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Critics have called the last election in Uzbekistan unfair, and the 2005 killing of hundreds of peaceful protestors there remain remains unresolved. Yet the ice is melting for Uzbek strongman Islam Kamirov (right), who lately is enjoying more friendly relations with Western democracies.
Photo: ITAR-TASS
Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“Well, it really is signaling to me the tremendous duplicity with which the government has acted on this file. If you remember they first denied that there was any risk of torture.” — Canadian law professor Amir Attaran on his government’s Afghan prisoner policy (see “Top Stories,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
War crimes trial spurs threat claim
California marijuana law takes a hit
Canada acknowledges Afghan torture
*World*
Uzbek strongman has powerful friends again
*Environment*
Erosion takes a toxic toll in Alaska
TOP STORIES
* War Crimes Trial Spurs Threat Claim
A witness in the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, said a group of men stormed his family compound and said they would “all be killed,” reports the BBC.
Will Geert Wilders (at right) share the fate of Theo Van Gogh? The Dutch conservative’s new film, which criticizes the Koran and Islam in general, is raising concerns about civil unrest and extremist reactions in the Netherlands and beyond.
Photo: Tubantia
Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“His issues are alright. But his answers are wide off the target. Just like the people who vote for him.” “His comments about Islam are no different than comments Muslims make about us.”
Nigeria has filed a $43 billion lawsuit against three tobacco companies, claiming they target “young and underage smokers” with marketing practices that are banned in other nations. Critics note that the companies only recently enjoyed generous tax breaks in Nigeria.
Photo: Addax
Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“Documents we have refer to ways of increasing the number of ‘YAUS’ in Nigeria. We have expert testimony that says YAUS means ‘young and underage smokers’.” — Nigerian lawyer Babatunde Irukera on a government lawsuit against tobacco companies there (see “Top Stories,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
Boycotts cut into Myanmar gem auction
Japan’s health care crisis
Nigeria’s Smoke Out
*Public Health*
Transplant shortage hits ethnic minorities
*Iran*
Iran grapples with discrimination, division
*Politics*
Smells like team spirit
TOP STORIES
* Boycotts Cut into Myanmar Gem Auction
The Myanmar junta’s repression of democracy protests last summer may have calmed the streets, but its harsh tactics have also robbed the state’s gem trade of its lustre.
Activists claim that hundreds of people became sick after officials sprayed a type of pesticide along parts of California’s Central Coast. In a pair of studies released last week, a group calling itself California Alliance to Stop the Spray says that 643 residents of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties became ill last fall after state agriculture officials sprayed the area with a synthetic pheromone known as CheckMate LBAM-F. Symptoms listed include eye and throat irritation, shortness of breath, skin rashes, asthma attacks and interruptions in menstrual cycles, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “The spray affected people in different ways,” said the reports’ compiler, Pacific Grove resident Mike Lynberg, according to the Sentinel. “But they all had one thing in common.
Editor’s note: Starting next week, NYMHM will return to its regular, post-holiday format. Thank you for your readership! * Pesticide Fears Along California’s Central Coast
Activists claim that hundreds of people became sick after officials sprayed a type of pesticide along parts of California’s Central Coast. In a pair of studies released last week, a group calling itself California Alliance to Stop the Spray says that 643 residents of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties became ill last fall after state agriculture officials sprayed the area with a synthetic pheromone known as CheckMate LBAM-F. Symptoms listed include eye and throat irritation, shortness of breath, skin rashes, asthma attacks and interruptions in menstrual cycles, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Tibetan nomads (right, in a tourist’s photo) may seem to exist outside of politics and time, but more than 1,000 battled Chinese authorities last month over the detention of three monks. Several more nomads were given 10-year jail sentences for demanding the return of the exiled Dalai Lama.
Photo: Zanzo
Editor’s note: Through January 9, NYMHM will be on an abbreviated schedule. Thank you for your readership! — — — — — — — — — —
* Thailand’s New Democracy as Fractious as the Old
Thailand returned to democracy last month, with its first national elections after 15 months of military rule. But the transition is proving to be a rocky one. According to Asia Times, The People Power Party, a new version of the party once headed by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, won the largest number of seats — though not an outright majority — in parliamentary elections on Dec.