health: Lincoln Tribune

الأحد، 18 مارس 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk dies in Germany
Actor George Clooney among arrested in Sudan protest
Actor George Clooney among arrested in Sudan protest
Turkish military helicopter crashes in Kabul, killing 16
Turkish military helicopter crashes in Kabul, killing 16

Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk dies in Germany

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 08:54 PM PDT

BAD FEILNBACH, Germany (BNO NEWS) -- Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk died at a nursing home in southern Germany on early Saturday morning, police said. He was convicted last year of nearly 28,000 counts of accessory to murder.

German police spokesman Martin Winkler said Demjanjuk died at a nursing home in Bad Feilnbach, a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria. "Today, in the early morning hours, at the age of 91, Mr. John Demjanjuk died and was found in the room of his nursing home in Bad Feilnbach," the spokesman said.

Demjanjuk, originally from Ukraine, was found guilty at the Munich state court last year for assisting in the murders of thousands of Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Poland in 1943 when the country was occupied by the Nazi regime. He was convicted of 27,900 counts of accessory to murder.

During the trial, Demjanjuk's defense team argued there was no strong evidence to prove he had worked as one of the SS helpers known as Trawniki guards. His lawyers claimed that Demjanjuk was just one of many Soviet prisoners who were forced to work for the Nazis during the war.

An SS identity card showing a young Demjanjuk, who was taken as a German prisoner of war in 1942, was the center piece of the trial as prosecutors worked to determine its authenticity.

Following World War II, Demjanjuk immigrated to the United States where he worked as a mechanic until the 1980s when he faced charges at an Israeli court for serving as a guard at the Treblinka death camp. During the trial, he was alleged to have been known as 'Ivan the Terrible' and was later found guilty and sentenced to death.

However, in 1993, the sentence was overturned by Israel's supreme court and Demjanjuk was later extradited to Germany in May 2009. Demjanjuk's U.S. citizenship was later stripped due to irregularities in his immigration application. With several delays due to his ill health, Demjanjuk was finally sentenced to five years in prison after an 18-month trial in Germany, but his jail time served in the U.S., Israel, and Germany was taken into account.

Actor George Clooney among arrested in Sudan protest

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. actor George Clooney was among several political and religious figures who were arrested on Friday during a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. to end the humanitarian crisis in the African country.

Demonstrators blamed the Sudanese government for the alleged killing and torture of civilians and urged bombings to stop as well as continuing the process at the International Criminal Court (ICC) which previously issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Clooney, an Academy Award-winning actor, said humanitarian aid should be allowed into Sudan before it escalates to become the 'worst humanitarian crisis in the world.' He also called on Sudanese authorities to immediately stop the 'starving and raping of innocent men, women, and children.'

Speeches and protests continued until police warned the crowds for the third time that they would be arrested if they did not leave the area. Police proceeded, using plastic handcuffs to arrest the group which had been protesting without any incidents.

In addition to Clooney, who has recently traveled to Sudan, police also arrested his father, a journalist, 'United to End Genocide' President Tom Andrews, Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern, Al Green, Jim Moran and John Olver, as well as Martin Luther King III and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Ben Jealous. They were later released.

But the Sudanese Embassy condemned the protests, calling the protesters misguided and accusing them of supporting the rebels. "[Clooney] put on quite the show that could possibly earn him yet another Golden Globe as he thoroughly played his role to perfection in a script that apparently ends in the lead actor's arrest," the Embassy said in a statement. "Only one problem, this matter is neither fiction, nor set in Hollywood!"

The Embassy claimed that, as a result of the protest, innocent Sudanese civilians would be made more vulnerable to massacres by rebels. "Sudan does not object to the constructive engagement of anyone as long as actions have a genuine motive and are well thought out," the statement said. "We've always called for the international community's engagement in national matters when it can be instrumental and effective in resolving issues. But that's clearly not the case in Clooney's campaign."

Hundreds of thousands of people face starvation in the Nuba Mountains region on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, largely the result of the Sudanese government's alleged blockage of humanitarian aid. Government forces have also been accused of carrying out massacres and other crimes against humanity.

The Sudanese government accused Clooney of breaking international law by illegally entering Sudan's Abyei area and subsequently producing a video. "In a population that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, his camera focused on two or three individuals to star in his skewed story," the statement said. "He has certainly failed those who might have trusted him to be truthful enough in this most sensitive issue. His attempts at being a "Peacemaker" should remain on the big screen."

Actor George Clooney among arrested in Sudan protest

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 PM PDT

Turkish military helicopter crashes in Kabul, killing 16

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 11:38 AM PDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (BNO NEWS) -- A Turkish military helicopter crashed into a house on the outskirts of the Afghan capital of Kabul on early Friday morning, killing twelve soldiers and four civilians on the ground, officials said on Saturday.

The accident happened at around 10:25 a.m. local time on Friday when a Turkish Sikorsky-type helicopter, flying for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), went down and clipped a house before crashing into another in the Bagrami district of Kabul province.

The Turkish military said twelve of its service members were killed in the accident, but gave no other details about their identities. The office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai said two young girls inside the house were killed while a third child was injured, and ISAF said two other civilians were also killed.

It was not immediately known what caused the crash, but both the Turkish military and ISAF said it appeared to be an accident. "Initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," an ISAF spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the cause is under investigation.

"My deepest sympathies go out to the families of these ISAF service members and the Afghan civilians who died as a result of this unfortunate incident," ISAF Commander General John R. Allen said in a statement. "Turkey has been a steadfast ally and stalwart member of the NATO ISAF coalition from the beginning."

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said he was saddened by the news and conveyed his condolences to the families of both the Turkish soldiers and the Afghan civilians. He also spoke by telephone with Karzai who thanked the Turkish government for their assistance in Afghanistan.

In mid-January, six U.S. Marines were killed when a NATO helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. Friday's crash is the deadliest helicopter accident in Afghanistan since August 2011 when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in Wardak province, killing 30 U.S. troops, 7 Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.

There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 1,845 Turkish troops whose duties are limited to patrols because the Turkish government refused to take a combat role against Islamist insurgents. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 23,000 U.S. troops later this year, and foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.