health: Lincoln Tribune

الخميس، 1 مارس 2012

Lincoln Tribune

U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashes in Alabama; 1 dead, 3 missing
Italian journalists attacked during protest against high-speed rail
Unidentified gunmen kill UN peacekeeper in South Darfur
Police arrest 17 suspected pedophiles across Europe
Rights group urges China to stop deporting North Korean border-crossers

U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashes in Alabama; 1 dead, 3 missing

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 06:16 PM PST

MOBILE BAY, Alabama (BNO NEWS) -- A United States Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter crashed in Mobile Bay in Alabama on Tuesday evening, officials said on Wednesday. At least one crew member was killed while three others remain missing.

The accident happened at approximately 7:40 p.m. local time when a Coast Guard MH-65C helicopter crashed approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the shore in Mobile Bay, a Gulf of Mexico inlet which is located in the state of Alabama. Four people were on board.

Soon after the accident, one of the crew members was found unresponsive by the crew of a 26-foot (7.9-meters) Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Boat. The crew member, whose identity was not immediately released, was later declared deceased. Searches for the three other crew members were continuing on Wednesday.

"CG-6535 was flown by a four-person crew and was conducting training operations," said Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp. "A full Coast Guard and interagency search and rescue effort was launched - the aircraft was quickly located. One deceased crew member was recovered, and extensive efforts continue to locate the other three crew members."

At least three aircraft and half a dozen boats are involved in the search effort, as well as Good Samaritan vessels. Authorities have remained hopeful as the crew members were equipped with survival gear, but chances of finding survivors were diminishing quickly on late Wednesday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the crew members during this difficult time," said Captain Don Rose, commander of Coast Guard Sector Mobile. "We are working through the night to continue to conduct a robust search for the three crew members who are still missing and we appreciate the assistance of all of the agencies and personnel who are volunteering their time and resources to assist with the search and rescue efforts."

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but Papp promised a detailed investigation. "We will conduct a full investigation into this incident to determine the cause," he said in an e-mail.

Italian journalists attacked during protest against high-speed rail

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 03:50 PM PST

ROME, Italy (BNO NEWS) -- Several Italian journalists were attacked on Wednesday while covering a protest against a new high-speed train line between Turin and the French city of Lyon, the ANSA news agency reported.

The journalists were recording video footage for the Italian daily Corriere della Sera when they were attacked by protesters in the northwestern town of Chianocco. The attackers reportedly stole their equipment, slashed their tires and struck one of the journalists in the face.

"We can solve many problems with dialogue, but certain things require absolute firmness," said Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri, as quoted by ANSA. She said that work on the rail link between France and northern Italy is "important for future generations" and will continue despite the protests.

Opponents of the high-speed Lyon-Turin project argue that a tunnel in the Valle di Susa valley will create pollution and harm the area's natural beauty. But supporters of the link maintain that it will decrease pollution by minimizing highway shipping and automotive transportation.

On Tuesday, police used water canons and baton charges to remove a roadblock which had been placed by the protesters. At least three cars were set ablaze, leaving one protester critically injured.

Unidentified gunmen kill UN peacekeeper in South Darfur

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 03:45 PM PST

NYALA, Sudan (BNO NEWS) -- A peacekeeper was killed on Wednesday afternoon when unidentified gunmen ambushed a United Nations (UN) patrol in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said. Several others were injured.

A mission spokesperson said the attack happened at around 4 p.m. local time when gunmen attacked a UNAMID patrol near Shearia, a small town about 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) northeast of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The peacekeepers returned fire.

As a result of the attack, one peacekeeper was killed while three others were injured, but their conditions or nationalities were not immediately released. "When further information is available, it will be communicated," a UNAMID spokesperson said.

Wednesday's deadly attack comes after two peacekeepers were injured on Friday when a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on an UNAMID bus near the town of El Dein in East Darfur state. The police officers were part of a formed police unit and were taken to UNAMID's hospital in South Darfur.

More than 23,000 troops, military observers and police officers and nearly 4,500 civilians serve with UNAMID, which assumed peacekeeping duties from an earlier African Union mission at the start of 2008. A total of 36 UNAMID blue helmets have been killed in the line of duty while serving in Darfur.

The UNAMID force is tasked with protecting civilians, promoting an inclusive peace process and help ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance across Darfur, an arid region on Sudan's western flank. Fighting and large-scale displacement has convulsed the region since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Government, whose military forces responded with the support of allied militiamen.

Police arrest 17 suspected pedophiles across Europe

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 03:23 PM PST

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands (BNO NEWS) -- European police have arrested seventeen people and rescued eight children after a year-long investigation into online networks of alleged pedophiles, the European Police Office (EUROPOL) announced on Wednesday. The investigation is continuing.

Europol said Operation Atlantic began in November 2010 after an operational meeting between the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Europol officers in The Hague. Intelligence which had been gathered by the FBI during a 'long and complex' investigation was subsequently distributed by Europol to France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom in December 2010.

While few details about the operation were immediately released, the European police agency said authorities in the five countries have so far identified 37 suspected pedophiles of whom 17 have been arrested for child sexual molestation and the production of child pornography.

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed two of the seventeen suspects were arrested in Spain, but it was not immediately clear how many suspects were arrested in each of the other four countries. The two suspects in Spain were arrested in Reus, located in the province of Tarragona, and the municipality of Requena, located in Valencia province.

According to the Spanish Civil Guard, one of the suspects is accused of sexually abusing a young child for more than two years and uploading videos of the abuse to the internet. He allegedly threatened the child, who is less than nine years old, by telling him or her that they would both go to jail if someone found out.

The second suspect in Spain is accused of installing hidden cameras and placing them in dressing rooms, bathrooms and at nude beaches. He would save the images and upload those which contained children to the internet, officials said.

"Due to the seriousness of the charges, both detainees are currently imprisoned," a spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard said. Officials said the images and videos made by both suspects were uploaded to various forums for pedophiles, but it was not immediately clear if the suspects operated alone or worked as a group.

"Collaboration and cooperation between Europol and our international law enforcement partners such as the FBI is essential if we are to bring these child sex abuse networks to justice and prevent the distribution of child exploitation material across the internet," said Rob Wainwright, Europol's Director.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller also welcomed the arrests, saying the FBI shares actionable intelligence and resources to keep children safe. "Online child predators and child exploitation are not just an American problem," he said. They are global problems. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners around the world, such as Europol, to combat these horrendous crimes."

In December 2011, Europol said police across 22 European countries arrested 112 suspects in an operation which targeted those who shared the most extreme forms of child pornography, which includes video material of babies and toddlers being sexually abused and raped. From just one suspect in Denmark, police seized a quantity of 29 terabytes of data.

And in March 2011, Europol announced 184 people had been arrested in what is believed to have been the world's largest online pedophile network. The investigation centered on the Netherlands-based website boylover.net, which attracted more than 70,000 members at its height.

The website operated as a discussion-only forum where people could share their desire about sexual contact with young boys, without committing any specific offence. However, some members of the website would eventually move to private channels such as e-mail to exchange illegal images and videos of children being abused.

Rights group urges China to stop deporting North Korean border-crossers

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 11:06 AM PST

LONDON, England (BNO NEWS) -- Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Chinese authorities to not forcibly return any more North Korean border-crossers caught en-route to South Korea, after it emerged that nine people were sent back.

The London-based rights group said that border-crossers would be at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour, imprisonment in political prison camps and execution if they are sent back to North Korea. At least 40 North Koreans are said to be currently held in detention facilities near the China-North Korea border after being caught in transit.

"The reported denouncement of border-crossers by North Korea's new government during a time of leadership transition could signal that those returned may be subjected to even harsher punishment than usual," said Rajiv Narayan, Amnesty International's Korea expert. North Korea is undergoing a leadership transition after the death of Kim Jong-il and the succession of his son Kim Jong-un in December 2011.

In January, the North Korean authorities reportedly condemned border-crossers and threatened them with severe punishments on their return. "The North Korean authorities must ensure that no one is detained or prosecuted for going to China, nor subjected to gross violations of their human rights on return there," Narayan said.

North Koreans are not allowed to travel abroad without state permission. However, despite being at risk of torture and execution when caught, thousands of North Koreans illegally cross the border into China every year.

China considers all undocumented North Koreans to be economic migrants and forcibly returns them to North Korea if they are caught. International law prohibits the forcible return, either directly or indirectly, of any individuals to a country where they are at risk of persecution, torture or other ill-treatment, or death.

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الخميس، 1 مارس 2012

Lincoln Tribune

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