Category: World News

Turkey dismisses more civil servants in post-coup purge

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a rally in Sanliurfa, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Turkey’s justice minister Bekir Bozdag says police have detained 18 people in connection with a foiled attack at courthouse in the western city of Izmir that nevertheless killed a policeman and a courthouse employee.

.com | Grace Mugabe ‘grabs more houses’ in $1.3m diamond ring dispute

Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe has allegedly grabbed two more properties from a Lebanese businessman, despite the court ordering her to vacate the three houses that she initially seized in a botched $1.3m diamond ring deal. Harare High Court judge Clement Phiri on December 21 ruled against President Robert Mugabe’s controversial wife after she forcefully took ownership of three properties belonging Lebanese tycoon Jamal Ahmed, and gave her 24 hours to pack her bags and allow Ahmed’s employees to return to the seized houses.

Fresh gunfire in Ivory Coast as officials seek end to mutiny

In this file photo taken Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, Ivory Coast troops provide security during an election rally of Ivory Coast incumbent President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Some unidentified soldiers have launched mutinies in three cities across this West African country on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, demanding higher pay and bringing the threat of unrest back to Africa’s fastest-growing economy, authorities said.

Crack in Antarctic ice shelf grows by 11 miles; break could be imminent

An enormous rift in one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves grew dramatically over the past several weeks, and a chunk nearly the size of Delaware could break away within months, British scientists reported this week. If this happens, it could accelerate a further breakup of the ice shelf, essentially removing a massive cork of ice that keeps some of Antarctica’s glaciers from flowing into the ocean.

‘I want to break the teen dad stigma’

New Zealand’s most famous teen dad is helping other young parents find their feet by raising cash to send them on leadership courses. Noa Woolloff, 18, hit the headlines a year ago after being made head boy at his high school following the birth of his daughter Kyla.

Jordan warns of – catastrophic repercussions’ should the US move its embassy to occupied Jerusalem

Trump promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s undivided capital if he emerged triumphant in the US presidential election. Information Minister Mohammed Momani told The Associated Press on Thursday that such a move would be a “red line” for Jordan and would ” inflame the Islamic and Arab streets .”

Nigeria: West Africa will act on Gambia election crisis

In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh shows his inked finger before voting in Banjul, Gambia. Family members told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, that Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai has gone to Senegal, as the political standoff deepens between Jammeh and President-elect Adama Barrow.

Deal made to shut down Indian Point power plant

This Dec. 16, 2009, file photo, shows the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., as seen from across the Hudson River in Tomkins Cove, N.Y. The aging facility just north of New York City will close by April 2021 under a deal with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has long argued it should be shuttered to protect the millions of people living nearby.

Face to Face

Like many authors, Charles Henderson writes about what he knows best. A retired United States Marines officer, Henderson has written six books, each woven with a military theme.

Full House: Weymouth panto Jack and the Beanstalk

Some 17,000 people saw Jack and the Beanstalk at Weymouth Pavilion during its run over Christmas and the New Year. Audience numbers have increased from an average of 10,000 people who viewed pantomime productions at the Pavilion when it was run by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council .

Hearts, intestines ripped out in Brazil prison

Thirty-one inmates were slain Friday in northern Brazil, some with their hearts and intestines ripped out, during prison killings led by the country’s largest gang, authorities said. The bloodshed comes just days after 60 inmates were killed during rioting at two prisons in a neighboring state and it increases fears that violence could spread, including to the streets of major cities, as gangs vie for influence and territory both inside prisons and in slums where trafficking operations are often based.

Fitter launches compensation claim over asbestos-related cancer

David Bennett, 63, was one of thousands of people employed by Smart and Brown, in Spennymoor, during the 1960s and 70s David Bennett, who is now retired and lives in Croxdale, County Durham , was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2016 – a cancer of the lung’s linings usually caused by exposure to asbestos. The 63-year-old instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate how and where he was exposed to asbestos dust.

Perth “the place to visit” in 2017 say top travel guides

Perth has had a major tourism boost with two of the world’s best known travel guides listing WA as a “must-see” destination for 2017. Travel +Leisure has included Perth in its 50-best-places-to-travel and Lonely Planet has listed Pinky’s Eco Retreat and Beach Club on Rottnest Island at number eight in its Top-35-new-travel-openings for 2017.

Man stabbed in stomach in Knutsford alleyway

Police taped off an alleyway in the Lowe Drive area at around 3.45pm after attending reports of an assault, and found a 31-year-old man with a puncture wound to the stomach. Sgt Matt Ashton said: “The investigation is in the very early stages but I would like to reassure people that this appears to be an isolated incident.

U.S. charges ex-Haiti coup leader with drug trafficking conspiracy

The leader of a 2004 coup that toppled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and who had been wanted for more than a decade by U.S. authorities, was charged on Friday in the United States with engaging in drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. Guy Philippe, 48, faces a three-count indictment including conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money, and engaging in monetary transactions stemming from unlawful activity, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Forex: J$128.55 to one US dollar – Latest News

KINGSTON, Jamaica The Jamaican dollar held firm against the US dollar trading at J$128.55 on Friday, January 6, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily foreign exchange trading summary. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at J$96.30, down from J$96.71, while the British pound sterling ended trading at J$156.93, down from J$157.23.

U.S. intelligence agencies: Putin ordered intervention in…

Russia carried out a comprehensive cybercampaign to upend the U.S. presidential election, an operation that was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and “aspired to help” elect Donald Trump by discrediting his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a report released Friday. The report depicts Russian interference as unprecedented in scale, saying that Moscow’s assault represented “a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort” beyond previous election-related espionage.

LETTER: Time to get beyond mudslinging

Doug Griffiths, author of “13 Ways to Kill Your Community,” and paid guest speaker, is upset by Brian W. White, CPA, CA and chairman of Pictou County ‘Amalgamation No Thank You. Now Mr. Griffiths says he no longer wants to talk to Mr. White according to his comments in “Always a way to succeed” which appeared in the New Glasgow News on Dec 21. Well that was the best bit of news I’d heard for some while! Here’s hoping he takes his booty and returns to his native province and soon relieves the Nova Scotia taxpayer.

EDITORIAL: Some ready to throw caution to the wind

Now there’s a novel approach in setting a political agenda: a moderate tone, basing comments on a positive track, avoiding the negative. There was a time when Lisa Raitt’s style in discussing her bid to lead the federal Conservatives would have made all the sense in the world.

Queen bees: The honey co-ops giving Afghan women control

In the mountainous central province of Bamiyan, one of the country’s least developed but most liberal regions, beekeeping complements its only other commercial crop, potatoes, and gives rural women the chance to become entrepreneurs. Four beekeeping cooperatives have been set up here in recent years, backed by NGOs and foreign aid.