Inel news enveloped

3 11 2013

Malaysia warns U.S., Australia against spy

Malaysia has warned the United States and Australia against the alleged espionage activities in their embassies in Kuala Lumpur, local media reported Saturday.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman raised the matter to his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Perth Friday on the sidelines of the 13th Ministers of Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) meeting, according to the state news agency Bernama.
The media reports on alleged Australian spying activities in Malaysia have caused considerable anger amongst the Malaysian public, Anifah said, warning that such activities could severely damage existing relations.
The Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the U.S. ambassador and the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia to hand over protest notes on their alleged spying activities in Kuala Lumpur following the reports, Bernama reported.

6.2 MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS PAPUA NEW GUINEA — HK OBSERVATORY

Myanmar ethnic armed groups form nationwide ceasefire

YANGON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — Rebel ethnic armed groups in Myanmar have formed a 13-member nationwide ceasefire coordination group to make peace deal with the government, according to an announcement of the Ethnic Armed Groups Conference available here Sunday.
A framework agreement on peace deal reached at the closing of the four-day conference on Saturday in Laiza, Kachin state, is expected to be presented during further talks with the government’ s central peace making group on coming Monday in Myitgyina, the capital of Kachin state.
However, the armed groups, in a post-conference announcement, criticized the government for its continued military offensive against the armed groups-controlled areas amid talks.
A total of 17 ethnic armed groups signed an 11-point framework agreement among themselves at the closing of the four-day conference in the border town of Laiza, northernmost Kachin state, for negotiation for a nationwide ceasefire deal with the government.
The agreement mainly called for holding political dialogue with the government within months after the planned signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government.
The framework agreement also includes laying down a political roadmap acceptable by both sides, keeping promise for holding political dialogue, trust building and its implementation.
The Laiza peace conference of leaders of the ethnic armed groups, which began on Wednesday, mainly discussed nationwide ceasefire, political dialogue and establishment of a federal union system.
The conference was organized by the Kachin Independence Organization and participated by 17 other armed groups including the United Nationalities Federal Council, the Kayin National Union, the Restoration Council of the Shan State Army (RCSS), the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army and the New Mon State Party.
Of them, the RCSS failed to join the signing, while the United Wa State Army and National Democratic Alliance Army based in Mongla, eastern Shan State, were absent from attendance.
However, the two absent armed groups promised to join the follow-up talks between the government’s central peace making group and the ethnic armed groups slated for Monday and Tuesday in Myitgyina.
The upcoming Myitgyina talks are expected to work out a comprehensive ceasefire paper for the final signing of a nationwide ceasefire accord, observers here said.

Volcano erupts in Sumatra, Indonesia

Mount Sinabung volcano in Karo district of North Sumatra erupted again early Sunday, shooting a column of ash up to 7,000 meters to the sky, and authorities recommended evacuation of the people living in the slope, an official said here.
A major explosion was heard at the 2,475 meter (8,120 feet) high Mount Sinabung after midnight and has been rumbling since, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management and mitigation agency told Xinhua over the phone.
An evacuation zone of 3 km has been declared and the people in four villages within the area must be evacuated, Sutopo said.
The authorities have raised the alert status to the second highest following the increase of seismic activities on the mountain over the recent weeks, he added.
The Mount Sinabung volcano erupted with a major explosion on Oct. 24, sending a column of smoke up to 3,000 meters.
The Mount Sinabung volcano is among 129 active volcanoes in the vast archipelago country, which is vulnerable to seismic upheaval as it lays on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

Vkontakte says Snowden did not accept job offer

The head of the social network Vkontakte (vk.com), Pavel Durov, said that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden did not accept his job offer, TechCrunch reported. Media previously speculated that Durov’s company was one a few that could potentially offer Snowden a job. Earlier this week, a Russian news agency reported that the whistleblower had joined a “major” Russian website. Journalists suggested that he could be working for any of the country’s social networks – odnoklassniki.ru, mail.ru, liveinternet.ru, or Vkontakte.

Bahrain police summon head of opposition for questioning

Sheikh Ali Salman, head of Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq, was summoned for questioning by police on Sunday, according to an interior ministry source, Reuters reported. Unrest has persisted in Bahrain – an important Western ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet – since a 2011 uprising led by majority Shiites demanded reforms from the Sunni royal family, which rules the tiny Gulf state. The revolt was put down with the help of Saudi Arabia, but protests against the ruling elite remain frequent.

Two French journalists kidnapped in Mali

Two French journalists were abducted by four gunmen in the northern Mali town of Kidal, the governor of the region and several security sources told Reuters. The governor, Colonel Adama Kamissoko, told the agency the men had left the capital left Bamako on Tuesday and were headed to the small town of Kidal, which was seized by the the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad during the Tuareg Rebellion of 2012. No group has taken responsibility for the kidnappings.

Curfew in Egypt to be lifted on 14 November

The curfew originally implemented in Egypt on 14 August will be lifted on 14 November, Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education, Hossam Eissa, announced Saturday. The curfew currently lasts from 1pm to 5am, except for Fridays, the traditional day of protest, when it starts at 7pm. The curfew has been extended several times. It was last prolonged for two months on 12 September. According to Egypt’s constitution, the state of emergency cannot be extended for more than three months unless it is approved via a national referendum

Kidnapped Germans released in Lebanon

The two kidnapped German citizens have been released in the Bekaa town of Douris in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) reported. The victims were set free after financial disputes that led to their abduction were resolved, according to Naharnet. The Germans were reportedly “taken to an unknown location” after their kidnappers failed to force a cash transfer bureau to hand over money in one of the abductees’ names. “The kidnappers later made a call to one of their friends, demanding a ransom,” the NNA informed.

Two US oil rigs appropriated by Venezuelan govt

Venezuela took control of two oil rigs owned by Superior Energy Services Thursday after the Texas-based halted operations because the state oil monopoly fell behind on payments. A Venezuelan judge and a small number of police officers entered a company depot and demanded the company turn over control of two specialized rigs to an affiliate of PDVSA, the state-owned oil producer, arguing that keeping the facilities running was essential to Venezuela’s national production. A Superior employee who witnessed the handover told the Associated Press it was was similar to “a thief breaking into your house, asking for the keys to the safe and then expecting you to help carry it away.” Government officials refused comment on the matter. PDVSA has taken on a large amount of debt, which has made oil companies hesitant to work with the state monopoly that oversees the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Georgia’s Interior Minister named candidate for PM

Georgia’s Interior Minister, Irakly Garibashvili, from the country’s ruling coalition, Georgian Dream, has been named candidate for Prime Minister. The decision was taken unanimously at the meeting of the political council of the coalition and approved by members of the parliamentary majority and announced by the current Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Last week the Georgian Dream party’s, Georgy Margvelashvili, won the presidential election.

Tunisia’s parties deadlocked over new PM

Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party, Ennahda, and the opposition continued talks commenced on Friday to choose a new prime minister. The two sides are reportedly trying to select one of twocandidates – Mohamed Ennaceur, 79, and Ahmed Mestiri 88, both veteran politicians and former government ministers. The Islamist-led government opened talks with the opposition on October 25 to form the new government, after Ennahda’s resignation had been demanded by the opposition. Since the 2011 uprising that toppled Tunisia’s leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country has been seething with tensions.

Four killed as tourist plane crashes in Germany’s Bavaria

At least four people have died as a single-engine tourist plane crashed and burst into flames in a field in southeastern Germany. The plane went down in a field about 500 meters from the end of the runway at Steinrücken Airport. A Bavarian police spokesperson told local media that the people on board “had no chance of survival”. Authorities did not immediately release the names of the victims, but said they were two women aged 31 and two men aged 28 and 44. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

China to crackdown on media to prevent Dalai Lama ‘propaganda’

China will tighten media controls in Tibet in order to prevent the local population from “reactionary propaganda” by the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s Communist party chief, Chen Quanguo, said. The state plans to confiscate illegal satellite dishes, increase online surveillance and check all telephone and internet users are registered under their real names, the official wrote in the Communist Party’s influential journal, Qiushi. As the Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama has remained in exile since the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule back in 1959.

​5.0 quake shakes Japan not far from Fukushima

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan near the city of Ushiku in Ibaraki Prefecture, which borders the Fukushima Prefecture, USGS reported. The tremors were felt as far as the capital Tokyo some 50 km away. No immediate damage or casualty reports were available.

17 people killed in Nigerian church stampede

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede that followed a religious service in eastern Nigeria, according to officials. Local media reported that the death toll may be higher. More than 100,000 people came together at the Holy Ghost Adoration Ground in Anambra State. “We have visited the hospital in Nkpor and found 17 corpses that were brought in from the scene of the disaster,” spokesman Mike Udah told AFP