15 November, 2014 21:09 Abkhazia’s prime minister attacked Two people have attacked Abkhazia’s prime minister, Beslan Butba. They stopped his car at 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Butba was with his family, though there was no security guard present. The attackers caused Butba physical harm and left. The PM managed to call the interior minister, who began an interception operation. The attackers were later detained by police and identified. 20:31 German embassy employee expelled from Moscow An employee at the German embassy in Moscow has been evicted by Russian authorities in a retaliatory move after a member of Russias diplomatic staff was kicked out of Bonn, Germany, a Foreign Ministry source told AFP. “An employee of the German embassy in Moscow has left the country because of a retaliatory measure by the Russian authorities,” the source said. “We regret this unjustified act and we have informed the Russian government of this.” 18:00 Saakashvili supporters stage mass protest in Georgian capital Tens of thousands took to the streets of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Saturday to protest against the planned agreement between Russia and Abkhazia, AP reported. The proposed deal envisages the creation of a joint Russia-Abkhazia task force. The rally was organized by the United National Movement of former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. It was under Saakashvili’s rule in 2008 that Georgia launched a military campaign against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which led to the recognition of independence of the two republics by Moscow. 14:07 Putin warns media against one-sided coverage of Ukrainian crisis Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Western media for its one-sided coverage of the Ukraine conflict, in an interview with the German ARD channel at the G20 summit. “The most important thing is that one shouldn’t look at the problem from one side only,” Putin stressed. “Today, there’s military action underway in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government is using the army. They even used missiles. But do you mention this? You don’t say a single word about it. It means that you want the Ukrainian government to destroy everything there, all the political enemies and opponents. Is that what you want? We do not want that. And we won’t allow that to happen.” 09:02 7.3 earthquake rocks Indonesia A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded 150 kilometers (93 miles) off the coast of Kota Ternate, Indonesia, on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake occurred at 10:31 am local time at a depth of 47 kilometers (29.2 miles), according to the USGS. The powerful trembler caused some panic among residents. Initial warnings of a potential tsunami that was issued following the quake has been cancelled. The height of the tsunami in Manado [the capital of Indonesias North Sulawesi Province] was 0.03 meters [0.09 feet], the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics told Sputnik Saturday. 08:58 Top-ranking US general arrives in Iraq as military campaign broadens General Martin Dempsey, the top US military officer and Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff arrived on Saturday in Baghdad in a surprise visit, as the US prepares to expand American assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State. I want to get a sense from our side about how our contribution is going, Dempsey told Reuters before landing in Baghdad. 04:04 China launches Yaogan-23 remote sensing satellite China has successfully launched the Yaogan-23 remote sensing satellite into orbit, Xinhua news agency reported. A Long March-2C rocket took off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northern Shanxi province. The satellite will be used to carry out scientific experiments, natural resources surveys, disaster relief missions, and crop estimates, China’s national space agency said. The launch was the 198th mission for the Long March rocket family. 02:31 Brazilian police arrest 27 in Petrobras graft case Twenty-seven people were arrested by Brazilian police in connection with a corruption case involving state-owned oil giant Petrobras. Among the arrestees is the former director of engineering and services, Renato Duque, AFP reported. Thirty police teams took part in the arrests that swept the country. Police also searched 11 companies during the operation and seized $277 million worth of assets belonging to 36 individuals and three companies. The breakthrough in the case against Petrobras reportedly came after former official Paulo Roberto Costa made a plea deal with the prosecutors, revealing that the firm gave out millions of dollars to politicians of the ruling Workers Party between 2004 and 2012. According to police, a total of around $3.9 billion was paid out during that time. 02:05 Fighting in E. Ukraine at worst since ceasefire deal – UN The fighting in Ukraine’s conflict zone is at its worst since the ceasefire agreement was signed in early September, said the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing reports on the ground. As of November 11, at least 4,132 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine, including the 298 victims of the MH17 crash, the UN body said in its latest report. The conflict has also left at least 9,747 people injured. The estimates are based on official data and are “very conservative,” OCHA said. The real number of casualties is probably “considerably higher.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 02:52:16 +0000
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