Britain to analyse MH17 black boxes

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REUTERS

A pro-Russian separatist places black boxes belonging to Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on a desk, before their handover to Malaysian representatives, in Donetsk. Picture: Maxim Zmeyev

Kuala Lumpur -

The black boxes recovered from the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine will be sent to British aviation investigators for analysis, Malaysia has said.

The decision by the Dutch-led team probing the disaster came after pro-Russian rebels controlling the crash site handed the boxes over to Malaysian officials on Tuesday, following an intense international outcry.

Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement late Tuesday that it was normal procedure to send the boxes, which record cockpit activity and flight data, to the nearest laboratory approved by the United Nations aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“The international investigation team, led by the Netherlands, has decided to pass the black boxes to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch for forensic analysis,” he said.

The boxes will be flown to Farnborough, England, accompanied by Malaysian officials and other members of the investigation team, Liow added.

All 298 people, including 193 from the Netherlands, aboard MH17 were killed when it went down over crisis-hit eastern Ukraine on Thursday. The jet is believed to have been shot by a surface-to-air missile.

Malaysia had announced late Monday a breakthrough deal with separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, following direct negotiations.

Besides the handover of the black boxes, the agreement also says that bodies from the crash will be sent to the Netherlands for analysis before being returned home, and provides for a safe route to the site controlled by the insurgents.

The pro-Russia rebels currently stand accused by the US and some other nations of bringing down the aircraft, allegedly with a missile supplied by Moscow. - Sapa-AFP

Gay sex: Singapore top court tackles challenge to colonial ban

Singapore's highest court is hearing challenges to a 76-year-old ban on gay sex.

Lawyers for Kenneth Chee and Gary Lim argued that the ban, first adopted under British colonial rule in 1938, discriminated against gay men and violated rights to equal protection guaranteed by Singapore's constitution. A two-day hearing before a three-judge panel began on Monday.

Singapore lawmakers agreed in 2007 to keep the law, known as Section 377A, when they repealed related provisions that made heterosexual oral and anal sex a crime. The government says it has not actively enforced the ban since the mid-1990s.

"The majority of the population still favours the current legal framework," Law Minister K. Shanmugam said last month when asked about the case and its background. While society is evolving and social mores are changing, "the government has taken the position that this is a situation where it is best to agree to disagree".

Police issued an advisory asking attendees at this year's annual gay-pride rally Pink Dot on June 28 to "keep the peace" and avoid comments on race and religion. The warning followed Muslim and Christian groups calling on their followers to wear white on the day to signify "purity" and to oppose the event.

Gay activists started an online petition early last year for abolition before a lower court hearing on the law's constitutionality, and a group of pastors met Mr Shanmugam to present their views on defending the nation's "moral future".

Battles over gay rights have gained prominence in the past two years. India overturned a 2009 verdict in December legalising consensual gay sex. Russia enacted anti-gay laws, stoking international ire, and New Zealand became the first Asia-Pacific nation to legalise gay marriages.

Singapore Judges Andrew Phang, Belinda Ang and Woo Bih Li will hear the arguments on behalf of Mr Chee, 38, and Mr Lim, 46, as well as a parallel appeal by another man, Tan Eng Hong, against the ban on acts of "gross indecency" between males. Offenders face mandatory jail terms of as long as two years.

There were a total of 185 people convicted under section 377A over a 10-year period from 1997 to 2006, according to figures from the Home Affairs Ministry.

In the early 1990s, undercover police arrested several men in sting operations, charging them with molestation and public solicitation, according to reports in The Straits Times. A magazine with advertisements targeting homosexuals had its publishing license suspended and some theatre plays deemed as promoting homosexual lifestyles were censored.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/gay-sex-singapore-top-court-tackles-challenge-to-colonial-ban-20140714-zt6us.html#ixzz37U3CfLQr

Cambodia Military Helicopter Crash Kills Five, Injures One

A military helicopter has crashed near the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, killing five individuals. According to The Cambodia Daily, the helicopter was carrying a total of six people. Most of the people inside the helicopter were pilot trainees. The helicopter crashed in Phnom Penh's Dangkao district this morning killing five of them on the spot. One individual was rescued with serious injuries, say local police officials. Fresh reports add that the helicopter crash occurred at about 9 a.m. local time in a quarry in the village of Prey Tituy village.

According to a local from the village, the lone survivor from the crash was rushed to the local Calmette hospital for treatment. The bodies of other victims of the helicopter crash were also taken to the hospital later.

"From preliminary information that I received, I just know that five people died and one survived, but was seriously injured," the villager added.

From what is being now known the military helicopter had taken off from the Phnom Penh International Airport earlier in the morning. Military police officials were dispatched to the location of the crash to investigate the wreckage and begin investigations as to what caused the helicopter to go down.

According to Khuon Yano, Choeung Ek commune police chief, the helicopter was owned by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and had been originally donated to Cambodia by China. Preliminary reports add that the helicopter involved in the crash was a Chinese-made Zhi-9 (Z-9) utility helicopter. This model is widely known to be a licensed clone of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin and is made by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation of China.

"This helicopter was donated by China and belonged to the RCAF and those victims were training pilots," he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian news website Bernama has said that the helicopter in fact crashed in to a pond and not a quarry as earlier reported.

At least three killed, 11 wounded in clashes at Tripoli airport-medics

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least three people have been killed and 11 wounded in clashes near the Libyan capital Tripoli's airport on Sunday, medics said.

Fighting started in the early hours of the morning between rival militias vying for control of the airport, and explosions could be heard throughout Tripoli as the clashes continued into the afternoon.

No Iran breakthrough with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna

• US Secretary of State John Kerry

Joint efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry and three other Western foreign ministers failed on Sunday to advance faltering nuclear talks with Iran, with the target date for a deal only a week away. "There has been no breakthrough today," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague after meetings with Kerry and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Iran.

The trip gave Kerry a chance to ease an espionage dispute with Germany. After meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, both stressed the importance of their cooperation in solving global crises, yet offered little indication they have fully mended ties. Separately, Kerry spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the escalating Mideast violence. Like the others, he also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We're working, we're working, we just got here," said Kerry, chiding reporters asking about progress as today's meetings wound down.

But the dispute over Iran's enrichment program appeared to be defying the Western foreign ministers' combined diplomatic muscle. Tehran says it needs to expand enrichment to make reactor fuel but the US fears Tehran could steer the activity toward manufacturing the core of nuclear missiles.

The US wants deep enrichment cuts; Iran wants to greatly expand enrichment. "There is a huge gap" over enrichment, said Hague, in comments echoed by the other foreign ministers. Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius left on Sunday, a few hours after they arrived. Kerry und Hague stayed on for another day of diplomacy.

Still, the dispute and other differences strongly indicated that six world powers and Tehran will need to continue negotiations until July 20 and could decide to extend their talks past that informal deadline for a deal. Such an agreement would buy time to negotiate a pact limiting the scope of such programs in exchange for a full end to nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran. "Obviously we have some very significant gaps still, so we need to see if we can make some progress," Kerry told reporters before a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is convening the talks.

Gigi Reyes asks court for longer stay in Philippine Heart Center

Jessica Lucila "Gigi" Reyes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–For fear of a heart attack or a stroke, accused pork barrel scam player Jessica Lucila "Gigi" Reyes has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow her to extend her stay at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC).

In a motion submitted before the court's third division on Saturday, Reyes asked the court to allow her continued confinement at the PHC until her previous motion for a bigger hospital is resolved.

"Indeed, given Reyes' fragile medical condition, her continued confinement at the Philippine Heart Center – a tertiary hospital equipped and capable of effectively evaluating and addressing her condition as well as properly managing any emergency situation – is the only way that Reyes would have the best possible chances of survival if and when an acute coronary event occurs," the motion read.

Reyes was transferred to the PHC on Friday from the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital after she complained of chest pains and difficulty of breathing.

In the motion, Reyes' doctor Anthony Lontoc said Reyes could suffer from an acute coronary event such as a heart attack or a stroke.

Reyes' motion said the Taguig-Pateros hospital is not equipped with the facilities for such an acute coronary event.

Reyes also said in her motion that she should be detained at a jail nearest to a tertiary hospital, citing her seizures after she was detained in Camp Bagong Diwa.

She even said that in Camp Bagong Diwa, where she was first transferred, she had to be carried by several men down eight steep flights of stairs to the ground floor of the Taguig jail when she was first rushed to the Taguig hospital.

Reyes reiterated her motion to be transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center, which is nearest to the PNP General Hospital, a tertiary hospital.

The court had junked Reyes' plea for detention in the PNP for lack of merit.

"The events … where Reyes.. had to travel a considerable distance from Taguig City Jail to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital (which is however, not a tertiary hospital), clearly shows that Taguig City jail is not a suitable place to hold Reyes pending trial given her medical condition," the motion read.

"On the other hand, PNP Custodial Center is just a stone throw's away from the PNP General Hospital, (which) unlike the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital, is a tertiary hospital equipped and capable to handle any likely emergency situation," the motion added.

"From the foregoing, accused Reyes respectfully implores that this Honorable Court authorize and allow accused Reyes to be transferred to and confined at a tertiary hospital, preferably the Philippine Heart Center or the Sta. Ana Hospital where her attending physicians are connected so that the cardiac condition and neurologic pathology status of accused Reyes can be properly evaluated and addressed," Reyes' motion stated.

Reyes, the former aide of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, also her co-accused in the pork barrel scam case, surrendered to the court after an arrest warrant was issued for her plunder case.

She is now at the PHC Coronary Intensive Care Unit.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/619458/gigi-reyes-asks-court-for-longer-stay-in-philippine-heart-center#ixzz37TjjID9f 

Main Libya airport shut down as rival militias clas

TRIPOLI: Heavy fighting broke out between rival militias vying for control of Libya’s main airport Sunday, killing seven people and forcing a halt of all flights in the worst fighting in the capital for six months.
The assault on the Zintan militia which controls the airport by Islamist militants came after the U.N. pulled staff from Libya citing security reasons, and as the United States warned of further escalation.
An airport official said “rockets struck inside the airport perimeter around 6 a.m.,” followed by heavy clashes between the rival gunmen.
Loud explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in the city center, 25 kilometers away, AFP correspondents reported.
An airport source said Zintan fighters pushed back the assailants from the western city of Misrata but that clashes continued to rage around the facility, as locals reported seeing tanks deploy and smoke billowing. At least 36 people were wounded in the clashes, officials said.
Authorities closed the airport for at least three days from Sunday after initially halting flights.
Zintan forces from the northwest, which have controlled the airport since Gadhafi’s ousting, and Misratis had been put on the state payroll in an unsuccessful attempt by the government to win their cooperation and establish the rule of law.
The heavily armed group, named after a hill town southwest of the capital, is considered the armed wing of the liberal movement jockeying for power with Islamists who dominate parliament.
Sunday’s attack was claimed by the Operations Cell of Libyan Revolutionaries, a coalition of Islamist militias seen as the armed wing of Islamists within the General National Congress or parliament.
“The revolutionary forces arrive within the perimeter of Tripoli airport and clash with armed groups inside,” it said on its Facebook page.
Local news channel Al-Nabaa showed men in military vehicles with Misrata insignia opening fire with heavy weapons.
Nabaa TV showed a Libyan Airlines plane and a transport aircraft engulfed in smoke while vehicles fired anti-aircraft volleys and fighters took up positions next to field of sheep.
Britain’s Minister for the Middle East Hugh Robertson in a statement urged an immediate end to the fighting and called on all parties to engage in “meaningful dialogue.”
European Union presidency holder Italy meanwhile called for United Nations-led diplomacy in Libya to aid the democratic transition.
“All too often these crises have been ignored and there has not been adequate support for transitions after regimes are toppled and we are still paying the price,” Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini told the ANSA news agency.
The fighting comes weeks after a contested June 25 general election to replace the Islamist-dominated GNC, which has been mired in controversy and accused of hogging power.
Libya, awash with weapons since the uprising three years ago, has also been plagued by growing lawlessness, while on the political front rival cabinets are jostling for power.
The embattled Tripoli government has been powerless to act and has struggled to establish a strong army and police force, allowing ex-rebels a free hand to act.
Sunday’s clashes came just hours after the United States warned that the conflict could become “widespread” unless a new parliament is seated quickly and a new constitution drafted.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Libya and dangerous posturing that could lead to widespread conflict there,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
July 6, Libya’s electoral commission scrapped the election results from 24 polling stations, citing fraud, and said final results would be announced July 20.
Commentators say liberals will fill most seats in the new parliament, unlike in the former assembly.
But the future makeup of parliament will become clear only after the formation of political blocs, since the vote was open only to “individual candidates” and lists were barred.
The mounting violence prompted the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to announce Thursday that it was pulling out dozens of staff.
The well-armed and disciplined Zintan militia is officially under the jurisdiction of the Defense Ministry, and had claimed a May 18 attack on the GNC to demand its dissolution.
The group has sided with rogue Gen. Khalifa Haftar who has launched a deadly offensive in eastern Libya, cradle of the 2011 uprising, aimed at crushing Islamist militias.