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...

(CBS/AP) KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan police officer shot and killed three U.S. Marines after sharing a meal with them before dawn Friday and then fled into the desolate darkness of southern Afghanistan, the third attack on coalition forces by their Afghan counterparts in a week. Thirty-one coalition service members have now died this year at the hands of Afghan forces or insurgents disguised in Afghan uniforms, according to NATO — a dramatic rise from previous years. U.S. officials told CBS News correspondent David Martin that the three slain troops were members of a Marine special operations force. Afghan sources in Helmand told CBS News Kabul bureau chief Fazul Rahim that they were part of a team overseeing the training and recruitment of Afghan local police. The sources said it was one of the police officers who opened fire on his mentors during dinner. Friday’s deadly shooting took place in the volatile Sangin district of Helmand province, https://www.hgzwygj9q.online said U.S. military spokeswoman Maj. Lori Hodge. Sangin was a Taliban stronghold for years and has one of the highest concentrations of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the country. Sangin’s district chief and the Taliban both identified the gunman as Asadullah, a member of the Afghan National Police who was helping the Marines train the Afghan Local Police. More in Afghanistan: The way forward Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said...

(CBS/AP) BEIJING – After a quick and secretive trial for the murder of a British businessman, the wife of disgraced former Communist Party boss Bo Xilai still awaits her fate. In the most extensive report on the trial to date, state media reported that Gu Kailai had “confessed to the intentional murder” of Neil Heywood, apologized for the “tragedy” she caused and was ready to accept her punishment. The account described her as having been depressed and fearful that Heywood, her business associate, would harm her family — factors that may bring leniency when she is likely convicted and sentenced. Gu and a household aide, Zhang Xiaojun, were accused of poisoning Heywood with cyanide last November after having a dispute over economic interests. Murder trial of Gu Kailai, wife of fallen China politician Bo Xilai, ends after just 1 day4 senior China cops tried for allegedly covering up details of Bo Xilai, Gu Kailai scandalVideo: Gu Kailai murder trial: Quick and secretive Gu’s arrest and the ouster of her husband as Chongqing party chief in March sparked the biggest political turbulence in China since the putdown of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Her tightly orchestrated trial was a step toward resolving the scandal before the party’s once-a-decade leadership transition this fall. The court in Hefei in eastern China’s Anhui province said a verdict against Gu and Zhang, who...