Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Today, the Constitutional Court of Thailand (Supreme Court) issued the sixth arrest warrant for Thailand’s deposed premier, Thaksin Shinawatra. Following on from a string of corruption charges, the latest centres on the country’s telecommunications industry. The former Prime Minister was removed by a bloodless military coup in September 2006 while at the United Nations in New York. Prior to the coup the country experienced widespread unrest, demonstrations, and allegations against Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party of corruption and vote buying.

The warrant is over Thaksin’s failure to appear in court on charges relating to conversion of concession payments in the country’s lucrative telecoms market to excise tax during 2003; a move that is estimated to have cost the country’s exchequer 40 billion baht (US$1.2 billion). The deposed PM remains in self-imposed exile in London, having been there since August. At that time he and his wife left Thailand whilst on bail related to the charges surrounding the Ratchadaphisek land purchase deal. The deal saw Thaksin’s wife, Khunying Potjaman purchase what is considered a prime piece of real estate for 772 million baht ($22.7 million) at auction; this price was described as a bargain. At this point the ex-PM has not been convicted on any of the charges, although his wife, Khunying, faces a jail sentence.

Next Tuesday, will see the trial over the Ratchadaphisek land case again come before the Supreme Court—this time with a verdict possibly to be read. This could be deferred due to the defendants’ absence, but a guilty verdict could see Thaksin facing jail time should he return to Thailand.

Last month, saw other warrants issued against Thaksin, in relation to the country’s numbers lottery. Malfeasance allegations led to charges over the sale of two and three digit numbers during the 2001-2006 period of his time in office as Prime Minister. The trial, currently suspended by the Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office, will resume and examine further evidence in December.

The ongoing controversy surrounding Thaksin has seen calls for his diplomatic passport to be revoked. The movement for the coveted red passport to be withdrawn started in mid-September with Thai air force chief, Chalit Phukpasuk, referencing the then-outstanding warrants and widespread lack of respect for the former PM stated, “he has now fallen from grace, he no longer deserves such an honour”. The general, who retired at the end of September, condemned Thaksin for failing to appear in court and defend himself. The newly appointed Foreign Minister and deputy PM has washed his hands of the diplomatic passport issue, preferring to pass this off as an issue for the Prime Minister himself. The military junta of Surayud Chulanont had revoked the passport, but this decision was revoked by the democratically elected Foreign Minister when civilian government was restored.

Adding to the public pressure on the former PM, Thailand’s armed forces’ supreme commander, Boonsrang Niempradit, called on the current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to ensure appropriate justice was meted out to Thaksin. Boonsrang asserted the prime minister must, “dispense justice to everyone, ensuring justice does not necessarily mean offering assistance. Sometimes, justice involves meting out punishment as well”. Current PM Somchai, brother-in-law of exiled Thaksin, has his own legal worries that could see him removed from office and parliament; charges against him centre round a share scandal. His holdings in a telecoms company which does business with the state are allegedly in contravention of several constitutional articles.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Workers in a Nepalese local government office have gone on strike in protest against actions made by Matrika Yadav, the minister for Forest and Soil Conservation.

Yadav caused controversy after locking up Dandu Raj Ghimire, a local development officer in a toilet. Protesters said that this action was an “inhumane and objectionable act.”

Ghimire had been accused by Yadav of illegally operating a mine, and Yadav said that he locked the official up to show him what it is like to be stuck in ‘foul conditions’. The official was locked in the toilet for ninety minutes.

The strike, which is taking place across the whole of Nepal, was organized by the Local Level Employees Organisation. Four thousand local government employees are involved in the strike.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Theodore Vouyouklais, a Greek pathologist professor, has confirmed that the two children found dead in their hotel room in the Greek village of Gouvia on Corfu were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The two children were found dead next to their father, Neil Shepherd, and his partner Ruth Beatson, who had fallen unconscious. They have not yet received news of the children’s deaths.

The children’s biological mother, Sharon Wood, has been informed and visited their bodies on Saturday, along with a man believed to be her husband.

The family was found by a cleaner on Thursday morning. The current cause of the carbon monoxide emissions is unknown, however investigators have speculated that it was due to a hot water boiler in the next room to where the four family members were sleeping. This is, as yet, an unproven theory.

Friday, March 23, 2007

At an event at Abbey Mills pumping station in Stratford, East London on March 22, 2007, UK Environment Minister Ian Pearson announced an ambitious project to clean up the River Thames in London.

A tunnel, 30 kilometres in length, will be built alongside the river to intercept sewage and stormwater runoff that flows into the Thames currently. The tunnel would shunt the wastewater to a treatment facility in East London. Some 52 million cubic metres of wastewater streams into the Thames each year.

According to a Parliamentary Statement released March 22, the discharges kill fish, create a higher health hazard for users of the river and reduce the aesthetic appeal of the Thames.

“London today is more densely populated, and the greater urbanisation – such as the increase in paved areas – has led to more and faster rainwater run-off and, unfortunately, to an increase in storm overflows into the river,” said David Owens, Thames Water’s Chief Executive Officer in a press release.

“London’s sewers are one of the great engineering wonders of the Victorian age and have served the capital well for more than 150 years,” continued Owens.

The tunnel is projected to cost a minimum £2 billion and would be considered the largest such project undertaken in Great Britain.

The announcement comes after six years of detailed study. Experts such as the Thames Tideway Strategic Study, consultants Jacobs Babtie, and Thames Water played a significant role in determining a solution. All recommended a tunnel under the Thames as the right approach to the problem.

“We haven’t reached this decision in a vacuum,” said Pearson. “A wide range of players have been instrumental in getting us to this point and I thank them all.” Further work on the project, such as detailed design, planning and funding, will now follow.

Funding the project, admits Pearson, may put a strain on ratepayers. “This will inevitably mean some extra costs for customers, but it will deliver tangible benefits for London in the long-term,” said Pearson. It is estimated that it will add around £37 to Thames Water sewerage bills by 2017.

There has been criticism of projected expenses. “The costs will be met wholly through increases in consumers’ bills,” said David Bland, chairman of Consumer Council for Water Thames, in a BBC interview. He suggested the fees “will be far more than most are willing or expecting to pay.”

Proceeding with the tunnel would not only improve the environmental quality of the Thames, suggests the government, it would also help satisfy European obligations on sewage treatment.

The project is expected to be completed by 2019/20.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Raouf Amin el-Araby, a 52-year-old Egyptian doctor who has been serving the Saudi Royal family for 20 years, was convicted of malpractice. Egyptian newspapers reported that he was accused of driving a Saudi princess “to addiction”, reportedly after treating a Saudi princess with painkillers.

Initially sentenced to 7 years and 700 lashes, he has been sentenced to 15 years and 1500 lashes, 70 a week, after making an appeal.

Family members, friends and colleagues gathered in outrage and grief outside the headquarters of Egypt’s doctors union, calling upon King Abdullah to pardon Raouf. “1,500 lashes is unprecedented in the history of Islam,” read one banner carried by protesters. “Who is responsible for the humiliation of our doctors abroad?” read another.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and the foreign minister are working hard to find a way to return Raouf home quickly. Hafez Abu Saeda, the director of EOHR, stated that the princess was prescribed the same medication that she was receiving in the United States, “so it is obvious that the doctor was not at fault for her addiction.”

Abu Saeda was astonished that the judge doubled the sentence and the lashes after the appeal. It is tantamount, he said, to penalizing Amin for asserting his right of appeal. “When you appeal against a sentencing it is the rule that it cannot go higher, but in Saudi Arabia it appears anything is possible,” said Saeda.

Protests in Egypt have driven the Egyptian foreign ministry to seek a solution, partly out of concern that negative repercussions may damage relations between Cairo and Riyadh.

A human rights lawyer said that he was given the first 70 lashes last week and he will get 70 more this week.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A cholera outbreak in the African country of Zimbabwe has killed almost 500 people since August, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO said that the outbreak affected most areas of the country, and that some remote areas had seen fatality rates increase by as much as 30%. Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health reported 484 deaths from 11,735 cases since the outbreak began.

Zimbabwe has had annual outbreaks of cholera for nearly a decade, but this one was the most far-reaching. A report by the WHO stated that the last large outbreak was in 1992, with 3,000 cases recorded.

Cholera is frequently spread by contaminated, untreated water. The spread of the disease was expedited by the collapse of Zimbabwe’s health and sanitation systems; state media reported that most of Harare has been left without water after the city ran out of chemicals for its treatment plant. A resident of Mabvuku, a suburb located east of Harare, told APTV that electricity is not available most of the time, so water is consumed without being boiled first.

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said that there have been cases of cholera reported in areas of Botswana, Mozambique, and South Africa that border Zimbabwe, indicating the sub-regional threat of the outbreak. The South African ministry of health confirmed that they had 160 incidents of cholera reported, as well as three deaths.

The European Commission said that it was providing €9 million (US$11.4 million) in funds to assist Zimbabwe with the crisis. “I’m shocked at the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and call upon the authorities there to respond quickly to this cholera outbreak by allowing full assistance from international humanitarians and regional partners,” said the commissioner responsible for the European Union’s humanitarian aid, Louis Michel.

Other agencies providing aid to the country include the United Nations Children’s Fund, the WHO, and Doctors Without Borders.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The iPhone only made its appearance as a prototype and there have been controversies aroused.

The dispute has come up between the manufacturer of the iPhone (which was resented on Wednesday for the first time) – Apple Inc. – and a leader in network and communication systems, based in San Jose – Cisco. The company claims to possess the trademark for iPhone, and moreover, that it sells devices under the same brand through one of its divisions.

This became the reason for Cisco to file a lawsuit against Apple Inc. so that the latter would stop selling the device.

Cisco states that it has received the trademark in 2000, when the company overtook Infogear Technology Corp., which took place in 1996.

The Vice President and general counsel of the company, Mark Chandler, explained that there was no doubt about the excitement of the new device from Apple, but they should not use a trademark, which belongs to Cisco.

The iPhone developed by Cisco is a device which allows users to make phone calls over the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

< 15-22 November 2004 • Index • 29 November-5 December 2004 >

This a collection of articles whose datelines read between 22 and 29 November. They have not necessarily gone through a peer-review process, and may not even be done. This is essentially an index right now. Click on an article’s title to read it in full.

Activists protest against School of the Americas22 November, 2004, United StatesAntiwar magazines report up to 16,000 protesters demonstrated outside a United States military school this weekend, demanding it be closed in connection with accused human rights violations.

Dan Rather resigns as anchor, to stay on as correspondent22 November, 2004, USADan Rather has announced that he will retire on March 9th, 2005 as anchor of CBS Evening News. He will continue to be an investigative reporter for both of the 60 Minutes shows.

Indonesian police arrest four suspects wanted over Australian Embassy bombing24 November, 2004, Jakarta, Indonesia.Associated Press and Reuters are both reporting that Indonesian police have arrested four suspects for the bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9th, which killed 10 people.

Ukrainian opposition leader calls for police and army to join revolution24 November, 2004, UkraineAmid protests of up to 200,000 over Ukraine’s disputed presidential election, officially declared loser Viktor Yushchenko has called on the army and police to join a revolution against the government.

Internal emails expose Boeing-Air Force contract discussions24 November, 2004, United StatesEmails exchanged among United States Air Force officials regarding a USD$23 billion dollar deal with aircraft manufacturer Boeing have been entered into the public record. Senator John McCain (R–AZ) entered them into the Congressional Record during a speech last week against the now-cancelled deal to lease 100 mid-air tanker aircraft from Boeing.

Australia in a good position after first day of Adelaide test match26 November, 2004, Adelaide, South AustraliaAt stumps on day one, Australia has opened a commanding lead in the second cricket test against New Zealand.

Record computer outage at UK government departmentNovember 27 2004, United Kingdom.A computer outage beginning on Monday afternoon at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has caused delays in the processing of new claims. 80% of the DWP’s desktop computers were put out of action by a software update. This story is being widely reported but details are scarce. Most of the talk is about the severity of the problem and the pattern of failures associated with IT outsourcing in the government.

170 workers trapped in Chinese mine after explosion28 November, 2004, Shaanxi province.Early in the morning on Sunday November 28th, 170 workers were trapped in the Chinese Chenjiashan mine, the BBC reports. According to Chinese state officials, 123 workers managed to escape the facilities. Many of those who escaped the mines are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Since the accident, there has been no contact with the 170 workers trapped inside, although the initial number of 183 people still in the complex was revised downwards.

Researchers discover high temperature enables more efficient hydrogen generationSunday, November 28th, 2004Researchers in Salt Lake City Utah, at Ceramtech Incorporated, hand in hand with workers at The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory stated that they had learned that through superheating the water to 800 degrees Celsius, far less electricity was required to produce the same volume of hydrogen.

USL v. BSDi settlement agreement unsealed28 November, 2004, United StatesThe 1994 settlement agreement between UNIX Systems Laboratories (USL) and BSDi (USL v. BSDi) was unsealed in November 2004 under the California Public Records Act (California Code § 6250-6270). The details of the settlement may have ramifications with respect to the SCO v. IBM case with SCO believing it is the successor in interest to USL.

American teenage girl charged with murder of her own mother29 November, 2004, United States.Rachelle Waterman, (aka Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman and “smchyrocky”), a 16-year-old girl from Craig, Alaska, USA, has been charged with the first degree murder of her own mother.

World’s Largest Ball of Twine Turns 5029 November, 2004, Cawker City, Kansas.People in Kansas like to just go have a look at things from time to time, particularly if it is kitchy and big. Frank Stoeber died in 1974, but not before he left behind a legacy of twine. Frank started a building a ball of sisal twine (a form of hemp) in 1953, which as grown to 40 ft in diameter hence. The ball of twine’s domicile is a mini-museam located in the downtown of Cawker City, Kansas, which onlookers can simple look at or add twine to.