News | 21 July 2017

Earthquake hit Aegean Sea +++ Israel bars Muslims from Temple Mount

Earthquake hit Aegean Sea +++ Israel bars Muslims from Temple Mount +++ Poland set to enact controversial new law +++ Trump spokesman resigns +++ More clashes in Venezuela +++ Cholera epidemic in Yemen +++ Siemens blocks orders to Russia +++ The weather

News | 21 july 2017

Elisabeth Kervarrec

Earthquake hit Aegean Sea

A strong earthquake hit the Aegean Sea early this morning. Two people on the Greek island of Kos were killed when the roof of a bar collapsed. Around 200 other people were injured. Ricky Scharr is a British tourist on Kos: “It was for about 30 seconds. The whole room would shake. There was a bit of commotion. Some children were wakened and crying.” The earthquake also caused damage along the coast of Turkish close to the resort city of Bodrum where 80 people were hurt. The quake also caused a small tsunami of about 25 metres.

Israel bars Muslims from Temple Mount

Israel has banned Muslim men under the age of 50 from entering Jerusalem’s Old City to attend Friday prayers. Earlier, Israel installed metal detectors at the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims. Last night there were clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the city. Tensions have been rising since last week in Jerusalem when three armed Palestinians shot and killed two Israeli policemen, before they too were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers.

Poland set to enact controversial new law

Poland’s Senate is expected today to approve a proposed law which will increase political influence over the country’s judicial system. Under the plan, politicians will be allowed to select Supreme Court judges. The bill prompted protests in Warsaw and other cities last night which were attended by tens of thousands of people.

Trump spokesman resigns

In the United States, the spokesman for President Donald Trump’s legal team has resigned. Mark Corallo reportedly disagreed with the strategy of Trump’s lawyers to discredit the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election. Law professor Seth Abrahmson says the Trump team wants to undermine special investigator, former FBI director Robert Mueller: “The defence team for Donald Trump is planning to attack Bob Mueller. I think they will mention the fact that Bob Mueller interviewed for the FBI director position the day before he was appointed special counsel and they’ll claim he is some sort of disgruntled would-be Trump employee.”

More clashes in Venezuela

In Venezuela, three people have been killed during clashes between security forces and critics of President Nicolas Maduro. 170 other people were arrested. The latest unrest came during a 24-hour strike against Maduro’s government.

Cholera epidemic in Yemen

The British charity Oxfam says there has been a sharp rise in cholera cases in Yemen. 360,000 people there are now injected and at least 1800 people have died. The outbreak of the disease has been linked to a breakdown in infrastructure because of the ongoing war between the Saudi-backed government and rebels supported by Iran. Sean Stevenson is with Oxfam in Yemen: “There are 3 million people who have been displaced due to the conflict and many of them are now living in informal camps. They have no access to clean water, basically sewage, latrine, .everything that is bacterial can breed very, very quickly. These people who are malnourished, they don’t have sources of income or sources of food are very susceptible.”

Siemens blocks orders to Russia

The German industrial giant Siemens says it is halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers. The move comes after it was revealed that four gas turbines which Siemens delivered to southern Russia last year were then transferred to the Crimea in violation of EU sanctions which were imposed on Moscow after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine three years ago.

The weather

The afternoon will remain sunny and warm with a chance of some thunderstorms in the mountains. Highs today are ranging from 24 to 32 degrees.

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