A French magistrate has ordered former President Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to the 1990s, when he was mayor of Paris. The order is unprecedented, and follows several other trials targeting former high-level politicians.
Jacques Chirac
Chirac did not respond directly to news he has been ordered to stand trial, but a statement from his office said he was serene and determined to clear himself.
The former president is charged with embezzlement and breach of trust relating to allegations that 35 people were given fake jobs at Paris city hall between 1994 and 1995, when he was mayor.
A veteran politician, 76-year-old Chirac served as both Paris mayor and prime minister of France, before becoming president in 1995. He left office in 2007.
Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin after a hijacked helicopter landed in the prison’s exercise yard.
The escape made headlines around the world and was an embarrassment to the Irish coalition government led by Fine Gael’s Liam Cosgrave, which was criticised by opposition party Fianna Fáil.
A manhunt involving twenty thousand members of the Irish Defence Forces and Garda Síochána was launched for the escapees, one of whom, Seamus Twomey, was not recaptured until December 1977. The Wolfe Tones wrote a song celebrating the escape called “The Helicopter Song”, which topped the Irish popular music charts despite being banned by the government. Read the rest of this entry »
Bayor was admitted to a hospital in Ulan Bator in October 2009. Due to his declining health, Bayar announced his resignation in a letter to Mongolia’s parliament one week later on 26 October 2009.
Sanjaagiin Bayar
A meeting held two days later confirmed that the Mongolian parliament had accepted his resignation. Bayar apologised to those who had voted for him. N. Altankhuyag, the First Vice Prime Minister, was selected as Bayar’s temporary replacement.
Bayar joined the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in 1988. He became General Secretary of the MPRP in 2005 and was – by 377 to 229 votes – elected Chairman of the MPRP at a party congress in October 2007, defeating incumbent Miyeegombyn Enkhbold. Read the rest of this entry »
The Soviet hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba was detonated over Novaya Zemlya Island in the Arctic Sea as a test. With a yield of around 50 megatons, it was the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated to date.
Developed by the Soviet Union, the bomb was originally designed to have a yield of about 100 megatons of TNT (420 PJ); however, the bomb yield was reduced by half in order to limit the amount of nuclear fallout that would result.
Site of the detonation
Only one bomb of this type was built and tested on October 30, 1961, in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
A mock bomb is on display in the Russian Nuclear Weapons Museum in Sarov.
The term “Tsar Bomba” was coined in an analogy with two other massive Russian objects, the Tsar Kolokol, the world’s largest bell, and the Tsar Pushka, the world’s largest howitzer. Although the bomb was so named by Western sources, the name is now used in Russia.
Brazil’s number of dengue fever cases in the first seven months totaled 406,883, down 46.3 percent year-on-year, Brazil’s Health Ministry announced Thursday.
According to the ministry, from January to July, in addition to the Federal District, a total of 20 Brazilian states registered a reduction of dengue fever cases. The state of Rio de Janeiro, where the fever claimed 174 lives last year, posted the sharpest fall of 95.9 percent.
In the northeastern states of Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe, the dengue fever cases also went down drastically by 93 percent and 90.4 percent year-on-year, respectively. Read the rest of this entry »
The United Nations Security Council voted unianimously on Thursday to extend the arms embargo on the Ivory Coast (otherwise known as Côte d’Ivoire) for a year.
In addition, the 15-member council renewed a ban on exporting diamonds and foreign travel, as well as an asset freeze for persons who are discovered to have violated human rights or disrupting the peace. “[...] the situation in the Ivory Coast continues to pose a threat to international peace and security in the region,” the council said. Read the rest of this entry »
According to US health officials, New York state governor David Paterson has declared a state of emergency in the state as a result of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak.
The Associated Press news agency reports that the six-page declaration was issued because at least 75 people have died of H1N1 related illnesses in New York since April. Three have died from H1N1 related illnesses just this past week. The declaration also says that human cases of the virus are on the rise.
Paterson says he issued the declaration because “a disaster has occurred throughout New York State, for which the affected local governments are unable to respond adequately.” Read the rest of this entry »
McDonald’s, the international fast food restaurant chain, will cease all operations in Iceland by the end of October.
The company blames the closure of the nation’s three outlets on drastically increased costs of importing its food ingredients, which mainly came from Germany.
McDonald’s corporation says the current economic slump is to blame for rising costs, along with the “unique operational complexity” of keeping them open.
The restaurant, with its distinctive Golden Arches, began its Icelandic operations in 1993. Its outlets were operated by Lyst, a franchising company owned by Jon Gardar Ogmundsson. There are no plans to reopen any of the locations. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by FormaeMentis 
Posted by FormaeMentis 
Posted by FormaeMentis 
