Radio station reports that officers fired teargas at protesters opposed to President Bingu wa Mutharika in capital, Lilongwe Police fired teargas at anti-government demonstrators in Malawi’s capital, a radio station reported, after a day of nationwide unrest. MIJ 90.3 FM, a private radio station, said demonstrators clashed with security forces in Lilongwe. The situation in the southern African country’s commercially central second city, Blantyre, was returning to normal, however. Shops in the city reopened after being shuttered during clashes between soldiers, riot police and marchers demanding the resignation of President Bingu wa Mutharika, although some banks remained closed. Blantyre police spokesman Davie Chingwalu said the riots had caused extensive property damage and several demonstrators and police had been injured. A number of arrests had been made, he said. There were reports that police in the northern city of Mzuzu had shot a protester dead, although police did not confirm this. The outburst of public anger in the landlocked nation of 13 million people was directed mainly at Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who was first elected in 2004 and has presided over six years of high-pace but aid-funded economic growth. The sheen has come off this year as Mutharika has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Britain, Malawi’s biggest donor, over a leaked embassy cable that referred to him as “autocratic and intolerant of criticism”. The cable led to the expulsion of Britain’s ambassador to Lilongwe. In response, Britain kicked out Malawi’s representative in London and suspended aid worth $550m (£340m) over the next four years. The freeze has left a yawning hole in the budget of a country that has relied on handouts for 40% of its revenues, and intensified a dollar supply crunch threatening Malawian currency the kwacha’s peg at 150 to the dollar. The lack of foreign currency has also pushed up fuel prices and exacerbated an already chronic energy shortage. Malawi Protest Africa guardian.co.uk
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Australian prosecutors take action to seize profits of Guantanamo, My Journey under ‘proceeds of crime’ law Australian prosecutors have begun legal action to seize book profits from the former Guantánamo Bay inmate David Hicks, who was convicted of terrorism offences at a US military tribunal. Random House published Hicks’s book, Guantanamo, My Journey, last year. It is based on his time at Guantánamo Bay from 2001 until 2007. Under Australian law, a person cannot gain commercial benefit from a crime. This can prevent criminals receiving payment for writing books about their offences. A spokeswoman for the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions said Hicks had been served orders on Wednesday and that the case was set for 3 August in the New South Wales state supreme court. Hicks’s book has reportedly sold 30,000 copies, regarded as “solid” sales for a hardcover book in Australia. As a rule of thumb, an author can expect around 10% of sales, with Hicks’s book having a recommended price of A$49.95 (£33). Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and spent five years in Guantánamo before pleading guilty to supporting terrorism and becoming the first person convicted by the war crimes tribunals the US created to try non-American captives. Law professor Clive Williams said Australia’s “proceeds of crime” law favoured the prosecution, but Hicks may use the court case to publicly raise issues over his conviction. “He may well raise issues going to the nature of his plea, whether duress was involved, whether it was a plea that should be recognised under the Australian legal system,” Williams, from the University of New South Wales, told local radio. “For David Hicks to defeat the claim, the attempt to seize those assets, he will have to raise questions that go to the heart of his conviction.” Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner, admitted training with al-Qaida and meeting its then leader Osama bin Laden, whom he described as “lovely”, according to police evidence given to the US military court. Hicks returned to Australia in 2007 as part of his guilty plea, which also included a one-year gag order. Another Australian, Mamdouh Habib, was released from Guantánamo without charge in 2005. Australia, a close US ally, was an original member of the US-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 airliner attacks. Australia Guantánamo Bay Cuba Autobiography and memoir Biography United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Australian prosecutors take action to seize profits of Guantanamo, My Journey under ‘proceeds of crime’ law Australian prosecutors have begun legal action to seize book profits from the former Guantánamo Bay inmate David Hicks, who was convicted of terrorism offences at a US military tribunal. Random House published Hicks’s book, Guantanamo, My Journey, last year. It is based on his time at Guantánamo Bay from 2001 until 2007. Under Australian law, a person cannot gain commercial benefit from a crime. This can prevent criminals receiving payment for writing books about their offences. A spokeswoman for the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions said Hicks had been served orders on Wednesday and that the case was set for 3 August in the New South Wales state supreme court. Hicks’s book has reportedly sold 30,000 copies, regarded as “solid” sales for a hardcover book in Australia. As a rule of thumb, an author can expect around 10% of sales, with Hicks’s book having a recommended price of A$49.95 (£33). Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and spent five years in Guantánamo before pleading guilty to supporting terrorism and becoming the first person convicted by the war crimes tribunals the US created to try non-American captives. Law professor Clive Williams said Australia’s “proceeds of crime” law favoured the prosecution, but Hicks may use the court case to publicly raise issues over his conviction. “He may well raise issues going to the nature of his plea, whether duress was involved, whether it was a plea that should be recognised under the Australian legal system,” Williams, from the University of New South Wales, told local radio. “For David Hicks to defeat the claim, the attempt to seize those assets, he will have to raise questions that go to the heart of his conviction.” Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner, admitted training with al-Qaida and meeting its then leader Osama bin Laden, whom he described as “lovely”, according to police evidence given to the US military court. Hicks returned to Australia in 2007 as part of his guilty plea, which also included a one-year gag order. Another Australian, Mamdouh Habib, was released from Guantánamo without charge in 2005. Australia, a close US ally, was an original member of the US-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 airliner attacks. Australia Guantánamo Bay Cuba Autobiography and memoir Biography United States guardian.co.uk
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From a 1980s office block to Zaha Hadid’s bank-busting academy, we take a look at the six spectacular buildings competing for RIBA’s annual award
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Mark Stroman shot dead two convenience store workers he believed to be Arab in Dallas shooting spree in 2001 A man who embarked on a shooting spree in what he claimed was retaliation for 9/11 has been executed at a prison in Texas. The lone survivor of Mark Stroman’s attack on convenience store workers in late 2001, Rais Bhuiyan, originally from Bangladesh, unsuccessfully sued to stop the execution, saying his religious beliefs as a Muslim required him to forgive the man. The courts denied his request. Stroman, 41, had said hate in the world needed to end and asked for God’s grace shortly before the fatal drugs began flowing into his arms. He was pronounced dead less than an hour after his final court appeal was rejected. Stroman claimed the shooting spree that killed two men and injured a third targeted people from the Middle East, though all three victims were from south Asia. It was the death of 49-year-old Vasudev Patel, from India, that put Stroman on death row. He was also charged but not tried in the shooting death of Waqar Hasan, 46, a Pakistani immigrant who moved to Dallas in 2001 to open a convenience store. Stroman’s execution was the eighth this year in Texas. At least eight other inmates have execution dates in the coming weeks. From inside the death chamber, Stroman looked at five friends watching through a window and told them he loved them. “Even though I lay on this gurney, seconds away from my death, I am at total peace,” he said. He called himself “still a proud American, Texas loud, Texas proud”. “God bless America. God bless everyone,” he added, then turned his head to the warden and said: “Let’s do this damn thing.” Feeling the drugs beginning to take effect, he said, he began a countdown. “One, two,” he said, slightly gasping. “There it goes.” Eleven minutes later, he was dead. None of Patel’s relatives attended the execution, and instead selected a police officer to represent them. The execution was delayed for almost three hours before the Texas court of criminal appeals barred a state judge in Austin from considering Bhuiyan’s lawsuit to stop the execution. The US supreme court had rejected appeals earlier in the day. Bhuiyan had asked the courts to halt Stroman’s execution and said he wanted to spend time with the inmate to learn more about why the shootings occurred. He lost sight in one of his eyes when Stroman shot him in the face. “Killing him is not the solution,” Bhuiyan said. “He’s learning from his mistake. If he’s given a chance, he’s able to reach out to others and spread that message to others.” A federal district judge in Austin rejected the lawsuit and Bhuiyan’s request for an injunction. Stroman was free on bond for a gun possession arrest at the time of the attack. He had previous convictions for burglary, robbery, theft and credit card abuse, served at least two prison terms and was paroled twice. His juvenile record showed he was involved in an armed robbery at the age of 12. When police arrested him the day Patel was killed, they found the .44-calibre handgun used in the shooting. Stroman confessed, and court documents show he told authorities he belonged to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang. Prosecutors also said he told another jail inmate about the shootings and how automatic weapons police found in his car were intended for a planned attack at a shopping mall. Stroman more recently denied the white supremacist description. He also had avoided trouble in prison in recent years, said a Texas department of criminal justice spokeswoman. Stroman blamed the shootings on the loss of a sister in the collapse of one of the World Trade Centre towers – although prosecutors said in court documents that there was no firm evidence she ever existed. “I wanted those Arabs to feel the same sense of vulnerability and uncertainty on American soil much like the mindset of chaos and bedlam that they were already accustomed to in their home country,” he said on a website devoted to his case . But he also said he’d made a “terrible mistake out of love, grief and anger” and had destroyed his victims’ families “out of pure anger and stupidity”. “I’m not the monster the media portrays me,” he said last week from death row. Stroman was also charged but not tried in the shooting death of Waqar Hasan. Hasan was killed four days after the terrorists struck. The attack on Bhuiyan came a week later. Capital punishment Texas United States Race issues US supreme court guardian.co.uk
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Homeowners will soon be able to apply for government vouchers as part of a £15m scheme to provide funding for 25,000 homes Households will be able to apply for substantial grants towards the cost of renewable heating systems, worth up to £1,250 for the biggest installations, starting from August 1. Biomass boilers burning wood pellets, solar thermal panels for hot water heating, and both air and ground source heat pumps can all be installed with the grants, taking the form of government vouchers. The £15m scheme is part of the ministers’ renewable heat support plans , and will provide funding for up to 25,000 households. The households to be targeted are the 4m in England, Wales and Scotland not already heated by mains gas, and who therefore tend to use heating oil or electric fires to heat their homes, both of which tend to be more expensive and can lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions. However, Northern Ireland – where 70% of households use heating oil – is not included in the plans. The grants will be set at £1,250 for a ground source heat pump; £950 for a biomass boiler; £850 for an air source heat pump; and £300 for solar thermal water heaters. On average, this should work out at about 10% of the total cost of the equipment and installation. Greg Barker, climate change minister, said: “We’re making it more economical for people to go green by providing discounts on the cost of eco heaters. This should be great news for people who are reliant on expensive oil or electric heating as the premium payment scheme is really aimed at them. Getting money off an eco heater will not just cut carbon emissions, it will also help create a market in developing, selling and installing kit like solar thermal panels or heat pumps.” Applications must be made through the government-funded Energy Saving Trust , and only households that have already put in place basic energy efficiency measures will be eligible. Landlords will also be encouraged to access the grants to improve their housing stock, with £3m of the £15m on offer set aside for them. Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said research undertaken by the organisation had shown people valued having renewable heating installed. He said: “When people have the kit in their homes they really see the benefit. The main barrier that prevents people from taking the plunge is the up-front capital cost. This is a great start in overcoming this obstacle.” Once households have installed the renewable heating equipment, they may also receive further subsidy payments through the £860m renewable heat incentive when it is introduced next October, though this will depend on the detail of the scheme . Renewable energy Energy Energy bills Consumer affairs Household bills Biomass and bioenergy Waste Solar power Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
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Study of women between 5ft and 5ft 9in tall finds chances of developing cancer rise by 16% for every 10cm in height Taller people are more likely to develop some of the commonest and deadliest cancers, the largest study of links between height and the disease has concluded. A woman’s chances of developing cancer rose by 16% for every extra 10cm (4in) in height, found the study, which looked at 97,000 women with the disease between 5ft and 5ft 9in tall. Although height is known to affect cancer risk, this latest research in the Lancet Oncology shows that taller women have a higher risk of getting at least 10 types of cancer, more than previously thought. They include breast, bowel, ovarian and skin cancer, leukaemia and malignant melanoma. In females of average height, the overall incidence is 850 cancers per 100,000 women per year. In those around 5ft tall it is 750 cancers per 100,000 women per year. But in those around 5ft 9in, it is about 1,000 cancers per 100,000 women per year. Researchers led by Dr Jane Green, of Oxford University’s cancer epidemiology unit, found that for every extra 4in in height, the risk of breast cancer rose by 17%, of ovarian cancer by the same, and of womb cancer by 19%. The exact reason for the link is unclear, and being tall has also been associated with a lower risk of other conditions, notably heart disease. Green’s team suggested two theories: that hormones linked to growth in childhood could also result in a greater risk of cancer in later years; and that tall people simply have more chance of cancerous cell changes because they have more cells. “The most likely explanation is that hormonal changes that are related to tallness in women may also be related to growth abnormalities, especially in the breast, that lead to cancer,” said Professor Karol Sikora, the medical director of CancerPartnersUK private treatment centres. “Dietary factors may also be important, especially in relation to the dramatic rise in the incidence of colorectal cancer in tall women.” Sara Hiom of Cancer Research UK said: “Tall people should not be alarmed by these results. Most people are not a lot taller than average, and their height will have only a small effect on their cancer risk.” Official data showed that 264,679 people were diagnosed with cancer in England in 2009 – 9,870 more than the year before. Of those, 134,636 were in men (up 5.1%) and 130,043 in women (up 2.6%). Experts last week revised their estimate of how many people will get cancer in their lifetime from about a third to 42%, because of ageing, obesity and other factors. embargo midnight Cancer Medical research Cancer Women Health Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rupertgate Wednesday – Exchanging Hotseats and New U.S. Hacking scandal from News Corp.
July 20, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Prime Minister David Cameron. Exhibit A: The Pretzel. Click here to view this media Continuing the fallout (or the detonations) from the Phone Hacking/Bribery/Influence peddling scandal currently engulfing Britain (and soon appearing at a hearing room near you), comes an appearance by Prime Minister David Cameron to an emergency session of Parliament, cutting short his visit to South Africa in order to attempt quelling of a growing concern in the Government. What did he know and when did he know it? Hard to say at the moment. How cozy was his relationship with disgraced former editor of News Of The World and Communications Director Andy Coulson? How much influence has been given with relation to the proposed BskyB takeover? Cameron, along similar lines to the Murdoch’s and Brooks, gives a hearty “I knew nothing” when asked repeatedly and at times contentiously. Prior to this appearance Cameron pointed to Coulson as a good and trusted friend. On this particular day, Coulson was reduced to the role of Anathema and Cameron was twisting himself in knots to make a point. Here is a wrap-up of the days activities via BBC Radio 4′s PM Program. And as a bonus I’ve included the Prime Ministers Statement and resultant Q&A session, or free-for-all as it sounds. The free-for-all starts here (all two hours worth): Click here to view this media Click here to view this media UPDATE : John Amato; As Rupertgate continues in the UK, more hacking cases are coming out from News Corp in the US. News Corporation admitted in 2009 to hacking U.S. rival’s website News Corporation admitted at a trial in 2009 that computers at its U.S. marketing division, News America Marketing, hacked into the secure website of a rival U.S.-based company 11 times, according to Bloomberg . The FBI is currently investigating allegations that News Corp, the parent company of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal , attempted to bribe police and hack into the cell phones of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wrote Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to highlight the hacking allegation made by Floorgraphics Inc. Floorgraphics claimed in a lawsuit that News America Marketing stole business from the company by hacking into Floorgraphics website between October 2003 to January 2004. The company agreed to dismiss the case after receiving a $29.5 million payment from News America Marketing. A lawyer for News America Marketing admitted during that trial that someone hacked into Floorgraphics website “through a firewall at News America Marketing headquarters,” but that the company did not know who did it. “As the Department of Justice and FBI examine the recent hacking allegations involving News Corp. and its subsidiaries more closely, I wanted to make sure that you were fully aware of the case of Floorgraphics and News America, as it may be relevant to your current investigation,” Lautenberg wrote ( PDF ). What shall be revealed next? We’ll have more tomorrow….
Continue reading …Rupertgate Wednesday – Exchanging Hotseats and New U.S. Hacking scandal from News Corp.
July 20, 2011 No Commentenlarge Prime Minister David Cameron. Exhibit A: The Pretzel. Click here to view this media Continuing the fallout (or the detonations) from the Phone Hacking/Bribery/Influence peddling scandal currently engulfing Britain (and soon appearing at a hearing room near you), comes an appearance by Prime Minister David Cameron to an emergency session of Parliament, cutting short his visit to South Africa in order to attempt quelling of a growing concern in the Government. What did he know and when did he know it? Hard to say at the moment. How cozy was his relationship with disgraced former editor of News Of The World and Communications Director Andy Coulson? How much influence has been given with relation to the proposed BskyB takeover? Cameron, along similar lines to the Murdoch’s and Brooks, gives a hearty “I knew nothing” when asked repeatedly and at times contentiously. Prior to this appearance Cameron pointed to Coulson as a good and trusted friend. On this particular day, Coulson was reduced to the role of Anathema and Cameron was twisting himself in knots to make a point. Here is a wrap-up of the days activities via BBC Radio 4′s PM Program. And as a bonus I’ve included the Prime Ministers Statement and resultant Q&A session, or free-for-all as it sounds. The free-for-all starts here (all two hours worth): Click here to view this media Click here to view this media UPDATE : John Amato; As Rupertgate continues in the UK, more hacking cases are coming out from News Corp in the US. News Corporation admitted in 2009 to hacking U.S. rival’s website News Corporation admitted at a trial in 2009 that computers at its U.S. marketing division, News America Marketing, hacked into the secure website of a rival U.S.-based company 11 times, according to Bloomberg . The FBI is currently investigating allegations that News Corp, the parent company of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal , attempted to bribe police and hack into the cell phones of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wrote Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to highlight the hacking allegation made by Floorgraphics Inc. Floorgraphics claimed in a lawsuit that News America Marketing stole business from the company by hacking into Floorgraphics website between October 2003 to January 2004. The company agreed to dismiss the case after receiving a $29.5 million payment from News America Marketing. A lawyer for News America Marketing admitted during that trial that someone hacked into Floorgraphics website “through a firewall at News America Marketing headquarters,” but that the company did not know who did it. “As the Department of Justice and FBI examine the recent hacking allegations involving News Corp. and its subsidiaries more closely, I wanted to make sure that you were fully aware of the case of Floorgraphics and News America, as it may be relevant to your current investigation,” Lautenberg wrote ( PDF ). What shall be revealed next? We’ll have more tomorrow….
Continue reading …Monica Crowley blames Obama, O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony for student cheating ‘epidemic’
July 20, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media During a Tuesday segment about cheating in Atlanta schools, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly declared that “secularism” was at the core of the problem. “Do you believe that 95 percent of kids cheat?” liberal radio host Alan Colmes asked O’Reilly. “I would put the number about 85 probably,” O’Reilly said. “It’s about how you’re taught. Look, once the public school system embraced secularism, Moses and his crew with the Ten Commandments were banished.” “We live in a secular society,” Colmes pointed out. “It used to be that Judeo-Christian ethics were taught. It used to be ethics classes. No longer!” O’Reilly exclaimed. “That’s what happened.” “So, you agree with me that this is an epidemic?” O’Reilly asked conservative radio host Monica Crowley. “I think it’s getting worse,” Crowley remarked. “I think with the proliferation of media, too, you get an echo chamber where kids out there, okay, see people in authority, whether it’s the president, whether it’s members of Congress, Anthony Weiner or Barack Obama saying I’m going to cut the deficit my first term and blows it out of control. Or if they see O.J Simpson walking away committing a double homicide, getting away with it, Casey Anthony. They are learning the lesson of what they see out there in the culture. They are constantly thinking, ‘Hey, I could get away with it too.’”
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