Water & Spirit

AP - The 76-year-old wife of imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan has a terminal lung disease, Ryan's attorney told a judge Thursday as he sought bail for Ryan while the judge considers a request to toss part of his corruption conviction.

AP - A new Log Cabin syrup touted as "all natural" looks a lot like the pure, 100 percent maple product that's the pride of Vermont, right down to its packaging in a plastic beige jug.

AP - Alabama seafood market owner David Scott faces a difficult decision as he tries to rejuvenate his business after the Gulf oil spill: He can accept a piece of BP's $20 billion claims fund — relatively fast, easy money — or sue the oil giant for a bigger payday, wait years and risk ending up with nothing.

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country.

Watch excerpts from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly senior associate producer Patti Jette Hanley’s interviews with religious leaders at a September 7 press conference in Washington, DC to denounce bigotry against Muslims in America. Listen to Dr. Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches; Rabbi Steve Gutow, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America’s Office of Interfaith and Community Alliance; and Dr. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance.

AP - FBI agents visited Thursday with a minister of a small Florida church that plans to burn the Quran on Sept. 11, as public safety became a paramount concern and President Barack Obama added his voice to the chorus of opposition.

Following the Dongria Kondh's groundbreaking defence of their mountain homeland, the Indian Prime Minister has created a new committee for tribal rights.

Following the Dongria Kondh tribe’s groundbreaking successful defence of their mountain homeland, the Indian Prime Minister has created a new committee for tribal rights, reports Survival International.

Led by the Prime Minister, the new ‘National Council for Tribal Welfare’ will review and guide India’s policies affecting the over 80 million tribal people living in the country. The council will bring together Ministers responsible for finance, mines, power generation, the environment, the elected heads of India’s tribal regions and others.

The Dongria Kondh’s victory two weeks ago in blocking a mine, planned by Vedanta Resources and the Orissa state government, sent shockwaves throughout India. The Environment Minister cited ‘a very serious violation of laws’ and a ‘blatant disregard for the rights of the tribal groups’ when rejecting the project.

India’s Home Minister, P Chidambaram told journalists that, "We will not allow these extractive industries if it means destroying the environment and the natural habitat of the tribal people".

Vedanta has also been given until 15th September to defend its refinery, built at the base of the Dongria’s hills to process bauxite from the banned mine. According to the Environment Ministry, Vedanta’s refinery has demonstrated "serious non-compliance" with environmental standards and has been illegally expanded. The Ministry has asked Vedanta why it should not be immediately shut down.

Last week thousands of angry men stormed Vedanta’s refinery, causing considerable damage and bringing operations to a halt, according to reports. The men had been working on the illegal refinery expansion, and were angry at being suddenly sacked when Vedanta was forced to slam the brakes on the work.

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Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's sentence of death by stoning has been suspended, but Amnesty International insist that it must be scrapped altogether.

Amnesty International have welcomed an Iranian official’s statement that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's sentence of stoning to death has been temporarily suspended.

But they urged the authorities to overturn the death sentence against her entirely. “The Iranian authorities must immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that her death sentence is overturned once and for all,” insisted an Amnesty spokesperson.

"This news does not go far enough,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, “We hope this is not merely a cynical move by the authorities to deflect international criticism”.

Sahraoui pointed out that, “This temporary suspension by the Head of the Judiciary could be lifted at any time, leaving Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani at risk of execution, particularly if the current judicial review of her case results in a confirmation of her sentence”.

Iranian television reported yesterday (8 September) that Ramin Mehmanparast, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, had said that Ashtiani's execution for adultery had been "stopped". He also reiterated that her case was being reviewed, but said that "her sentencing for complicity in murder is in process”.
 
Amnesty are concerned that the Iranian authorities may be preparing to bring what appear to be fresh charges against Ashtiani in relation to the death of her husband, Ebrahim Qaderzadeh, although her state-appointed lawyer told the organisation earlier that she had been acquitted of the murder.
 
Amnesty have been unable to obtain any court documents relating to the investigation of his death.
 
"In August Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was forced to confess under duress on TV to adultery and involvement in her husband's death,” said Sahraoui, “If the judicial authorities now charge and sentence her on this basis, yet another layer of injustice would be added to the travesty of her case”.

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AP - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-car accident near his home on Thursday morning but was unhurt and attended a walk-through practice later in the day.