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Star of David

Together, we prevail: Message from BDS activist undergoing Israeli interrogation

Omar Barghouti
Mondoweiss
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
Omar Barghouti
Omar Barghouti
Dear friends and colleagues,

Finally, I was allowed to access my email account after 12 days of being banned from doing so during the most intense phase of the ongoing interrogation I am subjected to by the Israeli authorities.

The BNC statement on this issue accurately sums up this latest chapter in the Israeli regime's war on the BDS movement.

Due to a gag order, I am not allowed to delve into any facts about the case. I am thus denied the ability to even refute the vicious lies published by Israel's regime against me. I am in no hurry to do so, though, as their main objective — attempting to tarnish my reputation and, by extension, hurting the BDS movement — has clearly failed.
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Life Preserver

Evil Russians? Red Cross praises Russia's 'great humanitarian work' in Syria


Sputnik
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
Russia aid Syria Aleppo Red Cross
© Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation
The International Committee of the Red Cross president praised Russia's efforts in restoring peace in Syria and said that the establishment of safety zones should be discussed with Moscow.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appreciates Russia's humanitarian work in Syria and greatly values the help it has provided to the aid charity, ICRC President Peter Maurer told Sputnik.

"We do appreciate the very close contacts we do have with Russia in Syria. They are extremely helpful to the work of ICRC. We appreciate all the work that Russia is doing on a large scale of issues and our delegation in Syria as well as the Russian embassy keeps close contact to see how we can coordinate, reinforce, what we can do together in the humanitarian response," Maurer said.

Comment: Further reading: Russian soldiers give much-needed hope to war orphans in Aleppo

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Heart - Black

Thugs who tortured pensioners with boiling water arrested in Heathrow


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:14 UTC
Kacey Adams
© Kent Police / YouTube
The moment police boarded a plane to arrest two "barbaric" burglars who poured boiling water over an elderly couple after breaking into their home has been caught on camera.

Footage shows police boarding the plane as it arrived at Heathrow Airport to arrest Daniel Wallace, 33, and Kacey Adams, 34, as they returned from a spending spree in Dubai after their £50,000 (US$62,200) raid.

Their luggage was found to contain more than £18,000 of luxury goods.

Sentenced to life in prison on Monday, Adams and Wallace broke into their victims' home in Halstead, Kent, last April. The pair tied up John Buswell, 66, and his wife Janis, 64, with cable ties before repeatedly assaulting them and demanding money.
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Handcuffs

Price-gouging: Maker of EpiPen hit with fraud & racketeering lawsuit


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:46 UTC
EpiPen
© Joe Raedle / AFP
A group of EpiPen purchasers have hit drug maker Mylan with a class-action lawsuit, claiming the company engaged in illegal price fixing to inflate the price of its allergy treatment over a decade by 574 percent.

According to the complaint filed in Washington state on Monday, Mylan acquired the rights to market and distribute EpiPen in 2007, and increased the list price 17 times, from $90.28 to $608.62, causing some patients to resort to carrying expired EpiPens, or to use syringes to manually inject epinephrine.

Plaintiffs argued the skyrocketing list price for the EpiPen was the result of Mylan's behind the scenes payments of rebates to pharmacy benefit managers - CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx - which handle prescription drug benefit programs of insurance plans.
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Sheriff

Supreme Court unanimously rules for court flexibility in mandatory minimum sentences


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:16 UTC
Supreme Court of the United States
© wikipedia.orgSupreme Court of the United States
The US Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that courts have the discretion to decide whether a defendant has already been given a mandatory sentence for one crime when considering an appropriate sentence for another charge.

"Sentencing courts have long enjoyed discretion in the sort of information they may consider when setting an appropriate sentence," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, deliveringthe court's opinion in Dean v United States on Monday. "This durable tradition remains, even as federal laws have required sentencing courts to evaluate certain factors when exercising their discretion."

The government had argued courts should calculate the appropriate term of imprisonment for each defendant and disregard whatever sentences already faced on other counts.
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Dollar

Critics upset after Trump donates salary to National Park Service


RT
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:09 UTC
Yosemite National Park, California
© Robert Galbraith / ReutersYosemite National Park, California
President Donald Trump has donated over $78,000 - his entire first-quarter salary - to the National Park Service, leaving his critics spluttering about broken promises and the cost of security for his residences in New York and Florida.

Trump, who was a billionaire real-estate tycoon before running for president, initially tried to decline a salary altogether, but it turned out he was legally required to take one. He then said he would donate all of it to a charity, and even invited reporters to give suggestions.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that "every penny" Trump was paid between January 20 and the end of March will be handed over to the NPS.
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Info

Iran reportedly frees imprisoned American on bail after hunger strike


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 10:41 UTC
Gholamrez
© BringRobinHome / YouTube Gholamrez "Robin" Shahini.
An Iranian-American serving an 18-year prison sentence after being detained by Iranian authorities for "collaboration with a hostile government" has been released after a hunger strike with other imprisoned dual nationals, a human rights group says.

Gholamrez "Robin" Shahini was released from an Iranian prison on bail of 2 billion rials (about $62,000), AP reported citing Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

It is unclear if Shahini will be able to leave the country. Iranian officials and state media have not commented on Shahini receiving bail, AP reported, nor did US officials comment on the matter.

"Shahini's release on bail is good news as his prosecution did not produce any credible evidence justifying charges against him," Ghaemi told AP. "He is an innocent man who appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and his detention and prosecution was motivated by his dual nationality more than anything else."
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Chart Bar

From February to March, 54% drop in refugees arriving in the U.S.

Patrick Goodenough
CNS News
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 04:29 UTC
Refugee tents
© CNS News
The number of refugees admitted to the United States dropped in March to its lowest monthly tally of the current fiscal year, even as the implementation of President Trump's latest immigration executive order continues to be held up by federal courts.

In a continuing declining trend, 2,070 refugees arrived during March, an approximately 54.79 percent drop from the 4,579 recorded in February, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data.

The number has steadily declined in FY 2017, from 9,945 refugees admitted to the U.S. last October, to 8,355 in November, 7,371 in December and 6,777 in January.
Refugee chart
© CNS News
Of the 2,070 refugees resettled in March, the largest contingents came from Somalia (335), Syria (282), Burma (278), Iraq (192), Democratic Republic of Congo (184), Ukraine (167) and Iran (101).

After an initial executive order ran into legal roadblocks, Trump issued a revised one on March 6 that once again sought to block all refugees from entering the country for 120 days. It dropped the original's provision placing an indefinite ban on the admission of refugees from Syria, however.
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Eye 2

Predators among us: Texas surgeon arrested for sexually assaulting patients

Julie Chiquillo
Dallas Morning News
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 19:16 UTC
Donald Ozumba
© Dallas NewsDr. Donald Okechukwu Ozumba
McKinney police arrested an orthopedic surgeon on suspicion that he sexually assaulted two female patients while they were under his care.

Dr. Donald Okechukwu Ozumba, 44, faces two charges of sexual assault, according to court records. McKinney police arrested him Friday and booked him at the Collin County Jail, where his bail was set at $50,000. He was released Sunday.

Police said the offenses happened at OSSM Orthopedics in the 8000 block of State Highway 121 in McKinney.

Ozumba couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

One of the women went to his office last week to be treated for a sports injury, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She told police that the doctor exposed half of her genitals to check for internal fluid and told her he needed to rub in the medication he had injected under her left hip.

Ozumba massaged the area, then penetrated the woman's genitals with his fingers and massaged her inside, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The woman's husband was sitting behind the doctor but couldn't see what was happening, police said.

The woman told police that she contacted another doctor after the visit and asked whether what Ozumba had done was normal procedure. The second doctor informed her that Ozumba was "absolutely not supposed to penetrate her vagina," according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Comment: See also: Behind the Headlines: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter

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People

Global sex trafficking ring busted in one of America's 'happiest,' 'safest' cities


CBS Los Angeles
Thu, 30 Mar 2017 11:13 UTC
sex_trafficing
© Unknown
Authorities say they've uncovered a massive international sex trafficking ring in Southern California.

Prosecutors announced the arrest of four people connected to the Orange County-based enterprise that allegedly placed thousands of ads for sexual services in 29 states over the past two years.

The ring was based locally in Irvine, officials said.

Women and girls from China were forced to sell themselves for sex and sometimes forced to work 14 hours a day in homes purchased specifically for the purposes of prostitution, according to authorities.
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