Catch Of The Day

Hire a Masters Graduate - Online Content Manager/Social Media etc.

2011-01-24T15:23:00.004Z

Since graduating in 2009 with a Masters in Broadcast/Online Journalism, I have developed my communication and writing skills through freelance work at CNN and The BBC.

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The Forgotten Casualty of The Iraq War: Fallujah's Next Generation

2010-03-04T13:08:00.008Z

Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion.

The city witnessed fierce fighting in 2004 as US forces carried out a major offensive against insurgents. Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe.

The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.BBC world affairs editor John Simpson visited a new, US-funded hospital in Fallujah where pediatrician Samira al-Ani told him that she was seeing as many as two or three cases a day, mainly cardiac defects.

Simpson also saw children in the city who were suffering from paralysis or brain damage - and a photograph of one baby who was born with three heads.

Throughout his report published on the BBC News site he writes about the many times that he heard officials in Fallujah warning women that they should not have children. Doctors and parents believe the problem is the highly sophisticated weapons the US troops used in Fallujah six years ago.

British-based Iraqi researcher Malik Hamdan told the BBC's World Today programme that doctors in Fallujah were witnessing a "massive unprecedented number" of heart defects, and an increase in the number of nervous system defects. She said that one doctor in the city had compared data about birth defects from before 2003 - when she saw about one case every two months - with the situation now, when, she saw cases every day.

Ms Hamdan said that based on data from January this year, the rate of congenital heart defects was 95 per 1,000 births - 13 times the rate found in Europe."I've seen footage of babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead," she added.

A spokesman for the US military, Michael Kilpatrick, said it always took public health concerns "very seriously". "No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues," he said.

"Unexploded ordinance, including improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard," he added.

The next few years will prove of great importance to scientists and Doctors studying these birth defects in Fallujah, they hope that in the near future they will be able to prove that the weaponry used by the US in 2004, caused huge deformities in the next generation of Fallujah's population.

Gritting Costs £150,000 A Night

2010-01-06T17:07:00.006Z

Gritting Northern Ireland's roads in severe weather conditions costs £150,000 a night, the Roads Service has said.

Usually gritting the road network costs £75,000, but Roads Service said they were currently "double salting".

A severe weather warning remains in place after another night of freezing temperatures.

The weather is also continuing to affect air travel and a number of rural schools will be closed on Wednesday.

The Roads Service had 134 gritting lorries out overnight, battling to keep over 4,000 miles of roads open and safe for traffic.

It advised motorists to exercise extreme caution, particularly when driving on untreated roads.

Colin Brown from the Roads Service said they were close to spending all of their £5m budget, but that road safety was a priority.

"Budgetary concerns are one thing we have to bear in mind, but road safety has to take precedence," he said.

"We'll be working within the department very closely to make sure any finance we need is made available to us.

"We are quite confident we'll be able to get through the rest of the winter."

Air Travel

Bad weather in England, Scotland and Wales has affected flights in and out of Northern Ireland.

At Belfast International all Wednesday morning flights to and from Bristol, Luton, Gatwick and the Isle of Man have been cancelled.

All Easyjet flights to and from Liverpool John Lennon Airport have been cancelled.

At George Best Belfast City Airport the morning flights from Birmingham and Bristol have been cancelled.

Air travellers are advised to contact their airline before making their way to the airport.

For a collection of great snow photos click here

Copenhagen Climate Convention + First Zero Carbon Supermarket Opened

2009-12-07T22:01:00.010Z

Where Countries Stand on Copenhagen

The current convention on climate change summit being held in Copenhagen, seen as the most important step in history towards combating global warming, it aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

CHINA

Aims

Set a "binding goal" to cut Carbon Dioxide (CO2) per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020
Wants rich countries to reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 level by 2020
Says they should pay 1% of their GDP per year to help other countries adapt
Wants West to provide low-carbon technology

Facts

The world's biggest Green House Gas (GHS) producer (20.7% of global emissions)
Emissions per head: 30th in the world
GDP (2008): $4.3tn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 1,152t
Kyoto: Signed as a developing country so not obliged to cut emissions

USA

Aims

Will cut emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 pending congressional approval - this is close to 4% below 1990 levels
Against Kyoto-style treaty imposing international legal obligations
Insists China, India, South Africa and Brazil must commit to slow growth of emissions
Climate bill is currently bogged down in Senate

Facts

The world's second-biggest GHG producer (15.5% of global emissions)
Emissions per head: Fifth in the world
GDP (2008): $14.2tn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 441t
Kyoto: Signed, but never ratified

Aims

Aspires to play "leading role" at Copenhagen
Will cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020, or 30% if other big emitters take tough action
Wants rich nations to make 80-95% cut by 2050
Wants poorer nations to slow emissions growth
Says they face costs of $150bn per year by 2020, of which EU will pay $7bn-22bn from public finances

Facts

The world's third-biggest GHG producer (11.8% of global emissions)
Emissions per head: 17th in the world
GDP (2008): $18.3tn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 315t
Kyoto: Signed - has to get average emissions for 2008-2012 8% below 1990 level

INDIA

Aims

Will cut CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020
Rejects legally binding target, but wants rich countries legally bound
Says rich countries are to blame for climate change and points to big gap in per capita emissions
Wants 40% cut in rich country emissions by 2020
Opposes goal of halving world emissions by 2050

Facts

The world's sixth-biggest GHG producer (5% of global emissions)
Emissions per head: 66th in the world
GDP (2008): $1.2tn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 655t
Kyoto: Signed as a developing country, so not obliged to cut emissions

JAPAN

Aims

Will cut emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, if other countries show similar ambition
This amounts to a cut of 30% in 10 years, and is opposed by industry
"Hatoyama initiative" will increase financial and technical assistance to developing countries
Backs proposals in which each country would set its own commitments

Facts

The world's seventh-biggest GHG producer (3.3% of global emissions)
Emissions per head: 15th in the world
GDP (2008): $4.9tn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 301t
Kyoto: Signed - has to get average emissions for 2008-2012 6% below 1990 level

AFRICAN UNION

Aims

Like China, wants rich countries legally bound to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 level by 2020
Describes 20 to 30% cuts as "unacceptable"
Wants rich countries to pay 0.5% of GDP to help developing countries tackle climate change
Wants $67bn per year for adaptation in Africa
Threatening to walk out if demands are not met

Facts

The African Union accounts for 8.1% of global emissions
GDP (2008): $34bn
Kyoto: African nations signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions

GULF STATES

Aims

Opec and Saudi Arabia seeking financial aid for oil-producers if new agreement requires cuts of fossil fuels
Keen on a deal that would advance use of carbon capture and storage
In 2007 Opec members pledged $750m to fund climate change research
Qatar and Abu Dhabi investing heavily in clean energy technology

Facts

Gulf states account for 2.3% of global emissions
Emissions per head: 25t of CO2 equivalent
GDP (2008): $468bn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 875t
Kyoto: Gulf States signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions

SMALL ISLANDS

Aims

Regard rising sea level as threat to their existence
Seek to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels
Want concentration of CO2 in atmosphere lowered from 380 to 350 parts per million
Want global emissions to peak by 2015 and fall 85% below 1990 level by 2050
Want at least 1% of rich country GDP spent on "climate-inflicted damage"

Facts

The small island states account for 0.6% of global GHG emissions
Emissions per head: 4t of CO2 equivalent
GDP (2008): $46bn
Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 551t
Kyoto: Alliance of Small Island States members signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions

The BBC provide a great interactive global warming history chart here which I found very interesting, it's definitely worth the click!

First Zero Carbon Supermarket Opened

In other news Tesco have opened their first zero carbon supermarket in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, in the UK, and have created 190 new jobs.

Tesco aim to be a carbon zero business by 2050. The store uses a generator, which is powered by renewable sources (biofuels), for the heating, and rainwater for flushing toilets, the car wash and cleaning the petrol station forecourt.

The petrol station even has special lights that dim and suddenly alight once a vehicle approaches the petrol pumps.

The supermarket has been designed to be energy efficient, and has been constructed from sustainable timber, with skylights to allow natural light in, but not heat.

Vents control a natural airflow to reduce energy requirements.

(Sources: International Supermarket News, BBC, CNN, UN, Flickr)

Your Guide To Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:55:00.005Z

Thanksgiving History

History books describe Thanksgiving as a modern-day re-creation of a celebratory meal eaten in 1621. It took place in what is now the state of Massachusetts, and was attended by British settlers and Native Americans.

But the true, current meaning of this sacred American holiday has little to do with the Pilgrims. It can be summed up in a single word: overeating.

Key Ingredients

There are regional variations in the menu, but certain items are more or less required by law. First among them is turkey, which is probably eaten by 95 per cent of American households on that day. Most people wouldn’t even consider eating anything else.

Turkey is not the whole event, or even the main event; indeed, it’s considered woefully incomplete without the traditional side dishes. There are four in all, the first being sweet potatoes, which are indigenous to the Americas (Central America, to be precise).

Sweet Potatoes

The ultra-traditional preparation pairs them with marshmallows, which are dotted on top of the baked tubers to create a sickly-sweet, gooey-brown crust. You have to have been sleeping for the last 20 years to regard this approach as gastronomic heaven, but the link between sweet potatoes and sweet flavourings is eminently sound.

Baking them with maple syrup (as they do in the Northeast), honey, or brown sugar is just as good. Some cooks use fruit, either dried or fresh. In some places, especially in the southern states, sweet potatoes are used to make pies and puddings of rare excellence.

Cranberries

The second essential is cranberries, also indigenous to the Americas (the New England states in this case). Here, too, the standard preparations are on the sweet side. Cranberry relishes are one of the best ways to eat them. They can be very tart but in small doses, they are a perfect, cutting counterpoint to the richness of the rest of the food.

Stuffing

The third essential is stuffing, often called 'dressing' in the US. It's often regarded as being just as important as the festive bird, if not more important. While British stuffing's tend to be fairly standard wherever you go, in the US there are huge regional variations.

In the southern states and in New England, cornbread may be used as the base rather than a standard white loaf. In Minnesota and other states where wild rice is cultivated, that might be used; and in places where long-grained rice is grown, that may find its way into the dressing.

While herbs and ordinary sausages may be used in most places, cooks in Louisiana are more likely to prefer their own spicy andouille sausage and an abundance of pungent spices. They may also use oysters and other shellfish in preference (or in addition) to meat, and in areas with a marked Mexican influence you may find chillies in the mix. You could write a whole book about American stuffing's, and a jolly good book it would be.

Pie

The final essential, just to ensure that no one rises from the table easily, is pie. The expression 'as American as apple pie' is not quite accurate, because it's pie in all its forms that Americans adore - and never more than on Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin pie is hallowed ground in much of the country, though in some places the obligatory pumpkin might appear as a side dish or a pudding. Pumpkin in pies is an acquired taste, but those who love it will throw plates around if they don't get at least two slices. Apple, peach and various berry pies may also be eaten, while south-western cooks would rather lose a limb than omit a rich, gooey pecan pie from the menu. For four people, it's best to make at least four pies.

Family Time

There's another dimension to Thanksgiving that's just as important as gluttony. Thanksgiving is the day when most people will do anything to be with their families, or with whomever they regard as their nearest and dearest - even if they have to travel 3,000 miles to get there. It isn't grossly commercial. It isn't religious. It isn't patriotic. It involves no present-giving or decoration-shopping.

In millions of households it's followed by a semi-comatose afternoon of watching football games on television, but that's just part of the laid-back approach that makes Thanksgiving the best holiday in the American calendar. No self-respecting American would miss it for a million bucks. And if a million calories enter the equation, so much the better.

Recipes

You don't need to be American to indulge in the great Thanksgiving feast.

Give these recipes a go:

The classic roast turkey by BBC Good Food
Sweet potato gratin by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Cranberry sauce with port and orange by BBC Good Food
Cranberry relish by Slavka Bradley
Sage and onion stuffing by Holly Jones
My favourite stuffing by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Jerk-spiced pumpkin pie by Simon Rimmer
Proper apple pie

(Source: BBC Food, CNN, BBC News Flickr)

Future of Guantánamo Detainees Must Be Resolved

2009-11-19T15:18:00.006Z

The US government must redouble efforts to resolve the future of detainees still held at the military facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Amnesty International said after President Barack Obama acknowledged his administration would not meet his deadline for its closure.

"Over recent months, US authorities have allowed the Guantánamo detentions to become a political football, and the politics of fear to trump human rights," said Susan Lee, Director of the Amnesty International's Americas Regional Programme.

"Now, as should have been the case from day one, the government should resolve these detentions by either bringing the detainees to fair trial or immediately releasing them," Susan Lee said.

On 22 January 2009, President Obama signed an executive order committing his administration to resolving the cases of the detainees held at Guantánamo "as promptly as possible", and to closing the detention facility "no later than one year from the date of this order."

In his comments on Wednesday, President Obama would not put an exact new date on closure, stating only that he anticipated it would happen sometime later next year, and adding that it would “depend on cooperation from Congress."

Hopes for an end to the Guantánamo detentions this year have receded over recent months as members of Congress sought to block the closure of the facility, and the administration has been slow to charge detainees.

At the same time, diplomatic efforts to find solutions for detainees who cannot be returned to their home countries for fear of the human rights violations they would face there have been undermined by the refusal of the US authorities to release any in mainland USA.

Amnesty International has long called for the Guantánamo detainees to be brought to trial in an independent and impartial court – not a military commission – or immediately released.

It has also repeatedly called for the USA not to seek the death penalty in any case.

Since President Obama took office, 26 detainees have been transferred out of Guantánamo, leaving 215 still there.

One detainee has been transferred to face trial in a federal court in New York and the administration has announced that another five will also be transferred to the city for such trials, with the likelihood that the death penalty will be sought against them.

The US Attorney General has also said the administration has decided to refer another five cases back to the Pentagon for trial by military commission.

In his 22 January order requiring his administration to ensure "prompt and appropriate" resolution of each and every Guantánamo case and to close the Guantánamo facility within a year, President Obama pointed to the "significant concerns raised by these detentions, both within the United States and internationally".

"Those concerns have not gone away, and will be reignited by President Obama's comments today", Susan Lee said.

(Source: Amnesty International, BBC News, CNN, Flickr)

Merkel Hails Eastern Courage At Wall Anniversary

2009-11-09T18:37:00.005Z

Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the courage of easterners who helped bring down the Berlin Wall as the city celebrated the 20th anniversary of the events that marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a reunited Germany.

The first chancellor to have grown up in communist east Germany, Merkel is hosting dozens of world leaders, past and present, to remember the fall of the Wall.

"The night of November 9, 1989, was the fulfillment of a dream," Merkel said. "Many played a role. But it would not have been possible without the courage of the people in the former East Germany."

Merkel took a walk with former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and former Polish leader Lech Walesa across the bridge at Bornholmer Strasse where East Berliners first breached the border two decades ago in an emotional rush to freedom.

Later Monday, 1,000 brightly colored dominoes set up along a 1.5 km (0.9 mile) stretch where the Wall once stood will be toppled as world leaders watch from the Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of division and now the signature image of a reunited Germany.

Images of the historic night when easterners trapped behind the 3.6-meter (12-foot) high concrete barrier crowded into checkpoints have dominated German television and newspaper coverage for the past week.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- representing the World War Two allies -- are all in town to give speeches.

In pre-released excerpts of his Monday evening remarks, Brown hailed the "unbreakable spirit" of men and women who dared to "dream in the darkness."

Sarkozy put a picture of himself on social networking site Facebook that he said showed him hammering away at the Wall on the fateful night.

"It was a night full of enthusiasm: the German people reuniting marked the end of the Cold War and the start of a period of great freedom in Europe," he wrote.

Deadly Barrier

Backed by the Soviet Union, the East German government began erecting its "anti-fascist protection barrier" in the early hours of August 13, 1961, to end a mass flight of its citizens into capitalist West Berlin.

Initially a makeshift fence of barbed wire, it was gradually built up into an imposing 156-km (97-mile) barrier that encircled the three western sectors of the city and was patrolled by guards who were ordered to shoot anyone who tried to escape.

According to a study published this year, at least 136 people were killed at the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989 while trying to flee.

Thousands of others managed to evade the minefields, guard dogs and watchtowers, using schemes including tunnels, aerial wires and hidden compartments in cars to make it to the West.

The Wall fell after Politburo spokesman Guenter Schabowski told a news conference on November 9 that East German citizens could leave through border crossings, effective immediately.

He was unaware that the decision was not supposed to be announced until 4 a.m. the next morning. Watched by thousands on television, it prompted a rush to the border that unprepared, overwhelmed eastern guards were unable to contain.

Not a single shot was fired and the night turned into a giant city-wide party with easterners roaming the streets of West Berlin in disbelief and residents from both sides of the Wall embracing each other impulsively.

"You made this all possible," Merkel said to Gorbachev, who refused to order a crackdown. "You courageously let the things happen. That was much more than we could have expected."

Helmut Kohl, chancellor when the Wall fell, promised easterners "flourishing landscapes" when the two Germanys unified a year later.

But despite an estimated 1.3 trillion euros in transfers to rebuild the East, the so-called "new states" still suffer from unemployment rates twice that of the West.

A poll of over 1,000 Germans for the Leipziger Volkszeitung daily showed one in eight wanted the Wall rebuilt -- with the numbers nearly equal in East and West.

(Source: Reuters, BBC)

Stonewall Awards 2009

2009-11-06T13:07:00.008Z

Jan Moir, the Daily Mail columnist whose column on the death of gay Boyzone singer Stephen Gately provoked widespread anger, won the Stonewall Bigot of the Year Awards last night jointly with Father John Owen, the priest who said most paedophiles were gay.

Moir was a late nominee, but was chosen after Stonewall received an unprecedented response from its members following the publication of her piece last month.

Last night's ceremony at the Victoria & Albert Musuem was opened by Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill, who spoke about the recent attack on Liverpool gay policeman James Parkes.

Citing the MP David Wilshire, who is being investigated over his expenses, Summerskill reminded the crowd he was the politician who pushed Section 28, which banned teaching about homosexuality in schools, through parliament.

He said: "If any government tries again to introduce a piece of legislation as offensive and demeaning as Section 28, Stonewall is here and we will fight back."

Summerskill then introduced television presenter Gok Wan as the evening's host.

The Winners

The first award, for Publication of the Year, went to G3, the magazine for gay women.

Next up was Politician of the Year. Ben Bradshaw, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport. Introducing him, Wan paid tribute to his struggle through discrimination, saying he was the first openly gay man to reach cabinet level. Bradshaw said he was "honored and humbled" by the award.

Booker Prize nominee Sarah Waters won the Writer of the Year award. Accepting her gong, she said: "This probably isn't a good time to mention my new book doesn't have any lesbian characters." But she added: "I'm thrilled to bits."

Boyzone won the Entertainer of the Year prize, which was accepted by Stephen Gately's civil partner Andrew Cowles.

He got the biggest cheers of the night while walking up to the stage to collect the award from host Gok Wan. Cowles told the crowd that Shane Lynch from the band had hoped to attend the awards but was not able to make it.

The Sports Award of the Year went to Michael Hill, the motorbike racer. He saw off Allison Fisher, HotScots FC, Hope Powell and Kings Cross Steelers RFC to win the award.

There was a joint win for Johann Hari and Joan Bakewell, who both won the Journalist of the Year award.

Bakewell said she was "enormously proud" and recalled the days when gay men could be prosecuted for their sexual orientation.

Hari said: "Joan was on our side when things were totally different. It's up to the rest of us to take these battles forward. The cultural battle is still here."

Samira Ahmed, of Channel 4 News, won the award for Broadcast of the Year for her piece on 'corrective' rape of lesbians in South Africa. Ahmed was not able to attend the ceremony and her husband collected the award on her behalf.

Jan Moir - Bigot Of The Year

Inevitably, the announcement of the Bigot of the Year award caused the most boos and hisses. Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir had been added to the list of nominees at the last minute, after Stonewall received a deluge of complaints about her article on Gately's death from supporters.

She was announced as the joint winner with Father John Owen, who said most paedophiles were gay.

Summerskill told the audience that he had phoned Moir to invite her to the ceremony "but she was so excited she dropped the phone".

The final award to be announced was Hero of the Year. This went to Rev Scott Rennie, the gay man who was appointed as minister of Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen.

Rennie's ordination was opposed by many because he lives with another man, but his congregation overwhelmingly selected him as their minister.

Accepting his award, Rennie said: "Thank you very much. I am deeply humbled to receive this." He also paid tribute to his congregation, thanking them for their support.

Overall the decision of who actually won the wards seemed to go down well with the audience, however through watching the awards, with most of them going to gay men, Stonewall realised that there don't seem to be many British gay women television personalities.

(Source: Pink News, Flickr, BBC News, CNN)

Web Addresses Go Multilingual

2009-10-30T11:21:00.005Z

The regulatory body overseeing the internet has approved the use of website names being written in non-Latin characters.

Viewed as the biggest change in the 40-year history of the internet, it will allow millions of users to use Chinese, Arabic, Korean and Japanese characters for a full internet address, instead of just part of it as now.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), voted on Friday to allow such scripts in domain names at the conclusion of a seven-day meeting in Seoul, the South Korean capital.

Domain names are the monikers behind every website, e-mail address and Twitter post, such as '.com' and other suffixes.

The approval comes a day after the 40th anniversary of the internet's inception in a computer experiment by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.

'Great Initiative'

Wael Ghanim, Google's product and marketing manager for the Middle East and Africa, told Al Jazeera there is now intense interest in the Arabic domain.

"The Arabic domains is actually a great initiative which shows that there is global interest in the Arabic domain as well as it solves a clear problem of transliteration whereby there are a lot of different ways where you can write an Arabic name into English."

There are an estimated 40 million Arab internet users and the number is rising daily.

The decision also allows governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names. That move is expected to begin on November 16 and users could start seeing the names in use early next year, particularly in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts in which demand has been among the highest, Icann officials have said.

Potential Problems

However, not everyone is happy with the changes.

Chang Yong-wong, an internet user, says that certain language domain names could pose some problems.

"If Korean is used during the international communication, foreigners will not be able to understand and will not be able to read it well enough, so there could be some problems in communication."

Since their creation in the 1980s, domain names have been limited to the
26 characters in the Latin alphabet used in English, as well as 10 numerals and the hyphen.

Technical maneuvres have been used to allow portions of the internet address to use other scripts, but until now, the suffix had to use those 37 characters.

That has meant internet users with little or no knowledge of English still had to type in Latin characters to access websites in Chinese or Arabic.

Now, Icann is allowing those same technical means to apply to the suffix as well, allowing the internet to be multilingual.

(Source: Al-Jazeera, YouTube)

£20,000 University Bill, Getting a Job: Impossible

2009-10-28T10:53:00.010Z

I recently graduated with a Masters Degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster, I never thought that finding a job would be a challenge, five months later and I am still applying for an average of around eight or nine jobs a week.

I've applied for everything from Journalism and PR to Web and Online and even retail! I now have a Christmas temporary job at The Disney Store on Oxford Street, London.

I had my first shift last Monday and all I could think about when handing out baskets to customers, was how I have spent over £20,000 educating myself (BA Politics + MA Journalism) over the last five years.

I recently went to a John Lewis assessment day where I did exceptionally well, I got selected to stay behind with only four others out of 50. I am not sure how many people they were hiring but I suspect it to be around 50-80 as they are only temporary Christmas positions.

I haven't heard anything from John Lewis so I take it I didn't get the job, how I don't know, is that what £20,000 has bought me; interviews with 17 years old for a pathetic shop job!

Should You Go To University?

A lot of the feedback I get from failed interviews tends to sound like this: "We thought you were too over qualified for the job" of course I'm over qualified to work as a charity fundraiser but I need a job!!!

Have I educated myself out of a job? I hope not but the more time that goes by that's how it looks.

If a 18 years old were to ask me whether they should go onto University, I would say NO, don't bother. Instead go into an apprenticeship scheme or do a few internships for large organisations and work your way up the ladder, at least by the age of 24 you will have a job!

UK Graduates

Out of all the people I know from both my undergraduate and postgraduate degree I would have to say that only 5% of them have actually got a job that they can foresee becoming their career.

The rest are either desperately unemployed and only the dole or working in retail and hospitality to try to get some urgently needed cash to pay back the mountain of University debt.

They are not only competing with there own year of graduates (2008) now they have the class of 2009 to wrestle with for those all important secure well paid jobs.

Golden Eagles Filmed For The First Time Hunting Reindeer

2009-10-20T11:43:00.006+01:00

Golden eagles have been filmed hunting and attempting to kill reindeer calves.

One eagle is filmed swooping down and grabbing a calf, while another pulls out of an attack at the last minute.

A BBC natural history film crew gathered the extraordinary footage along a reindeer migration route in northern Finland.

It finally proves this eagle species does occasionally hunt reindeer, something suggested by forensic evidence and the local Sami people.

The crew filmed the behaviour while capturing footage of the reindeer migration for the BBC natural history series Life, though the images were shot at too far a distance to be included in the final cut of the high-definition programme.

Television producer Dr Ted Oakes, cameraman Mr Barrie Britton and scientist Mr Harri Norberg set out to film the hunt along the northern edge of Finland.

For his PhD thesis Mr Norberg has spent the past few years studying how predators interact with the reindeer, which are known as caribou in North America.

Mr Norberg would tag calves, then search out those that had stopped moving to find out what killed them.

By examining the bodies, and the size and shape of claw, bite or talon marks, he ascertained that the majority of reindeer calves in the region were being killed by eagles.

But he had never actually witnessed such an attack.

"It is also something that the Sami had always told people and complained about but people didn't believe them," says Dr Oakes.

How They Did It!

To get documentary evidence of the behaviour, Dr Oakes and his colleagues used four-wheeled bikes and the advice of local Sami reindeer herdsmen to follow the reindeer along their migratory route.

Striking a new camp every few days or hours, the crew kept up with the animals as they moved out of the forest and into more northern, open and mountainous land.

The reindeer travel there to avoid wolves and biting insects such as mosquitoes.

"When the reindeer get out in the open, that's when the eagles have a chance," says Dr Oakes.

The film crew captured a handful of successful and aborted attacks on camera.

"One of the things I witnessed was an eagle up a kilometre high and it put its wings up over its head and it fell in a bizarre way, vertically," describes Dr Oakes.

"Then in the last 100 yards it went into a low powerful glide and hit the back of a calf."

"This is an extremely dangerous thing for an eagle to do, because the prey is much larger and heavier."

To kill a reindeer, the birds strike it in a specific region in its haunches, driving their talons into the mammal's kidneys.

"They are not killing anything instantly so they have to ride like a rodeo cowboy on the back of the calf," says Dr Oakes.

"No wildlife filmmaker has ever filmed this before."

"Another one was when the eagle came down and landed near to the calf and was trying to make up its mind," recounts Dr Oakes.

"I think it had misjudged the approach to the calf and ended up on the ground. It was staring at the calf thinking whether it should have another go and the mother reindeer ran in and scared the eagle away."

More often that not the golden eagles appeared to attack white calves, rather than tan or brown ones, though the crew do not know why.

According to Mr Norberg, it is usually immature golden eagles that attempt to kill the calves. However, he also believes the birds occasionally hunt adult reindeer.

These birds are often scared off from the newly killed calves by white-tailed eagles that also live in the region.

The larger white-tailed eagles are not thought to predate on reindeer, but scavenge their carcasses instead.

The BBC series Life is broadcast at 2100BST on BBC One each week from Monday 12th October.

(Source: BBC Natural History Unit, Flickr)

WaterAid Launches New Six Year Strategy

2009-10-13T19:36:00.007+01:00

Global charity, WaterAid has launched a new six year strategy to increase its commitment to its vision of safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation for all.

The strategy involves ambitious targets such as:

providing a further 25 million poor people with safe water
reaching 100 million more people through a commitment to influencing the policies and practices of governments and service providers

WaterAid hopes to significantly extend its reach by aiming to work in 13 new developing countries.

The launch is accompanied by a new film, outlining in more detail the strategic aims:

The strategy also looks at some of the key challenges ahead for WaterAid, such as how to access socially marginalised groups within communities, rapid urbanisation, increasingly stressed water resources and a changing and unpredictable climate.

WaterAid’s UK Chief Executive, Barbara Frost, said: "These are challenging times for everyone, but communities in the developing world need help to break the cycle of poverty more than ever. It is simply unacceptable that 4,000 children continue to die on a daily basis because they don't have access to safe water and sanitation."

"WaterAid will continue to call for water and, in particular, sanitation, to be prioritised by decision-makers at all levels. With the right political will, we believe that our vision of a world where everyone has access to these basic human rights is achievable."

"Without them, many of the Millennium Development Goals set for maternal and child health, primary education and economic growth will fail. Such issues will become ever more relevant as the world’s population continues to grow, and there is increasing stress on global water resources."

"This, together with the threat of climate change, means that there is an increasingly urgent need to tackle the sanitation and water crisis."

WaterAid’s Four Strategic Aims:

To promote and secure poor people's rights and access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation
To support governments and service providers in developing their capacity to deliver safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation
To advocate for the essential role of safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in human development
To further develop as an effective global organisation recognised as a leader in our field and for living our values.

Fast Facts:

At least 4,000 children die every day as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.
884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world's population.
2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is almost two fifths of the world's population.

To find out more, visit www.wateraid.org.

Forced Eviction in Nigeria - World Habitat Day Special

2009-10-06T14:44:00.006+01:00

This is a short film about forced eviction in the Ngofaka-polo Waterfront community Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Njemanze and Abonnema Wharf are within the project site of a commercial entertainment project called "Silverbird Showtime".

UN-HABITAT estimates that "The Silverbird Showtime project" alone will lead to land clearance affecting between 100,000 and 150,000 people.

Forced Eviction

Governments in Africa must end the practice of forced evictions that leave hundreds of thousands homeless every year.

In most cases evictions are conducted without any due process, consultation, adequate notice or compensation. Officials carrying out the evictions often use excessive force against residents.

"It is completely unacceptable that governments across Africa continue to act in violation of regional and international law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director.

"Governments have a responsibility to ensure that no further forced evictions take place in Africa and that victims of forced evictions receive adequate alternative housing and access to effective remedies."

Amnesty International has documented cases of forced evictions in Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The effect of forced evictions can be catastrophic, particularly for people who are already living in poverty.

"Forced evictions result not only in people losing their homes and personal possessions, but after forced evictions people may no longer be able to access clean water, food, sanitation, work, health and education," said Erwin van der Borght.

As recently as July and August 2009, mass forced evictions were carried out in Angola, Chad, Kenya and Nigeria.

In Angola, between 20 and 26 July, around 3,000 families were forcibly evicted from their homes in the adjoining neighbourhoods of Iraque and Bagdad in Angola’s capital Luanda. The families’ homes were demolished, their possessions destroyed, and they were left without shelter.

In Chad, since February 2008, tens of thousands of people have been made homeless after being forcibly evicted from their homes in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital. Houses and other structures have been demolished in several neighbourhoods. Homes were still being demolished in late July 2009, and more people are at risk of being forcibly evicted.

In Kenya, in July 2009, approximately 3,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes in Githogoro village, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The evictions were carried out without adequate notice or any consultation with those affected. Many were left without shelter, some being forced to live in the rubble of their former homes, and without access to clean water, sanitation or health care.

In Nigeria, in August 2009, the government of Rivers state began forcibly evicting thousands of people to make way for a cinema complex: thousands more remain at risk of forced eviction and destitution. Many of those facing forced eviction claim the state government's consultation on the planned evictions was not adequate. The people who live there have received no adequate alternative housing.

Protests on World Habitat Day

People from all over the African continent are planning protests on World Habitat Day to condemn the mass forced evictions being carried out by governments.

Survivors of mass forced evictions, residents of informal settlements and Amnesty International supporters in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe will speak out with one voice against forcible evictions in Africa on 5 October 2009.

Amnesty International members in Austria, Canada, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US will engage in simultaneous campaigning activities in solidarity with their call.

"The mobilisation of people from all over Africa in defiance of the hugely destructive practice of mass forced evictions carried out by governments continent wide is a wake up call to African leaders," said Erwin van der Borght.

"People will not stand by as their homes are illegally destroyed by their government."

As part of its Demand Dignity campaign Amnesty International calls on governments in Africa to adopt guidelines for evictions, based on the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, and which comply with international human rights law.

Let Africa's Leaders Know What You Think

SMS your own personal message to +447786 200 220 [local operator charges apply] saying why forced evictions in Africa need to be brought to an immediate end. Your message will be passed on to governments all over the continent and will be displayed on www.demanddignity.org.

Short Films On Forced Evictions:

Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
Zimbabwe

(Source: Amnesty International)

The Evening Standard For Free!

2009-10-02T11:09:00.005+01:00

The London Evening Standard will drop its cover price and go free from October 12, the publisher has confirmed.

The number of circulated copies of the title will also be doubled from 250,000 a day to more than 600,000 daily, a release said.

Quoted in the release, Alexander Lebedev, chairman of Evening Standard Ltd, said he was sure other 'quality' papers would follow the Standard's lead.

It is hoped that decision to go free and increase circulation will increase the paper's reach.

"Sustaining a paid-for afternoon newspaper had its challenges even before the freesheets were launched in 2006. There are so many competing distractions to potential readers, particularly with new technologies. Being a quality newspaper with large scale and reach should transform our commercial fortunes," said Andrew Mullins, managing director of the Standard, in the announcement.

"This is an historic moment and great opportunity for the London Evening Standard. Its owners will be funding the distribution of over 600,000 copies of the newspaper, making it available to more Londoners than ever before. And most importantly this will be a quality newspaper," added editor Geordie Greig.

Greig, who joined the paper in February replacing Veronica Wadley after Lebedev bought the title, said the Standard's future was 'exiting and secure' and described the doubling of its distribution as a 'pioneering strategy'.

The title's move to free follows News International's decision in August to shut its freesheet thelondonpaper after reporting a significant pre-tax loss in the year to June 29 2008.

The Standard faced stiff competition from thelondonpaper and launched Standard Lite, which later became freesheet London Lite, following its launch in 2006. But Associated Newspapers retained ownership of Lite after the Standard's sale to Lebedev.

Print distribution of the title has fallen from 309,908 copies in June 2006 to 236,000 copies for the first six months of 2009, according to a MediaTel report on statistics from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

Whether the Evening Standard and the London Lite will still be publishing this time next year is uncertain. From a readers point of view the London paper seemed to be a success with a huge readership and distribution, however it was soon realised by News International that it was just not viable anymore.

Will any other papers follow the Standard's lead and star distributing for free?

The most important question of all:

Will newspapers free or not still be around in 20 years?

(Sources: Flickr, Journalism.co.uk)

Oil Spills In The Niger Delta Cost Lives

2009-09-29T12:37:00.011+01:00

'If you want to go fishing, you have to paddle for about four hours through several rivers before you can get to where you can catch fish and the spill is lesser... some of the fish we catch, when you open the stomach, it smells of crude oil.'

This is what a Bodo fisherman told Amnesty International earlier this year, the Bodo fishermen are victims of Shell and other oil companies, oil spills in 2008 and 2009 which have still not been cleaned up.

Amnesty International published a damning new report revealing how decades of environmental damage by Shell and other oil companies in the Niger Delta has caused serious violations of local people's human rights - leaving them to drink polluted water, eat contaminated fish, farm on spoiled land, and breathing in air that stinks of oil and gas.

Launching the report at a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria, Amnesty called the situation in the Niger Delta a 'human rights tragedy,' saying that the people of the Niger Delta have seen their human rights abused by oil companies that their government cannot or will not hold to account.

Shell is the biggest oil company operating in the Niger Delta.

The 141-page report, 'Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta', examines oil spills, gas flaring, waste dumping and other environmental impacts of the oil industry. The majority of the evidence on pollution and environment damage gathered by Amnesty International, and contained in its new report, relates to the operations of Shell.

The human rights impact of pollution in the Niger Delta is greatly under-reported. The majority of people in the Niger Delta depend on the natural environment for their food and livelihood, particularly through agriculture and fisheries.

The human rights organisation also accused the Nigerian government of effectively placing substantial responsibility for remedying human rights abuses in the hands of the very actors responsible for the abuse - the oil companies. As a result, remedies are often ineffective.

Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International Head of Business and Human Rights, said:

'A government's failure to protect the human rights of its people does not absolve companies from responsibility for their actions.'

'Oil companies such as Shell are not free to ignore the consequences of their actions just because the government has failed to hold them to account. The international standard is not 'whatever a company can get away with' - there are international standards for oil industry operations that oil companies in the Niger Delta are very well aware of.

'Despite its public claims to be a socially and environmentally responsible corporation, Shell continues to directly harm human rights through its failure to adequately prevent and mitigate pollution and environmental damage in the Niger Delta.'

Shell and other companies also do no adequate monitoring of - or disclosure of information on - the human impacts of oil operations.

Amnesty International said that clean-up processes in the Niger Delta frequently fail to meet any expert understanding of good practice, with some companies negligently allowing unqualified staff to clean up oil spills, resulting in ongoing contamination of land and water.

Almost every community visited by the organisation recounted that creeks, ponds or rivers had been damaged by oil spills or other oil-related pollution - often more than once, leading to community anger.

Communities and armed groups in the Niger Delta have also contributed to the problem of pollution, by vandalising oil infrastructure and the theft of oil. But the scale of this problem is still not clear.

(Source: Flickr, Amnesty International)

Polanski To Fight Extradition After Zurich Arrest

2009-09-28T12:29:00.003+01:00

Film director Roman Polanski, arrested in Zurich over a U.S. charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, will fight extradition to the United States, his lawyer was quoted as saying Monday.

Polanski, who fled the United States in 1978, was detained Saturday after arriving to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. It was not clear why U.S. authorities had chosen this moment to act on Polanski, 76, a regular visitor to Switzerland with a house here.

"We are going to demand his release and we are going to defend ourselves against the reasons for the extradition procedure," Herve Temime, Polanski's lawyer, told French daily Le Figaro.

"It seems indefensible that 30 years after the fact a 76-year-old man who has shown no evidence of any danger to society and whose reputation ... is well established, can spend a single day in prison," Temime said.

Temime said he was traveling to Zurich with Polanski's wife, French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, who he said was very shocked by the arrest.

Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Sunday her office sent a provisional arrest warrant to the Swiss on learning Polanski would be in Zurich.

Polanski, a French citizen, has avoided countries that have extradition treaties with the United States. He has never returned to Los Angeles, where his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by followers of Charles Manson in 1969.

The U.S. authorities have up to 60 days to make a firm extradition request, but Polanski can appeal to the Swiss Federal Court of Justice against the arrest and extradition.

A spokeswoman for the court said it had not yet received any request in relation to the Polanski case.

Polanski was initially arrested in the United States in 1977 and charged with giving drugs and alcohol to the minor and having unlawful sex with her.

The director maintained the girl was sexually experienced and consented. Polanski spent 42 days in prison undergoing psychiatric tests and eventually agreed to plead guilty and receive a sentence of time served.

But Polanski fled the United States on the eve of his 1978 sentencing because he believed a judge might overrule his plea and put him in jail for 50 years.

His victim Samantha Geimer of Hawaii has said Polanski should not face any jail time, while his lawyers tried and failed earlier this year to have the case dismissed after a 2008 documentary prompted new questions of judicial misconduct.

Petition For Release By Artists

Franco-Greek film director Costa Gavras, the director of France's foremost film institute the Cinematheque, said he had signed a petition along with many others from the movie profession demanding that Polanski be freed immediately.

"Everyone is furious about this thing and this petition will be signed by thousands of people," he told French radio station Europe 1. "A man of this quality can't just be arrested 30 years after an old rehashed story. He must absolutely be set free."

French media reported that Italian actress Monica Bellucci, French actress Fanny Ardant, president of the Cannes film festival Gilles Jacob and Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai were among the signatories of the petition.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also denounced the arrest: "It's a bit sinister, this business, to be quite frank," Kouchner told France Inter radio. "A man of such talent, recognized throughout the world ... All this is not nice."

Born to Polish-Jewish parents on August 18, 1933, he spent the first three years of his life in Paris before the family returned to Poland. He escaped when the Germans sealed off the Krakow Jewish ghetto but his mother later died at Auschwitz.

Polanski scored a huge hit in the United States with 1968 horror thriller 'Rosemary's Baby', and another with 1974's 'Chinatown', a stylish thriller starring Jack Nicholson that was nominated for 11 Academy Awards.

'Tess' (1979) also earned him an Oscar nomination, and Polanski finally won his only best director Oscar for 2002 film 'The Pianist', the story of a Jewish-Polish musician who sees his world collapse with the outbreak of World War Two.

(Source: Reuters)

Freshers' Week Friendships

2009-09-21T14:33:00.008+01:00

As half a million teenagers begin the social whirlwind of Freshers' Week to mark the start of their university careers, is it the most important week of their life for making friends?

By the end of Freshers' Week, Tom Crookston was exhausted and broke.

"It was mad. I don't remember that much about it but it was very intense socially and very drink-heavy."

Six years after that frenetic whirlwind of pub crawls and late nights in Edinburgh, Tom is still close friends with several of those with whom he shared those dizzying few days.

"It was hectic and I spent a huge amount of money. I had just got my first student loan payment, the most money I had had in my life.

"So you think 'Oh my God, I can do whatever I want, eat whatever I want and drink constantly.'"

Now it's all about to happen again - as Tom embarks on a masters degree in Cambridge. But, older and wiser, he expects this Freshers' Week to be a quieter affair.

It will be second time round for him but this week, half a million students begin university life for the first time, which is more than four out of every 10 school leavers.

Best Time of Your Life?

It's a period that is nostalgically characterised as the best of your life, with an expectation that friendships formed there will last a lifetime. Never is that more apparent than in the first week, when the university organises social events to help the newcomers settle in.

"Freshers' Week gives students the opportunity to meet each other - particularly those arriving for the first time - make friends, sign up for societies and clubs, and register for lectures," says Wes Streeter, president of the National Union of Students.

For some universities it is a fortnight but the emphasis is changing, he says, so the events are becoming less alcohol-driven.

Edinburgh University, for example, has introduced fair-trade picnics and coffee walks for students to sample some local culture.

But while there's a host of practical considerations about starting a new course, exploring a new city, managing finances and doing one's own laundry without a parent on hand to explain where the powder goes, for many new students it is the social opportunities that induce the greatest anxiety.

The support network of family and school friends has disappeared, and the moment of arrival at university on the first day, or the time when the parents wave goodbye and drive off, is a pivotal moment in a son or daughter's life - alone in a place which will be home for three or four years.

Some students try to avoid arriving in complete social isolation by making contact with others in advance of the first day, on Facebook or on the UCAS website.

The arbiter on social etiquette, Debrett's, has also tried to help by extending its influence to student life, and publishing a list of dos and don'ts for freshers. The pressure to make friends brings its own social pitfalls, says Jo Bryant, its etiquette adviser.

Don't do something that will haunt you for the rest of your university life, she says, like drunken antics or saying the wrong thing.

"It can seem like you know people better than you actually do, because you're experiencing so many things together.

"You can think you're forging a greater friendship than there is. So keep really strong opinions to yourself."

If people become too obsessed with making friends then they don't listen properly and ask questions, she says. Avoid getting intense with someone early on and be sensitive if you find someone is getting a little clingy.

'No Panic'

The week is quite over-rated in terms of friendship potential, says Mark Vernon, author of The Philosophy of Friendship.

"The problem is there's a tremendous pressure to make friends in this week but because of everyone's expectations, people can rush into it.

"That's why there's the saying that you spend the first term making lots of friends and the second and third ones trying to get rid of them."

Everyone is thrown into a similar situation - a turning point in their life - but a really good friendship is not about sharing an experience but knowing someone as an individual in all kinds of contexts, says Mr Vernon.

"There's a huge amount of nostalgia about college days in Hollywood films and books. People go expecting this to be the moment you make your lifelong friends and after two or three years maybe you will. But don't get into a panic if you haven't met your soul mate in Freshers' Week."

The whole mentality of the week is to commit yourself to something, he says, which is fine if that's the rowing club, but don't feel like you have to make similar commitments to friends.

"You're at a vulnerable moment. A new place and new friends. People around you that are apparently very confident, apparently enjoying their university life. It's quite an intimidating environment."

It takes great courage to really see what's going on and to enjoy it for what it is, but don't think it's any more than it really is.

"Perhaps Aristotle best characterised the human condition when he said:

'The desire for friendship comes quickly but friendship does not.'

(Source: BBC Magazine Flickr)

U.S To Abandon Bush's Nuclear Missile Shield

2009-09-17T13:17:00.006+01:00

The Obama administration is expected to announce today that it will shelve European missile defence plan that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia.

The prime minister of the Czech Republic, one of two countries where the system was to be built, said Thursday that President Barack Obama had told him the United States would abandon the plan.

Jan Fischer said Obama telephoned him to say that Washington no longer intends to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.

Obama's top military adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the administration was "very close" to the end of a seven-month review of a missile defence shield proposal, an idea that was promoted by the George W. Bush administration. Mullen would not divulge its results.

Obama faced the dilemma of either setting back the gradual progress toward repairing relations with Russia or disappointing two key NATO allies, the Czech Republic and Poland, that agreed to host components of the planned system.

Czech government spokesman Roman Prorok said Ellen Tauscher, a U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, was briefing Czech officials in Prague and Polish officials in Warsaw on Thursday about Obama's decision.

"It is most probable that the U.S. administration will unfortunately scrap the plan altogether," said Jaroslaw Gowin, lawmaker for Poland's ruling Civic Platform party. "This would confirm that Central Europe is not in the center of the Obama administration's interest. But maybe the U.S. will offer us an alternative."

Piotr Paszkowski, spokesman for Poland's Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press he would wait for the U.S. announcement before commenting.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates scheduled a news conference Thursday with a top military leader, Marine Gen. James Cartwright, who has been a point man on the technical challenge of arraying missiles and interceptors to defend against long-range missiles that an aggressor such as Iran might lob at the U.S. or its allies. Two military officials said the news conference would concern the missile defence plans.

Obama took office undecided about whether to continue to press for the European system and said he would study it. His administration never sounded enthusiastic about the plan, and European allies have been preparing for an announcement that the White House would not complete the shield as designed.

The decision comes as the Obama administration has been seeking closer ties with Moscow and as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is preparing to visit the United States next week for the U.N. General Assembly and the Group of 20 nations economic summit.

European Missile Defence Plan

The plan for a European shield was a darling of the Bush administration, which reached deals to install 10 interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic – eastern European nations at Russia's doorstep and once under Soviet sway.

Moscow has argued that the system would undermine the nuclear deterrent of its vast arsenal.

Medvedev has praised Obama for reviewing the plans, though the U.S. administration has maintained the Bush administration's argument that the European missile defence plans are aimed at countering a threat from Iran and pose no threat to Russia.

Alexei Arbatov, head of the Russian Academy of Science's Center for International Security, told a Moscow radio station Thursday that "the United States is reckoning that by rejecting the missile-defence system or putting it off to the far future, Russia will be inclined together with the United States to take a harder line on sanctions against Iran."

The administration has given few clues on how it intends to handle European missile defence. Officials have said the review would consider alternative plans to those involving Poland and the Czech Republic.

At an Army missile defence conference last month, Cartwright, who is vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that the U.S. may have underestimated how long it would take Iran to develop long-range missiles. That was seen as a clue that the administration might be backing away from the European plan as devised.

Military officials at the conference discussed possible alternatives for European missile defence, including using shorter-range interceptors from other locations closer to Iran.

Cartwright also has discussed ways the United States might join forces with other nations to watch and protect against Iranian missiles. Using multiple sensors, including some in the Persian Gulf region, theoretically could provide at least a partial shield for Eastern Europe without basing a full radar and interceptor system so close to Russia.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the administration would preserve any of the planned physical emplacements for the European system.

Breaking News 17/09/2009 1300 GMT:

The Pentagon says the Obama administration is making a "major adjustment" to a European missile defence plan that has been an irritant in relations with Russia.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says the plan has been changed to better protect U.S. forces and allies in Europe from Iranian missile attacks.

Earlier Thursday, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, one of two countries where the system was to be built, said President Barack Obama had told him the United States would abandon the plan.

The Pentagon says the change comes in part because the U.S. has concluded that Iran is less focused on developing the kind of long-range missiles for which the original system was developed.

(Source: Associated Press, Huffington Post)

My Latest Tweets!

2009-09-16T17:07:00.005+01:00

To keep up with my latest Tweets follow me.

If you think that I should blog about a specific topics then let me know by tweeting me!

Look forward to reading some of your thoughts and ideas!

12-Year-Old Yemeni Child-Bride Dies After 3 Days in Labour

2009-09-15T13:17:00.007+01:00

A 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said.

Fawziya Abdullah Youssef died of severe bleeding while giving birth to a stillborn in the al-Zahra district hospital of Hodeida province, 223 kilometers west of the capital San'a.

Child marriages are widespread in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, where tribal customs dominate society. More than a quarter of the country's females marry before age 15, according to a recent report by the Social Affairs Ministry.

Youssef was only 11 when her father married her to a 24-year-old man who works as a farmer in Saudi Arabia, said Ahmed al-Quraishi, chairman of Siyaj human rights organisation, which promotes the rights of children in Yemen.

Al-Quraishi said that he stumbled upon Youssef in the hospital while investigating cases of children who had fled from the fighting in the north.

"This is one of many cases that exist in Yemen," said al-Quraishi. "The reason behind it is the lack of education and awareness, forcing many girls into marriage in this very early age."

Impoverished parents in Yemen sometimes give away their young daughters in return for hefty dowries. There is also a long-standing tribal custom in which infant daughters and sons are promised to cousins in hopes it will protect them from illicit relationships, he said.

Al-Quraishi said there are no statistics to show how many marriages involving children are performed every year.

Politics

The issue of child brides vaulted into the headlines here two years ago when an eight-year-old Yemeni girl went by herself to a courtroom and demanded a judge dissolve her marriage to a man in his 30s.

She eventually won a divorce, and legislators began looking at ways to curb the practice.

In February, parliament passed a law setting the minimum marriage age at 17. But some lawmakers are trying to kill the measure, calling it un-Islamic.

Before it could be ratified by Yemen's president, they forced it to be sent back to parliament's constitutional committee for review.

Such marriages also occur in neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia, where several cases of child brides have been reported in the past year, though the phenomenon is not believed to be nearly as widespread as in Yemen.

(Source: AP)

Social Media Costing Lives?

2009-09-10T12:21:00.009+01:00

Over the last month social media sites, specifically Facebook has had significant press coverage surrounding the implications that this popular social network site is having on society.

In late August the Manchester local press reported that girls as young as 12 were being recruited by gangsters who lured them in through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. They are put under pressure to perform sex acts to be initiated into gangs, child protection.

On the 2nd of September a jury heard about Hayley Jones, 26, was found stabbed and strangled just days after altering her relationship status on Facebook from "married" to ''single''. Brian Lewis, 31, allegedly killed her after telling pals he could not bear losing her to another man.

More recently two Australian girls who were trapped in a storm drain decided to update their status on Facebook instead of calling the emergency services. Luckily one of their friends was on Facebook and saw the update and decided to call the emergency services.

A fire service spokesman in Adelaide said he was concerned about "relying on someone being online and replying to them and eventually having to call us via 000 anyway".

Today seven NHS workers both doctors and nurses face the sack after being caught spending time on Facebook in the busy A&E department.

Is Facebook Worth It?

This question has to be asked, with over 250 million active users is Facebook healthy?

Already we have heard of those Japanese teenagers who are sent to Internet addiction camps where they are subjected to beating and extremely harsh treatment to try to rid them of their addiction to social networks and the Internet in general.

The youth of today are growing up in a Web 2.0 society, its probably that one in every 4 people you know in the UK will be on Facebook if you are under 25. The majority of British youths are spending more and more time online interacting with each other through social networks like Facebook.

Anthropologists have already suggested that this interaction could effect how young people make friends and socialise in the 'real world'.

Try to imagine how teenagers in 2080 will interact with each other, will they even talk to each other or will it all be done over the Internet or some other technological reality!

Should Soldiers Risk Their Lives For Journalists?

2009-09-09T15:01:00.009+01:00

On today's BBC World Have Your Say Programme broadcast on the BBC's World Service Radio at 1800 GMT we will be discussing whether soldiers should risk their lives to save or protect journalists.

This comes from the news that Stephen Farrell a journalist for the New York Times has been freed in a raid by US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

So far I have arranged for a military blogger, Jonn Lilyea (This ain't hell) and The Observers Foreign Affairs Correspondent Peter Beaumont to take part in the live discussion.

If you are x-military and have an opinion on this please get in touch with me asap so that you can also take part in the live radio program.

You can listen to the program live at 1800 GMT here.

The Photo Dividing American Opinion on the Afghan War

2009-09-07T15:38:00.011+01:00

It is a deeply disturbing image which depicts the grim reality of war - a fatally wounded U.S. soldier lies slumped in the mud as fellow marines desperately try to save him as his young life ebbs away.

But the release of the picture by a news agency in the U.S., which went against the wishes of the victim's family, has sparked a furious debate which has divided a nation.

The grim photograph shows Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard, 21, shortly after he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a Taliban ambush of his squad last month in Dahaneh, Afghanistan.

It shows Bernard, 21, of New Portland, Maine, lying mortally wounded with one leg blown off and another badly mangled as his colleagues try in vain to save him.

The U.S. defence secretary, Robert Gates, condemned the decision by the news agency Associated Press to publish the graphic photograph after Bernard was killed in Afghanistan.

In a scathing letter to Tom Curley, president and chief executive of the AP, Gates said the decision was 'appalling', saying it was a matter of 'judgment and common decency' not to publish the photo.

Gates wrote in the letter: 'I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard's death has caused his family.

'Why your organisation would purposely defy the family's wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me.

'Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple newspapers is appalling.

However, AP has defended the decision, which editors said they made only after careful review and sharing the pictures with the family.

The news agency said it decided 'to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it'.

The publication of the image has reignited debate in the U.S. about the sanitisation of war at a critical time for the military offensive.

It has dealt a further blow to U.S. President Barack Obama, with support for the war in Afghanistan dwindling with the wavering American public.

The President has already warned this weekend that any attempts to send more U.S. troops to the conflict is likely to be met with resistance in Congress.

The publication of such dramatic images has been relatively rare, but critics are likely to use it to draw comparisons with the Vietnam war, to suggest that the conflict in Afghanistan is unwinnable.

The photograph was part of a package of articles and photographs about Lance Cpl. Bernard and his unit, which was ambushed in Afghanistan on August 14.

Bernard's Family

Before sending the package to its newspaper clients, AP sent a reporter to Maine to talk with the victim's family 'out of respect', said Michael Oreskes, AP's senior managing editor.

But the father, John, a former Marine, asked the newswire not to publish the picture, saying it would only hurt the family more.

In an advisory to clients, AP said its articles and photographs 'offered vivid insights' into how the battle was fought, and into Bernard's character and background.

After the articles and pictures had been distributed but before they were published, Gates called Curley to beseech him to change his mind.

'I am begging you to defer to the wishes of the family,' Gates said, according to his spokesman. Shortly after hanging up, Gates sent his letter.

However, AP distributed the picture AP distributed the picture despite personal pleas from Gates and the dead Marine's family in a case that illustrated the difficult decisions in reporting on a conflict where Americans have seen relatively few images of fallen U.S. troops over eight years.

Good Journalism?

The picture, by AP photographer Julie Jacobson, shows Lance Cpl. Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard, lying on the ground with severe leg injuries after being struck by a grenade in an ambush on August 14, his fellow Marines tending to him.

Bernard was airlifted to the U.S. Camp Leatherneck but died of his wounds.
He was the 19th American to lose his life in Helmand that month during a bloody month for U.S. and British forces.

After the photo was published on Friday, the Pentagon released its communications with the AP.
John Daniszewski, AP senior managing editor, said he respected Gates' view but that sometimes the government and press have different perspectives.

'We thought that the image told a story of sacrifice; it told a story of bravery,' Daniszewski said.

'We felt that the picture told a story that people needed to see and be aware of.'

Jacobson and reporter Alfred de Montesquiou were embedded with Bernard's unit and had followed them on patrol in Dahaneh, Afghanistan.

She took her pictures from a distance using a long lens. The AP on Thursday ran a package of photos from that day and others that showed his life in uniform and his memorial service.

The AP also distributed a detailed story, accompanied by the photographer's journal and an article explaining why the photo was used.

Gates' plea came after the story and photo were sent on the wire but before the time set for releasing the package for publication.

The AP had sent the photo as part of its package of stories and photographs under this 'embargo' to give editors and producers time to consider whether to use the photo of the fallen Marine, the organisation said.

Gates wrote that use of the photo of a wounded Bernard would mark an 'unconscionable departure' from the restraint that most journalists have shown in covering the military since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Front Page News

However, The AP did not change its decision. The picture and story appeared on at least 20 newspaper front pages on Friday.

None used the picture of a mortally wounded Bernard on the front page, although it was used inside newspapers and on websites like the Huffington Post.

The Newark, New Jersey, Star-Ledger ran a picture of Bernard's memorial service on its front page and the ambush picture inside.

Editor Jim Willse said it was 'not a difficult decision for us', and said it would have run the ambush picture out front 'if the story had been presented differently'.

The Wheeling, West Virginia, Intelligencer ran the photo inside and an editorial explaining why it did 'after hours of debate.'

'Too often, we fear, some Americans see only the statistics, the casualty counts released by the Department of Defense,' the newspaper wrote.

'We believe it is important for all of us to understand that behind the numbers are real men and women, sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice, for us.'

The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald ran an editor's note with the story saying it had received the photo but believed it would be in 'poor taste' to publish it. Bernard was raised in New Portland, Maine.

While the story was being written, an AP reporter visited the home of John and Sharon Bernard to learn more about their son.

The couple was shown Jacobson's pictures, and requested that they not be used.

In a later fact-checking phone call, John Bernard asked in stronger terms that the photos not be used, Daniszewski said.

Although the family was shown the pictures ahead of time as a courtesy, 'we did not ask permission' to use them, Daniszewski said.

'There was no question that the photo had news value,' he said. 'But we also were very aware the family wished for the picture not to be seen.

'That created a difficult choice between our job to document the war and our respect for the suffering of the corporal's family.'

During lengthy internal discussions, the family issue was the most difficult, he said. Ultimately, the AP concluded that 'the photo itself is a part of the war we needed to cover and convey'.

The son of a retired marine, Bernard was described as a devout Christian, an Iraq war veteran, a keen snowboarder and an avid hiker.

His father, John, described him as a 'humble, shy, unassuming' man who did not smoke or drink and whose main friends were from his church group.

Three weeks before Joshua died, Bernard Snr had written to his congressman expressing frustration at what he said was a change in the rules of engagement to spare civilians, calling the move 'disgraceful, immoral and fatal' to American forces in combat.

Asked to sum up his son, John Bernard suggested the words 'service and personal honour'.

However, as America continues to debate the use of his image, Joshua Bernard has now come to symbolise the suffering inflicted on America's sons and daughters in uniform, and the unease of fellow citizens forced to confront the grim truth about their deaths.

(Sources: Huffington Post, Daily Mail, The Times, The Guardian, BBC, Flickr)

OECD - 'Britain Slowest To Emerge From The Recession'

2009-09-03T12:16:00.011+01:00

Britain's economy will lag other developed nations in emerging from recession, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The organisation, which exists to promote economic growth and development, said that several of the economies in the G7 group of developed nations would perform better during the whole of 2009 than it predicted in June — with Britain a glaring exception.

The news will come as an embarrassment to Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling ahead of this weekend's meeting of the G20 finance ministers in London and a summit in Pittsburgh beginning on September 24.

The OECD said that it now expected the UK economy to contract by 4.7 per cent for the year as a whole. That compares with the 4.3 per cent contraction it forecast in its June Economic Outlook forecast.

Britain was the only member of the G7 group of developed nations for which the Paris-based organisation has reduced its growth forecast since June. The OECD now expects the eurozone to suffer a 3.9 per cent contraction during the year, compared with the 4.8 per cent previously forecast, while the predicted contraction for Japan's economy has come down from 6.8 per cent to 5.6 per cent.

Europe

Within the eurozone, the outlook for Germany and France has improved significantly, with the German economy predicted to contract by 4.8 per cent this year — down from the 6.1 per cent forecast by the OECD in June. The organisation also expects the French economy to contract by only 2.1 per cent this year — down from the 3 per cent reduction it expected three months ago.

Mr Darling is arguing that leading nations must keep pumping money into the global economy to support growth. However, other countries, led by Germany, are calling for a $1.1 trillion global rescue package agreed by G20 leaders to be scaled back amid fears it risks burdening economies with too much debt and could encourage inflation.

The OECD also predicted that Canada's economy will contract by 2.5 per cent during the year — down from the 2.6 per cent previously forecast. The outlook for the US economy was unchanged — with the OECD continuing to expect a contraction of 2.8 per cent during 2009.

Delivering its latest Interim Economic Assessment, the OECD said that it expected the United States and the eurozone to return to economic growth during the third quarter of 2009, but said that Britain would not return to economic growth until next year.

It predicted that the UK economy would contract by 1 per cent during the third quarter of 2009 — lagging the US, Japan, Germany and France — and forecast it will experience zero growth during the fourth quarter of the year.

The OECD did warn, though, that Japan, the world's second-biggest economy, will return to negative growth during the final three months of 2009.

Overall, the OECD said that the global economy was set to pull out of recession faster than expected, with interest rates set to remain at historically low levels for most of 2010.

Jorgen Elmeskov, the Acting Head of the OECD's Economics Department, said that, in view of the mostly positive economic news during recent months, the organisation's short-term forecasting models were now pointing to an earlier recovery than envisaged a few months ago.

Mr Elmeskov said that increased economic slack and the collapse in commodity prices earlier this year had "damped somewhat" underlying inflation and would continue to act as a brake on inflation.

OECD Warning

But he warned: "Substantial slack, combined with the prospect for a weak recovery, implies that strong policy stimulus will continue to be needed in the near term. Regarding monetary policy, taking the first steps towards normalisation of policy interest rates from their current exceptionally low levels should in most cases and on current prospects wait until well into 2010 and in some cases, even beyond."

(Source: The Times, BBC, CNN, Flickr)

A Lesson in Journalism, Social Media and The Origins of Online News

2009-08-27T07:00:00.007+01:00

Journalism as we know it in the West goes back at least two millennia with the appearance of the Acta Diurna (Daily Events), official texts of general interest handwritten and publicly posted in ancient Rome.

Journalism has always played a huge role in society; Thomas Jefferson famously said that if given the choice of newspapers or Government, he’d take newspapers; journalism was that important to society he insisted.

By the time of the 20th Century, journalism had become a corporate force in society; 1980 saw the launch of the first 24-hour global news network, CNN. Since then thousands of other regional, national and International companies have set up their own 24-hour television news networks.

Creation of HTML

Networks such as CNN, BBC News 24 and Sky News, have traditionally been the place for breaking news, arguably this all changed due to Tim Berners – Lee ’s creation of hypertext technology in 1990 that became known as the World Wide Web.

Berners – Lee created the first browser and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which enabled anyone with a modest amount of knowledge to publish documents on web pages.

The World Wide Web became publicly available on August the 6th 1991. Berners-Lee’s creation allowed an expansion of the extremely limited access Internet, which had been around two decades prior to his creation.

There are more than half a billion people in the world today who access the Internet on a regular basis, 30% of them live in the United States.

The Internet is a $1 trillion dollar industry and rising with people spending longer periods of time browsing the web.

For Example - Americans spend an average of 7 hours and 30 minutes per week on the Internet at home. Arguably the web is now the most powerful of all media due to its global 24/7 reach and the vast amount of information it offers.

Shift in Communication

In the past 150 years we’ve essentially had two distinct means of communication: one-to-many (newspapers, radio and TV) and one-to-one (letters and telephone).

The Internet for the first time gives us many-to-many and few-to-few communications. This new method of communication that the Internet offers has vast implications for the audience and the producers of news, as it becomes harder to distinguish the difference between the two.

Blogs are a perfect example of this, anyone can write a blog on anything news related or otherwise, but when it is news related a shift in journalism practice occurs, the former consumer of mass media news has now become the producer.

The first blog was set up by Jorn Barger in December 1997, Barger described his page as a “weblog”, a term that would later be replaced by the expression “blog”.

Overtime blogs would prove to be a vital part of the World Wide Web and play a huge role in journalism and its future.

Social Media & Journalism

Over the last few years’ social media technology has made it even harder to differentiate between those who produce the news and those who consume it.

In 1996 four Israeli technologists invented the Instant Messenger system (IM) for desktop computers called ICQ, this would become the seedling of social media technology.

The first social network site was set up in 1997, named SixDegrees it let people make profiles and connect with friends. This interactivity on the web became known as Web 2.0 technology.

Most people regard all technology seen on the Internet before it went bust in 2000 as Web 1.0 which was all about establishing an online presence and providing news, information and entertainment for users to consume.

After the bust, the Internet entered a new phase; Web 2.0 seen before on social network sites that were set up in the late 1990s but which failed to catch on.

Web 2.0 implies that many of the exponential growth in online traffic will now be focused on social networking, establishing online communities and allowing users to participate in the creation and modification of content.

Web 2.0 in simple terms means the creation of interactive websites that allows users to participate and create their own content. Web 2.0-gained momentum in 2002 – 2003 with the social network, Friendster, that allowed people to write their own content and have their own page.

More recently Web 2.0 technology has taken up a larger portion of the web, with the introduction of Myspace in 2004 and then Facebook in 2007; the most successful social network of all time, other Web 2.0 sites include photo and video content sharing sites like Flickr, Youtube and Ustream and more recently the introduction of the 140 character update site; Twitter which is seen as something of a global phenomenon at the moment.

Online News

Online news has been around a lot longer than most people think, The Columbus Dispatch newspaper in Ohio began offering an online edition through CompuServe in 1980, but the Internet Service Provider (ISP) was relatively small and only served four thousand members.

By 1995 there were over 330 newspapers on the World Wide Web serving over a million people.

By 2003 there were over three thousand U.S newspapers offering an online service.

The television cable news network, CNN launched its online service called CNN Interactive on 30th August 1995, followed two years later by the BBC who launched BBC News Online in November 1997.

When these news networked launched their sites, they approached the design and content in a similar way to how they approached their television audience.

They pushed news towards the viewer, the audience were provided with the same content online as that found on the television. BBC News Online was initially a success.

By early 1998 BBC Online had been confirmed as the leading British Internet content site, with BBC News Online recording 8.17 million page impressions in March.

However, after the Internet bust in 2000 news organisations began to realise that a change was taking place, online users no longer wanted stories pushed at them.

Instead they wished to select what they felt like reading, this is known as the shift in journalism consumption from a push approach to a pull approach, and social networks were about to make this change unavoidable for news corporations to ignore.

Social media and Web 2.0 technologies have ultimately changed the way in which journalists work and how the audience consumes, produces news.

Sri Lanka Rejects 'Execution Video'

2009-08-26T14:09:00.003+01:00

The Sri Lankan High Commission has denied its forces carried out atrocities against ethnic Tamils after a video apparently showing a man being executed by Sri Lankan soldiers was aired on Channel 4 News in Britain.

(To view the video click here, please note some people may find it distressing to watch)

The footage, appearing to show a man dressed in Sri Lankan military uniform shooting a naked, bound and blindfolded man.

A second man was also shown being shot dead later in the footage, said to have been taken by a soldier using a mobile phone. Corpses could also been seen in the background.

If it weren't for mobile phone video recording technologies and the mobile web, this footage would never have been recorded, and these killings could continue without the outside world knowing anything about them.

'No atrocities'

The Sri Lankan government's mission in London said soldiers had only been involved in fighting Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"The High Commission of Sri Lanka categorically deny that the Sri Lankan armed forces engaged in atrocities against the Sri Lankan Tamil community," it said in a statement to Channel 4 on Tuesday.

"They were only engaged in a military offensive against the LTTE."

"The High Commission has noted that in many instances in the past, various media institutions used doctored videos, photographs and documents to defame the Sri Lankan government and armed forces," it said.

Channel 4 said it obtained the video from a group calling itself Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.

The group said the video was filmed in January when the Sri Lankan government was preventing foreign media from covering events in the country's conflict zone.

'Civilians killed'

The controversy comes three months after the Sri Lankan government launched a large military offensive against the LTTE and captured the Tamil Tiger-held town of Kilinochchi.

The army then pushed the rebels into a small area of the northeast.

The United Nations estimated up to 100,000 people were killed in the 25-year conflict, which was declared ended in May.

Human rights groups said at the time a humanitarian crisis was taking place with innocent civilians being killed.

About 300,000 mainly Tamil civilians who fled the fighting are currently living in state-run camps.

The fighting brought to a close a civil war that erupted after the Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for the nation's minority Tamil population.

(Source: YouTube, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Reuters, Channel 4 News)

Lockerbie Bomber - 'To Prove His Innocence'

2009-08-22T15:52:00.006+01:00

The man convicted of the 1988 bombing of an aircraft over the Scottish town of Lockerbie has said he would present new evidence to prove his innocence before he dies, UK's The Times newspaper has reported.

In an article out today, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, interviewed in his family home in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, said he had suffered a "miscarriage of justice".

"If there is justice in the UK I would be acquitted or the verdict would be quashed because it was unsafe. There was a miscarriage of justice," al-Megrahi was quoted as saying.

The Times said 57-year-old al-Megrahi, released on compassionate grounds, promised that before he died, he would present new evidence through his Scottish lawyers that would exonerate him.

"My message to the British and Scottish communities is that I will put out the evidence and ask them to be the jury," he said, refusing to elaborate.

Asked who carried out the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which killed 270 people, he replied: "It is a very good question but I am not the right person to ask."

Meeting With Gaddafi

The former intelligence agent, who is suffering from advanced prostate cancer, was released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds.

He returned to his native country on Thursday, greeted by hundreds of cheering Libyans.

He also met with Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, who praised the Scottish authorities for their "courage" to release him from prison

"At this moment I would like to send a message to our friends in Scotland, the Scottish Nationalist Party, the Scottish prime minister ... and I congratulate them on their courage and for having proved their independence despite the unacceptable and unreasonable pressures they faced," Libya's official news agency Jana quoted Gaddafi as as saying.

Britain described celebrations in Libya upon al-Megrahi's return as being "deeply distressing" and Barack Obama, the US president, called the warm welcome "highly objectionable".

Senior US officials said that al-Megrahi's early release could disrupt diplomatic relations between Washington and Tripoli.

Many families of the victims in the bombing have expressed anger that he was released after serving only eight years of a minimum 27-year sentence.

Four years after al-Megrahi's conviction in 2001, Libya admitted responsibility and paid about $2.7bn in compensation to the families of those killed.

The move prompted the lifting of international sanctions against Libya and led to a restoration in diplomatic ties between Tripoli and the West.

(Sources: Al-Jazeera, The Times, Flickr)

Job Needed for MA Journalism Grad.

2009-08-16T18:11:00.005+01:00

I have just completed a MA in Broadcast Journalism at The University of Westminster, and I am desperately searching for any available work in the journalism industry.

I also have a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Hull.

I have had internships at the BBC's World Service on the World Have Your Say Program, as well as an internship at CNN.com, I have also worked on three online magazines and my 15 minute radio documentary telling the stories of genocide survivors was featured on RW Radio Network in July 2009.

I am extremely hard working and great on computers. Please find more details below:

SKILLS:

Final Cut Pro, iMovie HD, iDVD, Soundtrack Pro, Cool Edit Pro, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Audacity, Burli, inDesign, Podcasting Software, MPEG Streamclip, ENPS, iNewsroom/Tools.

Typist, advanced user of MS Word, Access, PowerPoint, and Excel (Office). Advanced user of Mac OSX systems, Windows Vista, and Windows 95/2000.

Experience with web designs, html and emerging platforms.

During my MA Broadcast Journalism I covered the following topics:

Business and Finance Journalism

Radio/TV news production – Extensive use of DV and broadcast cameras as well as news room multimedia systems.

Media Law (NCTJ cert.)

Shorthand (60 wpm) - Teeline

Radio/TV/Music/Film editing including a 15 min Radio Documentary broadcast on RW Radio Network 2009.

If you or anyone you know has a temp/perm, part/full time paid job available please email me on rosehawkins21@hotmail.com, or contact me through Twitter.

Abandoned Kittens Let Down By The RSPCA

2009-08-09T18:16:00.014+01:00

Last week I rescued a stray kitten approx 6 months old, she was so thin and was crying outside my flat, obviously she had been abandoned by her previous owner as she is very friendly and playful.

I have never taken in a stray animal before and thought the re-homing process would be a lot easier. I had no contact with the RSPCA before this and thought of them as a highly charitable organization committed to re-homing stray and unwanted pets.

When I rang them up I was shocked to find out that the cat is now my responsibility and if I don't want it in my home I should "send it back out onto the streets because cats, even kittens are strong even if they look skinny and sick".

Obviously I did not put the cat back on the streets! Instead I have had it living with me for the past week whilst I try to re-home it.

London is apparently full of black unwanted kittens and cats, and they're just aren't enough shelters for all the strays and unwanted cats.

Maybe if the RSPCA stopped spending so much money on advertising and actually invested it into building more shelter for homeless animals, these young animals wouldn't be left on the streets.

I must mention how amazing Animal Aid and Welfare in East Finchley have been, they took the kitten to the RSPCA discount vet for me and didn't let the RSPCA take it into one of its packed homes where if not re-homed within a certain time it would be 'euthanised' according to a lady from their head office!

Also the Wood Green Animal Shelter which sounds and looks like a lovely place, who have said they may be able to take Betsy the kitten into its care this week and get her re-homed!

There are some amazing small cat shelters and animal charities out there, if you can don't donate to the mass corporations like the RSPCA help those like the Wood Green Shelter and Animal Aid and Welfare who never put any healthy animal or animal that can be treated with medication down.

Aussi Driver, Straps Down Beer - Forgets About Child!

2009-08-04T22:11:00.006+01:00

A car driver in Australia has been fined for strapping down his beer rather than his young child.

Police said they were "shocked and appalled" when they pulled over the car south of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.

They said the 30-can pack of beer was strapped down between two adults in the back, with the five-year-old child unrestrained on the floor.

The driver was handed a fine of A$750 (US$709; £362).

The fine was for failing to ensure a child was wearing a seat belt as well as driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.

'Blank' look

The car was pulled over on the Ross Highway last Friday.

Constable Wayne Burnett said: "I haven't ever seen something like this before.

"This is the first time that the beer has taken priority over a child... The child was sitting in the lump in the centre, unrestrained."

When Constable Burnett handed over the fine he said the driver "just looked at me blankly".

"He didn't get it," Constable Burnett said.

"I asked him about the fact the child was unrestrained and the beer was, and he said he didn't know anything about it."

Superintendent Sean Parnell of Alice Springs police said the incident was a "timely reminder" to ensure "all passengers are secured".

(Source: BBC News)

India's Launches Nuclear Submarine

2009-07-28T14:24:00.005+01:00

India's launch of a nuclear-powered submarine is a threat to regional peace and security, Pakistan has said.

"Pakistan will take appropriate steps to safeguard its security without entering an arms race," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said.

The submarine, unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday, will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km away.

At Sunday's launch, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India had no aggressive designs on anyone.

India has become only the sixth country in the world to build its own nuclear-powered submarine - until now only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China had the capability to do so.

'Jeopardising Security'

But the move has prompted concern over the border.

"The continued induction of new lethal weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability," Mr Basit said.

"Pakistan believes the maintenance of strategic balance is essential for peace and security in the region."

Pakistan navy spokesman, Captain Abid Majeed Butt, told Dawn News television that the launch of the submarine was a "destabilising step".

He said it would "jeopardise the security paradigm of the entire Indian Ocean region" - and warned of a possible nuclear arms race in the region.

At the launch ceremony Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it was necessary to keep pace with technological advancements worldwide.

He added that the sea was becoming increasingly relevant to India's security concerns.

The 6,000 tonne Arihant submarine will only be deployed after a few years of trials. But it will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km (437 miles) away.

Sanjoy Majumder a BBC correspondent in Delhi says until now India has been able to launch ballistic missiles only from the air and from land.

Nuclear submarines will add a third dimension to its defence capability.

When it is eventually deployed, the top-secret Arihant will be able to carry 100 sailors on board.

It will be able to stay under water for long periods and thereby increase its chances of remaining undetected.

By contrast, India's ageing conventional diesel-powered submarines need to constantly surface to recharge their batteries.

The BBC News Online website says the launching of the Arihant is a clear sign that India is looking to blunt the threat from China which has a major naval presence in the region.

(Source: BBC News)

The Generation Left Behind

2009-07-20T19:57:00.006+01:00

This year thousands of University graduates in the UK are going to find themselves in a very sticky situation.

I graduated from my undergraduate degree last May, and have just completed a Masters in Broadcast Journalism. Many of my friends who did not go on to further study last year have found it nearly impossible to get their careers started.

Many have ended up working for free on internships where your main role is to make tea or working in minimum wage jobs.

Last years graduates who have began their chosen careers are few and far between I don't know anyone my age who is working in a profession that they studied for at University or anyone who is remotely working in a similar industry to that of their desired career.

The class of 2008, have been left behind and the class of 2009 face a even tougher challenge.

Just take a look on a jobs advertisement website like grapevine or mandy.com, out of one hundred jobs advertised there, only a few are available to graduates and most of those are unpaid, which brings me on to my second point: Since when was it okay for film and television companies to employ graduates free of charge for domestic (cleaning) purposes?

If somebody told me before I enrolled at University and spent over £12,000 that when I graduate the only opportunities that I will have will be to work on minimum wage or work for free doing menial tasks like making tea I would not of bothered putting myself through three tough years!

What are 21 - 24 year old's meant to do exactly?

The options we have are limited:

1. Get a job on minimum wage and spend 10 years paying off our student loans and that's just counting the interest we have obtained over the last four years!
2. Leave this country where there are no opportunities for young people anymore - of course this requires money which very few young people have!
3. Claim benefits which won't really help anyone, as overdrafts and loans will still not be paid off!

Seriously what else can young people do? When is someone going to start doing something to help us get a foot into the job market!

If this continues I suspect thousands of young people will begin to suffer from low self-esteem, confidence and depression.

The worst thing about all of this is that no-one seems to care.

Temporary Vacation From Blogging

2009-07-15T14:52:00.004+01:00

I am currently working on my Dissertation: Is there a future for traditional journalism, a case study looking at the impact of social media technology on the journalism industry.

I will not be updating this blog as often as I normally do, but I hope to get at least one or two postings out a week, I will however be updating my Twitter daily so follow me!

Daily blogging will resume when the dissertation is handed in at the end of August!

Take Part In My Dissertation!

2009-07-13T13:55:00.007+01:00

I am looking to get a lot of your opinions about the impact that social media technology (twitter, facebook, blogging etc) is having on traditional journalism.

Please follow me on Twitter to take part in the polls and send me your comments and thoughts about this subject.

Boy Sucked Into Pool Pump System

2009-07-13T11:14:00.005+01:00

A 14-year-old schoolboy from the Isle of Man has died while on holiday in Thailand after being sucked into a swimming pool pumping system.

It is thought Nathan Clark opened a metal vent at the bottom of the pool in an attempt to retrieve his goggles. The incident happened in the resort of Pattaya, east of the capital Bangkok. He was holidaying with his father, brother, stepbrother and stepmother.

Police are investigating how he opened the vent which should have been locked.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman has confirmed the boy's death. The incident happened on Friday at a water park in the resort, which is 85 miles (137km) from Bangkok.

Lifeguards 'criticised'

A Thai police commander said Nathan was swimming with his brother in a whirlpool area when he lifted up a grate to try to retrieve his goggles.

BBC sources in Bangkok said the swimming pool was less than 1m deep.

He was then apparently swept into the pool's pumping system.

His brother raised the alarm and his father jumped into the water to try to find him, but his body was found 30 minutes later in the pool's engine room.

Nathan's family have reportedly criticised lifeguards at the pool who they say refused to take their pleas for help seriously or carry out a search of the pumping system.

The water park has now reportedly offered the family compensation.

The Foreign Office said: "Our consular people in Thailand are giving assistance at this tragic time for the family."

The Clark family had been due to move to India where Nathan's father Jim had been posted for work.

Nathan was a pupil at Ramsey Grammar School until he moved to Thailand in April 2008, said a spokesman for the Isle of Man Government's department of education.

The school community is saddened to hear of Nathan's death and all our thoughts are with his family, he added.

Nathan also attended Ballacloan Primary School and then Scoill Vallajeelt School.

Ian Walmsley, former head teacher of Scoill Vallajeelt, said he remembered the teenager with "fondness" and was "very saddened by the news".

(Source: BBC)

Parent Company of Gourmet Burger + Tootsies Struggling

2009-07-08T11:53:00.005+01:00

The Clapham House Group PLC the parent company of three famous restaurant chains; Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Tootsies and The Real Greek is struggling to keep it's head above the water.

The restaurant owner swung to a heavy fiscal 2009 pretax loss after a £24.2 million non-cash, write-down on the value of Tootsies.

Gourmet Burger and Tootsies have gained a cult like status among the under 30s in major cities like London.

The Clapham House Group PLC have suggested that they may well sell Tootsies to alleviate its financial loses.

Its Gourmet Burger Kitchen chain has been more robust and Clapham said it "remained convinced of the strong and profitable expansion potential for the division in the UK".

It opened six Gourmet Burger Kitchen's and two new The Real Greek eateries in the year to the end of March, but remains cautious over openings amid the recession as it continues to hold back consumer spending.

Despite an ongoing lack of consumer confidence, Clapham House said sales in the first quarter had risen 6%, although it did not provide a like-for-like figure. Full-year revenues rose 16.7% to £62.2 million, driven largely by its Gourmet Burger Kitchen outlets, according to Clapham House.

(Source: PA)

CNN's Going Green Week

2009-07-08T11:08:00.008+01:00

CNN are running a whole week of television programs and online material for its annual 'going green' week. The programs are all aimed at subjects involving climate change and ecological topics.

Click here to take a look, there is a huge amount of articles, pictures and video content available on the site, including a great piece about Greenpeace's Arctic expedition to study glacial movements.

One of the most interesting articles that I read was that about a new form of shark fin soup in Hong-Kong that can be used as an alternative to traditional shark fin soup click here to read it.

Jackson memorial - where to watch + can the web handle it?

2009-07-07T13:52:00.007+01:00

The web’s response to the passing of music legend Michael Jackson has been staggering.

Social media was pounded with tributes last Thursday after the news broke, but today could be a huge test for the entire infrastructure of the web, when the memorial for Michael Jackson takes place.

The tribute and remembrance of the late King of Pop occurs today (July 7th) at 10:00 AM PT 18:00 BST at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Beyond the 17,500 tickets that have been given away to fans and the millions more that are set to converge on downtown L.A., the memorial will be live streamed free via the web and media outlets across the world.

This event will almost certainly shatter records for the biggest single live stream ever, and could be one of the biggest worldwide media events in history. Will the web be able to handle it?

If you remember back in January, there was another historic event that blew us away: the Obama inauguration. Here are some of the staggering numbers from CNN and Facebook.

- 200,000+ status updates through the Facebook integration on CNN.com
- 3,000 people commented on the Facebook CNN feed per minute
- CNN served 13.9 million live video streams globally in about 6 hours
- Don’t forget about the millions of other live streams and TV viewers that watched worldwide.

Now, throw all those numbers out the window, because Michael Jackson’s memorial is almost certain to utterly overshadow Obama. Not even Obama consumed 30% of Twitter and set traffic records at Yahoo.

With the world mourning and a specific time and place set for the memorial, we may very well see the entire web converge on this one event. There will likely be thousands of streams worldwide via platforms such as Justin.tv and Ustream (the latter of which has a deal with CBS to stream events like this one). It’s also certain that Twitter, Facebook, and the social web will be booming with commentary on the event.

How many people will watch Jackson’s memorial? Can the web’s biggest players handle the massive traffic that will ensue? Will there be enough bandwidth? Could this event be the single media event in history? The answers to these questions will not only be a testament to Jackson’s impact on the world, but may very well set records that will last in history.

Perhaps most of all, the web will allow people to come together to celebrate Jackson’s life, no matter who they are or where they live.

(Source: Mashable)

To follow my latest updates on the Michael Jackson Memorial directly from the CNN news room click here

The Ever Shrinking Graduate Job Market

2009-07-06T11:37:00.006+01:00

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), released new figures today concerning the graduate job market in the UK. The survey found that for each graduate job advertised an average of 48 university graduates apply, the survey also discovered that vacancies have plummeted by 24.9% year on year and are approaching depths not seen since the early 1990s.

One third of businesses reported an average of 150 applications for each job advertised, the IT, banking and engineering industries have seen a huge decline in the number of positions available.

This all is very depressing for those graduating this year who arguably have it worse then any other graduating class since the early 1990s. Those that graduated last year, have already had a tough year, trying to find their place in the job market during a recession which has meant that many highly skilled graduates have ended up working in roles that do not allow them to fulfil their potential - mainly positions in the hospitality industry.

Graduates this year, are faced with a limited number of options, how long will they have to wait to get a job? What will they do with their free time? How will they ever pay back their university debts? All of these questions will be buzzing round the heads of the newly graduated class of 2009.

Many graduates may opt to do voluntary work or internships to build their resume, others may get any odd job they can and save their money to go traveling, others may sign on to the UK Governments job seekers allowance benefit.

Many graduates will no doubt be applying for the popular teaching English abroad placement offered by several organisations allowing graduates to live in different locations around the world and teach English, this is extremely popular as you get paid and it looks great on your resume as well as giving you a teaching certification.

Already in 2009 we have seen a great rise in the number of 20 - 25 year old's that have signed on to the UK Governments benefit schemes.

A Guardian survey released last week predicts that 1 in 10 2009 graduates will be unemployed in six month time.

One thing is for sure, thousands of graduates this summer are faced with a lot of difficult questions and decisions about how they will get the career they have studied for.

The survey carried out by AGR is based on the responses of 226 graduate recruiters across 15 sectors.

UK Unemployment Statistics

Figures released from the UK National Statistics website show the number of jobs fell by 108,000 between December 2008 and March 2009 to reach 31.19 million.

The number of unemployed people increased by 232,000 over the first quarter of 2009 and by 605,000 over the year, to reach 2.26 million.

The number of those claiming Government benefits was 1.54 million in May 2009. Up 39,300 over the previous month and up 726,100 over the year. It hasn't been seen at this level since July 1997.

The number of economically inactive people of working age rose by 92,000 over the first quarter of this year and by 32,000 over the year to reach 7.89 million.

The category showing the largest quarterly increase was students which increased by 83,000 to reach 2.14 million, the highest figure since records began in 1993.

The area of the UK with the highest unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2009 was the West Midlands with a huge 9.5% unemployment rate, the North East comes second with 8.4% of its population unemployed and London comes in third with just over 8%.

And then there were 890... World Heritage list expands

2009-07-02T12:46:00.004+01:00

Intrepid travelers have a few more destinations to add to their list of must-sees after the annual update of The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list.

During its 33rd session, the committee added 13 new sites to the list and made the rare move to delete one destination, taking the total number of "outstanding" areas to 890.

The Elbe valley in Dresden, Germany lost its place due to concerns about the construction of four-lane bridge. UNESCO had attempted to dissuade authorities from building the bridge by putting the valley on the "danger list" in 2006.

It's only the second site to ever lose its World Heritage status. Oman's Arabian oryx sanctuary was struck off in 2007 after it reduced the protected area by 90 percent. Three new sites have been put on notice that they could lose their World Heritage status: The Belize Reef Reserve System in Belize, the Los Katios National Park in Columbia and The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia.

(To view this article written by me plus a great photo gallery on cnn.com click here)

Prix Pictet Earth 2009

2009-07-01T14:09:00.006+01:00

On July the 9th the shortlist will be announced for the Prix Pictet award which Kofi Annan will present later on in the year.

Over 300 people applied and Prix Pictet have reduced those finalists into a shortlist.

I have seen the photographs and they are absolutely breath taking.

Stay tuned for more info and of course links to where you can see the photos online.

Music and Mudbaths: The Highlights of Glastonbury

2009-06-30T14:11:00.003+01:00

My latest article on CNN to view the full article + a huge photogallery click here

Glastonbury festival held in Somerset, England every year is the world's biggest open air arts and music festival.

It attracts around 140,000 music fans who spend between three and five days camping and listening to hundreds of musicians on Worthy Farm.

The festival is famed for its mud-fueled mayhem and heavy rain. However, this year revelers managed to escape from the downpours with plenty of sunshine blazing on the 900 acre-farm.

Among the highlights this year were the newly reformed Brit-pop band Blur, 'The Boss', Bruce Springsteen, dance queen Lady Gaga and The Prodigy among many others.

Past performers include U.S. rapper Jay-Z, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and

The festival was started by farmer Michael Eavis in 1970, the day after Jimi Hendrix died. Around 1500 people attended, paying less than two dollars in entry fees including free milk from the farm. Today tickets cost around $240.

Each year many of the festival goers stay on an extra day to help volunteer in the cleaning up process which will see more than 1600 tonnes of rubbish removed from the site over the next three weeks.

After the clear up, the site will return to a working dairy farm until next May when preparations for Glastonbury 2010 will begin.

“Heat Health” Warning Hits the UK

2009-06-29T11:16:00.005+01:00

A heat wave is set to hit the UK this week, prompting the first ‘heat health’ warning of the summer from the Met Office.

The high temperatures are expected to cause a rise in the number of patients admitted to hospitals experiencing heart problems, specifically heart attacks.

Met Office forecaster Tim Thorne said: "This is the first time we have released a heat warning since we introduced the system a couple of years ago…

"It is designed to let the NHS plan for increased admissions and ensure it does not buckle under the strain." A Met Office spokesman added: "It could get uncomfortable for some. We have warned the NHS to be prepared."

Many parts of England and Wales could see temperatures of 30°C; a key factor however will be the high night time temperatures of 19°C.

Head of Health Forecasting at the Met Office, Wayne Elliott, said: "We have been working closely with the Department of Health to develop this service, which is aimed at the vulnerable in society, especially the elderly."

Temperatures in cities across England may hit those seen in the 2003 European heat wave that cost over 37,000 people their lives, a spokesman for the Department of Health, in the UK said “People with respiratory problems should stay inside during the hottest part of the day”. The elderly and the young have also been advised to avoid going outside between 11am and 3pm.

The UK won’t be alone with its extreme high temperatures this week; Belgium, Germany and Spain are all expected to have higher than average temperatures this week according to Met Office’s Meteoalarm service.

Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, Andy Page, added: "The very warm conditions will last well into next week, with the hottest days of the summer so far and a 60% chance of reaching 32 °C."

The hottest day of the year for the UK was last Thursday with Heathrow Airport recording a high of 28 °C, but that is expected to be beaten over the coming week.

Thousands of commuters in London will find themselves on public transport in extremely hot conditions, Transport For London have told passengers to make sure that they always carry a bottle of water on their travels, as well as being advised to travel above ground if possible.

Jackson Dead Iran Forgotten?

2009-06-26T11:45:00.008+01:00

Michael Jackson died in the early hours of this morning from a suspected heart attack, a paramedic team was called to his rented home in Los Angeles and after 45 minutes of trying to resuscitate him they took him to UCLA hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The news was first broken on TMZ.com a celebrity news website that is know for breaking huge celebrity led stories, TMZ is part of Time Warner who also own CNN, AOL and Cartoon Network.

Jackson's death was confirmed by his brother Jermaine in an emotional press conference at the hospital. “We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known," he said.

"The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate him.”

Michael Jackson's death comes just two weeks before he was meant to embark on his 50 concert dates at the O2 in London, it is thought that anyone who bought Jackson tickets direct from the O2 or from Ticketmaster.com will be able to get a full refund, those who bought tickets on eBay and other auction sites may not be so lucky.

There is also the question of insurance, the O2 will now remain empty for nine months with many other businesses being impacted from Jackson's death such as the caterers and production staff that were planning on working at the Jackson concerts.

AEG live which organised the events at the O2 placed the liability at about £300 million.

Potentially a lot of money could be lost for AEG Live and the O2.

Internet

Keynote Systems, which tracks web site performance, said that beginning at 4:30 p.m. CDT, about when the first reports of Jackson's death emerged, the average speed for downloading major news sites doubled to almost 9 seconds from less than 4 seconds.

Google's list of top 100 search trends in the hours after the news broke was composed almost exclusively of Jackson-related phrases, ranging from "Michael Jackson died" and "Thriller lyrics" to "Neverland ranch."

According to initial data from Trendrr, a Web service that tracks activity on social media sites, the number of Twitter posts Thursday afternoon containing "Michael Jackson" totaled more than 100,000 per hour.

That put news of Jackson's death at least on par with the Iran protests, as Twitter posts about Iran topped 100,000 per hour on June 16 and eventually climbed to 220,000 per hour.

Iran - Forgotten??

With a lot of the news channels and most news websites putting Jackson's death at the top of their news agenda, one has to think of the plight of the Iranian people, and how their cause is slowly being forgotten or pushed aside.

Lets make sure that we keep #iranelection in the top trending topics on twitter and keep the plight of the Iranian people on top of the news agenda.

At the end of the day, yes Jackson was a ground breaking musician and performer but he was just one man, many more people need our help to get their voices heard.

Corus Cuts 2,000 UK Jobs

2009-06-25T15:23:00.007+01:00

Steelmaker Corus is cutting almost 2,000 more jobs at UK plants including Teesside, Scunthorpe and Rotherham according to BBC News Online.

Corus blamed the job losses on a "further deterioration" in steel demand in the US and Europe. Unions said the cuts were "devastating".

The job losses come as no shock to those in the global steel industry, who have seen a slide in the amount of steel that is being picked up on the global markets ever since the global economic crisis.

About 500 white-collar jobs are going in Scunthorpe, while 375 jobs are at risk in Teesside and in Scotland. Up to 800 may go in Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

"Any recovery in Europe appears to be some time off, so it is vital that we take this proportionate and responsible action now," Corus chief Kirby Adams said.

"We have to achieve long-term, sustainable competitiveness in a global and over-supplied steel market."

'Disappointed'

Labour MP Elliott Morley told the BBC he was "disappointed" at the level of cuts and added he had told the firm that job cuts should be a last resort.

"The priority is to see if all the job losses are necessary and whether they can be voluntary rather then compulsory."

The new UK job cuts would come on top of about 2,500 cut announced in January, says steelmakers' union Community.

Corus, part of India's Tata Steel, says that it is Europe's second largest steel producer with annual revenues of about £12bn and crude steel production of over 20 million tonnes, primarily in the UK and the Netherlands.

The Community union called on the government to intervene saying there was now a battle for the survival of British steelmaking.

"It's devastating news for our members and their families in steel communities right across the UK," union general secretary Michael Leahy said.

"We have real concerns for the integrity of the British steel industry - we fear its further erosion could fundamentally undermine UK manufacturing."

Cost cutting

In January, the firm announced a series of cost-cutting measures, which included temporarilly closing a steel mill in South Wales as well as 3,500 job cuts worldwide, including the 2,500 in the UK.

Mr Morley, the MP for Scunthorpe, told the BBC that the job cuts were a "sad day for the town".

"It's important to try and minimise any job losses and, to be fair to Corus, they've been trying to do that," he said.

"They've learned that if and when the upturn comes, you will struggle without skilled workers.

"There has been much more focus on trying to preserve jobs in this recession, and I welcome that.

He called for any redundancies to be made on a voluntary basis where possible."

Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said the cuts were "grim news for the hardworking employees of Corus".

WHERE ARE THE JOBS BEING CUT?

Scunthorpe - 500
Stocksbridge - 379
Brinsworth - 45
Rotherham - 377
Teesside Beam Mill - 150
Hartlepool - 156
Skinningrove - 113
Dalzell and Clydebridge - 96
Corby - 88
Bolton - 9
Darlington - 9
The Netherlands - 123

(Source: BBC CNN)

Photographer Terry O'Neill's Hollywood Icons

2009-06-23T13:55:00.002+01:00

My first article has been published on the cnn.com website, it it about world famous photographer Terry O'Neill and the amazing pictures he took of Hollywood icons in the 1960's and 70's.

Click here to read it

My 1st Day @CNN.com

2009-06-22T18:09:00.003+01:00

Today was my first day of my 6 week internship at cnn.com based in London.

I spent most of the day getting to grips with their online template software which I can tell you is very complex!!!

I also made a really cool photo gallery about Sasha Baron Cohen's latest movie - Bruno, for the CNN.com entertainment also known as the screening room website!

Take a look by clicking here and let me know what you think!

I will hopefully be able to get back to my regular news story blogging as soon as I get my head around the technical issues at cnn.com!

Fresh Protests in Tehran

2009-06-17T18:02:00.004+01:00

Tens of thousands of people have again taken to the streets in Iran's capital Tehran in protest at election results.

It follows a call by presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi for further peaceful demonstrations.

An even larger protest is expected on Thursday, which Mr Mousavi says should be a day of mourning for the eight people killed after Monday's protest.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected last week with almost two-thirds of votes. The opposition allege widespread fraud.

Protests have grown since his re-election was confirmed on Saturday, with huge demonstrations in Tehran and clashes between protesters and security forces.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sought to calm tensions and called for an end to rioting.

The authorities have also promised a recount of the disputed votes - but the opposition demands a full rerun.

User Generated News

Heavy restrictions have been placed on the BBC and other foreign news organisations. Reporters are not allowed to cover unauthorised gatherings or move around freely in Tehran - but there are no controls over what they can write or say.

With the ever growing number of Iranians using social network sites like twitter, one has to ask whether there is any point in putting such tight restrictions on the foreign media, when we will all find out what is going on just by following young Iranians on the web!

In other developments on Wednesday:

• Six footballers playing for Iran's national team, including the captain, have appeared in a World Cup qualifier in Seoul, South Korea, wearing armbands in the green associated with Mr Mousavi.

• The Iranian government summoned the Swiss ambassador - who represents US interests in Iran - to complain at Washington's "interventionist approach" on the election issue.

• Two pro-reform figures, newspaper editor Saeed Laylaz and Hamid Reza Jalaipour, an activist and journalist, were arrested on Wednesday morning, reports said. Mr Laylaz is a political and economic analyst who is often critical of Mr Ahmadinejad and who has often been interviewed by foreign media.

• The Revolutionary Guard, which answers to Iran's Supreme Leader, said it would take action against "deviant" news websites deemed to be creating tension in Iran. (Twitter?)

Overnight, members of Iran's Basij volunteer militia reportedly raided university dormitories in several Iranian cities.

The Basijis stormed compounds, ransacking dormitories and beating up some students. Several arrests were made, our correspondent says, and the dean of the university in the city of Shiraz has resigned.

Students have been active among Iran's opposition and there have been several reports of security forces moving in on university premises since protests began over the weekend.

In the most high-profile incident, 120 lecturers at Tehran university resigned after a raid on that institution.

Khamenei appeal

The overnight raids came after another direct intervention in the crisis by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ayatollah Khamenei has not appeared in public since the election results, but now seems to be deeply involved in the search for a solution to the stand-off.

Meeting representatives of the four election candidates, he urged all parties not to agitate their supporters and stir up an already tense situation. He also repeated his offer of a partial vote recount, a proposal already rejected by the main opposition.

"In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic," the Associated Press reported him as saying.

"Nobody should take any action that would create tension, and all have to explicitly say they are against tension and riots."

(Sources: BBC, CNN, Huffington Post, Twitter)

The Children Of The Revolution

2009-06-15T12:47:00.007+01:00

In 1979 Iran's monarchy under the Shah was overthrown and replaced by an Islamic Republic under Khomeini this is known as the Iranian Revolution.

Thirty years on and the children who were born after the revolution are now seeking a return to a more liberal time in Iran. I have spoken to many young Iranians who say they are fed up with being stigmatized as anti-western radical Muslims, they say they want to become involved in western youth culture and be free to live their life in 2009.

The Election

A rally against the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being held in defiance of a ban on protests, AFP reports from the scene.

The news agency says hundred of people are taking part in the Tehran rally. Marchers have clashed with Ahmadinejad supporters, Reuters agency reports.

Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi said he would attend and urge for calm.

Mr Mousavi, a moderate, wants election results annulled, alleging fraud. Mr Ahmadinejad says the vote was fair.

Following two days of unrest, the interior ministry said on Monday: "Some seditious elements had planned to hold a rally."

It added: "Any disrupter of public security would be dealt with according to the law."

Mr Mousavi's campaign initially announced that the event had been called off, but his website later said he would address the crowd.

AFP says the demonstrators gathered in central Tehran chanting: "Mousavi we support you!"

Reuters says Ahmadinejad supporters on motorcycles have clashed with marchers.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, says he understands plain-clothed militias have been authorised to use live ammunition for the first time.

Ahead of the rally, correspondents said life appeared to be returning to normal in central Tehran. Shops were open and there was little evidence of the weekend's unrest.

However, there was a small demonstration attended by Mr Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard at Tehran University.

She said the campaign was continuing, and urged people to go onto their roofs shouting "God is great".

Reports said paramilitaries were trying to break up the demonstration, and that students had taken cover in a mosque.

The campus has been a focus of unrest in recent days. Overnight police and militias raided dormitories, arresting dozens of students.

Related Developments:

President Ahmadinejad reportedly canceled a trip to Moscow, where he was due to attend a regional summit on Monday

Reports say Mr Mousavi's newspaper Kalameh Sabz has suspended circulation

About 200 relatives of detained demonstrators took part in a protest outside Tehran's Revolutionary Tribunal calling for their release, AFP news agency reported.

International Concern

On Sunday Mr Mousavi's website carried a statement saying he had formally called on Iran's Guardian Council ,which must certify the counting, to annul the election.

He added: "I urge you, Iranian nation, to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way."

Another defeated candidate, Mohsen Rezaie, also officially contested the results. The Guardian Council said it would rule on both complaints within 10 days.

Late on Sunday Mr Mousavi met Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to pursue his case against the results of Friday's election.

Mr Khamanei's office said he had told the candidate that "complaints should be followed through legal channels" and urged Mr Mousavi to "follow the issue calmly".

Sunday saw clashes between the police and anti-Ahmadinejad protesters in several parts of Tehran for a second day. Police hit protesters with batons and charged them on motorbikes.

Mousavi supporters cried "death to the dictator" into the evening. Scores of people are reported to have been arrested.

Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed the unrest as "passions after a soccer match".

Foreign powers have expressed concern about the election.

In an interview on US television, Vice-President Joe Biden said: "It sure looks like the way they're suppressing speech, the way they're suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated, that there's some real doubt."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he had summoned the Iranian ambassador to explain the election.

"There are a lot of reports about electoral fraud," he said.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said: "I am sorry that instead of openness there has been a somewhat brutal reaction."

But Mr Ahmadinejad was congratulated by the presidents of Iraq, Afghanistan and Venezuela.

(Sources: BBC, AFT, Reuters)

Keeping Informed

The following sites will help you to keep up to date with the latest news concerning the Iranian election :

Twitter Iran Elections
Huffington Post Live Blog
BBC News Online
CNN

BNP Leader Pelted With Eggs

2009-06-10T06:00:00.001+01:00

BNP leader Nick Griffin had eggs thrown at him forcing him to abandon his press conference outside Parliament early yesterday morning.

Dozens of protesters disrupted the event, which follows the British National Party winning its first two seats in the European Parliament.

Chanting anti-Nazi slogans and holding placards they surrounded Mr Griffin as he was bundled into a car.

Mr Griffin was elected for the North West region - a result condemned by parties across the political spectrum.

Mr Griffin and Andrew Brons, who was elected in the Yorkshire and Humber region, staged a press conference on College Green, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

He had been speaking for about two minutes when about 50 to 100 protesters marched towards him chanting slogans and throwing eggs.

''Gossip''

The BNP leader began the event by holding up copies of national newspapers and talking about what he said were media lies about him and his party. He denied he had past links with Oswald Mosley, as the former fascist leader "was very hostile to the National Front from which I am from".

It is also said that Andrew Brons was to have started up a white supremacy group on Adolf Hitlers birthday, this was allegedly in Brons's younger days.

Slippery Slope

One of the most worrying things that I discovered when research Mr Griffin and Mr Brons's history, was that Andrew Brons actually teaches politics to secondary school students! Can you imagine the political views that Brons teaches his pupils!

One has to ask how can a clearly racist party be allowed to exist in the UK in this modern era, where multiculturalism is a key part of society.

The most worrying factor of all of this is just how much of the British public actually voted for them.

Is there a future for traditional journalism?

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000+01:00

I am about to embark on the research phase of my 15,000 word dissertation, I have chosen the title: Is there a future for traditional journalism? A case study looking at the impact of social media technology on the future of journalism.

Its a fairly well documented topic and there are some great people out there who I hope to be able to interview and include in the dissertation.

Jeff Jarvis, Paul Bradshaw, David Dunkley Gyimah, Aren Grimshaw and Pete Cashmore all of whom are known in the social media world for their contribution and innovation to connecting people all over the world and educating them on how social media sites can help keep the general public up to date with current affairs.

So far I am planning on looking at these points:

• Citizen journalism
• Youtube - It's impact on journalism
• Twitter
• Facebook + CNN package – live broadcast linked up to facebook for feedback
• BBC WHYS – program designed for social media inclusion
• Qik – live video broadcast from anyone on mobile phone – entertainment news – Demi Moore Ashton Kutcher used it at The Oscars.
• Twitterpic, Twiddeo
• Blogs & Micro Blogging
• Sky news 24 hr interactive news – red button
• News playing more of a role in ordinary peoples lives compared to twenty years ago – social media to blame?
• Software available to those who aren’t in the industry – can edit video footage on online websites for free.
• Social media opening up to those over 40, over the last few months.
• Iphones/Blackberries all increase connectivity to the latest global events.
• GOOD – allows people to become more informed on less publicised current affairs, makes people question what their Government is doing and allows them to influence events.
• BAD – Is it reliable? News or a rumour mill? Publicity machine – CNN on facebook, an attempt to secure the audience of the future?

Internship

In a couple of weeks I begin a six week online internship at CNN based in London. So throughout this time I will use the experience as part of my dissertation.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks, where I will be putting forward some hypothesis on the future of traditional journalism such as daily newspapers, as well as getting some great interviews with people who really know what they're talking about!

Obama Reaches Out To The Muslim World

2009-06-04T12:34:00.005+01:00

US President Barack Obama has said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.

In a keynote speech in Cairo, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties. He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".

Obama made a number of references to the Qur'an and called on all faiths to live together in peace. He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University.

Many politicians believe Barack Obama wants to give a message of respect to a region which has often felt ignored, misunderstood or patronised by the US.

White House officials said the speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world".

Fresh Start?

Obama said: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."

He said "violent extremists" had bred fear and that this "cycle of suspicion and discord must end".

Obama accepted that "no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust" but urged both sides to "say openly the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors".

He cited the Qur'an as saying: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth."

President Obama said Islam had "always been a part of America's story".

He added that much had been made of the fact an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama had become US president, but he insisted his personal story was "not so unique".

"The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims."

'Intolerable'

The president also said Muslim perceptions of the US must change.

"Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."

Mr Obama said Islam had an important role in promoting peace and tackling extremism.

On the key issues of Iraq and Afghanistan, the president said the US sought no permanent bases in either country.

He said: "We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case."

Israel and Palestine

On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Mr Obama said the bond with Israel was "unbreakable".

He said: "Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong."

But he also said the "situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable".

"Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," Mr Obama said.

On the key issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Mr Obama said "there can be no progress towards peace without a halt to such construction".

Israel is resisting calls to freeze building activity but Palestinian leaders have said there can be no progress towards peace without a halt.

Iran

On the Iranian nuclear issue, Mr Obama said: "No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons" and said Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear power.

But he said there should be no nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Before Mr Obama spoke, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had delivered his own speech, saying the US was still "deeply hated" in the Middle East.

On democracy, Mr Obama said that "America does not presume to know what is best for everyone".

"No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."

The president also touched on women's rights, saying: "Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons."

Mr Obama arrived in Egypt from a visit to Saudi Arabia.

Later on Thursday he will visit the pyramids before heading to Germany and France.

(Source: BBC + Others)

Plane Debris Found Off Brazil's Coast

2009-06-02T16:17:00.003+01:00

Brazilian aircraft searching for an Air France jet which went missing with 228 people aboard in an Atlantic storm have spotted debris on the ocean.

Some oil, a plane seat and other items were sighted 650km (400 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha island, the Brazilian air force said.

The find can only be confirmed once the items are retrieved and the first boat is not due to arrive until Wednesday.

The jet was heading from Brazil to Paris when it vanished early on Monday.

Air force spokesman Col Jorge Amaral said the debris had been spotted by search planes early on Tuesday.

"At approximately 0530 Brazilian time [0830 GMT], a C-130 military aircraft spotted some debris in two locations approximately 60km apart from each other," he said.

"In this area, they saw an orange buoy, an airplane seat, small white pieces, an airplane turbine as well as oil and kerosene.

"The search is continuing because it's very little material in relation to the size [of the Airbus A330]."

Officials, he said, needed "a piece that might have a serial number, some sort of identification" to be sure it came from the missing jet.

French Defence Minister Herve Morin has stressed there is still "no evidence whatsoever" as to the cause of the plane's loss

"We cannot, by definition, exclude a terrorist attack, because terrorism is the main threat for all Western democracies," he added.

'Life jacket'

Plane crews from Brazil, France and other countries had narrowed their search to a zone half-way between Brazil and west Africa, hoping to pick up signals from the Airbus's beacons.

Col Amaral was also quoted by the Associated Press as saying a life jacket had been spotted amid the debris.

"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted," he told reporters in Rio.

"That suggests that it might have tried to make a turn, maybe to return to Fernando de Noronha, but that is just a hypothesis."

Searchers now planned to focus their efforts on collecting the debris and trying to identify it, he said.

A French search plane flying out of Senegal on Monday was hindered by stormy conditions over the ocean.

Spanish and Senegalese aircraft have also been involved in the search effort.

Electrical failures

In his last radio message, at about 0200 GMT on Monday, the captain of Flight AF 447 reported entering turbulence, French media say.

Up to a dozen reports of electrical failures were sent automatically from the plane before it vanished over the ocean just after.

Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are among them.

Crisis centres have been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Rio's Tom Jobim international airport.

One of the Brazilians on board was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a direct descendent of the last Brazilian emperior, Dom Pedro II, a spokesman for the family said.

Three young Irish doctors were also aboard, returning from two-week holiday in Brazil. Aisling Butler's father John paid tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, from Roscrea, County Tipperary.

"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

"She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride."

(Source: BBC News Online)

Air France Aircraft Disappears Off The Coast Of Brazil

2009-06-01T12:04:00.004+01:00

A French passenger aircraft carrying 228 people has disappeared off the coast of Brazil, airline officials say.

Air France told CNN the jet was making the 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when contact was lost.

Brazil's air force launched a search near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha in the Atlantic Ocean, 365 km (226 miles) from Brazil's coast, the country's state media said.

Air France said flight AF447 was carrying 216 passengers in addition to a crew of 12. The plane is listed as an Airbus A330.

A crisis center is being set up at Charles de Gaulle where the plane had been due to land at 11.15 a.m. local time.

"We are very worried," an aviation official told Agence Frane-Presse. "The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago. It could be a transponder problem, but this kind of fault is very rare and the plane did not land when expected."

The Airbus 330 is a twin-engine long-range aircraft introduced into commercial aviation in the 1990s. CNN air travel expert Richard Quest says the plane, a workhorse of trans-Atlantic routes, has an impeccable safety record.

"It has very good range, and is extremely popular with airlines because of its versatility," he said.

(Source:CNN)

Slumdog Millionaire Child Star Gets New House Courtesy Of Danny Boyle.

2009-05-28T08:00:00.001+01:00

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and the trust he set up have bought a new home for one of the child stars of his Oscar-winning movie according to reports from BBC Entertainment News.

The filmmaker, who is currently in Mumbai, has told Azharuddin Ismail, 9, he will be re-housed after his family was made to leave the slums.

Boyle, who has been criticised for not helping the child actors enough, blamed the press for raising expectations. "Inevitably, the tension and pressure is media generated," he said.

He said he hoped a new home would also be found for Rubina Ali, who played Latika, before the monsoon rains in June. "They were given access to a world, an extraordinary and glamorous world, and they understandably want their lives to be completely transformed," he said.

Soon after the movie was finished, Boyle and producer Christian Colson set up the Jai Ho trust, which was aimed to help the children financially until they turned 18. "The homes are a concern. That is one of the reasons why we built the trust," Boyle said.

"We both have been trying to accelerate the process of re-housing the families, and one of the reasons we set up the trust is to deal with emergencies like this" said Colson.

A director for the trust said the apartment for Ismail, who played the young Salim, was "comfortable, in a good neighbourhood [and] near his school".

In February, the state housing authority said it would give the two children apartments, but the families had not heard from them, said Ali's father Rafiq Qureshi. "It has been five to six months. Everything is available in Mumbai if you have the money," he said. "If you really want to get us a house you can get us a house in two days."

Earlier this month, the authorities tore the children's slum homes down. Since then Rubina has been staying with relatives and Azhar was living in a makeshift shanty with his parents.

A Sign Of The Times?

This string of events is somewhat ironic considering the plot of Slumdog Millionaire, where at one point the camera shows the slums of Mumbai being knocked down to be replaced by blocks of modern apartments.

It seems a little ridiculous and maybe a sign of the world that we live in today, when only a few months ago these child stars were on the red carpet at the Oscars in Los Angeles and now they are homeless after their homes have been knocked down.

Is this all just a sign of the times?

My Radio Feature + Documentary On RW Radio Network

2009-05-27T18:43:00.005+01:00

My seven minute radio feature and 15 minute radio documentary are going to be aired on Refugee Week Radio 2009, you will be able to listen to it on the following local/online radio stations around the UK between the 15th and 21st of June.

10 Radio, Somerset
209 Radio, Cambridge
Awaz FM, Glasgow
BCFM, Bristol
Bolton FM, -Bolton
Bournemouth University
Camden Community Radio, North London
Children and Radio
Desi Radio, Southall, West London
Future Radio, Norwich
London Link Radio
Phonic FM, Exeter - New Exeter Radio Show and Roots and Shoots
Preston FM, Preston
Refugee Radio, Brighton
Traydio - air to share
University of Westminster, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Women's Radio Group

I will let you know asap the exact dates/times they will be broadcast.

If you would like to hear a preview of both of them click here

California Supreme Court Uphelds Prop 8

2009-05-27T12:55:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday at 10am local time in San Francisco the Californian Supreme Court upheld proposition 8 which was passed in November 2008.

They did however, establish that those 18,000 gay couples that were married last year before proposition 8 was passed would be able to remain legally married.

This has made for two classes of lgbt in California. Those who are legally married and those who wish to be married but legally can't in California.

Openly gay celebrity Ellen DeGeneres has spoken out about the decision, Ellen stated on her website " I'm sure you heard the prop 8 news. One day, when everyone is treated with full equality, we'll look back and realize how wrong this was" other gay celebrities like Lance Bass have also condemned the decision.

The decision was made by by seven Justices at the Supreme Court yesterday in San Francisco, only one of them actually thought that proposition 8 should be over ruled.

Gay activists in California will have to wait until 2010 where there could be an over ruling of proposition 8 through another referendum.

Proposition 8 is the first time in American history where the mass public have managed to constitutionally take away the rights of a minority group. This is a clear step backwards, and quite a scary thought, when you think that the mass public have the ability to actually legally remove rights from distinctive minority groups.

The Rest Of America

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in five states - Massachusetts, the first state to legalise it in 2004, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa - but is subject to the continuing national tug of war over the issue.

Analysts say opponents of gay marriage might now set their sights on seeing the law overturned in Iowa.

Obama & Guantanamo Bay

2009-05-21T13:27:00.008+01:00

President Barack Obama on Thursday will outline his strategy for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, hoping to defuse a revolt by lawmakers over the fate of an internationally reviled symbol of Bush-era detainee policy.

In a much-anticipated speech, Obama will defend his still-emerging plan to shut the detention camp at a U.S. Naval base in Cuba as he tries to ease concerns that some terrorism suspects held there could be set free in the United States.

He had vowed on his second day in office to close the prison within a year as part of his effort to repair America's tarnished image abroad.

At the same time Obama is speaking, former Vice President Dick Cheney, an architect of Bush's detainee policy and a harsh critic of Obama's approach, will be at a Washington think tank giving a speech partly entitled "Keeping America Safe."

(UPDATE: Cheney has postponed his speech until President Obama has finished his speech about Guantanamo Bay, according to The Huffington Post)

Obama Setback

Four months into his presidency, Obama suffered a stinging setback on Wednesday when the Senate, controlled by fellow Democrats, blocked the $80 million he had sought for the shutdown until he decides what to do with the facility's 240 inmates.

Democratic lawmakers, worried that some of the prisoners could be jailed or even released in the United States, rebelled against Obama after opposition Republicans threatened to brand them as soft on terrorism.

Despite his high public approval rating, Obama faces a major test of his leadership as he tries to quell a controversy that threatens to divert his attention from his declared top priority of rescuing the ailing U.S. economy.

While most Democrats agree Guantanamo should be closed, they are demanding a detailed plan before releasing funds to launch the process.

If the funds are not released soon, it could be difficult for Obama to meet his January 2010 deadline for decommissioning the prison, which was authorised by President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and has long been condemned by international human rights groups.

The Framework

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would lay out a "framework" for the decisions ahead on Guantanamo when he speaks at 10:10 a.m. EDT at the National Archives.

Signaling the likelihood Obama would be short on specifics, Gibbs said many details were still to be worked out and the president had not yet decided whether any of the detainees would be sent to prisons inside the United States.

European allies have been reluctant to accept more than a handful of the prisoners.

Gibbs insisted, however, that Obama would not make any decision that "imperils the safety of the American people" and that the president was determined to stick to his self-imposed timetable for turning the page on Guantanamo.

"Members of both parties agree that Guantanamo Bay has become an image for recruitment for terrorists around the world," Gibbs told reporters on Wednesday. "And the president signed an order early in his administration to close it, and he intends to keep that promise."

At the time, Obama also won praise internationally for banning harsh interrogation methods like "waterboarding," or simulated drowning, which human rights group call torture, and for ordering an end to secret CIA jails overseas.

But he has recently faced criticism on the left and the right for new national security decisions, including blocking the release of photos of alleged detainee abuse and reviving military commissions created by the Bush administration to prosecute terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo.

Seeking to wrest back control of the debate, Obama planned to address those issues as well in what White House aides billed as a wide-ranging speech.

You can watch the speech live on CNN here

(Source: Reuters)

The Women Left Behind

2009-05-18T14:49:00.007+01:00

Over the last ten years over the world has seen much genocide.

The Rwandan genocide killed nine hundred thousand the on going genocide in Sudan has killed four hundred thousand.

Many of those left behind are women; these women have suffered at the hands of the authorities in many African countries.

Rose Hawkins has this special documentary for the Refugee Week Radio audience, which tells the stories of the women who have survived genocide, torture and human rights abuses in Africa.

Those Sent Home - Short Film On Asylum Seekers

2009-05-16T14:17:00.003+01:00

I was recently contacted by a lady who works at Refugee Action.

She told me that they have produced a new short film about people who are made destitute after their asylum claim has been refused.

The film features some of their clients talking about the devastating impact this has had on their lives.

They hope it will raise awareness of this issue and move people to become involved in their many campaigns for policy change, to help this vulnerable group of people -many of whom are from countries they are too scared to return to, such as Zimbabwe.