Six In The Morning Wednesday April 29

Indonesia executions: Australia recalls ambassador

• 38 minutes ago
 
• From the sectionAsia

Australia has recalled its ambassador from Indonesia after two Australian men were executed for drug smuggling.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were among eight people from several countries executed by firing squad in the early hours of Wednesday on the prison island of Nusakambangan.

Brazil's government also expressed its "deep dismay" at the execution of one of its citizens, Rodrigo Gularte.

But the execution of a Philippine woman was called off at the last minute.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso was spared after Philippines officials said a woman she had accused of planting drugs on her was in police custody.

The families of the condemned prisoners paid them final, emotional visits on Tuesday afternoon before the sentences were carried out.

All eight refused offers of blindfolds and were singing together in their final moments, a pastor present at the execution told the Sydney Morning Herald.

British grandmother on death row in Indonesia loses hope after execution of Bali Nine pair

Lindsay Sandiford: 'They did good and touched the lives of a great many people'

LIZZIE DEARDEN

 

 

Wednesday 29 April 2015

A British grandmother on death row in Indonesia has paid tribute to two Australians executed last night, saying that she has lost hope for herself after seeing the “good men” die.

Lindsay Sandiford, 58, had become friends with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were shot by a firing squad for drugs offences dating back a decade.

They were among eight people who died, including four Nigerians and men from Brazil and Indonesia, despite international outrage and diplomatic interventions. A mother from the Philippines was granted a last-minute reprieve.

Nigeria army rescues nearly 300 females from Boko Haram

Army spokesman says the hostages freed during military offensive are not schoolgirls abducted from Chibok last year.

29 Apr 2015 07:24 GMT

Nigerian troops rescued nearly 300 girls and women during an offensive against Boko Haram fighters in the northeastern Sambisa Forest, the military said.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from Abuja, said on Wednesday that the Nigerian military was planning to release photos and more information of the women and girls rescued.

"What we understand is that there is a screening process to find out where they are from. We managed to speak to Nigeria's military spokesman who believes some of the women are wives of Boko Haram fighters," our correspondent said.

The army announced the rescue on Twitter on Tuesday and said it was screening and interviewing the abducted girls and women.

Kim Jong Un has 15 top officials executed for dissent: South Korea

AFP-JIJI

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year, including several who complained about the young leader’s policies, South Korea’s intelligence agency said Wednesday.

Those executed included two vice minister-level officials, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing legislators who attended a briefing by the National Intelligence Service.

Both were punished for opposing or complaining about Kim’s directives, the legislators said.

The Kim dynasty has ruled reclusive and impoverished North Korea for more than six decades with an iron fist and a pervasive personality cult.

Dutch Foreign Minister Reports Progress in Inquiry Into Downing of Malaysian Jetliner

By RICK GLADSTONE

Forensics experts have identified remains of 296 of the 298 people killed in the attack that downed a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last July in easternUkraine, the foreign minister of the Netherlands said Tuesday.

The minister, Bert Koenders, whose country lost the most people among the nationalities on the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight, also said investigators were making good progress on other aspects of the inquiry into the downing of the jetliner, which was designated Flight MH-17 and was apparently was felled by a missile launched from eastern Ukraine.

NATO officials have said Russian-backed Ukrainian insurgents firing a Russian-made missile were responsible for downing the jetliner on July 17.Russia has blamed Ukrainian forces and denied responsibility in the disaster, which caused shock around the world and played a role in the worsening of relations between Russia and the West over the past year.

Mexican politicians accused of exploiting girl mistakenly taken to U.S.

BY TIM JOHNSON

McClatchy Foreign Staff

MEXICO CITY — A 14-year-old girl who was snatched out of school by Mexican federal police with an Interpol order, taken to the Houston home of a woman who claimed to be her mother, then returned to Mexico when DNA evidence showed otherwise has had a whirlwind few days since her triumphant return last week.

Politicians have glommed on to her, taking selfies with her, holding her hand in political marches and promising her an unforgettable 15th birthday bash.

On Tuesday, the government-financed National Human Rights Commission had a short message for the politicians: Leave the girl alone.

They and others shouldn’t take actions to “spread her image, name, personal data and other information to allow identification or cause an interference with her private life and her family,” the commission warned.