Barack Obama: I'll put Syria strikes 'on hold' if Assad surrenders chemical weapons
Proposal wins support from UN Secretary General and adds new and unexpected dimension to the situation
,
Barack Obama has said he would put on hold any plans for a military strike on Syria if the country agrees to a proposal by Russia to hand over any remaining chemical weapons for destruction under international control.
In a surprise manoeuvre from Moscow, apparently meant to delay and possibly avert American military action in the Middle East, the Russian government last night announced it was pressing Syria to turn over its arsenal of chemical weapons to international supervision and agree to its immediate dismantlement.
The proposal, which won instant backing from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, added a new and unexpected dimension to the crisis. It came just as President Barack Obama was ratcheting up his efforts in Washington to lobby the US Congress to approve limited strikes against Syria for its alleged chemical weapons use.
INDIA
Delhi court convicts four men in gang rape of 23-year-old woman
A court in Delhi has convicted four men involved in the gang rape a 23-year-old woman, who later died from her injuries. Members of the victim's family have called for the death penalty.
A fast-track court pronounced the four defendants in the high-profile gang rape case guilty of rape.
Presiding judge Yogesh Khanna said the defendants were also found guilty of "unnatural offenses, destruction of evidence...and for committing the murder of the helpless victim."
Judge Khanna hand down sentences for the four men on Wednesday. Members of the victim's family have called for the death penalty.
A.P. Singh, one of the defense lawyers, vowed to appeal the verdict, which he said was unfair and "political."
Kenya's William Ruto ICC trial opens in The Hague
The trial of Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has opened at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Mr Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta are accused of crimes against humanity by orchestrating violence after elections in 2007 - which they deny.
Mr Ruto becomes the first serving official to appear at the ICC.
The two trials are seen as a crucial test of the ICC's ability to prosecute political leaders.
This is a politically controversial trial with a complex legal history, says the BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague.
Six months after Chávez, military still plays strong role in Venezuela
Hugo Chávez had close ties with Venezuela's military, and hopes for a more progressive civilian policing model under President Maduro seem to be losing out to militarized strategies.
The Venezuelan military’s role as perpetrator of violence continues to make news. In a press release put out on Aug. 8, [Venezuelan] human rights group Provea pointed out that from May to July Venezeula’s armed forces were involved in at least 8 violations of the “the right to life.” In 2012, 164 people lost their lives at the hands of the military. Provea’s statistics are taken from Venezuela’s investigative police, the CICPC.
In a piece of news analysis called “Terror in Uniform” Venezuelan daily El Universal also noted the continual flow of incidents. The article describes the terror average citizens feel when passing through the military roadblocks manned by heavily armed but lightly trained soldiers, many of whom are barely twenty years old.
Fighting rages amid Philippine hostage crisis |
Fresh fighting reported as army surrounds six villages where rebels are holding at least 170 hostages.
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2013 06:53
|
Troops in the Philippines have surrounded six villages in the south of the country where hundreds of fighters linked to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) are holding at least 170 hostages.
Fresh fighting was reported on Tuesday as six military tanks went into the area.
The standoff began a day earlier after MNLF fighters marched into Zamboanga city to raise their flag at a city hall, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said.
At least six people, including a naval soldier, were killed when the Philippine navy tried to block the rebels and about 220 civilians were initially taken hostage by the fighters, military officials said after the pre-dawn attack.
Zagala said the hostages were being used as a "human shield" by up to 300 MNLF fighters.
Are we close to making human ‘mind control’ a reality?
With one tap on his space bar, Andrea Stocco fires the cannon on his computer game and blows a rocket out of the sky.
The game itself is unremarkable - in fact it looks like a relic of the 1980s.
What is remarkable is the way it is being played because the University of Washington researcher can't actually see it.
The person who can, fellow scientist Rajesh Rao, is sitting across campus looking at the screen.
He is wearing a cap with wires coming out of it (which looks like something you might have seen in a 1950s sci-fi programme that was imagining this moment).
No comments:
Post a Comment