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Same-sex marriage bill faces opposition in Brazil
Submitted by Carlo S on Mon, 05/20/2013 - 10:22
A potential same-sex marriage bill in Brazil could face strong opposition from religious and conservative lawmakers.
The BBC is reporting Brazil authorities have ruled that same-sex couples who want full marriage certificates should not be stuck with civil union documents instead.
Congress will need to examine and approve the bill before any official changes are made.
With this ruling Brazil is following after neighbouring countries Argentina and Uruguay where gay marriage is legal.
STORY WRITTEN BY: NATASHA TAGGART
Body Cavity Search threatened for Guantánamo Strikers
Submitted by Carlo S on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 06:58According to the Guardian, US guards at Guantánamo Bay are insisting on a body cavity search before any hunger striker can contact their lawyer, either via an in-person interview at the base or with a phone call.
Clive Stafford Smith, the founder of legal group Reprieve, which represents various detainees in Guantánamo Bay, said strikers do not need to be sexually assaulted in order to access a telephone to talk to their lawyer.
Smith stated that two of his clients and at least one other detainee
refused to go through with the body cavity search, and therefore was unable to talk to their lawyers.
The US military has denied these claims. Lt. Col. Samuel House stated full frisk searches are conducted in a professional manner, with clothes on, similar to a pat-down search conducted by an airport security screener.
House added that detainees were searched when they moved between facilities or outside of camp, such as for a phone call, a legal appointment or a non-emergency medical appointment, and that refusal would result in not being escorted to any appointment by the guard force.
STORY WRITTEN BY: SPOON JUNG
Gender-neutral restrooms a possibility in Philly
Submitted by Carlo S on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 09:48
In a campaign to make Philadelphia the most LGBT-friendly city in the world, mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation to future public restrooms gender neutral.
The move is to accommodate transgender people who feel uncomfortable going into public restrooms assigned to men and women.
City Councilor Jim Kenney sponsored the bill.
He spoke to N-B-C News Philadelphia on the difficult and awkward for transgender people to go into male and female restrooms.
In addition, the City is also working to give transgender people equal access to healthcare benefits as their heterosexual counterparts, a move that Kenney calls as the next iteration of civil rights and freedom in the U.S.
The gender-neutral washrooms will be built in future buildings owned by the City of Philadelphia.
Flickr Photo by: andybrannan
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
First US educated politician in Vietnam Communist Party
Submitted by Carlo S on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 08:29
The ruling Communist Party in Vietnam has appointed the first US-educated official to its executive committee.
According to the Guardian, the move comes in an attempt to boost Vietnam’s image among investors in Europe and the United States.
Pressure is mounting to reform the economy, crippled by weak credit and 113 thousand business closures since 2011, since it began to stagnate after years of boom growth.
Facing some of the toughest economic challenges in years, Vietnams ruling party has vowed to tackle the country’s banking system debt, and mismanaged state-owned firms.
The newly elected official, Nguyen Thien Nhan, received a Masters in public policy at the University of Oregon in 1993 and is a deputy prime minister overseeing education, health and technology.
Nhan joins a group that has long been dominated by politicians educated in Vietnam and the former Soviet Union.
Flickr Photo by: liee_wu
STORY WRITTEN BY: CATLIN SPENCER
Spaniards march for education reform amid budget cuts
Submitted by Carlo S on Fri, 05/10/2013 - 11:00
In Spain, students and teachers marched to the streets to protest against budget cuts and reforms that are hurting the country's Education sector.
According to Al Jazeera, demonstrators in Madrid marched to the éducation ministry building in green t-shirts.
They're calling on its ministèr, Jose Ignacio Wart to résign.
The Spanish Government has reduced education spending by about 14 percent between 2012 and 2013
The cuts are causing higher tuition fees for college students, fewer grants available to graduate students and reduced school bus services for elementary school students.
The cuts also come at the expense of more students in school with fewer teachers availiable teach them, according to high school teacher Fernanda Gonzalez.
Gonzalez spoke to AJE explaining that Spain is already dealing with a small budget, and they're still trying to reduce it amid austerity measures.
Spaniards, along with most European nations are currently lagging in performance in Math and foreign langauges, way below the Unions standard.
Flickr Photo by: EccyLad
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
Syria's internet shutdown for second time
Submitted by Carlo S on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 11:13Syria is faced with its second internet shutdown in the past six months. Austerity could lead to protests in Portuguese parliament
Submitted by Carlo S on Mon, 05/06/2013 - 07:32
Austerity measures in Portugal have lead to large protests in parliament.
The BBC is reporting that Portugal is planning to cut 30-thousand civil servant jobs to meet the conditions of a bailout.
The nation’s government has ruled out raising taxes and is looking elsewhere for financial resources.
Portugal’s Prime Minister says he wants the measures to prove the country’s commitment to the bailout.
Portugal’s unemployment rate stands at a record high 18 percent.
Flickr Photo by: Jürgen Stemper // Bloemche
STORY WRITTEN BY: NATASHA TAGGART
EU votes to ban pesticides
Submitted by Carlo S on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 07:35
The European Union has voted to ban three pesticides linked to bee deaths for two years, in a world’s first continent-wide ban on the chemicals. The insecticides are used to treat seeds, and applied to soil or sprayed on bee-attractive plants and cereals.
15 nations voted in favor of the ban, while 8 voted against, with 4 abstaining. The European Commission said the ban would apply from December 1st.
EU health commissioner Tonio Borg emphasized the importance of protecting the bees, as they “contribute over 22 billion euros annually to European agriculture.” Bees account for 80% of plant pollination by insects, rendering them indispensible to stable global food production.
Marco Contiero of Greenpeace stated, “Today's vote makes it crystal clear that there is overwhelming scientific, political and public support for a ban,” in light of heavy opposition from pharmaceutical groups and farmers lobbying against the ban.
Flickr Photo by: rjmyint
STORY WRITTEN BY: SPOON JUNG
Greek parliament approves job cuts
Submitted by Carlo S on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 07:01
The Greek parliament has approved 15-thousand state employee job cuts to guarantee enough bailout money from global creditors.
The BBC is reporting that over 4-thousand civil servants will be jobless by the end of this year.
Another 11-thousand could lose their jobs by 2015.
The three parties putting together the ruling coalition support the new bill but critics say the law will only raise Greece’s record 27 percent unemployment rate.
Flickr Photo by: Paspro
STORY WRITTEN BY: NATASHA TAGGART
Rescuers continue to search scene of collapsed factory
Submitted by Carlo S on Fri, 04/26/2013 - 10:07Rescue workers continue to search for survivors after a garment building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing over two hundred people.
Officials announced that two thousand garment workers have been pulled safely from the debris as of Thursday morning.
The Associated Press reported that cries can be heard from people still trapped inside.
The collapse occurred on Wednesday after cracks were discovered in the building’s walls.
However, various clothing factories housed inside the complex ignored orders to evacuate the building on Tuesday.
The eight-storey building collapsed the next day.
It’s unknown exactly how many people were inside at the time.
Some of the factories in the building are believed to have manufactured clothing for major North American retailers like Wal-Mart and Canadian brand Joe Fresh.
In response, the CBC Radio program, As It Happens, is asking Joe Fresh to directly address the safety conditions of workers at its factories and to justify its decision to outsource to Bangladesh in the first place.
STORY WRITTEN BY: ALYSSA TREMBLAY
