drop Archives

Breaking: In setback, U.S. drops charges that professor shared technology with China

September 11, 2015 by administrator

Friday, September 11, 2015 5:58 PM EDT
The Justice Department on Friday afternoon dropped all charges against Xi Xiaoxing, an American citizen and the chairman of Temple University’s physics department.
It was an embarrassing acknowledgment that prosecutors and F.B.I. agents did not understand — and did not do enough to learn — the science at the heart of the case before bringing charges that jeopardized Dr. Xi’s career and left the impression that he was spying for China.

Source: The new York Time Read more »

Number of countries to attend Turkey’s Gallipoli events drops by 25

March 24, 2015 by administrator

The number of countries to be represented April 24 at the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I, dropped by 25, according to Agos.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that invitation letters had been sent to 102 leaders.

The figure has now decreased to 77, with Ankara attempting to increase the number of participants. So far, only the arrival of the Charles, Prince of Wales and his son Prince Harry has been confirmed.

French and Russian leaders Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin confirmed their participation in the Armenian Genocide centennial events on April 24 in Yerevan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent official invitations to more than 100 world leaders, including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to take part in the ceremonies dedicated to 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. The date designated for these commemoration events—April 24—created uproar among Armenians worldwide, while Turkish human rights groups urged world leaders to boycott the Gallipoli events.

On Jan. 16, Sargsyan responded to Erdogan’s invitation to Turkey in a strongly worded letter. “Turkey continues its conventional denial policy and is perfecting its instrumentation for distorting history. This time, Turkey is marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, even though the battle began on March 18, 1915 and lasted until late January 1916, while the Allies’ operation started on April 25,” he wrote, adding, “What is the purpose [of this] if not to distract the world’s attention from the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide?”
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Kobani: US drops weapons to Kurds in Syria

October 20, 2014 by administrator

Kobani air drops likely to anger Turkish government, which opposes sending arms to Kurdish rebels in Syria,

Associated Press

kobani-map — Smoke rises following a strike in Kobani, Syria, during fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamic State militants. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

The US military says it has airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish forces defending the Syrian city of Kobani against Islamic State militants.

The air drops on Sunday were the first of their kind and followed weeks of US and coalition air strikes in and near Kobani, near the Turkish border. The US earlier said it had launched 11 air strikes overnight in the Kobani area.

Meanwhile Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Turkey was facilitating the passage of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters to Kobani. Cavusoglu did not provide details on the transfer of the fighters.

In a statement on Sunday night, US Central Command said US C-130 cargo planes made multiple drops of arms and supplies provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq. It said they were intended to enable continued resistance to Islamic State efforts to take full control of Kobani.

The air drops are almost certain to anger the Turkish government, which has said it would oppose any US arms transfers to the Kurdish rebels in Syria. Turkey views the main Kurdish group in Syria as an extension of the Turkish Kurd group known as the PKK, which has waged a 30-year insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terror group by the US and by Nato.

Senior US administration officials said three C-130 planes dropped 27 bundles of small arms, ammunition and medical supplies. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

One official said that while the results of the mission were still being assessed, it appeared that “the vast majority” of the supplies reached the intended Kurdish fighters.

The official also said the C-130s encountered no resistance from the ground in Syria during their flights in and out of Syrian airspace.

In a written statement, Central Command said its forces had conducted more than 135 air strikes against Islamic State forces in Kobani.

Central Command said: “Combined with continued resistance to Isil on the ground, indications are that these strikes have slowed Isil advances into the city, killed hundreds of their fighters and destroyed or damaged scores of pieces of Isil combat equipment and fighting positions.”

New U.S. Aid Drop Amid Fresh Air Strikes In Northern Iraq

August 9, 2014 by administrator

By RFE/RL

August 09, 2014

The United States has conducted its second air drop of food and water to thousands of Iraqis hiding in mountains from Islamist militants.

It came hours after U.S. forces have launched a second wave of air strikes against Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.

The Pentagon said the latest air drop on August 9 dispersed a total of 72 bundles of supplies, delivered by

The Pentagon earlier said fresh air strikes included a drone strike on a mortar position and an attack by four jets on an IS convoy and mortar position near the city of Arbil — a similar location to a first strike earlier on August 8.

President Barack Obama has authorized air strikes on Iraq to protect U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in Irbil and prevent “a potential act of genocide” against religious minorities.

The IS militants regard the tiny Yazidi minority and even Shi’a Muslims as heretical and have executed them in large numbers. Hundreds of Yazidi women have been taken captive.

Thousands of Yazidis were encircled in northern Iraq, prompting the United States to carry out the humanitarian air drops to the refugees fleeing their homes to Mount Sinjar.