Austrian Monster Revealed
April 28, 2008
Josef Fritzl and Elizabeth Fritzl
A 73-year-old Austrian today confessed to imprisoning, beating and sexually abusing his daughter in a windowless cellar for 24 years, during which time he fathered her seven children.
Austrian ‘Cellar’ Shame
April 27, 2008
A 73-year-old Austrian is under arrest on suspicion of hiding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her, police say.
The existence of the woman, believed missing since 1984 and now 42, emerged after a teenager said to be her daughter was taken to hospital.
Both the woman and teenage girl are receiving medical treatment and the other children are in care.
MP3 players ‘will hold millions of songs’
April 15, 2008
SCIENTISTS at a Cheshire laboratory are working towards a new generation of MP3 players which could provide music lovers with millions of songs at their fingertips, it was revealed today.
Scientists have developed a way of dramatically increasing the memory on iPods and other gadgets while retaining their small size.
Future devices could store 150,000 times the amount of current models, according to researchers at Glasgow University…………….
Bush Plans Huge Welcome for Pope
April 13, 2008
The leader of the world’s Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history. That changes this week,
and President Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI’s plane, bringing a giant audience to the South Lawn and hosting a fancy East Room dinner. Read more
China Hits Back At ‘Violent’ Olympic Protesters
April 13, 2008
The Chinese ambassador to London has denounced the “violent” British protesters who attacked the Olympic torch relay.
Fu Ying also accused the Western media of “demonisation” of the country which will host the Games in August.
She said Chinese athletes who came to London for the torch relay “were convinced that people here were against them”. Read more
Protests as French PM visits Japan nuclear plant
April 13, 2008
ROKKASHO, Japan — Hundreds of Japanese anti-nuclear activists protested Saturday as French Prime Minister Francois Fillon toured a new atomic facility here built in partnership between the two nations.
Russia Threaten Ukraine over Proposed Nato Entry
April 13, 2008
Russia has said it may target its missiles at Ukraine if its neighbour joins Nato and accepts the deployment of the US missile defence shield.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the comments in Moscow alongside Ukraine’s President, Viktor Yushchenko.
Mr Putin has condemned US plans to include Poland and the Czech Republic in its missile defence shield.
The leaders had been meeting in urgent talks over a gas dispute and announced a deal to avoid disrupting supplies.
‘Frightening’
Speaking at a news conference at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Mr Putin said he had advised Ukraine not to join Nato, but admitted he would be unable to interfere in any such move.
“Restrictions on sovereignty… have already had certain consequences, such as the stationing of bases or a positioning area for missile defence in Eastern Europe, which we believe is aimed at neutralising our nuclear missile potential,” he said.
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Viktor Yushchenko |
One must realise that everything Ukraine is doing in this area is certainly not aimed against any third country, especially Russia 
“Russia therefore faces a need to take retaliatory action.”
The US wants the shield to destroy incoming ballistic missiles potentially coming from North Korea and Iran.
Current plans would see some interceptor missiles based in Poland and an associated radar built in the Czech Republic.
“It is frightening not only to say but even to think that Russia, in response to the emergence of such positioning areas on Ukrainian territory, which cannot be ruled out in theory, will target its offensive missile systems at Ukraine,” he said.
“Can you imagine that for a second? That is what we are concerned about.”
President Yushchenko said he realised a number of “sensitive issues” would emerge from Ukraine’s attempt to join Nato, but that he hoped they could be dealt with through dialogue, openness and trust.
“One must realise that everything Ukraine is doing in this area is certainly not aimed against any third country, especially Russia,” he added.
In a televised speech to the Russian State Council last week, Mr Putin had warned that a “new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world”.
He said other countries were spending far more than Russia on new weapons, but that his country would respond to the challenges of an arms race by developing hi-tech weaponry.
Nato invitation
On the gas dispute, Ukraine agreed to start repaying $1.5bn (£770m) owed to the Russian gas company, Gazprom, from Thursday. In return, Russia is reported to have agreed to freeze the price of gas exports to Ukraine at last year’s level.
The dispute had raised concerns in European countries, which experienced disruption to their gas supplies as the result of a similar dispute two years ago.
Separately on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Mr Putin had accepted an invitation to attend the forthcoming Nato summit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, in April.
Mr Putin will no longer be Russian president in April. Elections for his successor will be held next month.
“This yet again testifies to the fact that Russia is open to dialogue on any issues,” Mr Lavrov told reporters while attending the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
At the conference, Russia and China proposed a new treaty to ban the use of weapons in space and the use or threat of force against satellites or other craft.
source: bbc.co.uk
Mark Speight - Children’s Presenter Found Dead
April 13, 2008
The body of missing TV presenter Mark Speight has been found at a railway station in central London.
A British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed they were advised that the body of a man was discovered at Paddington Railway Station at 10am on Sunday morning. Read more
Woman makes history as Australia governor general
April 13, 2008
CANBERRA, Australia — A woman has been appointed for the first time to what is officially Australia’s highest office: governor general,
the British monarch’s representative in the country.
Dalai Lama Fears More Chinese Force
April 13, 2008
The Dalai Lama said Sunday that Tibet cannot make any more concessions to China and renewed his calls for the government to cease suppression in his former homeland and withdraw troops.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader denied Chinese claims that he has called for Tibet to be split from China and that he is behind recent turmoil, saying instead that he is committed to pursuing Tibet’s right to autonomy.
“The whole world knows that the Dalai Lama is not seeking independence, nor separation,” he said at a news conference.
Recent protests in Tibet against five decades of Chinese rule have been the largest and most sustained in almost two decades and have fueled protests that have disrupted the global torch relay for this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
“Our struggle is with a few in the leadership of the People’s Republic of China and not with the Chinese people,” the Dalai Lama said in a statement released after the news conference. “If the present situation in Tibet continues, I am very much concerned that the Chinese government will unleash more force and increase the suppression of Tibetan people.”
He said that if the Chinese stop such suppression and withdraw armed police and troops, he would advise all Tibetans to stop their protests.
The Dalai Lama, visiting Seattle for the five-day Seeds of Compassion conference, told journalists Sunday that there have been some talks between representatives of his government-in-exile and Chinese officials.
The talks date back to 2002 and some progress was made, but by July 2007 the discussions had deteriorated, he said. He did not elaborate.
Before the Dalai Lama’s speech to the conference on Saturday, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a Tibetan monk who spearheaded the Seeds of Compassion event, echoed his comments about the relationship between Tibet and China.
“Granting autonomy would be good for Tibet and also good for China, but autonomy requires China’s commitment to serious dialogue,” Lama Tenzin Dhonden said.
The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959 in Tibet, but he remains the religious and cultural leader of many Tibetans. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
source: associated press
