Anti-corruption campaigner quits 12-day fast, vowing to resume if law tackling corruption and misgovernance is not introduced Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare has ended his 12-day, nationally televised hunger strike in India with a glass of honeyed coconut water and a stern warning that he will resume his fast if an effective law is not instituted to deal with corruption and misgovernance. After forcing India’s parliament to pass an unprecedented resolution in support of his demands, Hazare told a huge crowd of supporters: “I haven’t given up the fast, I have only suspended it. My fast will really end when all our demands are met, when parliament passes the bill [to establish a nationwide ombudsman system] and there is genuine reform in the country.” Tens of thousands of Indians poured on to the streets to celebrate what is being hailed as a “people’s victory”. Prime minister Manmohan Singh’s beleaguered government, which seriously misjudged the support for Hazare’s anti-graft movement after it was launched in January, fielded law minister Salman Khurshid to try to make the best of a bad job. In a combative interview with the minister, TV host Karan Thapar accused Singh’s government of “looking like British imperialists and colonialists” in its treatment of Hazare. Thapar recalled how the 74-year-old crusader, known as much for his unimpeachable integrity as for his dogged pursuit of public causes, was accused himself of being corrupt by a Congress party spokesperson, and then thrown into Delhi’s notorious Tihar jail as he was about to begin his fast on 16 August. But a defiant Khurshid refused to accept any responsibility on behalf of the government. “We might have made errors of judgment, but errors are not mistakes,” he said. “Whatever we did, the consequences may not have been what we desired.” The government finally relented on Saturday, and in an historic gesture, parliament “agreed in principle” to three of Hazare’s key demands: that anti-corruption ombudsmen should be appointed in all regional states, and not just at the centre; that the entire bureaucracy should be covered by the new anti-corruption law, and not just senior officials; and that there should be a citizens’ charter for redressing public grievances against the administration. The government’s draft bill, already tabled in parliament, had ignored both the first and the third demands of anti-corruption campaigners, and had only partially agreed to the second demand. Though much discussion lies ahead in parliament before the bill is passed, Hazare has already forced Singh’s government to work toward devising an effective anti-corruption law. “Until today, Indians believed that corruption cannot be eradicated, that it’s a fact of nature, that it has entered our DNA,” said sociologist Dipankar Gupta. “But a beginning has been made. This will lessen corruption to a huge extent.” Anna Hazare Protest India corruption index Maseeh Rahman guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Former dissident and now publisher of Poland’s biggest newspaper honoured for work for international cultural relations One of Poland’s leading journalists and intellectuals has been awarded the Goethe medal in recognition of his “outstanding” contribution to the dialogue between eastern and western Europe. Adam Michnik, a onetime Solidarity activist and now publisher of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s biggest newspaper, was given the award for his commitment to the German language and international cultural relations. The two other winners this year were the British novelist David Cornwell, better known as John le Carré, and the French film and theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine. Michnik, a former dissident who spent six years in prison for agitating against the communist regime, has since become one of the most influential figures in modern democratic Poland. He was once described by Václav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic, as “the intellectual conscience of the Polish nation”. Speaking at the Amnesty strand of the Edinburgh book festival last week – sponsored by the Guardian – Michnik recalled his time in jail as one of Amnesty’s causes and said he still couldn’t believe he was a free man. “I often wake up in the morning and I’m afraid to open my eyes because I worry that it will turn out the last 20 years were just a dream. “It will turn out that Brezhnev is still alive and that they are going to come and knock on my door and I will be wondering if they are going to arrest me in the Polish language or the Russian,” he said. At the awards ceremony in Weimar on Sunday, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, president of the Goethe Institut, said Michnik had “played a key role in ensuring that Poles and Germans now once again have a positive common story to tell”. Michnik, Lehman said, was “a brave, incorruptible and tolerant Polish rebel who has never tired of speaking out in the European public sphere”. After the prizegiving, Le Carré gave an address devoted to his “love affair” with Germany which also touched on the problems facing his native Britain – which was, he said, suffering from “a moral vacuum” in the wake of the riots and phone-hacking scandal. Poland Germany Europe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
The 24 state-funded schools set up by teachers, charities, education experts and parents will not follow national curriculum Twenty-four “free schools” are to open next month, the government has announced. The schools – state-funded and set up by teachers, charities, education experts and parents – are spread throughout the country but mainly concentrated in deprived areas with poor records of academic achievement. They have the same legal status as academies and do not have to follow the national curriculum, giving them more freedom than local authority schools. The Department for Education has confirmed that funding for all 24 schools has been signed and agreed. Under the coalition’s plans, the schools will also be able to prioritise the most disadvantaged children in their school admissions arrangements. Education secretary Michael Gove said: “The most important thing for any parent is to be able to send their child to a good local school, with high standards and strong discipline. “That is why we are opening free schools across the country. I am delighted to announce that the first 24 will open this year. “Too many children are being failed by fundamental flaws in our education system. The weakest schools are concentrated in our poorest towns and cities, and we are plummeting down the international education league tables. “In spite of years of investment, the situation is worsening. Children from disadvantaged homes are still falling behind. A change of approach is vital. “By freeing up teachers and trusting local communities to decide what is best, our reforms will help to raise standards for children in all schools.” The 24 schools will open at different times during September – 17 are primary schools, five secondary and two are all-age schools. They will open between 10 to 15 months after submitting their initial plans to the Department for Education. In the first application window, 323 groups applied to open free schools. When selling the idea, the government referred to the similar American charter schools, saying that in New York they closed the gap separating inner-city students from those in the wealthiest suburbs by 86% in maths and 66% in English. Free schools Schools School funding Primary schools Secondary schools Education policy Michael Gove guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Report into death of Iraqi hotel receptionist expected to criticise conduct of individual soldiers and failures in chain of command An independent report into how a hotel worker died while in British custody in Iraq will clear the army of systematic torture and mistreatment, according to the Sunday Telegraph. However, the document will criticise the conduct of individual soldiers and highlight “numerous failures” in the army’s chain of command, the newspaper says. The official findings of the three-year inquiry into the death of Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa and the abuse of nine other Iraqi men detained with him are expected to be released on 8 September. Father-of-two Mousa, 26, sustained 93 injuries while being held by 1st Battalion the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in Basra, southern Iraq, in 2003. The judge-led inquiry, chaired by Sir William Gage, was ordered in 2008 and became the biggest examination of military conduct in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion. It heard oral evidence from 247 witnesses over 115 days of hearings between July 2009 and October 2010. According to the Telegraph, the inquiry has found no evidence that British soldiers conducted wholesale abuse, torture and murder of suspected insurgents during the occupation of southern Iraq. However, it will accuse former members of the battalion of “closing ranks”, and both senior officers and serving soldiers of a dereliction of duty. The report will also criticise the nature of the original investigation into how Mousa died, according to the newspaper. Mousa was working as a receptionist at the Ibn al-Haitham hotel in Basra when it was raided by British forces in the early hours of 14 September 2003. After finding AK-47s, submachine guns, pistols, fake ID cards and military clothing, Mousa and several colleagues were arrested and taken to the Preston-based battalion’s headquarters. Here the soldiers subjected the Iraqis to humiliating abuse, including “conditioning” methods banned by the UK government in 1972, such as hooding, sleep deprivation and making them stand in painful stress positions, the inquiry heard. Mousa was hooded for nearly 24 of the 36 hours he spent in British detention. He died at about 10pm on 15 September. His 22-year-old wife had died of cancer shortly before his detention, leaving his two young sons, Hussein and Hassan, orphaned. Seven soldiers, including former commanding officer Colonel Jorge Mendonca, faced allegations relating to the mistreatment of the prisoners at a high-profile court martial in 2006-07. But the trial ended with all of them cleared, apart from Corporal Donald Payne, who became the first member of the British armed forces convicted of a war crime when he pleaded guilty to inhumanely treating civilians. The Ministry of Defence agreed in July 2008 to pay £2.83m in compensation to the families of Mousa and nine other Iraqi men abused by British soldiers. The surviving detainees and Mousa’s father are expected to call for a full public inquiry following the release of the report. Baha Mousa Military Iraq Middle East guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Tim, who’s looking to take his living room (and digital life, by the sound of it) into the future . If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “A while back I was looking at getting the HP Media Smart Home Server, but some time has gone by and I’m wondering if that is still the best solution going around. I want something that is ideally priced at a max of $1000; it has to be something small, not noisy or too power-hungry, and it has to be something that I can hide away. I’ll use it for network storage, backup, streaming and remote access. I was also wondering if it’s worth getting a good universal remote to dim lights, turn on the TV, amp, PS3 and maybe even some home server control — or have the iPhone / Android apps become so good that they are now the best option? Thanks!” Great Qs, Sir Tim. We’re of the belief that most everything from a home automation standpoint can be done on Android or iPhone, particularly if you’re starting from scratch (and aren’t looking for enterprise-class services). As for Windows Home Server? You’ve still got a few options, but has anything come along to trump up? If you’ve got a say in all this, sound off in comments below! Ask Engadget: best (Windows) Home Server and universal remote solution? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Atiyah Abd al-Rahman rose to his position after Osama Bin Laden was killed in raid on compound in May Al-Qaida’s second-in-command has been killed in Pakistan, delivering a “major blow” to the terrorist group still reeling from the death of Osama bin Laden, American officials said on Saturday. Libyan national Atiyah Abd al-Rahman rose to his position when Ayman al-Zawahiri took command after Bin Laden was killed in a raid on his Pakistani compound in May. Officials did not reveal how al-Rahman was killed but said it happened on 22 August in Waziristan, north-west Pakistan, where members of al-Qaida are thought to be hiding out. A CIA drone strike was reported that day. “Atiyah’s death is a tremendous loss for al-Qaida, because [Zawahiri] was relying heavily on him to help guide and run the organisation, especially since Bin Laden’s death,” one American official said. “The trove of materials from Bin Laden’s compound showed clearly that Atiyah was deeply involved in directing al-Qaida’s operations even before the raid. He had multiple responsibilities in the organisation and will be very difficult to replace.” Since bin Laden’s death, counterterrorism officials have hoped to capitalise on al-Qaida’s unsettled leadership. The more uncertain the structure, the harder it is for them to operate covertly and plan attacks. Another official added: “There’s no question this is a major blow to al-Qaida. Atiyah was at the top of al-Qaida’s trusted core.” US defence secretary Leon Panetta said on a visit to Afghanistan last month that he believed the strategic defeat of al-Qaida was within reach if the United States could kill or capture up to 20 remaining leaders of the core group and its affiliates. “Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them,” he said. Al-Rahman joined Bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union. He once served as Bin Laden’s personal emissary to Iran. Al-Rahman was allowed to move freely in and out of Iran as part of that arrangement and has been operating out of Waziristan for some time, officials have said. al-Qaida Pakistan United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
• Five people die as Hurricane Irene lashes US east coast • Two million homes without power as Irene tracks north • New York braced for storm-surge flooding and high winds • Irene downgraded to category one hurricane • Read the latest summary here • Read our latest news story on Irene • Follow me on Twitter @MatthewWells • Email me at matt.wells@guardian.co.uk 8.01pm ET: While I took a break from the liveblogging hotseat earlier, I went out for a walk around Tribeca, where I live, and down to the shore of the Hudson. Night has fallen now, and the rain is lashing down. But a few hours ago, you can see from this video – usually teeming with ferries and other craft – that the river was as calm as a millpond. 7.44pm ET: More on the growing concern over the New York mayor’s attitude to Rikers Island . At a press conference earlier, he breezily dismissed a reporter’s question about why the 17,000 prisoners on the island were not being evacuated, despite being in the evacuation zone. Tonight, City Hall has put out a more reasoned explanation of why the inmates on Rikers are staying put. “Rikers Island does not touch the Atlantic Ocean and, like Manhattan Island, Roosevelt Island and City Island, it does not need to be evacuated, according to a spokeman for the mayor’s office told the Wall Street Journal . 7.40pm ET: While we gear up for a big night in New York, Irene will pass by the US capital, Washington , first. The Weather Channel is forecasting hurricane-force winds heading for Washington and Baltimore now. Ewen Macaskill , our chief Washington correspondent, another Scot on the Guardian US team, has just been out for a walk around the streets. He reports: It is wet but no worse than typical day in Glasgow, it definitely does not feel anything like a hurricane. But it is supposed to get worse in the next hour or so. I called into my local, which had plenty of people in it, but it was just closing up: I suppose the staff want to go home early, given the forecast. Many people have opted to stay at home. Having said that, there are lots of cars on the road and many of people wandering about the city. 7.00pm ET: Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of hurricane Irene’s track up the Atlantic coast of the United States, with New York braced for a night of heavy winds and potentially damaging storm surges. This is Matt Wells live blogging from Lower Manhattan – right in the middle of the area where the storm surges are expected to hit. Fortunately, I’m nine floors up. You can catch up with our earlier coverage here. Here’s a summary of events so far. • At least five fatalities have now been attributed to the storm. Three of these deaths were caused, directly or indirectly, by trees felled by high winds. In Florida, a surfer was killed while attempting to take advantage of the hurricane-powered waves. • Approximately 1 million Americans – in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and DC – are without electricity. The mayor of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania has warned citizens that outages could last for days, even weeks. As Irene heads north, that number is likely to grow. • Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate coastal and low-lying areas along the eastern seaboard. As many as 1 million people have left the Jersey shore . In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned that “we are going to break down doors if we have to” to enforce the evacuation. • Transport has ground to a virtual halt on the east coast. Some 9,000 flights have been cancelled from affected airports. In New York, all public transport has closed down until Monday . • Despite Irene losing force, downgraded to category 1, storm surges and heavy rains are creating danger of widespread flooding. In northern New England, Vermont’s governor has declared a state of emergency, with flooding predicted in every river in the state. Hurricane Irene Natural disasters and extreme weather United States Matt Wells guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Lawyer for Tom Condliff, a retired police officer, says human rights appeal to Strasbourg will go ahead to clarify law A health authority that refused to pay for a 22-stone man to be fitted with a gastric band has said it will now fund the operation, in a move that has potentially wide-ranging legal ramifications for future claims by obese people. Tom Condliff, a 62-year-old retired police officer, was told by the North Staffordshire primary care trust (PCT) that it would not pay for the £5,500, life-saving operation. Condliff fought the decision in court, arguing that many other health authorities would have paid for his operation under national guidelines, but judges ruled against him . However, the trust has now said it will fund the operation on the grounds that Condliff, who has a needle phobia and type 2 diabetes, is an “exceptional” case. “I really believe that the operation will save the PCT money,” Condliff said. “The operation will cost the PCT £5,500. At the moment my symptoms, particularly my diabetes, kidney and liver functions, are getting worse week by week and the more ill I become the more support and care I need from the PCT, so the cost of my care without the operation would just keep increasing.” The U-turn is likely to encourage other morbidly obese people to bring similar claims. It is predicted an increasing number of people will need similar surgery as obesity levels in the UK soar. Health researchers predicted last week that the number of obese adults will rise by 73% over the next two decades, from 15 million to 26 million, resulting in more than a million extra cases of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. “I think that my case is a sad indictment of what seems to be happening within some parts of the NHS,” Condliff said. “The litigation has been very difficult for me, and I think it is wrong that people have to resort to legal action to get the treatment.” In a move that will see the rights of obese people placed firmly on the legal agenda, Oliver Wright, Condliff’s solicitor, said he would appeal against the trust’s initial refusal to pay for the operation to the European Court of Human Rights. “The law, as it currently stands, is out of kilter with article 8 of the Human Rights Act [respect for private and family life] and European
Continue reading …
Listerine maker is alleged by Oral Cancer Prevention International to have blocked sales of disease detection kit A company that makes an oral cancer detection kit has launched a $60m lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming that the multinational prevented its product from being sold to protect its own Listerine mouthwash, which, along with other mouth rinses, has been linked to mouth cancer. In a complaint filed in a New Jersey court, Oral Cancer Prevention International says the multinational’s executives were “leery of highlighting” the risk of oral cancer if Listerine were to be sold alongside the detection kit, as the OCPI and a division of Johnson & Johnson had previously agreed. In February last year OCPI signed a contract with OraPharma, then part of Johnson & Johnson, the healthcare product manufacturer, to sell the company’s Oral CDx Brush Test. However, almost immediately it allegedly found its product sidelined by the sales team. Johnson & Johnson sold OraPharma to a private equity firm this year. OCPI alleges that Johnson & Johnson had been worried by a 2008 study in the Australian Dental Journal that concluded that mouthwashes with high alcohol content could cause oral cancer. According to the allegations, the effect of sidelining the test “is that an estimated 584 cases of otherwise preventable oral cancer in the state of New Jersey and 7,300 such cases throughout the US” would have occurred. Alcohol and smoking have both been linked to the cancer, and symptoms include loss of teeth and bleeding. “This is a case of concealment,” said Mark Rutenberg, chief executive and founder of OCPI. “Johnson & Johnson wanted to conceal that studies had shown there was a problem with Listerine and oral cancer. In the US alone Listerine sales exceed $1bn a year.” The OCPI product was a “Brush Test” that dentists could use to determine if a common oral spot contained abnormal cells that could develop into oral cancer. Rutenberg claims that the company’s response to the Australian study was to secretly commission a new product, Listerine Zero, an alcohol-free product launched in 2009 in the US. Listerine has high concentrations of alcohol, between 21.6% and 26.9%. Both Listerine and Listerine Zero are sold in Britain. The American Dental Association said in 2009 that “the available evidence does not support a connection between oral cancer and alcohol-containing mouthrinse”. There are around 5,000 oral cancer cases diagnosed every year in the UK. Chris Steele, a GP who appears on ITV’s This Morning and edits an influential newsletter, www.drchrisconfidential.com , said: “”This test is available in the UK privately at £80, but only a handful of dentists are using it at the moment. It’s not available on the NHS, but experts are calling for more widespread use to combat this deadly cancer, which is only diagnosed once it’s in an advanced state.” In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said: “We are aware of the complaint that has been filed by OCPI. The company is confident that we have engaged in proper business practices and we look forward to the opportunity to resolve this matter through the legal system.” Cancer Healthcare industry Health Randeep Ramesh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Listerine maker is alleged by Oral Cancer Prevention International to have blocked sales of disease detection kit A company that makes an oral cancer detection kit has launched a $60m lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming that the multinational prevented its product from being sold to protect its own Listerine mouthwash, which, along with other mouth rinses, has been linked to mouth cancer. In a complaint filed in a New Jersey court, Oral Cancer Prevention International says the multinational’s executives were “leery of highlighting” the risk of oral cancer if Listerine were to be sold alongside the detection kit, as the OCPI and a division of Johnson & Johnson had previously agreed. In February last year OCPI signed a contract with OraPharma, then part of Johnson & Johnson, the healthcare product manufacturer, to sell the company’s Oral CDx Brush Test. However, almost immediately it allegedly found its product sidelined by the sales team. Johnson & Johnson sold OraPharma to a private equity firm this year. OCPI alleges that Johnson & Johnson had been worried by a 2008 study in the Australian Dental Journal that concluded that mouthwashes with high alcohol content could cause oral cancer. According to the allegations, the effect of sidelining the test “is that an estimated 584 cases of otherwise preventable oral cancer in the state of New Jersey and 7,300 such cases throughout the US” would have occurred. Alcohol and smoking have both been linked to the cancer, and symptoms include loss of teeth and bleeding. “This is a case of concealment,” said Mark Rutenberg, chief executive and founder of OCPI. “Johnson & Johnson wanted to conceal that studies had shown there was a problem with Listerine and oral cancer. In the US alone Listerine sales exceed $1bn a year.” The OCPI product was a “Brush Test” that dentists could use to determine if a common oral spot contained abnormal cells that could develop into oral cancer. Rutenberg claims that the company’s response to the Australian study was to secretly commission a new product, Listerine Zero, an alcohol-free product launched in 2009 in the US. Listerine has high concentrations of alcohol, between 21.6% and 26.9%. Both Listerine and Listerine Zero are sold in Britain. The American Dental Association said in 2009 that “the available evidence does not support a connection between oral cancer and alcohol-containing mouthrinse”. There are around 5,000 oral cancer cases diagnosed every year in the UK. Chris Steele, a GP who appears on ITV’s This Morning and edits an influential newsletter, www.drchrisconfidential.com , said: “”This test is available in the UK privately at £80, but only a handful of dentists are using it at the moment. It’s not available on the NHS, but experts are calling for more widespread use to combat this deadly cancer, which is only diagnosed once it’s in an advanced state.” In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said: “We are aware of the complaint that has been filed by OCPI. The company is confident that we have engaged in proper business practices and we look forward to the opportunity to resolve this matter through the legal system.” Cancer Healthcare industry Health Randeep Ramesh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …