NEWS SUMMARIES 31 October, 2014 16:27 Unspecified number of human remains recovered from MH17 crash cite Investigators have recovered the remains of an unspecified number of people from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, the Dutch prime minister said. Speaking during a weekly press conference in the Hague, PM Mark Rutte said a team of Dutch, Ukrainian and OSCE rescue workers were granted rare access to the site where the plane’s wreckage remains scattered, AP reports. Access to the site had previously been limited due to fighting in the area. All 298 passengers and crew were killed when the plane was shot down in the reason, most of them Dutch. Rutt said the remains would be flown back to the Netherlands and identified. In July, the first of bodies recovered from the crashed site were flown the the Netherlands for identification. 16:19 Ukrainian President Poroshenko supports Yatsenyuk for new PM term Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko threw his support behind Arseny Yatsenyuk for a new term as prime minister on Friday. “I have proposed to the faction of the Poroshenko bloc that it submits Arseny Yatsenyuk as a candidate for prime minister,” Poroshenko said in a tweet. The move ends speculation that the president might seek to bring in his own candidate as head of the government, Reuters said. 15:24 12 miners trapped as Colombia mine flooded with water Colombian officials have said that 12 miners trapped in a coal shaft are presumed dead after the mine was flooded with water, AFP said. The 12 men, aged between 23 and 55, became trapped on Thursday in a mine in Amaga in northwestern Colombia. Officials said that the water would be pumped out of the mine on Friday. 13:20 Public radio complex in Paris on fire, staff evacuated A fire broke out at France’s public radio headquarters in Paris on Friday, forcing live programs off the air, Reuters said. Staff evacuated the vast complex. France Info said that building work had been underway recently at the building, where thousands of journalists and other staff work. 12:59 Burkina Faso president ‘no longer in power’ – army Burkina Fasos embattled President Blaise Compaore has been ousted, AFP quoted an army official as saying on Friday. “Compaore is no longer in power,” Colonel Boureima Farta told tens of thousands of protesters in front of the army’s headquarters. 11:51 At least 5 killed by car bomb in NE Nigeria – reports A car bomb exploded in the northeastern Nigerian city of Gombe on Friday, killing five people and wounding 15 others, Reuters reported, citing a source in the emergency services. “It just happened, and our men and the security agencies are on the scene dealing with the fallout,” the source said. An AFP report said a triple bombing at a bus station killed at least eight people and wounded 34 others. 11:27 Protesters demand Burkina Faso leader’s resignation Tens of thousands of protesters on Friday demanded the resignation of President Blaise Compaore, AFP reported. After a day of unrest that saw parliament set ablaze, opposition chief Zephirin Diabre urged supporters to “keep up the pressure by occupying public spaces.” Thousands of people took to the streets of the West African country on Thursday in protest at plans by the legislature to change the constitution. The move would have allowed Compaore to extend his 27-year rule. 10:02 Vnukovo airport service chief engineer charged in Falcon crash The chief service engineer at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, Vladimir Ledenev, faces a criminal charge over the crash of a French jet Falcon, in which Frances energy giant Total CEO Christophe de Margerie died, TASS reported. Ledenev was charged with violation of jet operation rules that resulted in four people’s deaths through negligence, according to spokesman of the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin. Ledenev, who was earlier questioned as a defendant, is now under arrest, Markin said. 09:05 China prepares elite army unit to help fight Ebola in Liberia China will send an elite unit from the People’s Liberation Army to help Ebola-hit Liberia, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The PLA squad, which has experience from a 2002 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), will build a 100-bed treatment center in Liberia, Reuters reported. This is the first such facility in the three countries most impacted by Ebola to be constructed and run by a foreign country. Beijing made the decision responding to UN calls for a greater global effort to fight the deadly virus in West Africa. 08:29 Russia to resume gas supplies ‘48 hours after Ukraine repays 1st $1.45bn of debt’ Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said on Friday that Russian natural gas deliveries to Ukraine will resume 48 hours after Kiev repays the first $1.45 billion portion of its gas debt and makes an advance payment, TASS reported. The Russian government may sign a resolution on a $100 gas price discount for Ukraine on Friday, Miller told the Rossiya-24 TV Channel. The two states earlier signed an agreement on gas supplies. 07:35 Russia delivers humanitarian aid to Donetsk in E. Ukraine A Russian Emergencies Ministry convoy delivered humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Friday, TASS reported. About 50 trucks brought 500 tons of food and construction materials. The convoy earlier in the day crossed the border with Ukraine at the Donetsk-Izvarino checkpoint, and one part of it headed for Donetsk and the other for Luhansk. The regions will get a total of 1,000 tons of humanitarian supplies.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 18:13:04 +0000
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