CP World Report: Bill Clinton, Syria, Afghanistan Troops, Abortion and Pre-Term Birth
Former president Bill Clinton fiercely defended Obama at the Democratic National Convention last night. Night two included some party controversy and a line up of speakers that left the delegates and voters with a lot to think about. It all came together in the end with a speech from Former President Bill Clinton . He drew resounding cheers. Here's a wrap of the evening.
Quebec Liberal Leader Jean Charest has announced has resignation. Charest said he consulted with his family, and the decision was unanimous. After nine years in power Charest had become a target of public wrath, and even though the Liberals won a strong second place showing—and unexpectedly -- the message was clear. Even more so that he was defeated in his own riding of Sherbrooke. Charest ends a 28 year political career.
When gunfire broke out at the victory speech of the first female premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois, it left Canada in shock. One man was killed, another hospitalized in critical condition, and a third treated for shock. Marois was abruptly dragged off stage by bodyguards. She describes her own impressions of the bizarre shooting incident.
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The U.N. General Assembly gathered once again to figure out the Syrian crisis. They found wide consensus among themselves, accusing both President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition of violating human rights. Still they remained without a solution as the war worsens. Syria's humanitarian crisis escalated to a new level last month. 100,000 refugees fled the country - the biggest monthly outflow since the conflict began.
Meanwhile….U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been in talks with Chinese officials on many issues. One of them is Syria. China and Russia have repeatedly used their veto powers in the UN Security Council to block actions that could lead to sanctions against al-Assad's regime. Clinton commented…..
Fourteen countries and international financing institutions have pledged 6.37 billion dollars U.S. in financial aid to Yemen. It was at a donors conference in Saudi Arabia. That host country gave the most: 3.25 billion dollars, followed by the U.S. with 846 million. Other Western nations that donated: the EU, France, Germany, Switzerland and Britain.
Hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan have either been discharged or arrested over insider attacks.
So far this year, over 40 NATO troops have been killed by Afghan security forces in uniform.
They are known as green-on-blue attacks. And their rising frequency recently prompted American forces in Afghanistan to suspend the training of local police recruits.
Researchers in Finland have found a link between abortion and very pre-term birth. The study was authored by members of the National Institute for Health and Welfare, and the Academy of Finland. The findings: one abortion caused a 19 percent increased risk of having a premature infant of under 28 weeks. For two abortions, the risk went up to 69 percent and three: a whopping 278 percent . Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel at "Americans United for Life" told The Christian Post that many other studies showed similar results.
The World Council of Churches is calling on France to reinstate Polynesia to the list of countries to be decolonised. In 1947, the French government removed Polynesia from that list . It was drawn up by the United Nations. The Council also urged France to provide the means for development after decolonization. France carried out almost 200 nuclear tests in French Polynesia between 1960 and 1996 which was linked to cancers among the people. So the World Council of Churches is also urging France to compensate those affected by the testing.
