H.A.S: 2013-08-18

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Czech anti-Roma protests end in arrests

Far-right activists in Plzen. 24 Aug 2013

About 400 far-right activists marched through the city of Plzen

Hundreds of far-right activists have staged anti-Roma marches in towns and cities across the Czech Republic.

In some areas, stones were thrown at police who responded with tear gas. At least 75 arrests were made.
Amnesty International expressed concern earlier this month over the planned marches, urging officials to protect the Roma community.
The Roma are among the poorest people in Czech society and Roma leaders often complain of endemic discrimination.
The worst clashes during Saturday's seven rallies took place in Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice, Radio Prague reported.
In both cities, the marchers left the approved route and tried to reach areas with large Roma populations.

Counter demonstration in Plzen. 24 Aug 2013

The rallies drew counter-demonstrations, like this one in Plzen

In Ostrava, around 600 protesters pelted police with stones and at least 60 people were detained.
In the city of Plzen about 400 people took part in an anti-Romany march and about 15 arrests were made, local media reported.
Human rights activists staged counter-demonstrations in several cities including the capital Prague.
Earlier this month, Amnesty International warned that anti-Roma feeling in the Czech republic was getting worse.
"We have seen a deeply worrying trend over the past year with entrenched discrimination against Roma reaching new heights. This is a fundamental issue that the Czech authorities can't ignore," said Amnesty International's John Dalhuisen.
In 2010, four right-wing extremists were jailed for an arson attack on a Roma family in Vitkov in which a child was severely burned.
The Czech Republic has a Roma population estimated at between 250,000 and 300,000.

Firefighters battle California blaze at Yosemite boundary

A bulldozer puts in a fire line as the Rim Fire burns in the background near the border of Yosemite National Park, California, 23 August 2013.

Only 5% of the fire has been contained, officials say

Firefighters in California are struggling to gain control of a huge wildfire which has reached the edge of Yosemite National Park.

Known as the Rim Fire, it covers an area of nearly 200 sq miles (500 sq km) and threatens a major reservoir serving San Francisco.
More than 5,000 homes are endangered by the blaze, which began on 17 August in the Stanislaus National Forest.
The fire is now 5% contained, officials say, up from 2% on Friday.
More than 2,700 firefighters are tackling the flames in difficult terrain.
A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Daniel Berlant, said the fire was the 16th-largest on record in California.
"We are making progress but unfortunately the steep terrain definitely has posed a major challenge," he said.
Evacuations, some voluntary and some mandatory, are taking place. Despite the threat to thousands of homes, only a few have been destroyed.
Tourist area California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Francisco 150 miles away as the blaze is threatening power lines that bring electricity to the city.
The city's water supplies could be affected if the blaze reaches Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies San Francisco with 85% of its water. The fire is burning some four miles (6.4km) away from the reservoir which serves some 2.6 million customers.
Two of three hydroelectric power stations serving the city were shut down.
The blaze, which continued for a week on the edges of Yosemite, reached the park's backcountry at Lake Eleanor on Friday. But it remains some 20 miles away from Yosemite's main tourist area.

Kayla Stanton (r) and Preston Holley (l) pack up belongings for friends as the Rim Fire threatens the small town of Tuolumne, California 23 August 2013

More than 5,000 homes are threatened by the fire and evacuations are under way

The park authorities say they have no plans to close as most of Yosemite, which hosts up to 15,000 visitors a day in the summer, is unaffected by the fire.

Areas on the north-western edge of the park, including that round the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and Lake Eleanor, have been closed throughout the week.
A stretch of motorway, Highway 120, which is one of three entrances to the west side of the park, remains closed. Visitors are being urged to use alternative routes from the west.
The "Rim" fire is one of 50 major wildfires burning in the western US. Lack of rain and snow have made it a bad year, with 5,700 fires being tackled so far.
The 'Beaver Creek' fire in Idaho has destroyed some 45,000 hectares near the ski resort of Sun Valley.
Meanwhile, five wildfires in Yellowstone National Park have scorched about 18 square miles of mostly remote areas.

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Colombian soldiers killed in ambush in Arauca province

Gen Jorge Enrique Mora Rangel (left), Luis Carlos Villegas, and Gen Oscar Naranjo in Havana, Cuba on 23 August 2013

The government's negotiating team is due to resume talks with the Farc on Monday

At least 13 Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by Farc left-wing rebels in the east of the country, the army says.

Last month, 15 soldiers were killed by the rebel group in the same region.
Even though Farc rebels and the government are holding peace talks in Cuba, both sides are continuing to target each other militarily.
On Friday the Farc announced a "pause" in the talks and the government later withdrew its team of negotiators.
However, the talks are expected to resume soon.
Saturday's attack occurred in the eastern province of Arauca.
A statement by the Colombian army command said: "After a terrorist action by the Farc, two non-commissioned officers and 11 soldiers were killed and another one injured."
As news of the attack became public, the government's chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said President Juan Manuel Santos had instructed his team to return to the negotiating table.
The Farc announced a "pause" in order to study a proposal that any peace deal must be put to a referendum.
The talks began last November, and the Farc's move was the first time either side had broken off negotiations other than for planned recesses.
The latest round was focusing on the eventual participation of the rebels in Colombian politics.
So far, the two sides have reached agreement on land reform, the first of six points on their agenda.
A recent study by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory suggested 220,000 people have died as a result of the five decades of conflict.

Bolivia prison riot death toll rises

A woman reads a newspaper in front of Palmasola jail on Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on 24 August 2013

Relatives are still waiting for a list of those killed in Friday's riot

The number of people killed as a result of a riot at a prison in eastern Bolivia on Friday has risen to 31.

Another 37 inmates were seriously injured when fighting broke out between rival gangs inside the jail.
Most of the victims burned to death after inmates blew up two propane tanks and used others as flamethrowers.
Among those killed is an 18-month-old toddler, one of the many children living in the prison with its incarcerated parents.
Inferno Under Bolivian law, children under six years of age can stay in jail with their parents if there is no other relative to look after them.
The authorities have so far not released a list of those who died in the riot at Palmasola prison outside the city of Santa Cruz. Palmasola is Bolivia's largest jail.
Relatives and friends of inmates have been waiting outside the prison for news. The latest victim died on Saturday of burns sustained during the riot.
Interior Minister Carlos Romero said the violence started when inmates in one cell block knocked a hole in the wall separating them from another block.
They then attacked their rivals with propane gas tanks, machetes, knives and sticks.
The fire spread quickly as straw mattresses were set alight. Guards took several hours to put out the fire and regain control of the prison.
Some prisoners jumped off the roof to escape the flames.
President Evo Morales has ordered an investigation into the incident