Around the World
Independent Media Center
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:36 UTC
On Saturday January 3rd, Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip with the stated goal of destroying the elected government in Gaza, Hamas, and the suspected goal of helping two senior Israeli politicians in upcoming elections (see
[1] |
[2] |
[3]). The ground assault came after eight days of air strikes, which were launched in response to small scale rockets that killed four Israelis. At writing, at least 660 Palestinians have been killed and 3000 injured, an estimated
50 percent of which are civilians. Reports:
IMEMC.org |
Cyprus Indymedia |
Indybay
Resistance and solidarity continues to grow in
Israel and the West Bank (
[1] |
[2]), despite serious repression. Three demonstrators in the West Bank have been
killed and hundreds in Israel have been
jailed for protesting the killing spree. In Gaza, seven medics
killed by Israeli forces, five since the ground invasion began.
RIA Novosti
Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:34 UTC
Seven people have been killed in a mine explosion in northeastern Sri Lanka on Friday, local police said.
Four civilians and three military personnel were on a commuter bus when the blast occurred in the district of Trincomalee. Another six people were reported as injured.
BBC News
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:53 UTC
© BBC
Mrs Rivera had wanted to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds
Kimberly Rivera, a mother of three, had requested permission to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds but her appeal was rejected.
She could face up to five years in prison when she returns to the US.
Some 200 deserters from the US military are believed to have fled to Canada, some living incognito.
Imtiaz Shah and Aftab Borka
Reuters
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:39 UTC
Fire swept through a slum in the Pakistani city of Karachi early on Friday killing 39 people, including 20 children, officials and witnesses said.
The fire broke out at about 1 a.m. (2000 GMT) and quickly engulfed about 40 huts erected on a vacant piece of land surrounded by buildings in a congested city neighborhood.
"We were fast asleep when the fire broke. It spread quickly through the entire area," said resident Maqsood Ahmed, who lost three members of him family in the blaze.
BBC News
Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:30 UTC
© AFP
A regional maritime group also said pirates had left the
Sirius Star, Reuters news agency reported.
A negotiator for the pirates told the BBC a $3m (£1.95m) ransom was paid.
A small plane was seen apparently dropping the ransom by parachute onto the tanker. The ship's owner has refused to comment.
Saeed Ahmed
CNN
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:27 UTC
A woman in rural Papua New Guinea was bound and gagged, tied to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week, possibly because villagers suspected her of being a witch, police said Thursday.
Her death adds to a growing list of men and women who have been accused of sorcery and then tortured or killed in the South Pacific island nation, where traditional beliefs hold sway in many regions.
The victims are often scapegoats for someone else's unexplained death, and bands of tribesmen collude to mete out justice to them for their supposed magical powers, police said.
Sara Miller Llana
The Christian Science Monitor
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:44 UTC
Freedom of press is under siege in Mexico. Calls grow for a new law to make such attacks on the media a federal crime.
A grenade attack on Mexico's top television station during the nightly news Tuesday is the latest - and most high-profile - threat against freedom of expression in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón launched a concerted offensive against drug traffickers two years ago.
Media watch groups consider Mexico among the most dangerous places for journalists to operate. Reporters on the drug beat are increasingly the victims of intimidation as warring drug traffickers vie for power and lucrative routes into the US market.
Press Trust of India
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:25 UTC
Chennai - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today voiced India's strong condemnation of the Israeli strikes in Gaza and expressed the hope that international community will get together to restore peace and normalcy in the region.
In a first public statement on the ongoing strikes, he said India strongly condemned these incidents and regrets the loss of many innocent lives.
"It is our hope that the international community will come together to restore peace and normalcy," he said inaugurating the seventh edition of the three-day Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here.
He also declared India's "unstinted and unwavering support to the just cause of Palestinians".
BBC News
Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:26 UTC
Venezuela has ordered the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Caracas in protest at Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.
A number of diplomatic staff have been expelled along with Shlomo Cohen.
President Hugo Chavez has strongly condemned Israel for its actions and called on Israelis to stand up against their government.
Venezuela is the first country to take such a diplomatic step in protest at the violence in Gaza.
"The Israeli army is cowardly attacking worn-out, innocent people, while they claim that they are defending their people," Mr Chavez said during a visit to a children's hospital in Caracas.
BBC News
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:29 UTC
© AFP
Hemingway spent 20 years of his life living in Cuba
The archive includes photographs, letters and manuscripts, as well as an unpublished epilogue to Hemingway's novel,
For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The items had been stored in the cellar of the writer's Cuban home for decades.
Curators say the files offer an insight into Hemingway's life on the island, where he lived for 20 years.
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