15 Around the World
guyanatimesgy.com
wednesday, June 5, 2013
tourist, Irish aid worker France confirms U.S. allegedly raped in India sarin use in Syria A
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arin has been used “several times and in a localised manner” in Syria’s crisis, said France’s foreign minister. Laurent Fabius said lab tests in Paris confirmed usage of the nerve agent, adding that those who resort to chemical weapons must be punished. But he did not specify where, when or by whom the agent was deployed, and the White House said more proof was needed. Earlier, the UN said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe chemical weapons had been used. In a new report, the UN commission of inquiry on Syria also urged foreign powers not to increase the availability of arms in Syria. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described the atrocities listed in the report
Syria’s government and the rebels have accused each other of using chemical weapons
– which details evidence of fresh suspected massacres, sieges and violations of children’s rights – as “sickening and staggering”, said his spokesman. Children have been taken hostage, forced to watch torture and even participate
in beheadings, said the report. Others have been killed while fighting in the twoyear uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime that the UN said has left at least 80,000 people dead. (Excerpt from BBC News)
n American tourist was allegedly gangraped by a truck driver and two of his accomplices in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, police said Tuesday. “The 30-year-old was raped by men in a truck on Monday night. They offered her a lift and she accepted it,” police inspector Abhimanyu Kumar told AFP. The incident took place in Manali, a tourist destination 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the capital New Delhi. Kumar said the medical tests have confirmed that the tourist was raped and police were hunting for the accused men. “The woman cannot remember the number plate of the truck and she could not understand what the accused were talking about. They drove the truck to an isolated spot and raped her
An American tourist was allegedly raped by a truck driver and two other men in India’s northern Himachal Pradesh state, police said Tuesday
for nearly one hour,” he said. Kumar said every truck driver in Manali had been ordered to report at the local police station as part of the investigation. On Monday, police in eastern India arrested a local businessman for allegedly drugging and raping
an Irish charity worker after her birthday party. A survey by a trade body released earlier this year found that the number of foreign women tourists visiting India had dropped by 35 per cent following several sex attacks that have made global headlines. (Excerpt from France24)
Flood tourists inundate More than 100 dead Unions join forces with deluged Czech capital in China plant blast Turkish protesters
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ourists curious to see cresting floodwaters inundated the historic centre of the Czech capital Prague Tuesday as the river Vltava peaked amid heavy flooding that has hit central Europe killing at least 11 people. Prague mayor Tomas Hudecek bemoaned “an excessive surge in flood tourists” amid reports some had attempted to dismantle anti-flood defences to take home as souvenirs. Foreigners and Czechs alike snapped pictures of angry muddy waters that surged under the capital’s historic Charles Bridge, prompting popular Czech news website novinky.cz to screech “Crazy Tourists”. The 14th century iconic Prague landmark known for
its sculptures has been off limits since Sunday, with a 25-tonne excavator working on top of it to remove flood debris threatening to damage its pillars. “It’s not so flooded really, it doesn’t affect most of the city, it’s just the river,” said Brent Tuttle, a young tourist from Los Angeles, who arrived in Prague on Sunday. Sandbagged doorways and flood defences – of which Prague has installed 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) – have become as popular an attraction for snapshots as the city’s historic sights. The flood wave on the Vltava that swept through Prague Tuesday surged north to the Elbe and bore down on hard-hit Germany.
(Excerpt from Franace24)
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he 38-year-old man stands on the road outside the burned out poultry processing plant, yelling at passing vehicles and demanding answers. He blocks the path of a local official’s car and shouts, “My wife’s just gone like that – what kind of country is this?” Wang Shoufeng is very angry, and he is not alone. He said he last saw his wife before she went to work on Monday to start her 14hour shift at the poultry factory in this town in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin. About two hours later, according to authorities, a fire broke out in the plant’s slaughterhouse and spread through the building. The lights went off, witness-
es say, and smoke quickly filled the rooms and passageways. Workers rushed to escape the rising flames, stumbling into one another and slipping over in the confusion. Their panic deepened when they found many of the exits were locked or blocked. It took firefighters several hours to quell the raging flames, according to state media. At the latest count, authorities said that at least 119 people had died in the blaze and 70 others were injured, making it one of China’s deadliest workplace accidents in recent years. It has focused renewed attention on lax safety standards in Chinese industries. (Excerpt from CNN)
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top Turkish official apologised for the “police aggression” that fuelled nationwide protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as trade unions threw their weight behind the demonstrations Tuesday. The 240,000-member KESK confederation of public sector workers called for a two-day strike to protest what it called the “fascism” of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party. The protests began over plans to replace an Istanbul park with a new development, but spread nationwide after a heavyhanded crackdown by police. After chaotic scenes in the streets Monday that continued late into the night and sent tear gas wafting through the air, the situation
was relatively calm Tuesday in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, near the park where the protest movement began, and in the capital Ankara. Riot police around Ankara’s central Kizilay Square brought in armored vehicles topped with water cannon in a show of force Tuesday evening, but the demonstrations throughout the day were calm. The protests have morphed into larger complaints against Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 10 years. His critics call him paternalistic and authoritarian, accusing him of accumulating more and more power and growing less tolerant of dissent. In Istanbul, the crowds have been chanting “Tayyip resign” – referring to Erdogan – and “shoulder to shoulder against fascism”. (Excerpt from CNN)
Queen marks coronation anniversary at U.S. military chiefs face grilling over sexual assault Westminster Abbey
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he Queen has joined 2000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her coronation. Some of those who took part in the 1953 service were among the congregation. Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Reverend Justin Welby said the event honoured “60 years of commitment”. The queen was accompanied by more than 20 members of her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh, who pulled out of an engagement on Monday night because he was feeling unwell. Several key items from
The queen is the 38th sovereign to have been crowned in Westminster Abbey
the coronation were placed in Westminster Abbey for the service. They included the heavy,
solid gold St Edward’s Crown, displayed on the High Altar – the first time it has left the Tower of London
since 1953. Beside it was the Ampulla, the gold, eagleshaped bottle from which the holy oil was poured for the queen’s anointing. The coronation chair, one of the oldest pieces of English furniture still in use, was also on show. The queen and Prince Philip entered Westminster Abbey to the same music that greeted her in 1953. Back then, aged 27, she was the 38th sovereign to be crowned in an abbey that has been the scene of such ceremonies since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066. (Excerpt from BBC News)
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merica’s top military officers told Congress on Tuesday that sexual assault represented a crisis in the armed forces but warned lawmakers against going too far with legislation stripping commanders of power within the military justice system. The hearing comes after a wave of sexual assault scandals and new Pentagon data showing a steep rise in unwanted sexual contact, from groping to rape, that have deeply embarrassed the military. In an exceptional display, the top uniformed officers of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard,
along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all appeared at the Senate Armed Services Committee together to assure Congress they were taking the matter seriously. The top lawyers from each service sat next to them. “We are acting swiftly and deliberately to change a climate that has become too complacent,” said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The service chiefs made clear that it was important to maintain the power of commanders, who now have the ability to decide which cases go to trial. (Excerpt from Reuters)