13 August 2015
Week in Brief: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
IRAN: Iran has announced that it will increase oil production as soon as sanctions are lifted. The announcement led to a fall in oil prices: Brent crude was down to US$49.67 a barrel (it had been US$69 a barrel in May).
Isis forces have taken an important town north of Damascus. This gain brings them closer to the main North-South road linking Damascus to the coast. The attack was started with 3 suicide bombs packed into lorries.
The UN has said that a document found some months ago seemed to indicate that pre-pubescent girls were being traded like barrels of oil. Apparently girls as young as nine can be sold to Isis fighters as slaves for US$165.
TURKEY: The Turkish armed forces are trying to destroy Kurds who may be supporting the PKK; swathes of forests have been set on fire in an attempt to drive the Kurds from their mountain hideouts. Eye witness reports say that the fires were started by incendiary bombs dropped by helicopters.
Kurdish terrorists said to be linked to the Kurdish Workers Party (“the PKK”) have carried out attacks in Istanbul, using a suicide bomber and armed men. However, another group claimed responsibility. There was also an attack on the US Embassy in Istanbul carried out by a Marxist revolutionary group said to have links with the PKK.
GREECE: Greece has overtaken Italy as the EU country with the most illegal migrants arriving in its territory. The migrants are arriving in Kos, Lesbos, Chios & Lesbos in such numbers that the authorities in the islands cannot cope. The islands have complained that the mainland has ignored the problem. Boats are being chartered to ferry the immigrants to the mainland.
There are worries about possible health problems as the number of immigrants means that it is unlikely that they can be checked for TB or hepatitis.
FRANCE: Political tensions are rising in France, after hundreds of migrants occupied an abandoned secondary school Paris. So far, Parisians have ignored the immigration problem, convinced that it affects only Calais. Politicians are accusing each other of incompetence in dealing with the growing numbers of immigrants in the capital.
MONACO: The Sunday Times has continued to publish an analysis of the results of blood tests which were leaked from the IAAF database. They seem to show that many runners in the London and other marathons had suspicious results which may indicate that they were doping. As a result, the World Anti-Doping Agency has said that it will start an urgent investigation. The runner Liliya Shobukhova had suspicious result for 9 years before she was banned by the IAAF recently. Some British athletes (Mo Farah is one) have published their own blood test results to show that they are clean. In doing so, they have ignored instructions from both the IAAF and British Athletics, who have tried to stop them from releasing the data.
ITALY: The number of immigrants crossing the Mediterranean into Europe is increasing. 1,800 were rescued and brought to Italy over the weekend. An overcrowded fishing boat capsized as it was on the way from Libya to Italy. Estimates say that over 300 people may have drowned.
GERMANY: The army has been used by the Government to erect tents and sanitary facilities in an attempt to cope with an increasing number of immigrants. It has been estimated that 79,000 migrants arrived in Germany last month and the numbers overwhelmed reception centres. The use of the Bundeswehr in this way has aroused controversy: some critics say that such is a breach of the German constitution.
It has been reported that there were 258,000 applications for asylum in Germany in the first half of the year and it is thought that the number may reach 450,000 by the end of the year.
AUSTRIA: The far right is increasing in popularity to such an extent that it may win the next general election. The reason is that people are becoming concerned about the large number of asylum seekers in Austria. The immigrants are coming from Syria, Iraq, Africa and the Balkans. The anti-immigration party, the Freedom Party, is leading in the polls, some way ahead of the ruling Social Democratic party.
UKRAINE: There are paramilitary units in the East of the country which are ignoring the ceasefire agreed with the rebels.
The far-right militias have carried out operations in the demilitarised zone and refuse to comply with instructions issued by the Kiev Government.
The Government’s security service have arrested 4 men who, they say, were trying to sell radioactive uranium. All the material was recovered.
RUSSIA: The Russian economy has been affected by Western sanctions and by the fall in the price of oil. The IMF has estimated that Russia will suffer from a deep recession this year and will recover only slowly next year.
USA: It is likely that relations between the USA and China will deteriorate after the defection to the USA of Ling Wancheng. He is the brother of Ling Jihua who was an important aide to Hu Jintao, the former Chinese President. It is thought that Ling Wancheng has information about the elite members of the Communist party, currently in power. China has asked for Mr Ling to be extradited or repatriated. He asked for political asylum and the USA has refused China’s request that he be handed over.
In Ferguson, Missouri, the first anniversary took place recently of the shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer. The day had been marked by peaceful demonstrations, when shots rang out. Another young black man, a friend of Brown was shot and injured by police.
CHINA: Statistics have revealed that production in Chinese factories slowed down last month. It is the fifth consecutive month that figures have shown a contraction. The news affected commodity prices, which fell as a result.
SOUTH KOREA: South Korean soldiers have been injured by mines laid in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Investigators have come to the conclusion that the mines were laid recently. South Korea has vowed to avenge what it sees as an attack by North Korea.
