health: Lincoln Tribune

الخميس، 17 نوفمبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Drugs smuggling tunnel discovered under U.S.-Mexico border
Female farmers stage anti-rape protest in northwest Cameroon
Palestinian president calls for non-violent resistance against Israel
Obama Reaffirms Asia-Pacific Foreign Policy Shift
Obama Reaffirms Asia-Pacific Foreign Policy Shift

Drugs smuggling tunnel discovered under U.S.-Mexico border

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:39 AM PST

TIJUANA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Mexican security forces have discovered an underground tunnel holding nearly eight tons (16,000 pounds) of marijuana in the country's northwestern area near the U.S. border, officials confirmed on Thursday.

Mexican second military zone commander Gilberto Landeros Briseño confirmed that personnel located a total of 778 packages weighing combined 7.97 tons (15,940 pounds) of marijuana in an underground tunnel near the airport in Tijuana, the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula.

The search operation was conducted after U.S. authorities in California found the outer end of the tunnel and advised their Mexican counterparts that it could lead to an illegal warehouse. An investigation in Mexico lead to a small tunnel entrance measuring 1.20 meters (3.9 feet) wide and 4 meters (13.1 feet) deep.

According to reports, the tunnel measures 370 meters (1,213 feet) long, 2.20 meters (7.2 feet) wide and 1.60 meters (5.2 feet) tall. It was located just 1.3 kilometers (0.80 mile) away from the Tijuana airport in the same area where other tunnels have been discovered previously. Laminate roof sheet structures were found still under construction.

Landeros added that the marijuana packages, which were labeled with images of comic super hero 'Captain America' as well a U.S. beer brand with a marijuana leaf image, could be linked to a drug lord identified as 'Aquiles,' who is suspected of working with the Sinaloa drug cartel. The packages were gradually being smuggled into the U.S.

A total of six tunnels have been discovered this year alone in the state of Baja California, five of them in Tijuana and one in Mexicali. One of the tunnels contained approximately 17 tons (34,000 pounds) of marijuana, which was the most ever found in a single tunnel.

Female farmers stage anti-rape protest in northwest Cameroon

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:26 AM PST

WUM, CAMEROON (BNO NEWS) -- Thousands of women have staged a rally in northwestern Cameroon to protest a spate of rapes and assaults against female farmers, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The women are refusing to work on farms in the country's Wum district after a string of sexual attacks which were blamed on cattle herders. They said young girls are among the victims and one woman died of her wounds on Monday night.

A large group of women have been protesting outside the palace of a powerful chief for five days to demand greater protection. The area is affected by land disputes between members of the Aghem and Akuh ethnic groups, according to the BBC.

Government officials in Wum called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the problem between the women from the Aghem ethnic group and leaders of the Akuh group, to which the herdsmen belong. However, some of the women walked out of the meeting, saying no clear solution had been found to end the attacks.

In a 2009 survey by the Inter Press Service news agency, 20 percent of women in Cameroon reported to have been raped at one point in their lives. Another 14 percent said they had escaped a rape attempt.

The crime of rape is punishable by life in prison in Cameroon. However, despite these laws, few perpetrators of rape are ever prosecuted.

Palestinian president calls for non-violent resistance against Israel

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:21 AM PST

RAMALLAH (BNO NEWS) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday urged Palestinians to participate in a non-violent resistance against Israel's occupation of the West Bank, the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported on Thursday.

"I call for the widest participation in the popular resistance," he said at a ceremony held to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "Everyone, rank and file, should join this resistance to show the world that resistance is our right and to prove that Israel is the aggressor."

"We are peace seekers and we resist peacefully," he added. "This is my position and I will not change it."

Abbas said the Palestinian people will not accept and give in to the Israeli occupation, but that they will resist it in any way possible. He said the Palestinians asserted their position at the United Nations when they applied for full membership in the international body on September 23, which the United States is likely to veto.

"If we do not get it (membership) today, we will get it tomorrow, or after tomorrow. We will not go back on our request. This is our right," Abbas said.

About 120 out of 193 countries have currently recognized the State of Palestine and those are seen as possible supporters if the UN General Assembly votes on the issue. If the UN Security Council resolution to recognize Palestine is approved, Palestine would become the 194th member of the United Nations.

Abbas said that the United States remains a friend of the Palestinian people in spite of its strong support for Israel. However, he added, if U.S. policy contradicts with Palestinian interest, he will not hesitate to tell it "no."

In May, U.S. President Barack Obama called on the Israelis and Palestinians to renew peace talks for a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed upon swaps. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the solution based on the 1967 borders as that measure would leave a large population of Israelis in Judea and Samaria outside Israel's borders.

Abbas said negotiations with Israel will not resume before it accepts the 1967 lines as the borders of the Palestinian state and stops all settlement activities. "Without these two conditions, there will be no negotiations," he said.

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in occupied Palestinian territory.

In response, President Abbas broke off direct talks as recommended by Hamas. Israel resumed settlement constructions even though they were labeled as a violation of international law by the international community.

Finally, Abbas said he will meet Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal on November 23 to discuss the reconciliation agreement between his Fatah party and Hamas. They will also discuss the formation of a government of technocrats to prepare for presidential and legislative elections.

Obama Reaffirms Asia-Pacific Foreign Policy Shift

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 04:54 PM PST

U.S. President Barack Obama has reaffirmed Washington's "unbreakable alliance" with Australia during a speech to parliament in Canberra Thursday. Mr. Obama said the United States's diplomatic focus would now shift from the war on terrorism to economic and security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. He is the fourth U.S. president to address lawmakers in the Australian capital. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

Mr. Obama was warmly received by Australian lawmakers. He said the bilateral security alliance was "unbreakable" and that the bonds between the United States and Australia "run deep".

"From the trenches of the First World War to the mountains of Afghanistan, Aussies and Americans have stood together. We have fought together; we have given lives together in every single major conflict of the past 100 years, every single one. The solidarity has sustained us through a difficult decade. We will never forget the attacks of 9/11 that took the lives not only of Americans but people from many nations including Australia," he said.

Mr. Obama's address to the Parliament in Canberra came a day after announcing that the U.S. would deploy military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia, a move seen by regional analysts as sending an unmistakable message to China.

Beijing has responded frostily, stressing that the deployment "may not be quite appropriate."

President Obama welcomed the rise of China as an economic and military power but said he wanted more engagement between U.S .and Chinese forces "to avoid misunderstandings."

He has, though, promised to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and "project power and deter threats to peace" in that part of the world.

"As the world's fastest-growing region - and home to more than half the global economy -the Asia-Pacific is critical to achieving my highest priority and that is creating jobs and opportunity for the American people. With most of the world's nuclear powers and some half of humanity Asia will largely define whether the century ahead will be marked by conflict or cooperation," Mr. Obama said.

President Obama also said human rights violations continue in Burma and called on nations to build support for the fundamental rights all citizens.

He noted that while Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is currently free from house arrest and some political prisoners have been released, the United States would continue to speak out against abuses.

Washington is shifting its diplomatic focus from the Middle East and the war on terrorism to the security challenges and economic opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. The president said that as the U.S. ends its military involvement in Iraq and winds down operations in Afghanistan there would be some reductions in defense spending but that he is committed to maintaining America's influence in the Asia-Pacific region

Following his address to the Australian parliament in Canberra, the president flies to the northern city of Darwin before attending the 18-nation East Asia summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.