Argentina withdraws ambassador to Paraguay
Argentina is withdrawing its ambassador to Paraguay over the impeachment of former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement. On Friday, the Senate of Paraguay voted to impeach President Fernando Lugo with 39 legislators in favor and four against. Lugo was immediately succeeded by his vice president, Federico Franco, who was sworn in in Congress. A number of Latin American countries called the impeachment illegitimate. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner asserted that Argentina would not condone the "coup d'etat" that took place in Paraguay.
Tropical storm forms in the Gulf of Mexico
The US National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Debby has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring rains to the Gulf Coast from southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. A tropical storm warning has already been issued for part of the Louisiana coast. The storm will move over the northern Gulf during the next few days at about 10 kilometers per hour, forecasters say. Debby is the fourth tropical storm recorded in 2012. The first storm this year, Alberto, formed off the South Carolina coast on May 19.
Hamas threatens to escalate attacks on Israel
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip, has vowed to escalate attacks on Israel following a slew of Israeli airstrikes that killed several Palestinians. Hamas militants responded to those strikes by firing dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday, damaging an elementary school and wounding one person. Tensions between Israel and Hamas have been growing over the past week, and an Egyptian-brokered truce secured on Tuesday was quickly broken. An Egyptian official said his country was trying to secure a new ceasefire.
Greek gay pride parade comes under attack
Around 50 people attacked a gay pride rally with approximately 400 participants with plastic bottles and eggs in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, local police reported. Police moved in to stop the attackers, and no injuries were reported. Senior clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church in Thessaloniki have recently condemned gay pride events.
Poland demands release of reporter held in Belarus
Poland has summoned the Belarusian ambassador to demand the release of a Polish newspaper reporter arrested this week, warning that Minsk risks further isolation and tougher sanctions. Andrzej Poczobut, the Belarus correspondent of Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and a prominent Polish-Belarusian minority activist, was arrested for insulting Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in his articles on Thursday, less than a year after serving jail time for similar offences.
Red Crescent responder killed in Syria
Bashar al-Youssef, a 23-year-old volunteer with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, was shot and killed while on first aid duty in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria. He was wearing a uniform clearly marked with the Red Crescent emblem when he was shot, the International Red Cross Committee said in a statement. He is the fourth member of the Red Crescent to be killed in Syria since September.
Sudanese police ordered to ‘immediately’ end protests
Sudan’s police have ordered their staff to put an end to anti-government protests immediately, reports the state-linked Sudanese Media Centre. The capital city Khartoum and other cities have embraced a week's worth of protests provoked by the nation’s financial woes. Reforms aimed at curbing skyrocketing inflation led to hikes in prices of petrol, cooking gas and food. On Friday, police used tear gas and smoke grenades to dispel protesting crowds in the fiercest standoff since student-led protests began a week ago.
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