AUSTRALIA RALLY IN SUPPORT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
SYDNEY, Australia –
Thousands of people rallied in Australian cities over the weekend in support of
same-sex marriage, as politicians across multiple parties prepared to submit a
bill to make the unions a legal right.
More than 4,000 gathered in central Sydney Sydney in a colorful march, chanting “Put the bill, pass the bill, marriage rights now!”
and carrying banners reading “Love is love”.
“We’re going to come back to the streets again and again
until we win,” march organiser Rachel Evans from activist group Community
Action Against Homophobia told the cheering crowd.
Similar rallies were held in Perth on Sunday and in Brisbane
and Hobart on Saturday. Supporters of marriage equality will hold rallies in
Melbourne and Adelaide next weekend.
“This is the height of the campaign,” Evans told AFP in
Sydney.
“It’s one of the largest rallies.”
One of those taking part, Matthew Higgs, said he was raised
by his mother and her partner and wanted equal rights for them.
“She’s been with her partner for a long time,” he told AFP.
Sally Rugg, with activist group GetUp, told the crowd that
support for the issue went beyond marriage rights and sent a message to the
community that gay people were accepted.
A backbencher from the ruling Liberal Party – seconded by an
opposition Labor representative and with co-sponsors from other parties – was
set to introduce a marriage equality bill as parliament resumes this week.
FOURTH SECULAR BLOGGER HACKED TO DEATH IN BANGLADESH
DHAKA, Bangladesh – A gang armed with machetes hacked a secular blogger
to death at his home in Dhaka today in the fourth such murder in Bangladesh
since the start of the year, an activist group and police said.
He is the fourth secular blogger to be killed in the
Muslim-majority nation since February when Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit
Roy, a writer and moderator of a blog site, was hacked to death in Dhaka.
Niloy Chakrabarti, who used the pen-name Niloy Neel, was
killed after the gang broke into his apartment, according to the Bangladesh
Blogger and Activist Network which was alerted to the attack by a witness.
“They entered his room in the fifth floor and shoved his
friend aside and then hacked him to death. He was a listed target of the
Islamist militants,” the network’s head Imran H. Sarker told AFP.
Police confirmed Chakrabarti had been murdered by a group of
half a dozen people in the capital’s Goran neighbourhood although they had no
details on his background
or the motive for the killing.
or the motive for the killing.
“There were six
people who knocked his door, saying that they were looking to rent a flat. Two
of them then took him to a room and then slaughtered him there,” Muntashirul
Islam, a deputy police commissioner, told AFP.
“His wife was in the flat but she was confined to another
room.”
The other victims include Ananta Bijoy Das who was attacked
by a group wielding machetes on May 13 as he headed to work in Sylhet and
27-year-old Washiqur Rahman was hacked to death in Dhaka in March.
Bangladeshi authorities banned the hardline Islamist group
Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) following Das’s murder in May, after facing accusations
that they were doing too little to stop such attacks.
Bangladesh is an officially secular country but more than 90
per cent of its 160 million people
are Muslim.
are Muslim.
Source: AFP
UMNO MAN SLAMS TRANSFER OF MACC DIRECTORS AS BLATANT SHOW OF POWER IN MALAYSIA?
Former Umno Supreme
Council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah(photo above) has slammed the transfer of two
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials to the Prime Minister's
Department as a "blatant show of power".
MACC special
operations division chief Datuk Bahri Mohamad Zin and strategic communications
director Datuk Rohaizad Yaakob were transferred with immediate effect for
"disciplinary issues" earlier today.
"This is a
blatant show of power and shows that there are people who are not happy with
MACC's efforts to find the truth," Saifuddin told The Malaysian Insider
today in reaction to the transfer.
Their transfer comes
shortly after seven MACC officers were interrogated, its offices raided twice,
and two of its officers detained overnight by the police within the period of a
week.
MACC was
investigating SRC International, a company formerly linked to 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB) and currently under the Finance Ministry.
"This will
strengthen the perception that there is a clear obstruction for MACC to do
their duties," said Saifuddin.
In his Twitter
account, he also described the transfer as "madness". Saifuddin is also the
CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates.
He is generally known
as a moderate in Umno and has often disagreed with his party colleagues on
national policy matters.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
ALMOST QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE DEAD IN SYRIA?
Almost a quarter of a million people, including nearly
12,000 children, have been killed in Syria's conflict since it broke out in
March 2011, a UK-based activist group has said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said it had
documented the deaths of 240,381 people, up from its tally of 230,618 announced
on June 9.
The latest death toll shows that 11,964 children were among
71,781 civilians killed in Syria.
At least 88,616 regime forces were killed - or one thirds
all deaths documented by the SOHR - including 50,570 soldiers, with the rest
made up by allied fighters.
The monitor, which relies on a wide network of sources on
the ground, put the death toll for rebel fighters at 42,384 and said 34,375
foreign fighters had also been killed in Syria.
The identity of another 3,225 people killed in the conflict
remains unknown, according to the observatory.
The fate of 30,000 people who have gone missing in Syria,
including 20,000 said to be held in Syrian jails, was not documented in the
toll.
It also did not take into account the fate of thousands of
loyalist forces held by rebel factions or by the Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant group.
The Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests
before spiraling into a multi - front war after a brutal regime
crackdown.
crackdown.
Source: Al Jazeera
MALAYSIAN PM SEEKS SECOND OPINION ON WSJ
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has sought a second opinion before initiating legal action against the
Wall Street Journal over its 1Malaysia Development Bhd articles.
His lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun said this was in light
of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s statement which contradicts the
publisher’s suggestion the money came from 1MDB’s coffers.
On Monday, the MACC issued a statement that some RM2.6bil
had been found in Najib’s private bank accounts but clarified it was from
donations.
The firm had sent a letter of clarification to WSJ for an
explanation over its July 2 article accusing Najib of transferring 1MDB funds
into his personal accounts.
Dow Jones & Company, the publisher of the US-based
newspaper, merely said the contents of the article was “self
explanatory”.
- “The publishers had studiously avoided admitting their article accused that the money comes from 1MDB,” he said at the Duta Court Complex yesterday. Mohd Hafarizam said Najib was considering consulting a Queen’s counsel or an American lawyer as the matter had issues of international jurisdiction.
- Although no deadline was set, he declined to confirm the course of legal action being considered.
- “We are not ruling out the possibility of filing a suit, but we’re keeping our options open at this point,” said Mohd Hafarizam.
Source: The Star
HUNDREDS FEARED DEAD AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES OFF LIBYA
Hundreds of migrants trying to reach across the
Mediterranean from Libya are feared to have drowned after their fishing boat
capsized off the North African country.
Statements on Twitter by UNHCR officials suggest that 399
people have been rescued so far and another 25 confirmed dead out of an estimated
600 migrants on the boat.
Karl Stagno-Navarra, a journalist based in Valletta, Malta,
told Al Jazeera that an Irish navy vessel confirmed that the boat capsized when
the people on board rushed to one side when the LE Niamh got close to it.
"The Irish vessel LE Niamh was present in the area, as
part of the EU-sponsored operations dealing with migration at sea," he
said, adding that it approached the migrant boat after picking up a distress
signal.Source:
The Italian coastguard, a vessel of the Malta-based Migrant
Offshore Aid Station and representatives of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are
also present at the scene participating in the operation, Stagno-Navarra said.
- "There have tragically been many deaths, but [the MSF] does not have figures at this stage," MSF said on Twitter.
- Stagno-Navarra said: "This is an extremely difficult operation as many migrants do not know how to swim and the conditions are reported to be windy and stormy."
- The Mediterranean is the world's most deadly border area for migrants.
- More than 2,000 migrants have died so far this year trying to cross the sea to reach Europe, confirming this as the deadliest route for migrants in search of a better life, the Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
It said in the same period last year, 1,607 migrants
perished and a total of 3,279 lost their lives in the whole of 2014.
Approximately 188,000 migrants have been rescued in the
Mediterranean so far this year, the IOM said, adding that the 200,000 mark is
expected to be reached very soon.
Source: Al Jazeera
MALAYSIAN RINGGIT WEAKENS TO 17 YEARS LOW?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The ringgit fell through the 3.9 support level
against the US dollar on Thursday while the equities market skidded, with the
FBM KLCI down more than 30 points.
It was a double whammy for investors as at 5pm, the ringgit
had fallen to 3.9125 to the greenback.
The KLCI tumbled 30.92 points or 1.79% to 1,694.64. Turnover
was 1.65 billion shares valued at RM2.02bil. The broader market weakened as
decliners beat advancers 686 to 187 and 282 counters were unchanged.
Reuters said the ringgit was its weakest since Sept 2 1998,
a day before the government pegged the ringgit at 3.8000. Malaysia lifted the
peg in 2005.
The major losers on the equities market were Petronas Gas,
Tenaga Nasional, MAHB, Sime Darby and Axiata.
Axiata fell 29 sen to RM6.14 and erased 4.21 points to the
KLCI, DiGi lost 20 sen to RM4.14 and erased 2.59 points from the index while TM
shed one sen to RM6.62.
Tenaga Nasional lost 40 sen to RM11.38 and erased 3.77
points. MAHB was 35 sen lower at RM5.09.
US light crude oil fell 15 cents to US$45 but Brent rose 13
cents to US$49.72. Petronas Gas fell 42 sen to RM22.10, Petronas Chemicals lost
15 sen to RM6.29 and Petronas Dagangan added eight sen to RM21.44.
SapuraKencana Petroleum lost six sen to RM2.34.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery fell RM8 to RM2,029
per tonne. KL Kepong lost 24 sen to to
RM21.56, Sime Darby 22 sen to RM8.57, IOI Corp 15 sen to RM4.13 but PPB Group
rose two sen to RM15.20.
Among the banks, HLFG lost 16 sen to RM15.28, Public Bank
fell 14 sen to RM19, Maybank 12 sen to RM9.07 and RHB Cap 10 sen to RM7.30,
AmBank lost five sen to RM5.60 while CIMB was flat at RM5.29.
Westports rose five sen to RM4.24 but off the intra-day high
of RM4.44 after it received the government’s approval to raise the container
tariffs.
Source: The Star
DEBRIS FOUND ON REUNION ISLAND FROM MALAYSIAN AIRPLANE MH370
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - The debris of a plane found on
Reunion Island last week has been confirmed to be part of the MH370 aircraft
which disappeared on March 8 last year.
This was announced by the Prime Minister Najib Razak during
a media conference at the Putra World Trade Centre at 1.50am here today.
“Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a
heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have
conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed
from MH370,” said Najib.
“This is a remote, inhospitable and dangerous area, and on behalf
of Malaysia I would like to thank the many nations, organisations and
individuals who have participated in the search.”
- Last week, on July 29, French authorities announced that part of an aircraft wing had been found on Reunion, the French island in the Indian Ocean.
- On March 8, 2014, flight MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared from the radar.
- “The days, weeks and months that followed have been a period of torment for the families of those on board. The plane’s disappearance was without precedent.
- “At every stage, we followed the tiny amount of evidence that existed. But, despite the efforts of 26 nations and the largest search in aviation history, from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, the plane could not be located,” Najib said.
- He added, as of now, none of the investigations that have been conducted by aviation experts could provide an answer as to why the ill-fated flight veered off course.
- Najib also vowed that the Malaysian government would do everything within their means to find out the truth about what happened to MH370.
- “While the plane’s disappearance remains a mystery, we share the pain of those who could find no comfort.
The burden and uncertainty faced by the families during
this time has been difficult. It is my hope that with this confirmation,
however tragic and painful, it will at least bring certainty to the families
and loved ones of the 239 people on board MH370. We mourn with you, as a nation, Najib said.
After the tragic incident on March 8 last year, Najib
announced that MH370 had tragically ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Source: – AFP
DOG BURIED ALIVE IN FRANCE SPARKS SOCIAL FURY
FRANCE – Photos of a dog buried alive up to its head in
France sparked an outpouring of anger on social media today, and police said the
owner was taken into custody.
The French mastiff was discovered and then rescued on
Saturday by a man walking his own dog on waste ground in Carrieres-sur-Seine,
west of Paris.
The man posted pictures on Facebook saying: “Only her head
was visible and it was difficult to see given the amount of earth covering
her.”
A police source told AFP that the dog was surrounded by
stones and her lead was attached to a sack of gravel to prevent her breaking
free from the earth.
The man called the emergency services and began to free the
animal. The dog, “shocked and dehydrated” according to the police source, was
taken to a veterinary clinic nearby.
Police quickly traced the animal to its 21-year-old owner
who was taken into custody.
Source: AFP
- He denied burying the dog, saying that the animal had run away.
- However, investigators said this was “not very plausible”.
- “The dog is more than 10 years old and suffers from arthritis. It’s difficult to imagine her running away,” said a source close to the investigation.
- The owner will be put on trial for animal cruelty and could be sent to prison for two years and be forced to pay a fine of up to €30,000 (RM126,269).
- An online petition calling for the “maximum sentence for the owner” had received 135,000 signatures since yesterday.
Source: AFP
