Rape Accusations "Good Weapons to Seek Personal revenge" in India - Indian Politicians

The Hindu nationalist party, Shiv Sena, has published claims that rape accusations are being used as political weapons to destroy careers overnight. The comments came in response to recent rape allegations filed against an Indian police officer who is currently under police protection due to death threats.

“After he has served for so many years in the police force, one model now charges DIG [deputy inspector general] Sunil Paraskar with rape and in one night he becomes a villain,” the party stated. “Such accusations have become good weapons to seek personal revenge.

“Cases of charging [prominent] men with molestation and rape in to create hype is on a rise now. It has almost become a fashion,” continued the statement.

Paraskar was accused of rape and molestation during a three-month period by a model.

In the wake of a gang rape that lead to the death of a Delhi student two years ago, India toughened its rape and sexual assault laws, which, Shiv Sena claimed, were being abused. The party stated that rape accusations had now become “fashionable.”

Suspicions that the new, tougher laws were being abused have existed for a while, but recently statistical evidence has been found to support the claim.

Since the December 16, 2012, gang rape, the acquittal rate for rape cases has shot up from 46 in the first part of 2013 to 75 percent, and is currently around 70 percent.

“It’s sad but true,” said one of the prosecutors on the Nirbhaya trial, A T Ansari. “Registration of false cases is rampant and hence, the alarming acquittal rate. The new law is being misused because of the widened definition of rape.

“This is an unfortunate trend. In many cases, women come up with the plea that they had registered the case out of anger and due to misunderstanding.”

Another senior prosecutor commented on the matter, “In around 90% of acquittal cases, the victim turns hostile. Mostly, it turns out to be a case of a relationship gone bad. The sex is consensual but the victim claims that the consent was given on account of promise of marriage.”

Other cases involve extortion, property disputes, extra-marital affairs, and recovery of dues.

Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi offered a possible explanation for the trend. “The courts generally don’t use this discretion because they don’t want genuine victims to be wary of approaching courts for justice.”

By James Haleavy

Rape Accusations "Good Weapons to Seek Personal revenge" in India - Indian Politicians

Land Grabbing Spree in Sierra Leone Meets Opposition: Citizens Issue Declaration Against Land Grabbing

In an attempt to stem the current land grabbing spree taking place in Sierra Leone, citizens of the capital city, Freetown, have issued the Freetown Declaration. The Declaration stated that despite the benefit of increased investment in the country, there was an urgent need to protect the land rights of rural residents, who were being hurt by the land grab.

The Declaration recognized the “mass influx of various Foreign Direct Investors” who have invested in Sierra Leone over the past 10 years. The investors have acquired large tracts of forest, mining and arable land.

The problem, as addressed in the Declaration, is that the rising demand for land to undertake foreign investment has been accompanied by “a disproportionate dividend” for rural residents, “most of whom have been dispossessed of land which has had very negative implications for their livelihood and invariably leading to an infringement of fundamental rights…”

While recognizing the benefits Sierra Leone received from foreign investment, the citizens resolved that there was an urgent need “to recognise and respect all legitimate tenure right holders and their rights owing to the very little community involvement in land acquisition.” Food security and livelihood were at issue, the Declaration noted.

The citizens called an acknowledgement of the environmental degradation that was taking place in communities where mining and agri-business were located. They also called for legal changes, including the insertion of humane and non-discriminatory clauses in relevant laws.

The landgrabbing problem in Sierra Leone was recently commented on publicly by the Director of Criminal Services in Sierra Leone Police, Assistant Inspector General Morie Lengor, who said that much violence was attached to the issue, making it a serious security threat and concern.

The Freetown Declaration was issued at the Atlantic Hall in Freetown late last month.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Land Grabbing Spree in Sierra Leone Meets Opposition: Citizens Issue Declaration Against Land Grabbing

Australia Launches Green Army

The largest of its kind ever mobilized in Australia, the force was launched by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Sunday with the words, “The Green Army is on the march from today.”

“The Green Army is a hands-on, practical, grassroots environmental action programme that supports local environment and heritage conservation projects across Australia,” the organization’s website stated.

“It’s the largest environmental workforce Australia has ever mobilized for land care,” said Abbott.

The Army seeks to recruit 15,000 members. It is targeting Australians aged 17-24, and offers to provide training and experience in environmental and heritage conservation fields and conservation management. At the same time, the Army aims to benefit the environment by staffing real projects. Army workers will receive a wage similar to a traineeship–around US$9.30-14.90 per hour.

Green Army teams will be deployed on 20-26-week projects across Australia. In the next year, 250 projects have been planned. Five hundred are planned for 2015-16, 750 for 22016-17 and 1,150 for 2017-18.

Among these tasks are tree planting, restoring koala habitats, cleaning up creeks and rivers, conserving heritage sites and monitoring endangered species.

The program has been provided with $525 million tax money for four years.

“It’s about projects around Australia, which will help improve river banks, revegetate, encourage threatened species’ recovery, shore up sand dunes, be engaged in the health and rehabilitation of both urban and rural landscapes,” said Abbott. “Secondly, it’s about ensuring that young people have training and work skills and opportunity.”

Australians interested in joining the Green Army are advised to contact a Service Provider in their state or territory.

By Sid Douglas

Australia Launches Green Army

"When Well-Managed, an Ebola Outbreak Can Be Stopped" - UN with Affected Nations Launch Joint $100 Million Response Plan

With the intention of marking “a turning point” in the intensifying Ebola outbreak plaguing three West African nations, the WHO met with the presidents of all the affected nations Friday to launch a joint $100 million response plan.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) met the leaders of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire in the Guinean capital.

“When well-managed, an Ebola outbreak can be stopped,” said Chan, referencing four decades of experience dealing with Ebola in Africa. “Ebola outbreaks can be contained. Chains of transmission can be broken. Together, we must do so.”

Chan called for an accurate and detailed mapping of the outbreak and an increase in information distribution about the facts of Ebola. Chan also called for an increase in aid workers. The WHO plan also stresses surveillance, particularly in border areas

Among the most serious problems associated with the African outbreak is that the region suffers from a lack of health education. To this point, the UN chief said that Ebola was a social problem, not a medical or public health problem.

“West Africa is facing its first outbreak of Ebola virus disease,” remarked Chan. “This is an unprecedented outbreak accompanied by unprecedented challenges. And these challenges are extraordinary.”

“West Africa’s outbreak is caused by the most lethal strain in the family of Ebola viruses. The outbreak is by far the largest ever in the nearly four-decade history of this disease. It is the largest in terms of geographical areas already affected and others at immediate risk of further spread.

“The current outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it,” said Chan. “If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives, but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries.”

The Ebola virus rapidly spreading in West Africa has infected 1,323 people, according to the WHO, among whom 729 have died. Of those 729, 60 have been health care workers.

The UN will meet August 6-7 to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”

By Day Blakely Donaldson

UN

"When Well-Managed, an Ebola Outbreak Can Be Stopped" - UN with Affected Nations Launch Joint $100 Million Response Plan

Imam of Xinjiang Province's Largest Mosque, Who Had Been Appointed by Chinese Government, Killed -- Suspects Also Killed

The imam of Xinjiang’s largest mosque, located in Kashgar, was killed Wednesday, and shortly afterwards police shot dead two suspects in the murder, who, according to the police, “resisted arrest with knives and axes.”

The suspects had been located shortly after the murder, according to police, who said the men had been “influenced by religious extremism.”

The suspects, according to Chinese state media agency Xinhua, had planned to “do something big” to boost their influence in the region.

The imam, Jume Tahir, was appointed to the position of imam of the mosque by China’s ruling Communist Party.

There have been reports that the imam was unpopular for praising Chinese policies while preaching.

Xinjiang is composed of 43.3 percent Uyghur, 41 percent Han Chinese, 8.3 percent Kazakh, 5 percent Hui and small numbers of other ethnic groups. Han have been migrating to Xinjiang on a large scale in recent years, and tensions have been rising between the local Uyghurs and their Chinese rulers.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Imam of Xinjiang Province's Largest Mosque, Who Had Been Appointed by Chinese Government, Killed -- Suspects Also Killed

Thailand's Military Government Approves Massive Railway to Connect to China and Laos

Today, Thailand’s military government, the Thai National Council for Peace and Order, approved two massive railway projects to link Bangkok and the southern coast with southern China and Laos.

A 737-kilometer line will extend from northeastern Nong Khai to coastal Map Ta Phut in Rayong province. Another line will run from northern Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province to Ayutthaya province.

The lines will run trains capable of 160 kilometers per hour.

The two rails will cost more than $23bn total, and construction is expected to begin next year, with a projected completion in 2021.

The rail lines will eventually be tied into a greater system of high-speed rails that are planned to connect all of Southeast Asia. Much of the push for this network has come from China.

China’s line to connect its southwestern Yunnan Province with Singapore is expected to transform rural Laos, where the majority of the 6.5 million Laotians have never ridden a train. China aims to sell goods in Southeast Asia while receiving natural resources in return.

However, the Chinese plan is not going as smoothly in Burma, where a plan to link Arakan State with China was recently abandoned over potential cost and environmental concerns. The line was to cost $20bn and would have been operated by China for 50 years before being handed over to the Burmese government.

China also has plans to connect to Tibet, India, Nepal and Bhutan by 2020.

By Sid Douglas

Thailand's Military Government Approves Massive Railway to Connect to China and Laos

82 Percent of California is in "Extreme Draught" and Almost 60 Percent is Now in "Exceptional Draught"

California is experiencing drought for a third year. Intensity levels have already increased to “extreme drought” in 82 percent of the state. This number has remained relatively stable for the previous three months. There has been marked increase, however, in “exceptional drought” areas–From 25 percent of the state three months ago, the area increased to 36 percent last week and this week jumped to nearly 60 percent.

At the end of June, for California’s 154 intrastate reservoirs, storage stood at 60% of the historical average. Storage has fallen to 17.3 million acre-feet.

California calculates a yearly need of 11.6 million acre-feet storage. This means that California is short more than one year’s worth of reservoir water.

This is the third year of drought in California. California’s topsoil moisture and subsoil moisture reserves are nearly depleted. Rangeland and pasture-land are now rated 70 percent very poor to poor, and continue to deteriorate.

Recently, wildfires have burned thousands of acres of vegetation in northern and central California. The Sand fire, which raged over an area north of Plymouth, burned over 4,000 acres and 66 structures, including 19 residences.

Conditions are not appreciably better in northern than in central or southern California.

Current drought intensity in California is still short of the historic 1977 drought, when interstate reservoirs dropped to 41 percent of average.

By James Haleavy

82 Percent of California is in "Extreme Draught" and Almost 60 Percent is Now in "Exceptional Draught"