IGIHE

Tag: InternationalNews

  • Berlusconi Wants to Return to Politics

    {{Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday he would run again as his country’s leader, signaling a return to the limelight for the nation’s most flamboyant politician.}}

    The billionaire resigned as prime minister just over a year ago at the height of his country’s debt crisis, bringing to an end an 18-year era in which he dominated Italian politics.

    Since then, Italy has been run by an unelected, technocratic government headed by economist Mario Monti.

    Monti plans to step down after passage of a national budget and stability measures, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said in a statement Saturday after meeting with Monti.

    “The prime minister doesn’t consider it possible to further carry out its mandate and thus he expressed his intention to resign,” it read.

    The statement referenced comments made this week by the secretary of Berlusconi’s party, who said that the party considers “Monti’s experience concluded.”

    If Monti resigns before the new year, elections could be held as early as next February, a few months earlier than the natural end of the legislature.

    In a message posted on his website and Facebook page, Berlusconi said: “I’m besieged by my people that are requesting that I get back in the battlefield leading the People of Freedom, PDL party.”

  • Australian DJs Apologize for Royal Hoax Call

    {{They expected a hang-up and a few laughs. Instead, the Australian DJs behind a hoax phone call to the U.K. hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was treated were in tears Monday as they described how their joke ended up going too far.}}

    The phone call — in which they impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles — went through, and their station broadcast and even trumpeted the confidential information received.

    Whatever pride there had been over the hoax was obliterated in a storm of worldwide public outrage after Friday’s death, still unexplained, of the first nurse they talked to.

    “There’s not a minute that goes by that we don’t think about her family and what they must be going through,” 2DayFM radio host Mel Greig told Australia’s “A Current Affair,” her voice shaking.

    “And the thought that we may have played a part in that is gut-wrenching.”

    She and co-host Michael Christian spoke publicly about the prank for the first time in the televised interview.

    A separate interview on rival show “Today Tonight” also aired Monday evening.

    Both DJs apologized for the hoax and broke down in tears when asked about the moment they learned that the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, was dead.

    But neither described having reservations before the hoax tape was broadcast; they said higher-ups made the decision to air it.
    “We didn’t have that discussion,” Greig said.

    Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of 2DayFM, released a statement on Monday saying Greig and Christian’s show had been terminated, and that there would be a company-wide suspension of prank calls. The DJs themselves remain suspended.

    Saldanha, 46, had transferred their call last week to a fellow nurse caring for the duchess, who was being treated for acute morning sickness. That nurse said the former Kate Middleton “hasn’t had any retching with me and she’s been sleeping on and off.”

    Three days later, Saldanha died. Police have not yet determined the cause of death, but many immediately assumed it was related to the stress from the call.

    The DJs said that when the idea for the call came up in a team meeting, no one expected that they would actually be put through to the duchess’ ward.

    “We just assumed we’d get cut off at every single point and that’d be it,” Christian said.

    “The joke 100 percent was on us,” he said. “The idea was never, ‘Let’s call up and get through to Kate,’ or ‘Let’s speak to a nurse.’ The joke was our accents are horrible, they don’t sound anything like who they’re intended to be.”

    “The entertainment value was in us,” Greig added. “It was meant to be in our silly accents. That’s where it was meant to end.”

    The decision to air the prerecorded call was made by executives higher up the chain, the DJs said.

    Southern Cross Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran has called Saldanha’s death a tragedy, but defended the prank as a standard part of radio culture. He has also insisted the station had not broken any laws and had adhered to procedures.

    On Monday, Holleran told Fairfax Radio that the station had tried at least five times to contact the hospital to discuss the prank before it went to air, though the station never succeeded.

    When asked why the company made the attempts, Holleran replied, “Because we did want to speak with them about it.”

    When pressed as to whether this meant the station had reservations about the prank, Holleran said only, “I think that that’s a process that we follow and we have checks and balances on all those things.”

    The hoax has sparked broad outrage, with the hosts receiving death threats and calls for them to be fired. Greig said she doesn’t even want to think about returning to the airwaves.

    “I remember my first question was, ‘Was she a mother?’” she said on “Today Tonight.”

    Saldanha had two children. Her husband, Ben Barboza, expressed his sadness on his Facebook page with a short note “Obituary Jacintha.”
    “I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances,” he wrote. He said she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.

  • Report Says Atheists Suffer Persecution, Discrimination

    {{Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued on Monday.}}

    The study, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), showed that “unbelievers” in Islamic countries face the most severe – sometimes brutal – treatment at the hands of the state and adherents of the official religion.

    But it also points to policies in some European countries and the United States which favor the religious and their organizations and treat atheists and humanists as outsiders.

    The report, “Freedom of Thought 2012”, said “there are laws that deny atheists’ right to exist, curtail their freedom of belief and expression, revoke their right to citizenship, restrict their right to marry.”

    Other laws “obstruct their access to public education, prohibit them from holding public office, prevent them from working for the state, criminalize their criticism of religion, and execute them for leaving the religion of their parents.”

    The report was welcomed by Heiner Bielefeldt, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, who said in a brief introduction there was little awareness that atheists were covered by global human rights agreements.

    The IHEU – which links over 120 humanist, atheist and secular organizations in more than 40 countries – said it was issuing the report to mark the U.N.’s Human Rights Day on Monday.

    According to its survey of some 60 countries, the seven where expression of atheist views or defection from the official religion can bring capital punishment are Afghanistan, Iran, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

    The 70-page report lists no recent cases of actual execution for “atheism” — but researchers say the offence is often subsumed into other charges.

    In a range of other countries – such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan – publication of atheist or humanist views on religion are totally banned or strictly limited under laws prohibiting “blasphemy”.

    In many of these countries, and others like Malaysia, citizens have to register as adherents of a small number officially-recognized religions — which normally include no more than Christianity and Judaism as well as Islam.

    Atheists and humanists are thereby forced to lie to obtain their official documents without which it is impossible to go to university, receive medical treatment, travel abroad or drive.

    In Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin and North America, countries which identify themselves secular give privileges to or favor Christian churches in providing education and other public services, the IHEU said.

    In Greece and Russia, the Orthodox Church is fiercely protected from criticism and is given pride of place on state occasions, while in Britain bishops of the Church of England have automatic seats in the upper house of parliament.

    While freedom of religion and speech is protected in the United States, the report said, a social and political climate prevails “in which atheists and the non-religious are made to feel like lesser Americans, or non-Americans.”

    In at least seven U.S. states, constitutional provisions are in place that bar atheists from public office and one state, Arkansas, has a law that bars an atheist from testifying as a witness at a trial, the report said.

  • senior al Qaeda leader Killed in Drone Attack

    {{A senior al Qaeda leader was killed in a drone strike Thursday in Pakistan, two of the country’s intelligence officials told CNN on Sunday.}}

    Sheikh Khalid bin Abdel Rehman, who also went by the code name Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed in the strike near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of Pakistan’s tribal region bordering Afghanistan, the officials said.

    On Sunday, a suspected drone strike killed three militants in the region, intelligence officials said.

    Four missiles struck a hideout in the village of Tabbi in North Waziristan, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the media.

    The militants’ identities were not immediately announced.

  • Girl’s Spine Repaired With Leg Bone

    {{Before the operation, Rosie Davies, from Walsall in the West Midlands, was “basically a timebomb”, her family said.}}

    Missing bones in her spine meant her upper body weight was unsupported and her inner organs were being crushed.

    The lifesaving surgery came at the cost of her lower legs, which she had always been unable to move.

    Rosie was born with a very rare disorder called spinal segmental dysgenesis. Five bones which made up part of her spine were missing, leaving a 10cm gap in her backbone.

    Her legs were also contorted up against her belly and she had very little feeling in them.

    She was slowly running out of space in her chest – and running out of time. Eventually the internal crush would have led to Rosie’s organs failing, which would have killed her.

    In her last scan before the operation there was evidence of her kidneys being crushed.

    Leg-to-spine
    Rosie’s legs were amputated from the knee down and a section of bone was taken to bridge the gap in her spine.

    Two metal rods were then bolted to the upper spine and the hips to provide extra support.

    The operation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital took 13 hours.

    Her dad Scott said: “Before she was basically a timebomb – we never knew how long it would take to go off, we never knew how long we actually had with her.

    “Since having the op she’s now had her life expectancy increased to that of a normal child.”

    Since the surgery there have been early signs of sensation returning to her legs, which means it may be possible for Rosie to one day walk with prosthetic legs.

    Her mum Mandy said: “Rosie is such a strong character. You give her the equipment to use and she’ll do it, whether it’s sticks or artificial legs or her hands – she’ll make a way of walking.

    “All she has ever wanted to do is be like her sister. All she’s wanted to do is ride her bike like her sister, run like her sister.”

    Rosie’s parents said she now had more confidence.

    An operation of this scale has never been attempted in Europe before. The only similar procedure took place 10 years ago in New Zealand.

    Mr Guirish Solanki, one of the consultant neurosurgeons who operated on Rosie, said: “We are delighted with the results of this operation.

    “This is only the second time in the world that a surgical team has attempted to fix the thoracic spine to the hip side bones for a condition as rare as Rosie’s.

    “This case was very complicated as normally children with this condition do not have a working spinal cord or nerves but Rosie did. So in carrying out this procedure we had to be extremely careful not to damage her nerves.”

  • Mandela in Hospital For Tests ‘Consistent with His Age

    {{South Africa’s former leader Nelson Mandela has been admitted to a hospital in Pretoria for tests, but there is “no cause for alarm,” President Jacob Zuma said Saturday.}}

    Mandela “is doing well,” Zuma said in a statement. “The medical team is assured of our support as they look after and ensure the comfort of our beloved founding president of a free and democratic South Africa.”

    Mandela, 94, will receive medical attention “from time to time, which is consistent with his age,” Zuma said.

    Mandela, a Nobel laureate, spent 27 years in prison for fighting against racial segregation in South Africa. He was elected president in 1994, four years after he was freed from prison.

  • Chavez Says His Cancer is Back

    {{Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced late Saturday that his cancer has returned and that he will go to Cuba to undergo surgery.}}

    Speaking during a televised address from the presidential palace, he said that if his health were to worsen, Vice President Nicolas Maduro should replace him.

    It was the first time Chavez spoke publicly about the possibility of a successor — a shocking admission from a man who looms larger than life in Venezuela and in Latin American politics.

    “It’s absolutely necessary, absolutely vital that I undergo a new operation,” said Chavez.

    As he spoke, he repeatedly kissed a cross and at one point broke out into song.

    “An operation like this, an illness like this, always carries risk,” he said. “If something were to happen that would incapacitate me, Nicholas Maduro should not only finish my term as the constitution requires … You should also elect Nicholas Maduro to be president.”

    A special session of parliament will be convened Sunday morning to consider Chavez’s health and his pending trip to Cuba, Diosdado Cabello, president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, said on state-run TV.

  • Several Homes Bombed on French Island Corsica

    {{A man was shot dead and several houses were bombed on the French island of Corsica, a vacation destination that is also home to criminal gangs and a simmering homegrown nationalist movement.}}

    The wave of attacks Friday night comes after a series of killings this year that has outraged France and prompted to government to vow to stamp out the violence that has long been allowed to simmer on the island in the Mediterranean Sea known for its mountain vistas and rugged beaches.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday that it is investigating the series of explosions, including their possible links to terrorist or criminal organizations.

    The office said at least 17 houses were hit on Friday night; no one was hurt in the attacks and most are believed to have been at vacation homes.

    French media reported as many as two dozen homes were targeted. Officials with the prosecutor’s office said that bad weather on the mountainous island was complicating their ability to get a full account of the attacks.

    In addition, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said that on Friday a man was arrested in possession of explosives. It was not clear if he was suspected in the bombings.

    The shooting death of a man on the island was being treated separately. Corsica has seen more than a dozen such murders this year, apparently carried out by criminal gangs.

    But the violence — well known to residents — recently burst onto the national scene with the killings of a prominent businessman and defense lawyer.

    The government vowed to restore order, and Valls said Friday’s arrest was proof those efforts were bearing fruit.

    But the wave of bombings is sure to increase the pressure even further and could arouse suspicions that the homegrown nationalist movement is radicalizing again.

    20 years ago, the island was the scene of dozens of bombings, most of them linked to the movement, which has fought for Corsica’s distinct language and culture since the island was definitively taken over by the French under Napoleon in 1796.

    Saturday marks the anniversary of the adoption of island’s 18th-century constitution and is celebrated by some as the island’s national day.

  • Ex-Florida Gov. Joins Democrats

    {{In US Politics, a Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state’s chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, announced on Twitter that he’s switching to the Democratic Party.}}

    The announcement Friday night fanned speculation that Crist would seek to regain his old job from Republican Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.

    Crist sent out a tweet that said, “Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President (at)Barack Obama!”

    The tweet included a photo of a smiling Crist and his wife Carole as he held up a Florida voter registration application.

    The Tampa Bay Times reports that Crist signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a Christmas reception at the White House.

    President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump.

    “I’ve had friends for years tell me, ‘You know Charlie, you’re a Democrat and you don’t know it,’” Crist told the newspaper Friday night.

    He cited the Republican Party’s shift to the right on a range of issues, including immigration, education and the environment.

  • Italian Mafia Boss, Arrested In Bali

    {{Police on the Indonesian resort island of Bali have arrested a convicted Italian mobster who is believed to be an up-and-coming Mafia boss near Palermo, Sicily.}}

    Antonio Messicati Vitale was captured at his luxury villa in the Legian neighborhood of the popular tourist area of Kuta early Friday in a joint operation by Indonesian and Italian police.

    A photo released by Italian police in Palermo shows Vitale wearing sunglasses, bathing trunks and a watch while relaxing on a striped beach towel on a lounge chair.

    He has a cigarette in one hand and the Italian version of the Dan Brown novel, `’The Lost Symbol,” in the other. A canned beverage, with a straw for sipping, sits in the sand, at arm’s length.

    Police Maj. Pande Putu Sugiarta said Vitale was believed to have hidden out in the seaside resort for the past six months.

    The convicted Mafia boss is believed to have escaped capture earlier this year during a police raid to crack down on his alleged Villabate crime family on the outskirts of Palermo