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الأربعاء، 5 أكتوبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Egyptian court postpones trial of blogger on hunger strike
Helicopter crash in New York City kills British woman
UN expresses concern over anti-Roma demonstrations in Bulgaria
Sri Lanka police arrest more than 125 in run-up to local elections
Protesters Continue Campaign Against US ‘Corporate Greed’

Egyptian court postpones trial of blogger on hunger strike

Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:07 PM PDT

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian court on Tuesday postponed the trial proceedings of a blogger who has been on a hunger strike for 43 days until next week, the Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.

Relatives and supporters of detained Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil on Tuesday staged a demonstration outside Cairo's notorious C28 military court and were disappointed when the judge adjourned the trial until October 11. Nabil was sentenced in August to three years in jail on charges of insulting the military after publishing a blog post entitled, "The people and the army were never one hand."

"They postponed proceedings because Maikel's file had not yet been presented to the judge," said Mark Nabil Sanad, Nabil's younger brother. "It's not our fault that some court bureaucrat failed to do his job."

The 28-year-old online activist's brother added that Nabil is suffering from kidney failure and energy depletion. Last week, Nabil told his brother that he would maintain his hunger strike until his release and warned that if today's trial failed to secure his release he would also begin a "thirst strike", the newspaper reported.

The small crowd of protesters outside the courthouse chanted slogans against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after hearing the decision. Soldiers arrested one activist for taking photos and video of the protest, along with a foreign journalist.

Authorities also confiscated a video camera belonging to a reporter with Iran's Press TV and warned protesters that their cameras and mobile phones would be seized if they tried to film or photograph the scene.

Last month, the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information noted a 'sharp decline' in freedom of opinion and expression in Egypt following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak during a revolution earlier this year. The human rights group condemned recent measures taken by the SCAF, which was handed the power to govern Egypt after the ouster of Mubarak, such as the return of Mubarak-era emergency laws.

Helicopter crash in New York City kills British woman

Posted: 04 Oct 2011 06:45 PM PDT

NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) -- A helicopter carrying five people crashed in New York City on late Tuesday afternoon, killing a British woman, officials said.

The accident occurred at around 3:20 p.m. local time when a privately-owned helicopter crashed into the East River after taking off from the 34th Street Heliport on Manhattan's East Side, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg confirmed.

Bloomberg confirmed the death of one person, adding that all of the passengers were visiting the city from outside the country. The private helicopter was based in Linden, New Jersey although it is believed that the pilot was a foreigner as well.

According to reports, the pilot had reported having trouble keeping aloft and tried to turn back. However, he crashed into the water just north of the landing pad.

The New York Police and Fire Departments responded quickly to the incident, deploying emergency officers and Office of Emergency Management personnel who were in the immediate vicinity to the scene. Teams witnessed the helicopter inverted in the water with only its skids showing on the surface.

Police officers dove into the water and rescued three of the four passengers, Bloomberg said, adding that one of them was reported in a very critical state and two serious.

"One young woman I'm sorry to say did not make it," Bloomberg confirmed. "She was gotten out later on by the Fire Department from the helicopter and her body was recovered roughly at 4:40 this afternoon. The pilot was rescued very quickly and brought ashore."

"We pride ourselves on being the most welcoming city in the world, and we are, and to have a family come here to see and experience the best of our city and end up in a tragic accident like this just breaks your heart," Bloomberg said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them all and their families, and we are hoping that the three people in the hospital will pull through."

The names of the people involved have not been disclosed until their families have been notified. However, preliminary reports indicate that all of them, including the pilot, were friends and were from Australia and Great Britain.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into the incident.

UN expresses concern over anti-Roma demonstrations in Bulgaria

Posted: 04 Oct 2011 05:22 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday expressed deep concern about anti-Roma demonstrations in Bulgaria which have been accompanied by hate speech. The body called on local authorities to combat discrimination and protect minority groups.

Demonstrations in Bulgaria began on September 23 following a fatal accident in which an ethnic Bulgarian youth was run over and killed in the village of Katunitsa by a van reportedly belonging to a local Roma. The protests continued into this past weekend, spreading to some 14 towns across the country.

Rupert Colville, spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), hoped that if the driver of the van is guilty he will be brought to justice in accordance with the law. He added that, through a judicial process, the facts surrounding the young man's death will be clearly established.

However, Colville also stressed that the hate speech that has been 'fueling' the anti-Roma protests in Bulgaria is of 'great concern,' adding that it is unacceptable for an entire community to be targeted for an offense allegedly committed by an individual.

"We call on Bulgarian authorities at the highest political level to publicly restate this principle of individual criminal responsibility," said Colville. "The political leadership must take a strong stance against hate speech and ensure that police officers continue to be deployed in sufficient numbers to protect Roma neighborhoods from threats of retribution and harassment."

According to OHCHR, anti-Roma demonstrations have also taken place recently in Hungary and the Czech Republic. In all three countries, political parties with extreme nationalist views have reportedly "seized the opportunity to stoke up anti-Roma prejudice," said Colville.

"In such an atmosphere, inter-ethnic tensions rise, and Roma risk becoming scapegoats of broader dissatisfaction," Colville stated, while OHCHR encouraged countries in Europe and the European Union to adopt and implement socially inclusive policies to end the long-standing discrimination against Roma communities, which face numerous challenges in realizing their economic, social and cultural rights.

The independent UN expert on minority issues called on Bulgaria in July to turn its policies on Roma integration into concrete action by dedicating the financial resources necessary to improve the living conditions of this group.

Gay McDougall found during her visit to Bulgaria that the Roma "experience discrimination in all walks of life that leaves them totally marginalized and in persistent poverty."

Sri Lanka police arrest more than 125 in run-up to local elections

Posted: 04 Oct 2011 03:41 PM PDT

COLOMBO (BNO NEWS) -- More than 125 people have recently been arrested for violating Sri Lanka's election laws in the run-up to the local government elections, officials said on Tuesday.

Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Election Security, Gamini Navaratne, said that police have arrested 127 people for election law violations. At least 97 complaints of election law violations have been reported so far, including 60 regarding illegal propaganda activity, the Colombo Page reported.

The election watchdog Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said they have received 81 election violations, including eleven assaults.

Sri Lanka will hold elections on Saturday for 23 local government bodies which were not polled during the last two rounds on March 17 and July 23. Over 1.5 million voters will go to the polls at 1,167 polling centers island-wide, the newspaper reported.

On July 23, people in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north cast an overwhelming majority of their votes to the candidates of the major Tamil party during the local government elections. Despite the massive campaign launched by the ruling party United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the Northern districts where elections were held for the first time after 29 years, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), formerly controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels, won 18 out of 26 councils.

A victory for the ruling party in the Tamil-dominated districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu meant an endorsement for the government's reconciliation process which has come under criticism from the international community. A victory for the Tamil party, however, will strengthen the demands for self-rule in the Tamil-dominated area.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was militarily wiped out in May 2009, ending the 26-year-old civil war. The bloody civil war between the government and the Tamil Tigers left as many as 100,000 people dead. Both sides have been accused of war crimes and other human rights violations.

Protesters Continue Campaign Against US ‘Corporate Greed’

Posted: 04 Oct 2011 03:36 PM PDT

Protesters against what they call "corporate greed" are camping out near Wall Street in New York City. After two weeks and despite hundreds of arrests, the protesters say they have no plans to move. Selah Hennessy went to Manhattan to find out what's on the agenda.

Protesters have been gathering in New York's financial district for over two weeks now.

Many sleep in the square near Wall Street that they have occupied. Free pizzas and ham sandwiches are served up from a make-shift kitchen. There's even a medical tent.

On some days there are hundreds of protesters. But they say they represent 99 percent of Americans who are suffering in the current economy, while the other 1 percent prospers.

Patricia Walsh is a former nurse in the Vietnam War. She says that she joined the movement because she's appalled at the number of children that go hungry every day in America.

She says part of the problem is taxes. "I'm not against every big multi-millionaire and multi-billionaire but they need to realize we are the people who made them their money. It was made off the backs of the working people. And they are sitting in their ivory towers finding ways, tax loopholes, so they don't have to pay any taxes, it's just outrageous," she said.

A group calling itself the movement's "General Assembly" has published a declaration that lists a range of grievances they want addressed. It ranges from the torture of animals to poor working conditions and high university fees.

The protesters in the square voiced a range of concerns.

Organizer Jason Ahmadi says the movement's demands are still in the making. "The interesting thing about this movement is that it is a movement, it is horizontal. Everyone is coming for a different reason and we are coming together but we are constantly growing so it's difficult to make a demand for the 99 percent," he said.

As yet there are no exact aims. But that isn't stopping the movement's growth. Media attention around the movement is growing and a number of trade unions have come out in support, including those representing transit workers and teachers.

Protester Iggy Videgain said "I think people are willing to put their heads out. It's picking up steam in terms of the unions. I've seen pilots. I've seen reps from all different labor unions, so that's a plus, that's a big thing."

The movement also appears to be emerging in other parts of the country.

Organiser Ahmadi said "Since its first inception it's been really growing. Occupy Los Angeles just happened the other night with 350 people, in San Francisco, in Boston, in Chicago. A lot of us are inspired by things happening in North Africa, in Spain in Greece, London. This is something that we see as a global movement that's starting."

Ahmadi says he's in for the long haul. And he's not the only one. But other protesters said they didn't know what would happen when New York's weather turns cold for the winter.

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الأربعاء، 5 أكتوبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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