U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria’s civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday.
The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned under international law, said commission member Carla Del Ponte.
“Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.
A total of three possible chemical attacks have been reported thus far, and several U.S. officials apparently still maintain varying levels of certainty that the Assad regime is responsible for at least one attack. That said, it will be interesting to see how the Obama Administration reacts should incontrovertible proof emerge, particularly given previous declarations that such attacks from the Syrian government would cross a “red line.”
An autopsy is slated for Thursday morning; the rapper, best known as one half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, was found unresponsive in his Atlanta home on Wednesday.Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly might have died from a drug overdose, according to Atlanta police.
The 34-year-old Kelly, best known as one half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, was found unresponsive in his south Atlanta home and pronounced dead at the hospital on Wednesday night.
It’s worth noting that this is still only speculation, though the presence of evidence which had law enforcement leaning towards an overdose certainly doesn’t bode well for the autopsy’s outcome. Then again, it’s unlikely that any particular cause of death will leave Kelly’s family, friends, and fans feeling any better about his sudden passing.
A North Korean court has sentenced the US citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years’ hard labour after finding him guilty of unspecified “hostile acts” against the state, in a move possibly intended to force concessions from Washington.
Bae was arrested in November 2012 in Rason, a special economic zone in North Korea’s far north-eastern region bordering China and Russia. His trial at the country’s supreme court began on Tuesday, according to the official KCNA news agency, which referred to Bae as Pae Jun-ho, the North Korean rendering of his name. The sentence was announced on Thursday.
Bae, a tour operator who lives in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood, was accused of attempting to overthrow the government, a crime that carries a possible death penalty. In its latest dispatch KCNA did not state the exact nature of his alleged crimes.
Though he was born in South Korea, Bae is a naturalized U.S. citizen who has apparently made several trips to North Korea in the past via his travel agency Nation Tours. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.
I think you will see — again I can’t release any names to you yet, but next Wednesday I think those of us who are concerned about this issue … we’re finally going to get some answers.Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz • Discussing an upcoming House oversight committee hearing which many GOP members believe will expose new information that the Obama Administration has previously tried to keep quiet. Sources say that previously unidentified witnesses, with firsthand knowledge of the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, will reveal new information about the events which claimed the lives of four Americans. source
Three new suspects were taken into custody in the investigation of last month’s deadly Boston Marathon bombing and will face charges of interfering with the probe, not planning or carrying out the attack, police and a U.S. law enforcement source said on Wednesday.
Two of the suspects were university classmates of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who has been criminally charged with planting homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the marathon finish line on April 15 along with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
The U.S. law enforcement source said that two of the suspects are being held by immigration officials for violating the terms of their visas. The source said they are likely to face charges related to obstruction of justice and with making false statements to investigators.
Big new development in the criminal investigation of last month’s Boston Marathon bombing.
The former neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin told a judge Tuesday that he agrees with his defense attorneys’ decision not to seek an immunity hearing under the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.
Under questioning from Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, Zimmerman repeatedly said “yes” to a series of questions asking if he was aware he was giving up the right to a hearing before his second-degree murder trial in June. A judge would have sole discretion in an immunity hearing to decide if Zimmerman is exempt from culpability in the shooting. A jury would make the determination in the murder trial.
George Zimmerman’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 10th. Anybody think he’s actually going to walk away from this?
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Exclusive: How the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the...
soon
Yahumblr.
Google found the...
Last summer, three peace activists broke into a nuclear weapons site. A chain reaction followed.
If you’ve got some free time, WaPo has a pretty look profile on the three activists who broke into the Y-12 nuclear facility in Tennessee last year, all of whom still face up to 30 years in federal prison on charges related to the break-in. It’s an interesting read, which we highly recommend to anybody with a bit of free time, but definitely not a short one.
Bangladeshi lawyers and protesters chanted “hang him, hang him” on Monday as the owner of a factory building that collapsed last week killing nearly 400 people was led into court dressed in a helmet and bullet-proof jacket, witnesses said.
The drama came as rescue officials said they were unlikely to find more survivors in the rubble of the building that collapsed on Wednesday, burying hundreds of garment workers in the country’s worst industrial accident.
Heavy cranes were being used to lift huge concrete blocks from the wreckage of Rana Plaza, where 385 people are now confirmed to have been killed. The building housed factories making clothes for Western brands.
Eight people have been arrested in connection with last week’s garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, and authorities continue to search for a ninth suspect at this time. The building’s owner was arrested in the town of Benapole, where he is believed to have been looking for a way to flee to neighboring India.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
