News Topic - Darfur

The price of getting rid of Darfur tyrant Omar al-Bashir
The sooner Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, can be stopped from unleashing the death and destruction that his minions have perpetrated in Darfur, the better.
Telegraph.co.uk  –  Jul 19, 2008 7:35 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World

Peace, not indictment, stirs Sudanese
AP - For years, Mohammed Ali has been hearing relatives and friends tell how government-backed militiamen torched villages in his native Darfur, raped women and shot fleeing civilians.
Yahoo!  –  Jul 19, 2008 5:36 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World: Africa

Arabs seek exit strategy from Sudan war crimes crisis
AFP - Arab foreign ministers were on Saturday to hold crisis talks on how to deal with the International Criminal Court prosecutor's bid to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for alleged genocide in Darfur.
Yahoo!  –  Jul 19, 2008 11:22 AM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World

China says heed fears about Bashir genocide charges
Reuters - World powers should heed the worries of African and Arab states in responding to genocide charges against Sudan's president, China's envoy on Darfur said, warning that the court steps could imperil peace efforts.
Yahoo!  –  Jul 18, 2008 8:36 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World: Africa

In Concert, A Moment Of Sudanese Solidarity
At a time of outright genocide in Darfur, and civil unrest throughout the Sudan, an unprecedented gathering of musicians from across the war-torn country presented a contrasting picture — one of harmony and unity — at the Sudanese Festival of Music and Dance in Chicago.
NPR.org  –  Jul 18, 2008 6:28 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World

Arab League to discuss genocide charges
Arab foreign ministers are expected to discuss a proposal Saturday calling on Sudan's president to hand over two Darfur war crimes ...
USA Today  –  Jul 18, 2008 4:40 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in Top Stories

Arab League to discuss charges facing Sudan leader
AP - Arab foreign ministers are expected to discuss a proposal Saturday calling on Sudan's president to hand over two Darfur war crimes suspects to an international tribunal in an effort to fend off the longtime leader's own prosecution on genocide charges, Arab diplomats said.
Yahoo!  –  Jul 18, 2008 4:37 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World

Africa Unscrambled: Sudan - What happens next?
It’s all gone quiet in Khartoum. After days of feverish speculation and doomsday scenarios that Omar al-Bashir would unleash the dogs of war on aid workers, peacekeepers and Darfur’s displaced if he were indicted… nothing happened. Not yet anyway.
The Independent  –  Jul 18, 2008 2:50 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in World

Zakaria: A long way from peace in Darfur
The International Criminal Court announced this week it is seeking an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
CNN.com  –  Jul 18, 2008 2:23 PM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in Top Stories

Tax question worries Patrick
Gov. Deval L. Patrick heard from Western Massachusetts municipal leaders Thursday afternoon that potential disaster looms on the November ballot.Photo by Bob Stern / The RepublicanGov. Deval L. Patrick holds a cabinet meeting in the Bangs Community Center in Amherst, Thursday afternoon. He is flanked by Lt. Governor Tim Murray, right, and Suzanne Bump, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development.By MICHAEL McAULIFFEmmcauliffe@repub.comSPRINGFIELD - People may be nervous about the economy, but Gov. Deval L. Patrick heard from Western Massachusetts municipal leaders Thursday afternoon that potential disaster looms on the November ballot.Patrick, holding a public meeting of his cabinet at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst, listened as Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins called for the public to rally against a ballot question that would eliminate the state's 5.3 percent income tax."I'm really challenging the whole room that we need to work together on this question," Higgins told an overflow gathering of more than 175 people.Chicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, echoing Higgins' concern, said the ballot question "ought to scare the living daylights out of any thinking person."Bissonnette then put the issue in monetary terms, saying passage of the question would cripple Chicopee's $150 million annual budget."We'll cut that by a third if this thing passes," Bissonnette said.The question got on the ballot after a petition drive by the Committee for Small Government, led by Libertarian Carla Howell, got the necessary 11,000 signatures.Leslie A. Kirwan, secretary of administration and finance, said personal income taxes account for about $13 billion of the $28 billion state budget."This is the most staggering challenge that faces us," Kirwan said."It's very important that all of you do as much as you can to see that that ballot question does not prevail," she said.Patrick said he knows taxes are not popular."I don't meet people who like paying taxes. ... I don't like paying taxes," he said.However, the governor recalled living in Darfur in the Sudan after he graduated from Harvard College. There were no taxes - and more."(There were) no roads. No hospitals. No schools. No public safety," Patrick said.In all, seven cabinet members and Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray were at the meeting.The governor then went to Holyoke for an outdoor town hall meeting at Holyoke Heritage State Park. Hundreds of people gathered in the evening heat as Patrick, his suit coat off and shirt sleeves rolled up, took questions and offered that the work of government is really the work of the public."Government is about us helping ourselves," Patrick said.Prior to the Amherst stop, Patrick met with his statewide anti-crime council at the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center in Springfield. Kevin M. Burke, secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said the meeting focused on programs that help prepare offenders for a successful re-entry into the community.State Undersecretary of Transportation Jeffrey B. Mullan stopped in Chicopee before heading to Amherst to announce that the 117-year-old Willimansett Bridge over the Connecticut River has been placed on the state's accelerated bridge project list. State Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, and state Highway Department officials joined Mullan at the bridge, which links Chicopee and Holyoke.The state House of Representatives Tuesday approved a $2.98 billion plan to accelerate the repair of bridges during the next eight years. The Senate now needs to approve the legislation."It's a high priority of the administration," Mullan said of the bridge, which has weight limits placed on it. "The administration has made a commitment to have bridges under construction within 90 days of the availability of funding under the bill."Staff writers Peter Goonan and Holly Angelo contributed to this report.
MassLive.com  –  Jul 18, 2008 11:21 AM [GMT]  ¦  comment?
found in Local: Massachusetts: Springfield