Traffic circle man passes
Jozef Stawinoga was found dead inside of a traffic circle just outside of Wolverhampton, England last week. The man, who died in his tent home, had been revered by some Sikhs as a holy man. He had been living inside of the traffic circle for thirty years in solitude. The Polish man many called Fred had served in WWII as a SS German solider. A friend had speculated that the man had shut out society in order to severe himself from his old life. He had 6,000 friends on Facebook.
French child abductors
A France-based humanitarian organization, Zoe’s Ark, has been accused of child-smuggling by the Chad government. The agency was in Chad helping refugees of the Darfur crisis in Abeche, Chad– current home to 200,000 Sudanese refugees. The 16-person European group claimed they were taking the children to get medical care and were about to fly the children to France when apprehended. Chad’s president Idriss Deby had threatened a severe punishment and the group could face five to 20 years if found guilty.
Homelessness plan announced
Premier Ed Stelmach unveiled a plan to combat homelessness Mon., Oct. 29. Associate Minister of affordable Housing and Urban Development Yvonne Fritz will be the new Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness. Fritz will head up the new office in an effort to create 11,000 new affordable housing units within five years.
Israel cuts fuel to Palestine
Israel has limited supplies of petrol and diesel to Palestine Sun. Oct. 28 in what Israeli government officials have said was a response to Palestinian rocket attacks. Israel announced plans to cut electricity to Gaza Strip, but foreign powers and human rights groups have called the sanctions a collective punishment–illegal under international law–on the 1.5 million Palestinians that live inside Gaza. Gaza relies on Israel for more than half of its electricity and almost all its fuel. After the sanctions were labelled unacceptable by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon Israel have threatened attacks to dissuade Hamas. Israeli aircraft bombed a police station in southern Gaza, killing at least four Hamas policemen.