Obligatory Donations
UKIP NEED THEIR MEMBERS TO GET THEM OUT OF DEBT
The party are forcing their MEPs to donate at least £50,000
UKIP campaigning in the Isle of Wight (Photo via)
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According to a charter that’s being drawn up before May’s European elections, every Ukip MEP will have to donate at least £50,000 to the party.
The order – which instructs its MEPs to pay the donation over their five-year terms in Brussels – is a reaction to the fact that a £6 million donation has not come through, and the party will now be left with huge debts after May’s elections.
MEPs are paid around £80,000 a year and are eligible for annual allowances of around £320,000; Labour are accusing Ukip of using the charter to inappropriately divert EU taxpayers’ money to keep the party going.
A Ukip spokesman said the MEPs’ charter was being discussed by the party’s national executive committee and hadn’t yet been finalised.
In other Ukip news, leader Nigel Farage vowed to step down if the party fails to win any seats in the 2015 general election.
Troll Tests
NORTH KOREA SET OFF SOME MORE ROCKETS
Once again pissing off Seoul and Washington
A missile-themed merry-go-round in North Korea (Photo by Alex Hoban)
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South Korea’s defence ministry have accused North Korea of test-firing 10 rockets into the sea.
According to a ministry spokesman, the rockets were fired off the North’s eastern coast and flew about 40 miles into the Sea of Japan.
He said: “Following the North’s rocket launch […] our military has maintained a close watch for possible North Korean provocations.”
The tests coincided with the annual South Korean-US military exercises, which the North claim are rehearsals for an invasion, while the South and US maintain the training is purely defensive.
Either way, the tests were the latest in a series of missiles launched by North Korea over the past few years, and the latest to provoke a negative response from both the US and South Korea.
Sectarian Murders
NIGERIAN GUNMEN KILLED OVER 100 PEOPLE
Three villages were targeted in the religious and ethnically-motivated attacks
Malian Fulani people, from the same ethnic group as those accused of the shootings in Nigeria (Photo via)
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Gunmen killed over 100 people in an attack on three villages in central Nigeria.
Police confirmed the raids by Fulani herdsmen in Kaduna state, a region with a history of violence based on disputes over land, religion and ethnicity.
Clashes between the mostly Muslim, cattle-herding Fulani people and the majority Christian settled population have killed hundreds over the past year.
In December, Human Rights Watch accused the Nigerian authorities of largely ignoring the violence, which has reportedly claimed 3,000 lives since 2010, but they denied the charge.
Deceased Dissidents
THE US ARE “DEEPLY CONCERNED” BY THE DEATH OF A CHINESE ACTIVIST
Cao Shunli’s was reportedly denied medical treatment for months
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The US is “deeply disturbed” by the death of prominent Chinese human rights activist, Cao Shunli.
Shunli – who suffered from tuberculosis, liver disease and other ailments – was detained last September for staging sit-ins outside China’s foreign ministry, and was reportedly denied medical parole until she was seriously ill.
According to one of her lawyers, she died in the Beijing hospital she was eventually admitted to.
US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said, “We continue to be concerned about the human rights situation in China and will continue to urge Chinese authorities to guarantee all Chinese citizens the protections and freedoms to which they are entitled under China’s international human rights commitments.”
Important Injustices
TESCO REFUSED TO SELL TEASPOONS TO A 16-YEAR-OLD
Liam Whelan was left “stunned” and “embarrassed”
(Photo via the Manchester Evening News)
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Tesco refused to sell teenager Liam Whelan a packet of teaspoons because he wasn’t 18.
The 16-year-old said that, after scanning the packet at a self-service station, an attendant came over to help; Liam showed the man his moped licence, but was told he needed to be 18.
“It was embarrassing enough buying teaspoons, but to get refused was even worse,” said Liam.
Tesco say they ask their employees to use their judgement as to whether proof of age is needed on a case-by-case basis.
“In this instance, [judgement] was not followed,” said a spokesperson.
