International news shots

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​2 Canadians among victims of Kabul hotel attack

Two Canadian citizens were killed in a “brazen and cowardly attack on a hotel in Kabul,”said the country’s Foreign Affairs spokesman. Nine people, including four foreigners, died after a shooting and subsequent firefight inside the luxurious Serena Hotel in Kabul on Friday. All of the assailants were killed in the incident. Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack.

 

25 killed in attacks across Iraq

At least 25 people have been killed and dozens injured in a recent waves of attacks on Friday, including two suicide bombings, in Iraq, officials said. In the first attack, an unidentified gunman rammed an explosives-laden tanker into police HQ in the village of Injana, 120 km north of the capital, Baghdad. Nine policemen – including a battalion commander and his assistant – were killed. The second attack happened a few hours later when a suicide bomber set off his explosive belt among mourners, killing nine people and injuring 25 more in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad. A further three people were killed and 14 injured in back-to-back car bombings in a town of Dibis, 290 km north of the capital. Meanwhile, gunmen peppered an army checkpoint with bullets near the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, killing four soldiers.

Syria ships out all mustard gas

Syria has totally reduced its military-chemical potential to zero, as Damascus has shipped out all its mustard gas, said Russia’s Interior Ministry. According to the ministry,“there are no reason to question the final date of liquidation of the chemical weapons arsenal.” The shipment of the toxic stockpile out of the conflict-torn country is scheduled for the first half of 2014.

Iran is honoring commitments of nuclear deal – IAEA

Iran is meeting the international demands placed on it during a nuclear pact made with six world powers two months ago, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, in order to fully fulfill the six-month deal, Iran is required to complete a nuclear conversion facility, a report from the UN body stated on Thursday. The utility in question is designed to hold down the uranium gas stockpile. However, the matter is of minimal concern, according to the IAEA, as Iran’s commitment concerns the size of the stockpile towards the end of the deal, in late July.

Afghanistan releases 77 prisoners despite NATO, UK warnings

Afghanistan freed 77 of its prisoners on Thursday, despite warnings from both Britain and NATO-led troops. “Insurgents in this group of detainees have caused casualties amongst coalition and Afghan forces,” the NATO-led force in Afghanistan stated, according to Reuters. Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly questioned the detention of prisoners on shaky premises and with no regard for judicial process. Last month, 65 detainees considered by the US to be dangerous were released. The Afghan Review Board has been commissioned by Karzai to examine the cases of hundreds of detainees in the care of Afghan authorities. The majority have already been released on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

54% of Syrian chemicals removed – OPCW

More than half – 54 percent – of Syria’s declared chemical weapons arsenal has been shipped out or destroyed within the country, according to Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “The joint mission welcomes the momentum attained and encourages the Syrian Arab Republic to sustain the current pace,” Sigrid Kaag head of the OPCW mission added. The process is months behind schedule, but Kaag said the new momentum “would allow for timely completion.” The deadline for the removal of chemical weapons from Syrian soil is April 13.

US general fined $20,000, avoids jail time in sex case

A former top US commander in Afghanistan who was accused of sexual assault will have to pay $20,000 as well as restitution for travel charges, but will not be sent to prison following his court martial. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair pleaded guilty to adultery and mistreating one of his subordinates in a deal which saw sexual assault and sodomy charges against him dropped. Sinclair was sentenced one day after he pled guilty to a slew of other charges, including adultery, engaging in inappropriate relationships with three women, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman and obstruction of justice.

First UN aid trucks deliver humanitarian supplies to Syria via Turkey border

Several UN aid trucks with food supplies, blankets, mattresses, family kits and medical supplies have crossed the Turkish border into Syria, Reuters reported citing a witness. This marks the first delivery “in three years of this brutal conflict that the UN has been able to carry aid across into Syria from Turkey,” according to the UN regional humanitarian coordinator Nigel Fisher. The delivery became possible after the UN Security Council last month unanimously called on Syrian authorities and rebels to allow access for humanitarian supplies. Last week both Syria and Turkey gave the delivery the go-ahead.

Russia will demand damages if France cancels its Mistral ship orders

A senior Russian defense official has said that Moscow won’t simply accept France’s threat to mothball its order of two Mistral warships following events in Crimea.

“There is no doubt the Russian side will defend its rights … and will demand compensation for all losses we might sustain if the Mistral contract is breached,”

Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told RIA news agency. Russia says it has already paid more than 700 million euros for the order, and as well as returning the money, France would be obliged to pay additional penalties according to the terms of the contract.

Obama records video address about nuclear program for Iranians

US President Barack Obama sent out an online video address to Iranian citizens, nominally dedicated to the holiday of Nowruz, in which he urged them to push for a nuclear deal. “I’m under no illusions. This will be difficult. But I’m committed to diplomacy because I believe there is the basis for a practical solution,” said the US president. “There is a chance to reach an agreement if Iran takes meaningful and verifiable steps to assure the world that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Iran would have access to peaceful nuclear energy.” Iran held talks about its nuclear program with the world’s leading powers in Vienna over the course of this week. The negotiations produced no tangible results.

Japan PM hopes to resume talks with N. Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he hopes formal talks with North Korea can be resumed as soon as possible, Reuters reports. Abe said that talks between Japanese and North American affiliates from the Red Cross regarding the return from North Korea of the remains of Japanese, who died in WWII, was an important step in mending relations. Formal talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang have been suspended since a December 2012 North Korea rocket launch, which it claims was done to put a weather satellite into orbi

Death toll in Turkey train crash rises to 10

The death toll in the train crash involving a minibus, which was carrying workers near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin in southern Turkey, has risen to 10 people, as one injured person later died of their wounds, NTV channel reported. Four more people are injured. The minibus, which was completely destroyed, was carrying workers from Tarsus-Mersin Organized Industry, according to local newspapers.

​Killing security personnel is ‘terrorist attack’ – Turkish PM

Gunning down three members of the security forces in the southern province of Nigde in Turkey was a “nefarious terrorist attack,” according to Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan. “Two soldiers and one police (officer) have been martyred,” said Erdogan, “Two of the assailants were captured alive and our security forces are conducting a search for the third.” However, the Turkish PM did not say who was responsible for this act. The security personnel were carrying out a regular traffic patrol when they were attacked on Thursday.

Leading opposition mayor arrested in Venezuela

Daniel Ceballos, mayor of the western city of San Cristóbal, and one of the leading opposition figures throughout the protests against incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, has been arrested by the country’s intelligence service, Sebin. “This is an act of justice for a mayor who not only failed to meet his obligations under the law, but also facilitated and supported all the irrational violence in this city,” said Sebin chief, Miguel Rodríguez Torres. San Cristóbal has been one of the hotspots for clashes between pro and anti-government forces that have resulted in more than 30 deaths throughout the country. Ceballos had been attending a summit for opposition-minded mayors in Caracas when he was detained.

Russia’s Deputy FM: Iran’s and P5+1 group’s stances in uranium enrichment ‘are far apart’

The stances of Iran and the P5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on future uranium enrichment in Iran “are far apart,”Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, as cited by Interfax. International mediators want to find a solution based on the Geneva plan of actions, while Iranians“do not agree with this.” “But their demands are quite far-reaching,” Ryabkov said. As for Russia, Ryabkov said, in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, it will not seek “to somehow play into the hands of the Americans, or the European Union, or the Iranians,” but will see its “very well-defined interest” in this process.

​4 convicted over photographer gang-rape in Mumbai, India

A court in Mumbai, India, has convicted four men on charges of the gang-rape of a 22-year-old photographer in the Indian city in August. They committed the attack at an abandoned mill compound, where she was taking photos with a male colleague. The convicts, aged from 18 to 27 at the time of their arrest, “were found guilty of committing forced sex,” said Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, adding that the four would be sentenced on Friday, when they could be handed life sentences.

​NY authorities probe death of inmate in overheated cell

The death of inmate, Jerome Murdough, who was “basically baked to death” in a cell that had overheated to at least 100 degrees in New York, is under investigation, said the NY Department of Correction. “Issues of staff performance and the adequacy of procedures” are also being probed, according to the Department [of Correction]. Murdough, 56, was arrested on February 7 on a trespassing charge for sleeping in a stairwell on the roof of a public housing building in Harlem and sent to NY Rikers jail complex after being unable to post bail. He was found dead in his cell in a special unit for prisoners with mental illnesses a week later on February 15, according to city officials.

​9 killed in Turkey train crash

Nine people have been killed and several more injured as a train collided with a minibus which was carrying workers near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin in southern Turkey, announced the Dogan News Agency (DHA). Video footage, published on the DHA website, shows a crushed minibus lying by the side of the tracks and medics trying to reach the injured. According to local newspapers, the bus, which was completely destroyed, was carrying workers from Tarsus-Mersin Organized Industry.

03:28

Explosion in front of Afghani police station kills 11, injures 22

A car full of explosives was detonated in front of a police building early on Thursday in Jalalabad city in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, killing at least eleven people and injuring 22, according to police and health officials. There were two explosions, targeting the police station and a nearby square, close to compounds used by international organizations including the United Nations. After the initial blast, carried out by two suicide bombers, several gunmen clashed with security forces. Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack. Police said they shot dead six Taliban, all of whom were wearing suicide vests. A police district chief was among the dead, confirmed Fazel Ahmad Shirzad, police chief for Nangahar province. Media agencies