Tag Archives: official
Top Sri Lanka defence official resigns over blasts
Sri Lanka’s top defence official resigned on Thursday over security failures that led to the deadly Easter bombings, as Catholic churches suspended all services fearing further attacks. Sri Lanka’s government has come under increasing pressure over the revelation it failed to act on intelligence about planned attacks, which claimed nearly 360 lives, and Hemasiri Fernando had been widely expected to step down. A defence ministry official said Fernando had submitted a letter of resignation to head-of-state Maithripala Sirisena.
Police official: Short-circuit likely caused Notre Dame fire
PARIS (AP) — Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.
Indictment of Obama official in Mueller probe may pose a dilemma for Trump, so he takes it out on media
Confronted with the novel situation of the special counsel's office going after a member of Barack Obama's administration, President Trump reacted with a tweet complaining about how the New York Times played the story in its Friday editions.
UPDATE 1-U.S. airport-security head named as No. 2 Homeland Security official
The new chief of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named the United States’ top airport-security official, David Pekoske, his acting deputy on Thursday, as President Donald Trump overhauls the leadership of the domestic-security agency. The move, by Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who took office on Wednesday, temporarily fills a leadership vacuum at the top of DHS, which is responsible for everything from border protection to disaster response. McAleenan remains in charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection even as he assumes responsibility for all of DHS.
Assange aide arrested trying to leave Ecuador: official
A collaborator of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested Thursday in Ecuador while trying to flee to Japan, the South American country’s interior minister said. Maria Paula Romo did not identify the person but told Sonorama radio he was very close to Assange, who was arrested Thursday in London on a US extradition request after spending seven years in the Ecuadoran embassy there. Channel Teleamazonas identified him as Ola Bini, a software developer focused on privacy, security and cryptography, but did not name its source.
Israel reopens Gaza crossings closed for days after rocket strike: official
Israel reopened its crossings with the Gaza Strip on Sunday after having kept them closed for nearly a week following a rare long-distance rocket strike from the Palestinian enclave, an official said. The Erez crossing for people and the Kerem Shalom crossing for goods reopened Sunday morning, a spokeswoman for COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees the crossings, told AFP. The reopening comes after tens of thousands of Palestinians protested along the Gaza border with Israel on Saturday, to mark the one-year anniversary since demonstrations and clashes erupted there.
UPDATE 3-Russian deployment in Venezuela includes 'cybersecurity personnel' -U.S. official
A Russian military contingent that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend, drawing U.S. condemnation, is believed by the U.S. government to be made up of special forces including “cybersecurity personnel,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was still assessing the Russian deployment, which Washington has called a “reckless escalation” of the situation in Venezuela. Two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to local media reports, two months after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump disavowed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Ethiopian official: Preliminary report on Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash due out this week
Twin bombing at Afghan ceremony kills 4, including official
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A twin bombing at a public ceremony in southern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least four people, including a provincial official, and wounded more than 30, officials said.
Jared Kushner: Trump's son-in-law uses WhatsApp and personal email for official White House business, attorney says
