Nepal Abolishes Monarchy

By 560 to 4 Nepalese lawmakers voted to abolish the nation's 240-year-old monarchy. It was a stunning victory for the Maoists who fought a 10-year insurgency before disarming under a November 2006 peace accord to become part of Nepal's interim government. They won the most seats in elections held last month and plan to form a coalition government.

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The 61-year-old King Gyanendra has been given 15 days to vacate the palace. The royal flag was lowered at the Narayanhiti palace in the capital, Kathmandu, and replaced by the national flag.

King Gyanendra's security can't be guaranteed if he refuses to leave the palace and live as a "common citizen," the Communist Party of Nepal said.

The Constituent Assembly has directed the government to "take necessary measures'' to vacate the king from the palace in 15 days, Jhala Nath Khanal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) said in an interview from Kathmandu. "I hope he has made up his mind to do so.''

The interim administration said he must pay taxes, place the army under civilian control and remove his image from the 500-rupee note, replacing it with Mount Everest.

King Gyanendra is the last king in the Shah dynasty which began in 1768 when King Prithivi Narayan Shah unified the country that was divided into principalities. He took control of Kathmandu city and drove the Malla rulers from the surrounding valley.

Gyanendra became king in June 2001, after his brother Birendra and close relatives were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shot himself. The king lost most of his powers in 2006 when he was forced by nationwide strikes to end more than a year of absolute rule and allow the return of a civilian government.

"My dream has come true,'' Nepal's interim Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala told lawmakers as the assembly met for the first time, according to the UN. "Nepal is entering a new era by overcoming all the difficulties and we have to maintain unity and collaboration between the parties.''

Nepal, the world's newest republic, is among the world's poorest countries, according to the U.S. government. One-third of its citizens live below the poverty line and per capita gross domestic product is about $1,100. About 80 percent of Nepal's population of 26.4 million people is Hindu.

Nepal's three biggest political parties, holding 433 seats in the 601- member parliament, and four other smaller parties agreed to replace the monarchy with a ceremonial president, with most authority concentrated in the prime minister's office. There is still much work that has to be done. Talks are going on amongst the political parties to choose a candidate for president and prime minister.

Jhala Nath Khanal, general secretary of the CPN-UML said:

"The Maoists will lead the coalition government as they are the single largest party. The powers or the rights for the president are yet to be decided". He also added "I do not think the president and prime minister will be from the same party. The method for electing the president has also to be agreed upon by the parties. The process will be completed within two weeks.''

The Maoists won 220 seats in the April 10 ballot. The Nepali Congress, the nation's oldest political party, won 110 seats, while the CPN-UML secured 103 and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, representing the Tarai region bordering India, won 52. Maoist leader Prachanda says he wants all parties that won seats, including ethnic groups, to join a "consensus government.''

Isolated Tribe Photographed

It may be a surprise to learn that there are many communities which have never been contacted by the "civilized" world. One such group has been photographed by Survival International, a human rights organization formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples.

Aerial pictures were taken from a low-flying aircraft during several flights over one of the remotest parts of the Amazon rain forest. It is a remote region in the Terra Indigena Kampa e Isolados do Envira, Acre state, Brazil, close to the border with Peru. The photos show a group of native Indians and their dwellings. These are people who have never had any contact with the outside world. In one of the pictures two men, covered in red paint, are pointing their bow and arrows at the overhead aircraft while another person, painted in black, looks on behind them.

José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Junior, who works for FUNAI, the Brazilian government's Indian affairs department, said they first encountered the group on a morning flight earlier this month and saw dozens of people dotted around a clearing with two communal huts. When they returned later the same day, the impact of the earlier flight was clear. Most of the women and children had fled into the forest, he said, and those that were left had painted their bodies, taken up arms and appeared to be on a "war footing".

"We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist," said Meirelles, an expert on the remote tribal people who live beyond the boundaries of the modern world. "This is very important because there are some who doubt their existence."

Peru's President, Alan Garcia, has openly questioned the existence of uncontacted tribes. In Peru similar tribes are being driven from their lands by aggressive oil and mining interests and illegal loggers.

"What is happening in this region [of Peru] is a monumental crime against the natural world, the tribes, the fauna, and is further testimony to the complete irrationality with which we, the 'civilized' ones, treat the world," said Mr Meirelles.

After a decades-long political battle, indigenous groups now have their land rights protected under Brazilian law. Survival International is leading calls for Peru to act in accordance with international law and protect the tribes on its territory. Survival's Fiona Watson, who recently returned from the region, said that Indians fleeing over the border into Brazil could be driven into conflict with uncontacted tribes already living there. "It is clear from this photograph that they want to be left alone," she said.

Nothing is known about these people. Their extraordinary body paint, precisely what they eat, how they construct their tent-like camp, their language, how their society operates, how they wear their hair, how they adorn their bodies, how they live their lives - it is all a mystery. Uncontacted tribes, which are located in the jungles of South America, New Guinea and North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean (the inhabitants of which have also responded to attempts at contact with extreme aggression) all have one thing in common - they want to be left alone.

The history of contact, between indigenous tribes and the outside world, has always been an unhappy one. They have always been threatened by outsiders who, for various reasons, want to control their land and are often willing to kill for what they want. Even just coming into contact can be deadly. Many tribes have been wiped out by diseases, like the common cold, for which they have no resistance.

According to Miriam Ross of Survival International:

"These tribes represent the incredible diversity of humankind. Unless we want to condemn yet more of the earth's peoples to extinction, we must respect their choice. Any contact they have with outsiders must happen in their own time and on their own terms." Ms Ross added, "These pictures are further evidence that uncontacted tribes really do exist. The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct."

New York Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage

Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada. In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The directive makes New York state the only state that recognizes gay marriages performed elsewhere, while it is still illegal in New York. It has fueled speculation that Gov. Paterson may soon push for gay marriage. In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

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“Very shortly, there will be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, and probably thousands and thousands and thousands of gay people who have their marriages recognized by the state,” said Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side and has pushed for legalization of gay unions.

This is expected to cause revision to as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses. Agency heads were directed to identify a list of state regulations and statutes that were likely to need overhaul, including measures affecting a spouse’s ability to collect a deceased spouse’s pension and to continue to use public housing. Mr. Nocenti wrote that state agencies should review all rules and regulations to determine whether they conflict with recognition of same-sex marriages and report back to him by June 30. He said that state agencies that did not provide “full faith and credit to same-sex marriages” could be subject to liability.

Opponents of gay marriage accuse the governor of trying to circumvent the state legislature and say the issue should be decided by the voters and not by executive directive.

“It’s a perfect example of a governor overstepping his authority and sidestepping the democratic process,” said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization opposed to same-sex marriage. “It’s an issue of public policy that should be decided by the voters.”

Forty-one states are currently limiting marriages to that between a man and a woman; Massachusetts and California remain the only states that legalize gay marriage while others only allow civil unions. The previous governor of New York, Elliott Spitzer, had introduced a bill last year that would have legalized gay marriage. The Democratic-dominated Assembly passed the measure, but the Republican-led Senate has refused to call a vote on it.

The Paterson directive cited the case of Patricia Martinez, who works at Monroe Community College and who married her partner, Lisa Golden, in Canada. The State Appellate Court in Rochester ruled that she could not be denied health benefits by the college because her marriage was legal and New York state had a longstanding policy of recognizing marriages performed elsewhere, even if they are not explicitly allowed under New York law.

While gay rights advocates widely praised the spirit of Mr. Paterson’s policy, some saw more than a little irony in the fact that New York has yet to allow gays to marry.

“If you’re going to treat us as equals, why don’t you just give us the marriage license?” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda. “So this is a temporary but necessary fix for a longer-term problem, which is marriage equality in New York State.”

Where's the Weed?

Japanese Customs officials at Tokyo-Narita airport made the embarrassing admission that they lost 142g (5 ounces) of the marijuana derivative hashish. In an unauthorized test involving drug-sniffing dogs, the hash was stored in a metal container stuffed into the pocket of a soft, black suitcase belonging to one of 283 passengers traveling on Cathay Pacific Flight 520 from Hong Kong to Narita, which arrived at 3:31 p.m. on Sunday. The 142g of hash had a reported street value of $10,000 (about 1 million yen)

The customs agent who hid the hash could not remember which suitcase he had put it in, and the drug-sniffing dogs were unable to locate the container. The agent had conducted the test on a passenger's bag against regulations. Normally a training suitcase is used. Customs regulations require customs officials to prepare luggage for training exercises like the one carried out on Sunday and specifically ban travelers' baggage from being used. Customs officials said four customs officials had two sniffer dogs working a luggage conveyor at Narita, but neither was able to find the drugs. Manpei Tanaka, head of Customs’ Narita branch, apologized for the incident.

“It’s extremely regrettable that we have invited this sort of situation on ourselves. We will investigate the facts behind the case, provide thorough training and deal strictly with those involved,” Tanaka said.

The 38-year-old officer responsible for the incident was quoted by the spokeswoman as saying:

"I knew that using passengers' bags is prohibited, but I did it because I wanted to improve the sniffer dog's ability," the officer was quoted as saying. "The dogs have always been able to find it before... I became overconfident that it would work," he said.

Police began to contact passengers who were on the flight and issued an appeal to the public:

"If by some chance passengers find it in their suitcase, we're asking them to return it."

Fortunately, a shocked passenger found the drugs. Japan Today reports that the passenger discovered a small metal box containing the hashish tucked in a side compartment of his suitcase when he got to his hotel. "The man called police who returned the cannabis to Narita airport", Japan Today said.

Man Calls 911 for a Taxi

Kevin Lewis Waits, 25, of Hillsboro, Texas could be described as tenacious. He could also be described as hard-headed, obstinate and a host of other uncomplimentary adjectives. However I think the most appropriate characterization would simply be: Stupid.

Kevin was having a hard time getting a taxi, so he decided to call 911 instead. In fact he called 911 a total of 15 times in a row! Each time Kevin called, the emergency dispatcher told him he had to call a taxi service and that the police could not help him, said Waco police officer Steve Anderson.

Kevin did however manage to get the attention of the police. They eventually went to his apartment complex and found a taxicab waiting for him. The only problem was that Kevin did not have the $26 to pay for the fare. He was trying to get to a friend's house in town.

Kevin was arrested after being taken to the hospital because he told an officer that he had used methamphetamine, officer Anderson said. He remained in custody awaiting bond on charges of harassment and theft of service, according to the McLennan County Jail.