International Snapshots
Moscow cannot extradite Snowden:
25072013
In response U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul request to hand over Snowden. Russia could not extradite fugitive U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden under any circumstances, head of the Presidential Human Rights Council said Thursday.
“The extradition is impossible,” Interfax news agency quoted Mikhail Fedotov as saying.
Fedotov said a person who has asked for political asylum cannot be extradited in line with international law. In addition, from a legal point of view, Russia had nothing to do with the U.S. refuge-seeker, he said.
“The problem is that, although Snowden is physically in Russian territory, legally he is not here. While he is in an airport’s transit zone, he hasn’t crossed Russia’s borders. So Russia cannot extradite him or do anything at all with him,” Fedotov said.
Meanwhile, Fedotov said Russia would not violate international law in the situation he described as a dead-end.
“We can do nothing to satisfy our U.S. partners even if we wanted,” he said.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul said Washington had asked Russia not to “extradite” Snowden but to “hand him over” to U.S. authorities. Media agencies
Violence unabated in Syria
25072013
Violence unabated in Syria today seven people were killed and 62 others wounded when a booby-trapped car ripped through a busy square in a suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Thursday, state media reported.
The blast rocked al-Soyouf Square in the southeastern suburb of Jaramana, state TV said, airing live footage of the blast scene marked by bloodshed and destruction.
The pro-government Jaramana is largely dominated by Christians and Druze minority and has been subjected to many explosions and mortar attacks carried out by opposition fighters.
No party claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blast, but similar ones were claimed by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front which has recently been blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States.
The Jaramana blast is the latest of a series of explosions that rocked the capital on Thursday. media agencies
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets a Syrian delegation
25072013
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met a Syrian government delegation in Pyongyang. It was Kim’s first meeting with a foreign delegation from a country other than China.
North Korea’s state-run television reported the meeting took place on Wednesday. The Syrians are in Pyongyang to attend celebrations on Saturday marking the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.Delegation delivered a message of congratulations to Kim from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
State-run media quoted Kim as saying it is extremely encouraging for the North Korean people that Syria’s ruling party and government have sent a delegation to celebrate the anniversary.Media agencies
US stops delivery of F-16s to Egypt
25072013
United States said a delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt is halted in light of the military’s overthrow of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency.
US Defense Department spokesman George Little told reporters on Wednesday that President Barack Obama decided to stop the planned delivery of four F-16s.Little said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of the decision over the phone on Wednesday.The decision comes amid unrest following Morsi’s ouster.
A military-led interim government has been installed but violent street clashes continue between troops and the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi.
A military-led interim government has been installed but violent street clashes continue between troops and the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi.
Egypt, which has signed a peace treaty with Israel, is a key US ally in the Middle East. The US sends over one billion dollars of military aid to Egypt every year.Media agencies
Dinosaur tail found in desert in northern Mexico
25072013
A team of paleontologists has discovered the fossilized remains of a dinosaur tail in a desert in northern Mexico.
The team said five -meter long tail has fifty connected vertebrae and is completely intact.
Fossilized bones believed to be the dinosaur’s hips were also found near the tail.The fossilized tail is the first ever found in Mexico.
The researchers say further study will be needed to determine what type of dinosaur it is. But they say it could very well be the giant plant-eating hadrosaur, which lived in the latter Cretaceous period, about 74 million to 80 million years ago.
A researcher says it is rare that such a well-preserved dinosaur fossil is found.Media agencies
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