New Zealand earthquake: ‘slim chance’ of further survivors
Emergency services continue earthquake rescue efforts but no survivors found in last 24 hours
• Toby Manhire in Christchurch
• The Guardian, Friday 25 February 2011
As the death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, continues to rise, the authorities have admitted that the chances of finding further survivors are increasingly slim.
With 113 people confirmed dead, including two babies, and more than 200 people still missing, civil defence minister John Carter said: “We’re still hopeful, but it’s getting less and less likely.”
The bleak warning came as one of two Britons confirmed dead in the quake was named as Gregory Tobin, 25, a chef, from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. Tobin had been on a round-the-world trip and was believed to have been working temporarily at a garage in Christchurch. One tribute on his Facebook page read: “Such a nice guy and at such a young age.”
Mercenaries gather in Tripoli for final battle
By Donald Macintyre Friday, 25 February 2011
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were yesterday said to be launching fierce counter-attacks as the Libyan uprising edged closer to the capital and the dictator chose to blame Osama bin Laden and teenagers on hallucinogenic drugs for the rebellion.
Amid ominous descriptions of groups of pro-Gaddafi militiamen gathering on the roads around Tripoli, there were reports that the minaret of a mosque in Zawiya – 30 miles west of Tripoli, where protesters had claimed victory – was being pounded by heavy weapons.
Moscow’s purchase of French warships causes panic from Washington to Tokyo
As Russia pushes ahead with its biggest rearmament programme since the fall of the Soviet Union, its decision to buy two amphibious Mistral-class assault ships from France is causing alarm from Washington to Tokyo.
By Andrew Osborn, Moscow 7:00AM GMT 25 Feb 2011
The £856 million pound two ship deal will allow Russia to later build a further two such vessels at its own shipyards, giving it four hi-tech assault ships in total. The vessels can carry up to 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 13 battle tanks, around another 100 vehicles and a 450-strong force. The ships are also equipped with their own on-board hospitals.
It is the biggest and most controversial sale of foreign arms to Russia by a Western country since the Second World War.
The United States, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have all raised concerns about the deal, but Paris has brushed those aside saying the time has come to trust the Kremlin
Now it’s the one-pooch policy as China comes around to idea of dogs as pets
The Irish Times – Friday, February 25, 2011
CLIFFORD COONAN in Beijing
COMMUNIST CHINA is slowly coming around to the deeply bourgeois idea of man’s best friend as a pet, but the same population rules that limit parents to one offspring will soon be applied to dog owners, as Shanghai brings in the one-pooch policy.
During the hardline communist era of Mao Zedong, pets were frowned on as a middle-class affectation – government opponents were condemned as capitalist running dogs and pet dogs were not tolerated.
However, China’s growing openness, combined with its rising affluence, means pets are making a comeback; there are now about 100 million pet dogs in China. They don’t exist without restrictions, however.
Alleged Zimbabwe plotters tortured, lawyers say
GILLIAN GOTORA | HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi ordered the suspects to be held in detention to reappear on Monday, saying only a higher court was empowered to free them on bail on treason charges punishable by death.He ordered that they be given medical examinations before the hearing to verify allegations of torture.
Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama told a Harare court on Thursday that 12 suspects told lawyers they were beaten with broomsticks on their bodies, buttocks and the soles of their feet. They were arrested on Saturday for attending a lecture on North African anti-government protests.
He said others were denied medication and access to lawyers.
Union battle in the Midwest a pull for political power
Republican governors are going up against organized labor, hitting at the heart of the Democratic Party, which depends heavily on union money and manpower.
By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times
The labor fight blazing in Madison, Wis., and other state capitals is more than a feud over budgets or the rights of government employees. It is a battle that could fundamentally change the practice of politics in this country, with enormous consequences in 2012 and beyond.By striking at organized labor, a pugnacious group of Republican governors is hitting at the heart of the Democratic Party, which banks heavily on union money and manpower. That explains the resistance from the White House, Democrats in Congress and, most fiercely, their liberal allies from New York to California.
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