Police evict indigenous Easter Island protesters from luxury hotel
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Police on Chile’s Easter Island raided the grounds of a luxury hotel Sunday to evict the last of dozens of indigenous protesters battling for ancestral lands and a larger share of profits from the tourists who come to see the Pacific Island’s famed, mysterious statues of giant heads.
A Rapa Nui clan’s claims to the land under the new, $800-a-night Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa have won support from international human rights agencies.
Protest held near Berlusconi’s villa near Milan, resignation demanded
MILAN (AP) — Critics of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi staged a protest Sunday near his Milan villa, some wearing masks of the leader while others shouted slogans against him. A small group scuffled with police.
Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion he had sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and used his office to cover it up. He denies wrongdoing. Prosecutors have focused on Berlusconi’s villa in Arcore, just outside Milan, where he reportedly throws wild parties with young women.
Egypt VP meets opposition, offers press freedom, other concessions
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s vice president reached out to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups Sunday as part of a new offer of sweeping concessions including press freedom and an eventual end to hated emergency laws that have been in place for decades, the latest attempt to try to calm an anti-government upheaval.
The protesters, skeptical the government will keep any promises to reform, said they will maintain their pressure.
Youngstown State fraternity house shooting kills 1, injures 11
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Police say they’re searching for two suspects in a shooting at an Ohio fraternity house that killed one student and injured 11 people, including six students, just north of the Youngstown State University campus. Youngstown police Chief Jimmy Hughes says the suspected gunmen were involved in a dispute at a party before the shooting early Sunday. He says the pair left, then returned and began firing outside the house, which was crowded with 50 or more people, some as young as 17.
Rocket for national defense launches from California coast
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A rocket carrying a national security payload was successfully launched Sunday from a base on California’s central coast, Air Force officials said.
The Minotaur 1 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:26 a.m. amid clear skies, said Col. Richard Boltz, 30th Space Wing commander and the mission’s leader. The launch, which was scheduled for Saturday, had been delayed by a day because of power problems with the rocket’s safety equipment.
About 150 demonstrators in New Orleans back Mubarak’s ouster
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About 150 people demanding the immediate ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak demonstrated outside the New Orleans federal building Saturday, saying Mubarak’s departure from power is long overdue.
Waving signs and Egyptian flags and chanting “get up, stand up, stand up for your rights,” the peaceful protest — watched by courthouse security officers and curious bystanders — took place in a cold wind as thousands continued their often-violent protest in Cairo.
“That’s a drop in the bucket,” said Egypt native Reda Bakee.
Homeless health polled for help in housing and identification
(AP) — The state of Louisiana has been going into urban areas to first identify homeless people with serious health issues and then focus on finding housing for them.
Randy Nichols, executive director of the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless, told The Advocate that although Georgia is looking at participating as well, it appears Louisiana would become the first state to complete the survey.
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