It was 2003 and the US armed forces took Baghdad in what was termed 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'. Sitting on his game farm in Zululand, a man was watching the events of that terrible scene unfold. While the world was caught up in the intricacies of battles lost and won, this man was concerned about another valuable resource, the inhabitants of the Middle East's largest and most exotic zoo. It was against this backdrop that Lawrence Anthony set out for Baghdad, to save the animals no-one cared about.
Six years later I received an email from my editor with a note asking me to investigate an article further. The article bore the title "South African conservationist named as one of six 'Most Impressive and Influential People'". It was in this piece that the explorer and journalist Tom Clynes named Lawrence Anthony as one of the most amazing people he had met in a lifetime of reporting. I had never heard of Lawrence Anthony, so after some research I ended up trawling the bookstores of Johannesburg looking for his first paperback, Babylon's Ark, the story of the wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo. I stayed up late into the night, travelling with Anthony through Baghdad as he fought to keep the animals alive. As I wept and laughed, I constantly had to remind myself that this was a true story, a true story about one of our own.
[Bangla Daily Star] An alleged mugger was beaten to death by an angry mob and two suspected criminals received bullet wounds during a gunbattle with police in separate incidents in the capital yesterday.
The mob beat Sadek Ali, 22, to death and severely injured one of his accomplices Mohammad Shohag, 20, as they tried to run away after robbing Tk 5,500 from a trader at West Merul of Badda.
Kazi Wajed Ali, officer in-charge of Badda Police Station, said a group of four muggers intercepted Shahinur Alam around 7:00am and snatched the money from him.
Shahinur was going to his shop at Merul Badda bazar from his residence at South Badda on foot.
As Shahinur cried out for help, locals chased the four and caught Sadek and Shohag, the OC said, adding that the locals handed over them to police after severe beating.
Police rushed them to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where Sadek succumbed to his injuries yesterday afternoon.
Police recovered a homemade bomb and a knife from them.
In another incident, two suspected criminals and two police officers received bullet wounds during a gunfight between the criminals and the law enforcers in Tejgaon area early yesterday.
The bullet-hit criminals were identified as Hiru, 24, and Faruk, 25, while the wounded police officers are Sub-Inspector Masum Khan and constable Mozammel Haque.
A team of patrol police challenged a group of criminals on their suspicious activities at a shanty near Shahinbagh field.
Sensing the impending danger, the criminals opened fire at the law enforcers prompting them to retaliate, police said.
Hiru and Faruk were bullet-hit during the gunfight while their cohorts managed to escape.
Later, police rushed them to Pongu Hospital.
Police recovered one machete from them.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Jeez, it's right out of a gangster novel. Only told with much drier prose.
The quick look published by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) at the end of the second quarter unveils a feeble economy, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plummeting by 2.4 percent, together with soaring inflation rates at 20 percent ending this year.
Such a problem, characterized by two concomitant fits, that is, stagnation or shrinking of the GDP together with significantly rising prices, is technically defined as stagnation and the side effects are usually painful.
"To sum up, we could say that such scenario of stagflation has two basic components. On the one hand, price control, exchange control, nationalizations and restricted distribution of foreign currency damage supply. On the other hand, lower oil prices curtail revenues and have an impact on demand," said Orlando Ochoa, an economist and professor with Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB).
An assessment of prices and wages showed that the workers' purchasing power slipped 8.6 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2009, versus the same period in 2008. As a result, there is a 2.7-percent decline in private consumption.
"Shrinking is primarily due to a drop in private consumption accounting for 70 percent of the demand. This, for its part, makes an impact on production," said Pedro Palma, the president of the National Academy of Economic Sciences.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2009 00:00 ||
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Former governor of Aragua State and former ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Didalco Bolivar, arrived in Lima and requested asylum for considering he is a political refugee, reported Efe.
Bolívar stands accused in Venezuela of alleged acts of corruption and of favoring entrepreneur Alejandro Saavedra Ramirez in the award of contracts for the sale of medical equipment during his administration. The trial began after the end of his 2007 falling-out with Chavez.
Wotta coincidence ...
In recent days police have raided two of Bolivar's homes in search of evidence related to the investigation. Former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, the former chief executive of the regional state Yaracuy, Eduardo Lapi, and opposition student leader Nixon Moreno are also in Lima.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Pro'lly not a bad place to hide out. It took the Peruvians pretty much forever to figure out Fujimori was Japanese.
Beijing - Barack Obama will make his first official visit to China as US president in mid-November, Jon Huntsman, the new US ambassador to China, said on Saturday.
"Much is happening in US-China relations... President Obama... is going to be visiting in the middle of November," Huntsman told journalists after arriving in the Chinese capital.
"By the end of the year, after the president has been able to sit down with the leaders here in China, I am hopeful, I am confident, that by the end of the year the US-China relationship will be stronger than ever before."
Earlier this month, the US Senate unanimously approved former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who is fluent in Mandarin, as Obama's ambassador to China.
#1
It is good and proper that the foreign mixed-race barbarian should come to show respect to the world's top culture. He should apologize for treatment of Chinese while he is in China.
#3
...except the Chinese have discovered 'capitalism' which works better than social ism and will probably in their own inscrutable way try to communicate that to the visitor. Might was well talk to the Great Wall.
#7
Any chance this gentleman's "visit" is a prelude to "more secret talks" similar to those his administration had with the drug company czar, in an effort to help his health care insurance reform efforts ?
After all China produces most of the worlds drugs and Pharmaceuticals now.
[Iran Press TV Latest] South Korea has rescheduled the launch of its first space rocket for August 25 after a technical glitch halted the countdown minutes before the planned lift-off.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said on Friday the new date reflected weather conditions and the time needed to prepare the launch vehicle and the satellite for a safe launch, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
However, a ministry official said the lift-off time might change depending on the weather and other conditions.
The launch, originally set for Wednesday evening, was called off due to what officials called a suspected problem with fuel pressure. Experts say the countdown was halted because sensor software misinterpreted data.
The official said the software problem has been fixed, but the country's Aerospace Research Institute said there was no 100 percent guarantee that another problem would not arise and halt the countdown again.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2009 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI - India will help the Republic of Maldives build a maritime surveillance system, among other defense-cooperative measures agreed to during the Aug. 20-22 visit of India Defence Minister A.K. Antony to the Indian Ocean island nation.
The system's radars will be linked to the Indian Navy and Coastal Guard headquarters, a senior Indian Navy official said.
India is also likely to give Maldives two Coast Guard helicopters in coming months, the Navy official said.
Indian Defence Ministry sources said Maldives is emerging as an important logistics and intelligence base for India.
Antony and his delegation met with Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed and Defence Minister Ameen Faisal, who told reporters Aug. 21 that the security concerns of both countries are intertwined.
Analysts said the move was part of India's efforts to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.
"If China is building a port in Hambantota, India outflanks the same by a strong presence in Male and so on. What could even be termed as a great game in the Indian Ocean will be seen in the years ahead," said defense analyst Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Army brigadier.
But Zach Mathews, a retired Indian Navy commodore, said India is more worried about countering Pakistan's influence on the island chain, which is 400 nautical miles from the Indian coast.
"Maldives is a Muslim country, and having an independent nation close to the Indian subcontinent and under control of forces inimical to India would be a disaster," Mathews said.
In 1988, India sent forces to Maldives at the request of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during a coup attempt. When the Indian troops arrived in Maldives by air, the terrorists and rebels escaped from Male but were overpowered by Indian Navy warships.
Maldives has an India-First policy, says Vijay Sakhuja, a director at the Indian Council of World Affairs here.
"Maldives has emphatically denied that there are Chinese naval facilities on any of its island territories and assured [us] that it has no plans [to allow any] in the future. Instead, it seeks an exclusive security arrangement with India and does not wish to approach regional and extraregional powers for such agreements," said Sakhuja.
Analysts said Maldives needs help securing its littorals from piracy, terrorism, contraband trade, drug smuggling and human smuggling by local and foreign actors.
"There is a need not just for Indian interests, but also [for] overall global interests, given the large quantum of trade passing through this region, which is likely to grow exponentially once the present financial crisis recedes. Unless these sea lanes are secured, there would be many more Somalia-like situations happening in the region," said Bhonsle. "I would not view it as an Indian security net but a global trade security net for which other South Asian countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives and those on the East African coast would remain critical. This global trade safety net through the Indian Ocean will be led by India, given the strategic location and large naval presence."
The Indian delegation also included Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, DG Armed Forces Medical Services Lt. Gen. N.K. Parmar, DG Coast Guard Vice Adm. Anil Chopra and Deputy Chief of Navy Staff Vice Adm. D.K. Joshi, according to an Indian Defence Ministry press release.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/22/2009 13:45 ||
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#3
And I'm sure mo-ham-head used that instrument (in the picture accompanying the story) to find the moon for ramedan, it being so old-timey and historical and all.
NOT.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/22/2009 21:44 Comments ||
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#3
Field stripping and reassembly of an AK-47 is probably more useful information. Nothing like a cute young lady leading the demonstration. Now back to Michael Steele. Up and down vote a good idea. It will be easier to identify who to dump out of office next election.
#4
How do you roll this back if it should pass? Yeah, you can throw the idiots out of office, but if the horse is out of the barn, can it ever be walked back?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
