Protesters to Form Human Chain Around Greek Parliament

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 7:00 pm (UTC-5)
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Greek protesters say they plan to prevent lawmakers from entering the parliament in Athens Wednesday to try and stop debate on another round of deep spending cuts.

Demonstrators say they will form a human chain around the building as part of another 24-hour general strike against the government's economic plans.

Trains, ferries, and busses will be idle, schools will be shut down, and only essential staff will be on duty in hospitals. But air traffic controllers have decided not to take part in the work stoppage.

European Union officials say Greek politicians must agree on more spending cuts and tax hikes if Greece is to get another economic bailout.

But many ordinary Greeks are angry that they are being asked to make more sacrifices.

Last year's $160 billion bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund has done little to help Greece climb out of its deep debt.

Monday, the financial services company Standard & Poor's cut Greece's credit rating from B to CCC, putting it at the very bottom of the S&P rating list.

2 Pakistani Security Officials Removed After Videotaped Killing

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Pakistan's military said Tuesday it had removed two senior officials in Sindh province in response to the videotaped killing of an unarmed man in the southern port city of Karachi on June 8.

The military said the head of the paramilitary Rangers force Major General Ijaz Chaudhary and Sindh police chief Fayyaz Leghari have been removed in compliance with a Supreme Court order.

The video, originally aired uncut on Pakistani television, shows 22-year-old Sarfaraz Shah pleading for his life before being shot by paramilitary soldiers. Shah died during treatment at a Karachi hospital.

The Rangers say the man was armed and trying to rob someone when he was detained.

But the brutal nature of the video disturbed many in Pakistan and called into question the actions of the paramilitary force.

Six members of the paramilitary forces have also been turned over to police.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has called for an investigation into the matter.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the killing, calling it “yet another indication of law enforcement personnel becoming increasingly trigger-happy .” The rights group said such incidents were becoming more and more common in Pakistan.

There is another video circulating in Pakistan, showing the shooting death of five Russian nationals near the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, Quetta. Security forces claim they were suicide bombers, but there is no evidence that the five were armed.

The incidents came at a time when Pakistan's military is already under scrutiny following the U.S. special forces raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden at his compound in the northern garrison city of Abbottabad.

Human rights groups have long accused Pakistani security forces of carrying out extrajudicial killings.

Bangladesh Joins Global Battle to Save Tigers

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 6:40 pm (UTC-5)
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Bangladesh has joined the global battle to save Royal Bengal tigers, as the big cats continue to face threats to their survival.

The country's newly created Wildlife Crime Control Unit, equipped with modern weapons and high speed boats procured with the help of a $36 million loan from the World Bank, will go deep into the tigers' habitat to track threats from poachers.

An estimated 300 to 500 Royal Bengal tigers roam the sprawling, 6,000-square-kilometer mangrove forest in the Sunderbans area in the huge delta on the Bay of Bengal.

Authorities hope that the 300-member strong force will be able to deter wildlife smugglers. But depleting food reserves pose another huge challenge to the big cats.

The head of the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, Anwarul Islam, said deer and other prey which tigers depend on are being hunted down by villagers and this forces tigers to leave the forest in search for food. It is estimated that three are killed every year when they clash with villagers.

Wildlife officials are calling for stiffer penalties and longer jail term for people who kill tigers. They also hope that a tough new law will be drafted that will help curb poaching of an animal worth millions of dollars when it is killed.

The Sunderbans forest straddles India and Bangladesh and is among the most densely populated tiger habitats in the world. Conservationists say Bangladesh is critical to the fate of the tiger, whose numbers worldwide have plummeted to about 3,200.

Bernanke Warns Against US Debt Default

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 6:20 pm (UTC-5)
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The head of the U.S. central bank says politicians must not allow the government to default on its loans, saying even a short-term break in payments could cause “severe disruptions” in financial markets.

Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke said in a speech Tuesday the “debt ceiling” should not be used as a bargaining chip to force the government to reduce its spending deficit.

The current legal borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion was reached last month. U.S. officials say emergency measures will allow them to continue making payments only until August 2.

But Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, say they will not approve an increase to the debt limit unless the president makes sharp budget cuts.

In his speech Tuesday, Fed chief Bernanke said cutting government spending is an important long-term goal. But he said in the meantime, Congress must allow the government to continue borrowing to meet its obligations or risk damaging the country's credit rating, damaging the special role of the dollar in global markets, and causing an increase in interest rates, which would make future debt payments even higher.

Bernanke's concerns echo warnings by other officials and economic figures.

A major global credit rating agency, Fitch, recently said failing to raise the debt limit would be a “crisis of governance” that would threaten the “fragile financial stability” in the United States and the rest of the world.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has also warned the U.S. could face “catastrophic consequences” if lawmakers fail to raise the debt limit.

But some Republicans argue payments could be made without raising the debt limit and other obligations can be delayed or cut without triggering a crisis.

Top US Lawmaker Warns Obama on Libya Conflict

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
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A top U.S. lawmaker has warned President Barack Obama he will violate a law unless U.S. operations in Libya end by this Sunday, or he asks for and receives congressional authorization to continue the mission.

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, issued the warning in a letter to Mr. Obama Tuesday.

Boehner asked the president to explain by Friday the legal grounds for the Libya operation.

The law in question, the 1973 War Powers Act, calls for the president to notify congressional leaders within 48 hours of U.S. military actions. It also prohibits U.S. forces from being involved in military efforts for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, and includes a 30-day withdrawal period.

Mr. Obama in March notified Congress of his decision to take military action in Libya, but did not seek congressional approval.

Also Tuesday, Democratic Senator Carl Levin told reporters a proposed Senate resolution authorizing limited U.S. involvement in Libya could be considered by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later this week.

Republican Senator John McCain said such a resolution should require the Obama administration to report to Congress all aspects of the Libya mission.

McCain also said the U.S. will not send ground troops into Libya under any circumstances.

Huge Protests in Yemen Call for Transitional Government

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 6:05 pm (UTC-5)
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Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have rallied in major cities throughout the country, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down and calling for a transitional council that excludes members of the current government.

In the capital, Sana'a, a huge crowd swelled Tuesday outside the home of Yemen's acting leader, Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur Hadi – a day after Yemen's political opposition held talks with him on a possible transition plan.

Similar demonstrations were held in several other cities .

Mr. Saleh transferred power to his deputy after traveling to Saudi Arabia to seek medical treatment for wounds suffered in an attack on his presidential compound earlier this month. Several high-ranking Yemeni officials wounded in the attack are also being treated in Riyadh.

Yemen's state news agency said Mr. Saleh told Saudi King Abdullah by telephone Tuesday that his health is “constantly improving.”

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Riyadh Tuesday to discuss how to resurrect its initiative aimed at resolving Yemen's political crisis.

The United States and Saudi Arabia are attempting to persuade Yemen's ruling party to adopt the GCC deal that would end Mr. Saleh's rule, create a unity government and conduct elections within two months. The group's efforts to help resolve the unrest stalled after President Saleh refused to sign a proposal which calls for him to eventually leave office.

In another development, Yemeni security sources say a bomb killed an army officer in a region near the southern port of Aden. Officials said the blast tore through the car of Colonel Muti'a al-Sayani while he was driving Monday.

In Washington, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator said the U.S. is concerned Yemen's ongoing unrest could fuel connections between al-Qaida-linked militants there and al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia.

Daniel Benjamin said the United States is still cooperating with Yemen in the fight against al-Qaida despite the Gulf nation's political crisis and Mr. Saleh's absence.

UN Says Bombing Continues in Sudan Border State

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 5:50 pm (UTC-5)
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The United Nations says north Sudan has launched new air strikes on the border it shares with south Sudan and says the continued strikes are causing “huge suffering” to the civilian population.

A U.N. spokesman says jet fighters dropped 11 bombs Tuesday morning in Sudan's Southern Kordofan state. He said the bombs targeted an airfield just 150 meters from a building used by the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Northern Sudanese troops have been fighting southern-aligned militia for more than a week in Southern Kordofan state.

The north's army last week seized control of the neighboring Abyei region, which also lies on the north-south border.

In another development Tuesday, negotiators for north and south Sudan continued to meet to finalize a reported deal on the disputed Abyei region.

VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein says the presidents of north and south Sudan have left the talks in Ethiopia's capital, but that meetings with lower-level officials continue.

On Monday, African Union mediators said the sides had agreed in principle to demilitarize Abyei and to allow Ethiopian peacekeepers into the area.

Southern official Arop Deng told reporters Tuesday that the sides are now exclusively focused on security issues in Abyei.

Also Tuesday, the United States warned Sudan that it will not move ahead on normalizing relations with Khartoum if the north pursues a military solution to the disputes in Abyei and Southern Kordofan.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner Tuesday deplored what he said was a “rapid and significant” deterioration of security conditions in Southern Kordofan. He said if Sudan chooses to escalate the situation further, it will face deeper international isolation.

North and south Sudan fought a 21-year civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. The south voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January referendum.

Abyei was scheduled to hold a separate referendum on whether to join the north or south, but the poll failed to happen because the sides could not agree on who was eligible to vote.

New Round of Rain in China Forces Evacuation

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 5:40 pm (UTC-5)
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New bouts of torrential rain in central China Tuesday forced the evacuation of more than 55,000 people.

Official news media said most of the evacuations were in the city of Xianning in Hubei province.

Heavy downpours in the past week have triggered floods and landslides in 13 provinces in central and southern China, affecting more than eight million residents. Officials said the inclement weather also destroyed close to 500,000 hectares of crops and that hundreds of homes were toppled.

China's ministry of civil affairs said Monday that the death toll from more than a week of floods and landslides had risen to 105, with more than 60 other people missing. Weather officials say in some regions, the rain will continue until Friday.

Some of the southern provinces that have been pounded with rain for the past 10 days were previously parched by drought.

Russian Court Acquits Top Human Rights Leader of Defaming Chechen Leader

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 5:35 pm (UTC-5)
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A Moscow court has acquitted one of Russia's top human rights activists of criminal charges of defaming the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya.

In a surprise decision, the court ruled Tuesday that Oleg Orlov was only expressing his opinion when he said Ramzan Kadyrov was responsible for the murder of a fellow activist.

The court said Orlov did not accuse Mr. Kadyrov of direct personal involvement in the killing when Orlov said the Chechen leader created an atmosphere that led to the murder.

Russian courts seldom rule against political leaders.

Orlov heads the human rights group Memorial. He says the court's ruling defends a Russian citizen's right to speak his mind. Orlov could have faced three years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Kadyrov's lawyers say they will appeal.

The case centered on the 2009 kidnapping and murder in Chechnya of Memorial human rights activist Natalia Estemirova. Her killers have still not been found.

Human Rights Watch calls Tuesday's court decision a positive sign for justice and freedom of expression in Russia.

Gay Judge’s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Upheld

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 5:20 pm (UTC-5)
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A U.S. federal judge has rejected arguments that the judge who overturned California's ban on gay marriage was biased.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled Tuesday Judge Vaughn Walker did not have to reveal that he, himself, was in a same-sex relationship.

Lawyers for those in favor of the gay marriage ban argued the judge should have been disqualified or recused himself from the case because his long-term relationship meant he could have had a personal interest in allowing same-sex marriages.

Walker publicly revealed the relationship after he retired in February.

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Ware said the U.S. law does not require a judge to step down simply because he could be affected by the verdict in the same way as other members of the general public.

California's Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in 2008, but just months later voters banned the unions. They narrowly approved a measure known as Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Last year, Walker struck down Proposition 8, saying the ban prevents the state from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis.

Walker's decision on the constitutionality of the ban has been appealed.

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