In brief: U.N. approves CAR peacekeepers
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved a nearly 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force for Central African Republic, where mounting violence between Christians and Muslims has brought killings, torture and sexual violence.
The 10,000 U.N. troops and 1,800 police will take over from 5,000 African Union soldiers – but not until Sept. 15. A separate 2,000-strong French force in Central African Republic was authorized to use “all necessary means” to support the U.N. force.
The country has been in chaos since a March 2013 coup, when mostly Muslim rebels seized power and set up a brutal regime. Christian militiamen attacked rebel strongholds in early December. As the rebel government crumbled in January, the Christian militiamen stepped up the violence, forcing tens of thousands of Muslims to flee.
Congress rejects Iranian diplomat
WASHINGTON – Congress said no way to Iran’s choice for ambassador to the United Nations, outraged by the prospect of a member of a group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran stepping on U.S. soil. The move forces President Barack Obama to make a decision that could have serious diplomatic repercussions.
In a rare unanimous vote on Thursday, the House backed a bill that would bar entry to the U.S. to an individual found to be engaged in espionage, terrorism or a threat to national security. The vote came four days after similar action in the Senate and sends the bill to the White House.
The Obama administration opposes the selection of Hamid Aboutalebi because of his alleged participation in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the takeover. American officials have told Iran that Aboutalebi is unacceptable, and the State Department indicated Thursday that the issue could be resolved if Tehran simply withdrew the nomination.
Iran has called U.S. rejection of Aboutalebi “not acceptable.”
‘Possible signal’ from jetliner heard
PERTH, Australia – An air and sea hunt for the missing Malaysian jet resumed today in the same swath of the southern Indian Ocean where an underwater sensor made the fifth detection of a signal in recent days, raising hopes that searchers are closing in on what could be a flight recorder.
An Australian air force P-3 Orion, which has been dropping sonar buoys into the water near where four sounds were heard earlier, picked up a “possible signal” on Thursday that may be from a man-made source, said Angus Houston, who is coordinating the search for Flight 370 off Australia’s west coast.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said searchers are confident they know the location of the black box from the plane that disappeared without a trace on March 8.