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MONDAY 10 APRIL 2017

State of emergency declared in Egypt after deadly Palm Sunday bombings President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt following twin church bombings that killed dozens of people in two cities on Sunday.         Syria strikes: Iran's Rouhani calls Assad to give backing Iran's leader has stressed his nation's support for the Syrian state in 'its war against terrorism' during a call with his counterpart Bashar al-Assad.         Stockholm attack: Defiant Swedes unite with 'lovefest' memorial Thousands have gathered in central Stockholm to remember the victims of last week's truck attack.         Top Spotify executive among four dead in Stockholm terror attack Swedish authorities said four people were killed and 15 were injured after a suspected Islamist extremist drove a stolen truck down a pedestrian mall before slamming into a department store.         Trump seeks options for eliminating North Korea nuke threat As a US strike group led by an aircraft carrier steamed toward the Korean peninsula Sunday, a senior official said President Donald Trump has asked to be provided with a range of options for eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat.         PM greeted with Indian pomp and ceremony Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is looking to refresh and deepen Australia's relationship with India during a four-day visit to the subcontinent.         Iraqi refugee doctor helping to mentor other young migrants A young Iraqi refugee is pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor while also empowering others to make a difference.

Refugees build new careers as lifeguards in Australia A group of refugees who reached Australia by sea are building careers as lifeguards with the help of a new program under way in Victoria.         Mobile health clinics in Somaliland race to treat children as famine nears The Australian Red Cross is helping to fund new mobile health clinics in Somaliland, as the area teeters on the brink of famine, Kirsty Johansen reports from Somaliland.         Nauru's culinary boom: Locals reap the rewards of stranded refugees Entrepreneurial refugees are starting restaurants on Nauru, but few are keen to remain on the 'island prison'.         Stockholm attack: Suspect had residence permit application rejected The suspect in the Stockholm truck attack - which killed four people - had an application for permanent residency rejected in 2016, according to police.         Trainee priests keen to ensure past mistakes are not repeated They are the next generation of Catholic priests who want to ensure the horrors of the past - highlighted by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - are not repeated.         'It's a first-world luxury': from anti-vaxxers to tobacco, the fight for public health in a post-truth world For decades the public has relied on scientists to improve their health and quality of life. But the post-truth world could put paid to all of that.         Syria's ongoing crisis: How you can help There appears to be no end in sight for millions of civilians and refugees affected by the bloody Syrian war. Here's how you can help.     On SBS TV Nightly at 6:30pm Mon to Fri 10:30pm   On SBS Online sbs.com.au/news   On SBS Radio 1 Mon to Fri 6am and 6pm

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Batangas twin quakes damage schools, hospitals, churches

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By Saul E. Pa-a

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Calamba City, April 9 (PNA) -- The twin earthquakes -- measuring magnitude 5.6 and 6.0 -- which struck Batangas and Calabarzon areas at 3:07 p.m. and 3:09 p.m. respectively on Saturday brought damages to schools, hospitals, hotels, churches and other infrastructures, according to the rapid disaster assessments monitoring and reports that reached the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Calabarzon regional headquarters here on Sunday.

OCD Calabarzon Regional Director Olivia M. Luces reported that Cavite’s combined disaster response and emergency teams from Carmona, Alfonso and Tagaytay City will be dispatching on Monday (April 10) personnel and equipment to augment the local DRMMC in Mabini, Batangas where the two quake epicenters were traced.

Luces, who chairs the RDRRMC Calabarzon, also informed that the Tanauan City government in Batangas has declared the suspension of classes for all levels on Monday.

She identified the damaged school buildings as Batangas State University campus where the wall, ceiling and stairs of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts building collapsed.

The Sta. Teresita College in Bauan, Batangas and the Barangay Bayorbor Senior High School Building in Mataas Na Kahoy also in Batangas reported minor damages.

OCD4A also reported that besides the Batangas Medical Center, Taal Polymedic Hospital and the Lipa City Hospital that suffered cracks on the walls, the Mabini General Hospital in Barangay Pulong Niogan also incurred major damages while Jesus of Nazareth Hospital in Batangas City was also reported to have cracks on its wall and its third floor ceiling collapsed.

The quakes also inflicted minor damages to San Juan District Hospital in Batangas and the Bay District Hospital in Laguna displacing patients and moved them to tents and temporary shelters.

Department of Health (DOH) Calabarzon regional office has already raised its Code White Alert as health service personnel continue gathering of reports with local health units.

Besides the 20 partially damaged houses reported earlier in Bauan, Batangas, the town disaster response unit also reported two totally-wrecked residential units in Barangays San Andres and Pitugo 1.

In Batangas City, a house located in Barangay dela Paz was totally damaged while the quake also partially damaged a house in Zone 6 in Taal, Batangas.

As the Holy Week started on “Palm Sunday” (April 9), authorities have closely coordinated with parishes on the structural assessments of churches that were damaged by the April 4 quake and the subsequent twin quakes on April 8.

These include the Tingloy Church, Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City where the wall of its pastoral building collapsed, Bauan Church and the Taal Basilica where fallen slabs and debris were earlier reported.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has already issued caution to the public to stay safe and prepared and be vigilant in the wake of aftershocks that may trigger landslides and damage to infrastructures.

Authorities here have also informed that besides the Hotel Camp Netanya building that partially collapsed in Barangay Ligaya, Mabini, the Hotel Sapra in Barangay Sta. Clara in Batangas City was also partially damaged.

As of Sunday, government structures like the Anilao Market in Mabini, the Poblacion in Bauan and Mataas na Kahoy municipal hall incurred minor damages.

Landslides also impaired travel on roads in Batangas City from Barangays Dela Paz to Ilijan and Barangay Pagkilatan as of Sunday as heaps of fallen debris stalled traffic in San Roque Road in Bauan.

Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas also experienced landslide while a ground rupture was reported in Sitio Balanoy in Mabini, Batangas.

As the thousands of residents and patients are displaced and housed in temporary tent shelters and evacuation centers, OCD Calabarzon has been coordinating with the national OCD and NDRRMC on the provisions for mobile kitchens to Batangas City.

At the same time, DSWD IV-A also intensified relief operations through the disaster management units (DMUs) and coordination with the Warehouse Management Team for transport and logistical support.

DSWD has already distributed the 45 boxes of Ready-To-Eat-Food in Mabini, Batangas to families and patients who were under preemptive evacuation at the height of the quakes.

Batangas LGUs have also activated their incident command system (ICS) and established the Incident Command Post at the Batangas City Convention Center. (PNA)

ALGERIA AND EU ESTABLISH DISCUSSION MECHANISM TO FIGHT TERRORISM

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Algiers, April 09 (QNA) - Algeria and the European Union (EU) agreed to establish a discussion mechanism to fight terrorism. 
Algerian Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel met with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, who is currently visiting Algeria. 
Messahel said this agreement is vital to the cooperation between both sides and is continuously expanding. 
Mogherini said they discussed topics of common interest including fighting terrorism, regional conflicts and issues of stability and safety in North Africa. They also discussed the situation in Libya, Mali and the issue of secret immigration. (QNA)

Doha Hosts Second International Conference on Social Responsibility

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Doha, April 09 (QNA) - The Second Edition of the International Conference on Social Responsibility will be held in Doha on April 16 -18 under the theme of " Security is a Social Responsibility" organized by AlFaisal Without Borders (ALF) Foundation at Qatar National Convention Center. 

  This year's edition brings together more than 45 researchers from 18 Arab and foreign countries along with a number of Qatari researchers in various Institutions and Ministries. 
    Participants will discuss the challenges to social responsibility in the area of security as well as the measurement of social responsibility in the security field and will also review various practical practices of community responsibility in this area. 
  The conference will include a plenary session entitled "Security a Social Responsibility: Basics and Challenges," followed by a number of working sessions on national security and social responsibility, the role of religion, media, social institutions and social service in promoting social responsibility in the field of security. 
  An exhibition will be held on the sidelines of the event attracting more than 35 ministries and governmental and private institutions, as well as a number of Qatari charitable societies and foundations. (QNA)

Nasr Al-Hariri Hails Qatar's Role in Supporting Syrian People

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Doha, April 09 (QNA) - Head of the delegation of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee Nasr Al-Hariri has praised the role played by the State of Qatar in supporting the Syrian people, stressing that Qatar did not stop for a moment from supporting and helping the Syrian people. 
In an interview with (Al-Sharq) Qatari newspaper, Al-Hariri said that Qatar has never forgotten the Syrian people and it is the first country to stand by them in their ordeal. 

At the same time, he appreciates the efforts of all countries that stand by Syrians and support them in the worst humanitarian disaster in this century, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and other friends of Syria. 

Regarding the US strike that targeted the site from where the chemical attack was launched against civilians in the Syrian city of Khan Sheikhoun, Al-Hariri expressed his support for the strike and considered it a step in the right direction, but not enough, and called on the United States to continue this attitude, which will lead to an aviation ban and a neutralization of military bases used by the regime in targeting civilians and killing the Syrian people. 

He added that the strike was a warning message to the regime and its allies that they could not continue to kill the Syrian people, pointing out that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons more than 160 times against its people, although it signed all the agreements that prohibit their use, most recently the Convention on the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons in 2013. 

Meanwhile, he denied the use of chemical weapons by the Free Army since the outbreak of the revolution, and even the availability of weapons owned by the regime. 

Al-Hariri noted that as long as Bashar al-Assad's regime is in power and his crimes are ongoing on with an international supporter, Syrians are insisting on the need of al-Assad's departure. 

The regime, he said, has also signed the Geneva Protocol which prohibits the use of asphyxiating and poison gases and bacteriological weapons. 
Head of the delegation of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee said that UN Security Council Resolution 2118, condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and supporting the decision of the OPCW Executive Council to destroy the chemical weapons arsenal held by the regime, is the same decision in article 21 that if the regime does not comply with the provisions of the Convention, the Security Council will take additional measures under Chapter VII, and the obligation to the Convention means not to stockpile, possess and use chemical weapons. 

Nasr Al-Hariri pointed that the regime confirms to the world that it insists on committing crimes and violating the Geneva Protocol, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical Weapons and Security Council resolutions 2118 and 2209..

On consideration that Donald Trump's decision to launch military strike aims to its direct entry into the Syrian file and exclusion of regional powers concerned with the file, the Head of the delegation of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee Nasr al-Hariri said that there is a kind of tension in the relationship between the Americans and the Russians at least in the Syrian file. 

Despite the fact that America is a superpower in the Syrian file at the minimum, today when America wants to move to a more vital role, it will not need a pretext or excuse to explain the reasons for this move, al-Hariri added. 

He expressed his hope that it will be a real role with high principles based on the protection of civilians, maintaining world peace and security, solving the refugee crisis and securing their return to their homes and their original areas of residence as well as fighting terrorism in all its forms, not only for America's interests and national security, but for the region and the world. 

He called on the Security Council for the implementation of its resolutions, particularly 2118 and 2209 resolutions which include a cease-fire, lifting the siege on the besieged areas, introduction of humanitarian aid, release of detainees and achievement of a just political transition without the criminal al-Assad, symbols and elements of his regime by imposing additional measures under Chapter VII and to apply additional measures under Chapter VII in the event of non-compliance with resolution 2118. 

Al-Hariri said that the regime used chemical weapons and clearly violated international agreements and Security Council resolutions. Therefore, the international community is required to implement its obligations, namely the implementation of all Security Council resolutions in order to preserve and maintain international security and to protect civilians. 

On the negotiation process, and whether there has been any positive progress, Al-Hariri said that they discussed issues concerning terms of political transition but without an international supportive position and pressure on the regime, so there will be no progress as long as the regime deliberately not to be a real partner in the negotiation process and depends on Iranian support on the ground, and protected by Russian military that supporting the regime in the Security Council through the use of veto on any decisions condemning it. 

He pointed out that terrorism in Syria is represented by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, as well as al-Qaeda, and all the organizations that do not carry the Syrian national agenda, stressing the Free Army's clear position to fight against terrorism. Al-Hariri added that they continue to face terrorism of Daesh in many areas such as the Yarmouk Basin in Daraa, the Eastern Qalamoun , the Syrian Badia, the Eastern Hama and northern Syria. 

The head of the delegation of the Supreme Commission of the Syrian negotiations also stressed that when the regime raised the issue of terrorism, it wanted to use it as a trick in order to destroy the political process. Therefore, al-Hariri affirmed that they will not be dragged into what the regime wants, especially as the fight against terrorism has a lot to do with in their vision of political transition and practice on the ground. (QNA)