Military receive spending boost
David Cameron announced on Monday that the government will invest an additional £800m in boosting the military’s surveillance, intelligence and Special Forces plus £300m on extending existing capabilities. He said that the Armed Forces must adapt to deal with unseen enemies and spending on intelligence and surveillance equipment, such as drones, is a national necessity. He warned that Britain faces changing threats in the form of global terrorism and unseen cyber-criminals who can target the country from abroad, stating, ‘We cannot defend the realm from the white cliffs of Dover.’ See also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10965217/Huge-investment-in-Armed-Forces-means-a-more-secure-future-for-Britain.html
Mums-to-be admit drinking too much booze
Thousands of women a year are giving birth after admitting having drunk too much alcohol during their pregnancies, a Sky News investigation has found. Although government guidelines warn pregnant women against drinking more than four units a week - equivalent to two large glasses of wine - hospitals have recorded a significant number drinking much more. The first hospital figures of their kind suggest that more than 2,000 babies a year are born to mothers who have breached alcohol guidelines. Dr Raja Mukherjee, lead clinician for the national foetal alcohol spectrum disorder clinic in Surrey said ‘We know that women are drinking more. 90% of women in this country drink and they don't all suddenly stop when they are pregnant.’ Heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the risk that babies will be born with foetal alcohol syndrome - a life-long condition that can leave children physically and mentally disabled.
Tooth decay hospitalises 500 children every week
Nearly 500 children a week are being admitted to hospital with rotten teeth, NHS figures show. It is now the main reason for youngsters needing hospital treatment and dentists say the main culprits are fruit juice and fizzy drinks. Most children need between four and eight of their baby teeth extracted, although some are having all 20 taken out. Figures also show that more than a quarter of five-year-olds have some degree of tooth decay and in some areas of England it is well over a third. Only last month new NHS guidelines urged the public to slash sugar intake to as little as five teaspoons a day, due to concerns that it is to blame for rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Experts are also worried that sugar is behind an increase in tooth decay in children and could affect their ability to learn.
Energy firm complaints hit record high
The number of customers complaining to the independent ombudsman about their energy bills has soared with more people making official complaints in the first six months of this year than the whole of last year put together. Official complaints more than doubled to 22,671 in the first six months of 2014 from 10,598 in the previous six months. The 2013 total was 17,960. Complaints to the ombudsman – who deals with disputes unresolved after at least eight weeks – also reached a record for one month at 4,124 in June, an increase of 216% on a year ago. Chief energy ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: ‘The spike in complaints is in part a result of the rising cost of living, but also as a result of consumers becoming more aware of their rights and feeling more empowered to act and fight for a fair deal. Addressing these concerns is crucial to restoring consumer confidence in the sector.’
660 arrested over accessing online child abuse images
660 suspected paedophiles have been arrested as part of a six-month operation targeting people accessing child abuse images online. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the 660 included doctors, teachers, scout leaders, care workers and former police officers. More than 400 children have been protected as a result, the agency said. Arrests were made across the UK and the majority of those held had no previous contact with police. The NCA said 39 of those arrested are registered sex offenders. Charges already brought range from possessing indecent images of children to serious sexual assault. The NCA stressed that none of those arrested is a serving or former MP or member of the Government.
Israel/Palestine: Digging in, Hamas believes time is on its side
A Middle East analyst suggests that Hamas’s military wing calculates that world opinion and mounting Israeli frustration will ultimately work to their advantage. Even though Hamas underestimated the resilience of the Israel home front, military capabilities and intelligence they are determined to see their mission through. Hamas forces are still standing and they are still standing by demands they issued on the second day of conflict, with no signs of flexibility. Historically Hamas is a socio-political organization with an associated paramilitary force, its roots are in the Muslim Brotherhood which has been active in the Gaza strip since 1950’s.The name Hamas is an acronym of Harakat al-Muqāwama al-Islāmiyya meaning ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’
Libya: Government and army call for calm
Two years after a revolt that ousted and killed Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s weak government is struggling to control its borders, stop the smuggling of weapons and manage regional militias that have refused to disarm. The turmoil temperature rose higher this week as:- the Libya UN Support Mission evacuated all staff citing security concerns; the Ministry of Interior asked residents to stay away from clashes taking place around Tripoli International Airport and on the roads; the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tunis, which processes Libyan applications for Umrah and other visas will close at the end of this week. (the embassy in Tripoli is closed); the Aman Bank in Tripoli closed on Monday because of clashes. Also it is becoming increasingly clear that Christianity is no more welcome in Libya after the Arab Spring than under the rule of Gaddafi . Many Christians have left in the face of violent attacks and the growing strength of both political and militant Islamism.
Mexico: Dangers for unaccompanied migrant children
Pope Francis called for urgent action to protect and care for the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children migrating from Central America and Mexico to the United States. In a letter read by the Vatican envoy to Mexico and heard by foreign ministers of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the pope said a humanitarian emergency demands urgent measures for minors to be protected and duly taken in. Migrants cross into the United States under extreme conditions in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain. US authorities have detained 57,000 unaccompanied minors since October. Mexican authorities have picked up 8,000 child migrants in the first five months of this year - over half of whom were travelling alone. The pontiff called for policies to inform the public of the dangers of the trip north and to promote development of the migrants' countries of origin. (See also item 4 below)
Mexico: Children at risk – a humanitarian crisis
Unaccompanied children migrants jump onto trains in Mexico to cross the border - as many as 90,000 may have entered the US from Central America this year alone. This week Aljazeera reported that 458 children, including infants, were found living in a rat- and flea-infested refuge in Mexico when police and army troops raided a home known as ‘The Big Family’. Attorney general Jesus Murillo said, ‘There were around 500 children in truly terrible conditions.’ Fox news reported on Wednesday that Dozens of Central Americans who paid $1.50 a head were seen crossing the Suchiate River on inner tubes and wooden boards, in full view of Mexican police and immigration agents. See: and
Syria: UN - Unanimous vote to deliver aid in rebel areas
Despite objections by Syria’s government, the United Nations Security Council voted 15 to 0 on Monday to authorize cross-border convoys of emergency aid for millions of deprived Syrian civilians in rebel-held areas, without prior approval by the Syrian authorities. This strengthens provisions adopted five months ago and signified a rare unanimity among the Security Council members over how to deal with the 4-year civil war in Syria. 10.8 million people need assistance because of the war, and roughly half of them live in rebel-held areas.Up to now the government of President Bashar al-Assad has insisted that all international aid be channelled through Damascus and very little, if any, had been getting to civilians in areas not controlled by the government. His political opponents believe the injustice and unfairness of aid distribution was part of an effort to use the assistance, including medicine, as a weapon of war to sicken and starve rebel-held areas into submission.