The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Moroccan police break up protest against royal pardon of Spanish paedophile
- Tunisian forces dismantle explosive in third bomb scare of day
- U.S. issues global travel alert, cites al Qaeda threat
| Moroccan police break up protest against royal pardon of Spanish paedophile Posted: Rabat (Reuters) - Riot police broke up a protest by hundreds of Moroccan demonstrators late on Friday against a royal pardon for a Spanish paedophile serving a 30-year sentence for raping and filming children as young as 4. In running clashes with the demonstrators, baton-wielding police prevented them from gathering in front of the Moroccan parliament in the centre of the capital Rabat, injuring several people including journalists. The convicted paedophile is among 48 jailed Spaniards who were pardoned by King Mohamed VI on Tuesday at the request of Spain's King Juan Carlos, who visited Morocco last month. "We are here to know who is responsible for that pardon. It is a shame, they are selling our children," Najia Adib, president of Don't Touch My Children association, told Reuters moments after she and her teenage daughter had been attacked by riot police. The demonstration followed an online campaign by outraged activists. Protests were also reported in several other cities in the North African country. Protesters demanded that the royal pardon be revoked and the Spaniard be brought back to jail. The government said the man had been expelled to Spain. Hamid Krayri, a lawyer for families of the victims, named the paedophile as Daniel Vino Galvan and said he had been convicted 18 months ago by criminal courts in Kenitra, near Rabat, of raping and filming children aged between 4 and 15. "He is a retired Spaniard who owns two flats here in Kenitra," Krayri, who is a member of Morocco's Human Rights Association, told Reuters. He said he had filed a complaint against Galvan three years ago when activists showed him discs containing footage of the Spaniard and his victims. The royal palace made no immediate comment, but the Justice Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the pardon had been issued based on Morocco's national interests under the friendly relations between the two countries. "That person is banned in Morocco's territory, he cannot return," Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid told Reuters on Thursday. The king, like some other Middle Eastern rulers, often pardons prisoners on special occasions, such as Throne Day on July 30, but the decision to release the Spaniards at the request of the monarch of a former colonial power has riled many Moroccans. "It is a big mistake. We want the annulment of the king's decision and apologies for the victim families and the Moroccan people," Abdelali Hamieddine, a member of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), the senior partner in Morocco's coalition government, said during the protest. He said the government is not to blame because the pardon came from the royal palace. "This is proof that our justice is a toy," said Hamza Mahfoud, one of the protest organisers. |
| Tunisian forces dismantle explosive in third bomb scare of day Posted: TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian security forces dismantled a bomb found near the home of a military colonel on Friday, witnesses said, the third bomb scare to be reported in the same day. Security forces have declined to officially comment on the incident, but some said privately that Islamist militants appear to be launching an intensified campaign against Tunisian security forces. "I think the terrorists are trying to send a message to the army and security forces," a policeman near the site of the dismantled bomb said. "We've received the message and we're going to defend our nation from them, and they will not succeed." On Monday, Islamist militants ambushed and killed eight soldiers in a remote region near the Algerian border, in one of the deadliest attacks in decades. The assault followed two bomb attacks near security forces in Tunis, the first time the capital has suffered such attacks. No one was hurt. The North African country is now struggling to combat rising instability amid a growing political crisis, as the secular opposition tries to oust the moderate Islamist-led government. Tunisian forces also on Friday launched a heavy ground and air strike campaign on militants at Mount Chaambi near the Algerian border, a remote area where the army has been hunting Islamist militants since December. Residents of the wealthy Menzah 9 district in Tunis said they had seen two men on a motorbike place a box near the house of a general next door and immediately phoned the police. A Reuters reporter in the area saw policemen with dogs imposing a security cordon before dismantling the bomb. "The box had a battery, a cord, and a letter in it. The police took the box away after dismantling the bomb," a resident said. Earlier on Friday, a man in a neighbourhood 10 kilometres (6.3 miles) north of the capital was killed when he accidentally blew himself up preparing a bomb. Another man in a nearby suburb blew off his own hand as he prepared an explosive device. He was arrested and taken to hospital. Security forces around the capital appeared to be on high alert, setting up checkpoints on several main streets around the capital. (The story is refiled to add reporting credit) (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by Eric Walsh) |
| U.S. issues global travel alert, cites al Qaeda threat Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August in the Middle East and northern Africa. The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence information that prompted it to close 21 U.S. embassies or consulates this Sunday, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," its statement said. It attributed the threat of attacks "between now and the end of August" to al Qaeda and affiliated organizations. On Thursday, the department said U.S. embassies that would normally be open this Sunday would be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns. On Friday, it released a list of the 21 diplomatic missions, including those in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Sudan, among other countries. The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, said on Friday that he and several other lawmakers met two days ago with Vice President Joe Biden on the threat. "It's my understanding that it is al Qaeda linked ... and the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia," Representative Royce said CNN's "New Day" program. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Susan Heavey, David Lawder; Editing by Doina Chiacu) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan