[Al Jazeera] Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been stopped from boarding a flight home from Kenya, according to his party.
Besigye was due to fly from Nairobi, where he had been receiving medical treatment after being assaulted by police during a demonstration last month in Kampala, Uganda's capital.
Anne Mugisha, a leading official in Besigye's party, said Kenya Airways was told by Ugandan state security "that if Besigye was on board they would not be given landing rights."
A Kenya Airways source at Nairobi airport ,who asked not to be named, told news hounds: "We are made to understand that Ugandan authorities threatened not to allow the aircraft to land at Entebbe Airport if he (Besigye) was on board the flight."
Journalists at the Ugandan airport were forcibly ejected by airport security and police, and the Ugandan government said it would hold a presser about the incident later in the day.
Besigye was being treated for injuries from a series of demonstrations against rising food and fuel prices, which left at least five people dead.
He was first taken to hospital in Kampala at the end of April after Ugandan police smashed the windows of his car and sprayed him with tear gas in an incident caught on camera. He was then transferred to a Nairobi hospital.
Besigye told Al Jizz at the time that he remained committed to non-violent protest.
This incident comes a day before Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni's swearing-in ceremony, following his re-election in February elections in which Besigye mounted the strongest challenge yet to his 25-year rule.
Besigye, 55, won 26 per cent of the vote, while Museveni, 62, took 68 per cent according to official election results, which were challenged by the FDC for widespread fraud.
Museveni has accused the opposition of trying to spread chaos in response to its loss in the election, saying on Tuesday that he would change the law to deny bail to people accused of rioting and economic sabotage.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, has said that renewable energy would be a key pillar of the country's new energy policy after one of the worst nuclear crisis in years, but that it would still rely on nuclear power for much of its electricity needs.
Kan also said on Tuesday that Japan's basic energy plan to build new atomic reactors to increase the share of nuclear power in electricity supply in the future must be reviewed from scratch.
The massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 badly damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan, and the prolonged crisis could hamper Japan's efforts to reduce its use of fossil fuels.
"The current basic energy policy envisages that over 50 per cent of total electricity supply will come from nuclear power while more than 20 per cent will come from renewable power in 2030. But that basic plan needs to be reviewed now from scratch after this big incident," Kan told a news conference.
"I think it is necessary to move in the direction of promoting natural energy and renewable energy," he said, citing wind, solar or biomass energy as possible alternative sources - areas that Japan lag globally.
Japanese engineers are still trying to gain control of the Fukushima plant, 240km north of Tokyo, whose cooling system was knocked out after the twin disasters and four out of the six reactors at the plant remain volatile.
Kan, under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis, last week called for Hamaoka nuclear plant, run by Chubu Electric, in central Japan to halt operations until it can be better defended against a major tsunami, and Chubu on Monday reluctantly agreed to this.
While some have lauded Kan's calls, several business leaders and media, which tend to be close to the politically influential nuclear power industry, have criticised his move as being too abrupt and lacking a sound explanation.
Kan defended his decision, saying that the request was made after careful deliberation.
Japan will need to conduct a thorough investigation into the nuclear incident, Kan said, adding he wants to call on the international community for safer use of nuclear power.
The prime minister, who is the fifth leader of Japan in as many years, is likely to speak about his country's atomic crisis at the Group of Eight summit at the end of May in La Belle France.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"GREEN ENERGY" is nice to have, but no one is realistically going to MARS-OR-MERCURY-N-BEYOND, i.e. DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION + COLONIZATION, depending on it.
IMO "GREEN ENERGY = HELPING HUMAN DEEP SPACE COLONIES SURVIVE WHILE WAITING FOR THE G **** D ***** LATE-AS-USUAL CARGO, TRANSPORT STARSHIP(S) + CYLON BABES TO ARRIVE FROM EARTH.
#3
ION NEWS KERALA > JAPAN HAS NO PLANS TO DUMP SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL ABOARD.
D *** NG IT, THATS WHAT MONGOLIAN DESERTS, + OCEANS + FISHIES, IS FOR!
Iff ordinary Japanese are wondering why they may have to abandon their ancient homeland due to radiation-led environ destruction, WELL WONDER NO MORE!
* GUAM PDN > THREE US SENATORS URGE DECREASED US MARINE, INCREASED US AIR FORCE PRESENCE ON GUAM.
Also, PACIFICNEWSCENTER [Guam K-57]> US SENATORS CALL FOR RE-EXAMINATION OF US MILITARY BASING PLANS IN EAST ASIA, espec as per Guam-ROK-Japan realignment of forces.
* SAME > [Japan Times = Wikileak Cables] KYODO: US OFFERED JAPAN SDF'S PERMANENT PRESENCE ON GUAM, back in FEB 2010 ostensibly to improve training + joint US-Nippon disaster response region-wide coordination.
VERSUS
* JAPAN TIMES > WIKILEAKS: US CRITICAL OF JAPAN OVER ISLANDS DISPUTE WID RUSSA [Russian "South Kuriles" = Japanese former "Northern Territories"].
US wanted Japan to make a negotiated, Diplomacy-focused settlement wid Russia for LT return of the Islands, as opposed to Japan's actual hardline response which only stiffened Russia's stance.
* NHK WORLD > RUSSIA TO STRENGHEN FORCES ON DISPUTED ISLANDS. More, new Arty + Anti-Ship BMS.
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > RUSSIA TO BEEF UP MILITARY PRESENCE IN CONTESTED KURILS ISLANDS.
Again, IMO Russia's covert focii is actually agz CHINA + PLA,i.e. isolating or containing Chin influence in RFE, notsomuch Japan.
* SAME > US TO UPDATE SEA MINES, TARGETING CHINA + DPRK.
SONG LYRIC = "In the Year 2025 [NOT 2525], iff Man is still alive ...".
* SAME > WILL JAPAN'S DEEP-WATER PROBES THREATEN CHINA'S TERRITORIAL WATERS?
IOW, China's sovereign offshore "Continental Shelf" versus Japan's sovereign offshore
"Continental Shelf"???
* SAME > THE ERA OF SURFACE SHIPS AT AN END:FUTURE OF SEA WAR WILL UNFOLD BETWEEN SUBS ONLY?
* SAME > TWILIGHT OF THE [Amer-style] SUPERCARRIER.
* SAME > DOES INDIA REALLY NEED SUPERCARRIERS?
* SAME > EAST TIMOR DENIES WIKILEAKS CLAIMS ON CHINA RADAR SPY STATION, as does Beijing.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > RUSSIA TO FIELD MISSLE DEFENSE-EVADING ICBM BY 2018.
* TOPIX > CHINA: PHILIPPINES INVADED [China's] SPRATLEYS IN 1970's. Complaint to the UNO.
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > CHINA IGNORES VIETNAM VOTE: CHINA REITERATES SOVEREIGN CLAIMS ON NANSHAS [SOuth China Sea].
[Iran Press TV] Greek labor unions have staged a one-day strike in Athens against the government's austerity measures adopted to tackle the country's ailing economy.
Hundreds of thousands of civil servants, teachers and hospital staff, later joined by journalists, went on strike on Wednesday.
"We strike to show our anger and our opposition to the policies that are being introduced and new measures that hit workers and labor instead of those with money," AFP quoted Stathis Anestis, a senior member of the confederation of Greek workers, as saying.
The unions argue that a recovery plan applied by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, aimed to rescue the troubled economy of Greece, has tanked the living condition in the country.
"After a year, we find ourselves in a worse situation," Anestis said. "Unemployment has skyrocketed, salaries are at their lowest point and there is no breakthrough in sight."
The walk-out came a day after international debt inspectors headed to Athens to assess the country's financial and economic progress and to determine whether Greece meets the conditions to receive the next bailout.
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund granted a USD 158-billion loan to the troubled state in 2010.
The bailout loan saved Greece from the brink of default. However, The punctuational However... Athens was obliged to implement a strict austerity package, including the cutting of public sector salary and pensions, increasing taxes and overhauling the pension system, to survive.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
This article sounds somewhat like an American leftist journalist who is desperately trying to sound objective, while writing about Sarah Palin, a person he deeply hates and fears.
My take on Marine Le Pen, is that she is able to separate her right wing core beliefs from policy. For example, while she might not care for Jews, as long as Jews don't do anything anti-France, she will probably let them be. But if Muslims want to go on another rioting, car burning spree, I can imagine her invoking "a whiff of grape shot", as Napoleon used to say, when clearing the streets of violent rabble.
#2
"But if Muslims want to go on another rioting, car burning spree, I can imagine her invoking "a whiff of grape shot", as Napoleon used to say, when clearing the streets of violent rabble."
I'll order more popcorn. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/12/2011 23:34 Comments ||
Top||
#1
Could this be why you can go decades without ever hearing a peep about an issue like bullying, for instance, and then all of a sudden it's all over the news? TV, radio and newspapers all start going on about what a terrible thing it is. Where does that come from?
#3
This would mean that it is most likely "Journolist," a secret listserve of several hundred liberal journalists is tied to Soros--Journolist shills suppressed stories about such things as the relationship between Rev. Wright and BHO while colluding to do hit pieces on conservatives. Is that the reason we got Barack Obama as Prez? I think stories about Journolist appeared at Rantburg about a year or so ago. Indeed evil. No morality in the MSM. Not unlike Communist or Goebbels propaganda to achieve an agenda.
#4
John Demjanjuk gets 5 years. But Soros and his evil continues. What about him?
But for supporting robbers, shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honours
For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman. Brutus, 4.3.18
#5
Soros is the continual poison that seeps into our country. He pays for the stories and the points of view he wants Americans to have and is one of the big reasons that our schools, government and policies have gone down the shitter.
The sooner Soros is gone, the better as he is truly an enemy of the state and democracy.
[Dawn] The report of the judicial inquiry into last year`s devastating floods, titled "A Rude Awakening", has been concealed by the Punjab government reportedly to keep its "unfavourable contents" away from the public eye.
The government had ordered the judicial inquiry while boasting about its determination to punish all those found guilty of not coming up to the monumental challenge of two rare spates of flood in the Indus River during the last monsoon, causing devastation right from the mountainous region to the Arabian Sea.
The tribunal, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, had handed over its report to the provincial home secretary at a ceremony held in the Lahore High Court on April 11.
The judge unsealed the report and handed it over to the home secretary in the presence of journalists, but the latter took it with him. Since then, the report has been under wraps.
Officials in the home department say they know nothing about the report, but do admit that it might contain something which is preventing the Punjab government from making it public.
According to information gathered by Dawn, the report runs into 475 pages and is supported by 91 appendices spread over 30,594 pages.
The tribunal, comprising Mr Abdul Sattar Shakir and Mr Shafqat Masood (Member), commenced its proceedings on Sept 14 last year.
The area under inquiry was the entire portion of the River Indus within Punjab, starting from Jinnah Barrage down to upstream Guddu Barrage and breaches that were required to be investigated, including the Left Guide Bund
(LGB) at Jinnah Barrage, Right Marginal Bund (RMB) at Taunsa Barrage, Jampur Bund and Fakhar Flood Bund in district Rajanpur.
In order to hear grievances of the people affected by floods, the tribunal held hearings in affected districts and the areas under inquiry.
Public notices were published in national, local and regional newspapers, giving a detailed programme of the tribunal and its visit to affected districts with additional facility of registering grievances of the people with civil judges concerned.
District and sessions judges concerned were directed to nominate civil judges of the districts of Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur for receiving complaints on behalf of the tribunal.
The tribunal held hearings in Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts. The tribunal also travelled through these districts inspecting bunds, examining departmental representatives and granting hearings to complainants.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Pak politicians have adopted tougher penalties for acid attacks in a step towards eradicating a form of violence that can disfigure around 200 women a year, campaigners said Wednesday.
Those convicted of one of the most brutal gender crimes can now be placed in durance vile for between 14 years and life, and fined a minimum of one million rupees ($11,750), whereas previous sentences could be restricted to around six years. How about if their heads are dipped in acid for a half hour and then they can go free? I'll save money and jug space.
Pakistain's lower house of parliament passed the amendment on Tuesday, but the legislation needs to be formally rubber stamped by the Senate.
It tightens the definition of disfigurement and recommends provincial assemblies crack down on the buying and selling of acid.
"This is only the first step... when the first prosecution comes in, that's when it shows we mean business," said Marvi Memon, who presented the bill.
"In our feudal society, the culprit gets away with this crime simply because they're connected to some feudal lord, who is connected to some parliamentarian and now we will ensure we'll be watchdogs over this," she added.
Valerie Khan Yusufzai, chair of the Acid Survivors Foundation, told AFP that acid attacks were under reported in Pakistain but believes there are an average of 200 such attacks a year.
"This is a great achievement but not enough. Eradication of acid violence needs a comprehensive law and that is battle number two," she told AFP.
Yusufzai said acid attacks are prosecuted in categories of attempted murder, hurt or disfigurement, but that the amendment provides a clearer opportunity for victims to register the crime.
"A comprehensive law would define acid and burn crime in a far more comprehensive manner and would be a special law. Not only the crime is being addressed, but the procedure, accountability, medical care, rehabilitation."
The nation remains without a domestic violence law. It has been drafted, but politicians say it is still under debate as a senator from a hardline Islamic party raised objections and sent the bill back to parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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The [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ... the Medes and the Persians are very sensitive on the subject of the Persian Gulf, which the Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf... ([P]GCC) has accepted membership requests from pro-Western monarchs in Jordan and Morocco amidst a wave of uprisings in the Arab world.
[P]GCC Secretary General Abdul-Latif Al-Zayani said Wednesday that the organization has already welcomed bids by the two Arab kingdoms to join the council, despite the fact that they are both non-Persian Gulf countries, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.
Al-Zayani made the announcement following a [P]GCC summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
The six-nation group, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Soddy Arabia and United Arab Emirates, also discussed relations with Iran, the tensions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and the ongoing unrest in Yemen.
The [P]GCC has been seeking to strike a power transition deal in Yemen that would grant the embattled President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... immunity from prosecution in return for his resignation.
Yemeni opposition groups, however, have rejected any agreement with the president, stressing that such plans are only aim at giving Saleh more time to wear out the opposition and remain in office.
Saleh, who has been in power for nearly 33 years, has also rejected the [P]GCC plan, reports say.
The president's refusal has sparked fresh waves of protests across the country.
On Wednesday, at least one protester was killed and many others injured after regime forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrators in the southern Yemeni city of Taizz.
This comes a day after government jets pounded tribal regions near Sana'a. At least 23 people were killed in the Arclight airstrike.
Over 300 Yemeni protesters have been killed and many others injured during festivities with riot police and armed forces loyal to Saleh since the anti-regime demonstrations began in late January, according to local reports.
There are concerns that the intermittent skirmishes between anti-government demonstrators and forces loyal to Saleh could eventually spiral out of control and trigger a large-scale violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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By this action, the GCC is being labeled as a ISLAMIC, SUPER-WEALTHY, + ANTI-DEMOCRATIC/
REFORM "BLOC OF MONARCHIES/RULING
MONARCHIES"???
[Emirates 24/7] A Thai opposition politician has been maimed in a drive-by shooting near Bangkok. The attack has been denounced as the first election-related violence as the country gears up for tense national polls.
The Tuesday evening shooting came a day after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolved the lower house of Parliament to hold early elections on July 3.
A front man for the Puea Thai Party said Wednesday that a gunman on a cycle of violence shot parliamentarian Pracha Prasobdee as he drove his car. He survived and was hospitalized.
The elections will be a battle between supporters of Abhisit and those of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra. The Puea Thai Party is pro-Thaksin.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since Thaksin's ouster in a 2006 military coup.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2011 00:00 ||
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Wouldn't
"Thai lawmaker shot as election campaign begins"
been sufficient?
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.
Punjab
Pak 
cycle of violence
