IGIHE

Tag: InternationalNews

  • More European Women to Die of Lung Cancer

    {{Lung cancer is set to overtake breast cancer as the biggest cause of female cancer death in Europe, say experts.}}

    This is already the case in the UK and Poland, the Annals of Oncology reports.

    The rise reflects a surge in the number of women who started smoking in the 1960s and 1970s, the experts say.

    The lung cancer death rate will continue on its upward trend for the next few years – but with fewer young European women now starting to smoke, it should decrease with time.

    In 2013, some 82,640 European women will die from lung cancer, while 88,886 will die from breast cancer.

    And by 2015 the balance will have shifted and lung cancer will take the lead, according to Prof Carlo La Vecchia and colleagues.

    BBC

  • Racists Attack El Hadji Diouf

    {{Millwall are “appalled” by footage showing their supporters aiming racial abuse at Leeds striker El Hadji Diouf.}}

    The pictures, showing Senegal international Diouf being abused during a game at The Den on 18 November, appeared on Sky Sports News.

    “Like all Millwall fans and football fans generally, we’re appalled by the footage we’ve seen,” said Lions chief executive Andy Ambler.

    “Clearly that behaviour is unacceptable in any football ground in the country.”

    Ambler added: “Sadly racism exists in our society and certain individuals want to bring it into football grounds. It’s down to us in football do to more.

    “That day against Leeds obviously there was an allegation of abuse made online initially. We investigated it straight away.

    “We interviewed stewards, police, players, we looked at the TV footage too as it was live on Sky.

    “After speaking to the player [Diouf] who had the alleged abuse at him during the day, he said that he heard no abuse so that was basically at that point the end of the investigation – although we’re going to open it again now.”

    Bolton and England Under-21 striker Marvin Sordell also previously made allegations of racial abuse towards Millwall’s fans.

    After doing so, a banner further abusing the 21-year-old was displayed at The Den and a 13-year-old boy was banned from the ground.

    Football Association chairman David Bernstein told the Sky Sports special report he is treating allegations with the utmost importance.
    “These issues bother me intensely,” he said.

    “They have become top of my agenda in terms of moving these things on and combating these things.

    “The awareness of it could not be higher.”

    BBCsports

  • Gay Couples in US Army Granted Benefits

    {{In the US, Pentagon has officially extended some military benefits to same-sex partners, but said provisions like medical coverage would not be offered to gay troops’ spouses due to legal barriers.}}

    US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who is due to retire this month, said the decision stemmed from the repeal 17 months ago of a ban on openly gay recruits serving in the military.

    “It is a matter of fundamental equity that we provide similar benefits to all of those men and women in uniform who serve their country,” Panetta said in a statement.

    “Today, I am pleased to announce that after a thorough and deliberate review, the department will extend additional benefits to same-sex partners of service members.”

    The move, which defence officials had signaled last week, will provide same-sex partners with military identity cards, hospital visitation rights, access to youth and education programs and financial compensation in the event their military spouse dies, a Pentagon memo said.

    “Extending these benefits is an appropriate next step under current law to ensure that all service members receive equal support for what they do to protect this nation,” Panetta said.

    The number of same-sex couples affected by the decision is about 17,000 in the armed forces, including 5,600 active duty service members.

    Aljazeera

  • China Calls For Denuclearization Talks

    {{China expressed its “firm opposition” to erstwhile ally North Korea’s latest nuclear test Tuesday and called for new denuclearization talks.}}

    The statement from the Foreign Ministry reflects Beijing’s growing frustration with its communist neighbor’s provocative behavior, as well as its reluctance to impose more severe measures that could destabilize the North’s hardline regime.

    “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, heedless of widespread international opposition, has again carried out a nuclear test, to which the Chinese government expresses its firm opposition,” the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

    The statement said China maintained its resolute stance of advocating a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, opposition to nuclear proliferation, and support for the maintenance of stability on the peninsula.

    It called on North Korea to abide by its denuclearization pledge, and not to “take additional actions that could cause the situation to further deteriorate.”

    The statement did not point to any specific actions Beijing would take in response to the nuclear test, the North’s third.

    But it called on all sides to “respond calmly” and said issues should be resolved within the framework of long-stalled denuclearization talks involving North Korea, China, the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Russia.

    China is the North’s biggest source of aid and diplomatic support, but it issued an unusually strong reaction to Pyongyang’s December rocket launch by agreeing to tightened United Nations sanctions on the country.

    ABCnews

  • Who will be Next Pope?

    {{Latin America is home to the world’s largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday.}}

    The predominance of Europeans on the College of Cardinals means that the odds are stacked against a Latin American pope, even though the names of a number of high-ranking churchmen from the region have been bandied about, analysts said.

    The 118-member college, with 62 European members and only 19 from Latin America, will elect a successor for Pope Benedict XVI, who announced Monday he will resign due to age.

    Still, hope springs eternal.

    “Since Latin America is a fortress for Christianity during these rough times, it would be healthy for us to get a Latin American pope,” said Fernando Reyes, 57, a professional violinist, who prays daily at the La Merced church in Santiago, Chile.

    Crossing himself before leaving the church, Reyes noted, “I would be proud. We’ve had Italian, Polish, German. It’s time for a Latin American.”

    Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican’s office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities.

    Other Latin Americans posited as possible popes include Argentina’s Leonardo Sandri and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Sandri is head of the Vatican’s office for Eastern rite churches.

    He earned fame as the “voice” of Pope John Paul II when the pontiff lost the ability to speak because of his Parkinson’s disease.

    Also mentioned in 2005, when Benedict was chosen, was Honduran Archbishop Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga.

    But it is unclear whether any one of them could gain traction.

    Agencies

  • North Korea Conducts 3rd Nuclear Test

    {{North Korea said it successfully detonated a miniaturized nuclear device at a northeastern test site Tuesday, defying U.N. Security Council orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation.}}

    The underground explosion could take North Korea a big step closer to its goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile that could threaten the United States.

    It will also be seen as a direct message from young leader Kim Jong Un to the United States, Pyongyang’s former wartime enemy.

    North Korea’s official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with “outrageous” U.S. hostility that “violently” undermines the North’s peaceful, sovereign right to launch satellites.

    North Korea faced sanctions after a December launch of a rocket that the U.N. and Washington called a cover for a banned missile test. Pyongyang said it was a peaceful satellite launch.

    The timing will be seen as significant. The test came hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to give his State of the Union speech, a major, nationally televised address.

    It’s also only days before the Saturday birthday of Kim Jong Un’s father, late leader Kim Jong Il, whose memory North Korean propaganda has repeatedly linked to the country’s nuclear ambitions.

    This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

    The North said it used a “lighter, miniaturized atomic bomb” that still has more explosive force than past tests.

    North Korea is estimated to have enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight bombs, according to American nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker.

    However, it is not known whether North Korean scientists have found a way to miniaturize warheads.

    Earlier Tuesday, South Korean, U.S. and Japanese seismic monitoring agencies said they detected an earthquake in North Korea with a magnitude between 4.9 and 5.2.

    The nuclear test is North Korea’s first since Kim Jong Un took power of a country long estranged from the West.

    Experts say regular tests are needed to perfect North Korea’s goal of building nuclear warheads small enough to be placed on long-range missiles. This atomic test is North Korea’s third since 2006.

    The test will likely be portrayed in North Korea as a strong move to defend the nation against foreign aggression, particularly from the U.S., North Korea’s longtime enemy.

    North Korea’s rocket launches and nuclear tests largely are seen by analysts as threats designed to force the United States to confront the issue of military tensions between the foes 60 years after the end of the Korean War.

    Following the announcement of the nuclear test, North Korean state television played a song with lyrics bragging that the country always carries out what it is determined to do.

    In the background were scenes of a North Korean long-range rocket blasting off and short-range missiles being fired into the sky.

    The United States and its allies have been on edge since North Korea announced last month that it would conduct a nuclear test to protest toughened sanctions over the December rocket launch.

    In Washington, the White House had no immediate comment on Tuesday’s developments.

    North Korea’s National Defense Commission said Jan. 23 that the United States was its prime target for a nuclear test and long-range rocket launches. North Korea accuses Washington of leading the push to punish Pyongyang for its December rocket launch.

    Last October, a spokesman from the commission told state media that the country had built a missile capable of striking the United States, but did not provide further details.

    The decision to push ahead with a test will be a challenge to the U.N. Security Council, which recently punished Pyongyang for launching the long-range rocket.

    In condemning that launch and imposing more sanctions on Pyongyang, the council had demanded a stop to future launches and ordered North Korea to respect a ban on nuclear activity — or face “significant action” by the U.N.

    U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon condemned Tuesday’s nuclear test in a statement.

    The test will likely draw harsh censure and more sanctions from the United States and other countries at a time when North Korea is trying to rebuild its moribund economy and expand its engagement with the outside world.

    North Korea cites the U.S. military threat in the region as a key reason behind its drive to build nuclear weapons.

    The two countries fought on opposite sides of the Korean War, which ended after three years on July 27, 1953, with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

    The U.S.-led U.N. Command mans the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, and Washington stations more than 28,000 troops in South Korea to protect the ally.

    Agencies

  • Dozens Arrested in Mexico for Tourist Rapes

    {{In Mexico, Several people have been detained for investigation in Mexico in connection with last week’s rape of six Spanish tourists in Acapulco.}}

    Governor Angel Aguirre said two of those detained were also being investigated in connection with another rape case.

    He said the two had been identified by victims in that case, but he added that no identifications had been made by victims in the rape of the Spanish women.

    Officials on Sunday declined to say how many suspects were in custody.

    About 40 people who briefly blocked the road to Acapulco’s airport said five of their relatives had been detained in the case. They charged that the men were wrongly arrested and were being made scapegoats.

    “It’s been 48 hours that our family hasn’t seen them. We know nothing about them. One is a nephew and one is my brother,” said one of the protesters, who gave her name as Flor Silva.

    The state public safety secretary, Guillermo Jimenez, persuaded the protesters to end the road blockade in return for being allowed to meet their relatives.

    The February 4 attack on the Spaniards began when a band of masked gunmen broke into a beach front home before dawn.

    The attackers tied up the men present at the house, and then raped the six Spanish women there. A seventh woman, a Mexican national, was not harmed during the hours-long assault.

    wirestory

  • Google Chairman to Sell 3.2 million Shares

    {{With Google’s stock hovering at record highs, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt plans to sell more than 40 percent of his stock in the Internet search leader this year.}}

    The plan disclosed Friday calls for Schmidt to sell up to 3.2 million shares. If he were to sell all that stock at Google’s current price, Schmidt would realize a $2.5 billion windfall.

    Schmidt ended December with 7.6 million Google shares, or a 2.3 percent stake in the Mountain View, California, company.

    He would be left with about 4.4 million shares of Google stock worth another $3.5 billion if he follows through on his divestiture plan for this year.

    He has gradually been winnowing his holdings in Google in recent years, without giving a specific reason.

    Google Inc. declined to comment Friday.

    Google’s stock rose $11.42 to close at $785.37 Friday. Earlier in the day, it traded at $786.67 _ its highest price since the company went public at $85 per share in August 2004.

    Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the only company executives who own more stock than Schmidt.

    Page controls an 8.7 percent stake and Brin holds an 8.5 percent stake. Each stake is currently worth nearly $20 billion.

    Schmidt, 57, was Google’s CEO for a decade before turning over the job to Page, 39, in April 2011.

    wirestory

  • Russian Opposition Activist Under House Arrest

    {{A Russian court in Moscow on Saturday placed outspoken leftist opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov under house arrest in connection with criminal charges that he orchestrated anti-government riots last year.}}

    The ruling marks the first time since the rise of the opposition movement in December 2011 following disputed State Duma elections that a prominent anti-Kremlin figure has faced such a restriction.

    Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front, had been under travel restrictions since October but had repeatedly violated them, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Friday.

    His violations forced investigators to ask the court to limit his freedom further, Markin said.

    Under the new restrictions, Udaltsov will be prevented until April 6 from leaving his Moscow apartment without permission, and from communicating with anyone except his family, lawyers, investigators or prison officials by any means, the Basmanny District Court ruled.

    On Friday, Udaltsov denied that he had violated the travel restrictions imposed on him in October, saying authorities were seeking to limit his public activism.

    Political analyst Pavel Salin said Udaltsov was likely correct.

    “[Udaltsov is] one of the few people who can lead a crowd,” Salin said, while “objective reasons for [public] discontent are growing.”

    “The authorities understand perfectly that [discontent] can flare up anywhere,” Salin said.

    Before the decision was announced Saturday, Udaltsov told journalists and supporters outside the court building that he thought the authorities were seeking to put him under house arrest because the protest movement had subsided and they were not afraid of a backlash from the opposition.

    The Moscow Times

  • New US Secretary of State Refuses to speak French

    {{John Kerry has prompted a Gallic shrug by refusing to speak French at his maiden news conference as US Secretary of State.}}

    Asked to answer a question with a “bit of French please”, he said: “Not today. I got to refresh myself on that.”

    The response surprised some in the francophone world as Mr Kerry attended a Swiss boarding school and is known to speak the language well.

    He was speaking after meeting his Canadian counterpart in Washington.

    John Kerry

    * Born in 1943 in Aurora, Colorado

    * Became first Vietnam veteran to testify to Congress on the war

    * Elected to Senate in 1984 and chaired foreign relations committee since 2009

    * Failed presidential run in 2004 against incumbent George W Bush

    * Kerry is the wealthiest man in the Senate, worth more than $184m (£116m)

    * Married to ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz

    Mr Kerry’s knowledge of French prompted scorn from the right-wing US press during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2004, due to the souring of US-French ties over the war in Iraq.

    Since then, he has played down his language proficiency, bolstered during childhood summers spent at his mother’s family estate in Brittany.

    ‘Big heels’

    Foreign Minister John Baird was the first foreign dignitary to be welcomed to the state department by Mr Kerry since he took office last week.

    Speaking alongside Mr Baird at his maiden press conference as the top US diplomat, Mr Kerry urged Iran to address concerns about its nuclear programme.

    The 69-year-old former Massachusetts senator said the US was committed to preventing Iran from securing a nuclear weapon and would continue its policy of both pressure and engagement to try to bring this about.

    He said the international community would respond, if – as he put it – Iran was ready to talk substance at the negotiations to take place in Kazakhstan later this month. Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.

    The 2004 Democratic presidential candidate was greeted by a cheering crowd of employees on Monday in the large black-marble lobby of the state department.

    He succeeds Mrs Clinton who, in her four years as the top US diplomat, visited 112 countries and notched up nearly a million air miles.

    In a speech to staff, Mr Kerry joked that he had “big heels to fill”.
    The new state department head has spent much of his first week getting in touch with foreign leaders.

    Last weekend, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

    Mr Kerry also contacted the foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico, as well as Mr Baird.

    BBC