NYMHM: the Palestinians; biotech plants; crowded prisons Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 17:14:04 -0700 We value your feedback on the new NYMHM and newsletter format: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=363873673890 ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * May 9, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 19 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004268.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "The Syrians are saying that we have 450,000 Palestinians already, since 1948 and 1967, and that is enough." -- U.N. spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes (see "The Palestinians," below) CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Iraqi Sunnis have a new enemy: Al Qaeda Sharia law imposed on Nigeria school dress codes India welcomes illegal toxic waste *Crime & Punishment* Packed into prisons, with no relief in sight *Genetic Engineering* Biotech plants, and controversy, take root *The Palestinians* There's no place like home ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Iraqi Sunnis Have a New Enemy: Al Qaeda Following ongoing violence against civilians, Sunni tribes in the Anbar province of Iraq are joining forces to combat al Qaeda militants, re-open local courts and boost political participation. This includes forming a new political party, called Iraq Awakening, which has its first convention this month. The Sunni alliance, which includes former insurgents, also formed the Salvation Council, which uses U.S. funds to train soldiers and rebuild medical centers and schools. But resentment over U.S. forces presence in Iraq may undermine the alliance long-term. > Sharia Law Imposed on Nigeria School Dress Code All 2,000 private schools in the Nigerian state of Kano must now enforce a strict Islamic uniform whether students are Muslim or Christian, according to authorities tasked with imposing Sharia law. All state schools in Nigeria already use the Islamic dress code. > India a Target For Japan's Toxic Trash India has illegally imported thousands of tons of hazardous chemicals from Japan, including DDT and PCBs, for "recycling," the Indo-Asian News Service reports. Now activists say a new trade pact, negotiated in secret, will bring even more Japanese waste and medical refuse into India's shipyards, despite laws prohibiting such imports. Sources: "Sunni join forces against Al-Qaeda" Institute for War & Peace Reporting, May 4, 2007 http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=335327&apc_state=henh "Nigerian province extends Islamic dress code to all schools" Agence France-Presse, May 5, 2007 http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Rest+of+the+World&month=May2007&file=World_News2007050585132.xml "Treaty with Japan may legalize dumping toxic waste in India" Indo-Asian News Service, May 8, 2007 http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070508/50677.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRIME & PUNISHMENT ............................................................................. > Packed Into Prisons, With No Relief in Sight Crowded jails from the Mexican border to North Carolina have prisoners packed into cells, sleeping in day rooms and struggling with overflowing sewers and waste water. There's plenty of money in Arizona for boosted border patrols, which capture more illegal immigrants who are then charged with felonies. But the Christian Science Monitor reports that funding is in short supply for ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004270.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- GENETIC ENGINEERING ............................................................................. > Biotech Plants, and Controversy, Take Root The United States, Canada and Europe are grappling with standards for genetically modified plants, which promise economic and health benefits along with irreversible ecological damage. In San Francisco, a federal judge issued the first-ever ban on growing Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa after tests showed it was contaminating non-genetically engineered crops -- something FDA officials did not consider when ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004271.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PALESTINIANS ............................................................................. > There's No Place Like Home Underfunded, living in illegal camps and turned away from Arab and Israeli borders -- the lot of the Palestinian grows ever more dire. In the Palestinian territories, a Western aid boycott against the Hamas government has led to a strike last week by tens of thousands of government workers who haven't GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004272.html ============================================================================= Editors: Julia Scott, Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 ............................................................................. News You Might Have Missed and Newsdesk.org are free services of Independent Arts & Media: http://artsandmedia.net/ ............................................................................. E-mail list powered by Group D Communications: http://www.groupd.com/ ............................................................................. DISCLAIMER: All external links are provided as informational resources only, consistent with the nonprofit, public-interest mission of Independent Arts & Media. Independent Arts & Media does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations and does not have a copyright on any of the content located at these sites. ============================================================================= _______________________________________________ NYMHM mailing list NYMHM@lists.artsandmedia.net http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm Manage your subscription: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/options/nymhm