Two car bombs went off in the southern city of Basra, 420km to the southeast of Baghdad, leaving at least five dead and 10 wounded, police pointed out. Next, bombings took place in Najaf, Nassiriya, Kut, Hilla, Tuz Khurmato, as well as in Mahmudiya, southern Baghdad. Six police officers were also shot dead on the outskirts of the northern town of Mosul, at a checkpoint. The deadliest blasts took place in and near the central city of Kut, where two parked car bombs targeted an industrial area and a gathering of construction workers, police told AP. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet, but the country has seen an increase in activity by Sunni Islamist insurgents since the beginning of this year. In May alone, over 1,000 people were murdered in militant attacks, according to the UN estimates – the numbers which make the month the deadliest since the sectarian massacres in 2006 and 2007. … Read More
Twenty-two-year-old in court over Woolwich killing
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A man is due to appear in court in London on Thursday morning, charged with murdering an off-duty soldier in the street.
Twenty-two -year-old Michael Adebowale is also charged with possessing a firearm.
A second man remains under arrest in hospital.
Twenty-five-year-old regimental drummer Lee Rigby was stabbed to death in Woolwich a week ago.
A minute’s silence was held at the scene on Wednesday – exactly a week after the attack.
“One of the big risks with events like this is that they become symbolic for the far right and they become the property of a particular section of the community.I think what’s been reassuring over the last week is that all sections of British society, including Muslim communities, have been very vocal both condemning the attack and also actually condemning the actions of extremist groups afterwards.” said political scientist Dr Matthew Goodwin of Nottingham University.
Eight other people have been arrested in connection with the investigation. Six have been bailed and two released without charge.
More about: Assassination, Justice, United Kingdom
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Israel prepares to build 1,000 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem
Construction contracts for 300 homes in the northeastern settlement of Ramot were signed, and another 797 land plots in the much larger settlement of Gilo in Jerusalem were listed for sale. Danny Seidemann, a director of the Jerusalem settlement watchdog group Terrestrial Jerusalem, told AFP that the building was quietly ordered last year by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The housing project is certain to draw the ire of the international community, which cites international law nullifying Israel’s domain over the region, which the country annexed after the 1967 Six-Day war. Netanyahu has reportedly pushed the project under the carpet temporarily so as not to impact US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to bridge peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The news of the land purchases is said to have been leaked by Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel in an effort to pressure the prime minister. “This does not mean that the show is over, it does mean that Netanyahu’s minister of construction is trying to achieve that,” Seidermann told the AFP. “There is a de facto freeze at the moment, there have been no new units since the elections. This is an attempt to force Netanyahu’s hand.” The leak coincides with news that Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in Beit Hanina, in East Jerusalem. The destruction was closed off to media and pedestrians but Badran al-Salameh, who owns the homes, told the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency he was not given prior notice of the demolition. “My son’s wife and his two kids were the only ones inside the house,” he said. “I tried to reach my home when I heard from neighbors but Israeli officers banned me. I wanted to take out my wife’s gold and money from one of the drawers.” The incident in question came as a result of the Salameh family reportedly lacking Israeli building permits, a justification Tel Aviv has used to forecefully displace over 1,630 non-Jewish families since 1967. Palestinian leaders have demanded a halt to Israeli settlement construction before the continuation of so-called peace talks, which have remained stagnant for nearly three years. Despite Kerry’s four trips to the region since being made Secretary of State, those close to the situation say the instability is unlikely to be resolved. “Kerry is still unable to put pressure on the Israeli government to meet its obligations under the terms of the peace process,” Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha’ath told the Jerusalem Post Wednesday. “This is not because Kerry does not want but because he is unable to exert pressure on Israel. Israel is responsible for obstructing the peace process.” … Read More
VTB SPO attracts $3.3bn; tycoons Prokhorov, Kerimov buy in
The news came from VTB first deputy president and Chairman Yury Soloviev who spoke to Vedomosti business daily. Russia’s 20th richest man according to Forbes, Suleiman Kerimov also invested in VTB equities. In 2011 during the SPO the companies he controls invested $500 million in the state-owned bank. According to Soloviev, one of Kerimov’s companies – Millenium – has increased its share in VTB, however the exact amount of investment hasn’t been revealed. Around 55 percent of the new shares sold in VTB’s capital raising were purchased by the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Norway and Azerbaijan. According to an unnamed source of Vedomosti newspaper Norges Bank Investment Management invested $700 million, while Qatar Holding LLC and the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) invested $500 million each. Brazilian BTG Pactual and China Construction Bank have reportedly also purchased VTB equity worth $100 million each. VTB’s secondary public offering was held between May 6 and May 22. New shares were distributed among a narrow circle of 10 institutional investors and private shareholders. A total of 1245 investors purchased VTB stocks in the first two weeks. Nine deals accounting for 86% of the placement have been concluded in the last two days. The bank attracted a total of 102.5 billion roubles ($3.3 billion) of investment. … Read More
South Stream: A fresh element of Russian-European energy cooperation?
South Stream is a multinational gas pipeline project based on a strategic agreement between Gazprom (Russia) and ENI (Italy). Currently the pipeline will cross Russia by land and go under the Black Sea to Bulgaria, then to Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia and finally to Northern Italy. The Black Sea section of South Stream will stretch about 900 km, going as deep as 2250 meters. The pipe will be filled with gas from Russia, as well as Central Asia, with a projected capacity of around 63 bln cubic meters.A number of European countries intend to take part in the project. Agreements on the construction of the land section of the pipeline were signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria. Discussions with FYR Macedonia are underway. Some of the EU’s leading energy companys also plan to take part in the project which testifies to its strategic importance and economic feasibility. On September 16, 2011 in Sochi representatives of Gazprom, ENI, EDF (France) and Wintershall (Germany) signed a shareholders’ agreement on the construction of the subsea section of the pipeline. Local energy companies are also heavily involved in the current discussions on the land pipeline construction in each of the participating European counntries. We consider the South Stream pipeline project to be a significant addition to the transportation system of conventional gas to Europe and believe that it will increase diversification, improve the current infrastructure and make a positive contribution to the overall fabric of Russia-EU energy cooperation. The project is feasible economically and it can easily be filled to capacity. The system meets all modern environmental and technological standards, thus enhancing the security of the overall energy supply network of the European continent. We are confident that South Stream will become a significant project for Europe. According to both Russian and European experts it has the potential to become an integral part of the EU’s energy transportation system, helping to meet the ever increasing demand for cleaner fuels. … Read More
Belize: Mayan temple bulldozed for road building
There’s fury in Belize after a construction company nearly destroyed a Mayan temple to extract crushed rock for a road building project.
The Nohmul complex, one of the largest Mayan structures in the country, dates back at 2,300 years.
The government said it had launched a “vigorous” investigation into what happened.
Jamie Awe, Head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology said:
“Having to see the images of the destruction at Nohmul is in many ways probably one of the worst sort of blows I have felt philosophically and professionally in that regard – because what happened there is both deplorable and unforgivable.”
Archaeological experts say that bulldozing Mayan mounds to use for roads is not uncommon in Belize. The country is dotted with hundreds of ancient ruin sites, though few as large as Nohmul.
More about: Accident, Archaeology, Belize
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Sochi 2014 to bring back together Russian and British intelligence services
UK will be providing “limited” support to ensure safety of athletes and guests during the Sochi 2014 winter games, Cameron said at the media-conference after the negotiations in the Olympic capital concluded late on Friday. ”We both want the Sochi Games to be a safe and secure Games,” he added. No details of how this cooperation will look like have yet been revealed, but Britain surely has a lot of experience to share in the sphere. The London Olympics, it hosted in 2012, went on without any serious incidents, thanks to over 20,000 police and military personnel providing security during the event. The Russian and British intelligence services have aborted cooperation 6 years ago, following Moscow’s refusal to extradite Andrey Lugovoy, whom the UK suspects of involvement in the poisoning death of former FSB officer, Aleksandr Litvinenko, which occurred in London the same year. “Security service cooperation was suspended,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, stressed as RBK Daily quoted him on Saturday. “It was frozen on the initiative of the British side, but nevertheless we are satisfied with their readiness to cooperate in the interests of ensuring the safe and peaceful organization of the Olympic Games in Sochi.” After the talks, Putin and Cameron went on a helicopter tour of the venues being prepared for the Sochi Games’ kickoff on February 7, 2014. The aerial excursion included landing at the Fisht Olympic Stadium, which was designed by the British architects firm, Populous, and constructed with the assistance companies from the UK.The 40,000-strong venue won’t see any sporting action during the Games as it’ll be used to host the opening and closing ceremonies. According to Cameron, more than 50 British companies are currently participating in the Sochi Olympics construction projects. … Read More
