Mes: septiembre 2019

(AP) UNITED NATIONS – Former Algerian foreign affairs minister Lakhdar Brahimi is a strong candidate to replace Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria, diplomats said Thursday. Diplomats who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly said that Brahimi was a strong possibility, while other contenders are ex-Spanish foreign affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Spain’s Javier Solana, a former NATO chief and European Union foreign policy head. Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general, announced his resignation last week as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, ending a frustrating six-month effort that failed to achieve even a temporary cease-fire. He leaves at the end of the month. Clashes rage in rebel bastions of Syria’s AleppoVideo: Amid defections, Syria names new PM Divisions within the Security Council prevented a united approach to stop the fighting in in Syria, Annan said when he announced his resignation. Russia and China have twice used their veto power to block strong Western- and Arab-backed action against President Bashar Assad’s regime. While he singled out the regime for blame for the escalating violence, Annan also said the opposition’s increasingly militant tactics contributed to dooming his six-point peace plan, which included a cease-fire and a Syrian-led political process to end the crisis. Annan did succeed in getting the Syrian government and its allies to at least agree to the plan. Brahimi, 78, served as Algeria’s...

(AP) CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez announced Thursday that Venezuelan security forces have arrested a U.S. citizen and suspect he is a mercenary who could be involved in an alleged plot to destabilize the country if the opposition’s candidate loses the upcoming presidential election. Chavez said the Hispanic man was detained Aug. 4 while crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. The president said the man was carrying a U.S. passport with entrance and exit stamps from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya as well as a notebook containing geographical coordinates. The man’s identity was not released. Chavez did not say where he was being interrogated. An official from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas did not answer repeated telephone calls seeking comment on Chavez’s announcement. “He has all the appearance of a mercenary,” Chavez said, speaking during a campaign rally in the coastal state of Vargas. “We are interrogating him.” The man tore up part of the notebook in his possession when he was detained, Chavez said. Chavez suggested, 카지노 슬롯 머신 전략 without offering evidence, the American might have been recruited by government opponents to instigate violent protests if opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles loses the Oct. 7 election. Chavez has repeatedly vowed to win re-election and continue trying to steer Venezuela toward socialism. The president has repeatedly claimed the opposition plans to accuse election officials of rigging the...

LOS ANGELES — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has concluded its review of a misconduct allegation against film academy president John Bailey and determined that no further action is required. The film academy said late Tuesday that Bailey will remain in his position, which he has held since August. Bailey, a cinematographer whose credits include “Groundhog Day,” ”The Big Chill” and “As Good as It Gets,” had previously denied the allegation that he attempted to touch a woman inappropriately on a movie set a decade ago. The film academy says the membership and administration committee and its sub-committee took his response, the claim and corroborating statements into account in its review. Outside counsel was also consulted, including from Ivy Kagan Bierman, an adviser to the Anita Hill-chaired Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Promoting Equality in the Workplace. More in Sexual misconduct The committee’s unanimous conclusion was also backed by the academy’s Board of Governors. Bailey’s attorney David Schindler did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. The investigation comes as the academy has sought to make the fight against sexual misconduct a central goal after the wave of revelations beginning in October that brought down movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and spread throughout the industry. Bailey was two months into his presidency in October when Weinstein’s membership was revoked. Prior to Weinstein, only one other person...