Thursday, November 22, 2007

Steve McClaren and his deputy Terry Venables have both been sacked by the English Football Association after a unanimous decision by board members during an emergency meeting held earlier today.

The decision was announced by the FA chief executive Brian Barwick in a press conference held this morning after widespread speculation due to the poor performance of the English national team which last night failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2008 competition. The cost of removing him from his post is thought to cost £2.6 million.

According to a study by the Centre for Economic and Business Research, missing out on Euro 2008 could cost the British economy as much as £1 billion.

The recruiting process has already started to find the next manager for the team, only 18 months after 46-year-old McClaren was given the role. During the press conference the FA admitted that not qualifying for the competition was “embarrassing”.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A woman has been found dead at the home of Sam Abal, the acting prime minister of Papua New Guinea. The body was discovered in the garden of the property early Monday morning. Abal’s adopted son, Teo, was arrested on Wednesday after a two-day search; he was reportedly the last person to be seen with the woman.

A murder investigation has been opened by Papua New Guinea police. Abal, currently living in a local hotel, released a statement, saying: “The alleged murder took place within the perimeters of my private home. All family members living with me are immediate suspects and are subject to investigation and questioning by police.”

Police Commissioner Anthony Wagambie commented on Teo Abal’s arrest, saying, “He was caught last night at the Pondorosa Hotel in Port Moresby and is currently being interviewed by police.”

Sam Abal has been the acting prime minister of Papua New Guinea since April of this year, when 75-year-old leader Michael Somare underwent heart surgery. Somare’s recovery has been extended but no date has been given as to his return.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Damir Voschion, 46, has reportedly killed five members of his family in Pula, Croatia on Thursday night around 7:00 p.m. CET (UTC+1). They were all killed by gunshots to the head. The victims include Damir’s two-month-old nephew, his seven-year-old niece, his brother, sister-in-law and then his father. The massacre took place in the family’s home.

Damir turned himself in to police after about an hour and confessed to them “I killed them all”. The bodies of the family have been transported to the morgue at the Pula General Hospital.

The motive for the massacre is not yet known, but there are theories that it might involve a property dispute between Damir and his brother. Neighbors say that Damir was a violent man and that at one time killed his brother’s dog with his bare hands.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Michael Byers, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, revealed in Sunday’s Toronto Star that while he was in Tel Aviv in 2004, he met with a lawyer who advises the Israel Defence Force about rules of engagement. Scenarios which were unfolding were discussed.

The Toronto Star reported a conversation between Byers and an IDF colonel / lawyer during a luncheon. According to Byers, the colonel felt that attacks on southern Lebanon and civilian targets as well as Lebanese infrastructure would be justified under specific interpretations and in certain circumstances. She asked Byers for his opinion on these matters.

The lawyer Byers met with is a colonel with a Harvard doctorate. He met with her by an invitation that came while he was a visiting professor at the University of Tel Aviv. After just a few minutes, the Harvard graduated colonel got to the point of their meeting:

“There have been a number of missile attacks along our northern border,” she said. “We’re going to respond with air strikes against some Hezbollah installations in southern Lebanon next week. What do you think?”

Byers said he was taken aback as governments rarely consult foreign academics about their military plans. Though it was not clear whether the colonel was engaged in private conversation or asking for the professor’s services on behalf of the military.

Byers responded; “Well, for starters, any act of self-defence has to be necessary and proportionate.”

Byers advised the colonel, “Also, you must never target civilians or facilities such as water-filtration or electrical plants relied upon by civilians.”

“Ah, here we disagree!” the colonel exclaimed. “Collateral damage is allowed in situations of military necessity. And dual-use facilities are legitimate targets.”

“What constitutes military necessity depends on the relative capabilities of the opposing forces,” Byers responded, “And the dual-use argument is a slippery slope.”

“Perhaps.” the Israeli colonel said.

“There’s a second reason you should do everything possible to protect civilians,” Byers advised. “Israel has to work particularly hard to maintain the moral high ground. Your reputation has suffered because of your treatment of the Palestinians.”

“We’re completely justified in our treatment of the Palestinians,” the colonel said.

“We can disagree on that,” Byers said, “but do me a favour, as someone who wants to sympathize with Israel. If you do launch air strikes, please limit yourself to Hezbollah facilities. Leave civilians — and the Lebanese government — alone.”

Two years ago, Byers’ IDF advisor suggested considering southern Lebanon a failed state was justification for incursions and air strikes. In contrast, speaking about the current crisis, Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the recent cross-border attack by Hezbollah was an “act of war” committed by the government of Lebanon and that, “The events this morning are not terror attacks but actions of a sovereign state that attacked Israel for no reason. The Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a member, is trying to destabilize regional stability. Lebanon is responsible and it will bear responsibility.”

Israel’s defense ministry confirmed it held Lebanon “directly responsible” for their fate and safe return of the two soldiers captured by Hezbollah. The Israeli Defense Ministry issued a statement which said; “The Lebanese government is responsible for the fate of the Israeli soldiers, and must take immediate action to locate them without harming them and return them to Israel.”

Saturday, July 9, 2005

A Friday protest in downtown Richmond drew around 200 protesters to Virginia’s state capital to demonstrate against strip mining practices of Massey Energy Company. Demonstrators marched through town and gathered in front of the company’s office building where nearly 20 laid in the street of the city’s main thoroughfare, and were nearly arrested. A few linked arms around a sidewalk structure to avoid being hauled away by police.

Chanting “Blankenship, Blankenship, Blankenship,” and waving bed sheets for flags, the demonstrators demanded to be seen and heard by the Massey Chairman and CEO, Don Blankenship. Arrests for civil disobedience were avoided when two security guards were sent by the company to retrieve a list of their demands.

The demonstration, timed to coincide with Scotland’s G8 conference, was organized by a group called “Mountain Justice Summer” and environmentalists to protest mountain top removal mining techniques. The company’s mining operations are located in the Appalachian Mountain chain in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Massey is the United States’ fourth-largest coal mining operation.

A statement issued by a Massey spokesman defended their respect of people’s rights, and decried what they said was, “a great deal of misinformation.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that unofficial “legal observers” accompanied the demonstrators and carried notebooks to record crowd and police activity.

Thursday, June 1, 2006

Human rights group Amnesty International has released satellite images showing how the Zimbabwean community of Porta Farm, which once housed some 10,000 people, has been completely destroyed. Taken in 2002 and 2006, the photos starkly contrast the previous built-up area with the empty scrubland that remains.

According to Amnesty International, residents of Porta Farm were given less than 24 hours notice to leave their homes. Human rights monitors reported that several people died in the chaotic environment of the ensuing demolitions and forced evictions. Two children were reportedly among the dead.

Zimbabwe’s forced evictions programme (called Operation Murambatsvina) has been widely condemned both within Zimbabwe and beyond. A 2005 report on Operation Murambatsvina by United Nations Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka estimated that it has cost 700,000 people their homes or livelihoods. She was present at Porta Farm during the second day of its demolition, and was shocked by the brutality of the evictions.

Residents of Porta Farm had fought eviction in the past, winning judgements from the High Court of Zimbabwe that they should not be evicted unless the government provided suitable alternative accommodation. However the High Court dismissed a contempt of court action that attempted to stop the 2005 evictions, giving no reason.

The Zimbabwean government (led by President Robert Mugabe) says that the programme is in the public interest and was not against the law. It has denied responsibility for the deaths.