50,000+ feared dead in China quake; China invites experts, aid from several rival states; Zimbabwe opposition calls for foreign diplomatic “midwifery”; CA Court strikes down same-sex marriage ban…
 Printer-friendly
|
 Email article |
Related subjects: China, Extreme Weather Events, Humanitarian Crisis, The Global Intercept Comments (1)
16 May :: At least 50,000 people are believed dead in China’s Sichuan province, as the rescue mission extends beyond 72 hours; the massive quake, which included 8 to 10 aftershocks of roughly 5.0 on the Richter scale, caught many small cities unprepared; Chinese authorities have been quick to respond, and civilians are helping to search the rubble of schools, where hundreds of children (in each case) remain undiscovered… China has also invited foreign aid teams into the country, including teams from Japan, Taiwan, Russia and South Korea, all long-time rivals of the once closed state, a major break with tradition…
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change has called on foreign governments to intervene with diplomatic pressure to put an end to the ruling party’s militant efforts to cling to power; Wash. Post reports “Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) must “play the midwifery role” in easing President Robert Mugabe from power in the aftermath of the March 29 election. Mugabe placed second to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in that vote but has vowed to win a runoff”…
NY Times reports violent police raid on Anglican church in Zimbabwe: “The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St. Francis Anglican Church in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said”; the gov’t is said to be attacking any groups that do not submit to direct control of Zanu PF agents, in an apparent effort to rig a presidential runoff vote by intimidation…
California’s Supreme Court has ruled against a ban on same-sex marriages on constitutional grounds, legalizing the ceremony, but a ballot initiative being proposed for the November election may have some effect in limiting the newly confirmed right… Pres. Bush says he plans to veto a comprehensive farm bill that’s passed both houses of Congress by wide margins, it would be the first such veto since Pres. Eisenhower in 1956, but Bush faces the likelihood of a veto override, as 35 Republican senators and 91 House members took the other side in the farm bill vote, giving the legislation “veto-proof” margins; a veto override would be a considerable step down for an unpopular president in his final year in office…
Despite resounding loss in West Virginia primary, Sen. Barack Obama has picked up in recent days the endorsement of former rival Sen. John Edwards, the majority of Democratic party delegates pledged to Edwards, and the Steelworkers’ Union, which says it will mobilize support for Obama in coming primary contests…
| Printer-friendly
|
Email article |
CafeSentido Partner Sites:
[...] Chinese regime. But the spontaneous reaction of hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens to the catastrophic loss of life from the Sichuan earthquake and its aftermath was attribute largely to the public’s ability to engage more freely in use [...]