Three Tibetan self-immolations take November toll to 20

 

Three Tibetans on Monday set themselves on fire in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai to protest Chinese policies, overseas groups said, even as several hundred Tibetan students were reported to have carried out a protest in a medical college in north-western China in a reflection of continuing unrest in many Tibetan areas.

With Monday’s protests, more than 80 Tibetans have carried out self-immolation protests, bringing fresh security restrictions across many Tibetan areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu. In November alone, more than 20 self-immolations have been reported, mainly in Qinghai and Sichuan.

The exiled Tibetan administration in Dharamsala said a man in his twenties called Wangyal, who was a former monk, set himself on fire in Serthar, in Sichuan. This followed reports that a Tibetan nun had set herself on fire in Malho, in northwestern Qinghai, a province where several immolations were reported this past month in the monastery town of Rebkong, or Tongren in Chinese.

An 18-year-old named Kunchok Tsering was reported to have died on Monday in Amchok, close to the famous Labrang monastery in Gansu province, sources in Dharamsala said citing their contacts in the region.

On Saturday, a top Communist Party of China (CPC) official in Sichuan, where many protests have been reported in the predominantly Tibetan county of Aba, called for strengthening supervision of monasteries and "fighting separatism". The Chinese government has accused exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and exiled groups in Dharamsala of encouraging the protests and of plotting to split Tibet. Officials in Beijing have also questioned how Dharamsala has been able to access videos and photographs of the self-immolations, often within hours of the events, alleging a conspiracy.

The Dalai Lama has strongly denied the Chinese accusations, and has said that the widespread unrest in many Tibetan areas was because of restrictive Chinese policies. The Tibetan spiritual leader has also called for an international fact-finding mission to establish the root of the problems. Chinese officials at the recently concluded CPC National Congress ruled out allowing any foreign observers into Tibetan areas, blaming separatists for the unrest.

Wang Dongming, the CPC Party Chief in Sichuan, in a speech in Aba on Saturday stressed that the government would not tolerate instability. "Our struggle with the Dalai [Lama] splittist clique is long-term, arduous and complicated. In fighting separatism and upholding stability we can never relax our work in the slightest," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "We must strengthen and be innovative in accordance with law in our management of the monasteries," he added, "and unite the people in the common task to fight separatism and maintain stability."

Savita's death: Abortion requests missing from medical file

 

LONDON: Praveen Halappanavar, husband of an Indian dentist who died due to pregnancy-related complications after being denied abortion in Ireland, says the medical notes made available to him do not contain their repeated pleas for a termination, but mention trivial requests for tea and toast.

"They have all the other information including requests for tea and toast and for an extra blanket, all of that is in the notes, but the important information about requesting the termination is not," Praveen, whose 31-year-old wife Savita died on October 28 at Galway University Hospital, said.

The detailed medical records from the hospital, which were made available to Praveen, do not include doctors' notes for Monday, October 22 — the day the couple first requested a termination. While doctors' notes are available for Tuesday, October 23, they make no reference to the requested termination which was reiterated on that date.

Praveen described how the missing information had destroyed his faith in the Irish Republic's Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

"It's time to get the facts and the truth for Savita," he was quoted as saying by Belfast Telegraph.

"I don't have any faith in the HSE. I saw (the files) earlier this week. It was a blow and that was the reason why we never wanted the HSE inquiry," said Praveen, who has been demanding a full public probe.

It has also emerged that a number of clinical notes were added to the file after Savita's death.

However, none of these refer to the termination request. Tony O'Brien, head of the HSE, has asked the patient safety watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), to begin a separate investigation.

Meanwhile, Irish President Michael D Higgins, who earlier said the probe into Savita's death must meet the needs of her family as also the State, defended his intervention in the row.

UN 'failed Sri Lanka civilians', says internal probe

  

The United Nations failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the last months of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, a leaked draft of a highly critical internal UN report says.

"Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN," it concludes.

The government and Tamil rebels are accused of war crimes in the brutal conflict which ended in May 2009.

The UN's former humanitarian chief, John Holmes, has criticised the report.

Mr Holmes said the UN faced "some very difficult dilemmas" at the time and could be criticised for the decisions it had taken.

"But the idea that if we behaved differently, the Sri Lankan government would have behaved differently I think is not one that is easy to reconcile with the reality at the time," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.

The UN does not comment on leaked reports and says it will publish the final version.

The 26-year war left at least 100,000 people dead. There are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle. An earlier UN investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in the final five months alone. Others suggest the number of deaths could be even higher.

India 'concerned' over pregnant woman's death in Ireland

 

NEW DELHI — India on Thursday expressed "concern" over the death of a pregnant Indian woman in Ireland after doctors allegedly refused her an abortion because it was against the laws of the country.

Savita Halappanavar, who was 17 weeks pregnant, died of septicaemia on October 28, a week after she was admitted to University Hospital Galway in the west of the country.

"We deeply regret the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar... The death of an Indian national in such circumstances is a matter of concern," foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told a news conference.

"We understand that the Irish authorities have initiated two inquiries (and) we are awaiting the results of these inquiries and we will take it from there," he said in New Delhi.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny described the death of the 31-year-old dentist as a "tragedy".

Halappanavar repeatedly asked staff at the hospital to terminate her pregnancy because she had severe back pain and was miscarrying, her family said.

Doctors allegedly refused her demand, telling her that "this is a Catholic country".

The hospital said it would begin a review of her death as soon as it could consult with her family, who are in India for her funeral.

Abortion is illegal in Roman Catholic-dominated Ireland except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Ireland's abortion laws have been the subject of debate for years.

Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. But legislation has never been passed to reflect this.

A 1982 referendum acknowledged the "right to life of the unborn... with due regard to the life of the mother", while a second in 1992 added an amendment that permitted the right to travel abroad for an abortion.

The Times of India newspaper said Praveen, the women's 34-year-old husband, had blamed New Delhi for failing to extend timely help to his wife.

Speaking from his home in the southern state of Karnataka, he said Indian authorities had not been "willing to go out of their way to help" the family.

US declares support for united Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON: The United States late Sunday declared its support for the united Syrian opposition after various groups opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad decided to come together following talks in Doha, Qatar.

"We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve," State department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

Petraeus scandal broke as lover was celebrating birthday

While America's most famous soldier was enduring a dramatic fall from grace last Friday, the woman who brought about his downfall carried on seemingly regardless.

Paula Broadwell, a mother of two young children, was preparing to celebrate her 40th birthday with her husband and friends at a venue just miles from the CIA chief's headquarters.

The small group were reported to have dined at The Inn at Little Washington, an exclusive restaurant in rural Virginia not far from Washington DC, on Friday evening despite the headlines rolling across US television screens.

Sandy’s wrath lingers in US

NEW YORK: A grim routine set in Friday as superstorm Sandy's US victims struggled to adjust to gas lines, power outages and temporary housing while the death toll from the monster cyclone approached 100.

New York's famed subway lurched back to life with limited service Thursday, offering some relief from the storm-battered city's gridlock, but East Coast residents faced long lines at filling stations and lingering blackouts.

 At least 92 people have now been reported dead across the 15 states hit by Monday night's unprecedented storm, including 40 in , while some economists have estimated the disaster will cost up to $50 billion.

 More bodies are being found as police and firefighters continue "their lifesaving mission, going block-by-block and door-to-door in the areas devastated by the hurricane," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.

 With about 650,000 people still without power in New York, Bloomberg said the city would start handing out food and water, while National Guard officers and police would go into high-rise buildings to help the elderly.

 The Con Edison power company said some New Yorkers would have to wait until November 11 before electricity is restored, and the National Guard was still rescuing people trapped in flooded homes in nearby Hoboken, New Jersey.

 The floodwaters receded slowly, leaving scenes of desolation. A yacht, thrown up by the storm, blocked one street near the Hoboken ferry terminal.

 The Harman family on Thursday was bailing out the flooded garage they had used as a storage space. Already, they had filled a dumpster with ruined belongings, and a new pile -- children's toys, furniture and household equipment -- gathered on the sidewalk.

 Christine Harman, a 43-year-old lawyer, said Hoboken residents were trying to keep their spirits up despite the lack of heat, power and in some apartments, water.

 "We're sticking together. In our building we had a party last night. We had a grill on the roof and we cooked the meat that was going to go bad and drank the beer that was going to go off," she told AFP.

 New Jersey, which President Barack Obama visited on Wednesday, saw the most widespread destruction, with entire communities along the coast flooded and some 1.8 million people still without power days after the storm.

Obama and Republican White House challenger Mitt Romney resumed full campaigning on Thursday five days out from a nailbiter election, although the tone of their attacks was more muted in the aftermath of the tragedy.

 As he launched an ambitious swing through four vital battleground states, Obama took the time to call the governors of worst-hit states New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from aboard Air Force One, the White House said.

 Meanwhile, the first subway trains brought some cheer to New York City.

 A skeleton service started just before dawn and trains were quickly packed. Train rides were to be free on Thursday and Friday. "It is not comfortable, but it is a huge relief to get moving again," said commuter Dave Stetman.

In a bid to avoid traffic gridlock, Bloomberg said that until Friday cars entering Manhattan must carry at least three people. Police set up checkpoints at bridges and turned back hundreds of vehicles.

 Some heartbreaking stories have emerged from the storm.

 Two brothers, aged two and four, were swept from their mother's arms in the floods as the family tried to escape the rising seas in the New York City borough of Staten Island.

Glenda Moore's car became stuck in the water, and she was carrying the boys to seek help when they were swept away, the New York Post said. The boys, Connor aged four and Brandon aged two, were later found dead.