April 28, 2013

Official number of Guantanamo Bay hunger strikers jumps to 100


http://rt.com/news/guantanamo-bay-hunger-strikers-502/

The official number of hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay reached 100 on Saturday – three more than the day before. Twenty of the detainees are receiving enteral feeds, five of whom are being observed in a detainee hospital.

Lawyers for the detainees contest the official numbers, saying that some 130 prisoners are actually taking part in the protest. The hunger strike began around February 6, when detainees claimed prison officials searched their copies of the Koran for contraband, according to their attorneys.

Prisoners are also protesting their extrajudicial incarceration at the prison. Most of Guantanamo Bay’s 166 detainees have been cleared for release or were never charged, a situation that has prompted criticism from human rights organizations.

April 21, 2013

Fury over 'plan to sell' Nepal embassy building in London


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22213812

A government committee is in London to look into the viability of selling the Victorian villa, which it only pays a small amount to lease.
It is in one of the UK's most expensive roads in central London.
The Nepalese government says the committee is only fact-finding and no decisions have been made.
"I want to make it clear to you that the government has not taken any decision, so it all depends on the recommendation of the team," said Nepalese foreign ministry spokesman Arjun Thapa.
The house in Kensington Palace Gardens is on the same road as mansions owned by the billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and the Sultan of Brunei.
One property expert says the villa is worth about $153m (£100m).
UK Nepalese community leaders say the embassy was given because of strong ties between Nepal and Britain, and it should be kept

April 18, 2013

Greece farm shooting: 30 injured in pay dispute



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22198699

About 30 migrant workers have been injured in a shooting on a strawberry farm in Greece after requesting salaries that had not been paid.
The migrants - mainly from Bangladesh - were shot at by at least one farm supervisor, in a Peloponnesian village in southern Greece.
Several of the workers have been taken to hospital but none are in a critical condition.
The owner of the farm in Nea Manolada and one foreman have been arrested.