Suicide Blast Kills 12 in Afghanistan
A suicide bomb attack in protest to the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims killed 12 foreign avation workers of a private company in this capital, according to official reports.
The suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus carrying the foreign aviation workers to the airport in the Afghan capital early Tuesday, killing three Afghans, eight South Africans, and a citizen of Kirguistan.
Police deputy comissioner Mohammad Daud Amin said that two policemen and 14 civilians were also injured in the attack.
For its part, the South African government oficillay confirmed that 8 dead are citizens of that country.
Hizb-i-Islami, a militant group connected to the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in revenge for an anti-Islam film that has spawned rioting from north Africa to south-east Asia, including violent protests in Kabul on Monday.
China Sends Warships to Disputed Islands
Two of eleven Chinese patrol craft cruising the waters off two disputed islands between China and Japan have entered what Tokyo claims as its territorial waters, the Japanese navy said on Tuesday.
The Japanese navy told NHK national TV the appearance of 11 Chinese vessels so close to its shores was unprecedented.
The islands, known as the Senkaku to Japan and Diaoyu to China, have been at the center of a dispute recently that has triggered violent anti-Japanese protests across China and caused Japanese companies to suspend operations in China.
The issue flared up after Japan nationalized three of the five islands last week, which previously belonged to a private owner.
Beijing and Tokyo cannot agree on a maritime border in the economic zones around the islands. Japan claims it has occupied the islands since 1895, while Beijing says Japanese charts dating back to 1783 show the islands as Chinese territory.
The islands were controlled by the United States after World War II and granted to Japan in 1972. Both Taiwan, to which the pre-1949 Chinese government moved, and Beijing, maintain Japanese occupation of the islands is illegal.
Most Greeks Reject Austerity Attached to Bailout Aid, but Support Euro
An overwhelming majority of seven out of ten Greeks reject harsh austerity attached to bailout agreements with international lenders which keep debt-ridden Greece afloat since 2010, according to a new opinion poll released in Athens on Tuesday.
However, the survey conducted by Public Issue for the local Kathimerini newspaper and SKAI television and radio channels, said 67 percent said they supported the European common currency and Greece’s future in the euro zone.
Without multi-billion rescue loans from European counterparts and the International Monetary Fund, Greece faces a chaotic default and possible exit from the eurozone.
Tough cuts on salaries and pensions and tax increases over the past two years have put a heavy burden on the shoulders of the average Greek household, fuelling record high rates unemployment and recession.
As the new three-party coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras negotiates a new austerity package with creditors this September aiming to unlock more vital loans this autumn, eight out of 10 Greeks fear a deterioration of their economic situation in coming months and years.
79 percent of respondents in the survey expressed disappointment over the handling of the Greek debt crisis by the government which emerged from the June 17 general elections and more than 80 percent were against the stance of the opposition parties.
68 percent of respondents forecast early polls and 54 percent expressed distrust with all seven political parties represented in the Greek parliament.
If new snap elections were held today, pro-bailout New Democracy party of Samaras which marginally won the June elections, would lead the course, followed by anti-austerity Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA), but no party would secure clear parliamentary majority to form a government on its own.
Via PL