International briefs
Posted: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 8:54 am
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Belgium
EU keeps Russia
sanctions in place
BRUSSELS — European Union ambassadors have decided to keep Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia in place for the time being.
EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said ambassadors from the 28 EU countries agreed Tuesday that although there has been encouraging progress in bringing about an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not enough has been done to justify rolling back sanctions.
Kyiv and the West have asserted that Moscow is fueling the separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine by providing arms and personnel, something Russia denies.
Canada
Trial begins in grisly dismemberment case
MONTREAL — A Canadian man accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to schools and political parties around the country admitted to the killing but pleaded not guilty Monday. His lawyer said he is schizophrenic and not criminally responsible in his opening remarks at the trial.
Luka Magnotta, who faces five charges in connection with the 2012 slaying of engineering student Jun Lin, appeared before a jury and Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer. The gruesome case shocked Canadians and quickly gained international notoriety after body parts arrived at offices of Canada’s biggest political parties and a video appeared online that prosecutors say shows Magnotta stabbing and having sex with the dismembered corpse.
The judge said the jury must determine Magnotta’s mental fitness at the time of the killing.
Germany
Guards accused of abuse face scrutiny
BERLIN — Germany’s most populous state is tightening checks on security personnel at asylum centers following allegations that private guards repeatedly abused refugees, a senior official said Tuesday.
Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state raided an asylum center in the town of Burbach last week after a local journalist received a DVD showing guards abusing an asylum seeker. Evidence included a picture found on a guard’s cellphone showing another guard pushing his foot against the neck of a handcuffed refugee lying on the floor.
Allegations have since surfaced of abuse at two other facilities.
Japan
Concerns up after new tremors at Ontake
KISO — Increased seismic activity raised concern Tuesday about the possibility of another eruption at a Japanese volcano where 36 people were killed, forcing rescuers to suspend plans to try to recover at least two dozen bodies still near the summit.
Volcanic tremors rose to a level not seen since Saturday evening, hours after Mount Ontake’s initial large eruption, said Shoji Saito of the Japan Meteorological Agency. The tremor levels were oscillating up and down.
About 80 to 100 relatives and friends of those who never returned from the summit were waiting for news in a municipal hall in the nearby central Japanese town of Kiso.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2014 8:54 am.
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