Apr
03
2013
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is pursuing a free trade agreement with the European Union that would grant corporations new political power to challenge an array of regulations both at home and abroad, according to an administration official involved in the negotiations.
While the plan is still in its early stages, the effort alarms consumer and environmental advocates who worry it will lead to a rollback of important rules and put multinational companies on the same …
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Apr
03
2013
Over 200 people, mostly Romanian Roma, were forcibly evicted this morning from an informal settlement in greater Paris in a move Amnesty International has labelled shameful and callous.
Police evicted around 230 people at 7:00 am from their huts and caravans in Ris-Orangis on the outskirts of Paris, citing public health and safety concerns. It is the latest in a resumed wave of forced evictions of Roma across France over the past few weeks.
“Evicting hundreds …
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Apr
03
2013
(Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday it was considering its response to an Indian Supreme Court ruling that U.S. drug manufacturers warn is the latest sign of a “deteriorating” environment for intellectual property rights in the country.
“We are … reviewing the Court’s order. We look forward to continued engagement and successful collaboration with India on these issues,” said Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
India’s top court on Monday …
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Apr
03
2013
Tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets of Bucaramanga, the country’s sixth-largest city, last month to defend their water supply from a Canadian-owned gold-mining project.
The chief target of their protest was Vancouver-based Eco Oro Minerals Corp.
The company is exploring for gold and silver in a high-altitude, environmentally sensitive area that is the main source of water for Bucaramanga’s one million inhabitants.
This was the fourth anti-gold-mining demonstration in the area since 2010, and one …
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Apr
03
2013
A new video revealed that Rutger University’s men’s basketball coach Mike Rice abused players by throwing basketballs at them violently, shoving them, and harassing them with profane and homophobic language, including “fucking faggot.” Rutgers administrators knew of complaints since last summer, but didn’t see the video footage until December, when they suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000, and ordered him to undergo sensitivity training. This morning, LGBT groups like GLAAD and HRC responded …
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Apr
03
2013
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have introduced a bill declaring that the state has the power to establish an official religion — a direct challenge to the First Amendment.
One professor of politics called the measure “the verge of being neo-secessionist,” and another said it was reminiscent of how Southern states objected to the Supreme Court’s 1954 integration of public schools.
The bill says that federal courts do not have the power to decide what is constitutional, …
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Apr
02
2013
Hackers aligned with Anonymous claim to be carrying out numerous cyberattacks against North Korean websites, urging North Korean citizens to rise up against their “oppressive” government.
Hackers also claim to have seized over 15,000 passwords belonging to accounts on Uriminzokkiri.com, an outward-facing North Korean website hosted on China-based servers.
The hackers, calling themselves Anonymous Korea, say they have launched numerous distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against North Korean websites — including www.airkoryo.com.kp, www.naenara.com.kp, www.korea-dpr.com and www.friend.com.kp …
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Apr
02
2013
A Saudi prosecutor has called for the crucifixion of Shiite cleric Nimer Al-Nimer, Riyadh Bureau reported. Al-Nimer has been a strong voice of criticism against the Saudi regime, known to deliver passionate speeches calling for justice and mocking the leadership in Saudi Arabia. He has inspired many Saudis to take to the streets, and has even marched alongside protestors in demonstrations in the Eastern province city of Qatif.
In July 2012, security forces arrested Al-Nimer, …
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Apr
02
2013
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A new Gaza law mandating separate classrooms for boys and girls from age nine is another worrisome sign that the territory’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers are gradually imposing their fundamentalist practices, the head of a Gaza women’s group warned Tuesday.
Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has issued a series of rules restricting women or requiring them to cover up in the traditional Islamic dress of long robes and headscarves. …
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Apr
02
2013
It was a move that baffled sports marketing experts: Florida Atlantic University struck a deal in February to name its football stadium after a private prison company.
But after more than a month of backlash from students, faculty and human rights groups, the GEO Group Inc. pulled out of the $6 million deal with Florida Atlantic on Monday, citing the “distraction” it had caused for the company and the university.
“What was originally intended as a gesture …
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