360º News: International & National briefs
National News
A second-year political science student at Western, Awish Aslam, was asked to leave a Conservative Party rally in London on Sunday, April 3. Aslam and her friend were asked to leave the rally by an RCMP officer because she apparently had ties to the Liberal Party. She said the only ties she has would be a picture taken of her with Michael Ignatieff at his London rally, which she had posted on Facebook. Aslam told CBC that since this is her first federal election, she wants to hear from each party, and also attended the NDP rally. Stephen Harper's team also denied students, who had registered in advance, entrance to his Guelph rally after hundreds of students held a positive "We're voting" demonstration. Both the Liberal and NDP parties are taking this opportunity to draw a comparison between the unnecessary background checks Harper is doing on his audience and his lack of background check on former senior advisor Bruce Carson, who has a criminal record.
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Three-year-old Adam Benhamama, an autistic boy, went missing on Sunday, April 3, in Laval, Quebec while he was playing outside. Police say it is likely he fell into the Mille-Iles River, which runs behind the house, he was visiting with his family. Police and rescue teams extensively searched the river for days hoping to find Benhamama, though given the cold temperatures, they are not optimistic about the situation.
International News
Egyptian film director Mohamed Diab released his film Cairo 678 with the hopes it would begin to change the situation of women in Egypt. The film tells the story of three fictional women from different backgrounds as they search for justice from daily sexual harassment. In 2008 the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights reported that 98 per cent of foreign women and 83 per cent of Egyptian women in the country had been sexually harassed.
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Michel Martelly has won the presidential election in Haiti. After originally losing to Mirlande Manigat and Jude Celestin, people took to the streets in protest, saying the election had been rigged. A review was conducted, and government- backed candidate Celestin was removed from the ballot. Martelly beat Manigat with 67.6 per cent of the vote.
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For Lent, 38-year-old Iowan J. Wilson will live on only water and beer, like Bavarian monks did hundreds of years ago. The beer is brewed at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Iowa. Wilson said he bulked up prior to beginning his fast, knowing that he would lose weight during the 46 days. He also has plenty of doctors visits planned for the duration. With the support of his wife and a boss who lets him keep a keg at work, Wilson sees no possibility of breaking his fast before Easter. You can check out his beer-fueled journey at his blog, brewvana.wordpress.com.
— compiled by Kirsten Rosenkrantz
A second-year political science student at Western, Awish Aslam, was asked to leave a Conservative Party rally in London on Sunday, April 3. Aslam and her friend were asked to leave the rally by an RCMP officer because she apparently had ties to the Liberal Party. She said the only ties she has would be a picture taken of her with Michael Ignatieff at his London rally, which she had posted on Facebook. Aslam told CBC that since this is her first federal election, she wants to hear from each party, and also attended the NDP rally. Stephen Harper's team also denied students, who had registered in advance, entrance to his Guelph rally after hundreds of students held a positive "We're voting" demonstration. Both the Liberal and NDP parties are taking this opportunity to draw a comparison between the unnecessary background checks Harper is doing on his audience and his lack of background check on former senior advisor Bruce Carson, who has a criminal record.
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Three-year-old Adam Benhamama, an autistic boy, went missing on Sunday, April 3, in Laval, Quebec while he was playing outside. Police say it is likely he fell into the Mille-Iles River, which runs behind the house, he was visiting with his family. Police and rescue teams extensively searched the river for days hoping to find Benhamama, though given the cold temperatures, they are not optimistic about the situation.
International News
Egyptian film director Mohamed Diab released his film Cairo 678 with the hopes it would begin to change the situation of women in Egypt. The film tells the story of three fictional women from different backgrounds as they search for justice from daily sexual harassment. In 2008 the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights reported that 98 per cent of foreign women and 83 per cent of Egyptian women in the country had been sexually harassed.
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Michel Martelly has won the presidential election in Haiti. After originally losing to Mirlande Manigat and Jude Celestin, people took to the streets in protest, saying the election had been rigged. A review was conducted, and government- backed candidate Celestin was removed from the ballot. Martelly beat Manigat with 67.6 per cent of the vote.
-----
For Lent, 38-year-old Iowan J. Wilson will live on only water and beer, like Bavarian monks did hundreds of years ago. The beer is brewed at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Iowa. Wilson said he bulked up prior to beginning his fast, knowing that he would lose weight during the 46 days. He also has plenty of doctors visits planned for the duration. With the support of his wife and a boss who lets him keep a keg at work, Wilson sees no possibility of breaking his fast before Easter. You can check out his beer-fueled journey at his blog, brewvana.wordpress.com.
— compiled by Kirsten Rosenkrantz
