Tag: InternationalNews

{{In a US-backed raid early on Saturday, Mexican marines captured the country’s most powerful drug kingpin in a resort city in his home state of Sinaloa. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman had eluded capture for 13 years.}}

The arrest is a major victory for President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose administration is striving to tame a surge in drug violence that has killed more than 77,000 people in the past seven years.

The man whose nickname means “shorty” headed Mexico’s most powerful drug gang, the Sinaloa cartel, whose empire stretches along the Pacific coast and smuggles drugs to the United States, Europe and Asia.

Hours after his capture, the 56-year-old drug lord was taken to Mexico City’s airport, where he was paraded in front of television cameras, wearing a white shirt and jeans and sporting thick black hair and a matching mustache.

He was flanked by two masked marines who held him by the arms and the back of the neck before hauling him inside a federal police helicopter, which flew him to a maximum-security prison.

US Attorney General Eric Holder hailed the arrest as “a landmark achievement, and a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States”.

The United States had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Guzman, who is accused of being behind much of the drug violence that has plagued Mexico for years.

Mexico’s Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said “nobody was hurt” in the arrest, which was the result of months of collaborative work with US law enforcement agencies and led to 13 arrests as well as the seizure of more than 100 weapons.

The authorities had tracked Guzman down in Culiacan, Sinaloa state’s largest city, and came close to capturing him between February 13-17 in one of the seven homes he was using.

But Guzman managed to escape through specially built tunnels that were linked to the city’s drainage systems as security forces struggled to break down a steel-reinforced door, Murillo Karam said.

Guzman was eventually detained with an unidentified associate in Mazatlan.

A US security official said Mexican forces had acted on intelligence from the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

france24

{{The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution on access to humanitarian aid in Syria – the first time it has united on the issue.}}

The resolution says both Syrian government and opposition forces must allow aid convoys to reach civilians across the country.

The agreed text does not threaten sanctions – but warns of “further steps” if the sides do not comply.

Russia and China, who vetoed previous similar resolutions, voted in favour.

Russia, who has so far supported the government of President Bashar al-Assad, backed the document after insisting that an initial reference to sanctions be dropped.

However, the resolution does denounce the use of barrel bombs, and demands cross-border access for aid convoys as well as an end to sieges across the country.

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{{Italian centre-left politician Matteo Renzi has been sworn in as prime minister.

At 39, the Democratic Party leader is Italy’s youngest-ever PM.}}

On Friday he formally accepted the mandate to lead a new government and named his cabinet.

He ousted Prime Minister and party colleague Enrico Letta in a vote earlier this month. Mr Renzi said his coalition would give “hope” to the economically-stagnant country.

He has promised to overhaul the jobs market and the tax and education systems within four months.

Half of the new cabinet are women.

Announcing his team on Friday, he said: “It’s a government that will start to work from tomorrow morning.”

Confidence vote
The new finance minister will be Pier Carlo Padoan, a senior economist at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Angelino Alfano, who heads the New Centre Right party, one of the Democratic Party’s coalition partners, remains as interior minister.

The government will have to win a vote of confidence in parliament, expected on Monday, before it starts work officially.

Mr Renzi came to prominence as mayor of Florence, but he has no experience of government at the national level.

The reporters in Rome say that – more than anything – he will be judged on whether he can re-energise the economy.

Mr Letta, who led Italy for just 10 months, was ousted in a vote called by Mr Renzi at a party meeting on 13 February.

Mr Renzi had argued that a change of government was needed to end “uncertainty”.

He had accused Mr Letta of a lack of action on improving the economic situation, with unemployment at its highest level in 40 years and the economy shrinking by 9% in seven years.

Mr Letta was also accused of failing to implement promised reforms of what is seen as an often corrupt and wasteful bureaucracy.

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Nepal has decided to deploy a team of security officials at Everest base camp, in a bid to avert brawls between climbers, officials say.

Last April a fight erupted between European mountaineers and a group of Sherpas at 7,470m (24,508ft).

Although that dispute was eventually resolved, officials say Everest’s slopes are becoming more crowded.

An office staffed by army and police will open in April at Everest base camp as the climbing season gets under way.

Nepali tourism ministry official Dipendra Poudel told BBC Nepali’s Surendra Phuyal that the security team of nine would comprise three officers each from Nepal’s army, police and armed police force.

He added that they would be assisted by officials from the tourism ministry.

Our correspondent says that last year’s brawl between a group of European climbers and Sherpas raised concerns about the safety and security of climbers.

The conflict – which made headlines around the world – was allegedly over the fixing of ropes on the slope.

Officials say the new office will also be able to help climbers in distress, clean the mountain and enforce climbing rules, the Associated Press news agency reports.

More than 3,000 people have scaled Mount Everest since it was first conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Straddling Nepal and China, the world’s highest mountain has an altitude of 8,848m (29,029ft).

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