AFM patrol boat seizes Italian trawler in Maltese fishing zone

AFM patrol boat seizes Italian trawler in Maltese fishing zone

An AFM patrol boat late yesterday seized an Italian fishing boat allegedly found fishing illegally in the Maltese fishing zone. A number of other Italian boats cut their nets and headed out of the area as soon as the Maltese patrol boat arrived.

The incident took place after a report was received by the patrol boat about fishing on Hurd's Bank, south-east of Malta. The fishing boats were spotted by an AFM Islander aircraft.

The fishing boat Maria Salvatrice was intercepted some 19 miles off Delimara. AFM soldiers who boarded the vessel found boxes of fresh fish on board.

The fishing boat was escorted to Grand Harbour.

The incident is being widely reported on the Italian media, with the Mayor of the fishing village of Porto Palo claiming that the fishing boat was not conducting any illegal activity and was merely transiting the waters.

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Amazonian oil-fields?

Peru's military have been authorised to give support to the police
for 30 days in an escalating dispute over Amazon resources with
indigenous groups.

...their ancestral territories were being handed over to multinational companies without consultation.

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Congo-Kinshasa: Electronics Firms Urged to Boycott 'Blood Minerals'

The world's mass consumption of cell phones, laptops and other electronics fuels widespread sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a new study released Wednesday by the non-profit Enough Project that echoes what many human rights activists and humanitarian workers have been saying for years.

The paper, "Can You Hear Congo Now? Cell Phones, Conflict Minerals, and the Worst Sexual Violence in the World," details how "conflict minerals" that are mined in the war-torn DRC are sold by rebel groups to purchase arms, and serve as a direct cause of widespread sexual violence in the war-torn country.

Source:

"Congo-Kinshasa: Electronics Firms Urged to Boycott 'Blood Minerals'"
Inter Press Service, April 1, 2009

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New York: City of the Poor

By David A. Love

In the end, New York City provides a reality-based cautionary tale about the future of America, mired in poverty, about its priorities, what it has become and what it can become. This city that never sleeps, and other cities as well, will experience economic and social death without a vibrant middle class and viable opportunities to earn a living. more...

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The Hidden Link Between Factory Farms and Human Illness

Current methods of raising livestock are encouraging the development of new antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, including salmonella.

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Working flat out - the child labour behind your Egyptian cotton sheets

They work 10-hour shifts in 40C heat for 20 pence a day. Their job? Picking the cotton that makes the world's finest bed linen. Dan McDougall reports on the scandal of Egypt's child labourers

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Jewish Activists Shut Down Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES January 14, 2009 - Early this morning, Jewish activists in
a historic first in Los Angeles, chained themselves to the entrance of
the Israeli Consulate and blocked the driveway to the parking
structure, blocking all traffic in and out of the building. "We sent a
clear message to the world that LA Jews are part of the global majority
in opposition to the Israeli siege of Gaza," said Lenny Potash a
72-year old protester who was cuffed to eight other activists,

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Population: The elephant in the room: BBC Green Room

It's the great taboo of environmentalism: the size and growth of the human population.

It has a profound impact on all life on Earth, yet for decades it has been conspicuously absent from public debate.

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Leonard Peltier Beaten In Prison

We feel that prison authorities at the prompting of the FBI

orchestrated this attack and thus, we are greatly concerned about

his safety.

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