Boeing evacuates 500 over bomb threat on 9/11 anniversary
Boeing has evacuated around 500 employees from a plant in Pennsylvania after a bomb threat. Early Tuesday morning, Boeing received notification of a threat at one of its facilities, company spokesman Damian Mills told AFP, saying he could not disclose any further details. In the interest of safety, the company evacuated its employees and notified the police.
23 workers burn to death in Pakistan factory fire
At least 23 workers burned to death after a massive blaze erupted on Tuesday at a shoe factory in Pakistan’s second largest city Lahore, Reuters reports. Eighteen more workers with severe burns were delivered to two local hospitals and the death toll is likely to rise, local health workers said. The immediate cause of the fire is not known.
Iran wants Iraq, Venezuela in Syria “contact group”
Tehran has urged that the “contact group” on the Syrian crisis be expanded by the inclusion of Iraq and Venezuela, Iranian media report. Iraq may play a vital role in resolving Syrian problem, said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. The plan of putting together the group, which already includes Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, was put forward by Egypt`s President Mohamed Morsi. The first meeting of the group took place in Cairo on Tuesday.
14 killed in massive fire southeast of Moscow
At least 14 people died in a massive fire at a clothes factory in the Russian city of Yegoryevsk, southeast of Moscow. The inferno reportedly broke out on the second floor of the building. The deceased were Vietnamese nationals, police said. An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently underway.
Syria’s Homs province faces medical crisis - WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported on the grave humanitarian crisis in Homs, Syria, which “continues to deteriorate.” An estimated one in four residents is in need of aid. Half of the province’s public hospitals and three quarters of its private hospitals are not functioning, while those that remain open are operating at reduced capacity. Out of the province’s 2.2 million residents, 550,000 need humanitarian aid, the WHO estimated.
Yemeni defense minister escapes assassination attempt, at least 13 killed
Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed was targeted today in an apparent assassination attempt when a booby-trapped car exploded in his motorcade as it left the Prime Minister’s office in Sanaa. The minister, who was traveling in a different armored car, escaped unharmed. Eight bodyguards and five civilians were killed in the bombing. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
US set to commemorate 9/11 terrorist attacks
Thousands will take to the streets of New York City, suburban Washington, D.C, and rural Pennsylvania this evening in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Friends and families of the almost 3,000 who died when terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center will read out the victims’ names. Unlike previous years, no politicians will participate in the readings.
Japanese minister commits suicide over affair story
Japan’s Financial Services Minister Tadahiro Matsushita was found dead by hanging in his home on Monday. Matsushita allegedly killed himself two days before a story about an extramarital affair was set to be published in a local tabloid. The magazine is still planning a Wednesday run of the story on the 73-year-old minister’s affair, AFP confirmed by telephone.
UN chief tells Libya to charge or release 7,000 detainees
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Monday that he is “deeply concerned” over the captivity and alleged torture of some 7,000 Libyan detainees, who were imprisoned in the aftermath of last year’s revolution that saw the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi. “I urge the country's leadership to accelerate measures ... to charge conflict-related detainees or release them, so that no one is held outside the framework of the law,” the Secretary-General said.
Oldest man in Russia dies at age 122
Magomed Labazanov, Russia’s oldest citizen, died last night at the age of 122. He celebrated his final birthday on May 1 alongside Russians from the village of Staraya Serebriakovka in the Kizlyar district of the North Caucasus’ Republic of Dagestan.
Bagram missile attack kills 3 Afghans
Five missiles were fired at the Bagram airbase north of Kabul, killing three Afghans and destroying a Chinook helicopter, an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesperson said. Several others were also injured in the overnight assault, which the Taliban have claimed responsibility for. The attack followed the Monday handover of Bagram prison from US control to Afghan authorities.
Monitoring nations greenlight Kosovo independence
A group of 25 countries overseeing Kosovo have announced their departure from the Balkan nation today. “The training wheels come off in Kosovo today,” Kosovar President Hashim Thaci said in a statement. “September tenth is the day the international community officially ends its oversight of our country and turns full responsibility…over to the people of Kosovo and their elected leaders.” Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and has been recognized by most NATO countries. Serbia still considers Kosovo part of its territory, and Russia has called the declaration ‘illegal.’
Twin bus crashes in India, over 60 feared dead
A bus crash in India’s Nepal region has killed 28, and another 35 are feared dead in a separate bus crash in the Himachal Pradesh province. The crash in Nepal took place just before dawn when a bus veered off a mountain roadside. The accident in Himachal Pradesh occurred when a bus carrying 45 passengers crashed into a gorge after the driver lost control of the vehicle. Road accidents are common in India due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles. A similar crash occurred in Nepal on Sunday, killing 13.
Iran’s currency at all-time low against US dollar
The Iranian rial has fallen to its lowest exchange rate against the US dollar, with street trading pegged at around 25,650 rials. A five percent downgrade between the rial and dollar was recorded on Monday, following a seven percent drop the previous day. The official exchange rate stands at 12,260 rials per dollar. Tehran has announced that it has enough currency in its reserves, and blamed market instability for the plunge in the rial’s value. The rial has been declining amid a US-led push for economic sanctions against Iran over the country’s controversial nuclear program. The EU backs the sanctions as well, and banned imports of Iranian oil on July 1.
Armed Chinese patrol ships heading to disputed islands
Two Chinese patrol ships are heading towards disputed islands – known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan – in the East China Sea. Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo are increasing over the territorial dispute, with Japan announcing that it plans to purchase the islands from a private owner for $26 million. The Chinese government argued that Japan's decision to buy the islands is illegal, and responded by dispatching the armed ships to the region.
9/11 museum agreement reached
An agreement that paves the way for the completion of the 9/11 museum has been reached on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. The museum was scheduled to open this year but work stalled in 2011 after the subcontractors at the site stopped getting paid. The Governor announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey- owning the World Trade Center site- and the foundation that controls the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, have finally reached an agreement on completing the underground museum.
First torture death in Tunisia since revolution - report
A Tunisian man has died of torture after being interrogated by police, the victim’s lawyer told Reuters. The death of Abd Raouf Kammassi, arrested on charges of theft, is the first such death in detention to be reported since the overthrow of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali during the Arab Spring revolution in 2011. The Interior Ministry confirmed that Kammassi had died of a concussion and that four security agents interrogated him prior to his death.
Somalia elects new leader
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been elected as Somalia's new president. Mohamud defeated incumbent leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, in a third round run-off vote Monday. Mohamud was immediately sworn in following the vote. He thanked former President Ahmed for leading the country toward historic elections and asked the Somali people to support him. The election was a major step in a UN-backed plan to create a more effective government in Somalia after two decades of war and chaos. It followed the adoption of a new constitution and the creation of a new parliament last month.
Guantanamo detainee found dead in his cell
A Guantanamo detainee who went on hunger strike earlier this year was found dead in his cell on Saturday, a spokesman for the US detention center, Navy Capt. Robert Durand, said on Monday. The military did not disclose the man’s identity, but said he had been held in the maximum-security Camp 5 building and was “in a disciplinary status” in a single-cell at the time of his death. The detainee was found unconscious and unresponsive in his cell during a routine check, Durand said, adding that “the cause of death is under investigation,” the Miami Herald reports. According to Durand, the man was not on hunger strike at the time of death, ending it over a two months ago on June 1. He was being monitored by military medics and his weight was recently recorded at “95 per cent of his ideal body weight.”
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