Articles by "World"
Showing posts with label World. Show all posts

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The personal website of the UK's Prince Andrew has been taken down and now redirects to the official royal family site and his statement on stepping down due to his links to late American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a media report said on Friday.
The Prince's website, thedukeofyork.org, previously championed his charity work, as well as his work to support the Queen and "British prosperity", said the Metro newspaper report.

It also had pages dedicated to his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

It was removed because the contract with the host server came to an end on June 30.

Because it was not being updated, it was decided to bring it under the umbrella of royal.uk.

The website was taken down at some point before June 30, the newspaper report added.

His page on royal.uk still includes a biography of the Duke, but begins with the statement issued last November which announced he would be stepping back from official duties "for the foreseeable future" due to the ongoing Epstein investigation in the US.

Prince Andrew has been asked by lawyers of Esptein's alleged victims to travel to the US and tell authorities what he knows about the disgraced financier and the sex-trafficking of under-age girls by Epstein.

He has denied any involvement.

This week, British socialite and Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell had an appeal for bail denied meaning she will remain in prison in New York until facing trial for child grooming, sex abuse and perjury charges, the Metro newspaper reported.

Maxwell, who Andrew said had introduced him to Epstein, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to recruit girls who were sexually abused by the US financier between 1994 and 1997.

Epstein was found hanged in a New York jail last August while awaiting sex-trafficking charges.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
British Airways is retiring its 'Queen of the Skies' fleet of Boeing 747s with immediate effect due to a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company said on Friday.
The airline has used the aircraft since July 1989 and is currently the world's biggest operator of the 747-400 model, reports the Metro newspaper.

The UK flag carrier was planning to retire the fleet of 31 craft in 2024 but its end has been hastened by the ongoing global pandemic.

In a statement, the airline said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect.

"It is unlikely our magnificent 'Queen of the Skies' will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

"While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s, to help us achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."

British Airways operated the model, powered to a top speed of 614mph by four Rolls Royce engines, to destinations in China, the US, Canada and Africa, the Metro newspaper reported.

Friday's development comes after figures for June showed an increase in air travel following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Passenger traffic across European airports last month was down 93 per cent compared to June 2019.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
European Union (EU) leaders will meet on Friday in their first face-to-face summit since the coronavirus pandemic, with low expectations of a deal on a 750 billion- euro ($855 billion) post-COVID-19 stimulus package.
The Brussels meeting is due to continue on Saturday but EU leaders may need longer to reach a deal, the BBC reported.

While French President Emmanuel Macron described the outcome of the meeting as a "moment of truth" for Europe and the next hours would be decisive, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "the differences are very very big and I cannot say if we will find a solution this time".
It would be desirable, she said, but people had to remain realistic.

European Council President Charles Michel acknowledged that the talks would be "very difficult", but Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said nobody should lose sight of the big picture - "we're faced with the biggest economic depression since the Second World War".

The main issue for the leaders is how much of the recovery fund will be handed out in grants and how much in loans.

They also need to agree on a seven-year budget worth another 1.07 trillion euros.

Southern states including Italy and Spain want an urgent decision "not weakened by a lesser compromise", according to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Leaders have been criss-crossing Europe ahead of the summit in a bid to find a solution, said the BBC report.

Visiting Sweden, Spain's Pedro Sanchez warned: "If we delay the response, we delay the recovery and the crisis could get worse."

The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, has also urged the EU27 to move quickly on an "ambitious package", warning that uncertainty remains high on the speed and scale of the economic rebound.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
Mali’s prime minister has apologised for “excesses” by security forces who opened fire last week on anti-government protesters, but rejected opposition demands that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resign.
Last Friday, the latest in a series of mass protests in the capital Bamako against Keita turned violent, with security forces firing on protesters, some of whom had occupied state buildings.

Clashes continued for several days, with at least 11 people killed in total, the government has said.

“Unfortunately, there were excesses. What happened is very regrettable. We apologise for it,” Prime Minister Boubou Cisse said in an interview with France 24 television aired late on Thursday. He said prosecutors had opened an investigation into the violence.

On Tuesday, Cisse wrote to the security ministry demanding an explanation for the deployment of an anti-terrorist special operations force on the streets of Bamako during the protests.

The coalition of religious, political and civil society leaders behind the protests accuses Keita of failing to address violence by jihadist groups and ethnic militias, of mismanaging the economy and of enabling corruption.

A delegation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS is in Bamako this week to try to broker a resolution, but Keita’s opponents have so far refused to withdraw their demand that the president resign.

Cisse rejected this idea.

“It’s inconceivable because the president ... was democratically elected,” he said. “I think it’s important ... that anyone who arrives at this level of responsibility in our country arrives there through the democratic process.” The ECOWAS delegation, led by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, is scheduled to meet with Keita and opposition leaders on Friday.

The opposition has urged its supporters to mourn those killed in the protests during Friday prayers, but has backed off earlier calls for a mass prayer meeting in the heart of Bamako.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
Iran promised on Friday to deal “decisively” with further protests over economic hardship, a day after security forces fired teargas to disperse demonstrators in the southwestern city of Behbahan.
Iran’s clerical rulers have tried to prevent a revival of last November’s anti-government protests, when over 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in the deadliest street violence since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Tehran says 225 people were killed, including members of the security forces.

On Tuesday, the judiciary said the death sentences of three men involved in that unrest had been upheld, sparking a surge of online protests.

In a statement on Friday, the police urged people to “vigilantly refrain from any gathering that could provide a pretext for the counter-revolutionary movement”, accusing “enemies” of whipping up discontent.

“The police force has an inherent and legal duty to deal decisively with these desperate moves,” the statement added.

Videos posted on social media from inside Iran on Thursday showed protesters chanting, “Fear not, fear not, we are in this together!”. Some chanted slogans against top officials.

Videos posted on Twitter showed a heavy presence of security forces in several cities. Reuters was unable to verify the videos, or reports of arrests.

“People are angry. The economy is so bad that we cannot survive,” an Iranian man said by phone from Tehran on Thursday, asking not to be named due to security concerns.

Last year’s unrest began with protests over economic hardship but turned political, with demonstrators demanding top officials step down.

The economy, already hard hit by U.S. sanctions that have choked off its oil exports, has deteriorated further in recent months as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

There were calls on social media for demonstrations across the country on Friday to protest against the three death sentences.

Iran has consistently blamed the United States and Israel for domestic unrest.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
With the detection of 159 new COVID-19 cases, the tally in Afghanistan on Friday reached 35,229, health officials said.
According to a statement by the Public Health Ministry, 572 tests were conducted in 12 of the country's 34 provinces.

So far, 1,147 deaths have been recorded in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic in February, with an increase of 32 over the past 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported.

Laboratories across Afghanistan have completed 82,924 tests since February.
Read more »

- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has written to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to express solidarity with the victims of the unprecedented floods in the state which have so far claimed 71 lives and affected over 40 lakh people.
"The monsoon rains in Assam and other parts of India bring destruction and great suffering to people year after year," the Dalai Lama observed.

"Unfortunately, this year the situation has been made even more troublesome by the continuing coronavirus pandemic. I am writing to you today to express my sadness at the loss of life and devastation of property, as well as the tremendous hardship caused to so many due to flooding in many parts of your state.

"I appreciate that the state government is doing everything it can to rescue those affected and that relief efforts are underway. As a gesture of solidarity with the people of Assam, I am making a donation from the Dalai Lama Trust towards relief and rescue efforts."

The spiritual leader concluded by offering his deep condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and to everyone who has been affected by the deluge
Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)