We’ve heard that quantities of space junk are past the “tipping point” ; now NASA tells us pieces of a “dead” satellite will soon plummet to Earth. But don’t worry—there’s only a one-in-3,200 chance a chunk will hit somebody, the Telegraph reports. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite was launched…
Continue reading …Job cuts at Bank of America could hit a number much higher than earlier reported —four times higher: Executives are now discussing cutbacks to the tune of 40,000 positions, the Wall Street Journal reports. A final decision isn’t expected until later today. The bank is aiming to trim its…
Continue reading …Labour looks like a party of urban elite, Ivan Lewis warns in his essay
September 9, 2011 No Comment
Shadow culture secretary says party’s ‘modernising zeal’ is blinding it to people’s concerns over identity and belonging Labour’s modernising zeal blinded the party to the way low and middle income voters felt left behind and angered by a system apparently weighted in favour of migrants, irresponsible bankers and those who chose not to work, according to a damning analysis by Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary. In a book due to be published next week, Lewis also warns that too many voters felt the party “looks like and speaks on behalf of an urban metropolitan elite”, creating “a fog of cynicism” about anything it proposed. In a chapter for Purple Labour, a collection of essays written mainly by senior figures offering new policy ideas for the party, Lewis says Labour’s commitment to globalisation allowed too many communities to be destabilised in the name of economic progress. “The party’s instincts to be internationalist, liberal and champions of multicultural societies jar with the growing sense of insecurity of citizens buffeted by rapid economic and social change. “Mistrust about Labour’s instincts and values on identity is one of the reasons why voters have rejected social democratic parties all over Europe,” he adds. “In an age of austerity that suspicion will remain unless we are willing break free from outdated comfort zones”. The party has to insist there are no policy no-go areas, and must do more to build a new one-nation instinct in the country, he says. In an increasingly globalised world, he argues, “voters yearn for a sense of identity and belonging”. In a damning checklist, similar to some of the Blue Labour critique, he admits the party should have introduced a points-based system for immigration earlier, adding that Labour “underestimated the scale and impact of the influx of eastern Europeans and should have done more to address the effect this had on local communities, public services, and jobs and wages of UK workers”. He continues: “We should have done more to increase the supply of decent affordable housing, and continued our programme of welfare reform. Labour and the previous Tory governments should have acted earlier to tackle radicalisation in some Muslim communities by adopting a zero tolerance approach to anyone including religious leaders who preached hate, and by refusing to legitimise organisations unwilling to condemn extremism or the use of violence. “As market forces reshaped high streets and closed post offices we should have given communities greater support to take over facilities and community assets. Too often it was the state, the market or nothing. What about the community?” The sense of injustice was fuelled, Lewis claims, by “a system which to some appeared to favour receiving benefits and choosing not to work and irresponsible bankers who caused the financial crisis but continued to receive excessive payoffs and bonuses while everyone else was paying the price of their recklessness. Others felt migration was changing the nature of their community and undermining Britain’s way of life.” He also the EU is deeply unpopular institution run by a remote and bureaucratic and political elite. The public do not understand “why UK taxpayers should fund the cost of prison places for foreign nationals”. He also urges the party to understand “how large numbers of our fellow citizens feel removed from the cozy concensus of Britain’s elite and a Labour Party activist base that while becoming diverse still does not sufficiently look like Britain”. He says great british institutions such as the NHS the BBC and the army must be opened up. He also proposes a rite of passage for all teenagers so they undertake an educational project learning about their communities, family history and strengthen their knowledge of British history. Labour Ivan Lewis Politics Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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Department of Health data shows 4.7% fewer patients referred for first hospital consultation in April-July period of this year The number of patients being referred by their GP to see a hospital specialist has dropped by almost 5% over the past year, prompting fresh concern that access to care is being rationed as a direct result of the pressure on NHS finances. GPs in England referred about 3.6 million patients for a first hospital consultation between April and July, according to data from the Department of Health (DoH). That was 4.7% fewer than the same period in 2010 – 3.8 million referrals. The number of patients being seen by consultants after a GP’s referral also fell during the same period, from 3.1 million last year to 2.9 million – a drop of 5.2%. The two sets of figures do not match because many patients remain on waiting lists. The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ trade association, said that reductions in patients’ access to healthcare were happening more often. “The NHS is under a lot of pressure to do less, for example through referral management initiatives, which seem to be on the increase. These may save money but for every lost referral there is a patient who is not getting diagnosed or treated, and a hospital that is more likely to encounter financial problems,” said a BMA spokesman. John Healey , the shadow health secretary, also warned that some patients may be missing out on drugs, surgery or other treatment because of the falling number of referrals. “While it is important to reduce demand for hospital care, patients will want reassuring that they are not being denied necessary treatment,” he said. “These figures show the huge pressure on hospital finances at a time when David Cameron is wasting millions of pounds reorganising the NHS bureaucracy.” The NHS in England is struggling as its budget increase this year is just 0.1% – after a decade of big annual rises – while it seeks to save £20bn by 2015. The efficiency drive was ordered by the NHS’s chief executive, Sir David Nicholson, in 2009, intending to free resources for the growing number of patients, especially elderly people, with long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Nicholson has told the NHS several times not to limit services in order to meet the target. But Dr Clare Gerada, the chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners , said the fall in referrals could be due to better care by GPs and the NHS’s efforts to reduce patients’ unnecessary hospital visits, as well as preventative medical help. The DoH denied that “less hospital activity” meant care was being cut. “Far from it,” said a spokesman. “We would expect to see this trend as the NHS helps prevent more people becoming unwell and provides more services in the community, closer to patients’ homes. Alongside more day-case surgery, this is a clear sign that the NHS is working more effectively for patients and more efficiently for taxpayers.” He added: “Decisions on appropriate referrals should be made by clinicians in the local NHS in line with the best available clinical evidence.” NHS Health GPs Doctors Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Resignation of senior German ECB official Jürgen Stark sends markets plunging
September 9, 2011 No Comment
Decision to quit fuels speculation that central bank policymakers are split amid fears that Greece could default The dramatic resignation of a senior European central banker sent stock markets plunging, amid fears that Greece is on the brink of default and the fragile consensus in Berlin over support for the ailing Italian and Spanish economies was close to disintegration. Bank stocks, down more than 5% in some cases, were the worst affected as the Dow Jones dropped almost 3% to below 11,000. European exchanges joined the panic with the FTSE falling more than 100 points to 5230. Speculation that several French and German banks would soon embark on massive capital raising schemes to offset write-offs on holdings of Greek debt, added to the febrile atmosphere. Greece issued a statement to say it remained solvent and would not need to seek funds beyond the sums already agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund. Deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos said: “It is not the first time we see an organised wave of “rumours” about an upcoming Greek default. This is a game of a very bad taste.” But the statement from Athens failed to rally markets, which have remained wary of assurances by EU leaders that they will do everything necessary to keep peripheral eurozone countries afloat. Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank, said investors globally were concerned at the potential collapse of a European sovereign. “The European troubles are permeating across global financial markets” The decision to quit by Jürgen Stark, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate-setting governing council, was quickly seen as a signal that policymakers remained at loggerheads. Stark, a German hardliner and former member of the Bundesbank board, has lobbied for the ECB to impose stricter austerity measures on Greece and Portugal and to reject using its funds to purchase Italian and Spanish bonds until Rome and Madrid have made further efforts to reduce their debts and institute reforms. At a press conference on Thursday ECB boss Jean-Claude Trichet appeared visibly rattled by questioning from German journalists who asked if the eurozone’s largest economy should quit rather than keep subsidising indebted countries. Trichet said, in a clear warning to colleagues, including Stark, that Germany had prospered from the euro and should maintain its commitment during the worst crisis since the second world war. However, the clear disagreements at the most senior levels of eurozone policymaking have fuelled concerns that the euro is now beyond rescue and will fall apart. Stark has been a consistent critic of the ECB’s programme of purchasing government bonds of debt-ridden European nations in the markets. He has said eurobonds, which many economists believe are the only way to save the euro, would create false incentives for indebted countries. The cost of borrowing for the German government has increased as investors price in the risk of it absorbing the debts of all eurozone members through the creation of eurobonds. Greek borrowing rates have hit stratospheric highs this week; 62% for two-year money, while a three-year bond maturing next year hit 129%. But officials in Athens hinted that the deadline for private-sector involvement in a second €109bn bailout programme had finally been met. The programme includes private financial groups agreeing to a €135bn debt-swap scheme. The debt-swap is an integral part of the deal agreed by EU leaders at an emergency summit in July. However, many economists say the swap is not big enough and last night it was understood that as few as 70% of bondholders would agree to take part. The socialist government had said previously it would not go ahead with the deal if participation fell below 90 percent. EU Commissioner Olli Rehn, who is responsible for economic and monetary affairs, has argued the opposite, claiming the introduction of euro securities would “strengthen fiscal discipline and increase stability in the euro area through markets”. Some analysts said Stark’s departure signals a victory for Angela Merkel and French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who have lent on the ECB to relax its rules on lending to Greece, Italy and Spain. The arrival of Italian central bank boss Mario Draghi as head of the ECB is also expected to cement control over the ECB by a more doveish majority keen to preserve the current membership of the euro. European debt crisis European Central Bank Euro Phillip Inman Helena Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Resignation of senior German ECB official Jürgen Stark sends markets plunging
September 9, 2011 No CommentDecision to quit fuels speculation that central bank policymakers are split amid fears that Greece could default The dramatic resignation of a senior European central banker sent stock markets plunging, amid fears that Greece is on the brink of default and the fragile consensus in Berlin over support for the ailing Italian and Spanish economies was close to disintegration. Bank stocks, down more than 5% in some cases, were the worst affected as the Dow Jones dropped almost 3% to below 11,000. European exchanges joined the panic with the FTSE falling more than 100 points to 5230. Speculation that several French and German banks would soon embark on massive capital raising schemes to offset write-offs on holdings of Greek debt, added to the febrile atmosphere. Greece issued a statement to say it remained solvent and would not need to seek funds beyond the sums already agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund. Deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos said: “It is not the first time we see an organised wave of “rumours” about an upcoming Greek default. This is a game of a very bad taste.” But the statement from Athens failed to rally markets, which have remained wary of assurances by EU leaders that they will do everything necessary to keep peripheral eurozone countries afloat. Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank, said investors globally were concerned at the potential collapse of a European sovereign. “The European troubles are permeating across global financial markets” The decision to quit by Jürgen Stark, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate-setting governing council, was quickly seen as a signal that policymakers remained at loggerheads. Stark, a German hardliner and former member of the Bundesbank board, has lobbied for the ECB to impose stricter austerity measures on Greece and Portugal and to reject using its funds to purchase Italian and Spanish bonds until Rome and Madrid have made further efforts to reduce their debts and institute reforms. At a press conference on Thursday ECB boss Jean-Claude Trichet appeared visibly rattled by questioning from German journalists who asked if the eurozone’s largest economy should quit rather than keep subsidising indebted countries. Trichet said, in a clear warning to colleagues, including Stark, that Germany had prospered from the euro and should maintain its commitment during the worst crisis since the second world war. However, the clear disagreements at the most senior levels of eurozone policymaking have fuelled concerns that the euro is now beyond rescue and will fall apart. Stark has been a consistent critic of the ECB’s programme of purchasing government bonds of debt-ridden European nations in the markets. He has said eurobonds, which many economists believe are the only way to save the euro, would create false incentives for indebted countries. The cost of borrowing for the German government has increased as investors price in the risk of it absorbing the debts of all eurozone members through the creation of eurobonds. Greek borrowing rates have hit stratospheric highs this week; 62% for two-year money, while a three-year bond maturing next year hit 129%. But officials in Athens hinted that the deadline for private-sector involvement in a second €109bn bailout programme had finally been met. The programme includes private financial groups agreeing to a €135bn debt-swap scheme. The debt-swap is an integral part of the deal agreed by EU leaders at an emergency summit in July. However, many economists say the swap is not big enough and last night it was understood that as few as 70% of bondholders would agree to take part. The socialist government had said previously it would not go ahead with the deal if participation fell below 90 percent. EU Commissioner Olli Rehn, who is responsible for economic and monetary affairs, has argued the opposite, claiming the introduction of euro securities would “strengthen fiscal discipline and increase stability in the euro area through markets”. Some analysts said Stark’s departure signals a victory for Angela Merkel and French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who have lent on the ECB to relax its rules on lending to Greece, Italy and Spain. The arrival of Italian central bank boss Mario Draghi as head of the ECB is also expected to cement control over the ECB by a more doveish majority keen to preserve the current membership of the euro. European debt crisis European Central Bank Euro Phillip Inman Helena Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Hiding in the Caribbean: the fugitive trader who bankrolled the Lib Dems
September 9, 2011 No Comment
Michael Brown who gave £2.4m to party before 2005 election is now hiding in the Dominican Republic under a false British identity The Liberal Democrats’ biggest donor, who has been on the run for three years after being convicted of a multimillion pound theft, is hiding in the Dominican Republic under a false British identity, the Guardian can disclose. Michael Brown, 45, the convicted Glaswegian who bankrolled the party with £2.4m of stolen money, is being sought by British authorities on the Caribbean island but is currently at large. Brown disappeared from Britain while on parole and was sentenced in his absence to seven years in prison. The disclosure of Brown’s bolthole will be an embarrassment for Nick Clegg. His party has refused to compensate Brown’s victims, some of whom claim their money went directly into the party’s coffers to finance the 2005 election campaign. City of London police detectives have been in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service over how to bring back Brown. The Dominican Republic does not have an extradition treaty with Britain. The Home Office is believed to have approached its government for help in apprehending him. While on the island, Brown has been based in the province of La Altagracia, the easternmost tip of the Republic close to some of its most beautiful beaches. One source with knowledge of Brown said he has lived a low-key but pleasant life. “His businesses have been doing OK. He has lived in a wealthy area, he loves the beaches and he plays golf on some of the world’s best courses. It could be worse.” Brown, who was using an alias, was held on remand by the Dominican authorities while he was investigated over an oil deal. Court papers from the country’s capital in Santa Domingo show he was accused by a Dominican businessman in February of failing to honour a contract for 4,820 tonnes of oil. He was ordered to be held for three months while the investigation continued. Its outcome is not known. It has also been established that he launched a real estate business in 2008 based in the Republic, and has launched a subsidiary in Nassau in the Bahamas. Michael Robert Alexander Brown appeared from nowhere when he approached the Liberal Democrats in November 2004 with a generous offer of money for Charles Kennedy’s impending election campaign. The brash, ponytailed Brown claimed to be an offshore trader living in Majorca. His claimed his clients were vetted by US embassy officials. Despite not being a party member, not being registered to vote and living abroad, he was welcomed with open arms by the party’s grandees. Money came through his company, 5th Avenue Partners, in four tranches. It remains the biggest donation ever received by the party from an individual. In the general election, the party increased its share of the vote by nearly 4% after the cash was spent on posters and advertising. Brown told journalists that he had given the enormous donation because he liked Kennedy. “Charles is my kind of man. And I like to see a level playing field,” he said. Within months, Brown was flying Kennedy across Britain in a private jet and was being invited to dinners in Mayfair. Former Lib Dem insiders say he dazzled them with stories of Gordonstoun public school and St Andrew’s University. In fact, he had failed his maths O-level at his local school and completed a City and Guilds in catering at Glasgow College of Food Technology. He had no US government links – although he was wanted in Florida for cheque fraud. Brown was arrested in late 2005 after four former clients came forward claiming he had duped them out of more than £40m in a high-yield fraud. His victims included Martin Edwards, the former Manchester United chairman, who had invested £8m with 5th Avenue Partners. In June 2008, while awaiting trial for theft, false accounting and perverting the course of justice, Brown fled and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In the weeks before he disappeared from his Hampstead bail address in north London, he changed his name on the electoral roll to Campbell-Brown and allowed his hair to turn grey. In his absence the court was told that the political donation was made to impress clients and create an air of importance and influence around Brown. The disclosure of his whereabouts has given hope to Brown’s victims who are still owed millions. A copy of the passport that Brown has been using has been obtained by the Guardian. It shows a noticeably older and gaunt Brown, sporting dark hair and a goatee beard, compared with photographs taken four years ago when he was awaiting trial. He is believed to have adopted someone else’s real identity which has been obscured at the request of the police. Tony Brown, managing partner at law firm Bivonas which represents US attorney Robert Mann who was lost more than $5m (£3m), said: “This development may allow us to pursue Brown’s assets in the Dominican Republic for our client.” Mann’s legal team was forced last year to drop a high court claim against the Lib Dems for the return of around $600,000 after running out of funds. He hopes that if Brown is returned to Britain, any subsequent court case could cause further uncomfortable questions for the party.The Liberal Democrats have maintained that the money was received in good faith and have been cleared by an Electoral Commission inquiry into Brown’s donations. A police investigation has been launched this week into how Brown fraudulently obtained a passport. A spokesman for City of London police declined to comment. The Home Office declined to comment. Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrat conference 2010 Liberal Democrat conference 2011 Dominican Republic Rajeev Syal guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Hiding in the Caribbean: the fugitive trader who bankrolled the Lib Dems
September 9, 2011 No CommentMichael Brown who gave £2.4m to party before 2005 election is now hiding in the Dominican Republic under a false British identity The Liberal Democrats’ biggest donor, who has been on the run for three years after being convicted of a multimillion pound theft, is hiding in the Dominican Republic under a false British identity, the Guardian can disclose. Michael Brown, 45, the convicted Glaswegian who bankrolled the party with £2.4m of stolen money, is being sought by British authorities on the Caribbean island but is currently at large. Brown disappeared from Britain while on parole and was sentenced in his absence to seven years in prison. The disclosure of Brown’s bolthole will be an embarrassment for Nick Clegg. His party has refused to compensate Brown’s victims, some of whom claim their money went directly into the party’s coffers to finance the 2005 election campaign. City of London police detectives have been in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service over how to bring back Brown. The Dominican Republic does not have an extradition treaty with Britain. The Home Office is believed to have approached its government for help in apprehending him. While on the island, Brown has been based in the province of La Altagracia, the easternmost tip of the Republic close to some of its most beautiful beaches. One source with knowledge of Brown said he has lived a low-key but pleasant life. “His businesses have been doing OK. He has lived in a wealthy area, he loves the beaches and he plays golf on some of the world’s best courses. It could be worse.” Brown, who was using an alias, was held on remand by the Dominican authorities while he was investigated over an oil deal. Court papers from the country’s capital in Santa Domingo show he was accused by a Dominican businessman in February of failing to honour a contract for 4,820 tonnes of oil. He was ordered to be held for three months while the investigation continued. Its outcome is not known. It has also been established that he launched a real estate business in 2008 based in the Republic, and has launched a subsidiary in Nassau in the Bahamas. Michael Robert Alexander Brown appeared from nowhere when he approached the Liberal Democrats in November 2004 with a generous offer of money for Charles Kennedy’s impending election campaign. The brash, ponytailed Brown claimed to be an offshore trader living in Majorca. His claimed his clients were vetted by US embassy officials. Despite not being a party member, not being registered to vote and living abroad, he was welcomed with open arms by the party’s grandees. Money came through his company, 5th Avenue Partners, in four tranches. It remains the biggest donation ever received by the party from an individual. In the general election, the party increased its share of the vote by nearly 4% after the cash was spent on posters and advertising. Brown told journalists that he had given the enormous donation because he liked Kennedy. “Charles is my kind of man. And I like to see a level playing field,” he said. Within months, Brown was flying Kennedy across Britain in a private jet and was being invited to dinners in Mayfair. Former Lib Dem insiders say he dazzled them with stories of Gordonstoun public school and St Andrew’s University. In fact, he had failed his maths O-level at his local school and completed a City and Guilds in catering at Glasgow College of Food Technology. He had no US government links – although he was wanted in Florida for cheque fraud. Brown was arrested in late 2005 after four former clients came forward claiming he had duped them out of more than £40m in a high-yield fraud. His victims included Martin Edwards, the former Manchester United chairman, who had invested £8m with 5th Avenue Partners. In June 2008, while awaiting trial for theft, false accounting and perverting the course of justice, Brown fled and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In the weeks before he disappeared from his Hampstead bail address in north London, he changed his name on the electoral roll to Campbell-Brown and allowed his hair to turn grey. In his absence the court was told that the political donation was made to impress clients and create an air of importance and influence around Brown. The disclosure of his whereabouts has given hope to Brown’s victims who are still owed millions. A copy of the passport that Brown has been using has been obtained by the Guardian. It shows a noticeably older and gaunt Brown, sporting dark hair and a goatee beard, compared with photographs taken four years ago when he was awaiting trial. He is believed to have adopted someone else’s real identity which has been obscured at the request of the police. Tony Brown, managing partner at law firm Bivonas which represents US attorney Robert Mann who was lost more than $5m (£3m), said: “This development may allow us to pursue Brown’s assets in the Dominican Republic for our client.” Mann’s legal team was forced last year to drop a high court claim against the Lib Dems for the return of around $600,000 after running out of funds. He hopes that if Brown is returned to Britain, any subsequent court case could cause further uncomfortable questions for the party.The Liberal Democrats have maintained that the money was received in good faith and have been cleared by an Electoral Commission inquiry into Brown’s donations. A police investigation has been launched this week into how Brown fraudulently obtained a passport. A spokesman for City of London police declined to comment. The Home Office declined to comment. Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrat conference 2010 Liberal Democrat conference 2011 Dominican Republic Rajeev Syal guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As the floodwaters rose in Pennsylvania’s Hersheypark ZooAmerica, zookeepers made a tough—and controversial—choice: Rather than let two American bison drown while trapped in their pen, zookeepers shot both. Though other zoo animals were evacuated, officials say no one anticipated how quickly the floodwaters would rise, and that euthanization…
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Protesters claim deaths happened at Damascus barracks as analysts report increasing number of troop defections Eight soldiers were executed in the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday for refusing to fire on protesters, activists have claimed. The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCCs), which monitor demonstrations in the country, said the soldiers were killed in the Kesweh area of the capital after a dispute at their barracks. Six people were injured, some of them critically, when security forces fired on demonstrators, the LCCs said. Analysts say the number of soldiers defecting from the Syrian army seems to be increasing, but this poses little threat to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime because there is no sign of senior figures deserting or heavy weaponry being lost. Army attacks on mosques in Hama and Deir Ezzor seem to have been the catalyst for some of the desertions. Elsewhere, two civilians were killed in the central city of Homs and Idlib province near the Turkish border as security forces fired on protesters across the country when demonstrations followed Friday prayers. Murhaf Jouejati, a Syria expert at the National Defense University in Washington DC, said the protests in Homs seemed “far larger than usual” and the pro-Assad militiamen, known as Shabiha or “ghosts”, had descended on the town in large numbers. Most foreign journalists are banned from Syria and it is impossible to properly verify what is happening in the country. Security forces were reported to have broken up a demonstration in another part of Damascus using pump-action shotguns and teargas, and a new video emerged purporting to show a mass grave in the capital. Protesters have been increasingly calling for international protection from the Assad regime’s crackdown as the death toll tops 2,200. The uprising began six months ago with modest calls for reform and an insistence that there be no foreign intervention such as the Nato operation that helped topple the government of Libya. But now protesters have called for observation missions and human rights monitors to help deter attacks on civilians. The calls are a sign of the growing frustration – and desperation – by a remarkably resilient movement that has nonetheless failed to bring down Assad, who still has the iron loyalty of the armed forces, which is key to his power. Widespread international condemnation and sanctions have done little to stop the crackdown. The regime has all but sealed off the country to foreigners, saying the unrest is being driven by terrorists and thugs who want to destroy Syria. The media blackout makes it difficult to independently confirm reports, but amateur video and other witness accounts have become vital lines of information. On Friday, videos showed crowds in flashpoint areas, including Damascus, Homs and Idlib, calling for Assad’s execution and hoisting signs that read: “Bashar: Game Over!” Security forces broke up most gatherings by firing bullets and teargas or chasing protesters with batons, activists said. Several people were killed, but the death toll was not immediately clear. On Thursday, a leading human rights group said Syrian security forces “forcibly removed” patients from a hospital and prevented doctors from reaching the wounded during a military siege in Homs this week. The New York-based Human Rights Watch cited testimony from witnesses, including doctors. “Snatching wounded people from the operating room is inhumane and illegal,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, its Middle East director. “Cutting people off from essential medical care causes grave suffering and perhaps irreparable harm.” Wednesday’s military operation in Homs killed at least 20 people. It was among the most severe crackdowns on an urban centre during the uprising. A doctor at the al-Barr hospital told Human Rights Watch that security forces seized some of the wounded from the hospital. “When we tried to help the wounded, the security forces pushed us back, saying these were criminals and rapists,” he said. “They were beating the wounded as they moved them out of the hospital.” There have been other reports of security forces targeting hospitals and rounding up the wounded in Syria and in Bahrain, where there have been widespread protests by the Shi’ite majority against the long-ruling Sunni monarchy. Doctors and nurses who treated protesters during rallies in Bahrain were rounded up in a crackdown that resulted in the arrests of hundreds of activists. Syria Middle East Bashar Al-Assad Arab and Middle East unrest Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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