World Affairs Overview
Clinton in hospital with blood clot
US: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hospitalized Sunday
when doctors discovered a blood clot caused after she fainted and
suffered concussion earlier this month, her top aide said.
The latest health scare for the globe-trotting Clinton will likely
keep her out of the public eye a bit longer, just as she prepares to
step down after four years as America’s top diplomat. Clinton, 65, fell
ill with a stomach bug on her return from a trip to Europe earlier this
month that caused the former first lady to become severely dehydrated
and faint, suffering a concussion.
AFP
Chavez suffers new post-op setback - VP
VENEZUELA: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has suffered a new
setback after cancer surgery in Cuba, raising new fears about his
political future, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday.
“We have been informed of new complications that arose as a
consequence of the respiratory infection we already knew about,” Maduro
said on state TV and radio from Havana. Cuba is Chavez’s closest
regional ally. “President Chavez’s condition is still delicate,” Maduro
added, warning that the complications “are being treated in a process
that is not without its risks.” Chavez, the face of the Latin American
left for more than a decade and a firebrand critic of US “imperialism,”
has been in power since 1999 in Venezuela, an OPEC member that sits on
top of the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
AFP
‘Viable bomb’ drops from N. Ireland police officer’s car
NORTHERN IRELAND: An explosive device which dropped from the
underneath of a police officer’s car in Belfast on Sunday was a “viable
bomb”, Northern Irish police said.
Several homes were evacuated after the discovery of the device in the
east of the city.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable George
Hamilton said: “It is very fortunate that this device was detected
before it exploded and that no-one was killed or seriously injured.
AFP
Mexican cops fired for refusing to work
MEXICO: Thirty-one Jalisco state police officers refusing to
work amid Mexico’s staggering drug violence will be dismissed Monday, a
government official said.
The move comes on the heels of the resignation of 16 police in
neighboring Michoacan state.
In the Jalisco case, the pending dismissals will almost cut in half
the size of the police force in the town of Ayotlan, which has 68
police.
The officers stopped working on Friday to voice their outrage at a
December 23 attack by organized crime on the police station in which
three police were slain.
AFP
Philippines fireworks injuries rise
PHILIPPINES: Philippine officials Monday reported more
injuries from fireworks as the emergency services braced for a night of
thunderous and sometimes deadly merrymaking to usher in the new year.
Injuries linked to firecrackers have risen to 186 since the Christmas
weekend, including 33 with eye injuries and six victims who had limbs
amputated, the health department announced.The number stood at 171 on
Sunday.
AFP
Bus goes down Oregon ravine killing 9
US: A Canada-bound bus crashed through a guard rail on an icy
road in Oregon on Sunday and careened into a ravine, killing at least
nine people and injuring at least 26 others, state police said.
The bus fell a couple hundred feet before stopping, Oregon State
Police said on its website, adding that the chartered bus was reportedly
heading home to Vancouver, Canada from Las Vegas, Nevada.
AFP
Jumper knitted by Suu Kyi fetches US $50,000
MYANMAR: A colourful woolly jumper knitted by Myanmar democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi has fetched nearly $50,000 at a charity auction in
Yangon, aides of the Nobel laureate said.
The red, green and blue V-neck was bought by private radio station
Shwe FM late on Thursday as part of a fundraising event, organised by
Suu Kyi’s opposition party, for education projects. AFP |
