18.10.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
A ship carrying 76 suspected illegal migrants has been seized off Canada’s Pacific coast, officials say.
Those on board the ship said they were trying to reach Canada, according to local authorities.
The identity of the migrants was not confirmed, although Canada’s public safety minister said there were indications they were from Sri Lanka.
He said it appeared to be a case of human smuggling. The migrants, all men, were said to be in good health.
The merchant vessel, named Ocean Lady, was intercepted by a navy frigate off Vancouver Island before being escorted to a dock in Ogden Point in Victoria, British Columbia.
Officials there were carrying out health and safety and immigration checks.
Those on board the ship were pictured wearing civilian clothes. Some were shirtless.
“The signs do point toward human smuggling,” said the public safety minister, Peter Van Loan.
Several ships attempting to smuggle migrants from China to Canada’s Pacific coast were intercepted off Vancouver Island a decade ago.
18.10.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
A sheriff in the US state of Colorado says the parents of a boy mistakenly believed to have been carried away by a helium balloon will face charges.
Sheriff Jim Alderden was speaking after interviewing the parents of Falcon Heene, aged six, for a second time.
The boy was feared to have been in a weather balloon which flew away on Thursday, but was later found at home.
Sheriff Alderden had earlier said that he did not think Richard and Mayumi Heene were behind a deliberate hoax.
He has not specified what charges will be brought, but the couple have not been arrested.
“We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanour, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances,” Sheriff Alderden said.
A search warrant is being obtained for the couple’s home in Fort Collins, and Sheriff Alderden raised the possibility of federal charges, saying that he was talking to the Federal Aviation Administration
The Heenes are expected to give a press conference later.
‘Not staged’
The disappearance of Falcon Heene became a media drama that gripped the nation.
Suspicions were aroused when the child, when asked on TV why he had stayed hidden, said “we did this for a show”.
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HEENE FAMILY
Father Richard, wife Mayumi, three sons – Brad, Ryo, Falcon
Family appeared on reality TV show Wife Swap, described as science-obsessed
Father is an amateur scientist and keen “storm chaser”
Home videos posted on YouTube, including three sons performing rap song
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The boy, his two brothers and his parents gave numerous TV interviews late on Thursday and early Friday.
His father, Richard Heene, insisted that his son’s disappearance was not staged.
He and his wife Mayumi have previously appeared on the reality TV show Wife Swap, leading to speculation in the media that the latest incident might have been a publicity stunt.
US news networks devoted hours of live coverage to the drama on Thursday after it was reported the boy might be in a balloon floating high over Colorado.
When the aircraft landed in fields there was no trace of him, prompting a major ground search and further fears for his safety.
Officials said Falcon Heene may have hid because he was scared
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It was finally announced that the boy had been found alive and well in the roof-space of the garage at his family’s home.
In spite of quick denials from his father, speculation that the Heenes had faked the entire incident persisted, when the family appeared on more US TV talk shows.
And in a bizarre twist, Falcon himself became physically ill while his father was asked direct questions on ABC and NBC about whether or not they had staged an elaborate hoax.
Mr Heene battled on while his son was being sick, telling his NBC interviewer there was “absolutely” no hoax.
He repeated the statement on Saturday, prior to being interviewed by the sheriff, telling reporters at his house there had been “absolutely no hoax”.
18.10.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
US Senator John Kerry has said it would be irresponsible to send more US troops to Afghanistan before the result of the presidential election there is clear.
Mr Kerry’s comments came as foreign officials pressed Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept that he might have to face a run-off.
A fraud investigation is expected to bring Mr Karzai’s vote count below the 50% needed to avoid a second round.
Washington is debating a request for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan.
Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US and Nato commander in the country, recommended sending the extra troops as the US reviewed its strategy.
US and international troops are fighting resurgent Taliban forces in Afghanistan, an effort that observers say has been complicated by uncertainty over the 20 August election.
‘Good governance’
In comments to CNN to be broadcast on Sunday, Mr Kerry advised against a troop increase before the result of the vote was clear.
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AFGHAN FRAUD ALLEGATIONS
13 Oct: Karzai casts doubt on fair functioning of ECC, but his opponents accuse him of manufacturing his concerns
30 Sep: UN recalls envoy Peter Galbraith following row over the vote recount process
15 Sep: ECC chief says 10% of votes need to be recounted
8 Sep: IEC says votes from 600 polling stations “quarantined”
3 Sep: Claims 30,000 fraudulent votes cast for Karzai in Kandahar
30 Aug: 2,000 fraud allegations are probed; 600 deemed serious
20 Aug: Election day and claims 80,000 ballots were filled out fraudulently for Karzai in Ghazni
18 Aug: Ballot cards sold openly and voter bribes offered
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In an interview from the Afghan capital, Kabul, the senator said it would be “entirely irresponsible” for US President Barack Obama to commit more troops “when we don’t even have an election finished and know who the president is”.
“When our own… commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is, in fact, good governance, and we’re living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the president responsibly say, ‘Oh, they asked for more, sure, here they are?’” he said.
Mr Kerry, who chairs the US Senate’s foreign relations committee, was one of several senior international figures in Kabul this weekend meeting Afghan leaders.
Initial results from August’s election gave Mr Karzai 55% of the votes, with his nearest rival, Abdullah Abdullah, getting 28%.
Hamid Karzai is said to be angry at the prospect of facing a run-off
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But the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) launched an investigation into the vote following allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
It will report to the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which could adjust the final tally, bringing Mr Karzai’s vote total below 50% and triggering a run-off.
Officials say Mr Karzai is furious over the prospect of facing a second round, threatening to delay or block attempts to hold a second round.
He has refused to accept the ECC’s findings before they are released.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned the main candidates on Friday, urging Mr Karzai to accept the findings of the ECC’s fraud investigations.
The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was also in Kabul to meet Mr Karzai and Mr Abdullah.
The ECC had been expected to announce its findings on Saturday. But the reported confrontation with Mr Karzai may delay the official announcement of results.
18.10.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Two Brazilian policemen have been killed after their helicopter was shot at in Rio de Janeiro during clashes involving police and drug gangs.
The helicopter came down and burst into flames, after the pilot was hit in the leg by a bullet.
At least 10 other people were reported to have died in the fighting. Several buses were also set on fire.
It was the worst outbreak of violence since the city was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games two weeks ago.
The attack on the helicopter followed an outbreak of fighting between rival drug gangs in a shanty town in the north of the city.
One resident said it was the one of the most intense gun battles he had witnessed in the area in recent years.
The helicopter exploded after making a crash landing
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The police helicopter exploded after trying to make an emergency landing on a football field.
Two policemen were injured in the crash.
A new gun battle then began between the gangs and dozens of policemen.
In total, 10 alleged gangsters were reported to have been killed.
Authorities were not able to confirm if it was the first time that one of their helicopters had been brought down by gunfire.
18.10.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
An Iranian-Canadian journalist arrested during the protests that followed Iran’s disputed presidential election has been freed, his magazine says.
US magazine Newsweek said the journalist, Maziar Bahari, had been released on bail on Saturday.
Mr Bahari was arrested on 21 June and put on trial with reformists accused of plotting against the Iranian regime.
Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency reported that his bail had been set at 3bn rials ($300,000; £184,000).
Iranian TV also said Mr Bahari had been freed, citing a judicial statement.
It was not immediately clear if the journalist was free to leave the country.
Newsweek said in a statement that Mr Bahari was expecting his first child on 26 October and that the mother had experienced serious health complications.
Humanitarian considerations were presumed to have played a role in the decision, it said.
‘Show trials’
Mr Bahari, 42, is a reporter and documentary maker who had been accredited to work in Iran for more than a decade.
He was arrested during the mass protests that took place after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in June 12 elections.
Opponents said the vote was rigged.
According to reports on Newsweek’s website he had been held in Evin prison without access to his family or lawyers.
The ILNA report said he had been charged with plotting against the regime by sending false election reports, disrupting public order by participating in illegal gatherings, and holding classified documents.
Other reports have said the charges against him included espionage and acting against Iran’s national security.
After trial hearings, Mr Bahari told a press conference that Western media had tried to foment a “velvet revolution” in Iran.
Critics have dismissed the trials that followed the Iranian demonstrations as show trials, arguing that any confessions that followed are without value.
