Bangladesh rescues 23 Rohingya girls from traffickers
COLOMBO: Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a local man was beaten in the town of Chilaw on Sri Lanka's west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook, sources told Reuters.Three weeks ago in Sri Lanka extremist bombers blew themselves up in four hotels and three churches,…
COLOMBO: Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a local man was beaten in the town of Chilaw on Sri Lanka's west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook, sources told Reuters.Three weeks ago in Sri Lanka extremist bombers blew themselves up in four hotels and three churches, killing more than 250 people. Since then Muslim groups say they have received dozens of complaints from across the country about people being harassed."A police curfew has been imposed in Chilaw Police area with immediate effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow to control the tense situation," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told Reuters. The police later said the curfew would be lifted at 4 a.m.A screenshot of the alleged Facebook exchange seen by Reuters showed a user had written in Sinhalese "It is difficult to make us cry" and added a local slur against Muslim men.A Facebook user identified as Hasmar Hameed, whom two locals said was the man later arrested, replied in English: "Dont laugh more 1 day u will cry."Authorities said they arrested the author of a Facebook post, identifying him as 38-year-old Abdul Hameed Mohamed Hasmar. Locals in Chilaw, a majority Christian town, said Hasmar's post was interpreted as menacing and an angry crowd beat him.Reuters was unable to determine what the original conversation was about or to contact Hasmar for comment."Later they pelted stones at three mosques and some Muslim-owned shops. Now the situation has calmed down, but we are scared of the night," said one local Muslim man who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.One mosque suffered extensive damage, he said. Video footage circulating online shows several dozen young men shouting and throwing stones at a clothes store called New Hasmars, which locals said belonged to Hasmar.Some communities say they are fearful that the government, which failed to act on successive warnings about looming extremist attacks, has not caught all potential militants.A week ago in Negombo, where more than 100 people were killed during Easter prayers, a violent clash erupted between local Muslims and Christians after a traffic dispute.Unlike after the Negombo clashes, the Sri Lankan government did not impose a ban on social media platforms on Sunday.
Mosques attacked in Sri Lanka town after Facebook row, curfew imposed
Gunmen storm luxury hotel in Pakistan port city of Gwadar: official
Britain's Hunt: Iran one year away from nuclear bomb
BRUSSELS: The remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal do not see Tehran's breaches as significant and do not intend for now to trigger the pact's dispute mechanism, preferring more diplomacy to ease the crisis, the EU foreign policy chief said on Monday.She spoke at the end of an European Union foreign ministers meeting after…
BRUSSELS: The remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal do not see Tehran's breaches as significant and do not intend for now to trigger the pact's dispute mechanism, preferring more diplomacy to ease the crisis, the EU foreign policy chief said on Monday.She spoke at the end of an European Union foreign ministers meeting after Britain said there was only a "small window" of time to salvage the deal, while Iran warned it would ramp up uranium enrichment if the EU failed to do more to that end.US-Iranian tensions have escalated since US President Donald Trump decided last year to abandon the nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions crippling its economy.The EU ministers drew no conclusions on what action should next be taken to head off a feared US-Iranian conflict. But by suggesting that Iran's non-compliance was not significant, it could anger the United States, which last week warned it would intensify sanctions on Iran over its breaches, and it did prompt an immediate outcry from Israel, Iran's regional arch-enemy."For the time being, none of the parties to the agreement has signalled their intention to invoke this article," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told a news conference in Brussels, referring to a mechanism to punish non-compliance."(It) means that none of them for the moment, for the time being with the current data we have had in particular from the (UN nuclear watchdog) IAEA, (consider Iran's) non-compliance…to be significant non-compliance."IAEA inspectors last week confirmed Iran is now enriching uranium to 4.5 percent fissile purity, above the 3.67 percent limit set by its deal, the second breach in as many weeks after Tehran exceeded limits on its stock of low enriched uranium.The level at which Iran is now refining uranium is still well below the 20 percent purity of enrichment Iran reached before the deal, and the 90 percent needed to yield bomb-grade nuclear fuel. Low-enriched uranium provides fuel for civilian power plants.British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said earlier in the day that Iran remained "a good year away from developing a nuclear bomb." He told reporters in Brussels: "There is still some closing, but small window to keep the deal alive."Under the terms of the deal, if any party believes another is not upholding their commitments they can refer the issue to a Joint Commission comprising Iran, Russia, China, the three European powers, and the European Union.This activates a dispute mechanism that could eventually end with a restoration of global, UN sanctions against Iran. Mogherini said a joint commission meeting was possible, although when and at what level had yet to be decided.She indicated that for now the EU would focus on diplomatic efforts to save the nuclear deal, which signatories in 2015 touted as essential to ward off the risk of a wider Middle East war jeopardizing global energy supplies."The deal is not in good health, but it's still alive. We hope and we invite Iran to reverse these steps and go back to full compliance with the agreement," Mogherini, adding that they were all reversible.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the EU's response on Monday, saying it recalled failed diplomacy with Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War Two."(It) reminds me of the European appeasement of the 1930s," Netanyahu said in a video statement."Then, too, there were those who stuck their head in the sand and did not see the approaching danger," said Netanyahu, who has often cast Iran's nuclear projects as a mortal menace to Israel and the wider world. Iran denies seeking a nuclear bomb.The Brussels gathering had been called to flesh out ways of convincing Iran and the United States to reduce tensions and start a dialogue amid fears the 2015 deal is close to collapse.Fears of direct US-Iranian conflict have risen since May with several attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, Iran's downing of a US surveillance drone, and a plan for US air strikes on Iran last month that Trump called off at the last minute.In reaction to the reimposition of tough US sanctions, which have notably targeted Iran's vital oil revenue stream, Tehran has cut some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.That led the European parties to the pact, France, Britain and Germany, to warn Tehran not to shred the deal's terms.Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom suggested the Europeans would leave the door open for diplomacy but that Tehran should exercise restraint."It improves their chances of having a good discussion with the EU and other partners in the JCPOA (Iran deal)," she told reporters. "We encourage them to use all diplomatic means and create new diplomatic channels …to de-escalate the tense situation. We have to use every opportunity to keep the deal."The Islamic Republic's nuclear energy agency said Tehran would return to the situation before the nuclear deal unless European countries fulfilled their obligations."These actions are not taken out of stubbornness but to give diplomacy a chance," agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said."And if the Europeans and America don't want to fulfil their commitments we will create a balance in this deal by reducing commitments and return the situation to four years ago."Iran says the European countries must do more to guarantee it the trade and investment dividends it was due to receive in return for UN-monitored limits to its nuclear capacity under the deal.
BRUSSELS: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that there was still time to save the Iran nuclear deal and that despite the United States being Britain's closest ally it disagreed on how to handle the Iran crisis."Iran is still a good year away from developing a nuclear bomb. There is still some closing,…
BRUSSELS: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that there was still time to save the Iran nuclear deal and that despite the United States being Britain's closest ally it disagreed on how to handle the Iran crisis."Iran is still a good year away from developing a nuclear bomb. There is still some closing, but small window to keep the deal alive," Hunt told reporters on arrival for a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.The Brussels meeting will seek to flesh out how to convince Iran and the United States to reduce tensions and initiate a dialogue amid fears that the 2015 deal is close to collapse.US-Iranian tensions have worsened since US President Donald Trump decided last year to abandon the nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions crippling its economy.In reaction to the re-imposition of tough US sanctions, which have notably targeted Iran's main oil revenue stream, Tehran has scaled back on some of its nuclear commitments under the deal, leading the European parties to the pact, France, Britain and Germany, to warn it about not fully complying with the terms.The three powers, who are party to the deal alongside Russia and China, have sought to defuse the tensions, which culminated in a plan for US air strikes on Iran last month that Trump called off at the last minute.
Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters from Champs Elysees after Bastille Day parade
Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters from Champs Elysees after Bastille Day parade PARIS: French police fired tear gas to disperse protesters from the Champs Elysees avenue on Sunday, a few hours after President Emmanuel Macron had presided over the Bastille Day military parade alongside other European leaders.The boulevard in central Paris was reopened…
PARIS: French police fired tear gas to disperse protesters from the Champs Elysees avenue on Sunday, a few hours after President Emmanuel Macron had presided over the Bastille Day military parade alongside other European leaders.The boulevard in central Paris was reopened to traffic as soon as the parade finished but a few hundred protesters from the grassroots 'yellow vests' movement tried to occupy it.France's BFM television showed images of police firing tear gas to disperse the protesters, some hooded, who tried to block the road with metal barricades, dustbins and other debris.Several loud bangs could be heard. Protesters hurled objects at the police, booed and set a bin on fire.Earlier, a French police source and a court source said some 152 'yellow vest' protesters and their leaders had been detained near the Champs Elysees as they tried to stage a protest.