A picture of a 17-year-old boy with his hand down the pants of a 15-year-old girl somehow made it into a California high school yearbook, and now all the students are being asked to turn in the annuals. “The photo was taken at a dance and the suspect and victim…
Continue reading …Ayman al-Zawahiri’s new gig as al-Qaeda’s leader could actually spell trouble for the organization—most of all because he’s cantankerous. “He was arrogant, angry, and extreme in his ideas,” the son of Osama bin Laden’s mentor, who met Zawahiri in the 1980s, tells the Washington Post . As Zawahiri rose to…
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A new book explores western involvement in what has become a scourge of the developing world: sex selection of babies In 1979 China signed a $50m four-year deal with a UN body designed to help it control its spiralling population through family planning. It was the largest foreign aid package Beijing had accepted in almost 20 years. But the funds became entwined in China’s one-child policy that was just taking hold, and instead of sponsoring an education drive for small families, the money was used to pay for posters in Chinese villages proclaiming “You can abort it! But you cannot give birth to it.” The story of the complicity of the UNFPA, the UN’s main population agency, in the tyranny of China’s forced abortion policy is just one of the examples given in a book that explores western involvement in what has become a modern scourge: sex selection. Unnatural Selection by Mara Hvistendahl charts how the trend towards choosing boys over girls, largely through sex-selective abortions, is rapidly spreading across the developing world. While the natural sex ratio at birth is 105 boys born for every 100 girls, in India the figure has risen to 112 boys and in China 121. The Chinese city of Lianyungang recorded an astonishing 163 boys per 100 girls in 2007. The bias towards boys has been estimated to have caused the “disappearance” of 160 million women and girls in Asia alone over the past few decades. The pattern has now spilled over to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, the Balkans and Albania, where the sex ratio is 115/100. The unnatural skewing towards male populations has become so pronounced in recent decades that Hvistendahl, a writer for Science magazine, says it has given rise to a new “Generation XY”. She raises the possibility that with so many surplus men – up to a fifth of men will be single in northwestern India by 2020 – large parts of the world could become like America’s wild west, with excess testosterone leading to raised levels of crime and violence. “Historically, societies in which men substantially outnumber women are not nice places to live,” Hvistendahl writes. Already, the relative shortage of women in countries like China and Taiwan has helped create new markets in women. They include arranged wedding agencies that set up marriages between South Korean men and foreigners, often women from poorer nearby countries like Vietnam, that now account for 11% of all marriages in South Korea. There is also a booming trade in trafficking of women for prostitution out of Vietnam and a growing practice of child marriage in China, where wealthier families secure wives for their sons early by effectively buying young girls for their sons. Much of the literature on sex selection has suggested that cultural patterns explain the phenomenon. But Hvisten dahl lays the blame squarely on western governments and businesses that have exported technology and pro-abortion practices without considering the consequences. Amniocentesis and ultrasound scans have had largely positive applications in the west, where they have been used to detect foetal abnormalities. But exported to Asia and eastern Europe they have been intricately linked to an explosion of sex selection and a mushrooming of female abortions. Hvistendahl claims western governments actively promoted abortion and sex selection in the developing world, encouraging the liberalisation of abortion laws and subsidising sales of ultrasounds as a form of population control. “It took millions of dollars in funding from US organisations for sex determination and abortion to catch on in the developing world,” she writes. Even now, when the pattern of sex selection has been well documented and the prospect exists of the developing world accommodating tens of millions more men than women, the UNFPA is refusing to face up to its mistakes and confront the problem, she says. “The effects of the major UN agency tasked with population advocacy distancing itself from the issue of sex selective abortion are immense,” she writes, noting that the agency’s foot-dragging has discouraged other global funds from engaging with the crisis. Population China India United Nations Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A group of kids got a bitter lesson in American justice when they were hit with a $500 fine for operating a lemonade stand without a license. The real rub? The profits were earmarked for a charity to fight pediatric cancer. Officials said they cracked down on the stand, set…
Continue reading …Just how much ash has Chile’s Puyehue volcano spewed into the air? This much: The 210 square miles of Lake Nahuel Haupi in neighboring Argentina have been filled with ash, the Telegraph reports. In this video, a diver shows you just how thick the ash is. And yes, all that…
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Richard O’Dwyer may face jail for copyright infringement in case echoing that of Gary McKinnon The mother of a British student who is facing extradition to the United States over alleged copyright offences online has spoken of her anguish that he could face a possible jail sentence. In a case carrying echoes of that of Gary McKinnon , the computer hacker who has spent years fighting US extradition, 23-year-old undergraduate Richard O’Dwyer was arrested late last month at the request of the US immigration and customs enforcement department. Until last year, when police and US officials first visited him at his student accommodation in Sheffield, O’Dwyer ran a website called TVShack which provided links to other sites where users could download pirated versions of films and television shows. He appeared before magistrates in the capital this week for a preliminary hearing into the planned extradition, which he is fighting. The case seemed “beyond belief”, said O’Dwyer’s mother, Julia, from Chesterfield. “The first he knew about it was this visit from the police and the American officials in November,” she said. “He shut the website down the very next day and I don’t think he expected it to go this far. But then in May he even had to spend a night in Wandsworth prison as the court was too slow for us to sort out his passport and bail. “Richard’s still studying in Sheffield. He’s doing his best not to think about it. But it’s a real strain for the family. I wake up every morning and think about it. What we can do? I’m no expert but I’ve read the extradition treaty from cover to cover.” It is the UK’s 2003 extradition agreement with the US, campaigners say, which is at the centre of the problem. Much criticised in the case of McKinnon, it currently contains no provision for what is known legally as forum, which would allow a UK judge to consider whether a case is best heard in the UK or abroad. O’Dwyer’s mother says she is baffled why a case with no direct links to the US – her son last went there aged five – should be heard in the US. Her lawyers agree. “The (computer) server was not based in the US at all,” O’Dwyer’s barrister, Ben Cooper, who has also been heavily involved in the McKinnon case, told Tuesday’s hearing at Westminster magistrates court. “Mr O’Dwyer did not have copyrighted material on his website; he simply provided a link. The essential contention is that the correct forum for this trial is in fact here in Britain, where he was at all times.” Some experts on digital law question whether providing links to illegal downloads rather than directly hosting them would even constitute an offence in the UK. In February last year charges involving fraud and copyright against a similar site, TV-Links, were dismissed after a judge ruled that linking alone was not illegal. “If it’s an offence under UK law, then it has to be prosecuted and tested under UK law,” said James Firth of the Open Digital Policy Organisation thinktank. “If there is no offence under UK law, then there is no ‘victim’ to copyright infringement and no case for extradition.” Civil liberties groups have also questioned why the government has not swiftly amended the extradition law by enacting a pre-existing but dormant forum clause, given that both coalition parties were heavily critical of it while in opposition. In September last year the home secretary, Theresa May, instead ordered a wider, year-long review of all extradition laws. “The government hasn’t acted in time. This is exactly what we warned against,” said Isabella Sankey, director of policy for Liberty. “Enacting the forum amendment would have been quite simple. It’s not that we’re arguing that in every case where activity has taken place here we shouldn’t allow people to be extradited. But we should at least be leaving our judges some discretion to look at the circumstances.” Extradition Filesharing UK criminal justice UK civil liberties Internet United States Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …John Edwards met with 100-year-old billionaire heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon just weeks before he was indicted—and asked her for millions of dollars, sources tell ABC News . The source didn’t say what Edwards wanted the money for, but the visit is sure to raise eyebrows, because Mellon is at the…
Continue reading …Last week’s rumors are reportedly coming to pass: Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh will not return to his country, an unnamed top Saudi official tells AFP . Saleh is being treated for injuries in Riyadh, but it is not clear if he will stay in Saudi Arabia or settle in another…
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Opponents dismiss announcement by Assad supporter Rami Makhlouf as violence follows Friday prayers around Syria The announcement by Syria’s richest man, regime heavyweight Rami Makhlouf, that he will give most of the profits from his business empire to charity has been met with widespread scepticism in Damascus and beyond. Makhlouf has become a lightning rod for dissent against the Syrian regime as protesters again took to the streets in large numbers on Friday demanding an end to the excesses that they claim the 41-year-old tycoon represents and the ousting of the ruling family to which he is central. Makhlouf’s announcement is seen by some analysts as a sign that President Bashar al-Assad has become so concerned at the momentum of the protest movement that he is prepared to sacrifice his first cousin to retain power. Syrian opposition figures and some Damascus residents, however, interpreted it as mere window dressing. “What Rami is putting on the line is nothing new,” said opposition member Amr al-Azm, a professor at Shawnee University in Ohio. “This is not his fortune. He is the family banker and it was not their money to take in the first place.” A businessman in Damascus added: “This is a regime specialised in cosmetic change so I don’t believe anything they say and do. If they were sincere they would start real reform with changes to the constitution.” Syrian leaders are facing increasing economic sanctions from the US and Europe, which have indicated they may target Assad’s personal assets. “They have got rid of what assets could be grabbed [under sanctions] and are now clearing the decks of those that cannot,” said Azm. “They are trying to explain it in a way that is useful to them.” “It makes no difference to us,” said a Damascus office worker. “At this stage, people want the whole regime to go.” The announcement was made before Friday prayers, which for the past 12 weeks have been a precursor to demonstrations across the country. This Friday was no different, as security forces responded to protests with lethal force, reportedly killing at least 19 people. Demonstrations took place in Hama, the commercial hub of Aleppo and the north-eastern tribal area, including the town of Deir al-Azzor, which has been largely free of the violence seen elsewhere in the country. About 9,000 Syrians have now fled into southern Turkey in the face of the army’s assault on the town of Jisr al-Shughour and nearby enclaves. Turkish media reported that Ankara may deploy soldiers beyond its border in an effort to protect civilians, who continue to stream from north-west Syria. The rights group Avaaz said it had compiled a list of 73 residents in Jisr al-Shughour who had been detained this week when they returned to their homes. In a further sign that the instability in Syria is spreading, three people were killed in northern Lebanon on Friday as a standoff between Sunni Muslims and Allawites, who are from the ruling sect in Damascus, spiralled into violence. The Lebanese army sent in troops in an effort to calm the situation, which represents the most serious sectarian flare-up in Lebanon since the Syrian uprising began. In an interview last month with the New York Times, Makhlouf warned of instability in neighbouring Lebanon and Israel if pressure on the Assad regime continued. His unusually candid remarks are thought to have angered Assad, who has repeatedly characterised the most serious threat to the four-decade regime as a subversive plot from foreign-backed armed gangs. Assad’s reformist credentials have rapidly eroded over the past three months, in which security forces have repeatedly attacked protesters, killing as many as 1,400 people. The embattled leader has indicated he will soon deliver a landmark speech, which advisers say could change the tone of the past four months. An earlier speech he gave in late-March was poorly received outside of his power base and did nothing to quell the violence. Makhlouf’s purported move from the regime’s financial tsar to philanthropy is being seen as a preparation for the speech. “They needed to sacrifice something,” said Rami Nakhle, an opposition figure in Beirut. “So getting rid of Makhlouf was easy. But he isn’t really going. If they put him on trial instead that would bring a positive reaction from protesters. “So far it is just a new game, he was the symbol of corruption in Syria. He was managing the Assad family business. They need to prove to people through genuine signals that they are really moving towards reforms.” Nidaa Hassan is the pseudonym of a journalist working in Damascus Syria Middle East Lebanon Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar Al-Assad Nidaa Hassan Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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Former prime minister refuses to back David Cameron plans and urges George Osborne to show caution Tony Blair has distanced himself from claims that he is backing David Cameron’s public services changes and has urged George Osborne to show flexibility by cutting the deficit at a pace consistent with maintaining growth and jobs. At prime minister’s questions this week, Cameron three times claimed the support of Blair for his reforms, including his deficit reduction programme but, in a Guardian interview, the former prime minister reasserted his own political identity, saying: “I have not endorsed anything.” However, he urged the Labour party to be relaxed when there was a crossover in policy, saying it was happening the world over. The manner in which Blair’s recent interviews, coinciding with the publication of a paperback version of his book, The Journey, have painted him as supportive of Cameron, has hugely irritated the circle around the Labour leader Ed Miliband, and to a lesser extent Blair. But Blair stressed Labour goals would always differ from those of the Conservatives, even if there were policy overlaps. “The objectives of a Labour government are always going to focus on those who are most disadvantaged: that is what we did in government, and that is what we think now.” Speaking from Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he is pushing ahead with a pan-African drive to improve governance, he said: “I want to make it clear that I support the election of the Labour party and a Labour prime minister. “All I have said is that insofar as [the coalition] are continuing the reform programme that we did when I was in government, I cannot suddenly turn round and say I am not in favour of this. I am in favour of them.” But he refuses to accept that education secretary Michael Gove’s academies programme is the same as the one he developed. “We used the academies programme to help the poorest and most disadvantaged children, and I would still want the programme to achieve that.” Gove has broadened the academies programme to cover all types of schools, not just those in poor areas. On health, Blair said he agreed with the assessment given by the former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, who this week dubbed the government’s redrawn health reforms as a train crash. He described Milburn’s intervention as “an extremely good critique” and said it would be wise for Labour “to follow it”. “I do agree with the introduction of different providers in the health service. That is what we did in government. If they [the coalition government] are now backing away, that would be a mistake.” He freely admits he is not across all the technicalities of current policy debates, but urges Labour to be relaxed. ” Some of the technicalities of reforms today will cross party lines and I think people have to got to get used to that – it is the same the world over.” He also denies he has endorsed the Conservative deficit plan and points to the plan of the Labour chancellor Alistair Darling to halve the deficit over four years. He urges the Conservatives to take a flexible non-ideological approach that takes into account its impact on jobs. “This to me is a right/wrong judgement, it is not a left/right judgement. You have got to reduce the deficit, but to do it in such a way that you do your best to restore confidence without damaging growth. “The question you ask is, what is the best way to get growth and jobs back into the economy? That is the question against which I would test everything. “You have got to reduce the deficit in order to restore confidence, but you have got to do it at a pace which is consistent with maintaining growth and jobs so that is a judgement and you calibrate. “That is all I am saying, so I am not backing them on that either. The guide is not an ideological one. If they are sensible they will leave themselves some room for manoeuvre.” He also said that, as envoy to the Quartet on the Middle East, he believes the crisis in the region created by the Arab spring can become an opportunity to restart peace talks. He is flying to Jerusalem this weekend and on Sunday will hold a joint meeting with the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Lady Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief. “We need to go back and talk about how we can establish a framework for future negotiations. We have got to use this crisis to push forward in talks,” Blair said. He also called for the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to be more openly discussed, and said the possibility of delaying elections needed to examined to give longer for the newer democratic parties to be established. On the Brotherhood, liable to be beneficiaries of early elections, he said: “The important thing is that we are working with modern democratic people who believe that with the freedom to vote comes freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Some parts of the Muslim Brotherhood would be happy with that, and some would not – that is why you have got to engage with everyone. But it is a real issue and you have got to surface it and be prepared to talk about it, and not think just because they have democracy that is enough in itself.” On the removal of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, he said: “You have just got to hang on in there and see it through. It is going to be difficult.” He doubted that President Bashar al-Assad could remain in power in Syria. “You cannot have a situation when hundreds and thousands of people die because they are exercising the right to protest. It is very hard now to see how he is going to pull back, and go in the right direction. It is not sustainable to go on like this. “Across the region leaders have got a choice: they can either have a steady process of evolution – which is the best thing – or they can have revolution. That is the way the world works now because people can see you don’t have to live like this. Sometimes the concern that we are imposing things is a far bigger worry for us than it is for them. If you are living under a brutal repressive regime you are quite glad of someone helping them.” Without making any direct reference to the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, he said: “There is even in Iraq no one actually thinking it would be better if Saddam was still there.” Tony Blair David Cameron George Osborne Economic policy Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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