'Concrete steps' agreed to allow monitors in Ukraine
Leaders of Russia, Germany and Ukraine agree on letting OSCE observers monitor shaky truce in eastern Ukraine.
The leaders of Russia, Germany and Ukraine have agreed on "concrete measures" to allow Organisation from Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers to monitor the shaky ceasefire in Ukraine, Berlin announced.
A German government spokesman announced the measures on Tuesday morning after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko held a conference call.
"The German Chancellor and Ukrainian President called on the Russian President to exercise his influence on the separatists to enforce the ceasefire," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
"Further, the withdrawal of heavy weapons should be started on Tuesday, as agreed in Minsk," he added.
"The German Chancellor and Ukrainian President called on the Russian President to exercise his influence on the separatists to enforce the ceasefire," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
"Further, the withdrawal of heavy weapons should be started on Tuesday, as agreed in Minsk," he added.
Isis orders women in Iraq and Syria to wear double-layered veil and gloves
Strict dress code imposed in areas controlled by Islamic State with punishments of fines or beatings for those who do not comply with the rules
Women living under Islamic State’s control in Iraq and Syria are facing increasingly harsh restrictions on movement and dress, which are rigorously enforced by religious police and are leading to resentment and despair among moderate Muslims.
Residents of Mosul, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour have told the Guardian in interviews conducted by phone and Skype that women are forced to be accompanied by a male guardian, known as a mahram, at all times, and are compelled to wear double-layered veils, loose abayas and gloves.
Their testimonies follow the publication this month of an Isis “manifesto” to clarify the “realities of life and the hallowed existence of women in the Islamic State”. It said that girls could be married from the age of nine, and that women should only leave the house in exceptional circumstances and should remain “hidden and veiled”.
Rebel says separatists will battle on for east Ukraine town
Kremlin says leaders have discussed role of OSCE monitors in Debaltseve
Pro-Russian separatists cannot “morally” stop fighting for control of a town in east Ukraine where they have encircled government troops despite a peace deal, a senior rebel representative said on Tuesday.
Denis Pushilin also told Reuters before a scheduled conference call on implementation of the agreement that the rebels could not withdraw heavy weaponry, as set out in the deal, unless Ukrainian forces did so as well.
Fighting subsided in many parts of eastern Ukraine under the ceasefire that came into force on Sunday but not around the town of Debaltseve, which sits on a railway junction.
“We do not have the right (to stop fighting for Debaltseve). It’s even a moral thing. It’s internal territory,” Mr Pushilin said in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
Niger arrests more than 160 Boko Haram suspects at Nigerian border
Officials in Niger have arrested at least 160 people suspected of being involved with Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The organization, originally based in Nigeria, has stepped up attacks on neighboring countries.
At least 160 suspected militants belonging to the Islamist Boko Haram group were arrested at Niger's border with Nigeria on Monday, police said.
"We would like to warmly thank the residents of the Diffa region whose assistance has allowed us to arrest more than 160 suspects," Niger's police spokesman Adily Toro said on local television. The suspects were being interrogated and faced charges of terrorism and conspiracy in connection with a terrorist group, Toro added.
Earlier this month, terrorists launched an attack on Niger's remote Diffa area, across the border from Boko Haram's stronghold in Nigeria. Police arrested dozens of suspects in the Nigerian city of Zinder, west of Diffa, where more than 10,000 people were on the run to escape the recent violence.
Despite appeal, Indonesia will forge ahead with execution of seven foreigners
The convicted drug traffickers, from Australia, France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia and the Philippines, will face a firing squad. Indonesia, known for its extremely strict drug laws, says it is suffering from a national "drug emergency."
JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Eight convicted drug smugglers, including seven foreigners, will be transferred to an Indonesian prison island this week for imminent execution despite international appeals for clemency, an official said Monday.
Among the eight are Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, the ringleaders of a group of nine Australians arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms (18.3 pounds) of heroin to Australia from the Indonesian RESORT
island of Bali. The seven other members of the group — dubbed the "Bali Nine" by Australian media — have received prison sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
island of Bali. The seven other members of the group — dubbed the "Bali Nine" by Australian media — have received prison sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
In addition to Chan and Sukumaran, five men from France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia, and a woman from the Philippines, will face a firing squad after being moved to Nusa Kambangan prison, Attorney General's Office spokesman Tony Spontana said, without giving exact dates. Six other drug smugglers, including five foreigners, were executed in January at the same prison, located off Indonesia's main island of Java.
Why Americans still use Fahrenheit long after everyone else switched to Celsius
Virtually every country on earth aside from the United States measures temperature in Celsius. This makes sense; Celsius is a reasonable scale that assigns freezing and boiling points of water with round numbers, zero and 100. In Fahrenheit, those are, incomprehensibly, 32 and 212.
This isn't just an aesthetic issue. America's stubborn unwillingness to get rid of Fahrenheit temperatures is part of its generally dumb refusal to change over to the metric system, which has real-world consequences. One conversion error between US and metric measurements sent a $125 million NASA probe to its fiery death in Mars' atmosphere.
Why does the United States have such an antiquated system of measurement? You can blame two of history's all-time greatest villains: British colonialism and Congress.
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