Nation-World Briefly: Protesters mark five years of fighting in Darfur region
Published 11:25 pm Sunday, April 13, 2008
LONDON — About 3,000 protesters rallied outside Sudan’s Embassy in London on Sunday to demand an end to the five-year conflict and the quick deployment of an international peacekeeping force to the region.
The demonstration came on the Global Day for Darfur, a day observed by activists, celebrities and survivors across the world who are trying to raise awareness of the suffering in the western Sudanese region. The day marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict.
Fighting has raged in Darfur since 2003, when ethnic African tribesman took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by the Sudanese Arab-dominated government.
Khartoum is accused of unleashing janjaweed militia forces to commit atrocities against ethnic African communities in the fight with rebel groups — charges the government denies.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million displaced in the conflict. Activists say more than 1 million children have been caught in the fighting.
Afghanistan: Helicopter-dropped weapons fall into the wrong hands
A coalition helicopter trying to supply Afghan police with weapons, ammunition and food dropped them in the wrong location and Taliban fighters later recovered the goods, an intelligence official said Sunday. It was not clear whose helicopter left the supplies. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and the U.S.-led coalition said it was not theirs.
South Africa: American tourists drown when freak wave hits boat
Two Americans and one Norwegian tourist on a shark-cage diving adventure in Gansbaai drowned Sunday when their boat was hit by a freak wave, tourism and rescue officials said. There were no sharks immediately in the vicinity at the time because boat operators had not started “chumming,” a method of attracting sharks by putting a mixture of blood and fish remains in the water, said the head of the Great White Shark Protection Foundation, Mariette Hopley.
Florida: One teen still behind bars in videotaped beating incident
Only one of the eight teens accused of participating in the videotaped beating of a classmate remained behind bars in Bartow on Sunday, after a seventh was released on bail, authorities said. The teens, the youngest of whom is 14, face kidnapping and misdemeanor battery charges for the violent beating. One of the accused, 17-year-old Mercades Nichols, was bailed out by employees of the “Dr. Phil” television show over the weekend. A spokeswoman for host Phil McGraw wrote in an e-mail that “certain staff members went beyond our guidelines” in paying the bond and that producers decided not to do their planned show on the story. Still jailed is Stephen Schumaker, 18.
Texas: Mothers in polygamist sect ask governor for help with kids
The mothers of children removed from a polygamous sect’s ranch in West Texas after an abuse allegation are appealing to Gov. Rick Perry for help, saying some of their children have become sick and even required hospitalization. The mothers from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also say children are “horrified” by physical examinations they have undergone while in state custody. About 416 children were rounded up and placed in temporary custody 11 days ago after a domestic violence hot line recorded a complaint from a 16-year-old girl who said she was physically and sexually abused by her 50-year-old husband. A judge will decide this week whether the children will remain in custody in San Angelo or return to their families.
Michigan: Threats close university
Threatening graffiti found in three men’s restrooms led Oakland University in Rochester to cancel campus classes, sports and cultural activities for two days. The school said it sent out a security alert Saturday after finding one threatening message, and officials said they found similar messages in men’s restrooms in two other buildings later that day. The school didn’t reveal contents of the threats, but university Police Chief Sam Lucido told the Detroit Free Press that they referred to possible campus attacks on “4/14.”
From Herald news services
