US air base in Italy goes on lockdown for several hours
Rome, Feb 26: A US air base in Italy went on lockdown Wednesday for several hours over an unspecified incident. There were no injuries. Naval Air Station Sigonella was locked down “due to an ongoing situation,” according to initial posts on the base’s official Facebook page. The posts suggested that whatever happened occurred at a gate for the base. It urged service members to “avoid travelling on highway SP105 between Marinai Housing Complex” and a part of the base. The posts didn’t elaborate on what happened. After several hours, a new post described the alert ending at around 11:25 a.m. (1025 GMT) and traffic again being allowed on the base. (AP)
Court in Bosnia sentences separatist Serb Prez to prison
Sarajevo, Feb 26: A court in Bosnia on Wednesday sentenced pro-Russian Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from engaging in politics for six years over his separatist actions. The landmark ruling by the court in Sarajevo came after a yearlong trial against Dodik on charges that he disobeyed the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country. The leader and his lawyers were not in the court during the sentencing. Dodik has said that he would disobey any conviction and threatened “radical measures” in response, including eventual secession of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska from the rest of the country. (AP)
Iran accelerates production of near weapons grade uranium
Vienna, Feb 26: Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium as tensions between Tehran and Washington rise after the election of US President Donald Trump, a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Wednesday showed. The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Feb. 8, Iran has 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%. That’s an increase of 92.5 kilograms since the IAEA’s last report in November. That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. (AP)
Scam centre workers wait in Myanmar for repatriation
Mae Sot (Thailand), Feb 26: A new crackdown on online scam centres has led to over 7,000 people from around the world being held in a Myanmar border town awaiting repatriation, and those helping them say the unprecedented number is straining the resources of Thailand just across the border and leading to delays. The crackdown coordinated among Thailand, Myanmar and China follows Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s visit to Beijing, where she told Xi Jinping that Thailand would act against the scam networks that have drawn in hundreds of thousands of people. They are often lured under false pretenses to work in scam centres, where they financially exploit people around the world through false romances, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. (AP)