The Northern Territory news Mon 16 Mar 2020
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2020-03-16
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/795942
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/799008
14 WORLD MONDAY MARCH 16 2020 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 Former PM returned ROMANIAN politicians on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to approve Prime Minister Ludovic Orbans new government, the same one ousted last month as the result of losing a no-confidence vote. Mr Orbans nomination by President Klaus Iohannis came amid Romanias efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected 109 people in the country. The minority government of Mr Orbans National Liberal Party was backed by 286 deputies and senators. PAIR RELEASED AFTER BEING HELD CAPTIVE SINCE 2018 A CANADIAN woman and Italian man kidnapped in Burkina Faso in December 2018 have been released to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in neighbouring Mali and appear to be in good health, a mission spokesman says. Edith Blais and Italian Luca Tacchetto went missing while travelling through Burkina Faso, a country where jihadist groups are active and have kidnapped foreigners in the past. It is not known who was responsible for Blais and Tacchettos kidnapping or if any ransom was paid. UN mission spokesman Olivier Salgado said that the two were received by peacekeepers on Friday evening and would be handed over to Malian authorities later on Saturday. Another Canadian, Kirk Woodman, was kidnapped in January 2019 from a mining site where he was working in Burkina Faso and found dead later the same week. The Islamic State group claimed to have kidnapped and killed him. Italian Luca Tacchetto, right, and Canadian Edith Blais meet UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali chief Mahamat Saleh Annadifare after their release. Picture: AFP Doubts on poll result THE election commission in oil-rich Guyana has declared that the governing coalition won the countrys disputed vote, despite international concerns about the credibility of the process. The commission said it will move to verify vote totals in the March 2 general election as international observer groups said the tallying was flawed and not transparent. Barring any successful court challenges, the governing coalition would begin a second five-year term in office. War death toll close to 400,000 AT least 384,000 people have died in Syria, including more than 116,000 civilians, since the war began in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday. Sparked by deadly repression of peaceful prodemocracy protests, the conflict has drawn in outside powers in a complex war involving rebel factions, jihadist groups and foreign interests. As the war enters its 10th year, the government of President Bashar al-Assad now controls more than 70 per cent of Syrian territory, thanks to the military support of its allies Russia, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The conflict is the worst man-made disaster since World War II, the United Nations human rights chief declared in 2017. The war has destroyed the economy and caused more than 11 million Syrians to flee their homes. According to the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, the latest death toll includes about 22,000 children and 13,000 women. A boy watches as a man draws a graffiti mural commemorating the ninth anniversary of the war in Syria (March 15). The war has killed almost 400,000 people. Picture: AFP Putin signs off on Bill RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a raft of amendments to the constitution including a stipulation to enable the Russian leader to seek re-election. The changes to the Bill must be approved by the constitutional court in the next seven days. Crisis for peace deal THE Afghan government has postponed its plan to release Taliban prisoners, a senior official said Saturday, throwing a precarious peace process between the insurgents and Kabul into deeper crisis. President Ashraf Ghani last week announced that the authorities would free 1500 insurgents as a gesture of goodwill before negotiations begin. But on Saturday Javid Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Council, said that the prisoners release has been delayed to allow more time for authorities to review their identities. Attack on US troops A BARRAGE of rockets hit a base housing US and other coalition troops north of Baghdad on Saturday, Iraqi security officials said, just days after a similar attack killed three servicemen, including two Americans. The US-led coalition said at least 25 rockets struck Camp Taji just before 11am. Some struck the area where coalition forces are based, while others fell on air defence units, the Iraqi military statement said. Five people were hurt in the attack, said spokesman for the US-led coalition Myles Caggins. Union backs Biden THE largest labour union in the United States has lined up behind Joe Bidens presidential campaign, with the National Education Association on Saturday endorsing the former vice-president for the Democratic nomination over his last remaining primary rival Bernie Sanders. The NEAs board of directors chose Mr Biden following a recommendation from the or ganisations political action committee board, after months of surveying the organisations 3 million members and multiple presidential candidate forums held around the country. NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garcia, whose union tops 3 million members, called Mr Biden a tireless advocate for public education and the partner that students and educators need now in the White House. The unions decision came with Mr Biden on the cusp of stretching out an insurmountable delegate lead over Mr Sanders. The two candidates are due to meet for their first one-onone debate (today 1pm AEST), two days before four states Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio hold primaries with a combined 577 delegates up for grabs. Mr Biden currently leads Mr Sanders, a Vermont senator, by more than 150 delegates with more than half of the national total already awarded, a gap that means Sanders must win 57 per cent of the remaining delegates to wrest the nomination from Biden. There is no precedent for such a comeback. In the four states voting Tuesday (US time), almost 760,000 voters live in households with at least one NEA member, according to the union. Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 were mostly in-step with education unions, with Mr Biden and the rest vowing to replace President Donald Trumps education secretary Betsy DeVos with someone whos had classroom experience, while increasing spending on education. Support crucial for Democrat candidates on eve of primaries