NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Globe
1 _ Protest fines: The Kremlincontrolled Russian parliament on Tuesday rammed through a harsh bill that raises fines 150fold for people taking part in unsanctioned rallies, a move aimed at discouraging the opposition from challenging President Vladimir Putin. The law would raise fines for unsanctioned protests to about $9,000 for individuals, up from $60 now, and as much as $48,000 for organizers, up from $1,160. Such punishments comes after a series of massive protests that have reflected growing public frustration with Putin’s 12-year rule.
2 _ Nigeria violence: An hourslong gun battle punctuated by explosions rocked a northeast Nigeria city on Tuesday, as gunmen in another city in the country’s Muslim north killed police officers in attacks that left at least 19 people dead, officials said. The violence, which authorities blamed on a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, targeted the cities of Kano and the northeastern city of Maiduguri, where the group once had its main mosque.
3_Treaty withdrawal: The leftist governments of four Latin American countries are pulling out of a regional defense treaty while pressing for changes in the Organization of American states. The foreign ministers of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua announced their decision Tuesday at the OAS annual assembly in Bolivia. Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino says the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance was originally created as a U.S. initiative and it’s no longer worth being a part of. The treaty says an armed attack against any of the member states is to be considered an attack against all of them.
4 _ Military deadline: Egypt’s ruling military council set a 48-hour deadline Tuesday for political parties to finalize the formation of a 100-member panel to write a new constitution, or it will draw up its own blueprint. The process has been deadlocked since the Islamist-dominated parliament tried to stack the body with its own people, leading to a walkout by secular and liberal members and cancellation of the whole assembly.
5_Nature reserves: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has created two new nature reserves, as well as seven indigenous territories in the Amazon region. The new Bom Jesus Biological Reserve is located in the southern state of Parana, while Furna Feia National Park is located in the northern Rio Grande do Norte state.
6_No “Sesame Street”: The United States has terminated funding for a $20 million project to develop a Pakistani version of “Sesame Street” in response to alleged corruption by the local puppet theater working on the initiative, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The United States hoped the Lahore-based program would improve education in a country where onethird of primary school-age children are not in class. It was also meant to increase tolerance at a time when the influence of radical views is growing.
7_Another paternity suit: Paraguay’s president and former priest Fernando Lugo has recognized a second love-child. This time it’s a 10-year-old boy, born to a nurse in the northern state where Lugo served as a Catholic bishop before renouncing the priesthood and turning to politics. The boy’s mother is Narcisa de la Cruz de Zarate, the fourth woman to have filed a paternity suit against the 61-year-old former cleric. Lugo has acknowledged fathering two of the four children named in paternity suits against him.