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page 20 EGYPT Investigators play down explosion theory in EgyptAir crash The head of Egypt’s forensics authority dismissed a suggestion on Tuesday that the small size of the body parts retrieved since an EgyptAir plane crashed last week with 66 passengers and crew on board indicated there was an explosion on board. The plane and […]

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EGYPT

Investigators play down explosion theory in EgyptAir crash

The head of Egypt’s forensics authority dismissed a suggestion on Tuesday that the small size of the body parts retrieved since an EgyptAir plane crashed last week with 66 passengers and crew on board indicated there was an explosion on board.

The plane and its black box recorders, which could explain what brought down the Paris-Cairo flight as it entered Egyptian air space, have not been located.

An Egyptian forensic official said 23 bags of body parts have been collected since Sunday, the largest of them no bigger than the palm of a hand. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said their size suggested there had been an explosion although no trace of explosives had been detected.

But Hisham Abdelhamid, head of Egypt’s forensics authority, said that assessment was “mere assumptions” and that it was too early to draw conclusions.

ETHIOPIA

Minister launches bid to be first African WHO Chief

Ethiopia’s foreign minister and previous health minister, Tedros Adhanom, has thrown his hat into the ring as Africa’s first and only candidate for the post of director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

A new U.N. health chief will be appointed during next year’s World Health Assembly.

The WHO, which was established as a United Nations specialized agency nearly 70 years ago, has never had a director-general from Africa. Tedros hopes to break that chain mold and promises to wage a vigorous campaign to achieve that goal.

Tedros does not impugn the work and achievements of previous directors-general, but suggests that the view of global health in the past has been seen through the narrow lens of mainly developed countries.

TURKEY

Turkey could block EU deal over visas

Turkey’s parliament will block a deal reached with the EU on migrants if Turks do not gain visa-free access to the bloc, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned.

The EU says Turkey still needs to meet certain conditions, including changes to its terror laws, something Ankara has refused to do.

The agreement aimed at halting the mass movement of people into Europe.

Mr Erdogan has also said funds promised by the EU have not yet been released.

There are growing signs the aim of visa-free travel for Turks by the end of this month will not be met.

German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who met with Mr Erdogan on Monday, said there may not be enough time for it to be completed.

Turkey has repeatedly warned that the whole deal will collapse if this demand is not fulfilled.

VIETNAM

Obama in Vietnam backs peaceful South China Sea

The US is not trying to impose its form of government on Vietnam and territorial disputes in the South China Sea have to be “resolved peacefully”, President Barack Obama has said during a three-day visit to the country.

In a speech at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi on Tuesday, Obama also called for better human rights that would boost the country’s economy, stability and regional power, for opening a new chapter in their relations and for helping both countries to move on from a history of war four decades ago.

The US and Vietnam have drawn closer together through their mutual concern at China’s increasing assertiveness in the sea.

China claims almost all the South China Sea and has upset neighbours with a series of reclamation and construction projects – including airstrips – on reefs and islets.

Vietnam and four other countries also have claims to parts of the sea.

SYRIA

IS ‘destroyed helicopters’ at Russian base

New satellite imagery appears to reveal extensive damage to a strategically significant airbase in central Syria used by Russian forces after an attack by so-called Islamic State (IS).

Four helicopters and 20 lorries were destroyed in a series of fires inside the T4 base last week, the images from intelligence company Stratfor suggest.

The cause of the fires is unconfirmed.

The Russian military has denied that it lost helicopters at the base as a result of an IS attack.

A news agency linked to IS, Amaq, was the first to report the incident, without saying what had caused the fires.

“Burning of four Russian attack helicopters and 20 trucks loaded with missiles inside T4 airport in eastern Homs [province] as a result of a nearby fire,” it said in an urgent report, leading to speculation that it could have been accidental.

GREECE

Greece moves thousands of migrants from Idomeni camp

Thousands of stranded migrants are being evacuated from the makeshift Idomeni camp on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia.

Most are being taken to specially designed processing facilities some 80km (50 miles) south, near Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki.

Hundreds of riot police moved into the camp at dawn, but the authorities have stressed force will not be used.

The Greek-Macedonia border was closed in March.

Since then at least 8,400 people – many of them women and children – have remained stranded in the border area, having been prevented from continuing their journey to northern Europe.

IRAQ

50,000 Iraqi civilians ‘at great risk’ in Falluja

The UN has said it is very concerned about the fate of some 50,000 civilians in Falluja, where Iraqi forces are battling so-called Islamic State.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the civilians were at “great risk” and called for the provision of safe corridors to allow them to leave.

Soldiers, police and militiamen began an offensive to retake Falluja, 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, on Monday.

The city has been held by IS longer than any other in Iraq or Syria.

The jihadists overran Falluja in January 2014, six months before it routed the Iraqi army and seized control of large parts of northern and western Iraq.

FRANCE

Strike hits refinery output in labour reform showdown

A strike over new labour laws has spread to all of France’s eight oil refineries, the CGT union says, in an escalating dispute with the government.

An estimated 20% of petrol stations have either run dry or are low on supplies.

Clashes broke out at one refinery early on Tuesday when police broke up a picket at Fos-sur-Mer in Marseille.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls insisted the labour laws would stand, and that further pickets would be broken up.

“That’s enough. It’s unbearable to see this sort of thing,” he told French radio.

S/AFRICA

11 luxury cars purchased ‘to protect Zuma’s wives’

South Africa’s government has spent more than $500,000 over the last three years on supplying vehicles to protect the four wives of President Jacob Zuma, it says.

In a written response to a parliamentary question from an opposition MP, Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko listed the 11 cars that were bought since 2013.

They include four Range Rovers and two Land Rovers.

South Africa’s PoliticsWeb site estimates that the money could have funded, among other things: 116 university students for a year, 61 police officers for a year, and 1,315 jobs for a year on the country’s public works programme.

UNITED STATES

Bill Cosby ordered to stand trial in sex assault case

A US judge has ordered actor and comedian Bill Cosby to stand trial on charges of sexual assault.

Mr Cosby, 78, is accused of drugging and molesting a former Temple University employee in his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

The case was reopened last year after more than 40 women came forward with similar accusations. No trial date has been set.

Mr Cosby has maintained that all of the encounters were consensual.

Police read a statement from the accuser, Andrea Constand, who now lives in Toronto.