| If Reservoir Wall Fails, Hungary Could Face Second Toxic Flood Concerns grow over cracks in a toxic-waste-reservoir wall holding 110 million gal. of sludge feedproxy.google.com |
More toxic threats to eastern Europe You contend that "stiffer European regulations and standards governing mining safety, industrial plant licensing and pollution are in force" in the former communist bloc countries and now members of the EU (Report, 13 October), yet since last week's Hungarian sludge disaster the offending company has been pumping out defensive statements that the red mud does not qualify as toxic material under EU regulations. And this is true – while, prior to its joining the EU in 2004, Hungary had environmental laws designating such red mud as toxic, these rules were subsequently relaxed in line with weaker EU laws, the latter having succumbed to intense industrial lobbying in Brussels.The enforcement of EU legislation regarding the use of cyanide technology for gold mining is coming under renewed threat from industry as a new wave of major gold extraction projects in Romania, Greece, Slovakia and Bulgaria gets under way. A string of safety breaches, including where cyanide facilities are installed at mining facilities prior to permitting, has been communicated by environmental groups to the European commission, while repeated appeals to environment commissioner Janez Potocnik to heed the European parliament's recent resounding resolution on an EU-wide ban on cyanide use in mining have as yet gone unanswered. At the end of last year the Hungarian parliament issued its own ban on cyanide use in mining. The consequences of the EU lagging behind Hungary this time on cyanide – and again thanks to pressure from the mining lobby – spell more danger for the people and the environment of eastern Europe.Fidanka Bacheva-McGrathEBRD campaign co-ordinator, CEE Bankwatch NetworkPollutionMiningWaterHungaryEuropean UnionMiningguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ugandan paper calls for gay people to be hanged Gay people named in article face violence and abuse after newspaper claims they are recruiting childrenHuman rights activists have warned that the lives of gay people in Uganda are in danger aftera newspaper published a story featuring the names and photographs of 100 homosexuals under the headline: "Hang Them".At least one woman named in the story has been forced to leave her home after neighbours pelted it with stones, while several others have been verbally abused, according to the campaign group Sexual Minorities Uganda.The article appeared earlier this month in the Rolling Stone newspaper, a new weekly title started by journalism graduates. Its publication came just days before the first anniversary of the introduction to parliament of a controversial anti-homosexuality bill that calls for the death penalty for those convicted of repeated same-sex relations, and life imprisonment for others.Inspired at least in part by a group of US evangelicals with close links to Uganda, the bill was heavily promoted by a few preachers and politicians. Its progress through parliament was stalled after an international outcry, though it has not been scrapped.Gay activists in Uganda say the proposed legislation has fuelled hate speech and created a climate of fear among homosexuals. The media have played a strong role in this.The widely read tabloid Red Pepper has previously "outed" dozens of gay people under headlines such as "Top Homos in Uganda named". But the Rolling Stone story appears to incite people to violence against gays.On the front page, the paper claims that the homosexual community aims to "recruit 1,000,000 children by 2012", and that parents "face heart-breaks (sic) as homos raids schools". Inside, a headline reads: "Hang them; They are after our kids!!". The article lists personal details of those named, including their addresses.Giles Muhame, the managing editor of the paper, defended the story, saying it was his duty as a journalist to "expose the evil in our society"."Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda but nobody is taking action against these people," he told the Guardian. "They are recruiting new members among our kids, and destroying the moral fabric of our country."Asked about the headline that urged hanging, he said: "Other countries have capital punishment to stop drug traffickers; we should have the same for homosexuals."Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said his organisation initially chose to ignore the story, since the newspaper was not widely read. It was launched in August and has a circulation of 2,000.But after a few days he started to receive reports of harassment. In the worst case, a woman who works for a gay rights organisation was unable to leave her home after it was stoned. She was eventually moved to a safe location, Mugisha said."We didn't want to give the newspaper publicity so we held off on legal action," he said. "But now the threat against our members is real, so we are considering going to court."Uganda's media council has since suspended Rolling Stone, but only because it was not registered. The editors say they have now fulfilled all legal requirements, and will resume publishing next week.UgandaGay rightsXan Riceguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
7.7-magnitude quake hits off Indonesian island By ALI KOTARUMALOS 2010-10-25T17:42:26ZJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A powerful earthquake hit off western Indonesia late Monday, briefly triggering a tsunami warning that sent thousands of panicked residents fleeing to high ground. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.... hosted.ap.org |
Jonas Brothers Join Education Cause - Video Jonas Brothers Kick Off OfficeMax's Annual 'A Day Made Better' Cause Campaign for Teachers feedproxy.google.com |