Twelve arrests as Belgium swoops on terror suspects
Police in Belgium have made 12 arrests in a huge anti-terror operation, nearly three months after the deadly bomb attacks on Brussels.
Those detained overnight are suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, prosecutors say. They were among 40 taken in for questioning.
Searches were conducted in 16 municipalities, mainly around Brussels, with checks on 152 lock-up garages.
On 22 March, bombs killed 32 people at a Brussels airport and a metro station.
No arms or explosives were found during the searches, which passed off without incident, Belgium's federal prosecutor said in a statement.
Among the areas where searches took place was Molenbeek, a Brussels district which has become notorious because of its associations with jihadists.
Rio de Janeiro governor declares state of financial emergency ahead of Olympics
Emergency measures needed to avoid ‘a total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management’
Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
Forty-nine days before the opening of the Olympics, the governor of Rio de Janeiro has declared a state of financial emergency and begged for federal support to avoid a “total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management”.
The plea for funds is an embarrassment for the host of South America’s first Games and adds to a long list of woes that includes the impeachment of the president, the deepest recession in decades, the biggest corruption scandal in memory, the Zika epidemic and a wave of strikes and occupations of government buildings.
Brazil’s economy is expected to shrink by about 4% this year as a result of weak commodity prices, low demand from China, political paralysis and the Lava Jato (Car Wash) corruption investigation, which forced the suspension of many construction contracts and led to the arrest of dozens of senior executives. Rio is particularly hard hit because it is the headquarters of the state-run oil company Petrobras, which is at the centre of the investigation.
Care for some creepy-crawly crisps?
OBSERVERS
How do you feel about eating creepy crawlies? Three young American women launched a successful business encouraging people to crunch… crickets. But their “Chirps”, which are tortilla chips made out of cricket flour, aren’t just novel. They also have a low environmental footprint and these entrepreneurs say they could help fight food insecurity.
By 2050, the world will likely be home to nearly 9 billion people, according to the UN, which means that there will have to be a huge increase in food production. Some experts have suggested that the answer could be to start eating highly nutritious insects, which are high in protein, fats and minerals. They produce fewer greenhouse gases and ammonia than livestock and require much less water and land to raise.
But while an estimated 2 billion people in the world are already eating insects, many people living in Europe and Northern America find the idea of eating bugs… well, gross.
By 2050, the world will likely be home to nearly 9 billion people, according to the UN, which means that there will have to be a huge increase in food production. Some experts have suggested that the answer could be to start eating highly nutritious insects, which are high in protein, fats and minerals. They produce fewer greenhouse gases and ammonia than livestock and require much less water and land to raise.
But while an estimated 2 billion people in the world are already eating insects, many people living in Europe and Northern America find the idea of eating bugs… well, gross.
Bashir declares ceasefire in Blue Nile, South Kordofan
The truce announced in Khartoum is intended to give rebels a chance to surrender their arms and join peace process.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a comprehensive four-month ceasefire in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where fighting between armed rebels and government troops has left scores of casualties.
Rebel fighters with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) have been battling government forces in the two southern states since 2011, in a conflict where neither side has managed to difinitively take control of the two areas.
"President Bashir announced four months of ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan starting from Saturday," army spkoesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP.
Sun-powered phone charger helps migrants in Greece
SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
A team of students from Edinburgh University designed the charging station, keeping in mind that Greece gets plenty of sun.
LESBOS, GREECE — For refugees and migrants stuck in Greece, a smartphone is a lifeline – as long as its battery lasts.
But access to electricity can be hard to find in overcrowded camps, nor is it always free in cafes where young and old crowd together over a socket, waiting anxiously to phone home.
A team of students from Edinburgh University is hoping to change that, having designed a mobile phone charging station powered only by the sun – something Greece has plenty of.
China Imposes Blackout on Hong Kong Bookseller’s Revelations
Hannah Beech / Shanghai,Time
Hours after Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee defiantly told reporters on Thursday evening that Chinese authorities had detained him for eight months (five of them in solitary confinement), and forced him to issue a scripted TV confession for trading in banned books, China’s Global Times delivered what seemed like a state-sanctioned riposte.
The daily, which is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and specializes in flag-waving editorials, dismissed international condemnation of the mysterious disappearances of five Hong Kong–connected booksellers who specialized in scurrilous paperbacks skewering — with little documentary evidence — China’s political elite.
All five had ended up in detention on the mainland — even though two had last been seen outside of mainland China, prompting worries that they had been abducted by agents of the Chinese state. However, the Global Times editorial followed a predictable line — at least initially. It warned that although Hong Kong is governed by different laws from the rest of China, “all different forces in Hong Kong must respect the political system in China. It’s not right to take actions which may harm the state security and the political stability in mainland China.”
No comments:
Post a Comment