Submariners World News Line

Judge revokes Zimmerman’s bond, gives him 48 hours to surrender

A Florida judge has revoked George Zimmerman’s bond on Friday, saying he misrepresented his financial circumstances. Seminole County Judge Kenneth Lester Jr gave Zimmerman, who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, 48 hours to surrender. Prosecutors earlier argued that Zimmerman also “deceived the court" about whether he had a US passport. Martin, 17, was shot to death February 26 while walking in a Sanford, Florida, neighborhood where he was staying during a visit with his father. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, told police he shot the teenager in self-defense.

UN confirms 223 prisoners released in Syria

­UN monitors witnessed Syrian government officials release 223 prisoners involved in the uprising, UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo del Buey said on Friday. Thirteen prisoners were released in the southern city of Deraa and 210 in Damascus, AFP reports. On Thursday, Syrian state television said that a total of 500 prisoners had been released. Meanwhile, the UN and human rights groups estimate that over 10,000 prisoners are still being held in secret detention facilities around the country.

Bout to serve sentence in medium security facility in Illinois

­Viktor Bout will serve his sentence in USP Marion, a medium security prison in Illinois, his lawyer said. Earlier the US Bureau of Prisons announced that it was reconsidering its plan to send the Russian businessman to the USP Florence supermax in Colorado. In May, the US Attorney General Eric Holder stated that the US may also consider an application to transfer Viktor Bout to serve his prison term in Russia should one be received. Viktor Bout, a former Soviet military officer, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiring to sell weapons to the Colombian armed opposition group FARC, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US government.

UN Human Rights Council condemns Houla massacre

­The UN’s top human rights body has voted for a resolution blaming "pro-regime elements'' and government troops for the massacre in Houla, a cluster of villages in western Homs. 41 UN member states supported the US-backed resolution, with Russia, China and Cuba voting against it. Two countries abstained and one member didn't vote. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called again for the Security Council to refer Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Western draft resolution proposes ICC probe into Syria massacre

­Qatar, Turkey and the US have proposed a draft resolution on Syria, condemning the Houla Massacre and stating that the issue should be referred to the International Criminal Court. Those “responsible for the serious violation of the human rights must be held accountable,” the draft states, without suggesting how exactly they should be punished. The draft resolution also calls on Syria to allow the UN Human Rights Council's panel of experts to visit the country. Since Syria is not a member of the ICC, the rights council cannot refer the massacre to the court, as only the Security Council can do that.

Norwegian forensic experts slam report finding Breivik sane

A panel of forensic scientists have criticized a report that says confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was sane when he massacred 77 people last year in two attacks. The Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine in a letter published on Friday questioned why that report had not taken into account “important information.” That allegedly include a statement of Breivik’s mother, who said that her son's behavior had changed dramatically a year before the July 22 killings, AP said. Meanwhile, experts threw doubt in court on the killer’s claim that his rampage was a planned suicide attack.

Yemeni Islamist group releases 27 soldiers

A Yemeni Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda has released 27 soldiers taken prisoner. Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic law) said in a statement on Friday it had seized the soldiers last month in Abyan province in the south. It added the soldiers were released after they vowed to quit the US-backed government army, Reuters reports. Yemeni troops are continuing an offensive against the militants in the south and bombed targets in the Shaqra and Arqoub regions of Abyan on Thursday.

Kazakh president says death of 15 border guards “terrorist act”

The deaths of the 15 soldiers at a border post in a mountainous part of Kazakhstan and fire that destroyed buildings on its premises are “a terrorist act,” Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Friday. A border guard detail from the Sary Bokter border guard post in the Usharal district of Almaty Region found the nearby Arkankergen border post to have been destroyed by fire. “It was probably the result of internal conflicts.  But it's too early to say so,” Nazarbayev said, as cited by Interfax.

Earthquake hits China’s southern Xinjiang

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit China’s southern Xinjiang area on Friday. The quake occurred 73 km of Kashi, a city in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to the US Geological Survey’s (USGS). No casualties or damage have been reported.

Russia, Germany support settlement in Syria based on Annan plan

Germany and Russia favor political settlement of the Syrian crisis based on international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. She noted that Moscow and Berlin do not differ in their assessment of the situation in Syria. The chancellor met on Friday with President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Germany on a working visit. Putin said that Moscow will do its utmost to stop violence and help Annan as elements of civil war have started to emerge in the country.

Greece's power regulator calls emergency meeting to avert collapse

Greece's power regulator RAE said on Friday it was calling an emergency meeting next week to avert a collapse of electricity and natural gas system. “RAE is taking crisis initiatives throughout next week,” the regulator's chief Nikos Vasilakos told Reuters. The decision was taken after RAE received a letter from Greece's natural gas company DEPA. It reportedly threatened to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company.

Head of Greece's radical left to cancel bailout agreement if it wins poll

The head of Greece's Radical Left Coalition said on Friday he would cancel Greece's international bailout agreement if he wins an upcoming repeat election. Alexis Tsipras, presenting his Syriza party's economic program, said that the first act of a government of the left, as soon as the new parliament is sworn in, “will be a cancellation of the bailout and its implementation laws,” AP reports. He predicted that under the bailout terms, Greece would be unable to return to the markets. Tsipras’ party came second in the inconclusive May 6 polls. Greece holds its second election in six weeks on June 17.

Egypt to air Mubarak trial verdict live

Egyptian state television will broadcast live the verdict and sentencing on Saturday of ex-President Hosni Mubarak, his sons and security chiefs, MENA news agency said. The first several hearings in the trial, which started in August, were broadcast live. The chief judge Rifaat Said then ordered cameras out before witnesses began to take the stand, AFP said. Mubarak and his security chiefs are charged with murder over the killings of protesters in February 11, 2011. He faces corruption charges along with his sons Alaa and Gamal.

Syrian activists say gunmen kill 11 state workers in Homs province

Gunmen killed 11 workers at a state-owned fertilizer factory in Syria’s Homs province, activists said on Friday. The shooting near the town of Qusair in Homs province occurred on Thursday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as cited by AP. The workers were reportedly on the way to their jobs in a bus that came under fire. Pro-government sources blamed the rebel Free Syrian Army, while the opposition blamed the government.

Ukraine detains four suspects in Dnepropetrovsk explosions

The Ukrainian Security Service detained four suspects in staging the explosions in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka has said. He was meeting with President Viktor Yanukovich on Friday. “Four criminals who committed this grave crime were exposed,” Itar-Tass quoted Pshonka as saying. The evidence was gathered to prove that the blasts in Dnepropetrovsk were committed by these people, he noted. Some 31 people were injured in the blasts at public venues in Dnepropetrovsk on April 27.