GAYS LIVE IN FEAR IN JAMAICA

Despite the easygoing image propagated by tourist boards, gays and their advocates agree that Jamaica is by far the most hostile island toward homosexuals in the already conservative Caribbean.

• They say gays, especially those in poor communities, suffer frequent abuse. But they have little recourse because of rampant anti-gay stigma and a sodomy law banning sex between men in Jamaica and 10 other former British colonies in the Caribbean.
• It is impossible to say just how common gay bashing attacks are in Jamaica ,their tormentors are sometimes the police themselves. But many homosexuals in Jamaica say homophobia is pervasive across the sun-soaked island, from the pulpit to the floor of the Parliament.
• Hostility toward gays has reached such a level that four months ago, gay advocates in New York City launched a short-lived boycott against Jamaica at the site of the Stonewall Inn, where demonstrations launched the gay-rights movement in 1969.
  
• In its 2008 report, the U.S. State Department also notes that gays have faced death and arson threats, and are hesitant to report incidents against them because of fear.
• For gays, the reality of this enduring hostility is loneliness and fear, and sometimes even murder.
• Andrew, a 36-year-old volunteer for an AIDS education program, said he was driven from the island after his ex-lover was killed for being gay — which police said was just a robbery gone wrong. He moved to the U.K. for several years, but returned to Jamaica in 2008 for personal reasons he declined to disclose.

Courtesy: Yahoo news

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HAVING MANY INDIAN-BASED PARTIES COULD SPLIT THE COMMUNITY

The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) Party's president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu(photo above) today said having many Indian-based political parties could cause the community to be split.

• He said he took a serious view of the matter and urged the government to be careful when approving such new parties.
• “The MIC is having a programme to unite the Indian community, such developments are not healthy for the community so I urge the political parties to work with us,” Samy Vellu told reporters after officiating the 63rd Negeri Sembilan MIC delegates convention here today.
• He expressed confidence that the Indian community would support the MIC given that the party was established for 63 years.
• “Many Indians meet me about problems and this is proof that the MIC is still relevant and can look after the interests of the Indians,” he said.
• To date, there are six Indian-based parties, namely the MIC, the Indian Progressive Front, the Malaysian Indian United Party, the Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party, the Malaysian Indian Democratic Action Front (Mindraf) and the Parti Hak Asasi Manudia.
• Samy admitted that “a small number of Indians” alleged that the MIC did not look after the interests of Indians with problems and, as a result, about 40 per cent of the Indian support had swung towards the opposition since 2008.
• “Today we see the Indian support for the MIC and the Barisan Nasional returning,” he said.
• He said the MIC today wanted to change and take steps to set up the party’s community service centres in every state to help the Indian community.
• Earlier, there was only a centre in Kuala Lumpur, excluding the centres set up by state assemblymen and members of parliament.

Source: BERNAMA, The Star Online

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MALAYSIAN EXTREMIST WANTED FOR JAKARTA BOMBING

A Malaysian extremist wanted for a string of terror attacks was named Saturday as the likely culprit behind suicide bombings at luxury hotels in Indonesia that left eight dead and 55 injured.

• Police were studying explosives found in the suspects' "control centre" in room 1808 of the Marriott hotel, which was bombed along with its nearby sister hotel the Ritz-Carlton on Friday during the busy breakfast period.
• DNA evidence, including a severed head from the remains of two suicide bombers, was also being examined as security was tightened across Indonesia and the Philippines amid warnings of follow-up attacks.
• Five foreigners,three Australians, a New Zealander and a Singaporean,were identified among the dead as Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda put the total toll at eight, including the bombers.
• Meanwhile, the Singapore embassy in Jakarta told AFP it had not verified the death of the Singaporean man because the Indonesian health ministry was not able to give the complete name of the victim.
• Of the 55 injured, police said that 18 were foreigners including citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada, China, India, Italy, Norway, South Korea, the Netherlands and the United States.
• The attacks triggered the cancellation of a planned Manchester United friendly against an Indonesian All-Star team scheduled for Monday, a decision which caused bitter disappointment among football fans here.

Source: Channel News Asia

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CHINA WARNED ITS CITIZENS OVER 'AL QAEDA' THREAT

China has warned its citizens in Algeria to be on heightened alert following warnings that al-Qaeda could be plotting attacks on Chinese workers in North Africa in retaliation for the recent crackdown on unrest in China's western Xinjiang region.

• In a statement, China's foreign ministry said it was taking "all necessary measures" to protect Chinese nationals overseas.
• "We will keep a close eye on developments and make joint efforts with relevant countries … to ensure the safety of overseas Chinese institutions and people," a spokesman said.
• The warning follows the publication of an intelligence report citing "chatter" from al-Qaeda's North African arm vowing to avenge the deaths of Uighur Muslims killed during several days of unrest in the city of Urumqi.
• A posting on the website of the Chinese embassy in Algiers on Tuesday urged all Chinese nationals and organisations in the country to take increased safety precautions and strengthen security measures "in consideration of the situation after the July 5 incident in Urumqi".
• A diplomat, Shao, at the Chinese embassy in Algiers told Reuters: "We do believe that security has improved a lot in Algeria and we will rely on Algerian security forces to protect our people."
• In the Philippines, which is battling a Muslim insurgency in its south, the government has ordered security to be tightened around the Chinese embassy and consulates, said Andres Caro, head of the national police directorate.

Courtesy: Al Jazeera

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JAKARTA HOTELS BLASTED BY 2 SUICIDE BOMBERS

Two suicide bombers were behind bomb attacks in Jakarta hotels on Friday morning, the national police chief told reporters.

1. Two bomb blasts, one at the JW Marriott, the other at the Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta's main business district killed 8 people and injured more than 60, including foreigners and Indonesians.
2. A car bomb had also exploded along a toll road in North Jakarta, police said. Indonesia’s Metro TV said two people had been killed. No further details on that blast were available.
3. Windows were shattered at both hotels, which are close to each other in the Kuningan business area which is popular with foreigners and Indonesians, with many bars, offices and embassies.
4. Hundreds of police, some soldiers and ambulances were at the scene of the hotel attacks. A Reuters witness said about 100 foreign and Indonesian hotel guests and office workers were gathered outside, some still wearing bathrobes.
5. The windows in the first floor of the Ritz-Carlton were blown out, indicating the blast may have been in the restaurant, which would have been busy at that time of the morning
6. The bomb attacks, the first in several years, could badly dent investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The Indonesian government has made considerable progress in tackling security threats from militant Islamic groups in recent years, bringing a sense of greater political stability to the country.

Source: The Malaysian Insider, The Star Online

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MALAYSIAN'S ANWAR WINS RULING ON SODOMY EVIDENCE

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Thursday won a key ruling in his sodomy trial, forcing the prosecution to hand over evidence including video footage and medical reports.

• The High Court ordered government lawyers to produce witness statements and reports from doctors who examined Anwar's accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was an aide in his office.
• Anwar, who was sacked as deputy prime minister and jailed a decade ago on separate sodomy and corruption charges, welcomed the decision but said there was still no certainty he would get a fair trial.
• "I would say that we are glad with this particular judgement but we have to go through the processes because of past experience. We cannot be too presumptive," he said.
• He also said he was concerned that the court had denied the defence team access to DNA specimens, and criticised the prosecution's plans to file an appeal on the decision to release evidence, saying it was a delaying tactic.
• The 61-year-old opposition leader faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment if he is convicted of the charges, which he says are a conspiracy to frustrate his political ambitions.
• The earlier sex conviction was overturned in 2004, allowing him to go free after six years in jail.

Couryesy: Channel news Asia

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DAP'S POLITICAL SECRETARY DEAD AT SPRM HQ

The death of 30 years old Teoh Beng Hock , the political secretary of Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, will put more pressure on the The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) (SPRM), which has been accused by the opposition of conducting selective investigations.

• As a result of this incident, MACC controversial probe into several DAP assemblymen’s activities was thrown into more turmoil today.
• MACC said he was freed but his body was later found sprawled on the roof of a five-storey building next door.
• It is unclear if Teoh, a former journalist with Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh, fell or jumped from the MACC office.
• Ean Yong and several other DAP lawmakers were at the scene, including M. Manoharan, Gan Pei Nee and Teresa Kok.
• DAP’s Ronnie Liu said the police has confirmed that the body is that of Teoh. He added that he does not understand how this could have happened.
• At a press conference, the MACC director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said Teoh was questioned from 5pm yesterday to 3.45am and was released soon after.
• However, Teoh apparently said he was tired and so he rested on a settee in the lobby. He was seen sleeping on the settee at 6am.
• At about 1.30pm, Shukri said, they heard that a body had been found on the 5th floor of the adjacent building and when one of the MACC officers went to investigate, he realised it was one of their witnesses.
• Shukri said Teoh was not a suspect but was questioned as part of their investigations into the misuse of state allocations.
• Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the deceased was found lying in a pool of blood clad in a white shirt, black pants and jacket.

Source: The Malaysian Insider

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PLANE CRASH IN IRAN, 168 ON BOARD FEARED KILLED

A Tupolev passenger aircraft crashed in northwestern Iran today and 168 people on board were killed, Iranian media reported.
The Caspian Airlines aircraft was carrying 153 passengers and 15 crew, Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for Iran’s aviation organisation, told state television.

• State television showed footage of debris from the plane and some body parts.
• The plane was travelling from Tehran to Yerevan in Armenia when it came down at 11.33am (3.03pm, Malaysian time) near the city of Qazvin, the official IRNA news agency said.
• The plane crashed 16 minutes after take-off from the capital’s Imam Khomeini International airport, it said.
• The semi-official Fars News Agency quoted a senior provincial official, Sirous Saberi, as saying the plane had experienced technical problems and had tried to do an emergency landing.
• A fire brigade official, Hossein Behzadpour, said firefighters were trying to extinguish the fire.

Source: Reuters

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ISRAEL POLIS SUSPECTED LIEBERMAN OF FRAUD, BRIBERY AND BREACH OF PUBLIC TRUST

Israel's Police on Tuesday night met with Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz in Jerusalem to discuss the final stages of the criminal investigation into Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

• "We confirm that there was a meeting in the attorney-general's office regarding Lieberman. We stress that this was not a summing-up meeting and that the case has not been sent to state prosecutors," police said.
• Lieberman is suspected of fraud, bribery, breach of public trust, and fraudulent receipt of goods. Police believe Lieberman laundered millions of dollars, funneling the funds through a consultancy firm registered in his daugther's name, as well as a company owned by Lieberman himself.
• Lieberman is also suspected of running personal business affairs while holding a ministerial post.
• While Mazuz has the power to order police to launch investigations into senior politicians, he can not decide on whether to indict suspects. Rather, it is state prosecutors who take final decisions on whether to proceed to indictments, Guttman said.

Source: JPost

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U.S. LAWMAKERS WANT TERRORISTS TO TAKE DOWN IRAN GOVT.

Two hard-line US lawmakers have called for greater efforts to topple the Tehran government, going as far as to suggest support for anti-Iran terrorist groups.

• Democratic Representative and Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Bob Filner called, on June 26, for greater support for what he called "resistance groups" in Iran, putting a special emphasis on the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), UPI reported.
• On Sunday, Former House Speaker and leading Republican hawk Newt Gingrich also called on the Obama administration to "sabotage" Iran's oil and gas industry to trigger an economic crisis - which he claimed would bring down the Iranian government.
• "[We] should use covert operations to create a gasoline-led crisis to try and replace the regime," he was quoted by UPI as saying.
• The idea of attacking Iran's oil industry is not a new concept in US politics as many leading analysts and politicians have already explored its feasibility and effectiveness, but outward talk of support for a group that is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States is a rare move.
• The MKO, listed as a terrorist group in Iran, Iraq, Canada, and the US, has claimed responsibility for bombings, killings and attacks against Iranian government officials and civilians over the past 30 years.
• he attacks include the assassination of the late president Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar and judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.
• The MKO is also known to have cooperated with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
• The organization is also notorious for using cult-like tactics against its own members and for torturing and murdering its defectors.
  Source: Press TV
  

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BOMBS EXPLODED OUTSIDE 4 CHURCHES ACROSS BAGHDAD

Bombs have exploded outside four churches across Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, killing at least four people and wounding 28 others, police have said.
A car bomb placed outside a church on Palestine Street in the east of the city on Sunday killed four people and injured 21 others.
Three bombs placed in cardboard boxes went off earlier near the gates of churches in the Ghadir and Karrada districts of central and eastern Baghdad.

• Christians, believed to number around 750,000, have been sporadically targeted for attacks, particularly in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, leading many of them to flee abroad.
• In the northern city of Kirkuk on Sunday, armed men assassinated Aziz Rizqo Nisan, the head of the provincial audit department - a Christian in a city divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.
• Although violence has fallen significantly from a peak following the US-led invasion in 2003, there has been an increase in attacks as US combat troops have pulled out of the centre of towns and centres.
• Two explosions outside a billiard hall in Baghdad on Saturday killed at least one person and wounded at least 20 others and a roadside bomb in the Saydiya district killed a junior cabinet official.
• Despite the violence, a senior US military official said on Sunday that there had been calls for help with urban combat since the withdrawal on June 30.

Courtesy: Al Jazeera

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WILL MALAYSIAN PM TEMPTED TO HOLD SNAP POLLS?

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's rise in approval ratings may mean a snap poll as soon as November, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang predicted today.
Some political observers have said that the prime minister needs to secure a fresh mandate by calling an election before the 2013 deadline.

• According to independent polling firm Merdeka Center, Najib was staring at low approval ratings of only 45 per cent as of May, one month after being sworn in as prime minister.
• A series of reform-minded policy announcements later and Najib's ratings have risen sharply to 65 per cent by the end of June.
• With his message of racial unity and lifting of ethnic quotas in selected sectors of the services and financial industry, he also appears to have won back a significant chunk of the non-Malay support that fled to the opposition during the last general election due to racial politics practised by the Barisan Nasional.
• Approval ratings among Chinese and Indians are at 48 and 74 per cent respectively, up from 24 and 64 per cent in May.
• Lim says that if approval ratings keep rising, the prime minister may call an election this year.
• Monash University Malaysia political analyst James Chin disagrees however that the prime minister will call a snap election based solely on approval ratings, but will wait until the economy recovers from the current slowdown.

Source: The Malaysian Insider

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MUIS IS AN INTEGRAL INSTITUTION AMONG MUSLIMS IN S'PORE

Member of Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS - Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it has become an integral institution within the Singapore Muslim community due to its continuing efforts over the years as well as tackling community challenges head on.

• Speaking first in Malay at the anniversary celebrations, Prime Minister Lee noted that Muslims in Singapore contribute actively in the economy, professions as well as the social and cultural life of Singapore.
• Mr Lee said that MUIS has not only ministered to the religious needs of Muslims, it has also taken the lead on difficult issues.
• It was a "milestone" for the community, said Mr Lee, as many Muslims had reservations over organ donation. MUIS helped clarify concerns about the matter.
• Another example was when terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) was discovered in Singapore after the September 11 attacks in the United States.
• Said Mr Lee: "MUIS took a firm stand against terrorism, as did the Muslim community. It helped the government to reassure Muslims in Singapore that security action was not targeted at the community or Islam."

Source: Channel News Asia

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ACID POURING TO YOUNG WOMEN FACE IS COMMON IN BAGNGLADESH

According to official figures, there are around 200 acid-related crimes reported every year in Bangladesh. However, thousands of acid-attack victims find refuge at the Acid Survivor Foundation(ASF) in Dhaka, the capital, in any given year. Like Rahima, most victims are women who have spurned advances from men.

• Rahima Begum, a young woman in the village of Kaligonj in the northwest of Bangladesh, turned down the romantic advances of a neighbour and paid dearly for it.
• In the dead of night, while she was asleep, her neighbour poured acid over her face, leaving her disfigured for life.
• "I may be still alive but he took my life away, I have become the shame of my family and of my village. I have no where to go," she says.
• "The perpetrators have a strong mindset not to kill the person but to put the victim in a position that they suffer for life," Monira Rahman, the ASF's executive director, said.
• The effect is to rob a woman of her beauty, thus ensuring that she will never be admired again, she said.
• The survivors of these assaults suffer deep burns and most bear irreparable scars for the rest of their lives. Some disfigurement can be treated through surgery, however.
• The Bangladeshi government takes acid crime very seriously, and in the past decade has enacted many laws aimed at curbing the occurrence of this crime.
• In related story by Harvard Health Policy Review (HHPR) , in 2002, Eight-year old Babli was attacked by her own father when she was only an infant.He had purchased acid from a local shop and then poured it into his daughter's ears and over her feet.Her mother Ayeesha explains that he was angry that she had been born a girl.Despite the government's promises to take these cases seriously, Babli and her mother have little hope of seeing justice done.

Source: HHPR, Al Jazeera

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MUSLIM WOMEN LEAD PROTESTS IN URUMQI WEST CHINA

The petite Muslim woman with the sky blue head scarf began by complaining that the public washrooms were closed at a crowded mosque on Friday ,the most important day of the week for Islamic worship.

• When a group gathered around her on the sidewalk, Madina Ahtam then railed against communist rule in China's far western region of Xinjiang, rocked by ethnic rioting that has killed at least 184 people this week.
• The 26-year-old businesswoman eventually led the crowd of mostly men in a fist-pumping street march that was quickly blocked by riot police, some with automatic rifles pointed at the protesters.
• The incident was one of many examples of how Muslim women have been taking bold leadership roles following the deadliest communal violence in decades in the Xinjiang region. As the communist government launches a sweeping security crackdown, the women have faced down troops, led protests and risked arrest by speaking out against police tactics they believe are excessive.
• Chinese leaders have alleged that a woman masterminded the rioting in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi.
  They blame activist Rebiya Kadeer, a 62-year-old businesswoman who was once the government's favorite Uighur success story. But she began criticizing communist rule, served time in prison and eventually went into exile in the U.S. She has repeatedly denied instigating the violence.
• Women have been on the front line in Urumqi partly because more than 1,400 men in the Muslim Uighur minority have been rounded up by police since ethnic rioting broke out July 5.
• China's official Xinhua News Agency said late Friday that the death toll has risen to 184, with 137 of the victims belonging to the dominant Han ethnic group. The Han victims included 111 men and 26 women, the report said. The rest of the deaths were 45 men and one woman who were Muslim Uighurs, along with one man of the Hui ethnic group, Xinhua said, citing the information office of the regional government.

Source: Yahoo News

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INDUSTRIALISED NATIONS(G8) PLEDGES $20BN FOR POOREST NATIONS

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations have pledged $20bn to help the world's poorest nations fight hunger.
The funding for agricultural investment, announced at the G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, on Friday, was $5bn more than had been expected and is aimed at encouraging poor farmers to produce more of their own food.

• Staffan De Mistura, the vice-executive director of the World Food Programme, said Friday's deal was "greeted with great happiness by all of us in the conference room".
• "While we are rebuilding agriculture, we need to continue supporting food assistance because the financial crisis is pushing another 103 million people into hunger this year," De Mistura said.
• But Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in L'Aquila, said although the food security measure was an important step, the summit had achieved "little success" over the three days of meetings.
• According to the United Nations, the number of malnourished people in the world now exceeds one billion.
• Stephen Chan, a professor of African studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, told Al Jazeera that it was important for poor countries to have self sufficiency.
• Chan said open markets become meaningful "when there's competition that goes both ways, when African states for instance are also able to compete against Western producers. And we're a long way from that right now".
• Charity workers previously expressed disappointment at what they saw as broken promises from leaders, after Italy announced a 56 per cent cut in its aid budget this year.

Courtesy: Al Jazeera

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DR MAHATHIR GAVE MALAYSIAN PM A POOR RATING

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave Datuk Seri Najib Razak a poor rating today, on the eve of the latter's 100th day in office as prime minister.

But the country's longest-serving prime minister, well known for his acid tongue, appeared to ease up somewhat in his blistering criticisms today.

• "So far, the negatives are more than the positives," Dr Mahathir said when asked to comment on Najib's performance.
• The good doctor seemed in good spirits today, which is his 84th birthday, and seemed at first disinclined to elaborate on Najib's weaknesses.
• He repeated his previous disappointment at Najib's idea to build a third bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore on the underdeveloped east flank of Johor because it was done without "proper study" and would not solve the increasing traffic problems on land and sea.
• He also listed the government's policy reversal on teaching mathematics and science in English and Umno's failure to boot out certain partymen who had been linked to corruption as among other examples of Najib's poor decision-making.

Courtesy: The Malaysian Insider

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THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT MAY IMPORT CHEETAHS

According to Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests,the Indian government will introduce a multimillion-pound plan to import Cheetahs, a species on the verge of extinction, for Indian grasslands.

• The minister said that the government had failed to check the rampant killing of tigers, despite reserving a sum of £93 millions for the protection of the national animal of the country.
• The government would schedule a meeting of international experts in Rajasthan in September, to discuss the feasibility of setting up a "breeding nucleus" site for producing animals for Indian animal parks and sanctuaries.
• The subspecies survive in the Kavir desert of Iran, but the Islamic Republic's leaders always turned down request by India to provide even a sample of tissue of species for cloning purposes.
• K. Ranjitsinh, the chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India, said: "Suitable habitats are abundant in India, but are being managed terribly. The cheetah could be an important symbol, a lever to help protect even rarer species in the same areas."
  Source: Top News
  

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RAPE AN EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE IN AFGANISTAN

Afghan law does not protect rape victims and for too long communities have turned to traditional forms of justice which tend to criminalise victims of a profound problem, the United Nations said today.

• A UN report, the full version of which is yet to be published, described rape as an everyday occurence.
• A summary of the report said that in northern Afghanistan, for example, more than a third of cases analysed showed rapists were directly linked to local leaders who are immune from arrest.
• Those likely to commit rape are close family members, men who work in prisons or orphanages and men in powerful positions either in state-run institutions or in armed groups and criminal gangs, it said.
• In many communities, shame is attached to a victim of rape rather than the criminal, the report said.
• Families will often resort to the traditional and religious practices of “baad” and “zina” to save face, either by insisting the victim marry the rapist or prosecuting her for sexual relations outside of marriage.
• Afghanistan’s penal code does not explicitly address the crime of rape or define it, something which the government must address urgently, the report said.
• Sima Samar, head of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission, said the government had been reluctant to face the problem of rape, a taboo in conservative Muslim Afghanistan, but it should implement a new rape law soon.
  Courtesy: The Malaysian Insider
  

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INDONESIA PRESIDENT SUSILO BAMBANG WIN A SECOND 5 -YEAR TERM

Indonesia's voters handed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a second five-year term on Wednesday, placing their faith in his firm but unassuming hand on the economic tiller and his promises of further reform.

• Officials results from the election will not be announced until later this month, but "quick count" results which have proved extremely reliable in the past showed Yudhoyono had won enough votes to avoid a second run-off with his nearest rival.
• Not known for jumping to a conclusion, Yudhoyono declared his own resounding victory as the results rolled in from across the archipelago of 226 million people.
• "The quick counts show our success, thanks be to God," the 59-year-old former army general told reporters as jubilant supporters flocked to his home in Bogor, Java island, to congratulate him.
• With virtually all of the LSI polling agency's sample of votes counted, Yudhoyono's tally stood at a commanding 60.82 percent. Other agencies put his score slightly lower, but all showed he was comfortably above the halfway mark needed to avoid a second round.
• The election, only the second direct vote for a president in Indonesia, cements the country's transition to democracy after a chequered history.
• Analysts say Yudhoyono is likely to pick more technocrats, and fewer politicians from among his coalition partners, to fill his next cabinet so that the government can promote reform.

Source: The Star Online

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MASS GRAVE FOUND IN DAVAO, PHILIPPINES

A pile of bodies found by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in a remote Davao City section could be the secret mass grave of victims of summary executions in the city, where alleged drug pushers and users, hold-up men and persistent petty criminals have been disappearing for the past several years.

• A special task force of the CHR investigating activities of an alleged Davao Death Squad found the grave.
• The squad, reported to be dreaded by residents, is believed to be behind the deaths of suspected criminals who disappeared over the years, and their motive, according to sources, may be to gain full control of lucrative criminal activities in the city.
• The CHR revealed it had received reports its multiagency task force also found a man-made pit near a creek leading to the burial ground, where a human leg bone was discovered.
• On July 5, the task force and a police Special Investigation Task Group
• team raided Gold Cup Firing Range in the city, earlier identified by a confessed death squad member as the location of several burial sites.
• The team then implemented a search warrant from a Regional Trial Court in Manila to immediately search for the burial sites on the privately owned facility, said to be operated by retired SPO4 Bienvenido Laud.
• The “several fragments” found in the first grave were identified by scene-of-the-crime operatives forensic experts to be “human remains.”
• On July 6, Laud tried to stop the diggings, threatening to file charges, but instead of caving in, the task force applied for a search warrant for a wider area of the property.
• The CHR office in Davao said the Regional Trial Court in the city where the new warrant was applied for has so far refused to issue one and just “reluctantly conducted summary proceedings,” and at one point the judge remarked, “alam nyo ba ang ginagawa nyo [Do you know what you are doing]?”
• Until press time, the CHR was still waiting for a new warrant.
  

Source: Business Mirror

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MALAYSIA TO TIGHTEN SECURITY AHEAD OF ANWAR TRAIN

Malaysia is expected to tighten security around its capital city as supporters of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim rally behind him ahead of his sodomy trial which may begin on Wednesday if the court refuses to strike out his case.

• Police are keeping their cards close to their chest, but water canons and battalions of light strike force are expected to be deployed.
• Already Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein has warned of harsh reaction against any protests.
• “If they create chaos and go against the law to disrupt security and the judiciary, the authorities will certainly react,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
• Nevertheless, thousands are expected to gather to protest what has been widely perceived as sham trial, much like the one the Myanmar junta pressed against democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyii recently.
• Despite the evidence of two hospital reports – one of which was from the government-run Hospital Kuala Lumpur – that concluded the complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan had not been sodomised, Prime Minister Najib Razak is determined to proceed with the case.

Source:Wong Choon Mei

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NO 'GREEN LIGHT' FROM U.S. FOR ISRAEL TO ATTACK IRAN

The Obama administration denied Monday that it is giving Israel the green light to attack Iran or that it is reconsidering plans to engage diplomatically with the Islamic Republic.

• Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, formerly the country's top nuclear negotiator, warned Tehran would hold Washington responsible for any such strike after US Vice-President Joe Biden said Washington would not dictate how Israel deals with Iran's nuclear ambitions.
• But State Department spokesman Ian Kelly poured cold water on suggestions that Biden could be seen as giving the Jewish state a green light to attack Iran, which it views as an existential threat.
• "I certainly would not want to give a green light to any kind of military action," Kelly told reporters. But he echoed Biden's point that Washington considered Israel a "sovereign country" with a right to make its own military decisions.
• In the mean time,Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned in a separate interview Sunday of the dangers posed by any military strike against Iran, despite saying military options should not be ruled out.
• Obama has said he wants to see progress on his diplomatic outreach to Iran by year's end, while not excluding a "range of steps," including tougher sanctions, if Tehran continued its nuclear drive.
• Hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ruled out a possible military strike against Iran.
  Source: Gulf News
  

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RAJA PETRA IS NOT IN COURT AGAIN

Raja Petra and his wife, Marina Lee Abdullah

Malaysian's Popular political activist blogger Raja Petra failed to turn up in court once again for his criminal defamation case.

• He was scheduled to be present yesterday in the Sessions Court, where he is charged with three counts of criminal defamation over a statutory declaration on the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.
• It’s basically a case of accusation and somebody ain’t too happy about it.
• Raja Petra is alleged to defamed the Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the Lt-Col husband and wife of Norhayati Hassan and Abdul Aziz Buyong.
• The court was informed by the deputy public prosecutor Mohd Hafiz Mohd Yusof that the warrant of arrest against Raja Petra issued recently had yet to be executed.
• The next mention for the cased has been scheduled for October 9th as both prosecution and defence requested for more time.

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JERUSALEM IS NO HOME FOR JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

Arabs in eastern Jerusalem watch Obama's Cairo speech, June 4

After the war in Gaza, I seldom post news coming from Jerusalem which include Gaza and West Bank.
It seems , Iran , North Korean and other parts of the world had dominated the breaking news, now a days.
However, I was enchanted by a report written by a Jewish writer elaborating how PA Arab feel about the present of Jews and Christian in holy land of Jerusalem.
After doing some research, I found out, she get the news from Arutz Shiva, an Israel national news com.

• According to the news, a poll released this week showed that PA Arabs are reluctant to grant rights to Jews or Christians within areas demanded for a PA state.
• A survey conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development among 1,200 Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza found that did not feel Jerusalem should be shared with Jews and Christians.
• When asked to what extent they agreed with a statement made by United States President Barack Obama that Jerusalem should be “a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims,” less than 17 percent said they agree, while 20 percent said they “somewhat agree.” More than 42 percent said they disagree with the statement, while 17 percent “somewhat disagree.”
• More than 45 percent of those surveyed disagreed with a second statement of Obama's in which the president called on the Arab world to reject violence and killing as a means of struggle. Twenty-two percent did not give an answer, while the remainder said they “agree” or “somewhat agree” with the statement.
• The poll showed that PA Arabs were pessimistic regarding Obama's speech to the Arab world in early June. More believed that Obama's visit to the region would strengthen Israel, increase restrictions on Gaza, and do nothing to promote negotiations than believed the opposite.
• Only 14.2 percent said they fully agreed that Obama is serious when he calls for the creation of a PA state.
• Thirty-one percent believed Israel should not insist that Jews be allowed to live in a PA state.

Another new poll showed that most Israeli Jews believe that any future Palestinian Authority-led Arab state in Judea and Samaria should provide Jews with equal rights, including the right to live freely in its territory.
The statistic was revealed Thursday by a Maagar Mochot poll published by the Independent Media Review and Analysis.Fifty-eight percent of the 506 Israeli Jews surveyed said they believed Israel should insist that any future PA state respect the right of Jews to live in its territory.
To what extent, this report reflects the real situation in Jerusalem, only Muslim Palestinian, Jews and Christian over there knows.
Pray, they well-come the two state solution recommended by U.S.

Source: Israel Jews News Blogspot, Arutz Shiva

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MUSLIM CITY OF URUMQI IN CHINA HIT BY VIOLENCE

The western Chinese region of Xinjiang experienced the biggest display of ethnic unrest in recent memory today as thousands of Muslim Uighurs took to the streets in protest.

• The protesters smashed up buses, threw stones through shop windows and assaulted Han Chinese passers-by, according to a witness, who said the spark was the recent killing of Uighur migrant workers in Guangdong, southern China.
• Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that vehicles were set on fire and traffic guard rails overturned. Bloodied victims were rushed to hospital in the regional capital, Urumqi, as armed riot police moved in to restore order with tear gas, armoured vehicles and road blocks, according to a foreign student in Xinjiang.
• A large section of Urumqi was shut off to vehicles tonight , with police manning roadblocks at the perimeter, and witnesses reported large numbers of armed officers inside the cordon. Mobile phone networks appeared to get cut off sporadically.
• There's a terrible situation today. There were big ethnic riots - there was a lot of fighting," said one Han resident. "It's not safe – you can't go anywhere near there.
• They've blocked it all off. You have to be careful." "It's very dangerous so you can't go into the centre at all. It's the Uighurs causing violence," complained a Han businessman, who said he was unable to get home because of the blocks.
• The protests were said to have started when several thousand people rallied in the Grand Bazaar to protest at the death of two Uighur migrants, and injuries suffered by hundreds of others, during an ethnic conflict between workers in a factory in Guangdong last month.

Source: Zone Europe.com

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THAI FOREIGN MINISTER DECIDES TO RESIGN

Thailand's foreign minister has expressed outrage at being "criminalised" for his links to last year's protest blockade of Bangkok's airports and said he will "have to resign".

• Kasit Piromya told Al Jazeera on Sunday that he will undoubtedly step down since the police have summoned him for questioning over the forced shut downs of the Suvarnabhumi international airport and the domestic Don Muang terminal.
• "I have come to a point where I am being criminalised, and I would have to resign without doubt," Kasit said on Sunday.
• "Fellow Thai citizens a few months back went to a police station near the airport and put a charge against me as being a terrorist . I have been called by the police to meet them."
• The police earlier said that Kasit and 35 leading members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (Pad), also known as the "Yellow Shirts", have been called in to answer charges over last year's blockade.
• "We have issued a summons for two airport incidents," Lieutenant-General Wut Puawes, the assistant police chief, said.

Courtesy: Al Jazeera

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N. KOREA USES MALAYSIAN BANK FOR WEAPONS PAYMENT ?

According to Korea Times, the transaction of North Korea’s suspected shipment of weapons to Myanmar, was planned to be paid through a bank in Malaysia.

• The visit by a U.S. envoy to Malaysia this weekend will focus on ways to cut off the payment transaction for the cargo from the bank in Malaysia to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the source said.Philip Goldberg, the U.S. coordinator for the implementation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that punishes North Korea for its May 25 nuclear test, is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday.
• The visit comes after the White House said late last month that U.S. President Barack Obama discussed North Korea and financial regulations with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razakon by phone.
• It also comes as North Korea’s Kang Nam freighter is apparently returning home after being tracked by a U.S. Navy destroyer that suspects it is carrying cargo banned under the resolution.
• Resolution 1874, which reinforced sanctions that were imposed after North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, bans Pyongyang from exporting any type of weapons — light or heavy.
• According to another source in Seoul, the Kang Nam is believed to be carrying small Soviet-era arms such as AK-47 rifles and RPG-7 anti-tank launchers.
• AK-47s and RPG-7s are two of the most widely traded Soviet-era weapon types that North Korea is capable of producing on its own.
• “Kim appears to have received earnest money for the shipment, but it is a small sum compared to the payment held up in Malaysia,” the source said.
  Source: Korean Herald
  

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ALBANIA, THE SOURCE OF ORGAN TRAFFICKING IN EUROPE ?

It's hard to believe that in an idyllic setting house in the camps in northern Albania, is the centre of the most grotesque crimes of the Kosovan war.

• It is alleged, that Kosovan fighters kidnapped Serbs during the Kosovo war, removed their organs in Albania and sold them in the black market .
• The sources said that some of these prisoners had been taken to the farmhouse, which had been turned into a makeshift operating theatre. Their organs were removed, and then carried to an airport near Tirana, to be flown out of the country.
• Meanwhile, the terrified prisoners confined inside the shack until they are killed later for their vital organs.
• The story would probably have been forgotten without Former U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte memoirs entitled "The Hunt" that her team had investigated reports that around 300 Serbians held in Albania had had organs removed, apparently for trafficking.
• The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution has so far identified 10 members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspected of killing kidnapped Serb civilians. Those suspects identified, prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekarić said in Belgrade on 25^th Wednesday , are linked with the case of decapitated soldiers, “which has been publicized by the news media”.
• European Union started to show more interest into illegal organ trade on 2006 when few MEPs raised a question in European Parliament about Chinese Communist Party’s Organ Harvesting 2006. There was a good base for suspicion about the Chinese regime’s “organ harvesting,” the name for the fatal removal and sale of organs from death row prisoners and from Falun Gong practitioners held for their beliefs.
• Source: Barnaby Phillips
  

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INDONESIAN PRESIDENT CLAIMS HIS ENEMIES USE BLACK MAGIC

Incumbent Indonesia president and presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing, yet another 'adversary', apart from a challenge by a vice-president and a former president in the run-up to the presidential elections on July 8.

• He claims that black magic is being dabbled by his enemies to derail his efforts for a second five-year term in office, ending 2014.
• "This is an election season. Many are practising black magic. Indeed, my family and I can sense its effects.
• "It's extraordinary. Many methods (of black magic) are being used," he told 3,000 participants of a prayer gathering at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor.
• He said he chanted prayers as a means to protect himself against black magic attacks from his challengers.
• "I have come to the conclusion that only prayers can defeat black magic attacks. For instance, last night (Friday night), I kept praying all the way to the venue of the debate (the third and final round of presidential debates), along with my wife, aides and driver," he was quoted by Antara news agency on Saturday.
• "I also ask you to pray so that the election will remain free of slander, black campaigns, violence and other kinds of foul play," said the incumbent president who is being challenged by vice-president Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in the direct presidential election, involving 175 million registered voters.
• Susilo also asked them to pray so that all sides would accept whatever the outcome of the election, especially for those who had lost so that they would not turn to anarchy.

Source: BERNAMA, Antara news agency

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