Avançar para o conteúdo principal

Mensagens

A mostrar mensagens de agosto, 2014

U.S. official: Spy plane flees Russian jet, radar; ends up over Sweden.

 The Cold War aerial games of chicken portrayed in the movie "Top Gun" are happening in real life again nearly 30 years later. A U.S. Air Force spy plane evaded an encounter with the Russian military on July 18, just a day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by a suspected surface-to-air missile that Ukraine and the West allege was fired by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine. The RC-135 Rivet Joint fled into nearby Swedish airspace without that country's permission, a U.S. military official told CNN. The airplane may have gone through other countries' airspace as well, though it's not clear if it had permission to do so. The Russians then sent at least one fighter jet into the sky to intercept the aircraft, the U.S. official said Saturday. The spy plane crew felt so   concerned about the radar tracking that it wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible, the official said. The quickest route away from the Russians took them into Swedis...

A convoy of 280 Russian trucks headed for Ukraine

 A convoy of 280 Russian trucks headed for Ukraine, which Moscow says is carrying relief goods for war-weary civilians, has suddenly changed course, according to a Ukrainian state news agency. With thousands of Russian troops still posted near the Ukrainian border and Ukraine's military putting increasing pressure on pro-Russian fighters around the city of Donetsk, many in Ukraine and elsewhere fear that the so-called humanitarian mission is actually an attempt to smuggle supplies to pro-Russian rebels. "Russia keeps inventing new excuses for their policy," Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Danylo Lubkivsky, said Tuesday in Kiev. "In Georgia, it was defending pro-Russian minorities. In Ukraine's Crimea, preventing NATO invasion." The International Committee of the Red Cross contacted the aid convoy in the Rostov region, the organization said Thursday via Twitter. The group said it would discuss with Ukrainian officials how the operation will be c...

Mozambique passes amnesty for opposition leader

August 13, 2014 —  Parliament in Mozambique has approved a law which grants amnesty to opposition party Renamo's leader, Afonso Dhlakama, and effectively allows him to leave his bush hideaway Afonso Dhlakama. Photo: Reuters The amnesty is part of a peace deal between Renamo and the ruling party, Frelimo, who having been in a civil conflict from 1975 until 1992. This means that Dhlakama will  not be arrested  for the attacks carried out by his followers over the last year. The law also applies to his followers. The violence raised fears over stability in the southern African nation which is developing major coal and offshore gas deposits. Dhlakama, whose former rebel movement has been repeatedly defeated by Frelimo in Mozambique elections since the end of the war, has lived in a bush base in central Sofala province for more than a year to escape what he says is government persecution. He is now expected to travel to the capital Maputo to sign ...

US Marine on Mount Sinjar in Iraq

More than 100 US marines and special forces landed on Mount Sinjar in Iraq on Wednesday to organise an escape route for 30,000 Yazidi civilians threatened by Islamic extremists and worn down by hunger and thirst.  The force flew in on V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft that can land vertically. They joined a small number of American special forces soldiers who have been on the mountain for some days, assessing the military and humanitarian situation and guiding US air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) fighters encircling the mountain. A handful of British SAS soldiers are also in the area to “gather intelligence” a British official said. Fleeing Yazidis have reported seeing small teams of American soldiers high on the northern flank. “We weren’t allowed to go near them,” said a man from Sinjar who was airlifted from the former base. “They were being guarded by the Kurds.” The US ran a military and intelligence base on a now disused airfield at the top of Mount Sinjar for m...

Swiss train derailed.

player  reading the main story The accident left one carriage hanging over the edge of the ravine, while another plunged down before before lodging behind a tree. Eleven people are reported to have been injured and taken to nearby hospitals by helicopter, but there appear to have been no fatalities The landslide happened after heavy rain in eastern Switzerland overnight. Five of the injuries were classed as serious The accident comes amid unusually bad weather for the month of August, normally a popular time for tourists Five people were seriously injured and another six sustained slight injuries, said Graubuenden police spokeswoman Anita Senti. A passenger who was on the train told the Swiss newspaper 20Minuten of  his experience  when the train made an emergency stop. "We all rushed to the back of the carriage to put all of our weight there so that it wouldn't tip into the abyss," he said. There were reportedly 200 people on the train when the accide...

Brazil presidential candidate Campos dies in air crash

Eduardo Campos, leader of Brazil's Socialist Party, was energetic and hugely popular in his native north-east The Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, 49, has died in a plane crash, party members and local officials say. The plane carrying Mr Campos came down in bad weather in a residential area of the port city of Santos, in Sao Paulo state. Local reports say four other passengers and the two pilots were also killed. President Dilma Rousseff has declared three days of national mourning and cancelled campaign events. "The whole of Brazil is in mourning," Ms Rousseff said in a statement. "We lost a great Brazilian today, Eduardo Campos. We lost a great comrade," she added, calling her rival a "great political leader". 'No words' Ms Rousseff's Vice President, Michel Temer, also expressed his regret over the death of Mr Campos, who had been running third in the polls for October's election. He said there were...

Heavy rains are falling across the D.C. region

WASHINGTON - Heavy rains are falling across the D.C. region, and the National Weather Service is warning residents in the District and some Maryland counties to be on alert.  A  Flash Flood Warning  is in effect for the District of Columbia, southeastern Montgomery, south central Howard and north central Prince George's counties until 2:45 p.m.   FOX 5's Tucker Barnes says some spots have already gotten 2" of rain, and there's more on the way.  The National Weather Service warns another inch is possible, including in spots like Aspen Hill, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Colesville, Fairland, Hillandale, Olney, Rockville and White Oak.   A  Flash Flood Watch  is also in effect for much of the D.C. region through late tonight.   Some road closures have already been reported in Montgomery County due to high waters.  Residents should expect extremely heavy rain that will flood low lying areas, and streets with slow drainage. Do no...

Robin Williams Dies

As news of the sudden death of Hollywood star Robin Williams spread, it appears some Twitter users have firmly grasped the wrong end of the stick.Perhaps hitting their phones and laptops before checking the news, they spoke of their shock at the death of Robbie Williams, the former Take That singer.Numerous social media commentators wrote commiserations like: ' I loved you in Take That and Angels was my favourite song' or 'I can't belive that #RobbieWilliams Is #gone. It feels in our hearts & spirits we will remember him with laughter and love!'Even Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos got in on the act. He tweeted: 'Dismayed at the death of Robbie Williams. I always liked his songs.'The hashtags #RobinWilliams and #RIPRobinWilliams were trending as stunned film fans struggled to come to terms with their loss. But #RobbieWilliams also made an appearance thanks to the mistaken tweeters.However, Harvinth Skin was not impressed with the errors. He tweeted: ...