of Iran’s human rights record, was not there at the time of the raid. On Wednesday she condemned several hard-line Muslim countries at a United Nations forum in Geneva. Ms Ebadi won the Nobel Peace prize in 2003 and was given an important German human rights award in October. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 13:36:33 +0100 Israel’s Tzipi Livni vows to end Hamas rule Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has vowed to end Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. In a speech to her Kalima Party she said that if she were elected prime minister, she would bring down the Hamas movement. Earlier on Sunday the Israeli government discussed a possible military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The violence along the Gaza border has flared up after a six-month ceasefire expired on Friday. On Sunday one person was injured when Palestinian militants fired at least eight rockets into southern Israel. Palestinian sources report that one person was killed and three injured in an Israeli air strike near the northern town of Jabalya on Saturday. Hamas refuses to renew the ceasefire because Israel has failed to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 13:19:53 +0100 Russian police break up protest Russian riot police in the eastern city of Wladiwostok have broken up a demonstration against the government’s financial crisis policies. At least 100 protesters were detained, but local media say the actual number is closer to 500. The protest was aimed against an increase of import duties on foreign cars to protect the Russian car industry. The measure is also intended to curtail the country’s flourishing trade in second hand cars. Russia is slowly beginning to feel the effects of the global downturn and plummeting oil prices. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 12:35:24 +0100 Lockerbie commemorates 20th anniversary The Scottish town of Lockerbie has marked the 20th anniversary of the bombing of a US Pan-Am passenger jet that killed all 259 people on board the plane and eleven residents on the ground. Ceremonies will also be held at London’s Heathrow Airport and in the United States. Syracuse University in the state of New York lost 35 students in the disaster. A former agent for Libya’s intelligence service sentenced to life over the bombing must serve at least 27 years before becoming eligible for parole. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 11:10:16 +0100 Touaregs attack Malian army post Touareg rebels say they have killed more than 20 soldiers and seized several others in an attack on an army post close to the border with Mauritania. The authorities claim eleven rebels and nine soldiers were killed. The attack comes five months after the rebels and the government signed a truce. An army spokesperson said the attack was carried out by the renegade Touareg leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, who may not feel bound to observe the ceasefire. The nomadic Touaregs have been fighting for a larger share in the revenue from mining operations in their homelands as well as official recognition of their culture. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 11:01:13 +0100 More rioting in several Greek cities Fresh rioting between hundreds of youths and police broke out in the Greek capital Athens late on Saturday night. The police used teargas to disperse the protesters, who were pelting police with bricks and Molotov cocktails. Banks and government buildings were attacked and cars and street furniture were set on fire. The rioting broke out after a memorial service held at the place where a 15-year-old boy was shot dead by police two weeks ago. Elsewhere in Athens, police officers clashed with demonstrators who had taken part in a demonstration against racism and EU immigration policies. There were also riots in the northern city of Thessaloniki. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 10:50:48 +0100 Australian Taliban free man again The Australian government has lifted all restrictions on the freedom of movement of David Hicks, also known as the Australian Taliban. After his release one year ago, Mr Hicks was not allowed to speak in public or leave the country. He also had to stay indoors at night. Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. In May 2008 he was allowed to return to Australia and serve the remainder of his sentence in a prison in Adelaide. His repatriation came after Mr Hicks confessed he had been trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 10:28:38 +0100 Further escalation of Gaza Strip violence The violence in the border region between Israel and the Gaza Strip has escalated further after the expiration of a six-month ceasefire. On Sunday, Palestinian militants fire at least eight rockets at southern Israel. A house was damaged in the town of Sderot, but no one was injured. A man was reportedly injured by a mortar shell which fell close to the town. Soon after the rocket attack, Israeli helicopter gunships fired at Palestinian positions in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources report that one person was killed and three injured in an Israeli air strike near the northern town of Jabalya. Hamas refused to renew the six-month ceasefire because Israel failed to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 10:19:38 +0100 Ousted Mauritanian president released Ousted Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi has been released. The president was placed under house arrest after a military coup in August. The international community had called on the military regime to lift Mr Abdallahi’s house arrest. His release clears the way for a broad conference on national reconciliation scheduled to begin in the capital Nouakchott next week. The talks are to result in a date for new elections. Earlier, the elected president and his supporters said they would boycott the national conference. |
| Sun, 21 Dec 2023 08:51:35 +0100 Canada lends 2.4 billion to US car manufacturers The Canadian government has earmarked 2.4 billion euros for emergency loans to the Canadian branches of US car manufacturers Chrysler and General Motors. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says these are painful measures necessary to protect the Canadian economy. The money will allow the factories to remain open while introducing vital reforms. On Saturday, the US government announced it would extend 9.6 billion euros in emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler. The third ailing major car manufacturer, Ford Motor, is not seeking government help. The two companies have been given until March to set their affairs in order. At that point, the administration of Barack Obama will decide whether the car manufactures are meeting the conditions of the loans and should continue to receive government aid or must repay the loans and face bankruptcy. |