World News

Canadian woman describes ordeal while stranded in Kenya

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:44:00 +0000

The Canadian Press Ottawa | Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 6:58 pm

Ottawa - A Commons committee heard tearful pleas Wednesday from a Canadian woman who was stranded for months in Kenya, accused of being an impostor.

A torch goes out: Edward Kennedy, Senate legend and last in a storied line of brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:41:00 +0000

The Associated Press Hyannis Port, Massachusetts 2009-08-26 22:04

(Photo courtesy of: U.S. Congress)">

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts - President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy at Sen. Edward Kennedy's funeral, a White House source says, memorializing the last political elder of the family that has fascinated Americans with its ambition, style, idealism and tragedies for decades.

Kennedy died late Tuesday night at his Cape Cod home at age 77. more

Thousands flee Greek wildfires

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:08:00 +0000

A raging fire has born down on Athens' northern suburbs, prompting panicked residents to battle the flames with tree limbs and buckets as police ordered 10,000 people to evacuate one town immediately.

Frightened inhabitants of Agios Stefanos gathered in the town's main square as flames closed in on the town centre and police with loudspeakers directed everyone to leave immediately on the main road to Athens, 14 miles to the south-west.

Other residents tried desperately to save their homes with hoses, buckets and branches while planes swooped over the town pouring water on the flaming houses.

"I call on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to where they will go," an emotional Agios Stefanos deputy mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Skai TV. "We had been begging the authorities since early in the morning to send forces ... It is too late now. Too late."

The forests around Athens' northern suburbs have helped the fire leap to new areas. No casualties have been reported so far.

"The pine cones are like projectiles - they cover long distances, too, and spread the fire around," said Avraam Pasipoularidis, mayor of the northern suburb of Drossia. "Everything around me is burning."

The fires ignited late on Friday; by this morning they were reported across an area more than 25 miles wide. They started in the mountains near the town of Marathon, from which the modern long-distance race takes its name.

The army removed anti-aircraft missiles from a nearby military base as the flames approached.

Municipal officials said the fire was threatening the archaeological site of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens - these are the most destructive fires in Greece since blazes killed more than 70 people in 2007.

Five die after beach rock landslide

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:13:00 +0000

The death toll from the Portuguese seaside resort landslide has risen after it was confirmed five people had been killed and at least four were injured.

Part of a cliff collapsed and buried bathers at Maria Luisa beach in Albufeira on the Algarve, said Marques Pereira, the head of maritime facilities in Faro.

Four women - two aged under 25 - and a 60-year-old man had died, the country's emergency service said.

It was not immediately clear if other people were buried under the debris.

The nationalities of those involved in the accident were not disclosed.

The section of beach under the cliff that collapsed had been cordoned off with warning signs pointing out the danger of a possible landslide, Mr Pereira said.

"The sandstone of the cliff was pretty fragile and a risk of a landslide existed to the point that the maritime authority had placed warning signs," he said.

Rescue efforts were concentrated in trying to find a man and a child under the debris before the tide came in, Mr Pereira said.

Prime minister Jose Socrates was among officials who travelled to Albufeira to oversee rescue operations.

Third man in court over jewel heist

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:13:00 +0000

A man is due to appear in court accused of taking part in Britain's biggest jewellery robbery.

Clinton Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth, was charged with conspiracy to rob over a £40 million raid on Graff jewellers in Mayfair, central London.

He will appear in custody at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in connection with the audacious robbery at the New Bond Street store on August 6.

Two other men appeared in the same court on Friday accused of stealing valuables worth almost £40 million and firearms offences.

Solomun Beyene, 24, and Craig Calderwood, 26, were remanded in custody and ordered to appear at Kingston Crown Court on September 1.

A 50-year-old man who was held last week in Ilford, east London, has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Huge HBOS losses 'were unexpected'

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:12:00 +0000

The boss of the bank which took over HBOS has said the speed at which it racked up huge losses came as a surprise.

Sir Victor Blank, who is chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, said he expected losses at HBOS, but they were at "the worst end of expectations".

In February Lloyds surprised the City by announcing that HBOS would rack up a £10 billion deficit for last year. The bank was rescued in a Government-backed deal at the height of the financial turmoil last autumn.

Sir Victor told the BBC: "When we announced the deal in the middle of September, it did not feel like a rescue of HBOS. It felt like a wonderful opportunity that was available, and would only have been available in adversity."

Financial problems mounted after new Government regulations required all the banks to have extra capital, he said.

"The Government changed the rules and the world changed. What we found in the HBOS portfolio was, I think, the problems we anticipated being there."

He added: "What surprised us was the speed at which these losses came in.

"The speed with which those problems came home to roost was greater than we would have anticipated because (of) the fall in gross domestic product."

Market confidence in HBOS collapsed last autumn and the Government waived competition rules to allow the bank to be taken over by Lloyds TSB, creating a UK "super-bank".

The taxpayer has since pumped a total of £17 billion into the two banks to shore up their balance sheets.

'Trade deal' to free bomber denied

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:12:00 +0000

The Foreign Office has strongly denied claims that the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi was linked to trading agreements between Britain and Libya.

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif was reported to have said that the decision to free Megrahi from a Scottish prison was tied to a deal between the UK and Libya.

However the Foreign Office insisted that there was no deal between London and the oil-rich north African state in relation to Megrahi and that his release on compassionate grounds was purely a matter for the Scottish authorities.

"There is no deal. All decisions relating to the Megrahi case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland, and the Scottish judicial authorities," a spokesman said.

"No deal has been made between the UK government and the Libyan government in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country."

Speculation that there had been some form of agreement was fuelled by the disclosure that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson met Saif al-Islam Gaddafi during his recent holiday on the Greek island of Corfu.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was met with a hero's welcome by people who met the flight at Tripoli. He was freed by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on compassionate grounds after serving seven years of his life sentence for 270 counts of murder.

Megrahi has also met Col Gaddafi in Tripoli. TV footage showed the pair embracing and speaking, with the Libyan leader also meeting members of the freed bomber's family.

The Libyan news agency Jana reportedly quoted Gaddafi congratulating the Scottish authorities for "their courage and for having proved their independence despite the unacceptable and unreasonable pressures they faced".

In the interview with The Times, Megrahi said he was "very, very happy" to be free. "This was my hope and wish - to be back with my family before I pass away ...I always believed I would come back if justice prevailed," he told the newspaper at his Tripoli home.

Postal worker strike action begins

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:11:00 +0000

Fresh strikes by postal workers will be held in a continuing dispute over jobs, pay and services as the threat of a national walkout comes closer.

Members of the Communication Workers Union in Carrickfergus, Stockport, Boston and Hadfield in Derbyshire will walk out for 24 hours, threatening disruption to deliveries.

Further strikes will be held next week in Skegness, Huntingdon, Rochdale, Birmingham, Coventry, London, Birmingham, Middlesbrough and the Isle of Wight.

The union is planning to ballot all 130,000 postal members next month for a national strike in the increasingly bitter dispute.

Deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "Never before have postal workers experienced so many attacks from all sides. Whether it's pay, job security, workload or dignity and respect at work, our members are facing a beating on all aspects of their working lives. Pressure and stress are rising to breaking point. It won't be long before services are dramatically affected.

"Our members do not want to lose money or disrupt services by taking further strike action. However, while Royal Mail refuses to acknowledge the serious issues facing its own employees we feel there is no alternative but to press ahead with a national strike ballot.

"We will call off all strike action in return for meaningful negotiations on modernisation, pay and job security. As the recognised union this is the least Royal Mail should do.

"We are also encouraging the Government to honour its responsibility to the Royal Mail pension scheme by taking on the deficit and also addressing the ongoing problems of regulation which put Royal Mail in a disadvantaged position in the mail market."

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has refused to intervene in the row, which has led to a wave of strikes across the country in recent weeks.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We again urge the union to call off its strikes and to join Royal Mail's drive to complete the modernisation of the business as we tackle the intensifying competition from electronic media and the impact of the recession on mail volumes, now falling at around 10% a year."

British police charge three men in audacious 40-million-pound London jewel heist

noreply@blogger.com (Vash) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:03:00 +0000

The Associated Press London, England | Friday, August 21st, 2009 9:36 am

London, England - Two men accused in an audacious jewel heist in London appeared in court Friday as police charged a third in the 40-million-pound ($72-million Cdn.) robbery.