World news in brief
Italian coastguard rescues 1,400 refugees off Libya
Some 1,400 refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea were rescued yesterday off the coast of Libya, according to the Italian coastguard which coordinated the operations conducted mainly by aid ships. Attempts at the dangerous crossing are continuing despite worsening weather as winter approaches, with more than 2,400 refugees rescued in the region since Sunday. The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres tweeted that it had rescued 802 people on six rubber dinghies and one small wooden boat, and MOAS, a Maltese NGO, said it had rescued 432 refugees on three dinghies. Italian coastguards and the crew of an EU counter-trafficking vessel rescued the rest.
Boats carrying refugees are still treacherous even if they do not sink, with those aboard forced to endure exhaust fumes, hypothermia, dehydration and overcrowding which have all proved fatal. On Wednesday, rescuers found five bodies on a dinghy carrying around 200 people, many of them unaccompanied minors. The Italian interior ministry revealed on Tuesday that more than 145,000 refugees have landed in Italy so
far this year, a figure similar to that of the previous two years. According to the UN, at least 3,654 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year.
It also emerged yesterday that as many as 900 refugees may have died in the 2015 sinking off Libya of an overcrowded fishing trawler, about 100 more than previously thought. The new toll from the worst maritime tragedy in the Mediterranean since World War II came after forensic scientists, who spent three months examining 675 body bags, discovered that many contained the remains of more than one person, Italy’s missing person chief Vittorio Piscitelli told a news conference in Rome.
Moscow accuses US over arrest of alleged Russian hacker
Moscow yesterday accused Washington of hunting its citizens and vowed to fight the extradition of a Russian arrested in Prague on suspicion of staging cyber attacks on the United States during a joint operation between Czech police and the FBI. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told journalists the arrest was “the latest example of the US law enforcement authorities hunting Russian citizens around the world”.
She confirmed the name of the arrested man as Yevgeny Nikulin and that the “foreign ministry and the Russian embassy in Prague are working actively with the Czech authorities to prevent the extradition of a Russian citizen to the US”. Russia is providing the necessary consular and legal support and the arrested man has a lawyer, Ms Zakharova said and accused the US of “departing from normal cooperation between law enforcement agencies”, claiming that this “once again proves the political motivation of the claims against Russia and Russian citizens”.
The arrest came after Washington formally accused the Russian government earlier this month of trying to “interfere” in the US presidential election by hacking, charges the Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed. Czech police did not say whether the arrest was linked to these claims, while the White House said that it could not provide details due to the ongoing investigation. Hillary Clinton’s campaign blames Moscow for an embarrassing leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee. Russia has been accused of favouring Republican candidate Donald Trump who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for better ties with Moscow.
Former Lebanon PM backs Hezbollah ally for president
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who heads the largest bloc in parliament, yesterday formally endorsed a leading Christian politician and strong ally of the Hezbollah group to become the next president in what many hope will end a 29-month leadership vacuum. Mr Hariri’s backing of Christian leader General Michel Aoun is likely to open the road to the presidential palace for the 81-year-old politician, increasing chances that the majority of the 128-member parliament will vote for him. There have been reports of a deal between the two men stipulating that once Mr Aoun becomes president, he will choose Mr Hariri as prime minister.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Since then, parliament has failed more than forty times to elect a new leader because of political disagreements on who should hold the country’s top post. Mr Hariri’s move is likely to anger many Sunnis in Lebanon who are opposed to Hezbollah and Mr Aoun, and do not want an ally of Syria to become head of state. The move is also facing stiff resistance from parliament’s powerful speaker, Nabih Berri.
“I announce today my decision to back General Michel Aoun for president,” Mr Hariri said in a televised speech. “This is a decision coming from the necessity to protect Lebanon, the political system, state and
people.” Mr Hariri's decision comes at a time when the billionaire businessman is facing a serious financial crisis, with his interests in Saudi Arabia struggling.
Appeal court upholds conviction of Bin Laden’s personal assistant
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the conspiracy conviction of a Guantanamo Bay detainee who once served as Osama bin Laden’s personal assistant. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 6-3 that a military tribunal was authorised to convict Ali Hamza al-Bahlul of conspiracy charges. Bahlul was tried and convicted before a military commission under a system created after the 9/11 terror attacks.
A divided three-judge panel of the same court threw out the conviction last year, but that decision was set aside after the Obama administration asked the full appeals court to reconsider the case. The previous ruling could have limited the government’s ability to prosecute terror suspects outside of the civilian justice system. However in the latest ruling, a majority of judges did not agree on the reasons for the outcome. At issue is whether the Constitution allows Congress to make conspiracy to commit war crimes an offense triable by military commissions, even though conspiracy is not recognised as an international war crime.
Four judges said the Constitution does permit Congress to make such a determination. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, writing on behalf of the panel, said foreign nations, through international law or otherwise, cannot have “a de facto veto power” over Congress’ determination of which war crimes a military tribunal may consider. Judge Kavanaugh also cited historical precedent going back more than 150 years. “The two most important military commission precedents in US history - the trials of the Lincoln conspirators and the Nazi saboteurs - were trials for the offence of conspiracy,” he said.
South African police block student march to President Zuma’s office
South African police yesterday fired stun grenades to disperse several hundred students who attempted to march to President Jacob Zuma’s offices in the capital Pretoria to protest against tuition fees. The students had planned to deliver a list of demands to Mr Zuma at the Union Buildings in the latest stage of weeks of often violent demonstrations. But police in riot gear prevented about 500 students from approaching the buildings, with some protesters trying to force their way through high fences.
The students held posters saying “Free education for all”, “South Africa is radically unequal” and “We want peace and free education”. Stun grenades were fired after the students threw objects at the police. The march was part of a wave of unrest at universities around the country as students protest against fee increases that they say force poor students out of education.
Students have torched buildings in several institutions and dozens have been arrested during daily running battles on campuses in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and elsewhere. The violence has forced some universities to close, disrupting the completion of the academic year. Student protests began last year, when many so-called “born frees” - who grew up after apartheid - staged huge demonstrations which forced the government to abandon planned fee hikes for 2016.