Egypt shortens curfew after lull in unrest
CAIRO – Egypt’s government has shortened a widely-imposed evening curfew by two hours starting Saturday, responding to citizens’ demands as unrest in the country wanes.
The Cabinet said in a statement that the evening curfew would begin at 9 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. The statement said an exception to the shorter hours will be in effect on Fridays, the first day of the weekend in Egypt and when recent protests have been incredibly fierce.
The month-long curfew had been in effect for 11 hours daily. That cut into Cairo’s bustling night life and the revenue of many businesses, hotels and restaurants.
Suspect arrested over Lebanese bombings
BEIRUT – Lebanese security forces arrested a suspect on Saturday in connection with the devastating double bombing the day before that killed at least 47 people in the northern city of Tripoli, the state news agency said.
The National News Agency identified the suspect as Sheik Ahmad al-Ghareeb, and said police took him into custody at his home in the Miniyeh region outside Tripoli. It said al-Ghareeb, who has ties to a Sunni organization that enjoys good relations with Lebanon’s powerful Shiite Hezbollah militant group, appears in surveillance video at the site of one of the explosions.
The coordinated explosions Friday outside two mosques in Tripoli, a predominantly Sunni city, raised already simmering sectarian tensions in fragile Lebanon, heightening fears the country could be slipping into a cycle of revenge attacks between its Sunni and Shiite communities.
Amanda Knox won’t attend new Italy trial
ROME – One of Amanda Knox’s lawyers says the American won’t return to Italy for a new appeals trial over the 2007 killing of her British roommate.
In March, Italy’s supreme court ordered a new trial for Knox and her former Italian boyfriend for the slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, where they were students. An appeals court in 2011 had acquitted both, overturning convictions by a lower court. The new appeals trial will begin Sept. 30 in Florence.
Tunisians calling for government to resign
TUNIS, Tunisia – Thousands of Tunisians demonstrated Saturday night in front of their national assembly, kicking off a week of planned protests to call for the resignation of the Islamist-led government.
The assassination of a left-wing politician in July – the second such killing in five months – has plunged the country into a political crisis with the opposition accusing the government of failing to maintain security or restart the economy.
A coalition of opposition parties, known as the National Salvation Front, is calling for a new government of technocrats to run the country and organize new elections.
“We tried you, you failed, now leave,” chanted protesters in the first demonstration of what is being called the “week of departure” for the government.
Seam possible cause of Japan nuke plant leak
TOKYO – The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant said Saturday that deteriorated seams and a possible contortion of a reassembled storage tank might have caused a massive contaminated water leak that has triggered fears about the plant’s radioactive water management.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that after the foundation of the tank, which was storing radioactive water, partially collapsed two years ago, it was moved and reassembled. A 300-ton water leak from the tank was discovered Monday.
The massive leak was the fifth and worst from a Fukushima Dai-ichi tank since the plant sustained triple meltdowns after the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. All five of the plant’s tanks are collapsible and are seamed with rubber seals.
TEPCO spokesman Noriyuki Imaizumi said the tank passed a water-tightness test and other safety requirements after being reassembled. The leak might have started when rubber seals degenerated, failing to cushion the tank’s possible contortion, he said, adding that the company was further investigating the cause.
4 die when helicopter crashes off Scotland
LONDON – Four people have died after a helicopter carrying 18 from an offshore oil platform crashed into the North Sea off Scotland, police said Saturday.
The Eurocopter Super Puma helicopter ditched into the sea about two miles from Sumburgh airport in Shetland on Friday night. It was carrying 16 passengers and two crew members.
The aircraft’s operator CHC, a company that serves offshore oil and gas platforms, said the aircraft was approaching the airport when it lost contact with air traffic control. The coastguard agency said it sent helicopters and lifeboats to the scene after receiving a distress signal.
Associated Press
