Monday's Headlines
Party activist shot dead at Albanian polling station
CONFLICT
Lebanese forces close in after all-night battle linked to Syria conflict
Refugee boy's plea: help me, Australia
Palm oil makers take aim at global 'smear campaign'
Leftist is surprisingly at home in elite Mexico City borough
Nelson Mandela in critical condition |
South African president says doctors are doing every thing possible for ailing anti-apartheid icon's well-being.
Last Modified: 24 Jun 2013 09:12
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South African President Jacob Zuma has said that the health of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela "remains in a critical condition".
Speaking to journalists in Johannesburg on Monday, Zuma said that doctors were "doing everything possible" to ensure the 94-year-old's well-being and comfort on his 17th day in a hospital in capital Pretoria.
Zuma visited Mandela at the hospital on Sunday evening and was informed by the medical team that the former president's condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.
A statement by the presidency following the hospital visit said: "President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by ANC Deputy President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, visited the former President this evening, 23 June in hospital. They were briefed by the medical team who informed them that the former President's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours."
Party activist shot dead at Albanian polling station
Incident in which candidate was also injured will set back EU membership efforts
Dan McLaughlin
Albania’s general election was marred yesterday by a shooting at a polling station, which killed one opposition party activist and injured a candidate from the country’s ruling party.
The European Union has called the election – fiercely fought by prime minister Sali Berisha’s Democrats and ex-Tirana mayor Edi Rama’s Socialists – a “crucial test” for Albania’s membership bid.
First results are expected today but have been delayed in many previous ballots. Mr Rama blamed the Democrats for the violence in the city of Lac, about 50km outside Tirana, and accused “segments of the police” of collaborating with “criminals”
CONFLICT
Lebanese forces close in after all-night battle linked to Syria conflict
Lebanese forces have closed in on a mosque where a cleric’s followers have holed up in an overnight gun battle. Across the country, supporters of the cleric have rallied in solidarity.
The fighting began about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Beirut in the port city of Sidon on Sunday and continued into Monday morning. The army has called for reinforcements after gunmen defending the mosque killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded 40. Reports say that at least two of the gunmen in the mosque have died in the fighting, with at least a dozen injured.
The army vowed in a statement that it "will not tolerate" the violence and that it "will continue to fulfill its mandate to suppress civil strife in the country."
Refugee boy's plea: help me, Australia
June 24, 2013 - 3:12PM
Michael Bachelard
Indonesia correspondent for Fairfax Media
Nine months after young refugee boy Omid Jafary was plucked from the ocean, stunned into silence by watching his father, uncle and cousin drown, he is still living in Indonesia with no idea what his future holds.
Like thousands of other children waiting indefinitely for resettlement to Australia, this heartbroken child has been shuttled from one temporary home to another.
But as both Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard, in their different ways, try to push the burden of growing refugee numbers back towards Indonesia, Human Rights Watch has produced ascathing report about child refugees trapped there, a story of arbitrary detention, violence, abuse and neglect.
Palm oil makers take aim at global 'smear campaign'
African palm oil producers are hitting back at a "smear campaign" against them by environmentalists that risks ruining their industry.
Countering their increasingly vocal critics was the main aim of producers attending the first African Palm Oil Congress, hosted by Côte d’Ivoire's government in the economic capital Abidjan last week.
"For some time, the aggressive attacks against palm oil have been multiplying and they are degrading [the sector's] image," Christophe Koreki, president of the Interprofessional Palm Oil Association (AIPH) told delegates.
"The smear campaign accuses palm oil of destroying the environment or causing cardiovascular disease," he said.
Leftist is surprisingly at home in elite Mexico City borough
Victor Hugo Romo connects with people in the Miguel Hidalgo borough, where, as its president, he focuses on righting little wrongs.
By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times
MEXICO CITY — Victor Hugo Romo marches past the walled mansions of Las Lomas, surrounded by an entourage. Staffers with clipboards and tablets. Skinny men with brooms and machetes. A handful of residents. More than a few cameras.
"Tree trimmers!" he shouts. And the tree trimmers scurry to a droopy willow, chopping away at branches that threaten power lines.
"Pot-hole patchers!" And their machine spits into a crater in the middle of the street.
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