UN nuclear agency finds ‘higher enrichment’ at Iranian site
The UN nuclear agency has found traces of uranium at Iran’s underground atomic site enriched to higher than previous levels, diplomats say. The new levels are reportedly closer to what is needed for nuclear weapons, AP said. However, the finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency does not necessarily mean that Iran is raising its enrichment threshold, according to diplomats. The traces could be left “during startup of enriching centrifuges until the desired level is reached,” which would be a technical glitch only. The agency is investigating the find.
Russian bikers released in Baghdad
The Russian Embassy in Baghdad has confirmed the release of four Russian bikers who had been detained in Iraq. “They have been released, they are at the Embassy, everything is alright,” representatives of the Russian embassy told Interfax on Friday. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin earlier also said the bikers had arrived at the embassy. “Their motorbikes have not been returned yet,” Rogozin said on Twitter. The bikers - Oleg Kapkayev, Aleksandr Vardanyants, Oleg Maksimov and Maksim Ignatyev - were traveling across the Middle East before they were detained in Iraq.
Las Vegas grocer accused of war crimes deported to Bosnia
Dejan Radojkovic, a permanent US resident and a grocer, was handed over by US federal agents to Bosnian police on Thursday at Sarajevo airport. He is wanted on genocide charges based on evidence collected by investigators from the ICE Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague and prosecutors from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Radojkovic's lawyer in Las Vegas, Don Chairez, told AP his client was not a war criminal. “There is no evidence that Mr. Radojkovic ever killed anybody,” he said.
Annan to visit Syria soon – spokesman
International peace mediator Kofi Annan will visit Syria “soon”, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told Reuters on Friday. This will be Annan’s first visit since he presented his peace plan to Syria's government in early March. Fawzi did not specify the date of the trip for security reasons. Annan’s six-week-old ceasefire plan has failed to stop the violence in the country.
German parliament extends Kosovo mission
German Parliament on Friday voted overwhelmingly to extend the country's contribution to the NATO-led mission in Kosovo for another year. Under the approved mandate, Germany can send as many as 1,850 soldiers but currently only has about 1,200 there, AP said. Berlin is expected to reduce the mission even further to about 700 in the coming weeks. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It is recognized by most EU nations and the US, but not by Serbia, Russia and some others.
China blasts US annual human rights report
China hit back on Friday at the US State Department's annual survey of human rights. The report “maligns other countries, and the content concerning China ignores the facts and is filled will prejudice, confusing black and white,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, as cited by Reuters. He added that the Chinese people themselves have “the most right to speak about China's human rights situation.” China’s Xinhua state news agency said Washington’s own human rights problems showed “it was way off the moral high ground needed to make its argument convincing.”
'Yes' referendum campaign launched in Scotland
Scottish nationalists are launching an official "yes" campaign on Friday ahead of a referendum on independence from Britain. "Yes Scotland" kicks off in Edinburgh and features the Scottish National Party of First Minister Alex Salmond and other parties including the Greens, AFP said. A date has not been finalized for a vote on whether to sever union between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Salmond wants the referendum in late 2014 and has proposed to offer a third option of increased devolution.
Blast hits police station in Turkish province of Kayseri
An explosion shook a police station in Pinarbasi, a town in the central Turkish province of Kayseri, on Friday. According to initial information, one police officer was killed. Some 19 people were injured, Turkish NTV television reports. One suicide bomber was also killed in the blast, it said. A second bomber was involved, the broadcaster said.
Three hurt as iPhone explodes in Chechnya’s capital
Three people have been hospitalized with injuries after an iPhone smartphone exploded in Chechnya. An engineer and a police technician found an iPhone in Grozny and brought it to the Omega store, which sells mobile phones, a source in law enforcement agencies told Interfax. “As a shop assistant examined the phone, an explosion occurred,” he said.
Venezuela arrests Colombian rebels, strengthens security on border
Venezuela has arrested a group of Colombians believed to be linked to a leftist guerrilla border attack that killed 12 Colombian soldiers. Suspected rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) crossed the border to stage the attack in a remote area on the Guajira Peninsula, AFP reports, citing the military. “We are looking into their relationship (with the FARC) in order to act in accordance with the law,” said Venezuelan Defense Minister Henry Rangel Rangel. Some 3,000 troops from Venezuela's National Armed Forces and the regional Air Force Command have been dispatched to the border area since Monday.
French president meets troops in Afghanistan
France's President Francois Hollande arrived early Friday in Afghanistan to meet with troops and the country's leadership, AP reports. The trip was not announced in advance for security reasons. Hollande will meet with some of the 3,300 French troops in Afghanistan and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Hollande's office said in a statement. Earlier this week, he announced plans at a NATO summit to pull out French troops by the end of the year, ahead of the alliance's 2014 withdrawal date.
Man arrested for 1979 murder of NYC boy
New York police have arrested Pedro Hernandez, 51, on a murder charge after he admitted to the 1979 murder of six-year old Etan Patz. Hernandez said he lured the boy into his shop by promising soda and chocked him to death, New York police commissioner Ray Kelly reported. He then hid the body in a trash can. The case was highly publicized, with Etan’s photo appearing on a milk carton, and then-President Ronald Reagan proclaiming the anniversary of Etan’s disappearance the National Missing Children’s Day in 1983.
Quebec government invites students to talks
The government of Canada’s Quebec province has invited the four main student groups protesting planned tuition hikes to the negotiating table. No date has been set, though they may take place next week, said FECQ student union president Leo Bureau-Blouin. The proposal comes a day after hundreds of protesters were detained throughout Canada after rallies against the planned tuition hikes, as well as a new emergency law that heavily restricting spontaneous demonstrations, turned violent. On Thursday, two hundred protesters took to streets of Montreal dressed in ninja and pirate costumes to chide the tuition hikes, the emergency law and Quebec premier Jean Charest himself.
Muslim Brotherhood claims lead in Egyptian presidential poll
A spokesman for Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for the Egyptian presidency, says his name has managed to garner the most number of votes according to exit polls conducted by the Brotherhood. He did not disclose the exact percentage, or the reliability of the exit polls. Official voting in the first round of Egypt’s presidential election began shortly after polls closed Thursday. No candidate is expected to get over 50 per cent of the votes, and a runoff has already been set for June, with the two top candidates competing.
30 killed in interethnic clashes on Mali-Burkina Faso border
Thirty people have been killed in interethnic clashes in the Malian village of Sari, located nine miles (15 kilometers) from the country’s border with Burkina Faso, the governor of the northern province of Burkina Faso said. The violence erupted between the Peul and Dogon groups, with reports of some victims being burned alive. Mali’s ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure was himself a Peul, a group made up of herders who were allowed to cross territories inhabited by the Dogon, who are farmers, on special paths. Since Toure was overthrown in March, a dispute began over these rights.
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