Mon, Nov 03, 2014 page7

• World News Quick Take

  • Agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  UNITED STATES

  Lava stalls just shy of road

  Lava that has been creeping toward a small town on Hawaii stalled just before reaching the town’s main road, officials said on Saturday. Some lava has been breaking out along the sides of the flow, but it is moving slowly, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency director Darryl Oliveira said. “At this point, there’s very little activity taking place that’s posing any increased threat to the residents or the community,” Oliveira said. The flow has stalled about 146m from the main road in and out of Pahoa, a town of about 1,000 residents. Lava has been streaming down the volcano’s flank toward the northeast since June. Last weekend, it crossed a country road. It then smothered part of a cemetery, toppled trees and burned a shed, tires and grass. Authorities have alerted about 50 households in Pahoa they should be prepared to evacuate. Small fires from the lava were generating light to moderate amounts of smoke on Saturday.

  BRAZIL

  Protesters want Rousseff out

  Angry demonstrators took to Sao Paulo’s streets on Saturday to push for the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff, with some charging that she should be impeached. An estimated 2,500 people marched through the country’s sprawling industrial and financial hub, frustrated with her re-election to a new term amid critics’ concerns about her government’s alleged role in potentially allowing or enabling corruption. Many of the marchers, summoned by social media, shouted: “Dilma, get out” and “PT [Rousseff’s Workers’ Party] out.”

  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

  US lawyer found strangled

  A 55-year-old American was found strangled in his apartment in Santo Domingo, authorities said on Saturday. Police identified the victim as Van Teasley and said his body was discovered early on Friday, bound and gagged. Officials said police were alerted by a friend of the victim, Jeffrey Gordon Stroud, who was concerned that Teasley was not answering his doorbell or responding to telephone calls. The door to the victim’s apartment was unlocked when police arrived to investigate, authorities said. Another friend, Dana Fonville, said in a telephone interview from the US that Teasley was a criminal defense attorney practicing in Washington. He said that Teasley had bought the apartment in Santo Domingo for brief vacations and visited 10 to 12 times a year. “I’m very angry. He was a generous individual and was very well-liked,” Fonville said. He said Teasley had arrived in the country on Thursday and was scheduled to return to the US tomorrow.

  COLOMBIA

  First Antarctica trip planned

  The country will send a ship on a scientific research expedition to Antarctica for the first time in the middle of next month to probe climate and health issues, organizers said on Saturday. A total of 21 researchers from Colombia and other countries will travel on the ARC 20 de Julio to research physiological changes triggered by acclimation to extremely cold conditions, as well as the links between the El Nino phenomenon, and sea and climate safety. The expedition will “initiate the second phase of Colombia’s National Antarctic Program, which designates its own ships to travel to the ‘white continent’ for ongoing scientific research,” a statement said. The OCV-80 ocean patrol cruiser is considered by international shipbuilding industry experts as an “example of Colombia’s maritime industry and technological development,” the statement said.

  INDIA

  ‘Black money’ in sights

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday he was committed to bringing back funds illegally deposited in banks outside the country to avoid tax, widely referred to as “black money.” In his second radio address to the nation since coming to power in May, Modi said the money stashed abroad illegally belonged to the poor of the country. “The issue is an article of faith for me,” Modi said. Illegal deposits abroad cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue and Modi had earlier promised his government would change laws or enact new measures to bring back such funds. Washington-based think tank Global Financial Integrity has estimated that the country suffered US$344 billion in illicit fund outflows from 2002 to 2011.

  PHILIPPINES

  Insurgents kill six soldiers

  Abu Sayyaf insurgents killed six soldiers in the south yesterday, despite a new military offensive against the al-Qaeda-linked group, a military spokeswoman said. The soldiers were patrolling in the strife-torn island of Basilan when they were attacked by about 20 heavily armed fighters. Regional military spokeswoman Captain Rowena Muyuela said there were also “most likely ... undetermined casualties on the Abu Sayyaf side.” The incident came despite a military offensive over the weekend against the Abu Sayyaf in the island of Jolo, 129km from Basilan. On Saturday, troops battled about 60 Abu Sayyaf fighters in Jolo, the military said. Muyuela could not say if the attack in Basilan was related to the violence in Jolo.

  FIJI

  7.1-magnitude quake hits

  A major earthquake was recorded in the south Pacific early yesterday, about 140km northeast of Ndoi Island, the US Geological Survey said. The magnitude 7.1 quake, which hit at 6:57am, registered at a depth of 434km. No tsunami warning was issued, according to the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

  NETHERLANDS

  More MH17 remains found

  A local team took advantage of a pause in fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine on Friday to recover human remains from the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. “The team recovered human remains from the so-called burn site” where the plane hit the ground, he said, but provided no additional details. It was the first time in weeks that Dutch authorities had been able to reach the site. Security conditions were good enough on Friday for a small team, accompanied by members of the Ukrainian fire brigade and officials with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe officials to search part of the crash site, Rutte said. Human remains found would be sent back to the Netherlands for identification, he said.

  DENMARK

  No bar, no party

  Police say members of a biker gang have called off a planned party after officers raided a new club house and took away a bar that had allegedly been stolen from a nearby workshop. Anders Uhrskov of the Aarhus police said on Saturday that officers found the piece of furniture when raiding a house in Lystrup, northeast of Aarhus, as part of their “preventive strategy” against organized crime groups so “they never doubt that we keep an eye on them.” Police also seized a “minor amount” of drugs and a gold chain. Gang members declined to comment, and it was unclear whether the party would be rescheduled.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    MOE to encourage foreigners to work in Taiwan

  • 2

    Privately owned city in Kenya taking on corrupt officials

  • 3

    Kane tastes first title as Bayern bid farewell to Mueller

  • 4

    Taiwan celebrates V-E Day for first time

  • 5

    PSG make final as Arsenal fall short