Search Results for “https:” – Page 850

Chinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

“At the farthest end of the Great Wall, Yang Yongfu limps along the section he arduously restored, in effect ‘privatising’ it and putting himself on a collision course with the authorities. The farmer spent five million yuan ($800,000) and years of backbreaking work renovating several hundred metres of the national symbol deep in northwestern China, turning it into a tourist site. He set up an entrance area for tourists, complete with a car park and fishpond, and his wife Tao Huiping collects the 25 yuan admittance fee at the ticket booth — a table in the open air. A 2006 law gave the government the exclusive right to manage national relics — making Yang’s project illegal.” Continue reading →

Chinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

Botched circumcisions during initiation ritual kill 30 in South Africa

“Botched circumcisions killed 30 young men and landed almost 300 more in hospital during traditional initiation rites in a South African province, the health department said Sunday. The 30 deaths in rural Eastern Cape province occurred during the annual season when young males undergo a rite of passage into manhood. Ten other youths were hospitalised after being rescued from a forest on Sunday. ‘The ten initiates’ private parts are rotten. They are badly damaged. Their condition is scary,’ said spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. A further 293 young men were undergoing hospital treatment for dehydration, gangrene and septic wounds. Some had lost their genitals.” Continue reading →

Libyans demand end to violence of rebel militias from 2011 regime change

“Prime Minister Ali Zeidan spoke to reporters of the necessity ‘to dissolve the brigades and other formations (of ex-rebels who battled the late Moamer Kadhafi) and integrate them individually into the army and police’. ‘In future, no one will bear arms in Libya unless he is in the army or police and is subject to military law… which prevents the taking of political actions,’ he said. Libya’s authorities, who are struggling to form a professional army and police, regularly use former rebels to secure the borders or to intervene in tribal conflicts. The government has failed to disarm and disband the former rebel groups who implement the law in parts of the country.” Continue reading →

Here’s a New Way to Bet on China: Open a Renminbi Bank Account [2011]

“China’s economy is booming, and in the West, everyone from President Obama on down is demanding that the Chinese currency be allowed to rise in value. Now, it’s possible for small investors in the U.S. to capitalize on this opportunity. The Bank of China’s New York Branch announced this week that Americans will now be able to open FDIC-guaranteed accounts in the bank in a way that was never before permitted — by converting their deposits into the Chinese currency, known officially as the renminbi and colloquially as the yuan. According to the bank’s website, account owners can exchange as much as $4,000 worth of renminbi a day, up to a maximum of $20,000 a year.” Continue reading →

Thousands of protesters call for Yemen to be broken up

“Thousands of people rallied in south Yemen on Sunday’s 19th anniversary of the civil war that was won by the north to demand secession for the south. ‘No union and no federation — no to the occupation!’ the crowds chanted in the Hadramawt provincial capital of Mukalla. They waved the flag of the former South Yemen and portraits of Hassan Baoum, head of the Southern Movement’s supreme council. In a statement, the protest organisers reaffirmed their rejection of a UN-backed national dialogue under way in the capital Sanaa, which aims to draft a new constitution and prepare for elections in 2014, after a two-year transition led by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.” Continue reading →

Man faces charges after impersonating a cop with help from sheriff’s deputies

“Last fall, Brian Sean Jones got into uniform, strapped on his gun and a badge and got in an unmarked Maricopa County Sheriffs Office truck. He made four stops that evening: one for a teen caught speeding, one of a suspected prostitute and her customer, one for a car driving without its headlights on, and one woman suspected of DUI. There was just one problem: Brian Sean Jones was not a sheriff’s deputy. Jones utilized his position at a local car dealership to ingratiate himself with now-fired Chief Deputy David Hendershott to gain access to uniforms, other police equipment, cars, ride-alongs and even the badge he was carrying on the night he got caught by a Phoenix police officer.” Continue reading →

Wrongful conviction lawsuit alleges top New York prosecutor ‘rewarded misconduct’

“Prosecutor Michael Vecchione has denied each and every one of Rudin’s claims, and lawyers for the city have continued to insist that Collins is guilty. Vecchione was scheduled to be deposed by Rudin on Friday. However, Vecchione, who has been a principal character in CBS’ current series ‘Brooklyn DA,’ had asked to have the deposition postponed because he was busy on a case. Judge Levy, however, ordered that Vecchione be deposed no later than June 24.” Continue reading →