Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Nine charged over Thatcher protests

Written By Unknown on Senin, 15 April 2013 | 23.45

BBC Radio 1's chart show played a seven-second clip of the song from The Wizard of Oz after it reached number 2

NINE people have been charged after hundreds of demonstrators gathered in central London to protest against Margaret Thatcher's legacy and mark her death with a party.

Police arrested 16 people, in the early hours of today for a range of offences including assaulting police, affray and drunk and disorderly.

The group was from just one of the 25 planned protest parties expected across England between now and Wednesday at the funeral for the former prime minister. who died last week at the age of 87.

Police have now been criticised for now reacting to the growing hate over the planned military funeral procession for the three-time prime minister with anti-Thatcher banners now springing up at football matches, ironically two of which this weekend were marred with unrelated bloody brawling between fans.

Police will be joined by the military including an SAS unit to ensure the safety of mourners at the funeral, including the Queen and Prince Philip as well as foreign leaders and dignitaries including former Australian prime minister John Howard.

More protest parties are planned in the run-up to the funeral of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Meanwhile, left-wing British MP George Galloway will attempt to frustrate plans to suspend parliamentary question time on Wednesday so that MPs can attend the funeral.

The MP has vowed to block the motion for the temporary suspension to drop question time, despite appeals from both the Tories and Labour.

Mr Galloway has said he will take advantage of Commons rules which mean that if one MP shouts "object" the motion will either have to be withdrawn, allowing PMQs to go ahead as normal, or the Government will have set aside parliamentary time on Tuesday so that it can be debated and voted on.

It comes as Labour's former deputy prime minister John Prescott has bitterly condemned the decision for the taxpayer to foot the bill for the funeral, expected to cost up to A$14 million.

Opponents of Margaret Thatcher gather at an anti-Thatcher "party" in Trafalgar Square in central London.

He claimed the Thatcher funeral was nothing more than a "political propanganda exercise" for the Tories.

"I despised everything she stood for," he said today.

"She may have been a woman, but in her policies she showed no compassion to the sick, needy and the desperate. Even in death she is spinning from her grave. She claimed she didn't want a state funeral but she planned to give herself the same ceremonial one as the Queen Mother."

Yesterday, the think tank Conservative Way Forward Group - founded by Thatcher supporters in 1991 - unveiled plans for a library to be named in her honour to be built at Westminster.
 

Hundreds of Margaret Thatcher opponents have filled London's Trafalgar Square for a rain-soaked celebration.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boy lost in massive glacier hole

  • Hole in glacier called a moulin is 46 metres deep
  • Boy was riding under his Dad's supervision
  • Accident happened on Saturday afternoon local time

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy snowmobiling with his father near the Arctic Man races in Alaska fell into a hole estimated to be 46 metres deep, state troopers say.

Efforts to find and extract him have so far been unsuccessful and he is feared dead, troopers said on Sunday local time.

Troopers were notified of the accident about 3:30pm local time on Saturday about eight kilometres northwest of Arctic Man, near the Hoodoo mountains. They identified the child as Sjohn Brown and said he was wearing a helmet and goggles, which were found at the scene.

The child was riding on a full-size snowmobile and was being supervised by his father, troopers said. Other riders also were in the area. The child rode around a small mound but did not reappear.

His father found that he had gone into a hole.

Troopers originally said he had fallen into a crevasse, and then described it as hole, known as a moulin and formed when water flows into a glacier.

The hole is deep and had filled with a significant amount of snow, troopers said.

The boy is presumed dead and buried under an unknown amount of snow at the bottom of the hole, troopers said.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea keeps world guessing

Tensions in Korea will be top of the list when US Secretary of State John Kerry begins talks in Japan.

ALL eyes are on North Korea to see if it marks the birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung today with a missile launch, despite tension-reducing noises from Seoul and Washington.

North Korea has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates in its annual calendar. The centenary of Kim's birth last year was preceded by a long-range rocket test that ended in failure.

South Korean intelligence says the North has had two medium-range missiles primed and ready to fire for nearly a week, with many observers tapping Monday's anniversary as a likely launch date.

Adding fuel to the fire, North Korea warned Japan on Friday that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean peninsula, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un claps during the unveiling ceremony of two statues of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.

Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told an audience in Tokyo that the US is ready to talk to North Korea, but said Pyongyang had to take "meaningful steps'' to honour its international commitments.

"The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearisation, but the burden is on Pyongyang,'' he said.

"North Korea must take meaningful steps to show it will honour commitments it has already made.''

U.S. Secretary of Sate John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Kerry, whose three-country tour of Asia wraps up in Tokyo today after a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said talks in China and in South Korea had already demonstrated the world was talking with one voice.

"One thing is certain: we are united. There can be no confusion on this point,'' he said.

"The North's dangerous nuclear missile program threatens not only North Korea's neighbours, but also its own people."

He said Pyongyang was bucking the trend of history in its pursuit of atomic armaments.

"At a time when the world is moving toward fewer nuclear weapons, not more - when President Obama has articulated a clear vision for nonproliferation - the last thing we need is one or two states bucking the trend of history and common sense.
 

"The world does not need more potential for war. So we will stand together, and we welcome China's strong statement of its commitment two days ago to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.''

During his visits in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, Kerry talked tough on the North's "unacceptable'' rhetoric, but also sought to lower the temperature slightly by supporting a dialogue with Pyongyang and saying he would be prepared to reach out to North Korea.

He also urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to lead his country back to negotiations.

"We're prepared to reach out, but we need the appropriate moment, appropriate circumstances,'' Kerry said on Sunday.

In Seoul, he gave Washington's public blessing to peace overtures made by South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, who in recent days has signalled the need to open a dialogue and "listen to what North Korea thinks''.

The North's immediate response to her latest remarks was negative, with a spokesman for the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea suggesting the dialogue overtures were a "cunning'' ploy.

Monday's celebrations in Pyongyang will have their usual martial flavour, with a large military parade that North Korea uses to showcase its weaponry to the world.

The missiles mobilised by the North are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of up to 4000 kilometres.

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.But first the reclusive communist government first must lower tensions and honour previous agreements.

North Korea has a clear course of action available to it, and will find "ready partners'' in the United States if it follows through, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters.

Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, who appeared with Mr Kerry at a news conference, was more explicit, saying that North Korea must honour its commitment to earlier deals regarding its nuclear and missile programs and on returning kidnapped foreigners.

The officials agreed on the need to work toward a nuclear-free North Korea and opened the door to direct talks if certain conditions are met.

Their comments highlight the difficulty in resolving the North Korean nuclear situation in a peaceful manner, as pledged by Mr Kerry and Chinese leaders in Beijing on Saturday.

Gaining China's commitment, Mr Kerry insisted, was no small matter given Beijing's historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.

The issue has taken on fresh urgency in recent months, given North Korea's tests of a nuclear device and intercontinental ballistic missile technology, and its increasingly brazen threats of nuclear strikes against the United States.

US and South Korean officials believe the North may deliver another provocation in the coming days with a mid-range missile test.

"The question,'' Mr Kerry said, "is what steps do you take now so we are not simply repeating the cycle of the past years.'' That was a clear reference to the various negotiated agreements and UN Security Council ultimatums that North Korea has violated since the 1990s.

"We have to be careful and thoughtful and frankly not lay out publicly all the options,'' Mr Kerry said.

Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions.

Mr Kerry said the US would defend both its allies at all cost.

He also clarified a statement he made Saturday in Beijing, when he told reporters the US could scale back its missile-defense posture in the region if North Korea goes nuclear-free.

It appeared to be a sweetener to coax tougher action from China, which has done little over the years to snuff out funding and support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.

China fears the increased US military presence in the region may be directed at it as well.

Mr Kerry said America's basic force posture wasn't up to debate. "There is no discussion that I know of to change that,'' he said.

But he said it was logical that additional missile-defense elements, including a land-based system for the Pacific territory of Guam, deployed because of the Korean threat could be reversed if that threat no longer existed.

"There's nothing actually on the table with respect to that. I was simply making an observation about the rationale for that particular deployment, which is to protect the United States' interests that are directly threatened by North Korea,'' Mr Kerry said.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Maduro wins close Venezuela election

Venezuela's Vice-President Nicolas Maduro, center, delivers a speech during a visit to "Fama de America" government-run coffee plant in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Miraflores Presidential Press Office) Source: AP

VENEZUELA'S acting President Nicolas Maduro has been elected Hugo Chavez's successor with 50.66 percent of the vote today.

Opposition rival Henrique Capriles earned 49.06 percent, election officials said.

But Mr Capriles says he won't accept the election result without recount.

Maduro's stunningly close victory over Henrique Capriles came after a campaign in which the winner promised to carry on Chavez's self-proclaimed socialist revolution while the challenger's main message was that Chavez's regime put Venezuela on the road to ruin.

Maduro, acting president since Chavez's death, held a double-digit advantage just two weeks ago, but electoral officials said he got just 50.7 percent of the votes to 49.1 percent for Capriles.

Chavistas set off fireworks and blasted car horns as they cruised downtown Caracas in jubilation.


There was no immediate word from the Capriles camp but Maduro addressed a crowd from the presidential palace. He called his victory further proof that Chavez "continues to be invincible, that he continues to win battles."

He said that Capriles had called him before the results were announced to suggest a "pact" and that Maduro refused.

Maduro, a longtime foreign minister to Chavez, rode a wave of sympathy for the charismatic leader to victory, pinning his hopes on the immense loyalty for his boss among millions of poor beneficiaries of government largesse and the powerful state apparatus that Chavez skillfully consolidated.

Capriles' main campaign weapon was to simply emphasize "the incompetence of the state" in handling the world's largest oil reserves.

Millions of Venezuelans were lifted out of poverty under Chavez, but many also believe his government not only squandered, but plundered, much of the $1 trillion in oil revenues during his tenure.

Venezuelans are afflicted by chronic power outages, crumbling infrastructure, unfinished public works projects, double-digit inflation, food and medicine shortages, and rampant crime - one of the world's highest homicide and kidnapping rates - that the opposition said worsened after Chavez succumbed March 5 to cancer.

That discontent was thick across the nation.

"We can't continue to believe in messiahs," said Jose Romero, a 48-year-old industrial engineer who voted for Capriles in the central city of Valencia. "This country has learned a lot and today we know that one person can't fix everything."

Turnout was 78 percent, down from just over 80 percent in the October election that Chavez won by a nearly 11-point margin.
 


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pilots pass Bali plane crash drug tests

A Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar on April 14, 2013. AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA Source: AFP

The pilot and co-pilot of a Lion Air plane that crashed at Bali's airport have passed initial drug tests, an official says, as investigators probe the causes of the accident that left dozens injured, but no fatalities.

The Indonesian passenger jet carrying 108 people missed the runway as it came into land on the resort island on Saturday, slamming into the water at high speed and splitting in two.

Investigators were due later on Monday to haul the half-submerged wreckage on to a beach to examine the jet's interior and recover the cockpit voice recorder.

Investigators are trying to work out how an Indonesian passenger plane overshot the runway at Bali airport.


It is not yet clear what caused the accident, although analysts have speculated that it could have been caused by a weather phenomenon such as "wind shear", a change in wind direction and speed between different altitudes.
The pilot and co-pilot on the new Boeing 737-800 tested negative in urine tests for drugs and alcohol, said transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan on Monday.

"We are still waiting for the hair tests," he added.

A Lion Air official said at the weekend that the Indonesian pilot, Mahlup Gozali, who had more than 10,000 flying hours, and the Indian co-pilot, Chiraq Carla, had been in a fit state to fly the plane.

A Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar on April 14, 2013. AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA Source: AFP


Drug tests are routine following air accidents, but at least three pilots at Lion Air, Indonesia's fastest-growing carrier, have been arrested for either consumption or possession of methamphetamine since 2011.

Investigators and officials are still trying to determine what caused the plane to plunge into the sea, leaving terrified passengers to swim through the water to shore or be plucked to safety by police in rubber dinghies.

But analysts said that given mechanical problems were unlikely as the plane was new, the accident could have been caused by wind shear, or a "microburst", a strong downdraft from storm clouds.

A Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar on April 14, 2013. AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA Source: AFP


"If that hit the aircraft when it was on final approach, there is the likelihood the pilots would not have had time to recover," Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent with Orient Aviation magazine, told AFP.

An airport forecaster told AFP the weather at the runway at the time of the accident was cloudy, but in general fine.

But Ballantyne added that phenomena such as wind shear were ``invisible'' and could occur in any weather conditions.

Ervan said the independent investigation team probing the accident would take two to three months to reach a preliminary conclusion, and up to a year to produce final conclusions.

A Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar on April 14, 2013. AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA Source: AFP


 
23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Composer faces jail over Islam tweets

Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say was charged with inciting religious hatred and insulting Islamic values in a series of tweets. AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR Source: AFP

A TOP pianist and composer who has played around the world faces jail if he offends the religious again, having been handed a suspended sentence for tweets called "disrespectful" to Islam.

Fazil Say, 43, who has played with the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony and other world orchestras, was on trial in Turkey for sending tweets last year, including one that joked about a religious leader and some Islamic practices.

He is the latest in a series of intellectuals and artists to be prosecuted in Turkey for expressing opinions and his case has raised further concerns over rights and freedoms in the country, a democracy with a mostly Muslim population that seeks membership in the European Union.

Say is a strong critic of the Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim who expounds conservative values, alarming some secular Turks who fear the government plans to make religion part of their lifestyle.

In one tweet, Say joked about a call to prayer that he said lasted only 22 seconds. Say tweeted: "Why such haste? Have you got a mistress waiting or a raki on the table?" Raki is a traditional alcoholic drink made with aniseed. Islam forbids alcohol and many Islamists consider the remarks unacceptable.

The charges against Say also cite other tweets he sent, including one - based on a verse attributed to famous medieval poet Omar Khayyam - that questioned whether heaven was a tavern or a brothel, because of the promises that wine will flow and each believer will be greeted by virgins.

Emre Bukagili, a citizen who filed the initial complaint against Say, said in an emailed statement that the musician had used "a disrespectful, offensive and impertinent tone toward religious concepts such as heaven and the call to prayer".

Lawyer Meltem Akyol said the pianist's 10-month jail sentence has been suspended for five years, which means he would have to serve time if he reoffends in that period.

"We are sad for the country," Akyol told The Associated Press.

The lawyer said Say, who has served as an EU cultural ambassador, has not made any decision yet whether to appeal the verdict. He has closed his Twitter account, however.

Turkey has a history of prosecuting its artists and writers, and the EU has long encouraged the nation to improve freedom of speech if it wants to become a member of the bloc.

Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has been prosecuted for his comments about the mass killings of Armenians under a law that made it a crime to insult the Turkish identity before the government eased that law in an amendment in 2008.

In 2007, ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who received death threats because of his comments about the killings of Armenians by Turks in 1915, was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Full rehearsal for Thatcher funeral

Take a look back at the life and very turbulent times of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

A flag-draped coffin is carried on a gun carriage past St Clement Danes Church during a rehearsal for the funeral of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Picture: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

A FULL dress rehearsal for the funeral of Margaret Thatcher, involving more than 700 military personnel, has been staged in London.

AN empty Union Jack flag coffin was carried on horse-drawn carriage from St Clements Danes chapel down the Strand to St Paul's Cathedral.

Major Andrew Chatburn, who is tasked with running the parade, said the vital rehearsal went "very well".

"Timings are most important, we will learn something quite significant this morning about the timings and to familiarise the troops of their duties," he said.

A Gun Carriage of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery passes through Ludgate Circus during a rehearsal for the ceremonial funeral of former British Prime Margaret Thatcher in central London on April 15, 2013. AFP PHOTO/CARL COURT Source: AFP


"Bearing in mind these are sailors, soldiers and airmen who have come in to do this specific task from their routine duties so it's new to them. They need to see the ground as well so they can get a feel for how it's going to go and they can perform their duties with confidence on the day."

A flag draped coffin is carried on a gun carriage past St Clement Danes Church during a rehearsal for the ceremonial funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on April 15, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images


Major Chatburn was also behind the royal wedding of William and Kate two years ago and last year's Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The 6am practice lasted just 19 minutes, suprising some early morning commuters confronted in armed services in full uniform and regalia in the morning halflight.

A flag draped coffin is carried during a full military rehearsal for the ceremonial funeral procession for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher outside St Paul's Cathedral in the early morning on April 15, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images


A procession band played funeral marches from Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn on the near deserted streets.

Maj Chatburn said there was always scope for error but the rehearsal would eliminate that as much as possible.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Is it D-Day for North Korea?

South Korean protesters burn effigies of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and late leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung at an anti-North Korea protest on the birthday of Kim Il Sung in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Source: AP

OBLIVIOUS to international tensions over a possible North Korean missile launch, the people of Pyongyang have spilled into the streets to celebrate the birthday of their first leader, Kim Il-sung.

Girls in red and pink jackets skipped along streets festooned with celebratory banners and flags and parents pushed strollers with babies bundled up against the spring chill as residents of the isolated, impoverished nation began observing a three-day holiday.

There was no sense of panic in the North Korean capital, where very few locals have access to international broadcasts and foreign newspaper headlines speculating about an imminent missile launch.

North Korea's own media gave little indication of how high the tensions are.

The Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper, featured photos and coverage of current leader Kim Jong-un's overnight visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to his grandfather. There was only one line at the end of the article vowing to bring down the "robber-like US imperialists".

South Korean protesters lift up a mock North Korean missile during an anti-North Korea protest in Seoul. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Kim Jong-un's renovation of the memorial palace that once served as his grandfather's presidential offices was opened to the public on Monday, the vast cement plaza replaced by fountains, park benches, trellises and tulips. Stretches of green lawn were marked by small signs indicating which businesses - including the Foreign Trade Bank recently added to a US Treasury blacklist - and government agencies donated funds to help pay for the landscaping.

Braving the cold, grey weather, people lined up in droves to lay bouquets of fake flowers at the bronze statues of Kim and his son, late leader Kim Jong-il, in downtown Pyongyang, as they do for every major holiday in the highly militarised country, where loyalty to the Kims and to the state are drummed in citizens from an early age. They queued at roadside snack stands for rations of peanuts, a holiday tradition. Cheers and screams from a soccer match filled the air.

Monday marked the official start of the new year according to North Korea's "juche" calendar, which begins with the day of Kim Il-sung's birth in 1912. But unlike last year, the centennial of his birthday, there are no big parades in store this week, and North Koreans were planning to use it as a day to catch up with friends and family.

It's long been a tradition to celebrate Kim Il-sung's birthday as a national holiday in North Korea.


He used to mark the occasion by rounding up "ideological offenders" and sending them to prison. Now the celebration de jour is more forceful and military.

Which brings us back to the escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. If Kim Jong-un has been posturing for weeks, and no one knows if and when he plans to press the big red button, wouldn't it make sense that he'd do something today?

There have been reports of nuclear armament and long-range missiles capable of reaching Darwin. But it's also likely that Kim Jong-un will just fire off a test mile into the Sea of Japan.


Perhaps it's a face-saving measure, perhaps it's just a nod to his grandfather. But history suggests he's bound to do something.

The Kims love a good April. In 1984, they tested a ballistic missile. In 1992 they revealed their nuclear program to the world. In 1997 Kim Jong-il promoted 123 generals on his father's birthday.

The trend has continued more recently, too. In 2006, Kim Jong-il threatened a nuclear test on April 14. In 2009, and last year, North Korea launched a "satellite". That's just cute talk for "missile test".

Curiously enough, while the world continues to wait on North Korea's next step, it's just been business as usual in the rogue state: marathons and gala concerts.

North Korea literally trotted out athletes from around the world for a marathon through the streets of its capital - suggesting its concerns of an imminent military crisis might not be as dire as its official pronouncements proclaim.

In other developments, the US and Japan appear more keen than North Korea about restarting talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program and the London School of Economics is furious at the BBC for using its students as cover to get into the secretive nation.

Continue the conversation on Twitter: @christoforpaine | @newscomauHQ

Athletes from 16 nations hit the streets for the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon in Pynongyang, despite fears of the rogue nation launching a nuclear attack.


23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger