Submariners World News SitRep

Portuguese parliament passes controversial austerity tax hikes

Portuguese parliamentarians have approved an austerity budget that sharply increases financial transaction, income and property taxes. The budget is intended to satisfy EU conditions for a €78 billion bailout. It was opposed by socialists, and widespread demonstrations are planned. The budget face a final vote on November 27.

Greek unions organize 48-hour general strike next week

Greece's two main labor unions Wednesday called a 48-hour strike to protest austerity measures due to be voted on next week. The unions, covering civil servants and the private sector, expect the strike on November 6-7 to be accompanied by demonstrations in central Athens, AP said. The finance minister submitted an amended 2013 budget that raised the country's debt and deficit forecasts for next year.

Kuwait extends detention of opposition leader al-Barrak

Kuwait’s opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak has been reportedly charged by public prosecutors with insulting the Gulf state's ruler. Prosecutors also extended on Wednesday the detention of the former MP over remarks deemed critical of the emir, AFP reported. The extension means further investigation, lawyer Mohammad Abdulqader al-Jassem said. Barrak was interrogated for five hours on Tuesday on accusations that he undermined the status of the emir. At a rally on October 15, he reportedly warned against amending the disputed electoral law and said Kuwait was becoming autocratic.

No military solution for Syria – Russian FM

Russia and France oppose a military solution to the Syrian crisis, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. “We agreed that there was no military solution” for Syria, Interfax quoted the FM as saying at a press conference in Paris. Moscow and Paris are seeking to prevent the dissipation of Syria on the ethno-confessional principle, Lavrov added. He took part in the 10th session of the Russian-French Security Council.

New York Stock Exchange opens after hurricane

The New York Stock Exchange opened on Wednesday after an historic two-day shutdown due to Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg rang the opening bell at 9:30am, right on schedule, although the exchange is running on backup generators, AP reported. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 74 points to 13,182 shortly after the opening bell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose nearly six points to 1,418, while the Nasdaq composite slipped less than one point to 2,987. The last time the exchange closed for two days due to weather was in 1888.

Russian delivery vehicle docks with ISS, 6 hours after launch

The Russian space delivery vehicle Progress M-17M carrying cargo for the crew of the International Space Station docked with the ISS Zvezda module on Wednesday. The docking took place within six hours after the launch compared to the usual 48 or even 72 hours. The new docking scheme was developed over several years and tested on Earth, Itar-Tass said, citing the Mission Control Center experts. The spacecraft makes four revolutions around the Earth during a six-hour flight. The scheme was successfully applied for the first time in August this year by the Progress M-16M spacecraft.

UN blames Asia drug boom on surge in poppy cultivation

Opium cultivation in Southeast Asia has doubled over the last six years, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report on Wednesday. Growing demand for heroin in China and the rest of Asia lures more farmers to grow poppies, it said, adding that China alone has more than a million registered heroin users. Opiate users in East Asia and the Pacific now account for about a quarter of the world’s total, AFP quoted the report as saying. Opium produced by Laos and Myanmar is estimated to be worth $431 million in 2012, a third more than the previous year.

Turkey yet to return cargo from Syrian plane – Moscow

Ankara has not yet taken any practical steps to return the cargo on board a Syrian plane heading from Moscow to Damascus that was forced to land in Turkey, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said. Contacts are continuing, but without results, he told reporters on Wednesday. Moscow is demanding that Ankara return the cargo that was confiscated by Turkish authorities after search on October 10. Moscow said the cargo was dual-purpose electronic equipment for radar stations, which is not banned by international conventions.

Warplane strikes, bomb attack reported in Damascus suburbs

Syrian warplanes pounded opposition strongholds around Damascus and in the north Wednesday, activists claimed. Government jets carried out five strikes in the eastern Ghouta district, a rebel stronghold close to the capital, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Three airstrikes also hit the rebel-held city of Maaret al-Numan on a key supply route from Damascus to Aleppo, AP said. The Observatory reported no casualties from Wednesday's strikes. The Syrian semi-official Addounia television said six people were killed and several wounded by a bomb in the Sayeda Zainab district of Damascus.

Five criminal cases on bribing voters opened after Ukraine election

Ukraine’s prosecutors have opened five criminal cases on violations during the parliamentary elections held on Sunday, including bribing of voters. The cases were opened in Crimea, in Chernovtsy and Lugansk regions. The Prosecutor General's Office considered 94 claims of violations, saying that allegations were justified in five cases only, Itar-Tass reported. There were 16 applications to the Central Elections Commission, and 12 cases of bribery were not reportedly confirmed. Independent watchdogs reported on many occasions of bribing electors in Ukraine’s regions.

130 missing in Rohingya as Bangladesh boat sinks

About 130 passengers are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, police in Bangladesh said on Wednesday. One of six survivors said that the boat had about 130 passengers on board, AFP reported.

Taliban candidate can run for Afghan president - election chief

The Taliban and other insurgent leaders could run for president in Afghanistan’s election scheduled for April 5, 2014, the head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) said on Wednesday. Fazil Ahmad Manawi claimed the body is “even prepared to pave the ground for the armed opposition, be it the Taliban or Hezb-i-Islami, to participate in the election, either as voters or candidates,” AFP said. The top poll official pledged to act “impartially” during the elections.

Domodedovo attack victim sues Moscow airport for $1.6 million

A victim of the terrorist attack at Domodedovo Airport in 2011 has filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Presnensky District Court against the airport. She is seeking 50 million rubles (around US$1.6 million) in damages, RIA Novosti said, citing lawyers. The 49-year-old woman was heavily injured and had to undergo several complicated operations, eventually losing the capacity to work. A suicide bomber killed 37 people and injured 172 in the airport’s international arrivals hall on January 24, 2011. The Investigative Committee said the terrorist act was organized by a North Caucasus terrorist group led by Doku Umarov.

London tube traps 170 passengers, delays thousands of commuters

­The Central Line of the London Underground has been paralyzed for several hours after an engineering accident in the tunnel, leaving 170 people trapped in a train and around 100,000 having to wait. The tube captives were released from the tunnel after 45 minutes. No injuries have been reported. Transport for London officials apologized for the delays after Twitter became flooded with furious passenger complaints.

UN transfers full police control to East Timor

The UN Police (UNPOL) have transferred full control of policing operations to the East Timorese National Police Force (PNTL). Until the end of the year, UNPOL officers “slowly will be leaving the districts,” UNPOL Commander Luis Carilho said in a ceremony in Dili, AP reported. UNPOL has been working in East Timor since the UN Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) came to the country in 2006, after serious clashes involving former soldiers. There are 1,200 UNPOL officers from more than 40 countries in East Timor at present. Security has been considered stable since the PNTL resumed policing responsibilities in March 2011.

Moscow Metro bomb alert proves false

­Moscow police scrambled to the Okhotny Ryad Metro station in capital’s centre not far from the Kremlin after two suspicious large bags were found on the platform. They proved to contain no explosives inside. The platform was being cordoned off while explosive experts were conducting their probe.

Eurozone unemployment hits new record high

Unemployment in the eurozone increased to a new record high of 11.6 per cent in September, according to Eurostat’s latest news release. This is an increase from 11.5 per cent reported in August. This means that across the euro area there are almost 18.5 million unemployed people. Spain holds the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone with 25.8 per cent, followed by Greece with 25.1 per cent.

Eight Afghan civilians killed by roadside Taliban bomb

­Seven women and one man have been killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province by a roadside Taliban bomb, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. Two others were wounded in the incident, which happened in the Musa Qala district. Taliban militants are extensively using improvised explosive devices in their decade-long war against the NATO-led coalition. The IEDs cause hundreds of casualties among the civilian population annually in addition to killing intended targets among military and security personnel.

China says patrols near disputed islands ‘normal activity’

China on Wednesday defended its patrols near disputed East China Sea islands controlled by Japan. The patrols constitute normal activity to exercise jurisdiction and should not be criticized, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, as cited by AP. Beijing earlier announced several days of naval exercises in the Western Pacific. China has sent ships into the area several times since Japan’s nationalization of some of the islands last month.

Russia’s upper house approves law on protection of state secrets

The upper house of Russia's parliament, the Federation Council, approved on Wednesday a law increasing the punishment for disclosing state secrets. The lower house, the State Duma, last week adopted the bill. It toughens punishment for their disclosure, and introduces criminal liability for illegal acquisition of classified information, RIA Novosti said. A new chapter was introduced to the Criminal Code. It stipulates that obtaining state secret information by theft, deception, bribery, blackmail, force or threat of violence will be subject to a 200,000-500,000 ruble (US$6,373-$15,930) fine, or up to four years imprisonment. Human rights activists intend to ask the president to veto the law. They called it unjustified for extending the notion of what constitutes state secrets.

Fourteen killed in Indonesia ethnic clashes

Ethnic clashes in western Indonesia have left 14 people killed and dozens wounded. The three-day clash in Balinuraga village, Lampung province, was triggered by minor sexual harassment among young men and girls from the Lampung ethnic group and Balinese descendants on Sumatra Island, AP reported. More than 1,500 police and 500 soldiers were deployed to the area late Tuesday after angry mobs set alight more than 160 houses and a dozen vehicles, Police Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Wednesday. More than 1,300 villagers were evacuated.

Myanmar illegal opium production rises 17% - UN

The cultivation of illegal opium has increased in Myanmar for a sixth successive year, the United Nations warned on Wednesday. The upsurge comes despite a government campaign to eradicate the crop, AP said. The latest annual survey by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said farmland under opium cultivation, mostly in Kachin and Shan states, rose by 17 per cent this year, up from about nearly 40,000 hectares in 2011. Myanmar is the world’s second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan, accounting for about 25 per cent of global poppy production.

Frenchman arrested in Germany over 2003 Casablanca attacks

A Frenchman wanted over the 2003 suicide attacks in Casablanca that killed 33 people has been arrested at Munich airport, German police said. Moroccan authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for a French national of Moroccan origin, identified as Fouad Charouali, 37. He was arrested while in transit from France to Dubai with his family Monday and is facing eventual extradition, AFP said. The suspect had already been sentenced by a French court in July 2007 to eight years in prison for providing support to Casablanca suicide bombers. The May 2003 bombings in Casablanca were the deadliest ever in Morocco, when 45 people died, including 12 suicide bombers, and dozens were wounded.

Thousands evacuated as cyclone expected to hit southern India

Thousands of people in southern India have moved to higher ground as a cyclone roared in the Bay of Bengal toward coastal areas. The India Meteorological Department expects the cyclone with a wind speed of up to 90kph to hit the shore later Wednesday, AP reported. This may lead to a tide surge of up to 1.5 meters and flood in low-lying areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states. With rain already lashing the region, meteorologists said the cyclone could damage thatched huts and uproot trees, knocking out power and communication lines.

Protester killed, 3 officers injured in Tunisia clashes

One Islamist protester has been killed and three security officers injured in clashes near the capital of Tunisia, state news agency TAP said. The violence reportedly occurred after a group of ultraconservative Muslims armed with swords, knives and sticks tried to attack a police station Tuesday night. The group was protesting the arrest of a man suspected in violence against police last week in the same town, Douar Hicher, AP said. The government warned it would crack down on extremist violence since a deadly protest outside the US embassy last month.