News Brief
A look at events around the world
Taouba Khelifa
News Editor
Attack on Gaza
A series of attacks by the Israeli military continued Monday morning on the city of Gaza, in the occupied territory of Palestine. A total of 7 people were killed, with medics estimating 35 people wounded so far. The attacks on Gaza have been targeting ‘terror’ tunnels that are believed to be smuggling in weapons to ‘terrorist’ organizations. The violence in the territory comes just as Israel is preparing for it’s 2013 elections. In 2008, similar violence erupted before Israel’s elections, turning into a 22-day war that killed 1,400 Palestinians.
Death of a Blogger
Irani lawmakers and government have said that the death of blogger Sattar Beheshti, who died last week while in police custody, was not due to torture or police brutality. Beheshti was arrested after criticizing the Iranian government on Facebook. Iran’s history of journalist’s arrest, imprisonment and death comes as no surprise to many. In 2003, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer Zahra Kazemi was arrested and killed by Iranian officials when she was on assignment in Iran covering the Tehran July demonstrations.
Freezing Evictions
After 2 suicides in a span of 15 days, Spain’s banking association has said that it will freeze mortgage-related evictions of indebted home owners for the next two years. The decision comes after reports surfaced that the two suicides were of indebted homeowners who were facing home evictions. In the midst of a recession and record high unemployment rates, Spain saw tough austerity measures this year, with predictions of tougher measures to come. Spain’s government hopes that the freeze will bring some calm to Spaniards during this economic crisis.
Greek Nationalism
Some members of Montreal’s Greek community are on edge after a chapter of the right-winged Greek nationalist party, Golden Dawn, was established in the city. The group sports a logo resembling a swastika, and holds a strong view on anti-immigration, claiming that Greece has been taken over by illegal immigrants, and calls upon Christian Greeks’ need to reclaim their country. Golden Dawn’s deputy leader in Montreal, Spiros Macrozonaris said that the Montreal chapter was aimed at garnering support for the party, and clarifies that the Golden Dawn members are “Greek nationalists …We love our country. We are not fascists. We are not anti-immigrants.”
No More Coffee
A study done by researcher Aaron Davis of the Royal Botanic Gardens in England, showed that Arabica coffee beans – used in 70 per cent of the world’s coffee – could be forever wiped out by climate change in the year 2080. Davis and his team of researchers found that in Ethiopia, the world’s producer of Arabica plants, climate change could make much of the land unsuitable for production. While the prediction is still 68 years down the road, some people are not the least bit worried. Double-doubles will still be served tomorrow morning.
Photo courtesy abc.net.au
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