North Korea fires two missiles into sea: Seoul military

North Korea fires two missiles into sea: Seoul military
Police fire tear gas at protest outside World Cup match
Building collapses in Delhi, killing 10
Qaeda attack on Yemen army post leaves 6 dead: military
UN determined to help Africa fight terrorism: Ban
World Cup: Colombia beat Uruguay to book quarter-finals

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 07:46 PM PDT

SEOUL: North Korea on Sunday fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off the east coast, Seoul's military said, three days after Pyongyang staged a similar launch.

"The North fired two missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at about 5:00 am from the country's east coast," a defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

He declined to elaborate on the type of the missile. But Yonhap news agency, citing a military official, said they were short-range Scud missiles with a range of about 500 kilometres (300 miles).

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Police fire tear gas at protest outside World Cup match

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 07:31 PM PDT

RIO DE JANEIRO: Police in Brazil fired tear gas Saturday to break up hundreds of protesters outside Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium, where Colombia and Uruguay were playing a World Cup knock-out-stage match.

About 350 anti-World Cup protesters marched toward the Maracana closely guarded by about 250 police, who fired tear gas to disperse them just as they came within sight of the stadium.

An AFP correspondent saw police detain at least three demonstrators and frog march them away from the crowd.

Mass protests erupted just over a year ago in Brazil, at first drawing hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to condemn the record $11 billion spent on the World Cup and shoddy schools, hospitals and public transport.

But recent demonstrations have been far smaller, with many Brazilians more interested in football or frightened by the violent tactics of hardcore protesters such as the anarchist Black Bloc movement.

Police charged a group of protesters wearing the Black Bloc's trademark black masks Saturday, breaking the demonstration into several smaller groups.

A police motorcycle unit backed by some 30 police cars then chased the main group back to their starting point, about a kilometer (half-mile) from the stadium.

Demonstrators chanted "Fascists!" at riot police as they cracked down on the protest.

"This isn't going to end with the World Cup. Even if Brazil wins the Cup it's not going to improve anything for poor people, for those living in the favelas, for the dispossessed," said protester Pablo Rodriguez, 31.

As most of the country decked itself out in green and yellow to support the national team in its match against Chile — which the hosts won on penalty kicks to advance to the quarter-finals — a protester from the Tupi indigenous group vowed not to cheer for Brazil.

"I don't care if they win the Cup or not, it won't change anything," the 53-year-old told AFP. "This Cup is not for Brazil, it's for FIFA. The political elite and FIFA are manipulating the people."

The protest had mostly dispersed by the end of the match, which Colombia won 2-0. – AFP

Building collapses in Delhi, killing 10

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 07:23 PM PDT

NEW DELHI: A dilapidated apartment block collapsed in New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least ten people including five children in the country's latest building disaster, reports said citing police officials.

Rescuers scrambled to find survivors after the four-storey residential building crumbled, with scores of people feared trapped under the debris.

"Ten people including five children and three women have been killed in the building collapse while two persons have been injured," Delhi police commissioner Madhur Verma told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

"Rescue operations are still on and debris is being removed," he added.

The decades-old dilapidated building in a congested north Delhi neighbourhood started crumbling on Saturday morning.

"This is a 40-year-old building. They have illegally built floor after floor," Rajesh Bhatia, a senior municipal official told NDTV news channel.

The injured have been rushed to hospital while the government has ordered an inquiry into the the cause of the accident, PTI reported.

Building collapses are common in India, as lax regulations and the demand for cheap housing often spurs construction that uses substandard materials and adds unauthorised extra floors.

Earlier this year, more than 15 people died in the western state of Goa when a residential building collapsed.- AFP

Qaeda attack on Yemen army post leaves 6 dead: military

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 06:59 PM PDT

YEMEN: Al-Qaeda gunmen opened fire on an army position in Yemen's southeast Saturday, sparking a clash that killed two soldiers and four attackers, a military official told AFP.

The dawn clash in Hadramawt province lasted an hour and left three more soldiers wounded.

The assault comes two days after suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen briefly seized Sayun airport in Hadramawt in a deadly assault just as a civilian airliner was landing, before the airfield was retaken by the army.

The attack left eight soldiers, nine civilians and six jihadists dead.

Hadramawt's rugged terrain provides hideouts for militants of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington as the jihadist network's most dangerous affiliate.

Meanwhile, Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said in a speech marking this weekend's start of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, that his country is "fighting terrorism on behalf of the whole world" and that "our vast fight against terror will continue."

The army launched a ground offensive against Al-Qaeda in late April in two southern provinces further west — Abyan and Shabwa.

The operation aims to expel the militants from smaller towns and villages in the two provinces that escaped a previous sweep in 2012.

It has "foiled the terrorists' project to create a global training camp for them in Yemen," state news agency Saba quoted Hadi as saying.

Taking advantage of a collapse of central authority during a 2011 uprising that forced veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, from power, Al-Qaeda seized swathes of the south and east.

Although government forces have captured several major towns, analysts say the army's gains may have been the result of a tactical retreat by Al-Qaeda in coordination with Yemen's powerful tribes. – AFP

UN determined to help Africa fight terrorism: Ban

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 06:24 PM PDT

NAIROBI: The United Nations is determined to help Kenya and other countries in Africa fight "terrorism" following a series of deadly attacks, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Saturday.

Speaking in the capital Nairobi, he said he had talked with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta "at length" about how the UN and Kenyan government can work together in countering "heinous" attacks.

"(The) UN is determined to work together with the Kenyan government in helping enhancing the capacities of the Kenyan government and many African countries who are suffering from this international terrorism," he said, although he did not give further details of what form any assistance might take.

He also told reporters that their talks had also covered major political and security issues concerning counter-terrorism in the region.

Kenya has been the scene of a series of attacks attributed to the Somali Al-Qaeda-linked group Shebab and their supporters since Kenya sent troops over the border to help fight the group in 2011.

The Shebab claimed responsibility for the assault on the Westgate shopping centre that killed at least 67 people in the Kenyan capital in September last year as well as for two nighttime attacks on the Kenyan coast in the middle of June that claimed around 60 lives.

Shebab rebels said they carried out the attacks in retaliation for Kenya's military presence in Somalia and the Kenyan government's "brutal oppression" of Muslims, although the Kenyan President blamed "local political networks" for the killings.

During their interview, the president and secretary-general also discussed Somalia, the crisis-hit South Sudan, and the Great Lakes region, where tensions remain high between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Ban arrived in the Kenyan capital at the close of a UN Environment summit. As part of the trip he also visited the Nairobi National Park where the UN is working to fight the traffic in fauna and flora, and where he adopted a six-month old lion cub. - AFP

World Cup: Colombia beat Uruguay to book quarter-finals

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 05:25 PM PDT

RIO DE JANEIRO: James Rodriguez knocked Luis Suarez out of the headlines with an exquisite goal as Colombia beat Uruguay 2-0 on Saturday to set up a World Cup quarter-final against hosts Brazil.

Pre-match build-up had been dominated Suarez's four-month ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini, but by the final whistle in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium, there was only one name on everyone's lips.

After scoring in every group game, Rodriguez broke the deadlock shortly before the half hour with a breath-taking strike, chesting the ball down and volleying home from 25 metres.

The 22-year-old Monaco playmaker added a second early in the second half, sending him to the top of the scorers chart with five goals and confirming his status as a World Cup hot property.

Rodriguez's goals took Colombia into the quarter-finals for the first time, meaning the northern Brazilian city of Fortaleza will turn completely yellow when Jose Pekerman's side play the hosts on July 4.

On the prospect of facing Brazil, Rodriguez said: "They're a tough team, they have great players, and they also have their history.

"But we have to go out onto the pitch looking to win, as we've always done."

Uruguay's fans sported Suarez masks and brandished banners in support of their wayward star, who flew home to Montevideo on Friday, while his shirt was hung up in the Uruguay changing room.

But they endured a night of disappointment on their return to the Maracana, scene of the country's seismic 2-1 win over Brazil in the deciding game of the 1950 World Cup.

"The (first) goal was 100 percent the work of the player who scored it. It was one of the greatest goals of this World Cup," said Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez.

"We have to accept defeat, congratulate Colombia, and wish them well, as a South American team, in the rest of the tournament."

Diego Forlan replaced Suarez for Uruguay, while Pekerman sprang a surprise by selecting two centre-forwards in Jackson Martinez and Teofilo Gutierrez.

Although Martinez lined up on the left flank, there was no lack of ambition to Colombia's play.

Juan Cuadrado and Juan Zuniga set the tone with purposeful early runs at the Uruguay defence, with one of the latter's raids culminating in a low shot that Fernando Muslera gathered at the second attempt.

Uruguay were content to cede possession to their opponents, sitting deep on the edge of their own box, but their defences were breached in the 28th minute by a goal of jaw-dropping splendour.

After Abel Aguilar saw a chipped pass cleared back to him, he headed the ball up to Rodriguez, who was standing just outside the penalty area.

The Colombia number 10 controlled the ball on his chest, turned, and unleashed a magnificent dipping volley that crashed in off the crossbar.

Rodriguez, who has now scored in each of his last six international games, celebrated with appropriate abandon, screaming 'Vamos!' at the hordes of jubilant yellow-shirted fans in the front-row seats.

Uruguay set about trying to wipe out the deficit, but Edinson Cavani's free-kick narrowly cleared the bar and Alvaro Gonzalez was foiled by a full-length parry from Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina.

Colombia doubled their lead five minutes into the second half with a fine team goal.

Pablo Armero's deep left-wing cross was headed down by Cuadrado and Rodriguez swept home his second of the night from close range.

Ospina kept Uruguay at bay thereafter, parrying shots from Gonzalez, Cristian Rodriguez and Cavani and saving bravely from Maxi Pereira.

Uruguay's frustration began to tell, with substitute Gaston Ramirez booked for a wild kick at Armero.

Four years after reaching the semi-finals in South Africa, Uruguay's World Cup ended at the scene of their greatest triumph. – AFP