REUTERS
World | Sun Feb 28, 2016 4:56pm EST
Related: World, Russia, United Nations, Syria
Syria rebels say attacks by army and Russian planes threaten truce
BEIRUT/ GENEVA | By Mariam Karouny and Tom Miles
The Syrian opposition warned on Sunday that attacks by the army, backed by Russian warplanes, threatened a U.S.-Russian deal for a cessation of hostilities with collapse and endangered future peace talks.
The agreement, which is in its second day and has drastically curbed violence but not stopped it entirely, is the first of its kind to be attempted in four years.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the opposition said violations would undermine international efforts to guarantee the continuation of the truce and lead to the collapse of the UN-adopted political process.
The Riyadh-based opposition body said Russian war planes on Sunday staged 26 bombing raids on areas where rebel groups abiding by the truce were operating and accused Moscow of deploying cluster bombs on residential areas it alleged caused many civilian casualties.
A Syrian military source on Saturday denied the army was violating the truce agreement. Russia's defense ministry declined to comment.
Under the accord accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and many of his foes, fighting should cease so that aid can reach civilians and talks can open to end a war that has killed more than 250,000 people and made 11 million homeless.
The head of the Russian coordination center in Syria, Sergei Kuralenko, said the plan was holding "in general" but said there had been nine violations of the truce in the past 24 hours.
Insurgents and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said war planes struck at least six towns and villages in west and north Aleppo and a village in the central Hama province.
Warplanes believed to be Russian pounded the town of Teir Maalah, just north of the city of Homs, in the second round of bombing within a few hours of the strategic town that the army has tried to capture in the past to enter rebel held northern countryside of Homs province, insurgents said.
Rebels said the attacks across Syria were more intense than Saturday but still not as bad as those before the cessation of hostilities took effect.
"We are awaiting the response of states to these violations, the situation is in the balance now and self restraint will not last long," colonel Fares al Bayoush told Reuters.
The Saudi-backed opposition group had earlier accused Russia of carrying out the strikes and said it would complain to the United Nations and countries backing the peace process but said it remained committed to the truce.
Related Coverage
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"The decision is to remain quiet, not to do anything, and I believe they will stick to the truce," said Syria's opposition spokesman Salim al-Muslat. "Yesterday was the first day people can really go out and walk in the streets."
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also accused Russia and the Syrian government air force of violating the truce and said Riyadh was discussing the issue with international powers.
Speaking during a joint news conference with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Riyadh, he said there would be a "plan B" if it became clear that the Syrian government and its allies were not serious about the truce. He gave no details.
The deal, which is less binding than a formal ceasefire and was not directly signed by the Syrian warring sides, does not cover action against militants from Islamic State or the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate which called for an escalation of attacks on Friday.
Moscow and Damascus say they will continue to fight them. Other rebels say they fear this stance may be used to justify attacks against them too.
Muslat, who is spokesman for the opposition's High Negotiating Committee (HNC), said it was waiting for answers about how the cessation of hostilities in Syria was being monitored, particularly since there was no map with a common understanding of the location of various fighting groups.
"This really worries us because we don't know how to deal with any violations and what are the areas that should not be targeted," he said.
CONFUSION
On Saturday, Russia said it would suspend all flights over Syria for one day to ensure no targets covered by the truce were hit by mistake.
But insurgents said on Sunday several people were wounded when Russian war planes struck several villages and towns in Aleppo province and Idlib province.
The Observatory's head Rami Abdulrahman said some of the towns which were attacked, including Daret Azza, were controlled by Nusra Front and other Islamist groups. In the city of Jisr al Shuquour, three aerial raids caused civilian casualties.
Related Coverage
› Syria's opposition tell U.N. Ban continued govt truce violation would hamper peace talks
Other attacks hit the villages and towns of Qabtan al-Jabal, Andan, Hreitan, Kfar Hamra and Ma'aret al-Arteek, the Observatory said, all in the west of the province where insurgents from the Free Syrian Army have operated.
It was not clear if these towns were included in the truce, Abdulrahman said.
Syria's state news agency accused "terrorist groups" of shelling rural areas of the coastal Latakia province, causing casualties. It said that the shelling came from hills close to the Turkish border "where terrorists mostly from Nusra Front deploy".
A Syrian rebel group denied the state media reports. Fadi Ahmad, spokesman for the First Coastal Division, an FSA group operating in the rural Latakia area, said rebel groups were committed to the truce.
He said helicopters had dropped six barrel bombs and fired dozens of rockets in the area on Sunday, and the Nusra Front had no presence in the area targeted by government forces.
Abdulrahman said a number of civilians were also killed in the air strikes in Aleppo province and other areas. He did not have a figure.
Videos sent by a rebel commander to Reuters shows a strike in another town, Harbnafseh, at 11.30 p.m. ET and another at 12 a.m. ET according to the voice in the video. The footage shows plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Russia's coordination center in Syria received from the United States a list of 69 armed opposition groups which agree with the terms of the truce, Interfax news agency reported.
Russia had itself received declarations of agreement from 17 armed groups from Syria's "moderate opposition", the center said in a statement.
(Reporting by Mariam Karouny, Tom Perry in Beirut Tom Miles in Geneva, Alexander Winning in Moscow, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Writing by Mariam Karouny; editing by Richard Balmforth)
***
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29022016
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC
Sunday, February 28, 2016
THAILAND_ Chinese cruise ship sinks off Laem Chabang port
THAI VISA NEWS
Chinese cruise ship sinks off Laem Chabang port
By editor on 2016-02-27
Chinese cruise ship sinks off Laem Chabang port
SRI RACHA: Chinese cruise ship “Ocean Dream” , anchored off Laem Chanang port in Sri Racha for over a year, sank into the sea today, raising fear by Thai environmental authorities that it could cause pollution in the sea.
The cruise ship which was abandoned in Chonburi sea by its Chinese owner was seen to take in water yesterday by fishermen.
Fishermen immediately reported the cruise ship to authorities of the Marine Department’s Marine Safety Centre, as it was inclining to the left side.
Authorities immediately coordinated with the Chinese owner to stabilise the vessel back to its position, and were working out a plan to have it fixed today.
However the inclining vessel later sank off about two kilometres off the Laem Chabang coast.
But the water at the sunken site is not deep, the vessel could be seen submerged with its side above the water.
Commander of the Navy First Fleet Vice Admiral Rangsarit Satayanukul later today ordered a Navy plane to fly to the scene to see if the vessel would leak out oil or not as he feared it could pose environmental threat.
According to Fleet Mon which tracks ships in seven seas, the Chinese cruise ship Ocean Dream is anchored at Laem Chabang port for more than a year.
The ship was to depart for cruise in China, but instead, was anchored off the Laem Chabang coast and seemed to be abandoned and with no crew and due maintenance.
The owner was asked to move the ship somewhere out from Thai waters, but no confirmation received so far, that the owner is going to do anything.
The ship as it is, in her present condition, seems to be a threat to shipping and ecology, she may simply capsize in fresh weather, judging from photos.
Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/152733
— Thai PBS 2016-02-27
HAVE YOUR SAY: Discuss this story in the Thaivisa Forum
***
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29022016
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC
Chinese cruise ship sinks off Laem Chabang port
By editor on 2016-02-27
Chinese cruise ship sinks off Laem Chabang port
SRI RACHA: Chinese cruise ship “Ocean Dream” , anchored off Laem Chanang port in Sri Racha for over a year, sank into the sea today, raising fear by Thai environmental authorities that it could cause pollution in the sea.
The cruise ship which was abandoned in Chonburi sea by its Chinese owner was seen to take in water yesterday by fishermen.
Fishermen immediately reported the cruise ship to authorities of the Marine Department’s Marine Safety Centre, as it was inclining to the left side.
Authorities immediately coordinated with the Chinese owner to stabilise the vessel back to its position, and were working out a plan to have it fixed today.
However the inclining vessel later sank off about two kilometres off the Laem Chabang coast.
But the water at the sunken site is not deep, the vessel could be seen submerged with its side above the water.
Commander of the Navy First Fleet Vice Admiral Rangsarit Satayanukul later today ordered a Navy plane to fly to the scene to see if the vessel would leak out oil or not as he feared it could pose environmental threat.
According to Fleet Mon which tracks ships in seven seas, the Chinese cruise ship Ocean Dream is anchored at Laem Chabang port for more than a year.
The ship was to depart for cruise in China, but instead, was anchored off the Laem Chabang coast and seemed to be abandoned and with no crew and due maintenance.
The owner was asked to move the ship somewhere out from Thai waters, but no confirmation received so far, that the owner is going to do anything.
The ship as it is, in her present condition, seems to be a threat to shipping and ecology, she may simply capsize in fresh weather, judging from photos.
Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/152733
— Thai PBS 2016-02-27
HAVE YOUR SAY: Discuss this story in the Thaivisa Forum
***
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29022016
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC
US ELECTION 2016_ Republicans brawl, Clinton sails toward Super Tuesday
YAHOO!7
Republicans brawl, Clinton sails toward Super Tuesday
AFP
February 29, 2016, 8:32 am
Photo:
Republicans brawl, Clinton sails toward Super Tuesday
Columbia (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump and his rivals brawled on for the Republican presidential nomination Sunday as Hillary Clinton sailed toward "Super Tuesday," her White House hopes lofted by a blow-out win in South Carolina.
With just two days to go before the biggest showdown yet in the US presidential race, Clinton gained crucial momentum in the race for the Democratic nomination after crushing Bernie Sanders 73.5 to 26 percent.
"We got decimated," Sanders conceded in an interview on ABC's This Week show, acknowledging that the outpouring of African American support for Clinton exposed a costly weakness in his campaign.
On the Republican side, Trump's trailing rivals desperately tried to raise doubts among voters about the frontrunner's ability to beat Clinton in November.
Senator Ted Cruz suggested in an interview with ABC's "This Week" show that Mafia dealings could be hiding in Trump's tax returns, which the billionaire real estate developer has so far resisted releasing.
"There have been multiple media reports of Donald's dealings with the mob, the Mafia," Cruz said. "Maybe his tax returns will show that those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported."
"We don't know," he added. "But the important point is ... in the general election, Hillary Clinton is going to shine a light on all of this. And Republican primary voters deserve to know."
- Trump's tax returns -
Trump has said he will not release his tax returns because they are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
"You can't tell anything from tax returns because you take deductions, massive deductions and lots of other things," he said on CNN's State of the Union Show.
Cruz also chided Trump for failing to categorically reject endorsements from white supremacist David Duke.
"Really sad.@realDonaldTrump you're better than this," Cruz tweeted.
Asked about the endorsement on CNN, Trump said he knew nothing about it. "You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I'd have to look," he said.
At a news conference Friday, Trump appeared surprised by the endorsement. "David Duke endorsed me? I disavow," he said, without elaborating.
Polls show Trump, who picked up a key endorsement from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, leading the Republican pack in most of the 11 Super Tuesday contests, but trailing Cruz in his home state of Texas, a top Super Tuesday prize with 155 delegates.
The conventional wisdom is that Trump's rivals -- Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Ohio Governor John Kasich -- must at least win their own states to remain in the running. Cruz will be the first to face that test, as Florida and Ohio vote later.
"There is no doubt that if Donald steamrolls through Super Tuesday, wins everywhere with big margins, that he may well be unstoppable," Cruz said on CBS's Face the Nation.
Kasich predicted that Trump would probably win all the Super Tuesday contests, but the governor said he intended to hang on in hopes Cruz and Rubio are knocked out first.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also has vowed to remain in the race, but support for his candidacy has fizzled.
With the stakes nearing a make-or-break point, Trump, Cruz and Rubio have viciously attacked each other with taunts, accusations and angry tweets that have given the Republican race a distinctly Darwinian flavor.
"Frankly, we're going to look back on this time and we're all going to shake our heads and say, did we really degrade the process of picking the leader of the free world?" said Kasich, who has generally refrained from joining the free-for-all.
- Redemption -
While the Republicans were hitting all the political talk shows Sunday, Hillary Clinton was quietly savoring her victory in South Carolina.
It was the former secretary of state's first decisive win of the campaign, after a nail-biter victory in Iowa, a thumping loss to Sanders in New Hampshire and then a five-point win in Nevada.
Exit polls in South Carolina showed African-Americans -- who represented 61 percent of all Democratic voters in the primary -- backed Clinton by a stunning 86 percent, more than had supported Obama eight years prior.
Clinton, who now leads in the national delegate count, assiduously courted black voters, partly by praising Obama and promising to build on his legacy.
South Carolina marked a "great test" for the coming votes in other southern states and showed that Clinton "can get a broad base of support of all demographics," her communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters, as the candidate shook hands and posed for selfies with supporters in Columbus, South Carolina Saturday night.
"We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything, and we are not taking anyone, for granted," Clinton said.
She also looked beyond her battle with Sanders, tweaking Trump, whose campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again."
"Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great," she said, reading off a teleprompter.
The 11 states that hold Democratic nominating contests Tuesday will send a whopping 18 percent of the delegates to July's nominating convention in Philadelphia.
AFP
***
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29022016
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC
Republicans brawl, Clinton sails toward Super Tuesday
AFP
February 29, 2016, 8:32 am
Photo:
Republicans brawl, Clinton sails toward Super Tuesday
Columbia (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump and his rivals brawled on for the Republican presidential nomination Sunday as Hillary Clinton sailed toward "Super Tuesday," her White House hopes lofted by a blow-out win in South Carolina.
With just two days to go before the biggest showdown yet in the US presidential race, Clinton gained crucial momentum in the race for the Democratic nomination after crushing Bernie Sanders 73.5 to 26 percent.
"We got decimated," Sanders conceded in an interview on ABC's This Week show, acknowledging that the outpouring of African American support for Clinton exposed a costly weakness in his campaign.
On the Republican side, Trump's trailing rivals desperately tried to raise doubts among voters about the frontrunner's ability to beat Clinton in November.
Senator Ted Cruz suggested in an interview with ABC's "This Week" show that Mafia dealings could be hiding in Trump's tax returns, which the billionaire real estate developer has so far resisted releasing.
"There have been multiple media reports of Donald's dealings with the mob, the Mafia," Cruz said. "Maybe his tax returns will show that those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported."
"We don't know," he added. "But the important point is ... in the general election, Hillary Clinton is going to shine a light on all of this. And Republican primary voters deserve to know."
- Trump's tax returns -
Trump has said he will not release his tax returns because they are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
"You can't tell anything from tax returns because you take deductions, massive deductions and lots of other things," he said on CNN's State of the Union Show.
Cruz also chided Trump for failing to categorically reject endorsements from white supremacist David Duke.
"Really sad.@realDonaldTrump you're better than this," Cruz tweeted.
Asked about the endorsement on CNN, Trump said he knew nothing about it. "You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I'd have to look," he said.
At a news conference Friday, Trump appeared surprised by the endorsement. "David Duke endorsed me? I disavow," he said, without elaborating.
Polls show Trump, who picked up a key endorsement from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, leading the Republican pack in most of the 11 Super Tuesday contests, but trailing Cruz in his home state of Texas, a top Super Tuesday prize with 155 delegates.
The conventional wisdom is that Trump's rivals -- Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Ohio Governor John Kasich -- must at least win their own states to remain in the running. Cruz will be the first to face that test, as Florida and Ohio vote later.
"There is no doubt that if Donald steamrolls through Super Tuesday, wins everywhere with big margins, that he may well be unstoppable," Cruz said on CBS's Face the Nation.
Kasich predicted that Trump would probably win all the Super Tuesday contests, but the governor said he intended to hang on in hopes Cruz and Rubio are knocked out first.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also has vowed to remain in the race, but support for his candidacy has fizzled.
With the stakes nearing a make-or-break point, Trump, Cruz and Rubio have viciously attacked each other with taunts, accusations and angry tweets that have given the Republican race a distinctly Darwinian flavor.
"Frankly, we're going to look back on this time and we're all going to shake our heads and say, did we really degrade the process of picking the leader of the free world?" said Kasich, who has generally refrained from joining the free-for-all.
- Redemption -
While the Republicans were hitting all the political talk shows Sunday, Hillary Clinton was quietly savoring her victory in South Carolina.
It was the former secretary of state's first decisive win of the campaign, after a nail-biter victory in Iowa, a thumping loss to Sanders in New Hampshire and then a five-point win in Nevada.
Exit polls in South Carolina showed African-Americans -- who represented 61 percent of all Democratic voters in the primary -- backed Clinton by a stunning 86 percent, more than had supported Obama eight years prior.
Clinton, who now leads in the national delegate count, assiduously courted black voters, partly by praising Obama and promising to build on his legacy.
South Carolina marked a "great test" for the coming votes in other southern states and showed that Clinton "can get a broad base of support of all demographics," her communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters, as the candidate shook hands and posed for selfies with supporters in Columbus, South Carolina Saturday night.
"We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything, and we are not taking anyone, for granted," Clinton said.
She also looked beyond her battle with Sanders, tweaking Trump, whose campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again."
"Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great," she said, reading off a teleprompter.
The 11 states that hold Democratic nominating contests Tuesday will send a whopping 18 percent of the delegates to July's nominating convention in Philadelphia.
AFP
***
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29022016
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC
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