New year madness : AOL Video feed

Talented jazz musician dies

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 06:26:41 -0500

Jazz fans and Canadians both home and abroad are mourning the death of Oscar Peterson, the virtuoso known globally as one of the most talented musicians ever to play jazz piano. Peterson died Sunday night at his home in Mississauga, Ont., from kidney failure. He was 82. "The world has lost the world's greatest jazz player," Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga and Peterson's friend, told CBC News on Monday afternoon. Renowned for his speed and virtuosity as a pianist, Peterson - who was born in Montreal and later made Toronto his home - made hundreds of recordings in his career, even after a stroke in 1993 disabled his left hand. "What he was able to achieve [after his stroke], playing with half of what most other pianists had, he was still light years ahead of every one else," said jazz broadcaster Ross Porter. Liberal politician and former Ontario premier Bob Rae said he "worshipped" Peterson as a musician and a fan, and hailed the pianist for his achievements. "The young Oscar was without question the greatest piano player of his time ... the greatest piano player player of jazz," Rae said, praising Peterson for "the dexterity of his right hand, the stride, the power of his left." "As he got older, the depth of his humanity came out in his compositions," added Rae. Over the years, Peterson's recording and performing partners included such stars as Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole and Stan Getz. Some of Peterson's most legendary works came after he teamed up to form the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1953. The trio created such classic recordings as 1955's At Zardis, 1956's At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival and 1957's At Concertgebouw. Lived for music's 'moments of great beauty' He formed another classic piano-guitar-bass trio in the 1970s with guitarist Joe Pass and Danish-born bassist Niels Pedersen. Peterson revelled in the kind of improvisation he could pe...

Eritrea-Djibouti war looms

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:47:13 -0400

Yet another crisis is looming in the Horn of Africa. It’s already the scene of fighting in Somalia, age-old violence and rifts, clan battles, warlords, Islamists sweeping into the region and of late, Al-Qa’ida. Now once again it appears two of the coastal nations, Eritrea and Djibouti, are on the verge of war. Our reporter in the region tells us that the two are eyeing a possible confrontation over a border dispute that’s run on for many years. There have already been clashes in recent months, skirmishes have led to casualties but now both sides are talking up the possibility of an all-out fight. While the International community is trying to persuade both sides not to get involved in any military confrontation, it’s clear that the West will support Djibouti if there is any battle with Eritrea. The Eritrean regime is described by many countries as being oppressive and dictatorial with many reports of people being forced to serve in its army. In fact, its army is one of the largest in the world, even though it’s only a small country. The level of support in the international community for Djibouti can be seen in the military presence there of both France and the United States. There are around 3,000 French troops in Djibouti and more than 1,000 from the United States. The American troops are not only involved in training local forces but a variety of activities throughout the Horn of Africa, including of late targeting what they believe are Al-Qa’ida operatives in the region. For its part Eritrea is involved in a variety of military operations, most notable with another of its neighbors, Ethiopia. Skirmishes continue between them to this day. At the same time the Ethiopians are fighting in Somalia alongside the Western-backed government there, whilst the Eritreans are supporting the Islamist rebels in Somalia.

South Asian Newsline Update

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:22:21 -0500

SAN-EPISODE # 2836 DATED 26 NOVEMBER 2008 WELCOME TO SOUTH ASIA NEWS LINE. I AM ARJUN CHAUDHURI WITH THE DAY’S NEWS….. THE TOP STORIES … HEADLINES PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN NEW DELHI…. REITERATES RESOLVE TO IMPROVE BILATERAL TIES 500,000 INDIAN TEXTILE WORKERS MAY LOSE JOBS IN THE NEXT FIVE MONTHS AND……CYCLONE NISHA TO HIT SOUTHERN COAST OF INDIA TONIGHT… THOUSANDS EVACUATED PTC 1: NOW THE NEWS IN DETAIL…… NEW DELHI AND ISLAMABAD ARE SEEKING TO ADVANCE THEIR FOUR YEAR OLD PEACE PROCESS AS PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTER SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI HOLD TALKS WITH HIS INDIAN COUNTERPART PRANAB MUKHERJEE IN NEW DELHI. VO1: Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi and Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee held discussions on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues including Kashmir. Earlier, on arriving in the capital, Qureshi said his visit will help bridge the trust deficit that exists between the two nations and aimed for more “confidence-building measures,” through sports and greater people to people contacts. UPSOUND/ SHAH MEHMOOD QURESHI Foreign Minister, Pakistan TRANSCRIPTION: We are here to build bridges, am here with the positive note. Indian (Cricket) Team is welcome to Pakistan, Indian are welcome to Pakistan, our doors are open and we want more people to people contact to enhance. VO3: The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors have been seeking to improve ties since 2004, after they came close to fighting a fourth war the previous year. This is the first high-level meeting between the two sides since September this year when India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Asif Ali Zardari met each other on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. PTC 2: BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE TO INDIA, QURESHI ALSO MET BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND IN ISLAMABAD. MILIBAND WHO ARRIVED FROM AFGHANISTAN WELCOMED THE "REFORMING ZEAL" OF PAKISTAN'S CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT AND SAID IT WAS TURNING THE COUN...

CSIS Human Rights Controversy

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:59:18 -0400

CSIS ignored human-rights concerns and did not take Omar Khadr’s age into account in deciding to interview him at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay prison, says a report from the independent committee that oversees the spy agency. - The Toronto-born Khadr, now 22, is being held at the U.S. detention centre in Cuba for allegedly throwing a grenade in Afghanistan when he was 15, killing an American soldier. He is the only Western citizen still detained at Guantanamo. - A report from the security intelligence review committee (SIRC), released Wednesday in Ottawa, said documents also show Khadr's U.S. captors threatened him with rape, kept him alone and would not let him sleep. Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers questioned Khadr at Guantanamo Bay in 2003 and shared the results of their interrogations with the Americans. - However, the report did not find that CSIS was complicit in Khadr's alleged torture at the hands of U.S. interrogators. - The committee recommended that CSIS take human-rights issues into consideration in future probes and also establish a policy framework to guide its dealings with young people. - "As part of this, the service should ensure that such interactions are guided by the same principles that are entrenched in Canadian and international law," the SIRC report said. CSIS reviewing report - CSIS "will give careful consideration to [the report's] findings and recommendations," the agency said in a statement. - "CSIS has had to adapt to the more recent phenomenon of youth radicalization and will consider SIRC's findings as it continues to assess how it deals with this threat." - Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said, "We are reviewing the report with interest. As you know, it deals with events that took place under the previous Liberal government." - Since the Conservatives came to power, they have implemented a new CSIS protocol for deali...

Financier Earl Jones Surrenders

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:30:28 -0400

Missing financial adviser Earl Jones turned himself in to Quebec provincial police on Monday, weeks after provincial securities regulators said he was suspected of bilking clients out of as much as $50 million. - He had been sought since early July, when Quebec’s financial watchdog, L'Autorité des marchés financiers, put a freeze on the assets of Jones' small Montreal-based investment firm. - Jones, 67, was led out of his lawyer's office in downtown Montreal just after 1 p.m. Monday, accompanied by his lawyer, Jeffrey Boro. Boro declined to make any comment. - Jones is expected to appear in court in Montreal on Tuesday on what Boro said would be fraud and theft charges. The allegations against Jones have not been proved in court. - Boro told CBC News last week that he had been in constant contact with both Jones and the police, saying Jones was a "very depressed individual … dealing with an awful situation." - He said that Jones was willing to meet with police after they finished reviewing his finances. At that time, Boro wouldn't disclose exactly where Jones was, only that he was not with his wife. - The news that Jones had turned himself in delighted Cherie Beluse, the mother of one of Jones's investors. - "Oh, this is so good," Beluse said. "I didn't think it was going to happen this quickly — hoping against hope that it would happen in the next few days. But, I gotta tell ya, I'm elated at this point." Others, including Ginny Nelles, were also happy. - "That betrayal is so painful," said Nelles, whose family were investors and friends of Jones. "It's so deep. It keeps you up at night." - Christiane Jackson said she wants him to spend the rest of his life in jail. - "I'm sorry but that's the way I feel because we are going to spend the rest of our life suffering with nothing left." - In early July, the provincial financial watchdog alleged that based...

South Africa peace march

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:05:02 -0400

Hundred of South Africans including crime victims turned up at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday (June 10), to march against crime in their country. The march dubbed Million Man March was organised by Actor Desmond Dube, after his neighbour was killed in a hijacking earlier this year. "There is nothing one can do, if our leaders are shutting us out," said Dube. Friends and relatives of actor and musician Mhoto Siluma who was shot on Monday also joined the Million Man March. The performer - known as "Tiny" who starred in TV commercials was shot dead outside his flat in the Johannesburg CBD. A memorandum was handed to officials from the president's office. "We say to the President, the people are ready, safety and security is our collective responsibility, particularly at this time when are preparing to welcome to our shores the citizens of the world in 2010. We call on our government to act responsibly and with integrity when confronting issues relating to crime," said Radio Personality Kriselda Kananda in a memorandum. Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour accepted the memorandum and thanked around 5 000 people who joined the Million Man March for working with the government in the fight against crime. Balfour was joined at the march by Local Government Minister Sydney Mufumadi and Public Services Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moloketi. They accepted a memorandum on behalf of government outside the union buildings in Pretoria. "We really do need to take s and against crime, because it's affecting everyone, in some way or another, so that is why we are here, and we are saying enough is enough," said matric (senior year) student Buyisiwe Dlamini. "If we don't all come together, nothing is gonna happen, so we can't complain by standard behaviour, it's not acceptable, we need to do something," added another student Natalie Morris who also took part in the march.

Al Qaeda Kidnaps Westerners

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:29:39 -0500

Al Qaeda’s wing in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of a Canadian U.N. envoy and his aide and four Western tourists in West Africa since December, Al Jazeera television said on Tuesday (February 17). The claim by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb appeared to confirm suspicions by officials in Niger and Mali, who had blamed the group for the kidnappings in December and January. Niger's President Mamadou Tandja said last month investigations indicated "terrorists" had kidnapped Canadian U.N. envoy Robert Fowler and his aide Louis Guay who went missing in the country in December. A senior Malian military source involved in the investigation of the kidnapping of the four tourists in northern Mali said the Maghreb Qaeda was most likely holding them. Malian officials initially blamed Tuareg rebels for abducting the two Swiss nationals, one German and one Briton near Mali's border with Niger in January. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has claimed a series of attacks in the region in recent years, including the kidnapping last year of two Austrian tourists abducted in Tunisia who were later freed in Mali.

Ukraine fountain protest

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:05:04 -0400

Students in Ukraine have stripped off for a sexy protest against having their hot water switched off. Dozens of girls plunged into a fountain in Kiev's Independence Square on Sunday (June 8) for a wet T-shirt demonstration which they called "Students protest - There is no hot water in the taps, so let's bathe in the square!" Equipped with soap and sponges, many stripped down to their bikinis or underwear drawing a large crowd of onlookers. "We hope that our protest "If there is no water in the taps, let's bathe on the square" will attract the attention of the authorities and something will be changed. We do hope there will be a change," said Viktoria Bilega, activist of the students feminine organisation "Femen". Every year domestic hot water supplies are still cut off in many cities in Ukraine and other post-Soviet states. It is often switched off for a month during the summer to carry out maintenance work on the pipes. The girls said they wanted to attract the authorities' attention to the poor timing of the switch-off, which has coincided with their university exams.