Category: World News

‘An hour’s training to drive an ambulance’: Concerns raised over blue light training

Workers at a private ambulance firm covering south west Hertfordshire have only had an hour’s training to drive vehicles at high speed, it has been reported. Staff at the Private Ambulance Service in Basildon, Essex, which provides emergency cover for the East of England Ambulance Service , also criticised some of the equipment in the ambulances, saying it was in a poor state.

Bollywood producer Abis Rizvi’s mortal remains brought back to Mumbai

Bandra wears a sombre look as film producer’s body arrives from Istabul at his Meena Mahal residence early on Wednesday morning. Rizvi’s father was there at the gate to receive it An eerie silence took over the otherwise chirpy 7th Road near Bandra’s Andrew College, where around 7.45 am, film producer Abis Rizvi’s body was brought home, Meena Mahal, from the airport.

Roadside bomb hits police vehicle in Pakistan, wounding 19

A Pakistani police official says a roadside bomb has struck a vehicle carrying police in the country’s northwest, wounding four officers and 15 passers-by. Local police official Mohammad Nawaz says Wednesday’s attack took place in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, a gateway to Pakistan’s troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Turkish parliament approves extending state of emergency by 3 months

Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday approved a government-backed motion to extend by another three months the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the 15 July failed coup against President Recep Tayyip The state of emergency – which has seen tens of thousands lose their jobs or be arrested on suspicion of links to the putsch – had already been prolonged once before and was due to expire on 19 January. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged Turkey the EU’s “continued support” in its fight against terrorism yesterday , after the New Year’s Eve nightclub attack that killed 39 people.

A German court has shut down hopes for a breakaway Bavaria

Bavarian riflemen and women in traditional costumes fire their muzzle loaders in front of the “Bavaria” statue on the last day at the 183rd Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich on Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. Would Germany be Germany without Bavaria? The wealthy southern state comprises roughly one-fifth of Germany’s landmass.

War legacy recovered

Reunited: Brothers Murray and Jack Granter with their father’s medals, including his Belgian Croix de Guerre, and diploma from the Belgian government. A travelling exhibition chronicling the horrors of World War I has helped two Warrnambool brothers re-connect with their father’s decorated past after more than 60 years.

Get Ready to Rio! with Chef Hubert Keller

As the world’s attention turns to Rio de Janeiro for the August 2016 Olympics, Chef Hubert Keller explores and celebrates Rio’s exciting and vibrant culinary scene. In the show, Chef Keller talks with and learns from Rio’s most celebrated chefs, popular street food vendors, a brewmaster, and Brazilian cookbook author.

113 mutilated bodies found dumped across Balochistan in 2016: BHRO

Karachi [Pakistan], Jan. 4 : Baloch Human Rights Organisation chairperson Bibi Gul Baloch has claimed that at least 113 mutilated bodies were found dumped across Balochistan last year. Revealing details of the annual report compiled by the BHRO at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, Gul Baloch said that during 2016 scores of military operations were carried out in the province’s insurgency-hit south-western parts and that 32 people had gone missing after being “arrested by the law enforcement agencies”.

Chinese renewable power giant builds global empire

In this Nov. 7, 2008 photo, people stand near electric pylons watching flow of water is discharged through the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang in central China’s Hubei province. Three Gorges Group is spending heavily to buy or build hydro, wind and solar projects at a time when Western utility investors are pulling back and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to revive coal use has raised doubt about U.S. support for renewables.

Citi FM’s Hello Kigali trip attracts dozens of private businesses

The Hello Kigali Trip, involving Citi FM and private sector delegation, is to expose businesses to a first-hand experience of how a country with a recent genocide history, has turned around its story making it an investment hub within sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the impact of Rwanda’s genocide story on the country’s political and socio-economic fundamentals, major reforms have made it one of the most sought after economies in Africa and around the globe.

When Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar stalked ‘Menstrual Man’

India’s sanitary-pad-man Padma Shri Arunachalam Muruganantham tells hitlist how he was chased, coerced by Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar into lending his story for Bollywood big screen adaptation After hounding Menstrual Man Padma Shri Arunachalam Muruganantham for months and finally convincing him to allow them to translate it for the big screen, Twinkle Khanna, Akshay Kumar and R Balki are all set to showcase ‘Padman’ to the world. Back in 1998, Muruganantham had sparked off a revolution when he developed, after much derision and social censure, a low-cost sanitary napkin machine.

Indian police investigate New Year sex attacks

Indian police have filed a case after finding “credible” evidence that groups of men sexually assaulted women at a New Year’s eve celebration, an incident that has sparked widespread outrage. Praveen Sood, the police commissioner of Bangalore city, said an inquiry had been set up into allegations women attending the Saturday night celebrations were chased, groped, molested and robbed.

China: Regime confirms its carrier held drills in South China Sea

“China confirmed that its aircraft carrier has for the first time conducted drills in the South China Sea with a formation of other warships and fighter jets, a move that could raise concerns among its neighbors. The Defense Ministry said several J-15 fighter jets took off and landed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning on Monday.

Rural schools facing low enrolment

PETALING JAYA: At least seven Chinese primary schools, almost all in rural areas, did not receive new Year One pupils this year, while 13 schools only had one new pupil. While vernacular schools in urban areas are struggling with burgeoning numbers, those in rural locations in Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Johor and Sarawak are having a hard time attracting new enrolment.

Syrian cease-fire crumbles as government forces advance around Damascus

BEIRUT - A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in further talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Video shows man believed to be nightclub attacker in Turkey

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: In this photo obtained Tuesday Jan. 3, 2017, undated photo of a man believed to be the gunman who killed dozens at an Istanbul nightclub, films himself as he wanders nearby to Istanbul’s Taksim square. An assailant armed with a long-barrelled weapon, opened fire at the nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district during New Year’s celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding many others.

Haiti certifies presidential win for businessman candidate

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: A supporter of presidential candidate Jovenel Moise holds up a campaign poster as he celebrates his candidate’s victory in Petion-Ville, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. An electoral tribunal certified on Tuesday the presidential election victory of the first-time candidate.

Cold Southerly Blast Today

A cold southerly blast spreads up the country today, bringing a few thunderstorms and even hail to some areas in the east of the country. The cold change is expected to continue up the Kaikoura coast this afternoon, and the rest of the North Island this evening.

US-trained dolphins to help locate Mexico’s vaquita porpoise

U.S. Navy-trained dolphins and their handlers will participate in a last-ditch effort to catch, enclose and protect the last few dozen of Mexico’s critically endangered vaquita porpoises to save them from extinction. International experts confirmed the participation of the Navy Marine Mammal Program in the effort, which is expected to start sometime this spring.

Mexico registers first baby with maternal last names

Public registry officials in northern Mexico say they have registered the country’s first baby named with the maternal surnames of both parents. The tradition in Latin America is to give babies two last names – the father’s surname, followed by the mother’s paternal surname.

Suspected rebels storm Philippine jail, 132 inmates escape

KIDAPAWAN, Philippines – More than 130 inmates have escaped in one of the largest jailbreaks in recent years after suspected Muslim rebels attacked a jail in the southern Philippines before dawn on Wednesday, officials said. Jail warden Superintendent Peter Bongat said a guard was killed and an inmate was wounded in a gunbattle when dozens of gunmen stormed the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan.

‘We were meant to be together forever’

THE fiancee of a young man killed in a jetskiing accident weeks before they were due to marry has paid tribute to his “quirky” personality. Launceston man Luke Rice, 22, was killed on Monday while jetskiing at Trevallyn Dam on the South Esk River in Tasmania.

Leipzig: The Cosmopolitan City of Germany

Located in the East German state of Saxony at the confluence of three rivers, Leipzig has always been a historically important city. Many notable figures have lived here, and its citizens were instrumental in bringing about the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

Water crisis in Syrian capital as government attacks valley

This frame grab from video provided By Yomyat Kzefeh Hawen Fi Dimashq , a Damascus-based media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows Syrian re… , via AP). This frame grab from video provided By Yomyat Kzefeh Hawen Fi Dimashq , a Damascus-based media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows Syrian re… , via AP).

Hail and ‘decent gusts’ for Christchurch

In the middle of New Zealand’s summer, hail could whiten the ground in Christchurch this afternoon as a cold snap moves up the island. Enough hail to blanket the ground is expected in the late afternoon, and Cantabrians with vegetable gardens are warned to cover them or expect damage from hailstones up to 1.5cm.

Thanks Obama=

Recently, President Obama spearheaded a UN resolution effectively declaring Judaism’s and Christianity’s holiest sites, the Temple Mount, Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Western Wall, Israeli occupied territory belonging to Palestinians. Now, Muslims are demanding Jews and Christians stop referring to the site by it’s historical Jewish name, the Temple Mount.

Cane shortage brings down sugar rush

Sugar mills have been able to produce higher volume of the sweetener in the first quarter of the season due to better yield of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh, but the euphoria of beating a lower output estimate may soon be over with factories in Maharashtra closing down one after another, earlier than the regular schedule. As much as 25 mills in the top sugar-producing state of Maharashtra have closed factories due to a severe shortage of sugarcane.

Pentagon: The US can protect its allies from North Korean nukes

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides field guidance at the newly built National Space Development General Satellite Control and Command Centre in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang May 3, 2015. The US Defense Department, reacting to North Korea’s statement that it plans to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, said on Tuesday it was confident in its ability to protect U.S. allies and the U.S. homeland from threats from Pyongyang.