The United States is yanking about $800 million of its annual $2 billion in military aid to Pakistan, in an effort to force Pakistan to step up its anti-terrorism fight as relations between the two nations continue to deteriorate, reports the New York Times . Programs affected include $300 million to…
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Interim leader’s speech fails to convince protesters blocking off Cairo bureaucratic headquarters and road to Suez canal Protests have brought Egypt’s administrative and commercial nerve centres to a standstill , as government attempts to stem a growing wave of opposition to military rule succeeded only in galvanising demonstrators further. The interim prime minister, Essam Sharaf, took to the airwaves late on Saturday pledging to “meet the people’s demands”, following mass rallies across the country in which Egyptians accused the ruling council of army generals of betraying the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak this year . In a short and strained address to the nation, Sharaf said all police officers accused of killing protesters would be stopped from working, and promised that the trials of former Mubarak ministers and other regime officials would proceed “as soon as possible”. He insisted that social and economic problems would be reviewed by the army-appointed transitional cabinet. But activists dismissed the announcement as empty rhetoric and claimed it contained nothing substantive. “His speech sounded like one of these tricks of the old government,” Sherif, an engineer in his late 20s, told local news website Ahram Online. “If this government is unable to take serious steps, it should resign.” Several thousand people flocked to Cairo’s Tahrir Square after Sharaf’s speech. Anti-government activists have taken control of the roads there and an open-ended sit-in began on Friday. By Sunday morning, access to the Mugamma – a giant concrete building on one side of the square that serves as the bureaucratic heart of the Egyptian state – had been blocked off, with some employees reportedly joining the protests. In Suez, another focal point for political unrest, the families of some of those killed in the anti-Mubarak uprising helped protesters cut off the main highway between Cairo and Sokhna port, the main transit point for goods entering and leaving the Suez canal. The canal has also been targeted by strikes and protests in recent days, although officials insisted that international maritime traffic remained unaffected. Sharaf – a popular choice among revolutionaries when he was first appointed interim prime minister in March – has repeatedly claimed that he draws his legitimacy from Tahrir, and said again on Saturday that “the people” were the only sovereign power in Egypt. But analysts believe that the army generals have given him little control over policy and personnel decisions, and in recent weeks the 59-year-old has cut an increasingly frustrated figure in public. Egyptian newspapers used their Sunday editions to highlight the widening gap between the supreme council of the armed forces, which assumed power in the aftermath of Mubarak’s overthrow and has promised democratic elections before the end of the year, and large sections of the general public who believe that the pace of reform is too slow. “Protesters: Sharaf’s decisions are not enough — Calls for hunger strikes and civil disobedience,” stated the front-page headline in state-owned al-Ahram, the country’s biggest-selling daily. Al-Tahrir, a new Egyptian paper that emerged out of the revolution, splashed with a smiling photo of the country’s de facto leader, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, under the words “The Marshall doesn’t respond.” Activists have called for another round of mass demonstrations on Tuesday. Egypt Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Interim leader’s speech fails to convince protesters blocking off Cairo bureaucratic headquarters and road to Suez canal Protests have brought Egypt’s administrative and commercial nerve centres to a standstill , as government attempts to stem a growing wave of opposition to military rule succeeded only in galvanising demonstrators further. The interim prime minister, Essam Sharaf, took to the airwaves late on Saturday pledging to “meet the people’s demands”, following mass rallies across the country in which Egyptians accused the ruling council of army generals of betraying the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak this year . In a short and strained address to the nation, Sharaf said all police officers accused of killing protesters would be stopped from working, and promised that the trials of former Mubarak ministers and other regime officials would proceed “as soon as possible”. He insisted that social and economic problems would be reviewed by the army-appointed transitional cabinet. But activists dismissed the announcement as empty rhetoric and claimed it contained nothing substantive. “His speech sounded like one of these tricks of the old government,” Sherif, an engineer in his late 20s, told local news website Ahram Online. “If this government is unable to take serious steps, it should resign.” Several thousand people flocked to Cairo’s Tahrir Square after Sharaf’s speech. Anti-government activists have taken control of the roads there and an open-ended sit-in began on Friday. By Sunday morning, access to the Mugamma – a giant concrete building on one side of the square that serves as the bureaucratic heart of the Egyptian state – had been blocked off, with some employees reportedly joining the protests. In Suez, another focal point for political unrest, the families of some of those killed in the anti-Mubarak uprising helped protesters cut off the main highway between Cairo and Sokhna port, the main transit point for goods entering and leaving the Suez canal. The canal has also been targeted by strikes and protests in recent days, although officials insisted that international maritime traffic remained unaffected. Sharaf – a popular choice among revolutionaries when he was first appointed interim prime minister in March – has repeatedly claimed that he draws his legitimacy from Tahrir, and said again on Saturday that “the people” were the only sovereign power in Egypt. But analysts believe that the army generals have given him little control over policy and personnel decisions, and in recent weeks the 59-year-old has cut an increasingly frustrated figure in public. Egyptian newspapers used their Sunday editions to highlight the widening gap between the supreme council of the armed forces, which assumed power in the aftermath of Mubarak’s overthrow and has promised democratic elections before the end of the year, and large sections of the general public who believe that the pace of reform is too slow. “Protesters: Sharaf’s decisions are not enough — Calls for hunger strikes and civil disobedience,” stated the front-page headline in state-owned al-Ahram, the country’s biggest-selling daily. Al-Tahrir, a new Egyptian paper that emerged out of the revolution, splashed with a smiling photo of the country’s de facto leader, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, under the words “The Marshall doesn’t respond.” Activists have called for another round of mass demonstrations on Tuesday. Egypt Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
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Increasing numbers of schools encouraging pupils to submit forms as early as September, says Mary Curnock Cook Teenagers are applying to universities several months too early, the head of the university admissions service has said, signalling a potential overhaul of the system. Mary Curnock Cook, the chief executive of Ucas, said many teenagers were applying to institutions to which they had “no intention” of going and had not yet visited because of pressure to complete their application forms at the start of their final year at school. Applicants should send their forms by mid-January to start their degrees in the autumn, but Curnock Cook said increasing numbers of schools encouraged pupils to submit the forms as early as September. Preliminary findings of a Ucas review into the admissions process showed that applicants were applying “earlier and earlier” and that many later changed their minds after they applied, Curnock Cook told the Guardian. Ucas will report the full findings in the autumn. “Giving people the opportunity to make choices later might be a helpful development,” she said. “A couple of terms might make a difference and give people the opportunity to make their choices later. Most visit the universities after they have applied and lots change their minds. Our research shows lots put names on their forms that they have no intention of going to.” Her comments could pave the way for a system in which students apply to university only when they have their final A-level grades. At the moment, teenagers apply with predicted grades. However, such a change would not be for a few years and would mean that exams were moved forward, shortening the school year. The government’s white paper on higher education, published last month, stated that ministers were considering moving to this system, which it said could bring “significant” benefits. Applicants are encouraged to designate one university as their top choice and another as their “insurance”. However, Curnock Cook said, there was considerable misunderstanding among schools and pupils, with the review showing that 40% of insurance choices were for universities that demanded the same or higher grades than applicants’ top choices. She said Ucas was looking into whether it could “design something better”. Curnock Cook said applicants who were “at the lower end of the high ability group” were narrowing their chances by only applying to top-20 universities. “It is not a good strategy for them to put all their eggs in one basket,” she said. “Sixth-form advisers need to make these things much clearer.” On Monday universities will hear whether a quango has approved their targets to improve their mix of low-income and other students from under-represented groups. Universities that want to charge tuition fees of more than £6,000 a year from autumn 2012 have to have these targets approved by the Office for Fair Access (Offa). It will publish each university’s “access agreement” later this week. University administration Higher education Students Colleges Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Increasing numbers of schools encouraging pupils to submit forms as early as September, says Mary Curnock Cook Teenagers are applying to universities several months too early, the head of the university admissions service has said, signalling a potential overhaul of the system. Mary Curnock Cook, the chief executive of Ucas, said many teenagers were applying to institutions to which they had “no intention” of going and had not yet visited because of pressure to complete their application forms at the start of their final year at school. Applicants should send their forms by mid-January to start their degrees in the autumn, but Curnock Cook said increasing numbers of schools encouraged pupils to submit the forms as early as September. Preliminary findings of a Ucas review into the admissions process showed that applicants were applying “earlier and earlier” and that many later changed their minds after they applied, Curnock Cook told the Guardian. Ucas will report the full findings in the autumn. “Giving people the opportunity to make choices later might be a helpful development,” she said. “A couple of terms might make a difference and give people the opportunity to make their choices later. Most visit the universities after they have applied and lots change their minds. Our research shows lots put names on their forms that they have no intention of going to.” Her comments could pave the way for a system in which students apply to university only when they have their final A-level grades. At the moment, teenagers apply with predicted grades. However, such a change would not be for a few years and would mean that exams were moved forward, shortening the school year. The government’s white paper on higher education, published last month, stated that ministers were considering moving to this system, which it said could bring “significant” benefits. Applicants are encouraged to designate one university as their top choice and another as their “insurance”. However, Curnock Cook said, there was considerable misunderstanding among schools and pupils, with the review showing that 40% of insurance choices were for universities that demanded the same or higher grades than applicants’ top choices. She said Ucas was looking into whether it could “design something better”. Curnock Cook said applicants who were “at the lower end of the high ability group” were narrowing their chances by only applying to top-20 universities. “It is not a good strategy for them to put all their eggs in one basket,” she said. “Sixth-form advisers need to make these things much clearer.” On Monday universities will hear whether a quango has approved their targets to improve their mix of low-income and other students from under-represented groups. Universities that want to charge tuition fees of more than £6,000 a year from autumn 2012 have to have these targets approved by the Office for Fair Access (Offa). It will publish each university’s “access agreement” later this week. University administration Higher education Students Colleges Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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• Alonso enjoys first victory of the season at Silverstone • Vettel ends up second while Button fails to finish Fernando Alonso won his first grand prix for nine months with the 27th victory of his career as Ferrari continued to improve their competitiveness. It was a memorable way for Ferrari to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their first win here. It was the Spaniard’s first victory since his win in South Korea in October last year. But the real thrills were taking place behind him, with Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber battling it out for second place and Lewis Hamilton coming under increasing pressure from Felipe Massa. Vettel, who still managed to increase his lead in the world championship table by three points to 80, did hold off Webber to take second. But despite saying in the past that the two drivers were free to race, Red Bull gave Webber the chilling message on the last lap: “Mark, maintain the gap.” Webber though, appeared to ignore the message and continued to race Vettel until the end of the race. Hamilton had a brilliant afternoon. Starting in 10th place, with a car well off the pace over the weekend, he charged up the field, overtaking Paul di Resta to take sixth place, before moving up to fifth by passing the other Briton in the race, his team-mate Jenson Button. He eventually finished fourth. But it was another difficult day for McLaren. Button, making his 12th attempt to win a podium place in the British Grand Prix, failed to finish, retiring after a pit-stop mistake resulted in his front right wheel almost falling off. Hamilton only just finished the race, running out of fuel and having to slow down as Massa closed on him. Hamilton was brilliant but his recent criticism of the team was justified. But the day belonged to Alonso. He said afterwards: “This is a very special day for Ferrari and I’m very happy. It means a lot to all the guys who work for Ferrari.” Formula One Fernando Alonso Ferrari Motor sport Paul Weaver guardian.co.uk
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Swimming, ‘baby gym’ mats and walking part of routine journeys encouraged in first exercise guidance for under-fives Children under the age of five should exercise for at least three hours a day, new government guidelines will suggest. Babies should be taken swimming and play on “baby gym” mats while toddlers should walk for at least 15 minutes of routine journeys such as to nursery, chief medical officers will say. The exercise guidance, to be issued this week, targets under-fives for the first time. “For children that are not yet walking, there is considerable evidence that letting children crawl, play or roll around on the floor is essential during early years,” said England’s chief medical officer, Sally Davies. “Play that allows under-fives to move about is critical and three hours a day is essential,” she told the Sunday Times. “I think there are parents who are not aware how important it is for their children to be physically active for a minimum of three hours. Other parents are very busy and may not see how important it is to get that prioritisation and balance right.” According to NHS figures, nearly a quarter of children aged four and five are overweight or obese. Experts predict that by 2050 this could apply to 63% of children. Professor Fiona Bull, chair of the scientific committee behind the guidelines and co-director of the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity at Loughborough University, said parents should “turn the TV off”. The advice follows warnings this month that England faces a liver disease “timebomb” because so many children are overweight. Professor Martin Lombard, national clinical director for liver at the Department of Health, said a culture of overeating was putting the lives of more than 500,000 young people at risk. Children Obesity guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Los Angeles braced for ‘car-mageddon’ as roadworks close the interstate 405
July 10, 2011 No Comment
Closing the San Diego freeway for a weekend for bridge rebuilding could bring an already congested LA to a standstill Other cities have traffic jams. Los Angeles is gearing itself up for “car-mageddon”. The City of Angels, already infamous for bumper-to-bumper extravaganzas that have inspired whole movies, is taking the unprecedented step of ordering the total closure of what is perhaps the most emblematic stretch of congested roadway in North America for one nightmarish weekend. For 53 hours, from 7pm on the evening of Friday 15 July to the early hours of Monday 18 July, the San Diego freeway – referred to by local people, usually with a shudder, as 405, its interstate number – will be off limits between the San Fernando valley and the main LA basin. The reason could not be more workaday: the local transport authority needs to demolish and rebuild a bridge over the freeway and cannot do it with cars haring in either direction directly below. But the fear – mostly, if not entirely, justified – is that the closure will have a ripple effect bringing the entire city to a standstill. “This will be something for the record books,” city councilman Bill Rosendahl promised a group of concerned citizens this week. And that was the rosy spin on things. Deputy LA police chief Kirk Albanese expressed his best case scenario this way: “On Monday morning we will all be alive and well.” The stretch in question arches over the hills of Brentwood and Bel Air, past the Getty Center with its dreamy views of the Pacific and the twinkling urban lights. This is where OJ Simpson took the LAPD on a protracted chase after a warrant went out for his arrest in 1994, and what Bret Easton Ellis had in mind when he wrote of his fear of merging on freeways at the beginning of his brat-pack novel Less Than Zero. The closure will begin at the single busiest freeway interchange in the US, where the 405 meets the Ventura freeway, and will end at the third or fourth busiest, where the 405 meets the Santa Monica freeway. The city, to its credit, has launched a vast publicity campaign to alert as many people as humanly possible, posting signs all the way to the Oregon border more than 600 miles away. It is also hosting community meetings to address the understandable concerns of local people whose hillside homes are not reachable by any means other than the freeway or a single straggly road running alongside it over the Sepulveda pass. It is not much of an alternative for the 300,000 or so vehicles that would thunder along the 405 on any normal weekend. At the meeting where Rosendahl spoke, proceedings started late because – why else? – the traffic was horrible, and he and other featured speakers were reduced to praying for wings. “We all know what we’re experiencing here every day,” he lamented. His argument in favour of the closure was not unlike the old Vietnam war rationale of destroying a village in order to save it. The traffic had to be pure hell for one weekend, Rosendahl said, to make everything better in the long run. The community was not buying it. Bits of the 405 have been plagued by roadworks for at least five years, with only modest results. Questioner after questioner at the meeting wanted to know how they were going to go grocery shopping, or keep snaking traffic off their particular streets. Steve Tomingas, a resident of the exclusive Mountain Gate community – which boasts a golf course, security gates and fabulous views of the hills – urged the city elders to issue special passes, Oscar night style, so only the elect could pass through the congested area. The police and transport officials said, politely, that the idea was not workable. • This article was amended on 8 July 2011. In the original the Ventura freeway was described as the Hollywood freeway. This has been corrected. United States Road transport Los Angeles North and Central America United States Andrew Gumbel guardian.co.uk
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US academic calls for armed guards to protect heritage sites from theft and damage in midst of conflict or disaster Museum guards and others tasked with protecting the world’s cultural treasures should be routinely armed to defend heritage sites from the depredations of conflict, according to a leading expert. Professor Lawrence Rothfield, faculty director of the University of Chicago’s cultural policy centre, told the Guardian that ministries, foundations and local authorities “should not assume that the brutal policing job required to prevent looters and professional art thieves from carrying away items is just one for the national police or for other forces not under their direct control”. He was speaking in advance of the annual conference of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA), held over the weekend in the central Italian town of Amelia. Rothfield said he would also like to see museum attendants, site wardens and others given thorough training in crowd control. And not just in the developing world. “Even in the US and other very stable countries, disasters can occur that open the door to looting,” he said, citing New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina as an example of how quickly normality can disintegrate. His controversial proposal follows a string of heritage disasters arising from the turmoil in the Middle East. In 2003, looters ransacked the Iraqi national museum . In January, as protests against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak gathered momentum, thieves broke into the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo . Most recently, there have been reports that the Libyan conflict has put some cultural treasures at risk. Another conference, held under the auspices of Unesco and the Italian government at Caserta near Naples this month, heard from representatives of the anti-Gaddafi rebels of a robbery at the Bank of Benghazi in May. One of those present reported that the treasures stolen included Greco-Roman gold and silver artefacts and coins. Rothfield’s views hardened while conducting a study of the Cairo museum raid. Much remains unclear about the incident, including whether “the whole thing was a well-controlled gambit to persuade the international community that the country was descending into chaos and that the revolt needed to be crushed”, he said. But two key points had emerged. One was that the museum authorities were unable to count on the police when they needed them most. The second was that no amount of education on the value and importance of cultural heritage would prevent a disaster. Egyptians have long been schooled to treasure the evidence of their past. But, said Rothfield, “even if you have 90% of the people on your side, it doesn’t take many others to do the damage”. That, of course, does not mean education is dispensable. One of Rothfield’s fellow speakers at ARCA’s conference was Laurie Rush, an archaeologist attached to the US army’s 10th Mountain Division. Her mission is to help soldiers identify cultural property in their forward deployments and keep damage to a minimum. Five years ago, her unit produced a pack of cards, each with a different message about heritage protection. The nine of spades, for example, has a picture of a Chinook helicopter and the message: “Rotor rush can damage archaeological sites. Locate your landing zones a safe distance away from known sites.” Rush said she had secured changes to army regulations, and these had saved a Mesopotamian settlement, several thousand years old, near forward operating base Hammer, east of Baghdad. “A young soldier contacted us having seen military contractors scooping up dirt to make an earthen wall. He realised it was archaeological material and, because of our project, there were military regulations that empowered the base commander to give orders for the protection of the site.” Many other sites in Iraq have been less fortunate. The invasion was the prelude to a calamity for Iraq’s cultural heritage. Rothfield said it was estimated that looters had dug up three times the area excavated before the invasion. “The Baghdad museum lost around 15,000 items, half of which were recovered. But the country has lost several hundred thousand items, and they will probably never come back,” he said. Museums Libya Egypt Iraq Italy Europe John Hooper guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …At least one person dead and 61 missing after double-decked river cruiser sinks in Russia’s Volga river A pleasure boat carrying more than 170 people sank in Russia’s Volga river on Sunday, killing at least one person and leaving dozens missing, emergency officials said. One body has been recovered and 61 people are unaccounted for after the boat, a double-decked river cruiser called the Bulgaria, sank in the Tatarstan region, said a spokeswoman for the emergency situations ministry. “We don’t know yet why it sank. There were 140 passengers and 33 staff. One was found dead, a passing boat saved some people. Sixty-one are unaccounted for.” A rescue team aided by a helicopter was searching for missing people, she said. The boat was heading to the regional capital, Kazan, about 500 miles east of Moscow, and sank about two miles from shore in 20 metres of water, the ministry’s regional branch said. The RIA news agency, citing a regional official, said 78 people had been rescued and 94 people were missing. Russia Europe guardian.co.uk
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