Sunday 16 April 2017

BBCNews: Bastia vs Lyon match abandoned



                                Bastia play on the French island of Corsica

According to BBC report, a match between French Ligue 1 sides Bastia and Lyon was abandoned after home fans invaded the pitch in Corsica.
Kick-off was delayed by 55 minutes, as Bastia fans tried to attack visiting Lyon players during their warm-up.
Stewards held off fans while players were rushed down the tunnel and a gate closed behind them.
Lyon were then persuaded to start the match - having initially refused - before further incident caused the abandonment at half-time.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which governs France's professional leagues, will meet on Thursday to decide what action to take.
It called on Bastia to issue stadium bans to the fans responsible, adding: "The LFP condemns with the greatest firmness the incidents which took place before the game and at half-time of the Bastia-Lyon game."
Trouble began before the match as Lyon's players, including former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay, came out on the pitch to warm up.
Their goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin found himself caught in the middle of a group of pitch invaders before the players were directed back to the dressing room.
Lyon defender Jeremy Berthod said: "Bastia fans kicked balls into Gorgelin's goal. He and Memphis tried to move them out of the way before being attacked by many SC Bastia fans.
"The players then huddled together. They and the staff are very shocked. The moment it happened, none of them wanted to come out of the dressing room and play this match."
It has been a difficult week for Lyon, with crowd trouble before their Europa League game with Besiktas on Thursday.
Fans clashed before their quarter-final first leg in France, with kick-off delayed by 45 minutes as a result. Lyon went on to win 2-1.
Lyon face four Uefa charges from that game, for the setting-off of fireworks, blocking stairways, insufficient organisation and a pitch invasion after a late winning goal.
Bastia were made to close part of their stadium for three matches after a group of supporters shouted racist insults at Nice striker Mario Balotelli during a 1-1 draw in January.
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CNN News: Colbert gets in on the Melania Trump interviews


Actress Laura Benanti came back to "The Late Show" with her spot-on Melania Trump impression to spoof a CNN interview with the GOP nominee's wife.
Source: CNN
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CNN News: Rescuers battle rough seas to save hundreds of stranded migrants By Hilary Clarke and Hilary McGann


 Ships from the humanitarian organization Migrant Offshore Aid Station approach a boat with migrants in the Mediterranean Sea on April 15.

According to CNN report, rescue workers have been battling for more than 24 hours in a bid to save as many as 1,800 migrants stranded on boats off the coast of Libya, according to charities leading the operation.
The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) said in a statement they "believe there have been deaths," but it is not clear how many people have drowned.
    So far rescuers have pulled 453 people to safety, but were forced to suspend the operation overnight with their rescue vessel the Phoenix running at full capacity.
    The charity's founder, Christopher Catrambone, said yesterday: "Nobody has ever seen anything like what we are witnessing this weekend."
    He later described in a tweet carrying a dead child on board the ship at Easter.
    "There were 8-10 people dead on board but the situation is not finished yet," said Michael Buschheuer, founder of Sea-Eye, another rescue charity based off the coast of north Africa.
    "At the moment, many boats will not get found, they will get lost. Definitely, on our boat there were about 10 (drowned), but maybe there are 300, I have no idea. It is still ongoing."
    "Around us are another 400 people -- many of them woman and children -- in small rubber boats and small wooden boats," Pauline Schmidt, a press officer with another charity Jugend Rettet who is on board the Iuventa rescue ship, said in an email to CNN.
    "Not all of them wear life jackets. No vessel nearby that can provide help to us. Also around 5 more rubber boats coming northwards in our direction. We are not able to navigate anymore due to the high amount of persons on board."
    Earlier this week the International Organization for Migration said nearly 32,000 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 9 April, with over 80% arriving in Italy and the rest in Spain and Greece. The organization said 554 drowned making the crossing.
    As the rescue effort continued, bad weather was complicating matters further, MOAS said in a tweet. All three charities said that calls for help to the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center in Rome had not yet been answered.
    Separately, Medicins Sans Frontieres and Italian authorities said they had successfully brought to shore 649 migrants in the southern Italian port of Reggio di Calabria.
    Another boat carrying 72 migrants landed this morning at the nearby seaside resort of Melito Porto Salvo.
    "There were Somalis, Afghans, Syrians and Bangladeshis on board. We will taken them first to be registered with the police and then they will be taken on buses to reception centers" said Francesco Campolo, senior officer with the Italian state police in Reggio di Calabria told CNN.
    Some 6,000 migrants were rescued by the Italian coast guard on Friday and Saturday alone according to Italian newspapers -- as people smugglers in Libya took advantage of calm seas to launch boats.
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    CNN News: Formerly conjoined twins now in recovery


    CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following the story of conjoined twins Jadon and Anias and had a chance to catch-up with their parents. 
    Source: CNN
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    CNN News: 9-year-old boy races to catch baby brother


    A young boy is being praised a hero for racing to catch his baby brother as he fell from a changing table. 
    Source: CNN
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    AfricaNews: Nigeria --- Nigeria’s oil production falls to 1.2 million barrels


    According to report, Nigeria’s crude oil production has fallen from 2 million barrels per day to as low as 1.27 million barrels per day.
    This comes amid the shutdown of two major export grades.
    According to direct communication with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country produced 1.269 million barrels per day last month.
    The 13 members OPEC cartel, in its new released monthly oil market report for the month of April, said Nigeria recorded the biggest decline of 157,000 barrels per day in March.
    Few days after Italy’s Eni lifted force majeure on Brass River crude oil exports from Nigeria in February, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,. Ibe Kachikwu, said crude-oil production had risen to two million bpd.
    However, early March, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) shut down the Bonga field to enable it commence turnaround maintenance on it, a development that has reduced oil production and exports.
    According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the Forcados terminal alone, about 300,000 bpd to 330,000 bpd were shut in since February 2016 following the force majeure declared by the SPDC.
    In October last year, Shell resumed export of crude oil from the Forcados terminal following repairs, but the production wells were shut-in again due to the shutdown of the Trans Forcados Pipeline on November 9, 2016 as a result of sabotage on the 48-inch crude export line.
    While Nigeria had consistently been Africa’s largest oil exporter, its loadings have fallen below those of Angola several times over the past year as it dealt with militant attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta.
    The NNPC said in its latest monthly report that the Federal Government’s engagement with the Niger Delta militants had continued to enhance production.
    According to the corporation, areas much affected by the militant activities are the onshore and shallow water assets, where government’s share is high. Hence, sustained security of onshore and shallow water locations remains a priority to restore production to peak levels.
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    AfricaNews: Central African Republic ---- Uganda troops announce withdrawal from the CAR

                                       Ugandan troop
    According to Press Agency, the Ugandan army has announced its withdrawal from the Central African Republic (CAR).
    The announcement was made during a meeting with the local authorities in the region, this comes less than three weeks after the decision of the United States to put an end to the activities of Joseph Kony.
    The commander of the Ugandan troops said the withdrawal should take place during May next year, according to a timetable that has not been communicated.
    The Ugandan army was deployed to the east of the CAR in 2009 as a result of a resolution of the African Union. Its objective was to put an end to the atrocities of the Lord resistance Army who had fled to Uganda.
    A group that monitors LRA activities, The Resolve initiative, says the group is still a threat to civilians and cautions against drawing down troops prematurely.
    The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was founded in northern Uganda and is led by a Ugandan native called Joseph Kony but the group no longer has any presence in Uganda. It comprises a mix of Ugandans and fighters from other countries. Kony has been indicted for war crimes and many of his followers were forcibly recruited as children.
    Years of joint US-African Union efforts to destroy the LRA have been stymied by the group’s guerrilla tactics and its propensity to retreat into harsh terrain and unstable or ungoverned areas. Several years ago Kony was rumored to be hiding in the Kafia enclave, a disputed territory occupied by the Sudanese army.



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    BBCNews: North Korea nuclear: US 'working with China' on response


    The BBC's John Sudworth, in Pyongyang, explains what may happen next


    According to BBC, the US and China are working on a "range of options" on North Korea, the US top security adviser has said, as tensions mount over the country's nuclear and missile programmes.
    Lt Gen HR McMaster told ABC News there was consensus with China that this was a situation that "could not continue".
    The comments come after a failed missile test launch by North Korea and a massive military parade.
    President Trump had earlier said China was "working with us" on the issue.
    Beijing, Pyongyang's biggest ally, has come under pressure from Washington to exert more pressure on its neighbour.
    Sunday's comments appear to be the first confirmation that both countries are working together on how to deal with the North Korean issue.
    Gen McMaster, who was in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said the latest launch "fits a pattern of provocative and destabilising and threatening behaviour".
    "The president has made clear that he will not accept the United States and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons," he said.
    North Korea displayed its military capabilities during a huge parade in Pyongyang

    "I think there's an international consensus now, including the Chinese and the Chinese leadership, that this is a situation that just can't continue."
    President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed North Korea during a meeting last week. Mr Xi offered co-operation on "communication and co-ordination", the BBC's Robin Brant in Shanghai reports.
    Earlier on Sunday, South Korean and US military officials said a North Korean missile had detonated soon after launch. The US Pacific Command said it believed it to be a ballistic missile.
    Investigations were continuing, but one unnamed US official said it was unlikely to have been an intercontinental (ICBM) missile.
    Ballistic missiles follow high trajectories and are initially powered and guided, but fall to their target under gravity. ICBMs follow a sub-orbital trajectory, others stay within the atmosphere.
    North Korea's aim is to be able to put a nuclear warhead on an ICBM that can reach targets around the world.
    Pyongyang has claimed to have miniaturised nuclear warheads for use on missiles, though experts have cast doubt on that given the lack of evidence.
    The state has already conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in contravention of UN resolutions.
    It has suffered test failures in the past but they have not deterred its development programme.
    Meanwhile, US Vice-President Mike Pence is on a 10-day tour of Asia intended to reassure allies of US commitment to their security.
    In the South Korean capital, Seoul, Mr Pence called the failed launch a "provocation". He is set to discuss North Korea with acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn.
    "You can feel the ground shake," John Sudworth at Saturday's parade
    UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson meanwhile issued another warning to North Korea after its failed missile launch.
    "They must stop these belligerent acts and comply with UN resolutions," he said.
    On Friday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that the situation in the region was escalating, and that "conflict could break out at any moment".
    Adding to the tension in the Korean peninsula, a US aircraft carrier group is steaming towards the region.

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    BBCNews: Turkey referendum: Erdogan wins vote to expand presidential powers


    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "Decision made by the Turkish public is a historic moment"

    According to BBC, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has narrowly won a referendum to expand presidential powers, which could keep him in office until 2029.
    With 99.45% of ballots counted, the "Yes" campaign had won 51.37% and "No" 48.63%, and the electoral board called victory for "Yes".
    Erdogan supporters say replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency will modernise the country.
    Turkey's two main opposition parties said they would challenge the results.
    The Republican People's Party (CHP) demanded a recount of 60% of votes. They criticised a decision to accept unstamped ballot papers as valid unless proven otherwise.
    As jubilant Erdogan supporters rallied in the big cities, pots and pans were banged in Istanbul by opponents of the referendum, in a traditional form of protest.
    Three people were shot dead near a polling station in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakir, reportedly during a dispute over how they were voting.
    The European Commission called on the Turkish authorities in a statement to "seek the broadest possible national consensus" when implementing the constitutional reforms.

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    Lingering doubts: BBC's Mark Lowen in Ankara


    They are rejoicing into the night here outside the headquarters of the governing AK party (AKP), confident in the victory claimed by President Erdogan.
    He and his government say more than 51% of voters have backed the constitutional reform but the opposition has cried foul, claiming massive irregularities over invalid votes and vowing to challenge the result at the supreme electoral board.
    Mr Erdogan said the clear victory needed to be respected. In a typically rabble-rousing speech, he proposed another referendum on reinstating the death penalty, which would end Turkey's EU negotiations.
    But this has not been the resounding win he wanted and doubts will linger over its legitimacy. It was hoped this vote might bring Turkey stability but that still seems some way off.


    Death penalty next?

    "Today... Turkey has taken a historic decision," Mr Erdogan told a briefing at his official Istanbul residence, the Huber Palace. "With the people, we have realised the most important reform in our history."
    He called on everyone to respect the outcome of the vote.
    The president also said the country could hold a referendum on bringing back the death penalty.
    He usually gives triumphant balcony speeches, the BBC's Mark Lowen notes, but this was a muted indoors address.
    Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak admitted the "Yes" vote had been lower than expected.

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    What's in the new constitution?

    The draft states that the next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 3 November 2019.
    The president will have a five-year tenure, for a maximum of two terms.
    • The president will be able to directly appoint top public officials, including ministers
    • He will also be able to assign one or several vice-presidents
    • The job of prime minister, currently held by Binali Yildirim, will be scrapped
    • The president will have power to intervene in the judiciary, which Mr Erdogan has accused of being influenced by Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based preacher he blames for the failed coup in July
    • The president will decide whether or not impose a state of emergency

    Grey line

    'French-style system'

    Mr Erdogan says the changes are needed to address Turkey's security challenges nine months after an attempted coup, and to avoid the fragile coalition governments of the past.
    The new system, he argues, will resemble those in France and the US and will bring calm in a time of turmoil marked by a Kurdish insurgency, Islamist militancy and conflict in neighbouring Syria, which has led to a huge refugee influx.
    Critics of the changes fear the move will make the president's position too powerful, arguing that it amounts to one-man rule, without the checks and balances of other presidential systems such as those in France and the US.
    They say his ability to retain ties to a political party - Mr Erdogan could resume leadership of the AKP he co-founded - will end any chance of impartiality.
    Some protesters banged pots and pans in the Turkish capital after the results were announced
    CHP deputy leader Erdal Aksunger said he believed there had been irregularities in the count: "Many illegal acts are being carried out in favour of the 'Yes' campaign right now.
    "There is the state on one side and people on the other. 'No' will win in the end. Everybody will see that."
    The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also challenged the vote.

    Emergency rule

    Many Turks already fear growing authoritarianism in their country, where tens of thousands of people have been arrested, and at least 100,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs, since a coup attempt last July.
    The campaign unfolded under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of the failed coup.
    Academic voices her fears for her country
    Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, meant to be a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.
    Under his rule, the middle class has ballooned and infrastructure has been modernised, while religious Turks have been empowered.
    Relations with the EU, meanwhile, have deteriorated. Mr Erdogan sparred bitterly with European governments who banned rallies by his ministers in their countries during the referendum campaign. He called the bans "Nazi acts".

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    AfricaNews: South Africa mourns its 'First Lady,' who outlived medical predictions

    According to report, Ontlametse Phalatse, an 18-year-old South African lady with a rare genetic disorder that caused her to age rapidly has died at a hospital outside of the capital Pretoria.
    She was the first South African to be diagnosed with Progeria – a rare abnormality marked by premature aging (grey hair and wrinkled skin and stooped posture) usually in children.
    By virtue of being the first Progeria patient, she described herself as ‘the First Lady.’ She managed to live beyond medical prescriptions that said she would live to the age of 14.
    "A brave young fighter has fallen. May her spirit inspire all others living with disabilities or facing any difficulty, to soldier on as she did and live life to the fullest. We are really proud of her."
    She met with President Jacob Zuma during her 18th birthday. The Presidency thus joined in expressing condolences over her death. The official government handle shared a photo she took with Zuma during their meeting.
    ‘‘A brave young fighter has fallen. May her spirit inspire all others living with disabilities or facing any difficulty, to soldier on as she did and live life to the fullest. We are really proud of her,” President Zuma said.
    South African Gov  ✔@GovernmentZA
    We would like to extend our deepest condolences on the passing of Ontlametse Phalatse. Ugqatso lwakhe ulufezile 

    K Naomiđź‘‘ @KNaomi_N
    Definitely one of my fave soldiers. She defines pure strength and humility đź–¤

    View image on Twitter
    Emanuel Morogong @Ema_Morogong
    Doctors said 14, God said 18.




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