International happening

Posted on August 29, 2014 by sagarmedia

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US colleges to screen some W. African students over Ebola fears

 

College students from West Africa may be subject to extra health checks when they arrive to study in the US because of Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, AP said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued no specific recommendations for colleges. However, health departments in South Carolina, North Dakota and other states have spelled out for administrators what symptoms to look for and how to react.

 

 

Iran hopes to reach ‘positive result’ in nuclear talks

 

Tehran hopes to reach a “positive result” in talks with world powers on its nuclear program, thanks in part to support from Russia, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. November was earlier set as deadline to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue. “In that short period of time that is left, we hope that we can reach a positive result,” Reuters quoted Zarif as saying Friday.

 

 

3 weeks ahead of Scottish referendum, support for independence growing – poll

 

Support for Scottish independence is increasing three weeks ahead of a referendum, according to a poll published Friday. A Survation survey found 47 percent of respondents would vote ‘Yes’ to independence, while 53 percent would vote ‘No’, excluding people who were undecided, AFP said. British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday urged Scottish people to reject independence in a rare speech in Glasgow. The union is a strong economic advantage, he said.

 

 

Flights diverted after volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea

 

A volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea on Friday sent smoke and ash spewing high over the Pacific island nation, Reuters reported. Mount Tavurvur on East New Britain Island erupted hours before dawn, according to the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory. Qantas has altered flight paths between Sydney and Narita (Tokyo) and Sydney and Shanghai. Some other aircraft also had to alter their flight paths.

 

 

US labs ordered to take inventory of infectious agents

 

The White House has ordered federally-funded labs working with infectious agents to conduct an immediate inventory of the pathogens in their labs. Their safety and security protocols must be reviewed, according to a special memo. The order follows a trio of high-profile mishaps at federal labs in recent months, Reuters said. They included the mishandling of anthrax and bird flu by researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Decades-old samples of smallpox were also discovered in a US Food and Drug Administration lab on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

 

Number of Syrian refugees soars to 3 million – UN

 

Three million Syrians, or half of the country’s population, have been forced to flee their homes by the ongoing military conflict, the UN refugee agency reports. “One in every eight Syrians has fled across the border, fully a million more than a year ago,” the report reads, adding that 6.5 million are displaced within Syria. The refugee crisis has been described by the agency as “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.” The majority of refugees have found shelter in Lebanon (1.14 million), Turkey (815,000) and Jordan (608,000). Some 215,000 refugees are in Iraq with the rest in Egypt and other countries.

 

Hamas says conflict with Israel not over, insists demands met

 

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has termed the latest spate of rocket fire and mortar exchange with Israel a“milestone to reaching our objective.” He made the comments at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, saying that there would be no solution until Hamas’ demands are met. He also requested that Egypt open the Rafah border crossing “as a brotherly action.” Monday marked the 50th day since Israel started its campaign in Gaza on July 8. The death toll from the conflict has reached 2,120 people, of whom 577 are children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

 

 

 

43 UN peacekeepers detained by armed group in Syria

 

An armed group has detained 43 peacekeepers in Syria, the UN said. They were detained early Thursday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights during a “period of increased fighting between armed elements and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces,” AP said, citing the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Another 81 peacekeepers are “currently being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah,”the UN said in its statement.

 

 

Ebola death toll passes 1,550 – WHO

 

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has taken 1,552 lives out of 3,069 known cases in four countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. “More than 40 percent of the total number of cases have occurred within the past 21 days. However, most cases are concentrated in only a few localities,” WHO said, as cited by Reuters. The UN agency is preparing a new strategic plan for tackling the world’s worst Ebola outbreak, which, WHO says, “continues to accelerate.”

 

 

Erdogan sworn in as 12th Turkish president

 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s 12th president at a ceremony in parliament Thursday. Reading the oath of office, he swore to safeguard the existence and independence of the state, Reuters said.

 

 

Dozens of Syrian Army soldiers executed by Islamic State 

 

Islamic State fighters have executed dozens of members of the Syrian army they took hostage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday. The executions took place after militants captured Tabqa air base in the northeast of the country on Sunday, Reuters said. The Observatory said the soldiers who were executed had been trying to escape from the airport. Syrian state media confirmed the attack on the base. However it has not reported any deaths or any army members being captured.

 

 

MH370 ‘may have turned south earlier than thought’ – Oz deputy PM

 

A new clue to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has emerged, and the hunt for missing plane will focus on the southern part of the existing search zone, Australia said on Thursday. Fresh information suggested the jet “may have turned south” earlier than thought, AFP quoted Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss as saying. The detail came to light following “further refinement” of satellite data. Australia and Malaysia inked a memorandum of understanding over the next phase of the hunt for the plane. It disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

 

 

Doctor dies of Ebola in Nigeria’s Port Harcourt 

 

A doctor in Nigeria’s oil industry hub of Port Harcourt has died from Ebola fever, Reuters said. The doctor had treated a primary contact of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola to Lagos, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. Port Harcourt is a hub for expatriate workers in major international oil companies.

 

 

Brazil police breaks up biggest Amazon deforestation gang

 

Brazil police have broken up an Amazon deforestation gang considered the worst currently active, AFP reported, citing officials. The gang reportedly invaded public land in northern Para state, burned down forest, divided the land into parcels and sold them. The group is accused of environmental crimes to the tune of $230 million, according to the Brazilian Environmental Institute. It was not clear how many people were arrested.

 

 

Indonesia, Australia sign agreement to end spying row

 

Indonesia and Australia on Thursday signed an agreement that could draw a line under an espionage row and pave the way for the resumption of full cooperation. The two states pledged not to use their intelligence agencies to harm one another, AFP reported. Ties between the neighbors sank to their lowest point in November after reports that Australian spies tried to tap the phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his inner circle.