Clinton distances US from anti-Islam film

[email protected] (The Hindu)
September 15, 2012

hillary_clinton

Washington, September 15: The anti-Islam film linked to violence against U.S. embassies in Libya, Egypt and Yemen continued to dominate headlines here even as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to distance her government from it and the film's alleged director remained in hiding amidst a virtual media siege.

 

In a statement Ms. Clinton said, “Let me state very clearly, and I hope it is obvious, that the U.S. government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message... This video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose – to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage.”

 

Meanwhile the man said to be behind the film, identified by some media as “Nakoula Basseley Nakoula,” and by others using a pseudonym of “Sam Bacile,” was holed up in a home in the Los Angeles quiet suburb of Cerros, in California.

 

Following initial speculation that Nakoula had received police protection Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the LA county sheriff clarified that although police were closely watching the scene of the media throng in Cerros that did not imply that he was under police protection. “We're only here because the media is here,” Mr. Whitmore was quoted as saying.

 

Meanwhile Ms. Clinton identified two security detail officers killed during Tuesday's assault on the U.S. embassy in Beghazi, Libya, where U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Information Management Officer Sean Smith also died. She said, “We also recognize the two security personnel who died helping protect their colleagues. Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were both decorated military veterans who served our country with honour and distinction.” Both men were former Navy SEALs.

 

The outbreak of violence against U.S. assets abroad was also a subject that President Barack Obama addressed in a statement to media. Commenting on the situation in Cairo he said to a television news channel, that the U.S. did not consider Egypt an ally, “but we don't consider them an enemy.” They were democratically elected, he added, suggesting that his government would be watching “how they respond to this incident, how they respond towards maintaining the peace treaty towards Israel.”

Mr. Obama's comments came as more details about the damage inflicted to U.S. embassy premises in Cairo, Sana and Benghazi surfaced. In particular the Independent quoted senior diplomatic sources saying the State Department “had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted.”

 

It added that sensitive documents had gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the secret location of the “safe houses” across the country may have been compromised along with the names of Libyans working with the U.S., and documents relating to oil contracts.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Beijing, Mar 29: In a rare display of public anger in China, dozens of people in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak till recently, attacked official vehicles after they were stopped from crossing a bridge and travel to neighbouring Jiangxi after the lifting of the lockdown.
Hubei province with over 56 million people was kept under lockdown from January 23 as part of aggressive measures to bring down COVID-19 cases which rapidly spread in the area.

Videos on Chinese social media on Friday showed unprecedented scenes of police from Hubei and Jiangxi clashing on the bridge connecting the two provinces over barricades erected from stopping Hubei people from moving out over fears of coronavirus spreading.

Policemen from both sides argued over how to verify if people were allowed to enter Jiangxi, according to local media reports.

It was a major relief for millions of people in Hubei province, when the Chinese government which kept it under lockdown lifted the restrictions on travel.

The government will permit people from the province to travel if they hold a green health code, meaning no contact with any infected or suspected COVID-19 cases.

But people of Hubei to their shock on Friday found roadblocks on the 1st Yangtze River Bridge that separates Huangmei county in Hubei erected by Huangmei county of Jiangxi province.

In local media reports, witnesses were quoted as saying that Huangmei police in Jiujiang erected roadblocks on the bridge to stop people from Hubei from crossing it, a move they alleged stigmatised them.

Video footage shared online showed rows of police armed with riot shields holding back the crowds, while members of the public could be seen damaging and even overturning police vehicles.

In a clip published by the Huanggang city government, which administers Huangmei, the county's Communist Party chief Ma Yanzhou could be heard speaking to the people through a loud hailer, warning them that by gathering in a large group they were increasing their chances of contracting the virus, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

While it is unclear exactly how the clash started, police from the two sides published separate official statements online, which were quickly deleted, it said.

The incident underlines the problems China faces as it seeks a return to normalcy after months of lockdown, the Post said.

After the incident, the governments of Huangmei and Jiujiang on Friday issued a joint statement saying they had agreed to remove the barriers set up to restrict travel during the lockdown, and also to recognise each other's health screening codes to make it easier for people in good health to get to where they needed to be, the Post report said.

An article by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) mouthpiece, People''s Daily acknowledged the problems in getting the country back on its feet.

"In the past few days, all walks of life have called for governments to accept workers from Hubei," it said.

"However, it is undeniable that some places, intentionally or not, have set up obstacles for Hubei migrant workers to return to their posts and hold prejudices against them."

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Agencies
July 7,2020

Washington, Jul 7: The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will grill the CEOs of US tech giants Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon during an antitrust hearing on July 27.

Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai and Amazon's Jeff Bezos will testify before the antitrust panel that is working on proposals to reform and regulate the digital market.

The hearing would mark the first time all four top executives testify together in front of Congress, virtually or in-person depending on the panel's call in the COVID-19 pandemic times.

"Since last June, the Subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and enforcement," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) said in a statement on Monday.

"Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming. As we have said from the start, their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation.”

The House Judiciary Committee announced its antitrust probe into the four tech giants in June last year.

Last month, the committee sent letters to technology giants Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet (Google's parent company), asking them to confirm if their chief executives will testify as part of the committee's tech competition investigation.

Committee chair David Cicilline said the documents that the investigators sought were "essential" to the probe and that requests like this were part of the "appropriate process" to obtain them.

"The only CEO who has expressed reservation about appearing, through a representative, has been Amazon," Cicilline said. "No one in this country is above the law ... nobody is above answering a congressional subpoena".

The lawmakers want the tech giants to furnish documents that have been produced in relation to other competition probes and internal communications.

The letters that the committee sent also posed questions related to possible harms to competition in the market.

In addition to the antitrust probe, Apple's App Store policies are also facing scrutiny from the US Department of Justice.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Moscow, Mar 25: An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck off Russia's Kuril Islands on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The magnitude of the quake, which occurred at 2:49 am (UTC), was registered at a depth of 56.7 kilometres, about 219 kilometres southeast of the Russian town of Severo-Kuril'sk, the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the property as a result of the quake.
Further details are awaited.

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