Warning Over 'Risky' Drilling In The Arctic

The Government has been accused of "complacently standing by" while oil and gas drilling starts in the Arctic despite the risks to the environment.

Companies such as Shell are not yet able to demonstrate they could clean up an oil spill in the harsh but pristine conditions of the Arctic, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said.

And a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that only a third of proved reserves of fossil fuels can be burnt before 2050 if global temperatures are to be kept from rising by more than 2C, widely regarded as the threshold for "dangerous" climate change.

As a result, exploring for new reserves in the Arctic is "needlessly risky", the MPs argued.

MPs claim Shell would be unable to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic

They accused ministers of failing to provide a coherent argument to support its view that exploring for oil and gas in the Arctic was compatible with avoiding dangerous climate change.

The report scrutinising the Government's Arctic policy follows an EAC report published last September which called for a halt to drilling in the Arctic until there were stronger protections against oil spills.

The latest report from the committee points to problems Shell has encountered in the Arctic in the past year, particularly the grounding of its Kulluk rig in December and the questions raised by US regulators as a result.

The US Department of the Interior has said that Shell entered the 2012 drilling season "not fully prepared" in terms of developing and testing critical systems, and had serious deficiencies in management of contractors, oversight and execution of operations in the Arctic.

Shell's problems, which led to it pausing its 2013 drilling plans, reinforced the need for a moratorium and the introduction of much higher - preferably unlimited - financial liability to cover any drilling that takes place in the future, the committee said.

2006: David Cameron "hugs" a husky to establish his green credentials

The MPs also reiterated their call for a sanctuary to be established in the Arctic, which is protected from oil and gas development.

EAC chairwoman Joan Walley said: "What happens in the Arctic will affect the UK, impacting our weather systems and biodiversity.

"Yet this Government is complacently standing by and watching new oil and gas drilling in the region, even though companies like Shell cannot prove they could clean up an oil spill in such harsh conditions."

A Government spokesman said: "We disagree with the committee's call for a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling. We are very aware of the possible environmental impact of an oil spill in the Arctic and support the use of the highest drilling standards.

"However, the UK is not an Arctic State and it is not for us to tell other countries which resources they can and cannot extract from their own sovereign territory.

"We also believe that our approach to oil and gas exploration in the Arctic is consistent with our commitment to limit average global temperature increase to two degrees."

In 2006, David Cameron was famously photographed in the Arctic, "hugging" a husky, as part of efforts to establish his green credentials while in opposition.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: Kim Jong-Un Attends Huge Parade

North And South: A Quick History

Updated: 2:23pm UK, Thursday 25 July 2013

By Mark Stone, Asia Corespondent, in Pyongyang

On the Korean Peninsula there are two versions of history. The version people learn depends on whether they are North Korean or South Korean.

Either way though, understanding both versions is key to understanding this most unusual of countries: its quirks, its people, its politics and its government's ability to survive against the odds.

There is no logical reason why the land that makes up the Korean Peninsula should be split into two countries.

The people either side of the border speak the same language and have the same ancestors.

But since 1945, it has been two countries: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

From 1910 until the end of World War Two, the Korean Peninsula was Japanese territory.

With Japan's defeat, America and the Soviet Union took control of the peninsula.

They decided to split it in two: America didn't want the communist administration in Moscow to control the whole thing. Moscow felt the same about total American control.

And an agreement was reached between Washington and Moscow and an arbitrary line was simply drawn across the middle.

The North became The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It adopted the communist ideology of its Soviet masters.

A young war hero called Kim Il-Sung became its prime minister.

The South adopted American-style democracy and became the Republic of Korea.

Just five years later though in 1950, Kim Il-Sung and his new army, backed by communist China and Russia, invaded the South.

Within months North Korean forces controlled almost the entire peninsula.

An American-led United Nations force fought back and the Korean War had begun.

Three years of fighting left well over a million people dead. Among them were soldiers from both Koreas, America, China, Russia and Britain.

But no side could claim victory. The border remained where it had been at the start - across the 38th Parallel - and to this day it is a heavily guarded and mined demilitarised zone.

In the decades that followed, the Soviet Union and China continued to prop up the North.

Inside the closed country, Kim Il-Sung's government controlled information and adopted their own version of history which states that the US-backed South Koreans invaded the North.

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. North Korea had lost its main communist ally and trading partner.

The 1990s were dominated by a catastrophic famine in which millions died. A once strong country began to crumble.

And yet the country remained cut off, shunning most Western offers of help.

Kim Il-Sung, at his death in 1994, was declared Eternal President.

His son Kim Jong-Il ensured continuity and - on his death in 2011 - the leadership was assumed by his son, Kim Jong-Un.

And so through extreme control and isolation spanning 65 years, the Kim dynasty has cemented its cult of personality through which the state is still run.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

China: Toddler Pulled From Pram And 'Murdered'

A two-year-old girl who was thrown to the ground by a man during a row over a parking space in Beijing has died, state media say.

A witness told the Beijing Times that the man, identified only by his surname Han, wanted to park by a bus stop in Beijing.

But the toddler's mother, who was on foot, would not move out of his way as she tending to her daughter at the time.

Han got out of his car and allegedly hit the woman before taking the girl out of her pram, holding her up and throwing her "forcefully" to the ground, said the witness, a street-stall owner surnamed Zhou.

"The baby made no noises after being dropped, not even a cry of pain," the newspaper quoted Zhou as saying.

Another man came out of the car and also beat the mother before the pair drove away, it added.

The woman was waiting by a bus stop on Beijings Keji road

Police reportedly found Han, who was released from prison this year after serving a sentence for theft, in a hot spring bathhouse and detained him.

"Han was put in criminal detention on suspicion of intentional homicide on Thursday afternoon," state news agency Xinhua said, citing the Beijing Security Bureau.

Han could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.

The incident sparked outrage on Chinese social media as weibo users vilified the attackers and expressed grief over the toddler's fate.

"When you come back in another life, dear baby, be sure to be born in another country," one user wrote.

Another weibo user called the attackers "perverse animals" and a third called for the death penalty as punishment.

"For this kind of murderer with an evil nature, the death penalty should be carried out immediately," the post said.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt: 'Dozens Killed' As Rallies Turn Violent

Egypt: Timeline Of Unrest

Updated: 3:52pm UK, Saturday 27 July 2013

Key developments in Egypt since the beginning of the Arab Spring.

:: 2011

January 25: Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

February 11: Mubarak steps down and turns power over to the military, which dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution.

November 28: Egypt holds mutiple-stage parliamentary elections and the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats in the law-making lower house.

:: 2012

May 23: First round of voting in the presidential elections.

June 30: Mr Morsi, elected with 51.7% of the vote, is sworn and becomes Egypt's first civilian and Islamist president.

August 12: The new president scraps a constitutional document that gave sweeping powers to the military and sacks Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who ruled after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, 2011.

November 22: Mr Morsi announces sweeping new powers for himself.

November 30: Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts a draft constitution despite a boycott by liberals and Christians.

December 8: The president annuls the decree giving himself increased powers.

December 15 and 22: 64% of voters in a two-round referendum back the new constitution. Egypt plunges into political crisis, with demonstrations by Morsi supporters and opponents sometimes turning deadly.

:: 2013

January 24: There is violence between demonstrators and police on the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. Nearly 60 people die in a week.

April 5: Four Christians and a Muslim are killed in sectarian violence.

May 7: President Morsi's cabinet reshuffle falls short of opposition demands.

May 16: Gunmen kidnap three policemen and four soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. They are freed on May 22.

June 2: Egypt's highest court invalidates the Islamist-dominated senate, which assumed a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, and a panel that drafted the constitution.

June 15: Mr Morsi announces "definitive" severing of ties with Syria.

June 21: Tens of thousands of Islamists gather ahead of planned opposition protests.

June 23: Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al Sisi warns the army will intervene if violence erupts.

June 28: The US says non-essential embassy staff can leave after an American is killed during the protests.

June 29: The Tamarod (Rebellion) campaign which called rallies for June 30 says more than 22 million have signed a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

June 30: Tens of thousands of Egyptians take to the streets nationwide determined to oust the president on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power. At least 16 people die in protests across the country.

July 1: The opposition gives President Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience. Egypt's armed forces warn they will intervene if the people's demands are not met within 48 hours.

July 2: The presidency rejects the army's ultimatum, saying it will pursue its own plans for national reconciliation.

July 3: Mr Morsi is overthrown late in the day as the country's most senior army official announces the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution and a "road map" for a return to democratic rule to stop the bloodshed.

July 4: As Mr Morsi is held by the army, Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 6: Fierce street battles between supporters of Morsi and their opponents leave at least 36 people dead.

July 8: Some 35 people are shot dead in clashes between Morsi supporters and the Egyptian army outside the Republican Guard's headquarters in Cairo.

July 9: Mr Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26: Millions pour into the streets of Egypt in rival demonstrations after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Five are killed in clashes. Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27: Clashes in the early morning hours between security forces and Morsi supporters kill at least 120 protesters in Cairo.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Train Crash Driver Held For 'Reckless Homicide'

The driver of a speeding train that hurtled off the rails killing 78 people in Spain has been detained for "reckless homicide", according to the country's Interior Minister.

Speaking at a news conference in the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela where the accident happened, Jorge Fernandez Diaz said: "He has been detained since 7:40pm on Thursday for the alleged crimes of reckless homicide."

The driver, named by local media as 52-year-old Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, was arrested in the hospital where he was recovering after one of Europe's worst rail disasters.

Police said he refused to answer their questions on Friday from his hospital bed and the case has been passed to the courts.

The wrecked train at the site of the crash near Santiago de Compostela

The driver will be questioned by a judge on Sunday, the interior minister added.

Under Spanish law, a suspect can be detained for a maximum of 72 hours before being heard by a judge.

"There are reasonable grounds to consider that he may have been responsible for what happened, which must be established by a judge and the investigation which has been opened," Mr Fernandez Diaz said.

Although the court hearing will be closed, it will give hints about the status of the investigation. The judge will decide whether to jail the driver as an official suspect, release him on bail, or release him without charges. If a judge finds sufficient evidence for a criminal trial, the suspect will be charged and a trial date set.

Some 78 people were killed in one of the worst crashes in Spain's history

The eight-carriage train, packed with 218 passengers, was said to have been travelling at more than twice the speed limit on a curve when it hurtled off the rails and slammed into a concrete wall, with one carriage leaping up onto a siding.

The grey-haired driver, who reportedly boasted of his love for speed online, has been under police surveillance in hospital since the accident on Wednesday evening but he was discharged today and taken to a police station.

He reportedly suffered head injuries in the accident that required stitches. Pictures showed him being led away from the scene with blood covering the right side of his head.

While Garzon's official explanation for the crash is awaited, blame has increasingly fallen on the driver, with Spain's railway agency saying it was his responsibility to brake before going into the high-risk curve where the train tumbled off the rails and smashed into a wall.

A man lights a candle in memory of the victims of the rail disaster

But it is still not clear whether the brakes failed or were never used.

The president of Adif, the Spanish rail agency, said that the driver should have started slowing the train 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) before the dangerous bend. He said signs clearly marked this point when the driver must begin to slow.

Meanwhile, doctors are continuing to try to identify the last three bodies of the 78 passengers killed in the catastrophe.

A memorial service for the victims will be held on Monday in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, the city just outside which the rail disaster occurred and a destination for Catholic pilgrims from around the world.  

Some 130 people were also injured in the crash.  

The Alvia 730 series train was travelling from Madrid to the port city of Ferrol when it derailed at about 8.40pm local time - 7.40pm UK time - on Wednesday.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australia: Fears Over New 'Stolen Generation'

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Campaigners are asking for the law to be changed to help rescue thousands of Aboriginal children in Australia from extreme neglect.

Alcohol abuse is rife amongst indigenous communities and children are being abandoned while their parents drink.

In some rural areas it is common to see toddlers in nappies wandering around unsupervised, even begging for food or warm clothing.

Many non-indigenous families are so concerned that they have been taking children off the streets and into their homes without formal permission.

They want the law changed to make it easier for white Australians to foster or adopt Aboriginal children.

Eight-year-old Cebby, who was born to an alcoholic mother, has been surrounded by alcohol abuse and violence throughout his young life.

He told Sky News about the few simple things he thinks adults should provide.

"I want them to make me feel safe. Make me feel alright, not scared. Make me feel normal."

The community of Tennant Creek is seeing hundreds of abandoned children

Becky Healy, who runs a motel in Tennant Creek - a town in the heart of Australia's outback, is distraught at the huge numbers of Aboriginal children wandering the streets unwashed, unfed and unschooled.

Her motel has inadvertently become a refuge for neglected children.

"It's a crisis. We are now at a point of do or die and we have to do something for these kids.

"If it means taking them into our complex and feeding them and training them when we have nothing to do with the social sector, then so be it."

Children surrounded by substance abuse are even becoming addicted themselves.

Recently three girls, barely in their teens, were caught on CCTV in Tennant Creek breaking into a workshop and sniffing petrol fumes from a tractor engine.

Politicians are now considering putting neglected Aboriginal children up for adoption, until now there has been an unwillingness to act because of fears of a new "stolen generation".

The legacy of the 'stolen generation' has prevented adoptions

That was a misguided policy which only ended in the early 1970s where Aboriginal children were taken from their families and placed under foster care with white families or institutions.

The law has since stated that Aboriginal children in need must always be placed within their community, wherever possible.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles, Australia's first indigenous state or territory leader, says it is time to revisit the legislation.

"Whatever we do has to be about making parents take responsibility for their kids," he said.

"(However) we have to give those kids the best opportunity in life and where we deem it necessary we won't be afraid to make those decisions about the child's future."
                 
It is a change Yvonne Mudford and her husband Leigh Swift say can't come soon enough. Their aboriginal neighbours asked them to take their child Mikala for a few hours, then weeks and now permanently.

She still sees her natural parents but is thriving in a home free from alcohol abuse and violence.

Martina is one of thousands of children who need help

"It's just a basic right that every child is entitled to. Safety, a good home life, food, clothing and to be looked after and loved … why should these kids miss out on that?"

Critics though, whilst acknowledging something needs to be done, are concerned about removing children.

Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation spokeswomen Vicki Lee Knowles recently told the ABC: "Within an Aboriginal family ... the loss of culture, land and language has a long-term impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of those children who are removed."

Aborigines are the most disadvantaged Australians, with indigenous children twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday as other children.

While accurate data on child abuse and family violence in Aboriginal areas is scarce, the Australian government has said many children grow up in communities where violence has become "a normal and ordinary part of life".

Aborigines are believed to have numbered around one million at the time of British settlement in 1788, but there are now just 470,000 out of a total population of 23 million in Australia.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Car Bombings In Baghdad Kill Dozens

At least 46 people have been killed in multiple car bombings in Baghdad, Iraqi police and medics said.

Explosions struck late on Saturday in the predominantly Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Karrada, Baiyaa, Shurta, Tobchi and Zafaraniyah.

It was unclear who was behind the attacks - the latest in a wave of violence that has killed more than 200 people since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Police said the Baghdad atrocities were all caused by bombs in cars parked in commercial streets.

And security sources claimed the blasts were timed for nightfall after the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast when shoppers take to the streets.

A man cleans up after a bombing outside a shop

The deadliest explosion was in the northern neighbourhood of Tobchi, where 10 people were killed.

In the Karrada district, at least four people died.

The unrest has raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict in a country where Kurds, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

Sectarian tensions have been inflamed by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has drawn in Shi'ite and Sunni fighters from Iraq and beyond to fight on opposite sides of the conflict.

Sunni insurgents, including the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, have been recruiting from Iraq's Sunni minority, which resents Shi'ite domination since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Great Barrier Reef Hit By Four US Jet Bombs

Two American fighter jets dropped four bombs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef after a training exercise went wrong, it has emerged.

US officials said the pilots of two AV-8B Harrier jets were forced to jettison the unarmed devices on Tuesday because both aircraft were running low on fuel and could not land with the bombs on board.

The pilots intended to drop the munitions on a designated bombing range on Townshend Island but aborted the mission when controllers reported the area was not clear of hazards.

Instead, they jettisoned two bombs from each aircraft on the World Heritage-listed marine park off the coast of Queensland state.

The pilots tried to minimise the damage by releasing the devices over deep water of more than 50 metres and away from coral reefs, officials said.

All four bombs were inert and so did not explode. It is unclear whether any environmental damage was caused.

The bombs were dropped from two AV-88 Harrier jets

An Australian Defence Force spokesman was quoted as saying the bombs posed "minimal risk or threat to the public, the marine environment or civilian shipping transiting the reef area".

The two jets were launched from aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard during a three-week joint military training exercise involving around 28,000 US and Australian personnel.

Graeme Dunstan, who is among the environmentalists and anti-war activists protesting against the joint exercise, claimed the US military could no longer be trusted to protect the environment.

"How can they protect the environment and bomb the reef at the same time? Get real," Mr Dunstan said from the Queensland coastal town of Yepoon near where the military exercise is taking place.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest network of coral structures rich in marine life that stretches more than 1,800 miles along the Australian northeast coast.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abu Qatada Refused Jordan Bail Request

Jordan's military court has refused a bail request by radical preacher Abu Qatada three weeks after he was deported from Britain to face terrorism charges.

The 53-year-old was convicted in absentia of conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis, Americans and other Westerners in Jordan in two allegedly foiled plots in 1999 and 2000, but is now receiving a new trial.

Qatada's lawyer, Tayseer Thiab, confirmed that the court had rejected bail.

He said: "The state security court today refused to release Abu Qatada on bail.

"The court gave no reason for its decision. I will meet with Abu Qatada on Wednesday to look into the issue and decide future steps."

Qatada was charged on July 7, just hours after his deported from Britain. He pleaded not guilty.

He is currently in Muwaqqar prison, a maximum security facility that houses more than 1,000 inmates - most of them Islamists convicted of terror offences.

After the original trial he was condemned to death for his alleged role in the terror attacks, but the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment.

His deportation to Jordan came after Amman and London last month ratified a treaty guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial.

It marked the end of an eight-year legal battle to remove him from Britain, where he was described by the Government as a "truly dangerous individual" and a "key player" in al Qaeda-related terrorism.

Qatada used his human rights to make a series of costly challenges to moves to deport him back to Jordan.

The Home Office spent a total of £1.7m in legal fees from the many court proceedings.

His wife and five children are planning to move to Amman.

Top Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon once branded Qatada Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, although he denies ever having met the late al Qaeda leader.

Videotapes of his sermons were allegedly found in the Hamburg flat of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia Helicopter Crash: Two Britons Killed

Two British tourists have been killed alongside their Russian guide in a helicopter crash in northern Russia, according to reports.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said the Eurocopter helicopter banked on one side and crashed while attempting to take off in Murmansk's Lovozersky district.

NTV Russia footage of the area

It is understood the pair, who had travelled to the remote region for an organised river fishing expedition, and their Russian translator were killed by the whirling rotors of the helicopter as the aircraft landed on its side.

The Life News website described them as "VIP tourists".

NTV Russia footage of the area

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of reports of the deaths of two British nationals in Russia. We are in touch with the local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance."

Fishing expeditions to the salmon-rich rivers of the Far North are one of very few tourism attractions of Russia that bring in high-paying foreign tourists to regions beyond Moscow and St Petersburg.

"The foreign tourists were staying in a luxury camp for fishing," a security source told the Interfax news agency.

A distress signal had already been received from the chopper before it made the crash landing. The pilot survived but was injured.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More