Masserene Barracks attack

This weekend, an army base in South Antrim was attacked by dissident Republicans, which the Real IRA have claimed they were responsible for. Two soliders were killed and 4 people are seriously ill in hospital which includes the two pizza delivery men. This is the first time in 12 years that a British solider has been murdered in Northern Ireland. It's clear to see that people in Northern Ireland have been left shocked and outraged by the recent events and for most it is a horrible reminder of what has happened in the past in Northern Ireland. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said of the attacks, "I supported the IRA during the conflict, I myself was a member of the IRA but that war is over.Now the people responsible for that last night's incident are clearly signalling that they want to resume or restart that war." Ian Paisley Jnr. also had to say of the attacks "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep."

Despite the horrible attacks, it seems as though all parties in Northern Ireland are united and are determined that these attacks will not derail the peace process.
If anyone would like to read more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7930924.stm
http://www.itv.com/News/Articles/Soldiers-die-in-barracks-shooting-727894856.html

Stephanie

Ridiculous.

Two Chinese dates from the upcoming Oasis world tour because the Chinese goverment have banned them. The Chinese government recently discovered that Noel Gallagher had played at a Free Tibet gig TWELVE YEARS AGO and that Oasis were involved in the Free Tibet campaign.
Oasis' spokesperson said in a statement "According to the show's promoters, officials within the Chinese Ministry of Culture only recently discovered that Noel Gallagher appeared at a Free Tibet Benefit Concert on Randall's Island in NY in 1997 and have now deemed that the band are consequently unsuitable to perform to their fans in the Chinese Republic on 3rd and 5th of April, during its 60th anniversary year. Oasis are extremely disappointed that they are now being prevented from undertaking their planned tour of mainland China and hope that the powers that be within China will reconsider their decision and allow the band to perform to their Chinese fans at some stage in the future."
I, personally, was really looking forward to this (not that I was going or anything like), but because this would have been the first time Oasis were going to play in China.
I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, HU JINTAO.

Stephanie.

Bush shoe sculpture removed.

A sculpture of a shoe erected in Iraq to honour a journalist who threw his footwear at George W Bush has been dismantled, reports say.

Foreign media say the bronze-coloured fibre-glass shoe was removed from its site in the city of Tikrit on the orders of the local authorities.

It had been erected in the grounds of an orphanage.

The monument was reportedly taken down just a day after being unveiled in the late Saddam Hussein's home town.

The head of the Childhood organisation, which owns the orphanage, said she had been told to remove the monument immediately by the Salaheddin Provincial Joint Coordination Centre.

When the sculpture was unveiled, artist Laith al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a "source of pride for all Iraqis".




Karen. ;)

Obama plans Guantanamo closure.

Despite skepticism from the Bush administration, the Obama administration have named the closure of Guantanamo Bay as a 'main priority' of the new President. Some detainees will be released while other will be trialed in the US and therefore will receive constitutional rights and an open trial.

As many os the sensitive cases will require a new legal system to be set up due to the informationg being handled in the case the plans made by the Obama administration have been critisised by both parties. Republicans are not in favour of bringing terrorism suspects into the U.S. and Democrats are opposed to the creation of a new legal system.

President Obama and the US department of defence have also called for a temporary suspension to military trials.




Shauneen.

Inauguration 2009

Today marks the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama.

News can be streamed live and a live commentary from the BBC can be found here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/obama_inauguration/7837927.stm

Although many Americans and people worldwide will be celebrating today, the Obama presidency will be watched very closely for signs of change, the trademark promise.
Many have extremely high hopes for Obama, especially with regards to foreign policy. Will this Presidency mark the end of the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? The closure of Guantanamo?

"A lot of people expect a lot of things from President Obama, but Amnesty doesn’t expect the impossible. The next 100 days offers the opportunity to make a clean break with the past. By closing Guantánamo, ending torture and setting up an independent investigation into US ‘war on terror’ abuses, President Obama can make concrete human rights reforms a reality."

View a video for the Amnesty '100 Days' campaign - a checklist for Obama during his first 100 days in office at: http://www.protectthehuman.com/videos/100-days-3

Taking the words of the man into consideration, we hope that it truly is time for change.





Shauneen.

woo

thank you shauneen, it seems we're the only people blogging! :D lmao! i will blog if i hear/see anything interesting
________________________________________________________
a victim of the hospital that was bombed :(

Follow Up

" The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip has followed Israel's lead and agreed to a ceasefire. The announcement followed a fresh round of violence. At least 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed in the three-week conflict.

Sixteen hours after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas followed suit. Speaking in Damascus, Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk announced that armed Palestinian groups would observe the truce, on condition that Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza in a week.

Earlier, Hamas had rejected Israel's cease-fire declaration because Israeli forces remained in Gaza. The group responded by firing more than 20 rockets at Israel. The Israeli air force, in turn, targeted rocket-launching sites.

Israel declared the truce Saturday, saying it had dealt a severe blow to Hamas and accomplished its goals. At the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the ceasefire is fragile. Mr. Olmert said the army will respond to any Palestinian attacks, and Israel will test the ceasefire as he put it, "minute by minute, and hour by hour."

Egypt is continuing efforts to hammer out a ceasefire agreement that will be acceptable to both sides. Israel is demanding a halt to Hamas rocket attacks and weapons smuggling from Egypt, and Hamas is demanding that Israel lift its crippling blockade on Gaza "

[http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-18-voa8.cfm]


Shauneen.

Israel calls a unilateral cease fire

Although a unilateral cease-fire has been called as of 2AM on Sunday the tensions between Gaza and Israel are still at a dangerous level. Mere hours later rockets were fired into southern Israel claiming no victims and shortly afterward an airstrike was reported in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun which wounded a woman and her child.

'[UN Chief] Ban [Ki-moon] welcomed the Israeli move and called on Hamas to stop its rocket fire. "Urgent humanitarian access for the people of Gaza is the immediate priority," he said, declaring that "the United Nations is ready to act." '

"Israel apparently reasons that the two-phase truce would give it ammunition against its international critics: Should Hamas continue to attack, then Israel would be able to resume its offensive after having tried to end it. It was not immediately clear how many rockets would have to fall to provoke an Israeli military response.

Hamas, which rejects Israel's existence, violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007, provoking a harsh Israeli blockade that has deepened the destitution in the territory of 1.4 million Palestinians. The Israeli war did not loosen Hamas' grip on Gaza, and the group vowed that a unilateral cease-fire was not enough to end the Islamic movement's resistance.

"The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our land and lift his blockade and open all crossings and we will not accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price that it costs," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

More moderate Palestinians also reacted with skepticism to Israel's two-phase truce and called on world leaders attending the Egypt summit to press Israel to pull out its troops immediately.

"This is an important and necessary event but it's insufficient," said Abbas, Hamas' bitter rival and the top leader in the West Bank, the larger of the two Palestinian territories. "There should be a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a lifting of the siege and a reopening of crossings" to aid, he said. "

[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8279971]

So still no withdrawal of troops from Gaza, meaning a continuation of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Cease-fire possibly being thrown up in the air due to further attacks on Israel by Hamas.



Shauneen.

Gaza Action

right so basically we're all having an action for humanatarian aid etc in Gaza on the 7th of febuary. I proposed the idea of everyone to type up a (small) paragraph on a particular issue/fact whatever that has affected you and for you to write your name at the bottom of it. then print it out and we'll stick it (with pins shauneen :P) on the noticeboard at our action! if anyone would like to start a Gaza thread, maybe that would be helpful for people to learn a bit about it & get some ideas? also hola to our new "chairperson" Shauneen, "deputy.chair" Ben and secretary Aisling!

patsy x