Tag: Six In The Morning

Middle East Sinai plane crash: Egypt dismisses IS claim Egypt’s prime minister said a technical fault was the most likely cause, dismissing claims from Islamic State militants that they were responsible. However, three airlines – Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa – have decided not to fly over the Sinai Peninsula until more information is available. …

Continue reading

Ankara attacks: Turkey in mourning after blasts kill almost 100

 

BBC

Turkey is beginning three days of mourning after two blasts at a peace rally in the capital, Ankara, killed at least 95 people on Saturday, the deadliest ever such attack in Turkey.

The attack left 245 people injured, with 48 of them in a serious condition.

TV footage showed scenes of panic and people lying on the ground covered in blood, amid protest banners.

The government called the blasts a “terrorist act” and angrily rejected allegations that it was to blame.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was evidence that two suicide bombers had carried out the attack, which comes three weeks before a re-run of June’s inconclusive parliamentary elections.

Afghan conflict: US investigates Kunduz hospital bombing

 

BBC

President Barack Obama says the US has launched a “full investigation” into air strikes that killed 19 people at an MSF-run Afghan hospital on Saturday.

The US military says a strike targeting Taliban in the northern city of Kunduz may have caused “collateral damage”.

Offering his “deepest condolences”, Mr Obama said he expected a “full accounting of the facts” and would then make a definitive judgement.

At least 12 MSF staff members and seven patients were killed in the incident.

The UN called the strikes “inexcusable and possibly even criminal”, with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling for a thorough and impartial investigation.

Thousands of refugees pour into Austria as European crisis intensifies

  Around 13,000 people entered Austria on Saturday, according to the Red Cross, after being forced away from Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia

Agence France-Presse

Sunday 20 September 2015 06.31 BST

Thousands of refugees have streamed into Austria after being shunted through Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia as Europe’s divided nations stepped up efforts to push the migrants into neighbouring countries.

The continent’s biggest migratory flow since 1945 has opened a deep rift between western and eastern members of the European Union over how to distribute the refugees fairly, and raised questions over the fate of the Schengen agreement allowing borderless travel within the 28-nation bloc.

Migrant crisis: Austria and Germany await more arrivals

 



Austria and Germany are expecting thousands more migrants to arrive from Hungary after Budapest eased restrictions on their travel.

Throughout Saturday, by bus, train and on foot, people travelled to the Austrian border before moving on to Vienna and Munich.

Austrian officials are laying on more trains as needed.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to hold talks with her coalition partners on a crisis that has divided the EU.

After days of confrontation and chaos, Hungary opened its borders with Austria and bussed thousands of migrants to the frontier.

Up to 10,000 arrived at the border, according to the Austrian authorities, who have said they do not plan to limit the numbers crossing into the country.

Bangkok bomb: Thai police charge man ‘linked to Erawan blast’

 

BBC

Police in Bangkok have charged a man in connection with the bomb attack that killed 20 people in the Thai capital nearly two weeks ago.

Officers say the suspect, who was charged with illegal possession of weapons, was involved in the attack.

However, they say he is not the man seen on CCTV footage leaving a bag at the Erawan Shrine before the explosion.

The bomb tore through the crowded shrine on 17 August, injuring more than 100, mostly tourists.

The man, who was described as a 28-year-old foreigner by police, was arrested in Nong Jok on the outskirts of Bangkok on Saturday.

Migrants crisis: More than 2,000 people rescued near Libya coast

 



More than 2,000 migrants and refugees have been rescued from boats off the coast of Libya in one of the biggest single-day operations mounted, Italy’s coastguards have said.

Distress calls came from more than 20 vessels, AFP reported.

More than 2,000 people have died this year in attempts to reach Europe in overcrowded, unseaworthy boats.

The route from Libya to Italy is one of the busiest for those trying to enter Europe.

Of the 264,500 migrants the United Nations says have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, close to 104,000 have landed in Italy. Another 160,000 arrived in Greece.

Two Italian navy ships were involved in Saturday’s rescue effort. Responding to two wooden boats in danger of sinking, the Cigala Fulgosi picked up 507 people and the Vega 432, the navy said.

Fears for missing firefighters as China toll climbs

  Nearly 100 people missing from Tianjin blasts, including 85 firefighters, officials say, as death toll rises to 112.

16 Aug 2015 05:54 GMT

Scores of Chinese firefighters are still missing following the massive explosions that hit an industrial area in Tianjin, officials have said.

At an official press conference on Sunday, authorities announced that the death toll had risen to 112, but added that 95 people had been confirmed missing – including 85 firefighters.

Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown, reporting from Tianjin, a port city in the country’s northeast, said it was now possible that the death toll will climb past 200, “making it one of China’s worst industrial accidents”.

Turkish troops killed in ‘Kurdish PKK suicide blast’

 

BBC

Two Turkish security troops have been killed and 31 wounded in a suicide attack by Kurdish PKK militants, the regional governor’s office says.

A tractor laden with explosives was driven at a military police station, reports by Turkish media say.

The attack happened early on Sunday near the town of Dogubayezit in Agri province, near the border with Iran.

Since 24 July, Turkey has carried out hundreds of air raids on PKK bases on both sides of the Iraq-Turkey border.

The Turkish state news agency, Anadolu, said that the tractor was carrying two tons of explosives that were detonated by a suicide bomber.

  Explosions hit cars of Hamas officials in Gaza City

  Palestinian security sources say two people injured in blasts targeting officials of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

19 Jul 2015 08:36 GMT

Two people have been injured in multiple car explosions in northern Gaza City, Palestinian security sources said.

The sources said six explosions took place at same time on Sunday morning in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.

The cars belonged to officials of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.

Interior ministry spokesman Iyad al-Buzom released a brief statement in which he accused “vandals” seeking to destabilise Gaza of carrying out the explosions.

He said security officials started an investigation and would pursue the criminals.

  Angela’s Ashes: How Merkel Failed Greece and Europe

   Angela Merkel relishes her reputation as queen of Europe. But she hasn’t learned how to use her power, instead allowing a bad situation to heat up to the boiling point. Her inability to take unpopular stances badly exacerbated the Greek crisis.

By Peter Müller and René Pfister

Angela Merkel was already leaving for the weekend when she received the call that would change everything. The chancellor had just had a grueling day, spending all of it in meetings with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras — sometimes as part of a larger group, and others with only him and French President François Hollande.

They discussed debt restructuring and billions of euros in additional investments. When it comes to issues important to him, Tsipras can be exhaustingly stubborn. In the end, though, Merkel was left with the feeling the EU summit was the milestone that could quite possibly mark a turn for the better.