Iran News ( 4 Afghans executed on monday - Afghans protest and want the bodies of the dead )

Iran: Four Afghan prisoners hanged

 

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Published on Thursday, 07 March 2013 08:49

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Residents of Afghan city protest executions in Iran

NCRI - The Iranian regime’s henchmen have hanged four Afghan prisoners on Monday (March 4) in Vakil Abad Prison in northeastern city of Mashhad in Iran.

Dozens of Afghan prisoners have been executed in the previous months in Iran.
400 other Afghan prisoners are under death penalty and awaiting their execution.
Last week, Hundreds of angry residents in the western province of Herat blocked the Herat city’s highway to protest against the execution of Afghans in Iran.
The protesters also called on the Iranian regime to hand over the dead bodies of the Afghans to their families and urged the Afghan government to follow the issue of execution of Afghan citizens in Iran.

U.S Drones used on citizens ( We want to see the memo's on Drones )

Barack Obama 'has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil'

President Barack Obama has the authority to use an unmanned drone strike to kill US citizens on American soil, his attorney general has said.

Eric Holder, left, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Code Pink demonstrator Medea Benjamin protests against the use of drone strikes Photo: Getty Images

By Jon Swaine, Washington

6:52PM GMT 06 Mar 2013

 

Eric Holder argued that using lethal military force against an American in his home country would be legal and justified in an "extraordinary circumstance" comparable to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"The president could conceivably have no choice but to authorise the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland," Mr Holder said.

His statement was described as "more than frightening" by Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, who had demanded to know the Obama administration's position on the subject.

"It is an affront the constitutional due process rights of all Americans," said Mr Paul, a 50-year-old favourite of the anti-government Tea Party movement, who is expected to run for president in 2016.

Mr Holder wrote to Mr Paul after the senator threatened to block the appointment of John Brennan as the director of the CIA unless he received answers to a series of questions on its activities.

China ( Shock in China after car thief strangles baby ) sad story

Shock in China after car thief strangles baby

A Chinese man who allegedly strangled an infant after stealing a car with the child inside has handed himself in to police in the north-eastern province of Jilin in a case that has shocked the nation.

Zhou handed himself in to police on Tuesday and made a full confession Photo: Rex Features

By Harry Alsop and agencies

5:13PM GMT 06 Mar 2013

Zhou Xijun, 48, has confessed to stealing an SUV in Changchun city on Monday, which had been left with the engine running and the doors unlocked. The father, Xu Jialin, had wanted to keep the baby warm whilst he ran into the shop where he worked, according to the South China Morning Post.

According to a police statement, Zhou “discovered a baby in the back seat of the stolen car, stopped at the side of the road before strangling the baby to death and burying it in the snow.”

Changchun police said they had sent the entire force, more than 3,500 officers, on a manhunt for the suspect and the missing baby. Local media reported that thousands of residents and taxi drivers joined in the search after hearing the news.

Police found the car abandoned near a school 40 kilometres outside the city but with no sign of the child.

The baby’s father told Xinhua: “Early Wednesday morning, my wife and I identified the body of our son.” 
Chinese media have reported that the baby’s mother had to receive treatment in hospital after learning of the death of her son, with at least one report claiming she suffered a heart attack.

Zhou handed himself in to police on Tuesday and made a full confession, although witnesses have claimed that the man they saw was much younger, leading to rumours that Zhou is covering for someone else.

The case has sparked considerable outrage online in China, which had a murder rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people in 2010, according to the United Nations, among the lowest in the world.

Wang, a taxi driver who joined the hunt for the baby, told China News: “I cried when I heard about the killing on the radio.”

“I would never have imagined that what people most feared would actually happen... the killer should be severely punished," wrote one user of Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

“Killing him would not be enough,” said another.

Users of the site also posted photos of candle-lit vigils being held in Changchun on Tuesday.

A fierce debate has begun in China on whether the parents should be punished for negligence.

"What happens when you take away the child from negligent parents in China?” one user commented. “Do we have foster homes to send them to like in the US? Or do you want to fine the parents who are often poverty-stricken?”

“Defending [such parents] is akin to murdering more babies,” argued another.

Further anger was triggered after photos of a list of government guidelines for media coverage of the case emerged on Weibo.

The list, which was swiftly deleted, called for the media to avoid criticism of the police or sky-net, the city’s surveillance grid, whilst limiting reports to no more than half a page of a newspaper.

“Isn’t this like murdering the baby for a second time?” asked several users.

Iran News ( Killed Human rights Activists - Spouse and daughter arrested and told to shut up )

Iran: Spouse and daughter slain political prisoner arrested

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Published on Monday, 04 March 2013 07:34

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NCRI - The agents of Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) have arrested spouse and daughter of slain political prisoner Mansour Radpour and transferred them to MOIS branch in Karaj on February 26.
Political prisoner Mansour Radpour, an activist of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), 44, father of two, was slain on May 21 in Gohardasht prison, after enduring five years detention in the mullahs’ dungeons and standing up against all sorts of tortures and pressures in order to make forced confessions.

A few months after travelling to Ashraf, Mansour Radpour was arrested on May 17, 2007 for filming a workers’ protest in Iran. He was put under pressure and torture. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment for propaganda against the regime and supporting the PMOI, which subsequently was increased to 8 years imprisonment after making further bogus charges against him.
Mrs. Radpour had already been arrested in 2007 two weeks after her husband’s death. The henchmen threatened her with physical and psychological torture to stay silent over killing of her husband by mullahs’ henchmen in prison.
Over the past month, a large number of members families PMOI supporters and Camp Liberty residents have been arrested by MOIS including Mrs. Akram Sanjari and her 15 year old son, Milad Misagh nejad, Mrs. Dina Karami and her 16 year old son, Hanif, Hassan Sadeghi, his wife Fatemeh Mossana and her 17 year old son, Nima, Asef Rezaian, 19, son of Teymour Rezaian, a political prisoner of the 80’s.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 3, 2012

Colombia ( Government gets ready to arrest coffee strike leaders )

Colombian authorities prepare ‘arrest warrants’ for coffee strike leaders

Wednesday, 06 March 2013 11:22 Olle Ohlsen Pettersson

Tags:

• Coffee Strike
• Jesus Elias Meneses
• Prosecutor General

Colombia's prosecutor general is preparing arrest warrants for the leaders of the ongoing coffee strike in the south-central Huila department, a local ombudsman told Colombia Reports Wednesday.
"The Prosecutor General is preparing arrest warrants to capture the leaders of the strike," said the ombudsman of Neiva (capital of Huila) Jesus Elias Meneses.
According to the ombudsman, riot police continued to commit "arbitrary acts" against protestors in various municipalities across the department. Meneses said that police have indiscriminately lobbed tear gas grenades and restricted the protestors' right to free movement.
"We know they sent a big squadron [to Garzon, Huila]...to evict them... yesterday [Tuesday] they continued throwing [tear] gas...and today they are throwing gas from helicopters and continue to intimidate the protestors," said the ombudsman.
Demonstrators were on their way back to Neiva from a Tuesday protest, said Meneses, when police arbitrarily stopped them "for almost an hour in the middle of the road."

MORE: 'Colombia Police using excessive force against striking coffee workers'

The coffee strikes in Huila and other southern departments have been marred by violence. Several videos showing what appears to be excessive police force have been shared on several social media websites.

MORE: Colombians turn to Facebook to share painful, violent side of coffee strike

Colombia's prosecutor general on Wednesday ordered investigations into 70 alleged "disturbances" committed by protestors at various times during the coffee strike. According to preliminary reports, 30 formal investigations had been opened in the departments of Antioquia, Cauca, Huila, Caldas, Tolima and Valle del Cauca. One person had already been apprehended Wednesday for "obstructing public roads."
Meanwhile, Meneses said that his office was getting ready to receive a slew of complaints from strikers about the tactics employed by riot police.
"We are [getting ready] to begin receiving complaints and formal denunciations with video material [from demonstrators]," he said.
Approximately 90,000 coffee farmers have been protesting since February 25 in departments all across the country over what they perceive is a lack of financial support from the government during this tough time for one of Colombia's iconic industries. On numerous occasions, the government expressed an eagerness to sit down with the protestors to iron out an agreement, but claimed that a prerequisite to do so was that the strikers had to stop blocking roads. However, as of Wednesday afternoon, a government envoy led by vice president Angelino Garzon, was meeting with protest leaders in the central Risaralda department.
"Today, there has to be a solution to the coffee strike," said the Vice President.

U.S Drones used on U.S citizens ( Eric Holder and Obama Give Green Light )

Holder: Obama could order lethal force in U.S.

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By JOSH GERSTEIN |

3/5/13 4:59 PM EST

President Barack Obama could order the use of deadly force against an American inside the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released Tuesday.
Paul and other senators had asked various administration officials whether deadly drones strikes like the ones the U.S. carries out in Pakistan, Yemen and other foreign countries could ever be used in the U.S. Paul said he would seek to block the confirmation of John Brennan as Central Intelligence Agency director if the question was not answered. (Brennan's nomination was endorsed by the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday afternoon in a 12-3 vote.)
In the one-page letter dated Monday, Holder said: "The U.S. government has not carried out drone strikes in the United States and has no intention of doing so." The attorney general argued that law enforcement is best suited to resolve such threats "in this country."
However, Holder says that in situations akin to the 1941 assault on Pearl Harbor or the September 11, 2001 attacks, the president might have to order the use of deadly force in the U.S.
"The question you have posed is entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no President will ever have to confront," Holder wrote. "It is possible, I supposed, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States. For example, the President could concievably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances of a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001."
Paul said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by Holder's views.
"The U.S. Attorney General’s refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening – it is an affront the Constitutional due process rights of all Americans,” Paul said.
(WATCH: Rand Paul: Drone strike during dinner?)
Police, of course, regularly and lawfully use deadly force inside the U.S. in cases where criminals are presenting a imminent threat to others. They can also use lethal force under the so-called "fleeing felon" rule to stop a dangerous individuals.
However, the Obama Administration has claimed authority to use armed drones abroad under a more relaxed standard of imminence, embracing situations where an individual has organized terrorist attacks in the past and has not renounced such activity. In addition, the administration has carried out so-called "signature strikes," where a group of suspected terrorists is attacked based on their pattern of activity even though the U.S. lacks specific intelligence about their identities

Iran News ( Human Rights reporters released on bail )

Journalists Nasrin Takhayori, Saba Azarpeik and Sasan Aghayee released

فارسى

Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Moments ago another 3 journalists, Nasrin Takhoyori, Saba Azarpeik and Sasan Aghayee were released on bail.

According to CHRR, Nasrin Takhayori, editor of the social affairs section of Etemad newspaper and Sasan Aghayee, editor of the Saturday supplement section of this newspaper were detained on January 28th when security officials conducted a simultaneous raid on the offices of 5 media outlets in Tehran. Saba Azarpeik, a former reporter for Etemad newspaper and staff at Baztab Emrooz website was arrested at the same time while at her home.

Of the 19 journalists detained during the wave of arrests aimed at cracking down on the press, 17 have now been released on bail - Motehareh Shafiee, Ali Dehghan, Javad Daliri, Hossein Yaghchi, Fatemeh Sagharchi, Keyvan Mehregan, Emily Amrayee, Narges Joudaki, Reyhaneh Tabatabai, Akbar Montajebi, Pourya Alemi, Milad Fadai Asl, Soleiman Mohammadi, Pejman Mousavi, Nasrin Takhayori, Sasan Aghaee and Saba Azarpeik.

Two journalists, Ehsan Mazandarani and Mohammad Javad Rouh remain in custody. Ehsan Mazandarani, reporter at Etemad was arrested on February 20th and Mohammad Javad Rouh who in the past years worked at the banned newspapers Norouz and Yas and also at ILNA news was detained on March 2nd across from the offices of the weekly, Aseman. Both journalists were transferred to Evin prison

Oklahoma ( Woman arrested for drug charges- and Gun hidden in her vagina ) OMG

Perp Had Loaded Revolver In Her Vagina

Handgun was found inside Oklahoman during strip search

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MARCH 6--An Oklahoma woman arrested Monday on drug charges had a loaded handgun hidden in her vagina, according to police.
The weapon was discovered during a search of Christie Dawn Harris, 28, by a female officer with the Ada Police Department. According to a police report, the cop spotted the handle of the five-shot revolver "sticking out from" inside Harris, who is seen at right.
In a less shocking find, investigators also discovered plastic baggies containing methamphetamine lodged in the crack of Harris’s buttocks.
The Freedom Arms .22-caliber handgun was loaded with three live rounds and one spent shell, cops reported. As to where the weapon was recovered, the police report noted, “gun located in suspect vagina.”
At around 3:45 AM Monday, cops spotted Harris and another woman, Jennifer Delancy, inside a vehicle parked outside a closed restaurant. The women were in the front of the vehicle and “both seats were laid all the way back.” Asked by a cop if the car contained weapons or drugs, Harris, who was behind the wheel, answered that “she did not think there was anything.”
But when a drug dog alerted to both the driver and passenger sides of the Toyota Yaris, cops searched the vehicle and found meth, drug paraphernalia, a pistol, and a loaded magazine. Harris and Delancy were then arrested.
While being transported to jail, Harris “stated several times that she needed to go to the bathroom.”
At the lockup, Harris was directed to change out of her clothes into “jail clothing.” When directed to lower her underwear so that a female cop could check for contraband, Harris “advised that she was on her period and did not want to.”
Harris eventually complied with the cop’s order. “I observed at that time a wooden and metal item sticking out from her vagina area,” reported Officer Kathy Unbewust, who added that she “pulled the item from her vagina, and found it to be a 5 shot revolver with rounds in the chamber.”
As seen above, the police report includes a photo of the handgun seized from Harris, who is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon on felony weapons and narcotics charges. (4 pages)

Iran News ( Mass Protests - Farmers protest over water shortages )

IRGC’s ex-chief warns about mass protests across Iran

 

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Published on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 10:04

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NCRI - The former head of Iranian regime's Revolutionary Guard has warned that recent farmers' protests over water shortages could trigger a massive social uprising that could threaten the stability of the regime.
The report on the website of ex-IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaie also exposes rifts within the ruling dictatorship and escalation of infighting.

His warning comes after armed security forces were sent to Isfahan to crush a rebellion by hundreds of farmers angry at Revolutionary Guards for building dams in the Zayande-Rud River and cutting off their water supply.
Rezaie has now written on his website: "The events that occurred in Isfahan have proved the accuracy of warnings from experts over the consequences of economic pressures.
"The events at Isfahan happened because of the agricultural water shortages being endured by farmers. Although this could be due by drought and Ahmadinejad's bad decision-making, the bigger picture also shows the explosive nature of a population suffering economically.
"Ahmadinejad’s trip to the province of Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari and changing the Zayande-Rud river water division system are both to blame for the widespread discontent among Isfahan farmers.
"This discontent has lead to the protests and the destruction of Isfahan’s water delivery system.
"As the security forces rushed to the scene, the protest escalated and several buses were set on fire and rubber bullets were fired, although according to the head of the security forces there were no deaths but some were injured.
"In addition to destruction of the water pipes and water delivery system to the cities of Yazd and others, the pictures and videos of burned buses show the extent of the damage was greater than the critical days of 2009 in Tehran.
"And this was all caused by protesters who were not political activists or intellectuals, and do not have access to satellites and social networks.
"The message from Isfahan must be that severe economic problems could cause similar social unrest and widespread discontent anywhere else in the country."

London ( Indian girl 12 yrs old stunned everyone - 162 on her IQ Test -Higher than Einstein )

Test proves 12-year-old Indian girl has higher IQ than Einstein

Press Trust of India | Updated: March 05, 2013 15:57 IST

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London: A 12-year-old Indian-origin girl in UK has stunned everyone after she scored an incredible 162 on her IQ test - even higher than Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

Neha Ramu, daughter of an Indian doctor couple, achieved a score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test - the highest score possible for her age.

The score puts her in the top one per cent of brightest people in the UK and means she is more intelligent than physicist Hawking, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and scientist Albert Einstein, who are all thought to have an IQ of 160.

"Neha scored 162 on the Cattell IIIB test, putting her within the top one per cent of people in the country," a spokesman for British Mensa said.

Neha's parents lived in India before moving to Britain when their daughter was seven, 'The Telegraph' reported.

Neha had always performed well at school, but it was only when she took an entrance exam for her school, achieving a perfect score of 280/280, that they realised her potential.

She took the test for Mensa, a society for people with high IQs, two years later, and achieved the maximum possible score for someone aged under 18.

"At first I did not really realise what she was capable of as she wasn't being stretched at school and when she joined primary school in the UK. We didn't really understand the system here," her mother Jayashree said.

"I am so proud of her. Although she's being doing well at these kind of tests for sometime now. This is just marvellous.

I can't express the feeling," she said.

Neha plans to follow her parents' footsteps into a career in medicine. She has already set her sight on a place at Harvard after taking her SATs - the American equivalent of A-levels - and achieved a score of 740 out of 800 in a test designed for 18-year-olds.

A devoted Harry Potter fan and keen swimmer, Neha admitted to have found the Mensa test "quite hard".

"I'm really, really happy because I found the test quite hard and I wasn't really holding out much hope that I'd be a member of Mensa," she said.

"We might have a little party or something sometime soon to celebrate. I haven't told my friends yet but I've told some of my family and they are all very happy for me," said Neha.

Einstein never took an IQ test as none of the modern intelligence tests existed when he was alive, but experts believe he had an IQ of around 160.

Hugo Chavez, fiery Venezuelan leader, dies at 58

By IAN JAMES and FRANK BAJAK | Associated Press – 17 mins ago

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• View GalleryVenezuela's Hugo Chavez dies

• Article: Key dates in Hugo Chavez's political life1 hr 10 mins ago

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez was a fighter. The former paratroop commander and fiery populist waged continual battle for his socialist ideals and outsmarted his rivals time and again, defeating a coup attempt, winning re-election three times and using his country's vast oil wealth to his political advantage.

A self-described "subversive," Chavez fashioned himself after the 19th Century independence leader Simon Bolivar and renamed his country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

He called himself a "humble soldier" in a battle for socialism and against U.S. hegemony. He thrived on confrontation with Washington and his political opponents at home, and used those conflicts to rally his followers.
Almost the only adversary it seemed he couldn't beat was cancer. He died Tuesday in Caracas at 4:25 local time after his prolonged illness. He was 58.
During more than 14 years in office, his leftist politics and grandiose style polarized Venezuelans. The barrel-chested leader electrified crowds with his booming voice, and won admiration among the poor with government social programs and a folksy, nationalistic style.
His opponents seethed at the larger-than-life character who demonized them on television and ordered the expropriation of farms and businesses. Many in the middle class cringed at his bombast and complained about rising crime, soaring inflation and government economic controls.
Chavez used his country's vast oil wealth to launch social programs that included state-run food markets, new public housing, free health clinics and education programs. Poverty declined during Chavez's presidency amid a historic boom in oil earnings, but critics said he failed to use the windfall of hundreds of billions of dollars to develop the country's economy.
Inflation soared and the homicide rate rose to among the highest in the world
Before his struggle with cancer, he appeared on television almost daily, frequently speaking for hours and breaking into song or philosophical discourse. He often wore the bright red of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or the fatigues and red beret of his army days. He had donned the same uniform in 1992 while leading an ill-fated coup attempt that first landed him in jail and then launched his political career.
The rest of the world watched as the country with the world's biggest proven oil reserves took a turn to the left under its unconventional leader, who considered himself above all else a revolutionary.
"I'm still a subversive," the president told The Associated Press in a 2007 interview, recalling his days as a rebel soldier. "I think the entire world has to be subverted."
Chavez was a master communicator and savvy political strategist, and managed to turn his struggle against cancer into a rallying cry, until the illness finally defeated him.

TMZ Reports ( Navajo Nation claims Mike and Molly joke racist ) See video

Navajo Nation
'Mike & Molly' Joke
IS RACIST!!!

Exclusive

The Navajo Nation is LIVID after a joke aired on "Mike & Molly" ... calling Native Americans a bunch of drunks ... and now the group is demanding an apology from CBS.

In case you missed it, Mike's mother on the show -- an Archie Bunker type -- says, "You ever been to Arizona? It's just furnace full of drunk Indians."

The joke isn't sitting well in the Native American community. A rep for the Navajo Nation tells TMZ, "For a show like this displaying us in a negative light is just unacceptable, they are taking a shot at the entire state of Arizona and its indigenous people."

The rep says, "An apology would be the right thing to do, but some damage done can't be fixed in an apology."

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2013/03/03/mike-and-molly-racist-joke-navajo-nation/#ixzz2MhQjUkDz
Visit the TMZ Store: http://tmzstore.com

ABC Reports ( Mike and Molly Joke Angers Navajo Nation )

Mike & Molly’ Joke Angers Navajo Nation

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By Luchina Fisher
@luchina
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Mar 4, 2013 10:39am

Art Streiber/CBS

The Navajo Nation is speaking out over a joke that aired on CBS’ “Mike & Molly” referring to Native Americans as “drunk Indians.”
In the episode that aired last week, Mike’s mother Peggy, who is played by Rondi Reed, quipped, “Arizona? Why would I move to Arizona? It’s nothing but a furnace full of drunk Indians.”
Erny Zah, a spokesperson for the Navajo Nation, which occupies parts of Arizona, told ABCNews.com, “It’s offensive, it’s derogatory, it’s deplorable. Ignorance is one thing, but this must have passed through a lot of eyes before it appeared on a network show.”
Zah added, “An apology would be appropriate but it can’t fix the damage done.”
Both CBS and Warner Bros., which produces “Mike & Molly,” declined to comment for this story.
Zah said neither the network nor producers have been in touch with the Navajo Nation.
“Alcoholism is a real issue on our reservations and it’s not funny,” Zah said.
Mike & Molly stars Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell.

West Bank ( British consul general driven out - By students at university )

British consul general driven out of West Bank university

Palestinian students forced the British consul general to make a hasty departure from a West Bank university campus, according to wirnesses.

Sir Vincent is escorted by security guards into his car as Palestinian students protest in Ramallah Photo: Reuters

4:25PM GMT 05 Mar 2013

Sir Vincent Fean had travelled to Bir Zeit University near Ramallah to deliver a lecture on Britain's policy in the region and the prospects for peace but was turned away by a noisy demonstration.

Video footage showed protesters banging on his car and shouting: "Get out of Bir Zeit!"

Although Sir Vincent was hurriedly escorted back to his car then whisked away unharmed by his security detail, the protesters managed to break the car's wing mirror and taped pictures of a Palestinian prisoner on long-term hunger strike onto the window, the correspondent said.

The protesters held up Palestinian flags and banners in English and Arabic, one of which read: "I am a refugee because of Balfour" in reference to Britain's publication in 1917 of the Balfour Declaration calling for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

A consulate official said Sir Vincent had gone to the university to talk to students about Britain's policies in the region and the prospects for peace with Israel, but the protest meant he was unable to deliver his prepared address. Because of the demonstration, we reluctantly took the decision to leave," the official told the AFP news agency.
He said the consul general was unharmed in the protest but that his car had been lightly damaged.

"We take our security extremely seriously," a spokesman for the British consulate said.

Student protesters at Bir Zeit pulled off a similar stunt in February 2000 when they booed and threw stones at then visiting French prime minister Lionel Jospin demanding he leave the university in protest over controversial remarks he made about Lebanon.

Japan ( Man dies after 25 Hospitals reject him 36 times )

Man dies after hospitals reject him 36 times

Agence France Presse | Updated: March 05, 2013 11:44 IST

 

Tokyo: A 75-year-old Japanese man died after 25 hospitals refused to admit him to their emergency rooms 36 times over two hours, citing lack of beds or doctors to treat him, an official said today.

The man, who lived alone in a city north of Tokyo, called an ambulance after suffering breathing problems at his home in January.

Paramedics rushed to his house but were told in turn by all 25 hospitals in the area that they could not accept the man because they did not have enough doctors or any free beds, a local city official said, adding some institutions were contacted more than once.

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The ambulance eventually made a 20 minute drive to a hospital in neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture, but the man was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The cause of death has not been made public.

One of the paramedics told Jiji Press they had never experienced "a patient being rejected so many times".

The city of Kuki, where the man lived, in Saitama prefecture, has asked hospitals in the region to improve their emergency room capacity, the official said.

Public healthcare in Japan is heavily subsidised and generally of a high global standard.

But commentators warn that with a population that is living longer and with fewer young people entering the workforce, healthcare operators could become increasingly strained over the coming decades.