h Mad at Mickey

h Mad at Mickey
HONG KONG -- Demonstrators such as the one above gathered Sunday outside the main entrance of the Hong Kong Disneyland to protest various issues including labor conditions in developing countries, Disney cultural hegemony on local culture and environmental issues. The banner reads "To call for the conscience of Mickey." Hong Kong Disneyland became a target because it involved a high-profile marriage of big business and Hong Kong's government, the biggest investor in the $3 billion park, said David Ketchum, a public relations expert.
Riot in Northern Ireland
BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Protestant extremists rioted for a second straight night Sunday, attacking police and burning cars in some of the most widespread street mayhem that Belfast has experienced for a decade after anger over a restricted parade. Police advised drivers to avoid several working-class Protestant parts of the city, where thousands of men and youths blocked roads and lobbed a range of objects -- including homemade grenades -- at police equipped with helmets, body armor and flame-retardant jumpsuits. Chief Constable Hugh Orde, commander of Northern Ireland's mostly Protestant police, blamed the Orange Order brotherhood for inspiring the riots. The violence began Saturday when police prevented Orangemen from parading near a hard-line Catholic part of west Belfast.
Pope accused of showing'no respect' by Chinese
BEIJING -- China has accused Pope Benedict XVI of showing "no respect" after the pontiff invited the country's rival Catholic bishops to a meeting at the Vatican next month. The Vatican knew that old age and poor health would prevent the bishops from attending, the official Xinhua News Agency said late Saturday. Last week the pope invited bishops from both the official and unofficial Catholic churches to an Oct. 2-23 synod -- a move seen as a further indication of his desire to unite all Chinese Catholics. "The act goes against the original good intention of the pope and shows no respect," Xinhua said, quoting an unidentified spokesman for the Communist Party-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association and Chinese Catholic Bishops College.
Kuwait wants execution
KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- Kuwait wants former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his detained former aides sentenced to death because of crimes committed during Iraq's 1990 invasion of this oil-rich state, a Justice Ministry official said Sunday.
Kuwait, which was occupied for seven months before being liberated during the U.S.-led 1991 Gulf War, has completed a file detailing the charges it wants Iraqi authorities to try Saddam on, Kuwaiti Justice Minister Ahmed Baqer was quoted as saying by Kuwait's state-run news agency, KUNA. "Asking for the death penalty is based on numerous crimes committed by the former Iraqi regime," Baqer said late Saturday, becoming the highest-level Kuwaiti official to call for Saddam's execution.
Tape threatens U.S.
NEW YORK -- A tape delivered to ABC News in Pakistan this weekend features a masked man making terrorist threats against Los Angeles and Australia. ABC News reported that the man is believed to be Adam Yahiye Gadahn, an American from California purported to be an Al-Qaida member and wanted by the FBI. The CIA said Sunday it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment about the tape's authenticity. Counterterror officials thinks Gadahn also may be the person on a 75-minute video given to ABC News last year in Pakistan.
The latest tape was aired on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Sunday, the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The man on the tape, wearing a black turban with most of his face covered, calls the attacks of four years ago "blessed events" before making a threat against the United States. "Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Allah willing. And this time, don't count on us demonstrating restraint and compassion," the man says during the 11-minute tape.
Associated Press