Havana no longer on Washington's terror blacklist
The United States on Friday officially removed Cuba from its list of countries that sponsor state terrorism after 33 years . The decision sets the stage for a full renewal of diplomatic ties between the neighbouring countries. The announcement comes following President Barack Obama's recommendation last month that Cuba be taken off the blacklist. The US State Department said it still “has significant concerns and disagreements over a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions”. However, with regard to state-sponsored terror, the US said that Cuba’s association with certain groups had “become more distant”. Friday’s decision will also ease certain trade restrictions, but the US Congress’ embargo on Cuba remains in place.
Gunmen kill 19 bus passengers in Pakistan
At least 19 people were killed late on Friday after armed men forced them off buses near the Pakistani city of Quetta. The assailants were wearing the uniforms of the security forces when they accosted two buses en route to Karachi, said Balochistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti. Security officials said about 25 passengers were taken off two buses. An operation was launched to locate them, following which 19 bodies were found in the nearby hills. The motive for the attack was unclear and no group claimed responsibility in the immediate aftermath. All the victims were members of the minority Shia community. However, a security official said it the incident was unlikely to have been a sectarian attack.
China executes teacher for sexually abusing girls
A primary school teacher was executed on Friday after China’s top court found him guilty of raping or sexually abusing 26 girls. Li Jishun’s victims were “young and timid” girls aged between four and 11, read a statement by the Supreme People’s Court. While there was no mention of how Jishun was caught, he was deemed guilty of raping 21 of his victims and sexually abusing five girls in classrooms, dormitories and villages surrounding Wushan town in Gansu province. Some of the victims were abused more than once. Noting that Jishun had committed all the crimes in the space of a year, the court found him a “grave threat to society”.
Sepp Blatter wins FIFA election despite global corruption scandal
Sepp Blatter won a fifth term as president of FIFA on Friday after an election held amid demands that he quit following allegations of widespread corruption involving officials of world football’s governing body. Blatter’s victory came after his only challenger, Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein conceded defeat. Neither man got the required two-thirds majority in the first round of the ballot, with Blatter leading the count with 133 votes to 73 for Prince Ali. However, Ali bowed out soon after. In his victory speech, the 79-year-old Blatter declared that he was “the president now, the president of everybody”. Meanwhile, The scandal widened on Friday when Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it was examining possible corruption at FIFA.
No breakthrough at meet on Rohingya crisis
There was no major breakthrough on tackling southeast Asia’s Rohingya migrant crisis following a regional conference in Bangkok on Friday, even as Myanmar’s navy seized 727 migrants including 45 children from a boat. Myanmar said that “finger pointing” would not help after being blamed by some countries for fuelling the crisis. Representatives of 17 countries directly or indirectly affected by the growing crisis attended the meeting, along with officials from the US, Japan and the United Nations. A UN official said that a solution required Myanmar to “fully assume responsibility towards all its people”. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingyas as an ethnic group, referring to them as “Bengalis”. In recent weeks, At least 3,000 people have been rescued by fishermen or have made their way ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
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The United States on Friday officially removed Cuba from its list of countries that sponsor state terrorism after 33 years . The decision sets the stage for a full renewal of diplomatic ties between the neighbouring countries. The announcement comes following President Barack Obama's recommendation last month that Cuba be taken off the blacklist. The US State Department said it still “has significant concerns and disagreements over a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions”. However, with regard to state-sponsored terror, the US said that Cuba’s association with certain groups had “become more distant”. Friday’s decision will also ease certain trade restrictions, but the US Congress’ embargo on Cuba remains in place.
Gunmen kill 19 bus passengers in Pakistan
At least 19 people were killed late on Friday after armed men forced them off buses near the Pakistani city of Quetta. The assailants were wearing the uniforms of the security forces when they accosted two buses en route to Karachi, said Balochistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti. Security officials said about 25 passengers were taken off two buses. An operation was launched to locate them, following which 19 bodies were found in the nearby hills. The motive for the attack was unclear and no group claimed responsibility in the immediate aftermath. All the victims were members of the minority Shia community. However, a security official said it the incident was unlikely to have been a sectarian attack.
China executes teacher for sexually abusing girls
A primary school teacher was executed on Friday after China’s top court found him guilty of raping or sexually abusing 26 girls. Li Jishun’s victims were “young and timid” girls aged between four and 11, read a statement by the Supreme People’s Court. While there was no mention of how Jishun was caught, he was deemed guilty of raping 21 of his victims and sexually abusing five girls in classrooms, dormitories and villages surrounding Wushan town in Gansu province. Some of the victims were abused more than once. Noting that Jishun had committed all the crimes in the space of a year, the court found him a “grave threat to society”.
Sepp Blatter wins FIFA election despite global corruption scandal
Sepp Blatter won a fifth term as president of FIFA on Friday after an election held amid demands that he quit following allegations of widespread corruption involving officials of world football’s governing body. Blatter’s victory came after his only challenger, Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein conceded defeat. Neither man got the required two-thirds majority in the first round of the ballot, with Blatter leading the count with 133 votes to 73 for Prince Ali. However, Ali bowed out soon after. In his victory speech, the 79-year-old Blatter declared that he was “the president now, the president of everybody”. Meanwhile, The scandal widened on Friday when Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it was examining possible corruption at FIFA.
No breakthrough at meet on Rohingya crisis
There was no major breakthrough on tackling southeast Asia’s Rohingya migrant crisis following a regional conference in Bangkok on Friday, even as Myanmar’s navy seized 727 migrants including 45 children from a boat. Myanmar said that “finger pointing” would not help after being blamed by some countries for fuelling the crisis. Representatives of 17 countries directly or indirectly affected by the growing crisis attended the meeting, along with officials from the US, Japan and the United Nations. A UN official said that a solution required Myanmar to “fully assume responsibility towards all its people”. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingyas as an ethnic group, referring to them as “Bengalis”. In recent weeks, At least 3,000 people have been rescued by fishermen or have made their way ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
