Saturday, February 27, 2016

US election 2016: Christie endorses Trump in shock move


  • From the
Media captionChris Christie: "We've done a lot of good together"
New Jersey governor and former Republican candidate Chris Christie is endorsing frontrunner Donald Trump for president, he has announced.
Mr Christie dropped out of the 2016 presidential race after a lacklustre showing in polls and state races.
"I'm happy to be on the Trump team and I look forward to working with him," Mr Christie said.
Mr Trump gives Republicans the best chance to win the White House, he added.
He said junior senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, both running for president, were "unprepared" for the job.
There was "no question" that Mr Trump will turn around Washington, Mr Christie continued, and keep Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from winning the White House.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Houston, Texas

Chris Christie's endorsement allows Donald Trump help assure voters wary of Mr Trump's brash style that he's an acceptable candidate.
He can also serve as an attack dog, tearing into Marco Rubio the way he did during that fateful debate in New Hampshire.
The Christie endorsement could signal a new phase of Mr Trump's presidential campaign, when prominent politicians begin to make peace with the reality of a Trump nomination.
Mr Christie, and others, may see a benefit to being among the first major figures on board the Trump bandwagon. Already rumours are floating that former candidate Mike Huckabee is on the verge of joining Mr Trump's ranks as well.
This is what happens when a frontrunner draws close to victory. And just because the man approaching the finish line is Donald Trump doesn't make it any less true.
Frontrunner Donald Trump, a businessman from New York, is leading in many state polls and has already won three consecutive state contests in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, despite never having worked in politics.
He shouldered some criticism from Mr Rubio and Mr Cruz at a Republican debate on Thursday but it is not yet clear whether this has hurt his popularity.
Rubio in DallasImage copyrightEuropean photopress agency
Image captionRubio continued attacking 'con artist' Trump on Friday
Donald Trump and Chris ChristieImage copyrightAP
Image captionDonald Trump (left) and Chris Christie are long-time friends
"He is rewriting the playbook of American politics because he's providing strong leadership that is not dependent upon the status quo," Mr Christie said of Mr Trump.
"I will lend my support between now and November in every way that I can for Donald, to help to make this campaign an even better campaign than it's already been."
Mr Rubio, the Florida Senator, continued to assail Mr Trump the morning after the debate.
He told CBS: "A con artist is about to take over the Republican Party and the conservative movement, and we have to put a stop to it."
And at a morning rally in Dallas, he mocked the Republican front-runner about his misspelled tweets and said he had seen Mr Trump having a "meltdown" backstage at the debate.
Source: BBC
Posted by at No comments:

Guatemala: Rape sentences in landmark military trial

Human Rights activist Rosalina Tuyuc embraces a victim of sexual violence in court in Guatemala city on 26 February, 2016

Image copyrightAP
Image captionThere were jubilant scenes in court when the verdict was announced
A Guatemala court has sentenced two former members of the military to 360 years in jail for the murder, rape and sexual enslavement of indigenous women.
Francisco Reyes Giron Heriberto Valdez Asij were found guilty of crimes against humanity.
The historic ruling is the first successful prosecution for sexual violence committed during Guatemala's military conflict in the 1980s.
There were jubilant scenes in court as the judge read out the sentence.
"This is historic, it is a great step for women and above all for the victims," said Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, who attended the hearing.
Victims of sexual violence hide their faces during the trial against a former military officer and a former paramilitary fighter accused of sexual violence against indigenous women during Guatemala's civil war, in Guatemala City, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016Image copyrightAP
Image captionThe victims who attended the trial had covered their faces because of the discrimination and stigmatization they say they still experience
Francisco Reyes Giron, who was the commander of the Sepur Zarco military base, was found guilty of holding 15 women in sexual and domestic slavery and for killing one woman and her two daughters.
Heriberto Valdez Asij, a paramilitary who carried out commissions for the army, was convicted for the same enslavement, as well as the forced disappearance of seven men.
The victims have been demanding accountability for the crimes at Sepur Zarco for decades.
"We were raped, all of this happened. If it wasn't like this, where are our husbands? We don't know where they are," said Demesia Yac, 70, who acted as a representative for the women.
The court had heard harrowing details about what went on at the base in the eastern highlands during the 1980s.
According to the prosecution, in 1982 armed forces repeatedly attacked the village of Sepur Zarco and killed or took away Mayan leaders who had been applying for land titles and had angered local landowners.
The men were accused of being associated with left-wing guerrillas.
Agustin Chen, one of the men who survived said the soldiers took him to a cell and beat him every day.
"They killed seven people, throwing two grenades into the pit where they had put them."
Former army officer Esteelmer Francisco Reyes Giron, right, listens to his lawyer Moises Galindo, Guatemala City, 25 Feb 2016Image copyrightAP
Image captionFormer base commander, Esteelmer Francisco Reyes Giron (R) was sentened to 120 years in prison
Former military commissioner Heriberto Valdez Asij listens to a Lawyer during the trial against him and a former army officer, accused of sexual violence against indigenous women during Guatemala's civil war, in Guatemala City, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016.Image copyrightEPA
Image captionHeriberto Valdez Asij, a military commissioner, received a sentence of 240 years
The court heard how military commanders considered the women to be "available" without their men and had then taken them into sexual and domestic slavery.
They were required to report every third day to the base for "shifts" during which they were raped, sexually abused, and forced to cook and clean for the soldiers.
In a report to the court, anthropologist Irma Alicia Velasquez Nimatuj said military outposts were installed in the region "to give security to the landowner's farms and to take possession of the lands".
For some of the victims, their ordeal lasted as long as six years until the base was closed in 1988.
Source: BBC
Posted by at No comments:

Syria conflict: Temporary truce comes into effect


Syrian rebel fighter in the town of Arbin in the eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of capital Damascus. 26 February 2016
Image copyrightAFP
Image captionSyrian rebel positions around Damascus were heavily bombarded on Friday
The first major temporary truce in Syria's five-year civil war has come into effect.
The "cessation of hostilities" began at midnight (22:00 GMT Friday) with early reports saying front lines were silent.
UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said fighting had "calmed down" but one breach was being investigated.
In the run-up to the deadline, US President Barack Obama warned the Syrian government and its ally Russia "the world will be watching".
The truce involves government and rebel forces, but not the so-called Islamic State group or the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed in Syria's civil war and millions more have been forced from their homes.
A few hours after the deadline passed, a car bomb killed two people outside the government-held town of Salamiyeh, near Hama, Syrian state media reported. It is not clear who carried out the attack.
The temporary halt in fighting appeared to be holding on Saturday morning, said the BBC's Mark Lowen, who is in the Turkish town of Gaziantep near the Syrian border.
Monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said while some gunfire was heard in the northern city of Aleppo as the deadline passed, elsewhere it was quiet.
Mr de Mistura has said that peace talks will resume on 7 March if the truce "largely holds", adding that he had no doubt there would be "no shortage of attempts to undermine this process".
Russia said it would continue to bomb militant targets. Russian jets were reported to have intensified attacks on Syrian rebel positions on Friday.
In the run-up to the truce, heavy attacks around Damascus and Aleppo were blamed on Russian airstrikes, but denied by Moscow.
Media captionKey moments in the Syria conflict
The cessation was brokered by the US and Russia, and is backed by a UN resolution. Previous talks in Geneva collapsed in early February after making no progress.
One of the key aims of the cessation is to allow desperately needed aid to reach people trapped in besieged areas.
The UN resolution names about 30 areas in dire need of aid, including eastern and western rural Aleppo and the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, which is under siege by so-called Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Almost 100 rebel factions have agreed to respect the truce, Syrian opposition umbrella group the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said.
However, the HNC warned the Syrian government and its allies not to use the "proposed text to continue the hostile operations against the opposition factions under the excuse of fighting terrorism".
Injured Syrian boy at a hospital in Damascus. 21 Feb 2016Image copyrightEPA
Image captionCivilians continue to be caught in the fighting
Map showing territorial control in the Syrian conflict (23 February 2016)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says his forces are targeting IS, Nusra Front and other extremist groups designated as legitimate targets by the UN Security Council.
However, Russia is widely accused of also attacking more moderate rebel groups fighting President Assad, an ally of the Kremlin.

Syria's civil war

Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that four years on has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are propping up the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran have pro-Assad forces on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russia are carrying out air strikes.



Source: BBC
Posted by at No comments:

Farewell to the ‘Jungle’ – migrants begin to leave following court ruling


 
smaller_textlarger_text
"We didn't come here to stay in France, we want to go to England and we are free to choose our country"
Around a dozen migrants and refugees on Friday boarded one of the first buses transporting people from the ‘Jungle’ camp near Calais
After Thursday’s court ruling that French government plans to dismantle the southern part of the camp could go ahead, people were on Friday being told to clear their tents and leave.
“Here, they will not fight, but I’m not sure they will leave because they say, ‘where we will go?’ One theme emerges every time, it’s ‘we didn’t come here to stay in France, we want to go to England and we are free to choose our country’,” said Zimako, a migrant who was involved in founding a school inside the ‘Jungle.’
The French authorities said earlier this week that 800-1,000 people would have to leave under the demolition plan. Officials said they will be offered shelter near the camp or elsewhere in France.
But aid organisations said that the number of people affected will be far higher.
“There are 3,000 people, the government says there are 1,000. The government has 1,000 places, not 3,000. Where will the other 2,000 go?” said Mayka Konforti, a volunteer with Auberges des Migrants.
Humanitarian groups have also been warning that forced evictions would breach the migrants’ fundamental rights and worsen the plight of some 350 to 400 minors in the camp, some of them unaccompanied.

Source: EURONEWS
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)