11/04/2013 - SERBIA
Suspect in Serbia mass shooting dies
A Serbian war veteran suspected of shooting dead 13 relatives and neighbours in a quiet town near the capital Belgrade earlier this week before turning the gun on himself, died in a hospital on Thursday from his injuries.
A Serbian war veteran who killed 13 relatives and neighbours in a dawn rampage in a Serbian village this week, before turning the gun on himself, died in hospital on Thursday.
Belgrade’s Emergency Hospital said 60-year-old Ljubisa Bogdanovic died on Thursday afternoon and that his wife, whom he shot in the head and neck, was “in stable condition and recovering from surgery.”
Serbs were stunned by the massacre on Tuesday in a sleepy rural region some 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Belgrade. Six men, six women and a 2-year child died, the gunman’s mother and son among them.
The motive is not known. Police said Bogdanovic had fought in Croatia in 1991 during the Yugoslav wars and that he and his son had both lost their jobs last year. Reports said Bogdanovic’s father and uncle had killed themselves several years ago.
Shocked villagers initially spoke of Bogdanovic as a friendly, popular member of the community. But on Thursday, several Serbian newspapers quoted relatives and neighbours as saying he had a history of domestic violence.
Bogdanovic had a permit for the 9-mm, semi-automatic pistol he used.
Gun culture is deeply rooted in Serbia, which is still recovering from the collapse of federal Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Police estimate there are more than 1 million licensed weapons in the homes of Serbia’s 7.3 million people. Many more are held illegally.
In 2007, a man armed with a shotgun killed nine people and wounded two in the eastern Serbian village of Jabukovac and in 2002, in the southern town of Leskovac, a man shot dead seven people.
Showing posts with label Kelsey S. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelsey S. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
17/04/2013 - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Turkey arrests 10 on suspicion of arming Syria rebels
Turkish security forces on Tuesday detained 10 people suspected of supplying weapons and personnel to militants in Syria fighting against the Assad regime, a Turkish news agency reported.
Security forces in the Central Anatolian province of Konya detained 10 people yesterday on suspicions of supplying weapons and personnel to Syrian rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The operation came after some families complained that their children were being recruited by a radical extremist group, leading police to launch an investigation that ultimately resulted in the detention of 10 people who were accused of funneling weapons and personnel to militants, Doğan news agency reported.
Turkey arrests 10 on suspicion of arming Syria rebels
Turkish security forces on Tuesday detained 10 people suspected of supplying weapons and personnel to militants in Syria fighting against the Assad regime, a Turkish news agency reported.
Security forces in the Central Anatolian province of Konya detained 10 people yesterday on suspicions of supplying weapons and personnel to Syrian rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The operation came after some families complained that their children were being recruited by a radical extremist group, leading police to launch an investigation that ultimately resulted in the detention of 10 people who were accused of funneling weapons and personnel to militants, Doğan news agency reported.
15 hours 53 min ago - FRANCE
French PM urges calm ahead of final gay marriage vote
As a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption went to France’s National Assembly for a final vote on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for calm after thousands of people protested against the legislation in Paris.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for calm Wednesday as the National Assembly prepared to give its final approval to a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption.
The lower house National Assembly began its second reading of the bill late Wednesday and was to give its final approval on April 23, under a fast-track measure that limited debate to 25 hours.
French PM urges calm ahead of final gay marriage vote
As a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption went to France’s National Assembly for a final vote on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for calm after thousands of people protested against the legislation in Paris.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for calm Wednesday as the National Assembly prepared to give its final approval to a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption.
The lower house National Assembly began its second reading of the bill late Wednesday and was to give its final approval on April 23, under a fast-track measure that limited debate to 25 hours.
8 hours 52 min ago - ITALY
Italy's lawmakers fail to elect new president
Italy's parliament has failed to elect a new president during a first round of voting in a ballot that many had hoped would herald the end of a two-month impasse over a new government but is threatening to divide the centre-left.
Italy's parliament failed to elect a state president in its second vote on Thursday, with most members of both the centre-left and centre-right blocs appearing to have cast blank ballots.
With the count still continuing it was already clear that no candidate could reach the required 672 votes for a two-thirds majority of the 1007 parliamentarians and regional representatives.
Centre-left candidate Franco Marini fell well short of the required majority in the first round of voting.
A third vote will be held on Friday morning, also requiring a two-thirds majority. Starting from the fourth vote a simple majority would be sufficient for a candidate to be elected.
Italy's lawmakers fail to elect new president
Italy's parliament has failed to elect a new president during a first round of voting in a ballot that many had hoped would herald the end of a two-month impasse over a new government but is threatening to divide the centre-left.
Italy's parliament failed to elect a state president in its second vote on Thursday, with most members of both the centre-left and centre-right blocs appearing to have cast blank ballots.
With the count still continuing it was already clear that no candidate could reach the required 672 votes for a two-thirds majority of the 1007 parliamentarians and regional representatives.
Centre-left candidate Franco Marini fell well short of the required majority in the first round of voting.
A third vote will be held on Friday morning, also requiring a two-thirds majority. Starting from the fourth vote a simple majority would be sufficient for a candidate to be elected.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
26/03/2013 - ITALY-US
Knox and Sollecito to be retried for Kercher murder
In a new twist to a long-running case, Italy’s top criminal court on Tuesday overturned the acquittal of American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered a new trial.
Italy’s highest criminal court on Tuesday overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial, prolonging a case that has become a cause celebre in the U.S.
The Court of Cassation ruled that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The exact issues that have to be reconsidered won’t be known until the court releases its full ruling.
Lawyers for Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito looked grim as they huddled with prosecutors and court officials to get details after the ruling was issued. Lawyers for the Kercher family said they had got what they wanted.
Kercher’s body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and others in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Knox and Sollecito denied wrongdoing and said they weren’t even in the apartment that night, though they acknowledged they had smoked marijuana and their memories were clouded.
An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence. Knox and Sollecito were also initially convicted of the murder and given long prison sentences, but were then acquitted on appeal and released.
The high court’s ruling Tuesday overturns the appeals court acquittals.
Italian law cannot compel Knox to return from the U.S. for the new trial.
The appellate court hearing the case could declare her in contempt of court but that carries no additional penalties.
It is unclear what would happen if she was convicted in a new appeals trial.
“If the court orders another trial, if she is convicted at that trial and if the conviction is upheld by the highest court, then Italy could seek her extradition,” Knox’s lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said Monday.
It would then be up to the United States to decide if it honors the request. U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the United States.
Knox, now 25, and Sollecito, who turned 29 on Tuesday, were arrested shortly after Kercher’s body was found in a pool of blood.
The appeals court that acquitted them in 2011 criticized virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and that prosecutors provided no murder motive.
After nearly four years behind bars in Italy, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle and Sollecito resumed his computer science studies, following the degree he successfully earned while studying in prison.
Knox is now a student at the University of Washington, according to her family spokesman, Dave Marriott.
Italy’s judicial system allows for two levels of appeals, and prosecutors can appeal acquittals.
Although the court on Monday heard gruesome details, including how Kercher choked on her own blood, it wasn’t ruling on the guilt or innocence of the defendants. Its sole task was to decide if the appellate trial was properly conducted.
Details of the ruling weren’t issued Tuesday and won’t be for several weeks.
(AP)
Knox and Sollecito to be retried for Kercher murder
In a new twist to a long-running case, Italy’s top criminal court on Tuesday overturned the acquittal of American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered a new trial.
Italy’s highest criminal court on Tuesday overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial, prolonging a case that has become a cause celebre in the U.S.
The Court of Cassation ruled that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The exact issues that have to be reconsidered won’t be known until the court releases its full ruling.
Lawyers for Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito looked grim as they huddled with prosecutors and court officials to get details after the ruling was issued. Lawyers for the Kercher family said they had got what they wanted.
Kercher’s body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and others in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Knox and Sollecito denied wrongdoing and said they weren’t even in the apartment that night, though they acknowledged they had smoked marijuana and their memories were clouded.
An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence. Knox and Sollecito were also initially convicted of the murder and given long prison sentences, but were then acquitted on appeal and released.
The high court’s ruling Tuesday overturns the appeals court acquittals.
Italian law cannot compel Knox to return from the U.S. for the new trial.
The appellate court hearing the case could declare her in contempt of court but that carries no additional penalties.
It is unclear what would happen if she was convicted in a new appeals trial.
“If the court orders another trial, if she is convicted at that trial and if the conviction is upheld by the highest court, then Italy could seek her extradition,” Knox’s lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said Monday.
It would then be up to the United States to decide if it honors the request. U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the United States.
Knox, now 25, and Sollecito, who turned 29 on Tuesday, were arrested shortly after Kercher’s body was found in a pool of blood.
The appeals court that acquitted them in 2011 criticized virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and that prosecutors provided no murder motive.
After nearly four years behind bars in Italy, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle and Sollecito resumed his computer science studies, following the degree he successfully earned while studying in prison.
Knox is now a student at the University of Washington, according to her family spokesman, Dave Marriott.
Italy’s judicial system allows for two levels of appeals, and prosecutors can appeal acquittals.
Although the court on Monday heard gruesome details, including how Kercher choked on her own blood, it wasn’t ruling on the guilt or innocence of the defendants. Its sole task was to decide if the appellate trial was properly conducted.
Details of the ruling weren’t issued Tuesday and won’t be for several weeks.
(AP)
02/04/2013 - EUROZONE
Eurozone jobless rate hits high of 12% in February
Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone hit a record 12% in February with more than 19 million people out of work, official Eurostat data showed Tuesday. The jobless rate remained unchanged from January, when initial figures put it at 11.9%.
Eurozone unemployment ran at a record 12 percent in February, with more than 19 million people on the dole as the debt crisis continued to sap the economy, official data showed Tuesday.
The Eurostat data agency said unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone at 12 percent was unchanged from January when the figure was initially given as 11.9 percent.
In the full 27-member EU, unemployment in February rose to 10.9 percent from 10.8 percent, with 26.34 million out of work, it said.
Some 33,000 joined the jobless queues in the eurozone and 76,000 in the EU over the month of February, Eurostat said.
Compared with a year earlier, the increase in registered unemployment was 1.78 million in the eurozone and 1.81 million in the EU.
The highest unemployment rates in February were found in Spain with 26.3 percent and neighbour Portugal, on 17.5 percent. Greece was put at it 26.4 percent but this figure is for December, the latest available.
The lowest rates were 4.8 percent in Austria and 5.4 percent in Germany, Europe's biggest economy.
With youth unemployment a huge cause of concern, Eurostat said that the jobless rate for under-25s ran at 23.9 percent in the eurozone and 23.5 percent in the EU.
Among the countries with the highest youth jobless levels, Spain was on 55.7 percent, followed by Portugal on 38.2 percent and Italy with 37.8 percent.
Greece was the highest with 58.4 percent but this figure was for December, the last available.
Eurozone jobless rate hits high of 12% in February
Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone hit a record 12% in February with more than 19 million people out of work, official Eurostat data showed Tuesday. The jobless rate remained unchanged from January, when initial figures put it at 11.9%.
Eurozone unemployment ran at a record 12 percent in February, with more than 19 million people on the dole as the debt crisis continued to sap the economy, official data showed Tuesday.
The Eurostat data agency said unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone at 12 percent was unchanged from January when the figure was initially given as 11.9 percent.
In the full 27-member EU, unemployment in February rose to 10.9 percent from 10.8 percent, with 26.34 million out of work, it said.
Some 33,000 joined the jobless queues in the eurozone and 76,000 in the EU over the month of February, Eurostat said.
Compared with a year earlier, the increase in registered unemployment was 1.78 million in the eurozone and 1.81 million in the EU.
The highest unemployment rates in February were found in Spain with 26.3 percent and neighbour Portugal, on 17.5 percent. Greece was put at it 26.4 percent but this figure is for December, the latest available.
The lowest rates were 4.8 percent in Austria and 5.4 percent in Germany, Europe's biggest economy.
With youth unemployment a huge cause of concern, Eurostat said that the jobless rate for under-25s ran at 23.9 percent in the eurozone and 23.5 percent in the EU.
Among the countries with the highest youth jobless levels, Spain was on 55.7 percent, followed by Portugal on 38.2 percent and Italy with 37.8 percent.
Greece was the highest with 58.4 percent but this figure was for December, the last available.
02/04/2013 - HURRIYET
Muslims pray at Greek mosque for first time in 90 years
A mosque in Thessaloniki, Greece, welcomed Muslim worshippers for the first time in 90 years on Saturday. The mosque was used as a museum and then an exhibition hall.
Greek Muslims have prayed in a 111-year-old mosque in the city of Thessaloniki for the first time in 90 years. Fifty madrasah students from Komotini who were visiting Thessaloniki prayed on March 30 in the historical New Mosque, which is normally used as an exhibition hall. The students reportedly went to Thessaloniki with an initiative of the city’s mayor, Yiannis Boutaris.
“A positive step has been taken in the right direction,” said Kerim Uras, Turkey’s ambassador to Greece. “We’re expecting the rest to come. I hope Athens will also be a place where Muslims can pray.”
Muslims pray at Greek mosque for first time in 90 years
A mosque in Thessaloniki, Greece, welcomed Muslim worshippers for the first time in 90 years on Saturday. The mosque was used as a museum and then an exhibition hall.
Greek Muslims have prayed in a 111-year-old mosque in the city of Thessaloniki for the first time in 90 years. Fifty madrasah students from Komotini who were visiting Thessaloniki prayed on March 30 in the historical New Mosque, which is normally used as an exhibition hall. The students reportedly went to Thessaloniki with an initiative of the city’s mayor, Yiannis Boutaris.
“A positive step has been taken in the right direction,” said Kerim Uras, Turkey’s ambassador to Greece. “We’re expecting the rest to come. I hope Athens will also be a place where Muslims can pray.”
14 hours 8 min ago - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Turkish minister seeks to offset brain drain to Germany
Turkey is no longer willing to lose its qualified labour to Germany and is instead calling for a reverse "brain gain", Turkish Industry Minister Nihat Ergün has said. Approximately three million people of Turkish origin live in Germany.
Turkey, one of the historic human-resources providers for Germany, is no longer willing to transfer its qualified labor to the European powerhouse despite new incentives, but is instead calling for a reverse brain gain, Industry Minister Nihat Ergün has said.
Turkey made the call at the German Economic Council, a business group founded by Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), during a recent meeting in Berlin, Ergün said.
“In their speeches [at the meeting], they recalled a deal made in the 1960s. A migration and workforce deal. This had largely supported the German economy. How about making a new labor force deal with Turkey, they asked, but this time suggesting some incentives such as easing the residency of their families in Germany,” Ergün told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that Turkey had said no to the suggestion.
Germany and Turkey are closely linked by the approximately 3 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany – the largest immigrant population in the country – most of them descendants of the millions who arrived under a “guest workers” program launched in the 1960s.
Turkish minister seeks to offset brain drain to Germany
Turkey is no longer willing to lose its qualified labour to Germany and is instead calling for a reverse "brain gain", Turkish Industry Minister Nihat Ergün has said. Approximately three million people of Turkish origin live in Germany.
Turkey, one of the historic human-resources providers for Germany, is no longer willing to transfer its qualified labor to the European powerhouse despite new incentives, but is instead calling for a reverse brain gain, Industry Minister Nihat Ergün has said.
Turkey made the call at the German Economic Council, a business group founded by Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), during a recent meeting in Berlin, Ergün said.
“In their speeches [at the meeting], they recalled a deal made in the 1960s. A migration and workforce deal. This had largely supported the German economy. How about making a new labor force deal with Turkey, they asked, but this time suggesting some incentives such as easing the residency of their families in Germany,” Ergün told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that Turkey had said no to the suggestion.
Germany and Turkey are closely linked by the approximately 3 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany – the largest immigrant population in the country – most of them descendants of the millions who arrived under a “guest workers” program launched in the 1960s.
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