Indian Activist Threatens Hunger Strike Over Corruption Bill
Veteran Indian activist Anna Hazare says he is opposed to a landmark anti-corruption bill that is set to be introduced to parliament later this week.
India's Cabinet on Tuesday approved the legislation, which would create a nine-member oversight agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting senior politicians and civil servants suspected of graft. The bill is expected to be presented in parliament Thursday.
But Hazare, who held a public 12-day hunger strike in August to protest an initial draft of the legislation, on Wednesday threatened to start a new three-day fast unless parliament passes a stronger version of the bill by the end of its current session.
“It is not a strong anti-graft bill. It is deceiving the people. They are cheating the people and the public will someday teach a lesson to these people.”
Hazare says the legislation is watered down because it does not place India's top investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, under ombudsman review.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has also insisted that the ombudsman have jurisdiction over the prime minister, judiciary and lower-level civil servants.
Under the proposed bill, the prime minister would be brought under the ombudsman's authority, except on issues pertaining to national security, international relations, atomic energy and space.
On Wednesday, Indian Law Minister Salman Khurshid criticized what he viewed as premature opposition to the bill by Hazare and others.
“I have one request – that whatever draft we are presenting in the Parliament, they should read it first. Just imagining the draft and raising questions on it is not correct.”
Hazare's August hunger strike in support of the new ombudsman, or lokpal, brought millions of Indians onto the streets across the country to protest widespread bribery in Indian society.
The public response was a shock for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government, which has been tainted by a series of high-profile corruption scandals.
Chinese Villagers Win Rare Compromise In Standoff Against Provincial Government
Southern Chinese officials have given into the demands of protesting villagers in southern China in a rare agreement to release several detained village leaders.
Protest leaders in Wukan, in the southern Guangdong province, say a senior provincial official told them in a meeting Wednesday that three detained village leaders will be released in the coming days.
In recent weeks, enraged villagers have driven local authorities out of the area in Guangdong and have effectively been governing themselves.
They have been demanding the release of the detained village leaders and protesting the death of one of them while in police custody.
Villagers say he was beaten, while police are saying he died of heart failure.
Tensions first flared in the fishing village in September, when villagers began protesting what they viewed as illegal land grabs and local government corruption. They are demanding the government return the land.
In another sign tensions are easing, the government agreed to lift roadblocks containing protesting Wukan residents in recent weeks.
The actions of the small fishing village have attracted international attention. In rare move on Wednesday, deputy provincial party secretary Zhu Mingguo called the villagers' demands reasonable.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, thousands of protesters in a fishing town in coastal China blocked an expressway in a tense standoff with riot police over pollution from a planned coal-fired power plant.
Witnesses in the Guangdong provincial town of Haimen say riot police used tear gas to disperse the angry crowds gathered near government buildings. The Associated Press reported demonstrators hurled rocks and bricks at the security force, and photos circulating on the Internet showed protesters and police injured and bleeding.
Protests in China over corruption, pollution, wages and land seizures have become more common in recent years, in part, analysts say, because of the spiraling growth of the Internet. China currently ranks first in Internet use, with more than 450 million Internet users.
Activists Say Syrian Troops Kill More Than 100 Civilians
Syrian rights activists say government troops killed more than 100 civilians and dozens of army defectors Tuesday, in one of the deadliest days since an anti-government uprising began in March.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that government troops killed 111 people after surrounding civilians in Kafruwed, a village in the northwestern province of Idlib.
The reported attack Tuesday came as foreign observers prepare to enter Syria in an effort to end the nine months of bloody unrest.
Witnesses also told the Observatory that troops besieged a group of army deserters in Idlib, killing or wounding as many as 100. Civilian deaths were reported in other areas as well.
The Observatory's claims could not be independently confirmed because Syria has restricted foreign journalists in the country.
Arab League officials say an advance team will arrive in Syria Thursday to prepare for the observer mission, which will eventually involve hundreds of monitors. The team will include security, legal and human rights experts.
Syria agreed to allow the observers into the country under global pressure to stop the bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Critics have said the move is a stalling tactic. Ian Lustick, a Mideast analyst with the University of Pennsylvania, told VOA that similar scenarios have played out in other countries in the region, and that he doubts the observer mission will occur as planned.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the Arab League monitors will be crucial to monitor the protection of innocent civilians and to give the world an accurate picture of what is going on in Syria.
The United Nations says at least 5,000 people have been killed during the nine-month uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian authorities blame the violence on “armed terrorist groups.”
Voting in Egypt Continues AfterViolence
Voters in nine Egyptian provinces have begun voting in runoff elections in the country's multi-stage parliamentary poll, which comes after days of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces in the capital.
The voting Wednesday is taking place in mostly rural areas to decide contests in which there was no absolute winner in elections held last week.
Five days of clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square have killed at least 14 people, as demonstrators call for an end to Egypt's military rule.
The military council is overseeing a three-month parliamentary election process and has promised to hand power to an elected president by July.
Medical officials said two of the deaths happened Tuesday after security forces launched a raid on the square. Later in the day thousands of Egyptians rallied to protests the security forces' treatment of women.
Television video has shown soldiers beating female protesters, dragging them by their hair, and in some cases, pulling off their clothing.
The violence has drawn U.S. condemnation. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the recent events in Egypt were “shocking,” particularly the treatment of women.
“Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse,” said Clinton. “Journalists have been sexually assaulted. And now, women are being attacked, stripped, and beaten in the streets. This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform, and is not worthy of a great people.”
The military council said Tuesday that it regretted the attacks on women, and said it would take legal action against those responsible for the abuse.
The military said some protesters had been provoking soldiers and destroying government property.
Demonstrators have accused the ruling military council of manipulating the country's transition process to retain permanent powers.
The party of Egypt's main Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ultra-conservative Islamist Al-Nur party dominated the first stage of voting for the lower house of parliament last month, which included Cairo.
Each stage includes a third of Egypt's provinces, with the final group set to vote in early January.
Beyonce's Parents Finalize Divorce
Beyoncé's parents, Tina and Mathew Knowles, have finalized their divorce. The couple, who married in 1980, filed for divorce back in 2009. According to TMZ, Tina stated that the marriage ended as a result of "discord or conflict of personalities" which prevented them from "reasonable expectation of reconciliation."
Both of the Knowles have been instrumental in the successes of their daughters, Beyoncé and Solange. Mathew Knowles managed his daughters' careers until earlier year, when Beyoncé moved on to new representation from Live Nation. Tina Knowles has worked a stylist for her daughters and co-created the House of Deréon clothing label with Beyoncé.
Vybz Kartel remanded again
Embattled dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel was remanded in the Home Circuit Court today in relation to the Clive “lizard” Williams murder case.
Supreme Court judge Leighton Pusey ordered that Kartel and the others with whom he is charged return to court on January 13 next year.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is charged jointly with fellow deejay Shawn Campbell more popularly known as Shawn Storm, fashion designer Calvin 'Moonie' Haye and Kiro Jones.
Two other men have been charged by the police in relation to Williams’ killing.
The Home Circuit Court was told that the case against the two is before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’ Court.
The case against Kartel, Shawn Storm, Haye and Jones was transferred from the RM court this morning to the circuit court.
Attorney-at-law Valerie Neita-Robertson today complained that the crown did not inform the defence of its plan to have the case moved to circuit court.
Neita-Robertson said the defence was upset by the decision, as it had plans to make a bail application noting that Kartel and his co-accused have been in custody since October.
Justice Pusey ordered the crown to provide the defence with copies of statements and video recordings allegedly linking the men to the killing before 2 o’ clock tomorrow afternoon.
The judge also ordered the crown to turn over all material in its possession to the defence before 4 o’clock on January 5 next year.
Jamaica Gleaner
Sherlock Holmes sequel leads US box office
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has topped the US and Canada box office in a slow weekend of takings.
The adventure sequel, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, made $40m (£25.8m), down on the $62.3m (£40.2m) opening the first Holmes had in 2009.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked came in at two with $23.5m (£15.2m) - about half of what its two predecessors made in their opening weekends.
It is hoped box office takings will improve as the Christmas period begins.
There was positive news for Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which opened at number three.
The film - playing exclusively at Imax screens and other large-format cinemas - took $13m (£8.4m) after opening at just 425 locations.
In contrast, Sherlock Holmes 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 played in more than 3,700 cinemas each.
Ghost Protocol, the fourth instalment in the Mission: Impossible series, goes on general release in North America on Wednesday.
Romantic ensemble comedy New Year's Eve fell to four in its second week of release with a weekend haul of $7.4m (£4.8m).
Jonah Hill comedy The Sitter was at five, having earned $4.4m (£2.8m) between Friday and Sunday.
Following the worst box office weekend in three years, overall business was down again - about 12% lower than the same weekend in 2010.
"The momentum we have lost over the past few weeks has taken its toll on the bottom line," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Michael Jackson house auction raises $1m
The contents of the house where Michael Jackson lived before he died have sold at a Los Angeles auction for almost $1 million (£646,000).
Some 500 items were for sale from the mansion the singer rented, including furniture, ornaments and paintings.
Among the lots was an armoire upon which Jackson wrote a message to himself that fetched $25,750 (£16,600).
A pottery rooster holding a chalkboard bearing a note from Jackson's children also sold for $5,000 (£3,200).
Prior to the auction, organisers had estimated total sales to be between$200,000 (£129,000) and $400,000 (£258,000).
Also sold was a Victorian Revival-style bedroom suite, an 18th-Century French clock and a shower bench on which Jackson had drawn stick men.
Only a handful of auction items bore a personal connection to the singer and his family, as most were part of the rented surroundings.
The ornate headboard from the bed where Jackson's body was found had also been due to go under the hammer but was removed from the sale last month at the request of Jackson's family.
However, the rug that had been beneath the bed sold for $15,360 (£9,900).
Dr Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter over the pop star's death in 2009 last month and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Kojak actor Dan Frazer dies at 90
Veteran actor Dan Frazer, best known for his role as Captain Frank McNeil on 1970s TV crime series Kojak, has died aged 90.
His daughter, Susanna, said the actor died of cardiac arrest at his Manhattan home on Friday.
Frazer began his career in the 1950s playing character roles in various TV series including The Phil Silvers Show.
He played Captain McNeil during all five seasons of the Telly Savalas cop show, which ran from 1973 to 1978.
He also had roles in The Andy Griffith Show, The Untouchables, McHale's Navy and My Favourite Martian.
The actor made his big-screen debut in 1963 Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field and appeared in two early Woody Allen comedies, Take the Money and Run and Bananas.
After the initial run of Kojak, Frazer reprised his role as Captain McNeil in the 1983 TV film Kojak: The Belarus File.
In recent years he had guest roles on all three programmes in the Law and Order franchise.
He also appeared in independent film The Pack with Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss, which screened at a number of film festivals earlier this year.
Susanna Frazer described her father as a "very truthful, naturalistic actor".
McDyess set to retire after Spurs waive NBA vet
Antonio McDyess was waived by the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, clearing a path to retirement for the 17-year NBA veteran.
McDyess indicated at the end of last season that his playing days were over, but the Spurs didn’t rule out his return after the lockout ended. The move clears $2.6 million from the team payroll.
As a prep, McDyess was one of the top 30 players nationally, and made the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic. McDyess played college basketball at the University of Alabama. In 1995 he was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers as the second pick in the NBA Draft and was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the season began for fellow power forward Rodney Rogers and a mid-first round pick that turned out to be Brent Barry. McDyess's explosive leaping and power dunking ability allowed him to average 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his first six seasons.
The 37-year-old spent the last two seasons in San Antonio where he averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds in his career. He was an All-Star in 2001 and played on the 2000 Olympic team.