The Hangover News

Political Crackdowns
THREE EGYPTIAN ACTIVISTS WERE JAILED FOR BEING ACTIVISTS
Campaigners say it's the government trying to stamp out all opposition

Members of the Egyptian activist group April 6 Youth Movement (Photo by Adam Ramsey)

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Three important figures from Egypt's 2011 uprising have been jailed for three years.

Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel – all senior members of the activist group April 6 Youth Movement (A6YM) – were the first secular activists to be sentenced in a crackdown on protesters that previously focused on Islamist supporters of the former president Mohamed Morsi.

The three men were accused of organising an unsanctioned street protest deemed illegal by a controversial new "anti-protest law", and of assaulting a police officer.

Fellow campaigners claim that the sentence is proof Egypt's current administration want to stamp out any and all political dissent, be it from secular or Islamist opposition groups.

"Whoever's ruling now is more or less depending on a policy of fear," said Amr Ali, successor to Ahmed Maher as leader of A6YM.

Latent Civil Wars
REBELS IN SOUTH SUDAN SEIZED A KEY OIL-RICH STATE
William Hague told Britons to leave and a US aircraft was fired on while evacuating Americans

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Rebels in South Sudan have taken the oil-rich state of Bentiu, and William Hague has urged any British expatriates to leave the increasingly "dangerous" country.

The foreign secretary has said he is "very concerned" about growing violence, as fighting between rebel forces and the South Sudanese army continues to spread from the capital Juba and threatens to turn into civil war.

British military planes have been used to fly two loads of British nationals and officials back over the past couple of days, while three US military aircraft attempting to evacuate American citizens were fired upon, injuring four service personnel and forcing the US military to abort the mission.

The UN estimates that up to 500 people have been killed in the violence that broke out after a reported coup attempt in Juba last weekend.

Radical Restrictions
THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO GIVE 25 EXTREMIST PREACHERS ASBOS
They know who they want silenced, but they're keeping all coy about it 

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Government officials have identified around 25 radical Muslim preachers who they want to slap with new anti-extremist ASBOs.

Under the proposed new behavioural orders, dubbed "TEBOs" (terrorism and extremism behaviour orders) – which could be brought into effect by the spring of 2014 – the selected preachers would have their activities restricted and be banned from speaking at universities, Islamic study centres and other public spaces.

The proposals follow a report given to the government by an anti-extremist task force, which called for charities suspected of being fronts for extremist groups to be shut down and internet filters to block out extremist websites

Introducing the potential new ASBOs at the beginning of December, David Cameron said, "There are just too many people who have been radicalised at Islamic centres, who have been in contact with extremist preachers, who have come across material on the internet who haven't been sufficiently challenged."

The government haven't named any names yet, but have confirmed that notorious preacher Anjem Choudary is not on the list, likely because he has always been careful not to break the law with his actions.

Suitable Punishments
AN ITALIAN ARMY RESERVIST WILL BE PROSECUTED FOR SAVING A DYING CAT
Because fuck cats

(Photo via)

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There are a number of things a soldier can do to be accused of gross insubordination, but perhaps the most unforgiveable is saving the life of a dying cat.

Ruthless firebrand and Italian army reservist Lieutenant Barbara Balanzoni allegedly did just that while serving as medical officer at a Nato base in Kosovo.

In doing so, Balanzoni ignored an order issued by her commanding officer that forbids troops at the base from "bringing in or having brought in wild, stray or unaccompanied animals".

Because of her abhorrent crime, she was sent for trial at a military court last week and now rightly faces a minimum sentence of one year in a military penitentiary.

Lt Balanzoni's trial is supposed to open in Rome on the 7th of February, but a question to the defence minister about the legitimacy of the case is due to be tabled in the Senate.

Surprise News
WEIRD: MORE MEN CAME TO THE BRAZILIAN TOPLESS LADY PROTEST THAN WOMEN
Less than a dozen women showed up to protest against a ban on topless sunbathing

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This weekend, a protest against a decades-old ban on topless sunbathing in Brazil was supposed to attract more than 2,000 topless female demonstrators.

Instead, no more than a dozen women turned up, flanked by hundreds of men with cameras.

"It is a pity it became a media circus. What really amazes me is the number of men who came here just to see women's chests," said organiser Ana Rios, who presumably just learned a lot of new stuff about the male sex.

A law made in the 1940s says that women going topless on the beach is punishable with three months to a year in jail or a fine, but those penalties are rarely enforced.