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PRETORIA, South Africa, July 31 (UPI) –

A coalition of human rights groups in Africa urged governments to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the arrest of the president of Sudan.

The statement was released by Human Rights Watch. The African Union decided in a summit meeting at the beginning of the month that it would not enforce an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir on war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.

The AU’s decision that states should not cooperate with the ICC threatens to block justice for victims of the worst crimes committed on the continent, said James Gondi of the Eastern Africa International Criminal Justice Initiative in Nairobi.

The statement was signed by more than 130 human rights and civil society organizations in African countries, Human Rights Watch said.

See the full post at African human rights groups support ICC

SALT LAKE CITY, July 31 (UPI) –

A gay couple who kissed in a plaza belonging to the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City will not be prosecuted for trespassing, officials said.

Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has not made clear that Main Street Plaza is private property, but he said the church has the right to determine what behavior is appropriate there. The plaza, between the church’s North Temple and South Temple, was once part of the city’s Main Street and has no gate.

The two individuals believed — albeit mistakenly — that they had the right to be there, Gill said. Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property.

Matt Aune and Derek Johns were arrested July 9. They said they were detained by security guards as they strolled across the plaza after they stopped for a kiss.

The a…

See the full post at No charges for gay kissers on Mormon plaza

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 31 (UPI) –

Taliban forces shot and killed a pro-government militia leader in Pakistan’s Swat Valley region, in renewed violence that came despite a long military campaign.

About 50 Taliban militants attacked the home of Khalilur Rehman Wednesday in Shangla near Swat in northwest Pakistan, and gunned him down, Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported.

The army is in the process of winding down its campaign in the region after claiming the three-month offensive was a success.

The Telegraph report said the killing of Rehman and the size of the attacking Taliban group pointed to the difficulty faced by the Pakistani government in curbing the militant violence.

The 60-year-old Rehman had formed a Lashkar, or a private tribal militia, to provide logistic support to the anti-Taliban groups, the report said.

He was shot dead soon after he entered the meeting hall of his house, the Telegraph quoted senior police officer Gul Wali as saying.</…

See the full post at Pro-govt. Pakistani militia leader killed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 31 (UPI) –

A coalition of Indian villages, the wife of a former governor and others are trying to block permits for an Alaskan gold and copper mine, court records show.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Anchorage charges exploration permits were granted for the Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska without an opportunity for public comment, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Thursday. The plaintiffs asked a judge to throw out the existing permitting system and bar any new permits for the mine until the legislature adopts a new system.

In addition to the Bristol Bay native village corporations, the plaintiffs include Bella Hammond. Her husband, Jay, who died in 2005, was mayor of Bristol Bay in the 1970s and governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982.

Opponents of the mine say it would threaten the Bristol Bay salmon fishery by polluting some of the streams that flow into it. Backers say it would provide several hundred jobs.

The lawsu…

See the full post at Lawsuit seeks to block permits for mine

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 31 (UPI) –

Sunlight may be associated with the development of certain autoimmune diseases, particularly in women, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, said women are more likely than men to develop many autoimmune diseases, but the reasons for this have not been clear.

We only found the association between ultraviolet radiation exposure and dermatomyositis — a connective-tissue disease characterized by inflammation of the muscles and the skin — in women and not in men, and it could be that inherent differences in how women and men respond to UV radiation may play a role in the development of certain autoimmune diseases, Dr. Frederick W. Miller said in a statement.

Although we have not shown a direct cause and effect link between UV exposure and this particular autoimmune disease, this study confirms the association between UV l…

See the full post at Sun may trigger autoimmune disease

LOS ANGELES, July 31 (UPI) –

Top-seeded Tommy Haas breezed past Jesse Levine Thursday to move into the quarterfinals of the Los Angeles Tennis Open.

Haas, in action for the first time since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals, recorded a 6-1, 6-3 victory that set up a quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded Marat Safin. Haas is seeking his second tournament title of the year.

Sam Querrey also made it into the quarterfinals with a grueling victory over Ryan Sweeting.

Querrey advanced 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 and will next take on Dudi Sela, who eliminated Robert Zkendrick 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

See the full post at Haas to play in Los Angeles quarterfinals

CHICAGO, July 31 (UPI) –

Dewayne Wise singled home Scott Podsednik from second with two out in the ninth Thursday, lifting the Chicago White Sox past the New York Yankees 3-2.

New York tied the game in the top of the ninth, but Phil Hughes put the winning run on base and Phil Coke surrendered the decisive base hit.

The Yankees lost for only the third time in 14 contests since the All-Star break and saw their lead over Boston in the American League East reduced to three games.

Chicago starter Gavin Floyd allowed a run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings. Matt Thornton was then called on to protect a 2-1 lead, but he gave up a two-out homer in the ninth to Nick Swisher.

Hughes (4-3) retired the lead-off man in the bottom of the ninth, but Jim Thome reached on a single, and Podsednik came on as a pinch-runner.

Paul Konerko singled Podsednik to second and, after Coke relieved Hughes, A.J. Pierzynski flew out to center.

Wise followed by hitting a 2-2 pitch to sh…

See the full post at MLB: Chicago White Sox 3, N.Y. Yankees 2

CHICAGO, July 31 (UPI) –

Dewayne Wise singled home Scott Podsednik from second with two out in the ninth Thursday, lifting the Chicago White Sox past the New York Yankees 3-2.

New York tied the game in the top of the ninth, but Phil Hughes put the winning run on base, and Phil Coke surrendered the decisive base hit.

The Yankees lost for only the third time in 14 contests since the All-Star break and saw their lead over Boston in the American League East reduced to three games.

Chicago starter Gavin Floyd allowed a run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings, after which Matt Thornton was called on to protect a 2-1 lead.

Thornton, however, gave up a two-out homer in the ninth to Nick Swisher.

Hughes (4-3) retired the lead-off man in the bottom of the ninth, but Jim Thome reached on a single, and Podsednik came on as a pinch-runner.

Paul Konerko singled Podsednik to second and, after Coke relieved Hughes, A.J. Pierzynski flew out to center.

Wise followed b…

See the full post at MLB: Chi. White Sox 3, NY Yankees 2

ABERDEEN, Scotland, July 31 (UPI) –

The owner of a Scottish eatery formerly known as the Earl of Sandwich said he has received a demand for legal expenses from a descendant of the original earl.

Neil Corall told The Scotsman he changed the name of his Aberdeen sandwich shop to E.A.R.L. on the Green after he received a notice the original one was already taken. John Montagu, the 11th earl, has a chain in the United States named the Earl of Sandwich.

The fourth earl, also named John Montagu, who lived in the 18th century, gave his title to the sandwich. The story goes that he was an enthusiastic card player and adopted the habit of eating meat between two pieces of bread so he could stay at the card table instead of the dinner table.

The earl was also first Lord of the Admiralty and a patron of Capt. James Cook, who named the chain now known as Hawaii the Sandwich Islands in his honor.

Corall said he has no problem with the earl’s demand to change his restaura…

See the full post at Sandwich shop\’s name lands owner in soup

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 30 (UPI) –

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani welcomed his Indian counterpart’s statement that dialogue between their countries is the only way forward.

Gilani said Manmohan Singh had rightly emphasized the importance of honorable settlement of the outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The Pakistani leader was referring to Singh’s statement in Parliament in New Delhi Wednesday while defending his July 17 joint statement signed in Egypt with Gilani on resumption of bilateral talks suspended since the Nov. 26 terror attacks in Mumbai in which more than 160 died.

I say with strength and conviction that dialogue is the best way forward, Singh was quoted as telling Parliament. The harsh reality of the modern world power structure is that when it comes to matters of our own self interest … we have to help ourselves.

Singh has come under intense criticism at hom…

See the full post at Gilani welcomes Singh\’s statement