The jagged Taurus Mountains rise on one side of the church, while the Mediterranean Sea gleams in the distance on the other. The bougainvillea is in bloom, the orange trees bursting with ripe fruit.
Month: December 2016
A rare view from inside South Sudan’s most-feared prison
More than 30 political detainees in South Sudan’s most notorious prison face torture, starvation or death, according to a Danish man detained alongside them for over two months before being released in late November. Henrik Tobiesen, a businessman and former United Nations de-mining worker who had lived in South Sudan for 11 years, told The Associated Press he was locked up for 67 days starting Sept.
Deal reached that could restart Aleppo evacuation
This image released by Aleppo 24, shows residents of eastern Aleppo arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, as part of an evacuation deal. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside.
Lerdo, Las Cruces extend Sister Citiesa
Lerdo, Las Cruces extend Sister Cities relationship Las Cruces and Lerdo, Mexico have had been sister cities since 1982 Check out this story on lcsun-news.com: http://lcsun.co/2i1a0qe Lerdo Mayor Maria Luisa GonzA lez Achem, and Hale Huber of Las Cruces Sister Cities Foundation sign agreements pledging to continue the 34-year sister cities agreement. Mayor Ken Miyagishima, Lerdo Mayor Maria Luisa GonzA lez Achem , and representatives of the Las Cruces Sister Cities Foundation and its counterpart organization in Lerdo have signed agreements pledging to continue the 34-year sister cities agreement.
Dr Al Kawari meets Albania PM; discusses ties
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama met yesterday with Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and the State of Qatar’s candidate to the Post of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari. During the meeting, they talked in detail about the Qatari candidate’s vision for the advancement of Unesco and the most important challenges facing the organisation.
Scientists think this ghost shark has not been seen on video before a ” until now
Like its Greek mythological namesake, the chimaera – or “ghost shark” – is a mysterious, rarely seen creature with a patchwork of bizarre features. Dwelling in the depths of the ocean, its eyes are pale and seemingly dead.
EU’s Tusk, Poland’s PM differ on nation’s democracy
Two days of anti-government protests have exposed clashing views on the shape of Poland’s democracy, with a European Union leader and the protesters saying it is threatened by the government, and the prime minister insisting the threat is coming from the opposition’s actions. European Council President Donald Tusk and Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo made separate comments Saturday on the rising political tension between Poland’s conservative government and the pro-EU opposition.
Fatal shark attack: Swim of terror
For 26-year-old Napier man Bright Cooper and his mates, it was a fine summer’s morning for a fine swim. It was not the sea on the Marine Parade beach that claimed the life of Bright Cooper – it was what was in the sea, at that point, at that time and on that day.
Polish opposition leaders call for additional demonstrations
Polish opposition leaders called for days of antigovernment demonstrations Saturday after police broke up an hours-long blockade of the Polish parliament by protesters who claim that ruling party lawmakers are violating the constitution. Several thousand people responded to that call in Warsaw and other cities.
Nawaz Sharif Fast Facts
April 18, 1993 – Sharif’s government is dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after charges of corruption and mismanagement are raised. Sharif’s family-owned business grew tremendously during his tenure in office, causing suspicion of corruption.
Juventus beats 2nd-place Roma 1-0 to move 7 points clear
No one seems capable of stopping Juventus from winning an historic sixth successive Serie A after it beat second-place Roma 1-0 to move seven points clear at the top of the table on Saturday. Once again, Gonzalo Higuain fired his side to the win, netting his fourth goal in three matches in the 14th minute.
Cat cafe concept coming soon to Boston
Owner Diane Kelly says customers would pay around $15 an hour to pet and play with cats. She hopes to provide about two dozen felines from nearby animal shelters that would be adoptable when the establishment opens in early 2017.
Stephen Kenny lands RTE Manager of the Year award
Kenny led his team to their third SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title in-a-row and to the FAI Cup final, with Dundalk’s exploits in Europe his crowning achievement. Under Kenny’s stewardship, the Lilywhites qualified for the group stages of the Europa League and became the first Irish team to first earn a point in European group competition and then the first to win a game.
Hunting for the real wilderpeople on Takaka Hill
It’s one of those summer days where the sun is so high in the sky you have to crouch down really low, and mash your face against the glass, craning your neck to see it out the car windows. The heat, the hill, the innumerable bends, your stomach rolls with every jolt.
Oh, the Hypocrisy! San Franciscans Support Illegal Immigration. Just Not In Their Neighborhoodsa
What a bunch of freaking hypocrites. San Francisco leads the nation not only in gay everything, but as a sanctuary city that is bucking for the entire state to become the first sanctuary state.
UK faces strike-hit Christmas by post, train and air
The United Kingdom faces a Christmas of discontent as labour unions threaten to disrupt airports, rail services and mail deliveries. The Unite union and aviation services company Swissport announced negotiation plans Saturday intended to avert a Dec. 23 walkout by 1,500 baggage handlers, check-in staff and other workers at 18 regional airports from Belfast to Bournemouth.
CRICKET: Liam’s bouncing after Test debut
LIAM Dawson was thrilled to make his Test debut count despite the shock of being hit on the head by only the second delivery he faced. The all-rounder, from Calne, may have been picked principally for his left-arm spin, as England try to return fire on Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on their tough tour of India, but they were indebted to the Goatacre man’s fine batting after he arrested a first-innings slide which threatened once again to get out of hand.
Pressure increasing on PSG coach Emery after 4th league loss
PSG’s Thiago Silva, center, heads the ball during their League One soccer match against Guingamp, at the Roudourou stadium, in Guingamp, western France, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain slipped to its fourth defeat in the French league, losing at Guingamp 2-1 on Saturday in another setback that will crank up the pressure on coach Unai Emery.
Reversing Cuba policy seen as a punch in the gut to Latin America
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, left, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, right, and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales acknowledge supporters during a welcome ceremony for presidents attending an extraordinary meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Thursday , July 4, 2013. Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, left, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, center, and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez gesture during the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas Presidential summit with Authorities of Indigenous and African-descent in Otavalo, Ecuador, Friday, June 25, 2010.
Talks over Congo’s delayed presidential vote stall
Officials in Congo say negotiations between the country’s political parties over the nation’s delayed election are now on hold until Wednesday. The announcement Saturday comes as the Catholic church attempts to resolve the impasse between President Joseph Kabila and opposition parties over the vote.
Anne Frank bombshell: Jewish diarist captured by Nazis during WW2 was ‘NOT betrayed’
During the war German-born Frank and her family fled to the Netherlands over fears of persecution under Nazi rule. While hiding out in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1945, Frank wrote her now infamous The Diary of a Young Girl.
‘Uncatchable’ one-eyed jihadi boss ‘dead and buried’…
According to the Al-Araby media outlet, the 44-year-old sustained fatal wounds in the airstrike on Sabha, Libya. He was reportedly buying weapons with the ransom paid for a Canadian and two Italians who were kidnapped last September.
Trump’s ambassador pick could drastically alter 2 of the…
President-elect Donald Trump tapped bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman to serve as the US ambassador to Israel on Thursday, raising questions about how Friedman’s far-right views will upend Washington’s longstanding approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a fierce opponent of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine that would create two independent states on either side of the Jordan river.
Michael Sheen puts activism before acting to fight rise of ‘hard populist right’
Michael Sheen is stepping back from his acting career to fight against the rise of the “hard populist right” as an activist. Michael Sheen is stepping back from his acting career to fight against the rise of the “hard populist right” as an activist.
REPLAY: B.C. this week in video
Recreational marijuana could be sold in storefronts to Canadians 18 and older if the federal government materializes recommendations made by a task force that was set to explore the legalization of the drug. See More > It’s been almost a week since a large-scale apartment fire left a dozen Langley residents homeless.
Hamas says engineer killed in Tunisia one of its members
Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers say an aviation engineer who was shot dead in Tunisia this week was one of its members. In a statement Saturday, Hamas says Mohammed Alzoari had been a member of its military wing for the past 10 years.
Magpies: Mark Jermyn and Nick Crittenden to step down at the Avenue
DORCHESTER Town manager Mark Jermyn and assistant Nick Crittenden are to resign as manager and assistant-manager after Boxing Day’s Ridgeway derby at home against Weymouth. A statement from the club announcing the pair’s resignation was released this evening, following the Magpies’ 3-3 draw at King’s Lynn Town.
Amona residents partying as eviction looms
Amona – Rumors of a police led-evacuation swirled Saturday night in the hilltop outpost of Amona, which is slated for evacuation by December 25. Yet, as hundreds of supporters, mostly teenagers, descended upon the outpost they did not appear worried. On Saturday night the outpost actually took on a party-like atmosphere as teenagers danced in the mud to techno-rave melodies interlaced with religious proverbs.
Tax tribunal rejects Virbhadra Singh’s appeal; HP CM alleges political vendetta
In a setback to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has dismissed the appeal filed by him against the order of the Income Tax department, which had sought fresh assessment of his tax returns related to the financial year of 2009-10 to 2011-12. The veteran Congress leader termed the development as “politically motivated” and said that he would contest the orders and file an appeal in the High Court or in the Supreme court, if the need arose.
Demonetization will meet fate of Congress’ ‘Nasbandi’: Lalu Prasad Yadav
RJD president Lalu Prasad on Saturday said demonetization would meet the fate of ‘Nasbandi’ of the Congress rule and announced protest across Bihar on December 28. During a day-long meeting of RJD MPs, ministers, legislators and office-bearers, Prasad and other leaders of the party highlighted people’s woes following the scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. Addressing the RJD leaders, Prasad criticised the move and said, “It will meet the fate of ‘nasbandi’ during the Congress rule in the past.”
Jamie Roberts scores three tries as Harlequins thrash Timisoara…
Jamie Roberts scored a hat-trick as Harlequins demolished Romanian side Timisoara Saracens 75-3 to go top of European Challenge Cup Pool Five. Quins ran in 11 tries at the Twickenham Stoop to move above Edinburgh, who lost at Stade Francais on Thursday.
Vijender knocks out Cheka to retain WBO Asia Pacific title, extends his unbeaten streak to 8-0
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh fights with Francis Cheka of Tanzania during the Proboxing match in New Delhi on Saturday ‘Cheka talked so much but I believed in my punch power, and I have done it,’ Vijender said after the bout. The Vijender Singh juggernaut rolled on without a glitch as the Indian boxing star took less than 10 minutes to successfully defend his WBO Asia-Pacific Super Middleweight title with an emphatic Technical Knockout win over Tanzania’s Francis Cheka on Saturday.
Ohio school taps U of Louisville official as new president
The University of Cincinnati on Saturday named as its 30th president: a former longtime professor who’s been serving as acting president at the University of Louisville. The Ohio school’s board of trustees met in special session to approve Neville Pinto to lead the public university of more than 44,300 students.
BP Gains Abu Dhabi Oil Field Stake for $2.2 Billion in Stock
BP Plc cemented its 77-year relationship with Abu Dhabi by swapping about $2.2 billion of its own shares for a stake in one of the emirate’s largest onshore oil concessions. The U.K.’s second-biggest oil group will issue new ordinary shares to pay for 10 percent of the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd., giving the emirate a 2 percent holding in BP, the London-based company said Saturday in a statement.
Opioids, pot and economics: three ways politics touched Canadians this week
It was the final week of Parliament before Christmas, and all through the Housea . the Liberals did their best to make sure no one had any time to think about ethics or fundraising before heading home for the holidays.
CRICKET: Calne cricketer Dawson hits half-century on England Test debut against India
LIAM Dawson bagged a piece of English cricket history as his unbeaten half-century underpinned the tourists’ revival on day two of the fifth Test against India. Calne’s Dawson was hit on the helmet by the second ball he faced in his Test career from Ishant Sharma, but went on to display the battling qualities – and sound technique – for which he was chosen here as a spinning all-rounder as he and Adil Rashid shared a much-needed eighth-wicket stand of 108 in a total of 477 all out.
Ugandan court orders WizKida s arrest
A court in the Ugandan capital Kampala has issued an arrest order to Ugandan police and Interpol against Nigerian pop star Wizkid. The court order demands that the Nigerian artiste, real name Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun and his manager Sunday ‘Sunny’ Arey be arrested within one month.
War photographer nearly killed in Syria returns to region in medical aid convoy
War photographer Paul Conroy has joined a convoy carrying much-needed medical equipment to the Syrian border for a new hospital in Aleppo – marking his first return to the region since the blast which nearly killed him. In 2012 the photojournalist from Liverpool was badly injured in the Syrian city of Homs, alongside acclaimed war reporter Marie Colvin who was killed in the same blast, when the media centre they were in was shelled.
Norman the booby bird flown home to Caribbean after unscheduled UK stay
A tropical bird found washed up on a British beach has been flown 5,000 miles home to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean in time for Christmas after being nursed back to health. The red-footed booby bird was discovered underweight and dehydrated on a pebble beach at St Leonards-on-Sea, near Hastings in East Sussex, on September 4. The bird, nicknamed Norman, underwent intensive care at the RSPCA’s Mallydams Wood wildlife centre where he spent time under a heat lamp to ward off the cold and ate sprats to build up his strength.
.com | Powerful earthquake hits off Papua New Guinea
A very strong earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea and a tsunami threat has been issued to areas near the epicentre. The US Geological Survey says the magnitude-7.9 quake struck 46km east of Taron in Papua New Guinea on Saturday.