From Russia Today
‘Ditch double standards!’ Russia seeks united anti-ISIS front after Palmyra massacre
Moscow has condemned the massacre of civilians in the ancient city of Palmyra, urging the international community to denounce double standards in its approach to fighting terrorists, and unite against IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) aggression.
“We strongly condemn the atrocities committed by armed extremists in Palmyra,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Once again, we urge international and regional parties to abandon the vicious practice of using double standard approaches to fighting against terrorism, and launch efficient cooperation with the governments of Middle East countries, which are directly repelling the ISIS offensive,” the ministry said.
From the Daily Mail
Fresh shame for Barclays as it’s revealed that it paid a trader a staggering £170million AFTER the global economic meltdown
- Jonathan Hoffman, 42, earned vast sum even while banks were under pressure to reign in bonuses
- Payment out-strips the £120million paid to bank’s disgraced chief executive Bob Diamond
- Package was revealed during court battle between Mr Hoffman and now-defunct US bank Lehman Brothers over £53million in unpaid bonuses
A trader at Barclays bank was paid £170million in the five years after the financial crisis brought the country to its knees.
Jonathan Hoffman, 42, earned the vast sum at a time when banks were under pressure to reign in bonuses to avoid the risky behaviour which triggered a global economic meltdown.
The payment out-strips the £120million paid to the bank’s disgraced chief executive Bob Diamond over a similar period and sheds new light on the colossal sums paid to bankers even after the recession.
Traders’ pay is usually kept a closely-guarded secret, with only the top boardroom executives’ salaries publicly released.
From PressTV
Egypt military destroyed 521 Gaza tunnels: Report
The Egyptian army has destroyed 521 entry points to tunnels under the border with the Gaza Strip, which has been subject to an Israeli blockade for the past eight years, a report says.
According to military spokesperson Mohamed Samir, the border guards had demolished the tunnel openings over the past six months, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported on Monday.
Samir added that some of the tunnels had railroad tracks and communication rooms.
Back in April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued a decree, rendering the digging or using of border tunnels punishable by life term.
“Anyone who digs or prepares or uses a road, a passage, or an underground tunnel in the country’s border areas with the purpose of connecting with a foreign entity or state, its citizens or residents… will face life in prison,” said the presidential decree.
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From Russia Today
Rape more frequent in Sweden than India – Women’s minister Gandhi
India’s women’s minister says that Sweden has a worse rape problem than her home country. It comes as India struggles to rebuild its reputation following the 2012 gang-rape of a woman on a Delhi bus, which cast the nation into the international spotlight.
“We have four rapes per 100,000 women, while Sweden has more than 130,” Maneka Gandhi said in an interview with Swedish television channel SVT on Sunday, as cited by The Local. She claimed that the incidence of rape in India was among the lowest in the world.
READ MORE: Delhi to make 33% of cops female to help tackle violence against women in Indian capital
Sexual assaults in India were placed in the spotlight in 2012, when a 23-year-old medical student died after being gang-raped on a bus in Delhi. The BBC released a documentary about the rape in March, titled “India’s Daughter.” The film was banned in India.
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From PressTV
Israeli court sentences Palestinian speaker to prison
An Israeli military court has handed down a months-long prison term to the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and ordered him to pay more than a thousand dollars on charges on of delivering a speech at a pro-resistance celebration three years ago.
On Monday, the Ofer Court in northern Israel sentenced Abdul Aziz Duwaik to 12 months in jail and a fine of six thousand Israeli shekels (USD 1,550), Arabic-language Palestinian news agency Safa reported.
The Ahrar Center for Prisoner Studies and Human Rights condemned the verdict, demanding the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners currently being held at Israeli detention facilities, the 67-year-old PLC speaker in particular.
Fuad al-Khafash, director of the Palestinian non-governmental organization (NGO), said the Tel Aviv regime has targeted the Palestinian parliament ever since the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas scored a landslide victory in Palestinian elections in 2006, preventing Palestinian lawmakers from serving their respective nation.
Khafash named Hassan Yousef, Mohammad al-Natsheh, Hassan al-Bourini, Mohammad Maher, Yousef Bader and Ezam Salhab as some of the Palestinian legislators that Israel holds captive in its jails.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israir plane impounded in Lisbon over alleged debt
(JTA) — Aviation authorities at Lisbon’s airport impounded one of Israir’s six airplanes over a debt allegedly owed by the Israeli company to a Portuguese one.
Israir’s Airbus A320 was confiscated at Lisbon Portela Airport on Monday morning, according to the Portuguese news website presstur.com, which first reported the story on the plane’s confiscation at the request of the Portuguese airline euroAtlantic.
The plane was supposed to take off that day with a group of tourists who traveled with Israir to Portugal last week, the report said.
EuroAtlantic’s president, Tomaz Metello, told the Lusa news agency that Israir has a debt of several million euros dating back to seven years ago and that Portugal’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of euroAtlantic’s lawsuit against Israir in December. The motion to have the plane impounded followed Israir’s failure to pay the debt, he added.
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From PressTV
Israel forces detain 20 Palestinians in East al-Quds
Israeli military forces have detained more than 20 Palestinians, mostly teenagers, in the past 24 hours, a Palestinian NGO says.
Director of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society in al-Quds (Jerusalem) Nasser Qaws said in a statement on Tuesday that most of the detained Palestinians were aged 14 to 16, Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.
The detainees appeared before Israeli courts. Most of them were remanded in custody and the rest were released after paying fines or posting bail.
On Sunday, Israeli security forces also arrested two Palestinians, including a 19-year-old boy, in East al-Quds.
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From Russia Today
‘Promises lead to debts’: Poroshenko marks 1st year in office
With President Petro Poroshenko marking one year in power, RT’s Murad Gazdiev examines how the Ukrainian leader has done in keeping his promises.
The president of Ukraine, who had vowed in his election campaign to unite the nation in times of civil war, had his message of peace change over the course of the year.
Days after winning the election his tune had changed – Poroshenko vowed to classify the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic as a “terrorist organization worldwide.”
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