IGIHE

Tag: InternationalNews

  • American Wins First Gold Medal at Sochi Games

    American Wins First Gold Medal at Sochi Games

    {{American Sage Kotsenburg laid down an almost flawless first run to win the first gold medal of the Sochi Games as snowboarding slopestyle made a spectacular Olympic debut on Saturday.}}

    Kotsenburg’s run, the third of the day, earned him 93.50 points, which proved enough to make him a surprise champion in a low-scoring contest where judges favoured stylists over big jumpers.

    “I’m really excited,” said Kotsenburg. “It feels awesome. I don’t know what to call it. I have no idea what’s actually going on. This is the craziest thing that ever happened.”

    Staale Sandbech nailed his second run to snatch the silver medal for Norway with 91.75, while Canadian Mark McMorris, who was riding with a broken rib, was awarded 88.75 for his second run to take bronze and round out a podium of 20-year-olds.

    There had been concerns that the withdrawal of America’s Shaun White might devalue the maiden event, but the biggest name in snowboarding, and the safety concerns that caused him to pull out of the event, were a distant memory on Saturday.

    Slopestyle was brought into the Games to try to help attract a younger demographic, and there could not have been a better advertisement for the sport than the first final.

    The fans in the stands jigged to pumping rock music as the competitors performed their tricks on rails and over jumps against a backdrop of snowcapped mountains and the brightest of blue skies.

    “Today was a great debut for slopestyle,” said McMorris. “I think the future for slopestyle is extremely bright.”

    Kotsenburg had failed to get through Thursday’s first qualifying and needed one of the four spots available in the second round of heats earlier on Saturday.

    The American’s score of 90.5 was enough to put him through to the final and confirmed that the absence from his routine of a “triple” – the trademark trick of the top X-Games riders – was not going to hurt his chances.

    The judges clearly liked his distinctive moves on the rails and creative grabs and twists in his jumps and, when he reprised them in his opening run in the final, he got the reward he was hoping for.

    {reuters}

  • Taliban Claim to Have Captured ‘Military Dog’

    Taliban Claim to Have Captured ‘Military Dog’

    {{The Taliban say they captured a military dog from foreign forces operating in Afghanistan following a battle in the east of the country late last year.}}

    In a video posted on the insurgents’ website on Wednesday and later on Facebook, the Taliban claim the dog was seized from the US military.

    But Western defence sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the dog belonged to British forces.

    The video shows the animal, whom the Taliban said is named “Colonel”, being held on a leash in a small, well-lit courtyard surrounded by five men holding guns and grenades.

    Wearing a black vest with pouches for equipment, the dark brown canine wags its tail and later perks up its ears as the militants begin chanting “Allah hu Akbar” (“God is greatest”).

    A US defence official told AFP the dog did not belong to the American military. Britain’s Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

    The video’s narrator says three rifles, one pistol, a GPS and a torch were seized together with the dog, after a military operation in Alingar, a volatile district in Afghanistan’s Laghman province.

    Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told: “The Mujahideen put up fierce resistance and repelled the attack…

    “The Mujahideen seized some weapons and also a dog which we later learnt the Americans called ‘Colonel’.”

    The Taliban spokesman said Colonel is alive and well, adding that his fate would be determined later.

    A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul confirmed that a military dog had gone missing during a mission in December.

    AFP

  • US Apologises to EU for Leaked Barb

    US Apologises to EU for Leaked Barb

    {{Washington’s new top diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, has apologised to EU counterparts after she was caught cursing the European response to the crisis in Kiev.}}

    US officials, while not denying such a conversation took place, didn’t go into details about the apology, and pointed the finger at Russia for allegedly bugging the diplomats’ phones.

    A video, titled the “Marionettes of Maidan” referencing the centre of protests in Kiev, was published on YouTube on February 4th, and shows photos of Nuland and the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt.

    In the audio, voices resembling those of Nuland and Pyatt discuss
    international efforts to resolve Ukraine’s ongoing political crisis.

    At one point, the Nuland voice colorfully suggests that the EU’s position should be ignored.

    “F— the EU,” the female voice said.

    A US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to publicly discuss the matter, told the Associated Press news agency that it sounds like an authentic recording of a call that occurred last week.

    State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday that Nuland “has been in contact with her EU counterparts and of course has apologised for these reported comments”.’ But Psaki did not reveal to whom Nuland apologised on Thursday.

    US blames Russia

    The leaked phone call appears to reveal US frustration with the EU over handling Ukraine, which is torn between leaning to the European Union and its past master Russia.

    US officials pointed out that an aide to Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, was among the first to tweet about the video that contains audio subtitled in Russian of the alleged call.

    In the tweet, posted some seven hours before existence of the video became widely known on Thursday, Loskutov, said: “Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU.”

    White House spokesman Jay Carney pointed to the tweet and Russia’s clear interest in what has become a struggle between pro-Moscow and pro-Western camps in the former Soviet Republic, but declined to comment on the source of the audio.

    “I would say that since the video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government, I think it says something about Russia’s role,” Carney told a news conference.

    He would not comment on the substance of the conversation, in which the Nuland and Pyatt voices also discuss their opinion of various Ukrainian opposition figures.

    State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that if the Russians were responsible for listening to, recording and posting a private diplomatic telephone conversation, it would be “a new low in Russian tradecraft”.

    {agencies}

  • Balotelli Finally Acknowledges Paternity

    Balotelli Finally Acknowledges Paternity

    {{AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli finally acknowledged he was the father of his daughter Pia, two months after failing to attend a hearing in Italy aimed at establishing paternity.}}

    In a message on Twitter, Balotelli wrote: “Finally the TRUTH :-)??…PIA … Sweet child of mine !!! your Dad.”

    Italy striker Balotelli is no longer the partner of former on-and-off girlfriend and showgirl Raffaella Fico, who in July 2012 announced she was pregnant with his child.

    Pia was born in December 2012 and Fico later accused Balotelli of distancing himself from his newborn baby daughter.

    The 23-year-old player retorted several weeks later by threatening Fico with legal action if she continued making “further irresponsible comments”.

    The couple had waged a bitter war of words in the Italian media since then, but Balotelli’s announcement is believed to have followed the completion of a DNA test.

    Balotelli, however, posted a follow-up message which appeared to be aimed at Fico and said: “What was the point of all that wasted time telling lies about me on television and in the newspaper? And what did it achieve?

    AFP

  • President Obama Wants Wi-Fi in Public Schools

    President Obama Wants Wi-Fi in Public Schools

    {{Creating a learning environment for kids to excel and grow is what the school system lives by, so adding special features like Wi-Fi to public schools could enhance the whole learning process.}}

    According to the Los Angeles Times, President Barack Obama plans to bring Wi-Fi to public schools with the help of companies like Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, and Verizon.

    He’s also going to use governmental resources from the Federal Communications Commission, and private support for approximately $2.75 billion of funds and supplies.

    This move to improve the education system in America is a step in the right direction. The Internet can be a powerful tool in learning, and access to Wi-Fi would allow for further research into ideas and concepts for students online, as well as aid them in doing their homework.

    This is a part of an effort labeled ConnectED that was illustrated in the State of the Union address this year.

    {celebritycafe}

  • Russia Prepares Glitzy Sochi Opening

    Russia Prepares Glitzy Sochi Opening

    {{Russia on Friday officially opens its first ever Winter Olympics with a ceremony attended by dozens of heads of state and aimed at impressing a sceptical world with an unforgettable spectacle.}}

    With a hard act to follow after show-stopping Summer Olympics opening ceremonies in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London, Russia is expected to pull out all the stops to give the world a night to remember.

    Security concerns intensified as the United States announced a temporary ban on liquids and gels in hand luggage on Russia-bound flights, following a warning that militants could stuff explosives into toothpaste.

    But President Barack Obama said Moscow has an “enormous stake” in thwarting terror at the Games and Secretary of State John Kerry said if his own daughter wanted to attend Sochi “I’d say go”.

    The ceremony starts, with symbolic timing, at 2014 local time (1614 GMT) in the spectacular new Fisht Stadium on the shores of the Black Sea.

    Sporting action got under way on Thursday, with Russian veteran Yevgeny Plushenko rolling back the years to help the Olympic hosts lead the new team figure skating competition. Snowboarders and freestyle skiers also started competition.

    With an estimated price tag of $50 billion for building facilities and infrastructure in the underdeveloped southern Russian region, the Games are the most expensive in history and also among the most controversial.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has spearheaded the Sochi Games from the bid victory in 2007, will be at the ceremony along with more than 40 other heads of state and leaders.

    These will include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is facing a protest uprising at home.

    {{‘Small hiccups here and there’}}

    For many older Russians, the ceremony may bring a pang of nostalgia for the 1980 Moscow Summer Games in the Soviet era, which are still remembered fondly, in particular for the cute mascot Misha the bear.

    But it remains to be seen whether the Sochi opening ceremony will shift the cloud of controversy hanging over the Games.

    Obama and a host of key EU leaders will be absent, in what is seen by some as a snub to Russia after it passed a widely condemned law banning the spread of gay propaganda to minors.

    In a symbolic gesture, Google marked the Winter Games by flying the gay flag Thursday in a search page Doodle that linked to a call for equality in the Olympic Charter.

    There has also been criticism that not all the facilities were ready on time, in particular accommodation for media.

    International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach admitted there “there is a small hiccup here or there” but said that so far operations were going smoothly.

    “So we can look to tonight full of anticipation and excitement that we will have a great opening ceremony for a great Olympic Games,” he said.

    {{‘One of the most exciting ever’}}

    Details have been kept under wraps but the head of the Sochi organising committee Dmitry Chernyshenko, said the ceremony “will be one of the most exciting and visual ever”.

    “This is a theatre with a 40,000-seat capacity” he said of the Fisht stadium. “It can allow the realisation of any creative thought.”

    Some of Russia’s most decorated cosmonauts — including Sergei Krikalev, who was famously stranded in space on the Mir station when the Soviet Union collapsed — will raise the Russian flag to the top of the stadium.

    However, who will light the Olympic cauldron is a closely guarded secret, with Putin insisting it is the choice of the organising committee and not for him to interfere.

    Russia’s team will be led out by flag-bearer Alexander Zubkov, a bobsleigh pilot and one of the most respected sportsmen in the country who has represented Russia in the sport at every Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002.

    There have been persistent rumours that the Russian female pop duo Tatu — hugely popular a decade ago — will be involved in the ceremony in some form.

    {wirestory}

  • Fire Crew killed in Argentina Blaze

    Fire Crew killed in Argentina Blaze

    At least nine people have been killed in a fire in a warehouse in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

    Seven of the victims were firefighters and two civil defence workers who were tackling the blaze at a bank’s archive.

    Argentina’s Secretary for Security, Sergio Berni, said they were crushed when a 7m-high (23ft) wall collapsed on top of them.

    It took 10 fire crews several hours to get the blaze in Buenos Aires’ Barracas neighbourhood under control.

    It is not clear yet what caused the fire, which also left seven people injured.

    Rescuer workers had to remove rubble by hand to reach the dead and injured.

    Local official Guillermo Montenegro said more victims could still be trapped beneath the debris.

    {agencies}

  • Pakistan Government, Taliban ‘Begin Talks’

    Pakistan Government, Taliban ‘Begin Talks’

    {{Pakistan’s government and Taliban met Thursday for a first round of talks aimed at ending the militants’ bloody seven-year insurgency, sources said.}}

    The two sides gathered in Islamabad for a preliminary meeting likely to chart a “roadmap” for future discussions, amid deep scepticism over whether dialogue can yield a lasting peace deal.

    The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella grouping of numerous militant factions, has waged a campaign since 2007, killing thousands of people in gun and bomb attacks across the nuclear-armed state.

    An official close to Irfan Siddiqui, the chief government negotiator, told reporters the talks had begun on Thursday afternoon.

    Another official at the talks venue, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, confirmed that they had started.

    The peace initiative, which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced just as many were anticipating a major military offensive on TTP strongholds in North Waziristan tribal area, got off to a chaotic start earlier this week.

    AFP

  • Italian Sailors Rescue Clandestine Migrants

    Italian Sailors Rescue Clandestine Migrants

    {{Italy’s navy has rescued 1,123 people from inflatable boats in the space of 24 hours, as clandestine migration from North Africa reaches record levels.}}

    The latest migrants were found in eight boats and a barge about 120 miles (222km) south-east of Lampedusa.

    They included 47 women, four of them pregnant, and 50 children, all probably from sub-Saharan Africa, the navy said.

    Meanwhile, at least seven migrants have drowned trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

    Local officials say the bodies of six men and a woman were found on a beach in neighbouring Morocco. The dead migrants had been part of a group of some 400 people who tried to enter Spanish territory on Thursday.

    All of the victims were from sub-Saharan Africa, Spanish news agency Efe reports.

    Some 2,000 migrants landed on Italian shores last month, nearly 10 times the number recorded in January 2013.

    BBC

  • New Strain of ‘Deadly’ Bird Flu

    New Strain of ‘Deadly’ Bird Flu

    {{Experts are concerned about the spread of a new strain of bird flu that has already killed one woman in China.}}

    The 73-year-old from Nanchang City caught the H10N8 virus after visiting a live poultry market, although it is not known for sure if this was the source of infection.

    A second person has since become infected in China’s Jiangxi province.

    Scientists told The Lancet the potential for it to become a pandemic “should not be underestimated”.

    This particular strain of influenza A virus has not been seen before.

    In recent months, China has already been coping with an outbreak of a similar influenza virus called H7N9, which has killed around a quarter of those infected.

    Pandemic risk
    Scientists who have studied the new H10N8 virus say it has evolved some genetic characteristics that may allow it to replicate efficiently in humans.

    The concern is that it could ultimately be able to spread from person to person, although experts stress that there is no evidence of this yet.

    Dr Mingbin Liu from Nanchang City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said: “A second case of H10N8 was identified in Jiangxi province, China, on 26 January 2014.

    This is of great concern because it reveals that the H10N8 virus has continued to circulate and may cause more human infections in future.”

    BBC