Morocco on Tuesday strongly condemned a deadly suicide bomb attack in Baghdad, reaffirming its support for Iraq's war on terrorism. A suicide truck bomb ripped through a busy shopping district in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood on Sunday, killing at least 165 people. Morocco denounces and condemns this despicable carnage that reflects a barbarous mentality and runs counter all human and ethical values, a statement from the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said. The Kingdom of Morocco offers its condolences to the Iraqi government and the families of the victims and wishes speedy recovery to those injured in the attack, it added. It reaffirmed Morocco's support for Iraq to confront terrorist acts that aim to undermine its unity, security and sovereignty.
All these accusations and counter-accusations is beginning to get
worrisome. Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has denied claims that he
gave the office of the embattled former National Security Adviser Sambo
Dasuki N40 billion while he served as the Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria.
He denied the claims in an interview with The Cable…
“This is completely untrue. In the first place, I understand the laws of money laundering. And it is a criminal offence.
The central bank is the chief regulator charged with ensuring we put
an end to money laundering. This is partly why we started our cashless
Nigeria project and why I started the BVN project.
I would never authorize that amount of cash to be moved to the office of the NSA or to anyone even if it was in their account.
I do not know where they are getting these strange stories. I was
removed from the CBN in February 2014, and to the best of my knowledge,
the EFCC is probing disbursements allegedly made made in late 2014 and
early 2015 before the general elections, if indeed they happened.
I find it difficult to believe that this could happen in the CBN that
I know but we have to wait and see what the investigations come out
with. Certainly whoever is linking me to this did not even bother to
look at the dates of the alleged transactions. I know nothing about
them, period.
We never gave cash to anybody. If we did we disclosed it in published
accounts under CSR. Our interventions, be this to educational
institutions or security services, took the form of clearly identified
projects or specified procurement, done through well laid-down
procedures, including competitive bidding, award of contracts, and
collection of no-objection certificate from the due process office.
We did not give cash to anybody. The total amount disbursed by the CBN on capital projects in my five years was N55 billion.
And this included contracts for CBN branches and our CSR interventions mainly in the universities and secondary schools.
How can anyone suggest that we gave N40 billion to ONSA?” he said
One of China's richest men, Guo Guangchang, is reported to be missing.
Financial magazine Caixin said that staff at Mr Guo's company, Fosun International, had been unable to contact their boss since Thursday afternoon.
Fosun, one of China's biggest private conglomerates, halted trading of its Hong Kong shares following the reports.
There is speculation that Mr Guo, described as China's Warren Buffett, has been detained by the police.
Caixin quoted social media messages saying he had last been seen with police in Shanghai.
A source close to the Fosun Group told the BBC that Mr Guo had not been contactable via an internal company-wide mobile app.
"It's
very likely he's been asked by the Chinese authorities to co-operate in
an investigation. He is not being investigated himself," the source
said.
He declined to speculate about the details of the investigation.
Fosun said it would release further details
later. Mr Guo was linked to a corruption court case in August.
BBC
Asia-Pacific analyst Michael Bristow says Mr Guo's empire extends
across the world, while the publisher Forbes estimates his fortune at
$7bn (£4.6bn).
Fosun Group has interests spanning media,
insurance, real estate and retail. Recently, it took control of French
holiday group Club Med. In February this year Fosun finally clinched control of the French holiday group Club Mediterranee
Fosun International, the parent company of Shanghai-based Fosun Group, was listed in Hong Kong in 2007. In a statement
to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, the firm said its shares
would be halted from trade "with effect from 9:00 on Friday, 11 December
2015 pending the release of an announcement containing inside
information".
As part of the statement, Mr Guo's name was included in the list of Fosun's executive directors. Karishma Vaswani, Asia Business correspondent, BBC NewsIf
Mr Guo has indeed disappeared, he wouldn't be the first high-profile
executive in China's financial sector to have gone missing in recent
weeks.
There is speculation that this is part of the wider
anti-corruption campaign that Beijing launched to clean up various
pillars of China's economy - which now includes the financial sector.
If Mr Guo is proved to be part of that, then he would be among the most high-profile Chinese businessmen caught up in it.
He
called himself a student of the US investment legend Warren Buffett and
wanted to transform his conglomerate, Fosun, into a top asset
management firm.
Fosun has made a number of international
acquisitions recently and is a shareholder in global media companies
such as Forbes. It is seen as one of China's most successful firms
internationally. Mystery behind China's 'missing' bosses Fosun profile
Mr Guo launched Fosun with a group of fellow students in 1992.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Fosun's initial success came from pharmaceutical and real estate investments.
The firm's business interests and
investments now include insurance, industrial operations, real estate
and asset management, among others.
After nearly two years of takeover
efforts, Fosun finally clinched control of the French holiday group Club
Mediterranee in February.
Today, the conglomerate has a wide
range of international investments including Greek fashion brand Folli
Follie and the Chase Manhattan building in New York.
Last year, Mr Guo told the BBC
of some of the difficulties the private enterprise had faced over the
years doing business in China. He said when China's banks were all
state-owned that it had been hard to secure long-term loans.
Fosun International posted a 24% rise in profit
for the year ending in December 2014 from a year earlier to 6.86bn yuan
($1.1bn). Its shares fell close to 2% on the news, however, by
mid-afternoon they had recovered lost ground to be down 0.45%.
Prime Minister Trudeau welcomes Syrian refugees to Toronto
The first military plane carrying Syrian refugees to be resettled in Canada has arrived in the country.
Welcoming the 163 refugees, new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was "showing the world how to open our hearts".
The newly elected Liberal government has pledged to take in 25,000 refugees by the end of February.
Canada's stance on the issue differs sharply to that of the US, which has been reluctant to take in migrants.
Another plane is due in Montreal on Saturday.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said all 10 provinces in Canada are in favour of accepting the refugees.
"This is a great moment for Canada," he said. "This shows the way we really are. It truly is a non-partisan, national project."
Since early November, hundreds of Syrians have already arrived in Canada via commercial aircraft.
A total of about 300 Syrians will arrive
this week.
The Toronto Star, the country's largest-circulation daily newspaper, ran a cover story on Thursday welcoming the refugees.
he US administration has said it will take in 10,000 refugees over
the next year. Some Republican governors have unsuccessfully tried to
keep them from coming to their states after deadly terrorist attacks in
France and California.
Leading Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump said after the California attacks that all Muslims should
be blocked from coming to the US, drawing condemnation across the globe.
Global News reporter Mike Armstrong has been taking photos of refugees at Canada's refugee processing centre in Amman, Jordan.
Some families have been told they may move in weeks, he tweeted.
About 800 refugees are going through screening tests in Lebanon and Jordan daily, Mr McCallum said.
Mr
Trudeau, who swept the 19 October Canadian elections, has a different
stance on refugees from that of his predecessor, the conservative
Stephen Harper, who did not wish to resettle more people.
Unaccompanied
men will be excluded from the resettlement programme but officials said
this had nothing to do with national security concerns.
"We want them to have a roof over their head, and the right support," said Mr McCallum.
"It
takes a bit of time to put that all in place. We're happy to take a
little more time than originally planned to bring our new friends into
the country."
Those who will be considered refugees include families, women deemed to be at risk, and gay men and women.bbcnews
India's Sushma Swaraj announced the talks after meeting her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz (right)
India and Pakistan have agreed to resume high-level peace talks which stalled in 2012.
The agreement was announced at a regional conference in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Indian
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said the foreign secretaries of both
countries would meet to set an agenda for meetings on "peace and
security".
Talks are to include Kashmir, the spark for two of the rivals' wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
The region, claimed by both countries in its entirety, has been a flashpoint for more than 60 years.
"The
foreign secretaries of both countries will meet and chart out the
agenda for the meetings," Ms Swaraj told reporters after meeting her
counterpart, Sartaj Aziz.
Pakistan is said to have assured the
Indian side that it is taking steps to expedite the early conclusion of
trials of those accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks of 2009,
the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Pakistan reports. Narendra Modi has accepted an invitation from Nawaz Sharif to attend a regional summit in Islamabad next year
M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, IslamabadMs
Swaraj's visit came in the aftermath of a dramatic rise - and then a
rather sudden easing - in tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Pakistan wants to discuss Kashmir, claimed
by both countries in its entirety.
India
wants Pakistan to allow greater commercial interaction, liberalise visa
regimes, grant transit rights to traders between Delhi and Kabul, and
stamp out militant groups which it believes Pakistan has fostered to
destabilise Kashmir and Afghanistan.
This is a complex situation, and talks in the past have often broken down, underlining a trust deficit on both sides.
A
measure of success will be if they can draw up a road-map for more
substantive talks in the near future - and then make progress on the
many long-running issues which divide them.
Argentina's outgoing
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has made an emotional farewell
speech to supporters in Buenos Aires.
She urged people to take to the streets if they felt betrayed by the new centre-right government.
Conservative Mauricio Macri, who won a run-off election last month, is due to be sworn in as president later.
Mr Macri inherits a host of economic problems including inflation running at almost 15%, officials figures show.
Other
experts put it much higher, at nearly 25%. Argentina has suffered badly
from a slump in commodity prices and foreign currency reserves have
plummeted, making attracting external investment difficult.
Argentina defaulted on its debts last year for a second time in a dispute with hedge funds.
The new Argentine leader has promised a new era of change and reconciliation.
Addressing tens of thousands of cheering supporters outside the
Casa Rosa presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Ms Fernandez defended her
record.
"We
believe in what we have achieved so we need to have a positive attitude
to ensure that these things will not be destroyed," she said.
"When you feel that those who you trusted and voted for have betrayed you, take up your flags," she added. On her final day in office Ms Fernandez unveiled a bust of her late husband, ex-president Nestor Kirchner President-elect Mauricio Macri (R) on Wednesday played indoor football, with Bolivia's President Evo Morales an opponent
Ms Fernandez is to skip Thursday's swearing-in after the two became embroiled in a row over the ceremony's location.
She insisted the handover took place in Congress, while Mr Macri wanted it to happen at the presidential palace.
Mr Macri sought a court injunction affirming that Ms Fernandez's term ended at midnight on Wednesday to settle the matter.
During her speech, Ms Fernandez joked: "I can't talk much because after midnight I'll turn into a pumpkin."
Power
has been temporarily transferred to Senate Speaker Federico Pinedo, who
will act as head of state for 12 hours until Mr Macri's inauguration.
Meanwhile, the official Twitter account for the Argentine presidency, @CasaRosadaAR, has been turned into a "Twitter tribute" to Ms Fernandez and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner. Mauricio Macri is the outgoing mayor of Buenos Aires and former president of football giants Boca Juniors
The current administration has been repeatedly
accused of being less than transparent about key statistics such as the
real rate of inflation.
The soon-to-be president has repeatedly
said he could not yet expand on the detail of his economic plans until
he was able to ascertain exactly how critical the situation was.
While
his middle-class supporters will be expecting a more liberal economic
climate, less well-off working class Argentines will be hoping the new
administration protects welfare programmes introduced by the previous
government.
Mr Macri indeed promised to be a "president for all
Argentines", knowing the powerful labour unions will become restless if
economic reform turns out to mean cuts.
Without saying so
directly, Mr Macri made it abundantly that Ms Fernandez's combative
style had damaged Argentina's image abroad.
Rebuilding relations with neighbours in Latin America and allies further afield, is another job at the top of his "to do" list. Challenges for the new president
Ms Fernandez and Nestor Kirchner held power in Argentina for 12 years.
She
is revered by some Argentines for expanding welfare benefits,
nationalising some companies and introducing new civil rights such as
gay marriage.
But critics say she created a culture of handouts
and clogged Latin America's third-largest economy with interventionist
policies.
Mr Macri - the outgoing mayor of Buenos Aires
and a former president of football club Boca Juniors - defeated Ms
Fernandez's preferred candidate Daniel Scioli by 51.4% to 48.6% in a
run-off vote last month.
He is the first centre-right leader to come to power since Argentina returned to democracy.
Mr
Macri has not detailed his economic policies, but said that he will
need to implement swift and radical changes in order to win back market
confidence.
However, Ms Fernandez's party still holds the most
seats in the legislature and could make it hard for him to implement big
changes.
Thousands of supporters came to see Ms Fernandez's farewell speech But her legacy is divisive, with the economy mired in problems
Nhlanhla Nene was appointed as finance minister in May 2014
South Africa's
currency has fallen close to a record low a day after Finance Minister
Nhlanhla Nene was sacked, Reuters news agency reports.
President Jacob Zuma said that Mr Nene was being moved to "another strategic position".
BBC
Africa business reporter Lerato Mbele says that his attempt to rein in
spending may have unsettled some people loyal to the president.
The sacking comes as South Africa's economy is struggling to grow.
The
rand fell to below 15 to the dollar on Thursday morning and stock
prices also fell in Johannesburg as trading began, Reuters reports.
Struggling economy
Last week, two credit ratings agencies downgraded their assessments of South Africa.
Fitch reduced its rating to just above junk status and Standard and Poor's moved its outlook from stable to negative.
Unemployment in South Africa is above 25% and the economy is growing very slowly.
Mr Nene has been replaced by the relatively
unknown David van Rooyen.
He
has been the chairperson of parliament's finance committee and before
becoming an MP was the mayor of Merafong, a town to the west of
Johannesburg.
The family of a man killed in the Paris attacks has called
for a boycott of a national tribute to the victims, accusing the
government of failing to tackle the terror threat.
Emma Prevost, whose brother Francois-Xavier was among the 130 who lost
their lives, has posted a Facebook message setting out reasons for
rejecting the commemoration event planned for this Friday.
She said the family held the President Francois Hollande and other
politicians partly responsible for the massacre, also arguing nothing
had been done in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks in January, in which 17 people died.
Ms Prevost also questioned the ability of those with terrorist links to travel to Syria and return "freely" to France.
It is claimed one of the suicide bombers, Bilal Hadfi, had been
arrested by police several times, but they had failed to stop him twice
travelling to Syria.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader behind the bombings and shootings in the French capital, had also managed
to slip into the country from Syria, despite being linked to a series
of extremist plots and wanted on international warrants.
Ms Prevost said the French authorities had launched airstrikes against
Islamic State in Syria without first ensuring the safety of their own
people.
Rejecting the tribute event, she wrote: "It's earlier that there was a need to act.
"The attacks of the month of January should have been sufficient."
Meanwhile, the brother of fugitive Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam has again urged him to surrender to police.
Mohamed Abdeslam said he shared the pain of victims' families and
wishes he and his family could have done something to prevent the
bloodshed.
His other brother, Brahim Abdeslam, was also involved in the attack, blowing himself up in front of a Paris cafe.
Mohamed Abdeslam said he had not heard from Salah.
"Let him turn himself in for his parents, for justice, for the families
of victims, so that we can find out what happened," he said.
Security in Paris will remain high as world leaders gather in the city for a climate summit which begins on 30 November.
Nearly 11,000 police will be deployed for the event, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said.
Alert: The US State Department has warned all citizens to be
vigilant citing threats from Isis, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and "other
terrorist groups”
Americans have been issued with a global travel alert over fears of attacks from terrorists around the world.
The
US State Department has warned all citizens to be vigilant citing
threats from ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and "other terrorist groups”.
They
have advised everyone to take caution in public places, during holidays
and at large gatherings such as sporting matches or concerts.
The alert will expire on 24 February next year, the State Department said.
It comes in the wake of the Paris terror attacks last Friday which claimed the lives of 130 people. Alert: The US State Department has warned all citizens to be
vigilant citing threats from Isis, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and "other
terrorist groups”
Americans have been issued with a global travel alert over fears of attacks from terrorists around the world.
The
US State Department has warned all citizens to be vigilant citing
threats from ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and "other terrorist groups”.
They
have advised everyone to take caution in public places, during holidays
and at large gatherings such as sporting matches or concerts.
The alert will expire on 24 February next year, the State Department said.
It comes in the wake of the Paris terror attacks last Friday which claimed the lives of 130 people.
"Authorities believe the likelihood of terror attacks will continue as members of ISIL/Da’esh return from Syria and Iraq.
"Additionally,
there is a continuing threat from unaffiliated persons planning attacks
inspired by major terrorist organizations but conducted on an
individual basis.
"Extremists have targeted large sporting events, theatres, open markets, and aviation services.
"In the past year, there have been multiple attacks in France,
Nigeria, Denmark, Turkey, and Mali. ISIL/Da’esh has claimed
responsibility for the bombing of a Russian airliner in Egypt.
"U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation.
"Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowed places.
"Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events.
"U.S.
citizens should monitor media and local information sources and factor
updated information into personal travel plans and activities.
"Persons
with specific safety concerns should contact local law enforcement
authorities who are responsible for the safety and security of all
visitors to their host country."
France
is currently in a state of emergency as security is ramped up as the
search for one of the Paris attackers Salah Abdesalam continues.
Brussels is also on lockdown after security chiefs warned two ISIS terrorists were poised to launch a gun and bomb massacre.
It is also believed Abdesalam may be hiding there after returning to his homeland following the Paris attacks.
Soldiers and armed response police units flooded have cordoned-off streets and requested 'radio silence' about operations on social media as the measure stretches into its fourth day.
Schools and the underground Metro system are also shut as people are warned not to attend highly populated areas.
Britain has pledged to form two new 5,000-strong strike forces to take on Islamic State terrorists.
David Cameron
announced yesterday he will put £12billion aside to create our
fastest-ever rapid reaction troops as fears grow of a 10-year campaign.
New
military hardware is “vital” at a time “when the threats to our country
are growing”, Cameron said, citing the rise of IS as a major reason for
the additional purchases.
The Prime Minister added: “We cannot
choose between conventional defences against state-based threats and the
need to counter threats that do not recognise national borders.
“Today we face both and we must respond to both.”
Last
month ISIS claimed responsibility for bringing down a Russian passenger
jet in Egypt killing all 224 on board using a bomb disguised as a
drinks can.
Since the arrest of Mr Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of pirate,
foreign-based Radio Biafra, youths have been staging daily protests for
his release in many cities of the South East and South-South. The
agitators, under the platforms of the Independent People of Biafra
(IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of
Biafra (MASSOB) are also calling for the granting of their demand for a
separate country called Biafra.
Though the demonstrations have remained peaceful, they appear to be
gathering traction, as more and more youths are joining, with the risk
that matters could boil over and threaten the peace and stability of the
country.
We call on all concerned to exercise caution and ensure that we do
not get into yet another security mess. The country has just recovered
from the militancy in the Niger Delta, which ended when the government
of the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua packaged a comprehensive amnesty
deal for repentant militants. We are yet to fully overcome the threat to
the stability of the country posed by the Boko Haram Islamist
terrorists in northern Nigeria. We cannot afford to add to it another
uprising, this time from the South East.
We call on the Biafra agitators to jettison the idea of compromising
the unity and territorial integrity of Nigeria. Igbo leaders should rein
in their angry youth and persuade them to seek solutions within the
Nigerian platform which belongs to all of us. The Biafra issue was
settled forty five years ago when the nation successfully reasserted the
indivisibility of Nigeria. We do not want a re-enactment of that sad
chapter which occasioned massive loss of lives and property and brought
untold pain and misery to millions of our countrymen, women and
children.
We believe that the complaint of marginalisation, which is often used
to justify the call for secession, can be addressed through the
political process, good governance and good leadership. The funny thing
about the cry of marginalisation is that virtually every group in the
country is complaining. This is why we have so many national and
constitutional conferences, in the last 38 years. Perhaps, it is time
for us to start implementing some of the resolutions from these confabs
to enhance greater citizen participation in their own affairs.
We must devolve more political and economic power to the people and
ensure justice and fair play in the distribution of the political and
economic resources of the country. We must eliminate all sources of
injustice, create more opportunities for the full employment of the
youth and make all Nigerians happy and proud of their country.
Nigeria must remain one united entity.
A temple in
northern India has asked female foreign tourists to use a sari to "cover
themselves and look decent" before entering the complex.
The
Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi city has opened a new counter to
provide saris for women who come in "outfits that end before the knee".
The temple authorities said the new measures had been taken to maintain decency in the temple complex.
But they denied that the temple was imposing a formal dress code on women.
"We
get complaints that some foreign tourists come to the temple in
indecent clothes. We have arranged saris for women and also dhotis
[traditional wrap-around clothing] for men to ensure that they can cover
themselves decently," the temple's chief executive officer PN Dwivedi
told BBC Hindi.
Mr Dwivedi is against foreign tourists wearing "revealing" clothes inside the temple
Mr Dwivedi added that tourists "can simply wrap a sari or a dhoti on top of their clothes" before entering the temple.
"They [tourists] will not be charged for this service. If Indians come in indecent clothes, they too will be helped," he said.
He told Times of India that no tourist will be denied entry in the temple.
"No
foreign woman is going to be stopped from offering prayer inside the
sanctorum, and we are not enforcing any dress code. This is just a way
of motivating foreign women, who come to the temple in short Western
attire to avoid such dresses," he said.
The US president has placed a $5million bounty on the head of a key Islamic
State terrorist in charge of mobilizing foreign fighters in Syria. The man's name is Abu-Muhammad
al-Shimali and last night, the US government announced the reward for information leading to the location or
identification of the terrorist also known as Tirad al-Jarba.
He's a senior leader of ISIS and heads the moving of
foreign fighters into Syria and processing the group’s new recruits
there. He's said to be the leader of ISIS immigration and logistics committee,
responsible for moving foreign terrorist fighters primarily through
Gaziantep, Turkey to Jarabulus, Syria, a border town the group
controls.
so if you wanna get rich now i think it time ,lets all become assasins and look for the fucking guy
U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Thursday to press ahead with the
release of his plan on how he hopes to close the Guantanamo military
prison but said last week’s Paris attacks would stoke further
congressional resistance to his efforts.
Obama drew a link between a bid by Republicans to block
the inflow of Syrian refugees to the United States, based on concerns
they could ignite Paris-style violence in American cities, and their
opposition to the closing of the Guantanamo detention center at the U.S.
Navy base in Cuba.
While attending an Asia-Pacific summit in Manila, he
spoke amid fresh delays in his administration’s submission to Congress
of a plan aimed at meeting his long-standing pledge to shut the
internationally condemned prison for foreign terrorism suspects.
“We can keep the American people safe while shutting
down that operation,” Obama told reporters at a joint appearance before
reporters with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Obama predicted that the prison’s population would be
reduced to fewer than a hundred by early next year, an important
symbolic milestone. The number has been whittled down to 107 prisoners,
mostly through repatriations and transfers to third countries.
The Pentagon had been expected to unveil Obama’s
Guantanamo closure plan last week, before his departure for summits in
Turkey and Southeast Asia, U.S. officials said. But that was held up
without explanation, and Obama did not specify any new timeline.
The killing of 129 people in gun and bomb attacks last
week in Paris in attacks claimed by Islamic State appears to have
complicated Obama’s Guantanamo strategy.
Some of Obama’s Republican critics have called on him
to drop the idea of closing Guantanamo, saying this is not the time to
release more inmates overseas or bring them to U.S. prisons.
Obama equated that with calls from Republicans who say
that the U.S. acceptance of Syrian refugees should be restricted because
militants might slip into the country and carry out attacks, an
argument he has dismissed as politically motivated.
He reiterated his view that Guantanamo has been “an
enormous recruitment tool” for groups like Islamic State, which has
seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.
“We are going to go through meticulously, with
Congress, what our options are and why we think this should be closed,”
Obama said.
“I guarantee you there will be strong resistance,
because in the aftermath of Paris, I think that there is just a very
strong tendency for us to get worked up around issues that don’t
actually make us safer.”
Republicans who control Congress have vowed to block
Obama’s efforts to transfer any detainees to the United States from
Guantanamo, which was opened by his predecessor, George W. Bush, after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The White House has not ruled out the possibility that
Obama could use executive powers to shut the prison, but some lawmakers
have vowed legal action if he takes that route.
United Airlines plans to let travelers redeem frequent-flier miles for Wifi on flights, company officials said.
United, the second-largest U.S. airline by capacity,
began testing a web portal on Thursday that lets customers use award
miles to access the Internet on their laptops, tablets and smartphones,
making it the first U.S. carrier with the feature, a spokesman said.
It hopes to roll out the portal to most U.S. domestic
flights by early 2016 and to finish installations on international
flights by mid-summer. Regional jets that United contracts for its
United Express brand will get the portal later.
The move reflects an ongoing push in the airline
industry to treat frequent-flier miles like a currency. Travelers
already can redeem miles on U.S. carriers for hotel rooms, theater
tickets, goods such as cameras and even identity theft monitoring.
This also marks United’s latest move to win over
customers since Oscar Munoz took over as chief executive of parent
United Continental Holdings Inc in September.
Munoz has solicited feedback from travelers on how to
improve the airline, ranked the lowest in customer satisfaction of the
largest North American carriers, according to J.D. Power’s 2015 ranking.
The team overseeing the sale of extra services such as
Wifi is now focused on improving travelers’ experience more than
maximizing revenue, United’s Vice President of eCommerce and
Merchandising Scott Wilson said in an interview.
“There is a bias towards promoting that type of
thinking. It’s always existed, but maybe where it was more balanced,
it’s shifted a little bit,” he said.
That doesn’t mean free Wifi, however.
Wilson said there has to be some dollar or mileage cost
because web speeds could slow if each customer tried to access the
Internet. For now, existing contracts prevent United from rolling out
the speediest satellite-based Wifi on all flights.
Wilson said the miles needed for Wifi would vary with supply and demand.
United’s partner Deutsche Lufthansa AG charges
long-haul customers 3,500 miles or 9 euros for an hour of Internet
access, according to its website.
Munoz, who is on leave until 2016 after a heart attack,
has said implementing the 2010 merger of United and Continental was
“rocky for customers and employees.”
If the Indian censors have their way, James Bond can make liberal use
of his licence to kill. But he’ll have to cut back on the kissing – by
exactly half.
The latest installment of the 007 franchise, “Spectre”,
will be released on Friday with heavy cuts after censors deemed the
romantic encounters between Daniel Craig, and co-stars Monica Belluci
and Lea Seydoux, inappropriate for the viewing public.
“The committee which was to certify the film thought
some of the kissing scenes were too long,” said a source familiar with
the application to the censors, who asked Sony Pictures cut the kissing
scenes by 50 percent.
“The studio either had the choice to accept the cuts or
apply for an A certificate, which significantly cuts down reach and
exhibition.”
The Censor Board is controlled by India’s nationalist
government and has turned a disapproving eye on films with steamy sex
scenes.
It is currently headed by Pahlaj Nihalani, a Bollywood
producer who made a campaign video for Prime Minister Narendra Modi last
year, and released another promotional video for him last week.
Its ruling has been panned by critics on social media,
who accuse it of serving the government’s conservative moral agenda,
stifling freedom of expression. Nihalani could not be reached for
comment.
Under Indian law, films with an A – or adult –
certificate can’t be shown on TV. India still accounts for a fraction of
Hollywood’s revenues, but franchises like James Bond and the Avengers
can beat Bollywood’s own productions at the box office.
“50 Shades of Grey”, the film based on E.L. James’s
erotic novel, was never released in India even after the studio cut
every sex scene. The board rejected it on the basis that the language
used in the film was inappropriate.
United Airlines plans to let travelers redeem frequent-flier miles for Wifi on flights, company officials said.
United, the second-largest U.S. airline by capacity,
began testing a web portal on Thursday that lets customers use award
miles to access the Internet on their laptops, tablets and smartphones,
making it the first U.S. carrier with the feature, a spokesman said.
It hopes to roll out the portal to most U.S. domestic
flights by early 2016 and to finish installations on international
flights by mid-summer. Regional jets that United contracts for its
United Express brand will get the portal later.
The move reflects an ongoing push in the airline
industry to treat frequent-flier miles like a currency. Travelers
already can redeem miles on U.S. carriers for hotel rooms, theater
tickets, goods such as cameras and even identity theft monitoring.
This also marks United’s latest move to win over
customers since Oscar Munoz took over as chief executive of parent
United Continental Holdings Inc in September.
Munoz has solicited feedback from travelers on how to
improve the airline, ranked the lowest in customer satisfaction of the
largest North American carriers, according to J.D. Power’s 2015 ranking.
The team overseeing the sale of extra services such as
Wifi is now focused on improving travelers’ experience more than
maximizing revenue, United’s Vice President of eCommerce and
Merchandising Scott Wilson said in an interview.
“There is a bias towards promoting that type of
thinking. It’s always existed, but maybe where it was more balanced,
it’s shifted a little bit,” he said.
That doesn’t mean free Wifi, however.
Wilson said there has to be some dollar or mileage cost
because web speeds could slow if each customer tried to access the
Internet. For now, existing contracts prevent United from rolling out
the speediest satellite-based Wifi on all flights.
Wilson said the miles needed for Wifi would vary with supply and demand.
United’s partner Deutsche Lufthansa AG charges
long-haul customers 3,500 miles or 9 euros for an hour of Internet
access, according to its website.
Munoz, who is on leave until 2016 after a heart attack,
has said implementing the 2010 merger of United and Continental was
“rocky for customers and employees.”
Reversing policy on Afghanistan,
President Barack Obama announced on Thursday he will slow the pace of
withdrawing U.S. troops, prolonging the 14-year U.S. engagement there
and effectively handing off the task of pulling out to his successor.
Calling it a “modest but meaningful” adjustment to
winding up the American presence in Afghanistan, Obama said the United
States will maintain a force of 9,800 through most of 2016 because
Afghan troops are not yet as strong as they need to be.
“If they were to fail, it would endanger the security
of us all,” Obama said, flanked by his Secretary of Defense Ash Carter,
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, and Vice
President Joe Biden.
Obama had previously aimed to withdraw all but a small
U.S.-embassy based force in the capital, Kabul, before leaving office in
January 2017. Under the new plan, troops will be drawn down to 5,500
starting sometime in 2017 and based at four locations – Kabul, Bagram,
Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Asked by a reporter at the end of his statement if he
was disappointed in having to make the decision, Obama said he was not.
He added, “This isn’t the first time those adjustments have been made.
This probably won’t be the last,” he said. “I suspect that we will
continue to evaluate this going forward, as will the next president.”
Obama said his decision followed months of
deliberations with Afghanistan’s leaders, Pentagon officials, field
commanders and White House advisers about how best to support Afghan
forces.
The decision also comes amid gains by Taliban
militants, a point Obama acknowledged as he said they are still capable
of launching deadly attacks on cities including Kabul.
The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan ended its combat
mission after 13 years of war at the end of 2014, and Afghan troops have
since been in charge of the nation’s security, with help from U.S. and
NATO troops.
But Afghan forces have struggled in assaults from
Taliban militants, who briefly took over the northern city of Kunduz.
The U.S. troops will continue in their role of training
and advising Afghan forces, and also in ensuring that any remnants of
al Qaeda are prevented from posing a threat to U.S. security, Obama
said. They will not be engaged in combat missions, he said.
Obama’s foreign policy has become an issue among
candidates running for the White House in the November 2016 election.
Jeb Bush, one of a large array of Republican
candidates, welcomed the move but said Obama should listen to his
military commanders about further steps.
“While I am glad President Obama has dropped his plan
to abandon the region entirely, if he is truly committed to fighting
terrorism and securing a stable Afghanistan, he shouldn’t short change
what our military commanders have said they need to complete the
mission,” Bush said in a statement.
DISCUSSIONS WITH GHANI’S GOVERNMENT
U.S. military and administration officials have been
discussing a slower timetable since the March visit to the White House
of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
Obama spoke to the leaders on Wednesday, he said.
Ghani has been more supportive of the U.S. presence
than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai. Obama stressed that he viewed
Washington as having a solid partner in the Afghan president.
Keeping 5,500 troops at four locations will cost about
$14.6 billion per year, up from the estimated cost of $10 billion to
keep a consolidated force at the Kabul embassy, officials said.
Obama said he would work with NATO allies, who also
have indicated some interest in sustaining their presence. There are
more than 6,000 non-U.S. forces in Afghanistan as part of the “Resolute
Support” mission.
Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, sent a U.S.-led
force into Afghanistan soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the
United States, aiming to destroy al Qaeda and to oust the then-ruling
Taliban that had sheltered the militant group.
The foreign ministry of Russia, which was engaged in a
nearly 10-year war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, said on Thursday it
doubted the U.S. decision would ease the situation in the country, RIA
news agency reported. Washington has been critical of Russia’s move to
engage militarily to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that
country’s four-year civil war.
France says it has mobilised 115,000 security personnel in response to the attacks
Police probing Friday's attacks in Paris have been searching premises they believe were used by the attackers.
A
car rented by Salah Abdeslam, the suspected eighth gunman who is now
the subject of an international manhunt, is also being inspected.
He or his brother Brahim, named as another attacker, are thought to have rented a flat and two hotel rooms.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group says it carried out the multiple attacks in which 129 people died.
Officials say that 117 of the victims have now been identified.
A
Belgian-registered black Renault Clio was found parked near Montmartre
in northern Paris. After police sealed off the area and ensured there
was no booby-trap, the vehicle was towed away for forensic examination.
Investigators
believe the car may have been used to bring the attackers to and from
Belgium, from where French authorities say the attacks were organised.
Images on French media of one of the hotel rooms being examined show syringes and tubes which could be bomb-making equipment.
Follow the latest live updates
Salah
Abdeslam is believed to have fled across the border to his native
Belgium. Belgian police have released more pictures of him.
On
Tuesday French media reported that a French jihadist, Fabien Clain, had
been identified as the voice in a recording issued by Islamic State in
which it said it had carried out the attacks. New pictures of suspect Salah Abdeslam have been released
In an effort to prevent more attacks, France has
mobilised 115,000 security personnel, according to Interior Minister
Bernard Cazeneuve.
Mr Cazeneuve said 128 more raids on suspected
militants had been carried out. French warplanes also carried out fresh
strikes against the IS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, the army
general staff reported, destroying a command centre and training centre.
Russia's security chief said earlier on Tuesday
he believed terrorists were behind the downing of a Russian jet in
Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. IS has said it
destroyed the plane.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said
Russian planes had intensified their air campaign, hitting positions in
the Syrian cities of Raqqa and Deir al-Zour.
Meanwhile, Belgium's government has raised its terror threat level
because of the failure so far to arrest Abdeslam. Tuesday's football
match between the national team and Spain has been cancelled as a
result.
team and Spain has been cancelled as a result.
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Media captionMohamed Abdeslam, brother of suspects: "I was not involved in any way" Police are investigating a car thought to have been used by the attackers
German media reported five arrests near Aachen, on
the Belgian border. Early reports said the operation was linked to the
attacks, although it is not not clear whether it was.
Also on Tuesday, France invoked a previously unused clause in the Treaty
on European Union obliging other member states to provide it with "aid
and assistance by all means in their power".
Within minutes, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said all 28 member states had agreed. The measures came as US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Paris.
After
meeting French President Francois Hollande, he said everyone understood
that after Paris and other recent attacks "we have to step up efforts
to hit them at the core" and improve border security.
He added that Syria was weeks away from a "big transition" after international talks in Vienna at the weekend.
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Media captionA group of young Muslim men tell the BBC's Graham Satchell about how they are treated in ParisMr Hollande is due to fly to Washington and Moscow next week for talks with US and Russian leaders.
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Media captionParis attacks: Doctor on 'feeling of war' in A&EIn a speech to a joint sitting of both houses of parliament
on Monday, President Francois Hollande suggested the following measures
to combat the threat:
Extension of state of emergency by three months
Changes to the constitution to allow
the government to revoke citizenship of any convicted terrorists of dual
nationality. Currently only those born outside France and naturalised
can lose their citizenship
Measures to speed up expulsion of foreign nationals considered a threat to public order
Budget increases and extra recruitment to security forces and judiciary
The attacks in Paris - which also left more than 400 people
wounded, with 221 still in hospital, among them 57 in intensive care -
have galvanised Western countries in their campaign against the
so-called Islamic State.
UK Chancellor George Osborne said in a speech that IS was trying to
develop the ability to launch deadly cyber-attacks on the UK, an
announced a doubling of the UK's investment in fighting cybercrime.
Suspected Paris attackers
Salah Abdeslam, 26 - urgently sought by police
Brahim Abdeslam, 31 - named as attacker who died near Bataclan concert hall
Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, from near Paris - died in attack on Bataclan
Bilal Hadfi, 20 - named as attacker who died at Stade de France
Ahmad al-Mohammad, 25, from Idlib, Syria - died at Stade de France (unverified)
Samy Amimour, 28, from near Paris - suicide bomber at Bataclan
Two other attackers died during the assaults in the city
According to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls,
intelligence services have files on 10,500 individuals who have been
radicalised to a greater or lesser extent.
As well as the
attackers themselves, investigators are also reported to be focusing on a
Belgian of Moroccan descent who is described as the possible mastermind
of the attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaoud, 27, lived in the Molenbeek
neighbourhood of Brussels, as did two of the attackers, and is now
believed to be based in Syria, where he has risen through the ranks of
IS.
What is Islamic State?
IS
is a notoriously violent Islamist group which controls large parts of
Syria and Iraq. It has declared its territory a caliphate - a state
governed in accordance with Islamic law - under its leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi.
What does it want?
IS
demands allegiance from all Muslims, rejects national borders and seeks
to expand its territory. It follows its own extreme version of Sunni
Islam and regards non-believers as deserving of death.
How strong is IS?
IS
projects a powerful image, partly through propaganda and sheer
brutality, and is the world's richest insurgent group. It has about
30,000 fighters but is facing daily bombing by a US-led multi-national
coalition, which has vowed to destroy it.
Though she cannot be president, Aung San Suu Kyi has said she will lead Myanmar
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy has won a landslide election victory, officials say.
With
more than 80% of contested seats now declared, Aung San Suu Kyi's party
has more than the two-thirds it needs to choose the president, ending
decades of military-backed rule.
A quarter of seats are automatically held by the military, meaning it remains hugely influential.
Under the constitution, Ms Suu Kyi cannot become president herself.
Despite this, the election was seen as the first openly contested poll in Myanmar - also known as Burma - in 25 years.
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Media captionJonah Fisher reports from Yangon: ''They (the National League for Democracy) still have to deal with the Burmese military''The Burmese like their numbers. So just maybe Myanmar's Union Election Commission waited for an auspicious day.
Five days after polls closed, and exactly five years to the day since
Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest, her party's majority in
parliament was confirmed.
This historic outcome had been clear, but
unofficial since early results on Monday and Tuesday.
Earlier
this week outside the headquarters of the NLD there had been jubilant
scenes as results came in. Now as the majority was confirmed there was
nobody. It may have been because the result was a foregone conclusion.
Or,
more likely, the NLD were respecting the wishes of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Earlier this week she called on her supporters to avoid triumphalism and
respect the feelings of those that lost. By early Friday, the NLD needed two more votes to reach the threshold required for a majority.
Then
at midday, the electoral commission said the party had taken 348 of the
664 seats in the two houses of parliament. This represents a two-thirds
majority of the contested seats.
With votes still being counted,
the NLD's tally rose to 369 seats later in the day. The final tally is
not expected for several days.
International lawmakers urged the Venezuelan electoral authorities to allow monitors from the EU and the OAS
More than 150
lawmakers from Latin America and the United States have signed a letter
addressed to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
They urge him to allow international observers to monitor Venezuela's legislative polls on 6 December.
Venezuela has invited monitors from regional body Unasur but has rejected those from the Organisation of American States (OAS).
The lawmakers also called for the release of jailed opposition leaders.
Confidence measures
The letter to Mr Maduro was signed by 157 lawmakers from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and the United States.
Maria Corina Machado is one of the opposition politicians barred from standing
It says that "as citizens go to the polls, the
presence of qualified international observers would permit all
Venezuelans to have the highest degree of confidence in the integrity of
the process and the electoral results".
It calls on Venezuela to
allow monitors from the European Union and the OAS as well as Unasur to
observe the election on 6 December.
Some polls suggest it may be
the first time in 16 years that the governing coalition could lose its
majority in the National Assembly, Venezuela's legislative body.
The lawmakers' letter was published just a
day after OAS head Luis Almagro sent a similar request to Venezuelan
officials.
Mr
Almagro, who is from Uruguay, urged the head of Venezuela's National
Electoral Council, Tibisay Lucena, to guarantee free and fair elections.
'Sham trial'
In
his 18-page letter, Mr Almagro says that there "are reasons to believe
that the conditions in which the people will vote on 6 December will not
enjoy the level of transparency and electoral justice, that you, at the
National Electoral Council, should guarantee".
Luis Almagro said the OAS had a duty to ensure fair elections in the region
Mr Almagro expressed concern about the number of opposition politicians barred from standing in the election.
He also cast doubts about the evidence used in the trial of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
Mr Lopez was sentenced to 13 years and nine months in prison for incitement to violence during mass anti-government protests.
The prosecutor in the case, who has since left Venezuela, alleges that the trial was a sham to silence Mr Lopez.
The leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, reacted to Mr Almagro's letter by slamming the OAS.
He
called the regional body "the most perverted, corrupt and discredited
organisation in the world" and accused it of threatening the people of
Venezuela.
Venezuela has been critical of the OAS in the past,
saying that it is dominated by the United States, with which Venezuela
has rocky relations.
