Daily Archives: August 1, 2013

Russian lawmaker admits any gay athletes or spectators at the 2014 Winter Olympics will be arrested for ‘promoting homosexuality’

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The Russian parliament issued a ban on spreading gay 'propaganda'Openly gay athletes and supporters at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games may face arrest, according to a Russian lawmaker.

Politician Vitaly Milonov said the terms of the law could not be suspended or selectively enforced during the Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) previously claimed Russia had assured the safety of athletes and supporters.

The IOC told the Windy City Times earlier this month: ‘The International Olympic Committee is clear that sport is a human right and should be available to all regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation.

The Games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and of course athletes.

‘We would oppose in the strongest terms any move that would jeopardise this principle.’

The controversial ‘gay propaganda’ law bans displays of ‘non-traditional sexual behaviour’ in public or in front of under-18s.

The law allows the government to detain homosexual or sympathetic foreigners for up to 14 days.

They could then face expulsion from the country.

 

Cuba: 7 Dead After Drinking Illicit Methyl Alcohol

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AlcoholCuban state television says at least seven people have died of poisoning after consuming methyl alcohol and 41 others remain hospitalized.

A Health Ministry report read out on the afternoon news says numerous people began showing up at Havana emergency rooms Monday exhibiting symptoms of “serious poisoning.”

It was determined that they had consumed illegal methyl alcohol, also called methanol or “wood alcohol,” which is used in labs and research centers. Methanol is highly toxic for humans and can result in death or permanent health problems, including blindness.

The health ministry said Wednesday that the victims bought the deadly booze from a black-market merchant who procured it from two pharmaceutical employees.

Eight of the 41 people hospitalized are in serious condition.

 

Spread-eagled against the wall and marched off single-file: How Russia deals with illegal immigrants

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Immigration officers and police yesterday raided Tyoply Stan market in Moscow looking for illegal immigrants4Captured and humiliated, these pictures show how Russia is cracking down on its illegal immigrants.

Police officers raided Moscow’s Tyoply Stan market yesterday to detain dozens of suspected illegal immigrants.

Russian authorities are currently holding a number of large scale operations to identify those staying in the country illegally so they can be expelled.

After rounding up the men, the police and immigration officers then displayed their no-nonsense approach in front of the cameras.

The men were spreadeagled against a large police bus, with their clothing searched by a police officer.

Others were made to wait, standing with their hands behind their necks as officers looked on.

Eventually, when they were all processed, they were frog-marched single-file onto the bus, each made to hold onto the man in front’s shoulders.
It is believed that out of 11 million migrants currently living in Russia, four million do so illegally.

Speaking at the beginning of this month, Dmitry Demidenko, from Russian Federal Migration Service, said:

‘As of June 28, 2013, 11,193,289 immigrants are living in Russia. And 3.76 million out of the whole number live here illegally.

‘We are searching for them and expel from the country as we find them.’

 

UK ‘Open’ to Better Relations With Iran

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William HagueForeign Secretary William Hague says Britain is open to better relations with Iran on a “step-by-step” basis and he is willing to meet with Tehran’s foreign minister.

The Foreign Office says Hague stressed the need for “urgent progress” to resolve the West’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program in a phone call with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

It said Thursday that Hague “made clear that the U.K. was open to improvements in the bilateral relationship with Iran, on a step-by-step and reciprocal basis” and is willing to meet in New York in September during the United Nations General Assembly.

The call comes after Hasan Rouhani won Iran’s June 14 presidential election.

Rouhani has pledged to follow a “path of moderation,” reviving hopes for easing tensions with the West.