الخميس، 20 أكتوبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

The Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

Death toll in clash between Philippine troops and rebels rises to 24
Ohio police kill 49 exotic animals after escape from preserve
Egypian-Americans Protest in DC for Fellow Coptic Christians
Former Soviet countries sign free trade agreement
Romney Faces Political Challenge Over Religion

Death toll in clash between Philippine troops and rebels rises to 24

Posted: 20 Oct 2011 01:05 AM PDT

MANILA (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll as a result of a clash between government troops and separatist rebel groups in the southern Philippines has risen to at least 24, officials said on Thursday.

The skirmishes began on early Tuesday morning in the Cambug area, which is located in the municipality of Al-Barka on the island province of Basilan. A spokesman of the separatist rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) claimed that government soldiers attacked their troops while the government said the troops were carrying out a routine patrol and searching for reported armed men in the area.

MILF spokesman Ghadzali Jaafar said the fighting occurred inside a satellite camp of the MILF, debunking Western Mindanao Command spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang's statement that the area was four kilometers (2.4 miles) away from MILF territory. He described the encounter as "a huge event" that may be used to further delay the peace talks, ABS-CBN News reported.

"What we want is - this should be investigated at the level of the ceasefire committees so both sides will know what happened. Maybe what happened there had no backing by upper leadership. These peace negotiations should be supported by all government agencies including the military units in Basilan and Mindanao," he added.

As of Thursday, at least five rebels and 19 soldiers were confirmed to have been killed. However,   Col. Arnulfo Burgos said the military has launched a rescue operation for several soldiers who were reported missing after the clash. He added that military members were on a mission to capture commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi and Long Malat when they encountered 10 armed men that swelled to 400 armed men during a firefight that lasted the whole day in Al-Barkah town.

Asnawi escaped the Basilan provincial jail on December 30, 2009 along with 30 other inmates. He was also involved in the beheading of 10 of 14 Marines massacred in early 2007 in the same town.

Ohio police kill 49 exotic animals after escape from preserve

Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:48 AM PDT

ZANESVILLE, OHIO (BNO NEWS) -- Dozens of exotic animals which escaped from an animal preserve in Ohio on Tuesday evening have been shot dead by police, officials said on Wednesday. Their owner apparently killed himself.

Terry Thompson, owner of the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, was found dead at the farm on late Tuesday afternoon. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Authorities believe Thompson opened all the animal cages before he killed himself, allowing his animals to escape into the countryside. It was not immediately known what motivated Thompson to release the dangerous animals or why he took his own life.

When police responded to the area at around 5.30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, following reports of exotic animals running loose, armed officers shot and killed as many as 25 animals as they made their way to Thompson's farm where they discovered more animals were missing.

Local authorities then began patrolling the area on the lookout for the missing animals, warning people to stay indoors until the animals were caught or killed. "These are wild animals. Wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz who gave 'shoot to kill' orders to his officers.

Deputies with assault rifles and thermal imaging equipment were deployed in search of the exotic animals, which Lutz described as "mature, very large, and aggressive." However, some have criticized authorities for killing the animals, which include endangered Bengal tigers.

Members of the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds had brought tranquilizers to the scene, but Lutz said they were only there in the event that an animal got near residential houses where it would be unsafe for police officers to open fire.

In all, 49 of the 56 exotic animals which escaped from the farm were shot dead by police. Those killed include 18 Bengal tigers, nine male lions, eight female lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two grizzly bears, one baboon and two wolves. One missing monkey is believed to have been eaten by a large cat.

Police, being assisted by animal experts and a SWAT team, managed to capture six animals alive before they were taken to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Lutz said the captured animals are a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys.

The Columbus Zoo and the Muskingum County Humane Society had previously visited the animal preserve in June 2008 after several complaints were received, arguing that the animals were in poor condition. Thompson was not charged after the visit but between 2004 and 2009 he had 11 misdemeanor charges for either animal at large or animal cruelty.

Animal expert and zookeeper Jack Hanna described the situation as 'tragic' and strongly criticized animal auctions and Thompson's ownership of the animals. Although Thompson had legal documents that allowed him to keep such animals at his property, Hanna said he should not have had them, comparing animal auctions to drug trafficking.

"It's just like drugs," Hanna said during an interview on local television. "This guy had the animals, but where do the animals come from? Where are they getting the animals from?"

"We have to get the source of [these animals] and some of them are animal auctions," Hanna underlined, adding that it takes millions of dollars to adequately care for wild animals.

Thompson had just finished a one year and one day prison term, which he received in October 2010 for two federal counts of possessing illegal firearms. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched his home in 2008 and seized 133 weapons and a small amount of ammunition. Eight of those firearms did not have serial numbers. Thompson was also a former gun dealer.

Egypian-Americans Protest in DC for Fellow Coptic Christians

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 09:15 PM PDT

Hundreds of Egyptian-American protesters marched from the White House to the the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to show solidarity with their fellow Coptic Christians who were killed recently in Egypt.

The protesters gathered late Wednesday to ask the U.S. to stop giving aid to an Egyptian military, which they accuse of killing "Coptic Christians."

They say the Egyptian government has been unable or unwilling to protect Coptics, who are vastly outnumbered in the mainly Muslim country.

On October 9, at least 23 people were killed and 150 injured in Cairo when a protest by Coptic Christians over the recent burning of a church escalated into rioting against military rule.

Several Coptic Christian groups organized Wednesday's demonstration in Washington. Martina Beshai, of the Washington-based group Coptic Solidarity, said security and freedom of religion are "basic rights" that every person in the world should have.

Sporting a hat with the words "I Love Jesus", protester Emad Aziz said he did not want his U.S. tax dollars to support a government that kills his fellow Egyptian Christians.

Demonstrator Assad Shehada blamed President Barack Obama for the recent sectarian violence, saying the U.S. aid to Egypt was "supporting terrorists." Several signs at the protest echoed his sentiment, asking "Where are you Obama?" The White House had responded to the violence by expressing deep concern and calling for restraint by all sides.

Hundreds of rioters fought with police in Cairo last week. At one point, an armored security van sped into the crowd, crushing some protesters to death. Two soldiers also died in the October 9 clashes.

Egypt's ruling military council called for an investigation into the violence.

Former Soviet countries sign free trade agreement

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 08:18 PM PDT

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russia, along with several members of the regional organization known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), have agreed to create a free trade zone, local media reported on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached on Tuesday during a CIS meeting in St. Petersburg in which Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan signed for membership, which is targeting the reduction of all trade fees on a number of goods between the countries, RT Television reported.

The agreement is expected to enter into force as early as next year, the report said. Out of the eleven CIS members, only Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan decided not to enter, but they will be able to enter the new trade zone if they decide to do so before the end of the year.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, praised the agreement which was 10 years in the making. "The document which marks out essential conditions and rules for free trade has been a long time awaited and neatly prepared," Putin said as quoted by the media outlet. "It has been discussed and examined, at some point corrected with the heads of Commonwealth countries and finally agreed and approved."

In addition, Putin noted that goods will arrive at lower prices, making it attractive for all parties. He also underlined that the agreement improves the conditions for innovative enterprises, creating new opportunities of exchange of technologies and materials.

The CIS was created in late 1991 and consists of former Soviet Republics including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.

In the first half of this year, trade between CIS countries increased by 48 percent and exceeded $134 billion. The new agreement is expected to further increase trade numbers in the region.

Romney Faces Political Challenge Over Religion

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 06:27 PM PDT

In U.S. presidential politics, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a narrow lead over Georgia businessman Herman Cain in the latest CNN-ORC poll. Most political analysts consider Romney the frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination next year, but he is on the defensive about his religion. Romney is a member of the Mormon Church, which generally follows Christian precepts but adheres to its own founder and holy book separate from the Christian Bible.

"He is a true conservative and a genuine follower of Jesus Christ!" said Reverend Robert Jeffress -- an evangelical christian minister who supports Texas Governor Rick Perry for president.

Jeffress favors Perry over frontrunner Mitt Romney because the former Massachusetts governor is a Mormon. "In my estimation, Mormonism is a cult, and it would give credence to a cult to have a Mormon candidate," Jeffress said.

Jeffress says Mormons are moral people, but not part of mainstream Christianity, something Morman believer Linda Jensen finds offensive. "It is not a cult. We don't have horns. We don't have several wives. So let's get past that," Jensen said.

Many Americans prefer to keep politics and religion separate. But it doesn't always work that way.

Perry and Romney sparred over the Jeffress comments during the latest Republican debate in Las Vegas.

"That individual expressed an opinion. I didn't agree with it, Mitt, and I said so. But the fact is Americans understand faith and what they have lost faith in is the current resident of the White House," Perry said.

"That idea that we should choose people based upon their religion for public office is what I find to be most troubling because the founders of this country went to great lengths and even put it in the Constitution that we would not choose people to represent us in government based upon their religion," Romney said. (APTN DROPLINE 10-18-11 9PM 00:24:49:19 to 00:25:06:18)

Public opinion surveys show that most Americans are tolerant of diverse religious views, unless they are seen as extreme.

That is reflected in a recent sampling of opinion in Los Angeles.

"It is the extremist that I have a problem with, basically because they kind of preach towards everybody and expect everyone to believe the way they do," a woman said.

"I live in Arizona, so we have a lot of Mormons and they interact like anybody else who is Catholic or Protestant, Baptist. To each his own," one man said.

Mitt Romney might be hurt by the reluctance of some Christian voters to support him, says Daniel Cox with the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington.

"Evangelicals are a vital part of the Republican primary constituency. They are about one in four voters overall, and they make up a significant portion of the Republican primary electorate, particularly in places like Iowa and South Carolina and Florida," said Cox.

But Cox also says there is a way for Romney to overcome some of those doubts. "And so if Romney can convince voters, particularly Evangelical voters in the Republican primaries, that he shares their political values, there is a good chance that the religious values may not be as important," Cox said.

If he wins the Republican nomination and defeats President Barack Obama next year, Mitt Romney would become the country's first Mormon president.

health

الخميس، 20 أكتوبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق