Sunday, March 15, 2009

World Briefs: 20000 Homeless

http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=959316

World Briefs: 20000 homeless
Published:Mar 15, 2009


STOP THE IMPERIALISM: Free Tibet activists at a rally in Tokyo yesterday Picture: AP PHOTO/ITSUO INOUYE

1.Flooding in Angola's southern Cunene province has left at least 20000 people homeless, and the region is at risk of a cholera outbreak, according to aid agencies.

Liquid ban to be lifted

The Angolan Red Cross described the situation as "drastic" and said thousands more people could be affected, as rain was continuing to fall and river levels were still rising. — AFP


2. British airline passengers will be able to carry any amount of liquid in hand luggage under government plans to relax restrictions after the upgrade of airport X-ray machines.


A UK government source said that the restriction of 100ml would be lifted at a limited number of airports, possibly in six months to a year's time. — The Times, London


The general steps in

3. The head of Pakistan's army has intervened in a stand-off between the country's political leaders that threatened to undermine the fight against Islamist militants and result in a return to military rule.

President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif appeared to be reaching a deal brokered by General Ashfaq Kayani in his first foray into politics since civilian rule was restored. — The Times, London


Spill threatens beaches

4. Authorities in Queensland have declared a disaster zone several kilometres along a stretch of some of Australia's most pristine and popular beaches after 230 tons of fuel oil leaked from a stricken cargo ship.

The potential of long-term environmental damage was not clear, but the affected area is south of the Great Barrier Reef, which is not under threat. — AP


Civilians trapped in war

5. Government forces and Tamil rebels may be committing war crimes against civilians trapped in a conflict zone and should suspend their fighting to allow them to escape, says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.


The military has cornered the remnants of the insurgency on a sliver of land that is packed with civilians — as many as 180000, according to Pillay. — © 2009 The New York Times


Student gets 20 years

6. Afghanistan's Supreme Court has upheld a 20-year prison term for an Afghan university student journalist accused of blasphemy.


Parwiz Kambakhsh, 24, was arrested in 2007 after accusations that he had written and distributed an article about the role of women in Islam. Kambakhsh has denied writing the article, saying he downloaded it from the Internet. — © 2009 The New York Times


Dalai Lama lashes out

7. The Dalai Lama has accused China of pushing Tibetan culture and identity to the brink of extinction in the 50 years since he was forced into exile in India.


The Tibetan spiritual leader and 1989 Nobel peace laureate said his country had become a hell on earth, with his people enduring "untold suffering and destruction" and living in fear. — The Times, London


Crucial vote today

8. El Salvador goes to the polls today, with a former TV journalist — who has compared himself to US President Barack Obama — giving the country's one-time guerrillas their best chance of winning the presidency since a bloody civil war ended in 1992.

Should Mauricio Funes win, he will end two decades of conservative Salvadoran governments that have been steadfast US allies. — AP


Saddam's man jailed

9. Tariq Aziz, the urbane frontman of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein , will serve 15 years in jail for four counts of crimes against humanity.

Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan and Sabawi Ibrahim, director of public security — both half-brothers of Saddam — were sentenced to death on the same charges. Ali Hassan al-Majeed, better known as Chemical Ali — who has already been given three death sentences from previous cases — was also jailed for 15 years. — The Times, London


It's worse than we think

10. The world is on the brink of dangerous climate change, and immediate action is needed to avert it, scientists said this week in a bleak assessment of the state of the planet.

A communiqué after a conference in Copenhagen said climate change and its impacts matched or exceeded the worst fears expressed by the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change two years ago. — The Times, London

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

Education for Liberation! Join Up!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/

http://www.NetworkAztlan.com




No comments: