A disturbingly high proportion of little girls have absorbed the stereotype that math is for boys by the time they reach the second grade, a new study finds. Researchers found that little boys and girls alike tend to associate enjoyment of math with boys, MSNBC reports. “We still don’t know…
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Domestic food production hit by bad weather and disease leave more than 6 million people in urgent need of aid Aid agencies working in North Korea have issued a rare joint appeal for increased food donations, warning that millions of vulnerable citizens are living on a knife edge. The groups, which include Save the Children and the Swiss government’s relief agency, say bad weather and livestock disease have hampered domestic production, while high global food and fuel prices are making it harder to import supplies. They fear that unless aid is increased now, it will be too late to support people who are already chronically malnourished through the lean season that begins in May. Their warning comes days after a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) assessment found the country was ” highly vulnerable to a food crisis “, with more than 6 million people in urgent need of international food aid. Today’s joint statement highlighted the needs of children and mothers, the elderly, disabled and sickand pointed to a need for healthcare, water and sanitation as well as food. “We fear there is donor fatigue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Katharina Zellweger, country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “So much with the DPRK boils down to political issues and then you forget the humanitarian principles,” she said. The North has been beset by chronic food problems since the famine that killed hundreds of thousands of its citizens in the 1990s, leaving it heavily reliant on aid. However, a change of government in the South saw an end to Seoul’s “sunshine policy” of freeflowing aid and other countries have become more reluctant to give because of the North’s nuclear and missile tests, the shelling of a southern island and the sinking of a southern warship. The North denies attacking the vessel. Andy Featherstone, the region’s director of strategy for Save the Children, said: “We would hope [donors] would review decisions they have taken and be more generous in meeting the appeal [following the WFP assessment].” Ireland’s Concern Worldwide, Belgium’s Handicap International and France’s Triangle Generation Humanitaire also signed the statement. The existing WFP scheme has only a third of the funding it needs, and groups say it must be scaled up in any case. The assessment issued last week said heavy rains during last autumn’s harvest, a bitter and prolonged winter and a foot and mouth outbreak had damaged food supplies. Other experts say botched currency and economic reforms have exacerbated the problems. Some critics have also suggested the country could be stockpiling food for next year, because Pyongyang has vowed the North will be fully established as a strong and prosperous nation in 2012. North Korea Aid United Nations Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Domestic food production hit by bad weather and disease leave more than 6 million people in urgent need of aid Aid agencies working in North Korea have issued a rare joint appeal for increased food donations, warning that millions of vulnerable citizens are living on a knife edge. The groups, which include Save the Children and the Swiss government’s relief agency, say bad weather and livestock disease have hampered domestic production, while high global food and fuel prices are making it harder to import supplies. They fear that unless aid is increased now, it will be too late to support people who are already chronically malnourished through the lean season that begins in May. Their warning comes days after a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) assessment found the country was ” highly vulnerable to a food crisis “, with more than 6 million people in urgent need of international food aid. Today’s joint statement highlighted the needs of children and mothers, the elderly, disabled and sickand pointed to a need for healthcare, water and sanitation as well as food. “We fear there is donor fatigue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Katharina Zellweger, country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “So much with the DPRK boils down to political issues and then you forget the humanitarian principles,” she said. The North has been beset by chronic food problems since the famine that killed hundreds of thousands of its citizens in the 1990s, leaving it heavily reliant on aid. However, a change of government in the South saw an end to Seoul’s “sunshine policy” of freeflowing aid and other countries have become more reluctant to give because of the North’s nuclear and missile tests, the shelling of a southern island and the sinking of a southern warship. The North denies attacking the vessel. Andy Featherstone, the region’s director of strategy for Save the Children, said: “We would hope [donors] would review decisions they have taken and be more generous in meeting the appeal [following the WFP assessment].” Ireland’s Concern Worldwide, Belgium’s Handicap International and France’s Triangle Generation Humanitaire also signed the statement. The existing WFP scheme has only a third of the funding it needs, and groups say it must be scaled up in any case. The assessment issued last week said heavy rains during last autumn’s harvest, a bitter and prolonged winter and a foot and mouth outbreak had damaged food supplies. Other experts say botched currency and economic reforms have exacerbated the problems. Some critics have also suggested the country could be stockpiling food for next year, because Pyongyang has vowed the North will be fully established as a strong and prosperous nation in 2012. North Korea Aid United Nations Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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Labour survey claims the government’s demand for 20% spending reduction will mean the loss of many of the most experienced officers in England and Wales More than 2,000 of the most experienced police officers will be made to retire by 2015 as forces across England and Wales try to find 20% budget cuts, a Labour survey has claimed. A series of Freedom of Information Act requests by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has disclosed that over the next four years 13 of the 43 forces intend to use an obscure regulation to compulsorily retire 1,138 officers who have more than 30 years of service. Labour estimates that a further 986 officers could be affected if some of the remaining 30 forces also decide to use the same regulation to find budget savings. Cooper said that it was “deeply worrying” that 13 forces had already decided to use the A19 regulation to compulsorily retire some of the most experienced officers in the force. “Some of these officers are experts in their fields and internationally respected for what they do in the fight against crime,” she said. “The home secretary must realise that you cannot make 20% front-loaded cuts to the police without losing the very crime fighters we need. The home secretary is taking unacceptable risks with public safety and the continued fight against crime.” As fully sworn officers of the crown rather than employees, policemen and women cannot be made redundant under existing rules. However, the A19 regulation can forcibly retire officers with more than 30 years’ service on not less than two-thirds pension on the grounds of the efficiency of the force. The experienced officers who have already left or are leaving the police this week include: • An inspector with 33 years’ service who is the longest serving specialist in crime reduction and crime prevention in England and Wales. He advises architects and builders on “designing out” crime in new buildings, especially on council estates. • A neighbourhood sergeant who, at 48, is one of the youngest to be forcibly retired. He manages a team of officers and liaises with the local community on anti-social behaviour. • A 55-year-old frontline roads policing officer who has spent the last 20 years responding to motorway incidents. The latest Labour survey of police authority current plans shows that the jobs of 12,500 officers are to be lost over the next four years in addition to a further 15,000 police staff jobs, confirming the estimate of 28,000 jobs made by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The Home Office estimated in November that 3,200 officers in England and Wales could be affected if all the 43 forces decided to enforce the compulsorily retirement rule. The Labour survey suggests that a total of 2,200 are likely to be forced out through this route by 2015, indicating that deeper cuts in police staff numbers or other measures may be required. Police forces froze their recruitment last year, which saw 2,500 jobs go through natural wastage. Home Office minsters say that forces should be able to identify sufficient savings to ensure that the budget cuts have no effect on the level of service the public receive. The police minister, Nick Herbert, said there were currently “immense opportunities” to make savings without hitting the frontline. Police Budget Budget 2011 Spending review 2010 Labour Yvette Cooper Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Labour survey claims the government’s demand for 20% spending reduction will mean the loss of many of the most experienced officers in England and Wales More than 2,000 of the most experienced police officers will be made to retire by 2015 as forces across England and Wales try to find 20% budget cuts, a Labour survey has claimed. A series of Freedom of Information Act requests by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has disclosed that over the next four years 13 of the 43 forces intend to use an obscure regulation to compulsorily retire 1,138 officers who have more than 30 years of service. Labour estimates that a further 986 officers could be affected if some of the remaining 30 forces also decide to use the same regulation to find budget savings. Cooper said that it was “deeply worrying” that 13 forces had already decided to use the A19 regulation to compulsorily retire some of the most experienced officers in the force. “Some of these officers are experts in their fields and internationally respected for what they do in the fight against crime,” she said. “The home secretary must realise that you cannot make 20% front-loaded cuts to the police without losing the very crime fighters we need. The home secretary is taking unacceptable risks with public safety and the continued fight against crime.” As fully sworn officers of the crown rather than employees, policemen and women cannot be made redundant under existing rules. However, the A19 regulation can forcibly retire officers with more than 30 years’ service on not less than two-thirds pension on the grounds of the efficiency of the force. The experienced officers who have already left or are leaving the police this week include: • An inspector with 33 years’ service who is the longest serving specialist in crime reduction and crime prevention in England and Wales. He advises architects and builders on “designing out” crime in new buildings, especially on council estates. • A neighbourhood sergeant who, at 48, is one of the youngest to be forcibly retired. He manages a team of officers and liaises with the local community on anti-social behaviour. • A 55-year-old frontline roads policing officer who has spent the last 20 years responding to motorway incidents. The latest Labour survey of police authority current plans shows that the jobs of 12,500 officers are to be lost over the next four years in addition to a further 15,000 police staff jobs, confirming the estimate of 28,000 jobs made by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The Home Office estimated in November that 3,200 officers in England and Wales could be affected if all the 43 forces decided to enforce the compulsorily retirement rule. The Labour survey suggests that a total of 2,200 are likely to be forced out through this route by 2015, indicating that deeper cuts in police staff numbers or other measures may be required. Police forces froze their recruitment last year, which saw 2,500 jobs go through natural wastage. Home Office minsters say that forces should be able to identify sufficient savings to ensure that the budget cuts have no effect on the level of service the public receive. The police minister, Nick Herbert, said there were currently “immense opportunities” to make savings without hitting the frontline. Police Budget Budget 2011 Spending review 2010 Labour Yvette Cooper Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Don’t mess with a wound-up teen obsessed with a car. A Florida high school honors student accepted into ivy league schools pistol-whipped her mom when the mother refused to sign a car loan for her, according to cops. Rachel Hachero, 17, called her mom from a Fort Meyers car dealership…
Continue reading …Indiana’s House Democrats are back after one of the longest legislature walkouts in American history. The lawmakers—who fled to Illinois last month to deny the GOP a quorum on a controversial vote—returned from an absence of nearly six weeks after Republicans agreed to shelve some anti-union measures, the…
Continue reading …London police have finally made a breakthrough in a horrifying ritual murder case, almost a decade after a young boy’s torso was found floating in the Thames. A Nigerian woman says she cared for the 5-year-old boy in Germany for a year before she handed him over to people who…
Continue reading …ET, phone Colorado. Lafayette residents are still scratching their heads over a UFO of three red lights that hovered in the sky last week, moved off, then vanished. A father videotaped the lights that were spotted by his son at work and a number of townies. “It was completely quiet—…
Continue reading …An association of Catholic bishops is battling a pending regulation that would ban discrimination against anyone based on “sexual orientation or gender identity” in federally funded housing projects. The rules would force some religious groups to compromise their beliefs or quit the housing programs, argued lawyers for the US Conference…
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