Somalia online

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Aum Shinrikyo cult fugitive surrenders to Japan police

1 January 2012 Last updated at 11:48

Makoto Hirata, a member of Aum Shinrikyo, rear centre, sits in a police car

Makoto Hirata (rear centre) was arrested on suspicion of abduction

A former member of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult has turned himself in to police after nearly 17 years on the run, one of three remaining fugitives.

Japanese police said Makoto Hirata gave himself up at a police station in Tokyo just before midnight on New Year's Eve.
He had been in hiding since the cult's sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, which killed 13 people.
He was immediately arrested on suspicion of conspiring to kidnap the brother of a follower of the cult.
The man he is accused of abducting died after being given an injection at Aum's main commune at the foot of Mount Fuji, officials said.
Only two other members of the cult are still being sought by police. They went on the run after the gas attack in Tokyo, which injured 6,000 people.
Nearly 200 Aum Shinrikyo members have been convicted of that attack and other crimes.
Thirteen are awaiting execution, after judges in November upheld the death sentence against the final member of the cult to be charged over the 1995 attack.
Reinvented Aum Shinrikyo began as a spiritual group mixing Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, but developed into a paranoid doomsday cult obsessed with Armageddon.

Former cult leader Shoko Asahara, accused of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway

Cult leader Shoko Asahara is among those on death row

Former yoga teacher Shoko Asahara started the group in the mid-1980s, and later claimed to have reached enlightenment after a trip to India.
By the time of the Tokyo attack, the group was reputed to have thousands of members, including rich and powerful members of Japanese society.
But Asahara became obsessed with the idea that World War III was about to break out, and began ordering attacks on people he regarded as enemies.
Some 189 Aum cultists have been put on trial over the various attacks carried out by the cult, and 13 sentenced to death, including Asahara. None of the sentences has been carried out.
Aum Shinrikyo reinvented itself as the Aleph group, which continues to operate as a spiritual group.

South Sudan 'sends more troops' to strife-torn town Pibor

Armed Lou Nuer men in Likwangale listen to South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar - 28 December 2011. Photo from Sudan Tribune

South Sudan is still flooded with weapons after the end of the decades-long war with northern Sudan

South Sudan's government says it is sending more troops and police to the town of Pibor, to deal with an outbreak of ethnic violence.

On Saturday, members of the Lou Nuer group attacked Pibor, home to the rival Murle group, in the latest of a series of reprisal attacks over cattle raids.
Tens of thousands of the Murle fled.
Some 6,000 Lou Nuer fighters are chasing them, reportedly to take revenge for previous attacks and to rescue dozens of abducted children.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has called on them to stop their advance.
Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says it is "extremely worried" after losing contact with some 130 staff in Pibor.
A hospital and other parts of the town were set alight on Saturday.
The BBC has learnt that some of the displaced - mainly women, children and the elderly - have been killed although it has not been possible to verify how many.

Analysis

Will Ross East Africa correspondent

Tens of thousands of people from the Murle tribe are trekking through the harsh terrain of South Sudan. Six thousand armed men from the rival Lou Nuer tribe are chasing after them - to take revenge for previous attacks and to rescue dozens of abducted children.
Troop reinforcements have been promised but it will be extremely difficult to stop these inter-tribal attacks, which started out as cattle raids and have led to more than 1,000 deaths in recent months.
Reprisal attacks over cattle rustling have gone on for years but they are now on an alarming scale. The two communities are basically at war with each other.

The government said it was deploying more troops and an additional 2,000 police to Pibor.

Military spokesman Col Philip Aguer said: "The 2,000 police are being sent within the next 24 hours. Troops will be deployed as soon as possible."
The UN had sent more more peacekeepers to defend the town on Friday following reports that the armed Lou Nuer men were approaching.
But questions will be asked as to why hundreds of South Sudanese soldiers and UN troops were unable to protect Pibor, says the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross.
Power struggles
A spokesman for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC they had only been able to get in touch with 13 members of staff, and believe the rest fled into the bush to escape the attack.
Parthesarathy Rajendran urged both sides in the conflict to respect MSF facilities because the charity was the only health-care provider in the area.

Almost all the residents of Pibor had also already fled amid fears of an impending assault.
Six thousand fighters from the Lou Nuer group have been marching through Jonglei state in recent weeks, setting fire to homes and seizing livestock.
The entire town of Lukangol was burnt to the ground last week. About 20,000 civilians managed to flee before the attack, but dozens were killed on both sides.
About 1,000 people have been killed in Jonglei in recent months, during inter-ethnic fighting, triggered by the cattle raids.
The governor of Jonglei state and the vice-president of South Sudan have been trying to mediate between the rival ethnic groups.
South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 following decades of civil war with the north.
One legacy of the conflict is that the region is still flooded with weapons.
These are now being used in tribal power-struggles, which often focus on cattle because of the central role they play in many South Sudanese communities.
So far, the South Sudanese authorities appear unable to make any progress in tackling the problem.

Soap star Michael Le Vell cleared in child sex case

Mr Le Vell had strenuously denied the allegations

Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell has been cleared of child sex allegations.

The actor, who plays mechanic Kevin Webster in the soap, was arrested at his home in Hale, Greater Manchester, in September.
He was questioned and released on bail on suspicion of a sexual offence involving a young girl.
Police confirmed that after their investigation lawyers decided there was not enough evidence to charge him.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "No further action will be taken against a 46-year-old male from Hale, arrested on suspicion of an [historical] sexual assault.
"A file of evidence was prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service, who decided there was insufficient evidence to charge."
Mr Le Vell had strenuously denied the allegations and continued in his role in the TV show.
He joined the soap in 1983 as Brian Tilsley's apprentice mechanic and became a favourite with fans who have followed his stormy marriage to Sally, played by Sally Dynevor.
The actor had a major role in December's live 50th anniversary episode, featuring a fatal tram crash in Weatherfield.

Man dies after falling out of canoe in Cornwall gorge

A man has died after falling out of a canoe in a steep-sided river gorge in Cornwall.

The 49-year-old, who was on holiday with his family, was pulled from the River Fowey at Golitha Falls on the edge of Bodmin Moor at about 15:30 GMT.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said the man was found clinging to a rock and was taken by helicopter to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
Attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was later pronounced dead.
Fast water
The police spokesman said they were called to the scene at Draynes, near Liskeard, by reports a canoeist had fallen out of his canoe and was reportedly clinging to a rock.
"A search and rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor (in North Devon) winched the male from the river and he was taken to Derriford Hospital," he said.
Phil Harris, who runs the Badgers' Sett Holiday Cottages around half a mile from the Falls, said the area had experienced heavy rainfall over the last few days.
"The water has certainly been going very fast and we have had a lot of rain," he said.
"I wouldn't have thought it was high enough to canoe but over the last few days it has been very high and very fast-flowing."
The police said they believed the man was canoeing alone and not as part of a group.
Golitha Falls is a nature reserve on the edge of the moor.
According to the website of government agency Natural England it is "an area of woodland occupying a steep-sided valley gorge, with the River Fowey flowing through it in a series of spectacular cascades".

Sweden: Wedding ring 'found on carrot' after 16 years

Lena Paahlsson says the ring was on a small carrot she was about to discard

A Swedish woman has discovered her wedding ring on a carrot growing in her garden, 16 years after she lost it, says a newspaper.

Lena Paahlsson had long ago lost hope of finding the ring, which she designed herself, reports Dagens Nyheter.
The white-gold band, set with seven small diamonds, went missing in her kitchen in 1995, she told the paper.
Although the ring no longer fits, she hopes to have it enlarged so she can wear it again.
Mrs Paahlsson and her family live on a farm near Mora in central Sweden.
She took the ring off to do some Christmas baking with her daughters, but it disappeared from the work surface where it had been left, she explained to Dagens Nyheter.
The family searched everywhere and years later took up the tiling on the floor during renovations, in the hope of finding the ring.
It was not until 16 years later when Mrs Paahlsson was pulling up carrots in her garden that she noticed one with the gold band fastened tightly around it.

Lena Paahlsson and husband Ola say it is incredible that the ring has been found

"The carrot was sprouting in the middle of the ring. It is quite incredible," her husband Ola said to the newspaper.
The couple believe the ring fell into a sink back in 1995 and was lost in vegetable peelings that were turned into compost or fed to their sheep.
"I had given up hope," Mrs Paahlsson told Dagens Nyheter, adding that she wanted to have the ring adjusted to fit her.
"Now that I have found the ring again I want to be able to use it," she said.

Two young women die as car hits wall in Llanrug, Gwynedd

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version

The crash happened at about 06:00 GMT on the A4086 Llanberis road, close to the Glyntwrog Inn in Llanrug

Two young women have died after the car they were in hit a wall early on New Year's Day, say North Wales Police.

The crash happened at about 06:00 GMT on the A4086 Llanberis road, near the Glyntwrog Inn in Llanrug, near Caernarfon.
Police say both the driver and passenger in the silver Vauxhall Corsa died at the scene.
Both women are from the Gwynedd area, and police have appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
The north west Wales coroner has also been informed.
Anyone with information is asked to call North Wales Police on 0300 3300101.

Sweden: Wedding ring 'found on carrot' after 16 years

Lena Paahlsson says the ring was on a small carrot she was about to discard

A Swedish woman has discovered her wedding ring on a carrot growing in her garden, 16 years after she lost it, says a newspaper.

Lena Paahlsson and husband Ola say it is incredible that the ring has been found

Europe leaders warn of difficult 2012

Comments (387)

Chancellor Angela Merkel pictured after giving her New Year's address - 31 December 2011

German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads Europe's largest economy

Global Economy

European leaders have warned of a difficult year ahead, as many economists predict recession in 2012.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was experiencing its "most severe test in decades" but that Europe was growing closer in the debt crisis.
France's President Sarkozy said the crisis was not finished, while Italy's president called for more sacrifices.
Growth in Europe has stalled as the debt crisis has forced governments to slash spending.
The leaders' new year messages came as leading economists polled by the BBC said they expected a return to recession in Europe in the first half of 2012.
The cost of borrowing for some of the eurozone's largest economies, including Italy and Spain, has shot up in recent months as lenders fear governments will not be able to pay back money they have already borrowed.
With growth stalled, the pressure is on governments across Europe, not just ones using the single currency, to cut spending in order to meet debt obligations.
Fears are now focusing on a potential second credit crunch, triggered by the exposure of banks across Europe to Italy's huge debt.
Euro defended
In her TV address, Chancellor Merkel said that despite Germany's relatively good economic situation, "next year will no doubt be more difficult than 2011".

“Start Quote

The most likely outcome in pure economic terms is a moderately bad fiscal crisis, a survivable sovereign debt event and a sharp growth downturn, all in the first half of the year”

End Quote

Paul Mason Economics editor, Newsnight

Read more from Paul

"The road to overcome it [debt crisis] remains long and not without setbacks, but at the end of this path Europe will re-emerge stronger from the crisis than it was when it entered it."

She defended the euro, saying it had made "everyday life easier and our economy stronger... and protected from something worse" in the financial crisis of 2008.
Heading into an election year trailing his Socialist rival Francois Hollande in the polls, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said structural changes to the economy were needed in order to return to growth.
"I know that the lives of many of you, already tested by two difficult years, have been put to the test once more," he said in a televised address.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy gives his New Year's address - 31 December 2011

French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces an uphill battle to be re-elected in April

"You are ending the year more worried about yourselves and your children," he said.
But after having already pushed budget cuts in order to forestall a downgrade of France's treasured AAA sovereign credit rating, he promised there would be no more budget cuts.
"What was to be done was done by the government," he said.
Mr Sarkozy is due to meet Mrs Merkel in early January to push forward a European Union agreement in December for a new fiscal compact.
'Unavoidable' sacrifices
The president of Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, urged people to make sacrifices to prevent the "financial collapse of Italy".
President Giorgio Napolitano said: "Sacrifices are necessary to ensure the future of young people, it's our objective and a commitment we cannot avoid."

Government austerity has undermined growth and caused a great deal of anger around Europe

Fears that Italy might need a Greek-style bailout that Europe would have difficulty dealing with have forced the government's borrowing costs up and led to the replacement of Silvio Berlusconi by Mario Monti, leading a cabinet of unelected experts.
"No-one, no social group, can today avoid the commitment to contribute to the clean-up of public finances in order to prevent the financial collapse of Italy," President Napolitano said.
"The sacrifices will not be in vain, especially if the economy begins to grow again."
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, another technocrat who was appointed to lead an interim coalition government after the debt crisis forced George Papandreou to resign, also warned of a difficult year ahead.
"We have to continue our efforts with determination, so that the sacrifices we have made up to now won't be in vain," he said in a televised address.
His government has imposed harsh austerity measures in order to ensure Greece continues to receive an international bailout.
The austerity measures, begun in 2010 by the previous government, have led to mass protests and riots as high unemployment, raised taxes, salary cuts and reduced government services take their toll.

Arab Parliament urges end to Syria monitors' mission

Demonstrators march against President Bashar al-Assad in Idlib, 30 December 2011.

Both protests and the crackdown have continued since the monitors arrived

Syria Crisis

An advisory body to the Arab League has called for the organisation's observers to be withdrawn from Syria because of the ongoing crackdown on protests.

The speaker of the Arab Parliament said the monitors had to leave "considering the continued killing of innocent civilians by the Syrian regime".
There has been no let-up in the violence since the observers started their work on Tuesday.
Their mission is to monitor a peace plan drawn up by the Arab League.
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Salem al-Diqbassi, said in a statement that the continuing repression "in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission".
"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," Mr Diqbassi added.
The parliament is an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from member states. Its recommendations are non-binding and it operates separately from the league.

Syria deaths

More than 5,000 civilians have been killed, says the UN
UN denied access to Syria
Information gathered from NGOs, sources in Syria and Syrian nationals who have fled
The death toll is compiled as a list of names which the UN cross-references
Vast majority of casualties were unarmed, but the figure may include armed defectors
Tally does not include serving members of the security forces

Source: UN's OHCHR

Controversy over Sudan's role

'Nothing frightening'

Correspondents say many demonstrators are becoming frustrated at the league's inability to stop the violence.

About 60 monitors are in the country to verify the implementation of the Arab League plan, which calls for an end to all fighting, the withdrawal of troops from the streets and the release of political prisoners.
Although some tanks have reportedly pulled back, snipers have been visible during demonstrations and rallies.
The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of anti-government groups inside Syria, said at least six people had died in various parts of Syria on Sunday.
More than 150 people have been killed since the monitors arrived in the country, according to activists. The UN says puts the number of deaths in the 10-month uprising at 5,000.
There has also been criticism of the head of the monitoring team, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi - who is regarded by some as biased towards the Syrian government.
On Saturday he appeared to contradict one of his officials who was quoted as saying during a visit to the southern city of Deraa that he and other monitors had seen government snipers "with our own eyes".
Gen Dabi later told the BBC that the observer had made no such claim and was only speaking hypothetically.
On Thursday, after a visit to the restive northern city of Homs, Gen Dabi said that "some places looked a bit of a mess but there was nothing frightening".
The general has held a number of senior posts in Sudan, including in the troubled Darfur region.
The government of President Bashar al-Assad says it is fighting armed groups and that 2,000 security forces personnel have died.
Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify as most foreign media are barred from reporting freely in Syria.

Anuj Bidve murder: Man charged

Anuj Bidve, 23, had been studying at Lancaster University

A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of the Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot in the head in Salford on Boxing Day.

Kiaran Stapleton, from Ordsall, will appear at City of Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Mr Bidve, 23, had travelled to the UK from India to study at Lancaster University and was staying in Greater Manchester over the festive period.
Greater Manchester Police said a £50,000 reward remained outstanding.
Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, who has overall command of the inquiry, told a news conference: "This remains a complex investigation and the fact we have charged someone does not mean the investigation is complete.
"As such, we are still asking for the public to contact us with any information they may have and there remains a £50,000 reward outstanding."
Police visit
Earlier, GMP said a chief superintendent and a family liaison officer are travelling to India to meet Mr Bidve's family and representatives of the Indian authorities.
His father, Subhash Bidve, has been critical of UK and Indian authorities after learning of his son's death on Facebook before UK police could contact him.
ACC Copley said: "We know that the family are extremely distressed that Anuj's body has not been released to them.
"We have been in close contact with the coroner who is anxious to release Anuj's body to his family at the earliest possible time."
Mr Bidve, from Pune, Maharashtra, was shot at close range by a gunman in the Ordsall district of Salford in the early hours of Boxing Day.
A total of five people have been arrested by police. On Saturday, a 19-year-old man was bailed until the end of March, while three others, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys, were also released on bail pending further inquiries.
Mr Bidve, a postgraduate student in micro-electronics, was described by his family as a "loving son, a super-caring brother and first and forever a friend for many".

Memeorial Submitted by the Expert, People's Republicof China to the International Court of Justiceon The Status of Somliland

ICJ/1/25.10.07

International Court of Justice

VI MUNRFE Session

Advisory opinion

People’s Republic of China

Status of Somaliland

MEMORIAL SUBMITTED BY THE EXPERT, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF

CHINA

Introduction

1. This memorial on the issue of status of Somaliland is submitted to the Court on the basis of

articles 65

and

2. International Court of Justice under the request of the United Nations Secretariat, basing on

international law and opinion of relevant parties, should decide, whether Somaliland should be

independent state or should remain an integral part of Somali Republic

66 of Chapter IV of the Statute of the International Court of Justice..

Part I: Jurisdiction

3. Pursuant to clause “a” of the

states that “questions upon which the advisory opinion of the Court is asked shall be laid before the Court

by means of a written request containing an exact statement of the question upon which an opinion is

required, and accompanied by all documents likely to throw light upon the question”, the People’s

Republic of China receives the jurisdiction of the Court upon the question what status of Somaliland

should be.

article 65 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice which

Part II: Facts of the case

4. In the area which became British Somaliland Protectorate in the late 19th century the Somali people

were traditionally divided into clans, each being separated and independent from the others. Since then

and until independence of Somaliland Protectorate in 1960 each clan maintained connections with the

British government separately from other ones as the Protectorate treaties signed between United

Kingdom and clans recognized that each clan area was a separate Territory. These treaties are the evidence

that Great Britain prevented creation of a unitary state of Somali people. Somaliland Protectorate had

never been indivisible and therefore had no experience in governing the state. Nevertheless there were

common ethnicity, language, culture, Muslim religion, and pastoral life – bonds that were shared with

other Somali people in all Somali areas in the Horn of Africa including the Italian-administered Somalia to

the East and South of the Protectorate. These bonds provided an opportunity for Somaliland to unite with

the same ethnic group and create a national state which would consolidate politically disintegrated Somali

people. Creation of such a state was necessary to unfairly divided on the colonies Somali people and was

an important stage in evolution from uncoordinated clans to centralized state.

5. On June, 26, 1960 Somaliland Protectorate became independent and gaining this independence annulled

treaties signed with Great Britain. In accordance with preliminary consensus and agreement among the

northern clans Somaliland merged with Somalia on July 1, 1960 thus forming the unitary Somali Republic.

The entire intention of gaining independence from Britain was precisely to unite with the rest of the

country that gained independence in 1959 and to create state which would unite Somali people. It can be

proved by the fact that the state of Somaliland existed only in the period of six days after receiving

independence and all the activity of the state in this period was turned to formal preparation for creation

of the unitary state which was negotiated previously. The willingness of people to create unitary state was

proved by the results of the referendum held in June, 20, 1961 over the entire territory of Somali Republic

on the draft constitution of the unitary state. According to the results of this referendum published in the

African Election Database 1,756,216 people which are 90. 56 % of population voted in favor of the Continued

Somalia online

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Aum Shinrikyo cult fugitive surrenders to Japan police

South Sudan 'sends more troops' to strife-torn town Pibor

Analysis

Soap star Michael Le Vell cleared in child sex case

Man dies after falling out of canoe in Cornwall gorge

Sweden: Wedding ring 'found on carrot' after 16 years

Two young women die as car hits wall in Llanrug, Gwynedd

Sweden: Wedding ring 'found on carrot' after 16 years

Europe leaders warn of difficult 2012

Global Economy

“Start Quote

Arab Parliament urges end to Syria monitors' mission

Syria Crisis

Syria deaths

Anuj Bidve murder: Man charged

Memeorial Submitted by the Expert, People's Republicof China to the International Court of Justiceon The Status of Somliland

Why cows may be hiding something but AI can spot it

Followers

Links

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Share this page

Related Stories

Related Stories

Analysis

Related Stories

“Start Quote

Syria deaths

Related Stories