World news in brief
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey discharged from hospital
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, the police officer exposed to the Novichok nerve agent in the Salisbury attack, was discharged from hospital yesterday.
In a statement released by Wiltshire Police, Det Sgt Bailey said the experience had been “completely surreal” and that “life would never be the same again”.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, the police officer exposed to the Novichok nerve agent in the Salisbury attack, has been discharged from hospital.
In a statement released by Wiltshire Police, Det Sgt Bailey said the experience had been ”completely surreal” and that “life would never be the same again. There are really no words to explain how I feel right now,” he added.
Six dead after blast at Czech refinery
An explosion killed six people at a refinery in the Czech Republic yesterday, rescue officials said. Two other people were taken to hospital with serious injuries, a fire department spokeswoman told Czech Television.
The blast occurred at Unipetrol’s plant in Kralupy nad Vltavou about 30 km (19 miles) north of Prague. “There was an explosion at the storage tank but no subsequent fire in the Kralupy refinery,” Unipetrol spokesman Pavel Kaidl said. “The situation is under control and there is no other danger. There was no leakage of dangerous substances.”
The mayor of Kralupy told Czech Television the blast occurred during cleaning of the storage tank. Unipetrol had been preparing the refinery for maintenance and an upgrade scheduled to run from 27 March to 9 May. The facility has an annual capacity of 3.2 million tonnes of oil. In August 2015, a blast and fire at Unipetrol’s Litvinov facility knocked the refinery out for more than a year. Reuters
Slovakia gets new government amid political crisis
Slovakia’s President appointed a new government yesterday to replace the one that resigned amid a political crisis triggered by the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. Prime Minister Robert Fico’s three-party coalition stepped down last week following large street protests sparked by the 25 February shooting deaths of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova. Kuciak had been reporting on alleged Italian mafia ties to associates of Mr Fico and corruption scandals linked to Mr Fico’s leftist Smer-Social Democracy party.
President Andrej Kiska swore in a Cabinet made up of ministers from the same three parties that made up Mr Fico’s government and led by Peter Pellegrini, who previously was the deputy prime minister. “It’s your responsibility to fight to win public trust,” Mr Kiska told the government members. Mr Pellegrini pledged to “renew the stability of Slovakia.”
Mr Pellegrini changed five of the 14 ministers in the previous government, but since he is also deputy chairman in the Smer-Social Democracy party, no significant policy changes are expected. His government is likely to continue Fico’s strong anti-migrant policies. The coalition faces a confidence vote in Parliament, but it’s likely to win because it has 79 of the 150 seats. AP
14 killed in blast outside hotel in Somali capital
At least 14 people were killed yesterday in an explosion outside a busy hotel in Somalia’s capital. Al Qaedalinked al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility. The group carries out frequent bombings and other attacks in Mogadishu in a campaign to topple Somalia’s Western-backed federal government.
“The blast killed 14 people,” Abdiasis Ali Ibrahim, the spokesman for the internal security minister told Radio Mogadishu, which is run by the state. Twenty-two people were injured. Al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman said his group had been “behind the blast”, adding that the dead included soldiers and officers. Reuters