|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hardline cleric deliberately framed Rimsha Masih, believed to be just 13, in order to 'get rid of Christians', court hears The mullah at the centre of the furore surrounding a young Pakistani Christian girl facing a death sentence for blasphemy has been accused of deliberately framing her by planting burnt Islamic texts. In an extraordinary development in the case, which has attracted international condemnation, Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti arrived in court blindfolded and under tight security after being arrested late on Saturday night. The judge ruled he should be held in police custody for two weeks. Police say two of his colleagues gave statements that he added pages from the Qu'ran to strengthen the case against Rimsha Masih, who has been in custody for two weeks after she was accused by Muslim neighbours in her Islamabad neighbourhood of burning the holy book. The crime is particularly serious under the country's much-criticised blasphemy laws and offenders can be sentenced to death. Maulvi Zubair and two other assistants at a mosque near Rimsha's house told police Chishti deliberately added pages from the Qu'ran to some charred refuse she was carrying. Zubair is said to have objected at the time but Chishti insisted it was the only way to get rid of Christians in the area. Rimsha's lawyers maintain that she did not commit any crime. They say that not only is she only 13 years old, and should be tried as a juvenile, she also has Down's syndrome and therefore "cannot commit such a crime", according to her bail application. Chishti has been outspoken about his dislike of the hundreds of Christian families who live in the area, even appearing on a popular national television show to complain that the noise made by Christian worshippers had disturbed Muslim residents. He also welcomed the departure of most of the Christians from the area following the furore surrounding the arrest of Rimsha last month. With passions running high in the community – hundreds of people demonstrated outside her house, reportedly demanding the right to burn the young girl to death – most Christians fled the area. "We are not upset the Christians have left and we will be pleased if they don't come back," Chishti told the Guardian on 18 August. Tahir Naveed Chaudhry from the All Pakistan Minority Committee said Rimsha's lawyers had always maintained the evidence was planted. "And now it is proved that the whole story was only designed to dislocate the Christian people," he said. "[Chishti] must be prosecuted under the blasphemy law as it will set a precedent against anyone else who tries to misuse that law." The blasphemy laws have been widely abused as a powerful way to settle scores and disputes. People have been sentenced to long jail terms on extremely weak evidence, some of which cannot even be properly examined in court for fear of repeating any blasphemy. But public criticism of the laws is itself dangerous – two prominent politicians have been assassinated by religious hardliners after speaking out. Mumtaz Qadri, a former security guard who last year gunned down his boss, Salman Taseer, the governor of the Punjab at the time, is regarded by many Pakistanis as a hero for killing a man who had publicly criticised the blasphemy laws and backed a Christian woman who was sentenced to death.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini urged pope to admit mistakes and begin 'journey of transformation' in interview before his death The former archbishop of Milan and papal candidate Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said the Catholic church was "200 years out of date" in his final interview before his death. Martini, once favoured by Vatican progressives to succeed Pope John Paul II and a prominent voice in the church until his death on Friday at the age of 85, gave a scathing account of a pompous and bureaucratic organisation failing to move with the times. "Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous," Martini said in the interview published in Italian daily Corriere della Sera. "The church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops. The paedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation," he said in the interview, published on Saturday. In the last decade the Catholic church has been accused of failing to fully address a series of child abuse scandals that have undermined its status as a moral arbiter, although it has paid many millions in compensation settlements worldwide. Martini, famous for saying that the use of condoms could be acceptable in some cases, told interviewers the church should open up to new kinds of families or risk losing its flock. "A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion to look after her and her children. A second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not just the mother will be cut off but also her children," he said. In this way "the church loses the future generation", Martini said in the interview, carried out a fortnight before he died. The Vatican opposes divorce and forbids contraception in favour of fidelity within marriage and abstinence without. A liberal voice in the church, Martini's chances of becoming pope were damaged when he revealed he was suffering from a rare form of Parkinson's disease and he retired in 2002. Pope John Paul II was instead succeeded in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, a hero of Catholic conservatives who has been called "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues. Martini's final message to Pope Benedict was to begin a shakeup of the Catholic church without delay. "The church is 200 years out of date. Why don't we rouse ourselves? Are we afraid?" Martini was much-loved and thousands paid their respects at his coffin in Milan cathedral on Saturday.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Anti-apartheid hero attacks former prime minister over 'double standards on war crimes' Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called for Tony Blair and George Bush to be hauled before the international criminal court in The Hague and delivered a damning critique of the physical and moral devastation caused by the Iraq war. Tutu, a Nobel peace prizewinner and hero of the anti-apartheid movement, accuses the former British and US leaders of lying about weapons of mass destruction and says the invasion left the world more destabilised and divided "than any other conflict in history". Writing in the Observer, Tutu also suggests the controversial US and UK-led action to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003 created the backdrop for the civil war in Syria and a possible wider Middle East conflict involving Iran. "The then leaders of the United States and Great Britain," Tutu argues, "fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand – with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us." But it is Tutu's call for Blair and Bush to face justice in The Hague that is most startling. Claiming that different standards appear to be set for prosecuting African leaders and western ones, he says the death toll during and after the Iraq conflict is sufficient on its own for Blair and Bush to be tried at the ICC. "On these grounds, alone, in a consistent world, those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in The Hague," he says. The court hears cases on genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. To date, 16 cases have been brought before the court but only one, that of Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been completed. He was sentenced earlier this year to 14 years' imprisonment for his part in war crimes in his home country. Trials under way include those of the Serbian general Ratko Mladic and former DRC military commander Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. Arrest warrants have also been issued for several suspects, including the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, and Muammar Gaddafi's second son Saif. Tutu's broadside is evidence of the shadow still cast by Iraq over Blair's post-prime ministerial career, as he attempts to rehabilitate himself in British public life. A longtime critic of the Iraq war, the archbishop pulled out of a South African conference on leadership last week because Blair, who was paid 2m rand (£150,000) for his time, was attending. It is understood that Tutu had agreed to speak without a fee. In his article, the archbishop argues that as well as the death toll, there has been a heavy moral cost to civilisation, with no gain. "Even greater costs have been exacted beyond the killing fields, in the hardened hearts and minds of members of the human family across the world. "Has the potential for terrorist attacks decreased? To what extent have we succeeded in bringing the so-called Muslim and Judeo-Christian worlds closer together, in sowing the seeds of understanding and hope?" Blair and Bush, he says, set an appalling example. "If leaders may lie, then who should tell the truth?" he asks. "If it is acceptable for leaders to take drastic action on the basis of a lie, without an acknowledgement or an apology when they are found out, what should we teach our children?" In a statement, Blair strongly contested Tutu's views and said Iraq was now a more prosperous country than it had been under Saddam Hussein. "I have a great respect for Archbishop Tutu's fight against apartheid – where we were on the same side of the argument – but to repeat the old canard that we lied about the intelligence is completely wrong as every single independent analysis of the evidence has shown. "And to say that the fact that Saddam massacred hundreds of thousands of his citizens is irrelevant to the morality of removing him is bizarre. We have just had the memorials both of the Halabja massacre, where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons, and that of the Iran-Iraq war where casualties numbered up to a million including many killed by chemical weapons. "In addition, his slaughter of his political opponents, the treatment of the Marsh Arabs and the systematic torture of his people make the case for removing him morally strong. But the basis of action was as stated at the time. "In short, this is the same argument we have had many times with nothing new to say. But surely in a healthy democracy people can agree to disagree. "I would also point out that despite the problems, Iraq today has an economy three times or more in size, with the child mortality rate cut by a third of what it was. And with investment hugely increased in places like Basra."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Oscar Pistorius wins 200m heat three weeks after making Olympic history "Have you heard the name Oscar Pistorius?" With an hour to go before the first event of Saturday night's programme, the Olympic stadium was only half full when the announcer posed the question, but a massive roar went up. Until recently, apart from such local heroes as Tanni Grey-Thompson and Ellie Simmonds, the South African has been the only disabled athlete known to the majority of the British public, a metaphorical as well as – in the opening ceremony on Friday night – a literal standard-bearer. The 2012 Paralympic Games got its first sight of him last night when he won the last of three heats of the T43/44 200m for single and double amputees, setting a world record in the process. This is one of a trio of events – the others are the 100m and the 400m – in which he is defending the titles he won in Beijing four years ago. Three weeks ago he made the second of his two historic appearances in the Olympic Games, he and three fellow South Africans coming last in the final of the 4x400m relay. They had been allowed into the medal race, taking their place in a ninth lane, after the judges ruled that they had been impeded during the heat by a member of the Kenyan quartet. A few days earlier, in the individual 400m, he finished second in his heat but came last in the semi-final, although there was an unforgettably touching moment when Kirani James, the 19-year-old phenomenon from Grenada who would go on to win the gold medal, removed the race number from his vest and asked Pistorius to swap with him. If that is the sort of esteem in which the 25-year-old from Johannesburg is held by his fellow athletes, then those of us who harbour reservations about the wisdom of allowing him to compete alongside able-bodied athletes had better shut up. There may still be validity in the belief that, while Pistorius's carbon-fibre blades have been deemed to confer no special advantage, that may not be true of a more highly developed set attached to some future athlete. But his value as a symbol, his contribution to the spread of a more enlightened attitude to physical disability, is so far beyond dispute as to render the debate redundant. For now, that is, and it was certainly not without interest and possibly significance that of the three 200m heats, which were contested by 13 T44 (single amputee) and five T43 (double amputee) athletes, each was won by a runner with two carbon-fibre legs: the first being Alan Oliveira of Brazil, who set a new world record of 21.88 sec, followed in the second race by Blake Leeper of the United States and in the third by Pistorius, who was given the sort of reception normally accorded to British athletes before beating Oliveira's time as he romped away from the field to finish in 21.30 seconds. They will meet in tonight's final. He is not the only Paralympic sprinter to have competed at a major championship alongside able-bodied athletes. Last night Jason Smyth, a partially sighted 25-year-old from County Londonderry, also set a new world record while winning the final of the T13 100m for athletes with significant visual impairment, having appeared in the world championships in Daegu, South Korea last year. Smyth, whose vision was affected during childhood by a degenerative condition known as Stargardt disease, has a personal best time of 10.22 sec, four 100ths of a second outside the qualifying time for the London Olympics. He is the reigning T13 champion at 100m and 200m and has spent much of the past three years training in Florida alongside Tyson Gay, the second fastest man of all time. In Friday's heats he lowered his own Paralympic world record to 10.54 – a third of a second slower than his personal best, but that was achieved in a competition with able-bodied runners, and Paralympic records must be set during a meeting licensed by the governing body. Last night he reduced it again, this time to 10.46 as he crossed the line more than half a second ahead of the remainder of the field, who appeared to be in a different race. Smyth remains intent on running in the Olympics, and is focusing his ambitions on the 2016 Games in Rio. "The reality is that Olympic sport is at a higher level and some of us are stuck in the older ways," he says. "We're trying to make that great leap forward." No one knows where all this will lead, and there are likely to be more debates to come in the post-Pistorius era. But the South African and his fellow athletes are teaching us all lessons.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former Sunday Times editor who campaigned for victims of drug that caused birth defects says apology is 50 years too late Sir Harold Evans has launched a scathing attack on the manufacturer of thalidomide after it apologised for the first time to the victims of the birth defects tragedy from more than 50 years ago. Writing in the Observer, the former Times and Sunday times editor who spearheaded a campaign to get compensation for families affected by the anti-morning sickness drug, described the Grünenthal Group as "reckless" and said the admission of guilt was half a century too late. He wrote: "How do you wrestle with your conscience when the injustice you have perpetrated has destroyed the lives of children and left thousands of thalidomide victims still enduring pain and suffering, without adequate compensation?" His comments came after the German company unveiled a thalidomine memorial statue on Friday and released a statement saying it "regrets" the consequences of the drug which led to babies being born without limbs during the 1950s and 1960s. The company's chief executive, Harald Stock, said Grünenthal had failed to reach out to the victims and their mothers "from person to person" over the past 50 years. "Instead, we have been silent and we are very sorry for that," he said. But Evans rejected the apology, saying "justice delayed is justice denied". He accused the company of failing to test the drug effectively and ignoring early warnings about its side effects in pursuit of profit. Thalidomide was created by Grünenthal in 1953 and used in the late 1950s and early 1960 as a drug to treat morning sickness, headaches, coughs, insomnia and colds. However, in 1961 an Australian doctor, William McBridge, wrote to the Lancet after noticing an increase in deformed babies born at his hospital – all to mothers who had taken thalidomide. The drug was withdrawn from the market later that year but it was estimated that 10,000 babies were born around the world with defects caused by thalidomide. Families of those affected in the UK then found themselves locked in a long legal battle for compensation against the Distillers Biochemicals Limited (now Diageo) which was responsible for distributing the drug in Britain. As editor of the Sunday Times, Evans launched an investigation into the causes and consequences of the disaster and led a campaign for compensation which saw Diago pay out £28m to British victims in 1968. Evans described the drug as having "murky origins" and claims invesigations into the origins of thalidomide can be traced back to murderous experiments in second world war concentration camps. He accuses the company of remaining silent on adjusting compensation for victims to reflect inflation and says the fight for justice will continue for the thousands of victims who still endure pain and suffering more than 50 years on.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Seventeen-year-old swimmer, one of ParalympicGB's most prolific athletes, sets world record and wins gold in 400m freestyle final As you walk into the Olympic Park, you pass a photograph of 17-year-old swimmer Ellie Simmonds, some six storeys high, across the whole side of one building. She looks steely, not beaming as we are used to, and the tagline reads: "Take the stage." Every morning, when she wakes up in the athletes' village and opens her curtains, it must almost stare back at her like a mirror. In a cacophonous Aquatics Centre, Simmonds emphatically assumed her stage and exploded a Paralympics that has already had no shortage of golden moments. She won the women's S6 400m freestyle beating her rival Victoria Arlen in the most thrilling head-to-head of the Games so far. As she celebrated, her grin returned – and there were tears not far behind. What a race! It was a classic clash of styles: like Ali and Frazier or Borg and McEnroe, Simmonds and Arlen battered each other to new excellence. Simmonds is 4ft tall and weighs around 7st; she is not too strong off the start or the turns, but she churns through the water with her powerful shoulder muscles and leg kick like a motorboat. Arlen is 5ft 7in, quite fancies being an actor and a model, and swims with long, languid strokes that scarcely create a wave. Both smashed Arlen's world record by five seconds. After 100m, they were the only two swimmers in the race, and they were never more than a stroke apart until Simmonds sneaked a lead just before the final length. The crowd was like a mob 17,000-strong. Just when you thought the noise couldn't get louder, it erupted into further, deeper hysteria. "I'm exhausted, I can't believe I did it," said Simmonds afterwards, more tears mixing with water in rivulets down her face. "It was so tough, but I put my head down in the last 50m. I did it for myself, I did it for my family." The drama started building a long time before the pair settled side-by-side on their starting blocks at 5.56pm. The American Arlen was only cleared to race three hours earlier after debate about her classification. Arlen, also 17, was struck down with Lyme disease from an infected tick bite in 2006. It was undiagnosed for more than a year and left her in a vegetative state for two more. She returned to swimming in 2011 (she had been championship level in her youth), but a question remained as to whether she should race in the S6 classification. She was out last Monday, reinstated after an appeal on Thursday. Simmonds has had issues of her own to deal with, of course. That billboard in Stratford is one part of being "the face of the Games". Is it fair to load one person with that burden of expectation? Probably not. Yet it inevitably happens and perhaps only Jessica Ennis can empathise with what Simmonds has gone through in the build-up to the Paralympics. These pressures poured out in the aftermath of victory, and she cried once again on the podium as the anthem rang out. It was reminiscent of scenes from Beijing, where she was a surprise winner of two gold medals at the age of 13. There could be more emotion and medals to come too, including the heart-stopping prospect of rematches with Arlen in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle, both in S6, plus the 200m SM6 individual medley. Simmonds is already Britain's most recognisable Paralympian since Tanni-Grey Thompson, but with further success she could be set for an acclaim experienced by the likes of Mo Farah, Ennis and Bradley Wiggins.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Grünenthal Group's apology to victims of morning sickness drug 'meaningless without financial compensation' Victims of the thalidomide birth defects tragedy have rejected the first apology from the German company that invented the drug to combat morning sickness half a century ago. The Grünenthal Group released a statement on Friday stating that it "regrets" the consequences of the drug, which led to babies being born without limbs during the 1950s and 1960s. But the apology was dismissed by Thalidomide Agency UK, which represents people affected by the drug in Britain, as "insufficient". The Grünenthal Group needed to "put their money where their mouth is" rather than simply express regret, the charity's head consultant, Freddie Astbury, said. Astbury, who was born in Chester in 1959 with no arms and no legs after his mother took the drug, added: "If they are serious about admitting they are at fault and regret what happened, they need to start helping those of us who were affected financially." This point was backed by thalidomide survivor Nick Dobrik. "An apology should be an unreserved apology and not a conditional apology. It is strange when a company gives an apology which is not the truth," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "We feel that a sincere and genuine apology is one which actually admits wrongdoing. The company has not done that and has really insulted the thalidomiders." Thalidomide was created by Grünenthal in 1953 and was used in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a "wonder drug" to treat morning sickness, headaches, coughs, insomnia and colds. However, in 1961 an Australian doctor, William McBride, wrote to the Lancet after noticing an increase in deformed babies being born at his hospital – all to mothers who had taken thalidomide. The drug was withdrawn later that year. Seven years later, the UK company Distillers Biochemicals Limited (now Diageo) – which was responsible for distributing the drug in the UK – reached a compensation settlement following a legal battle by the families of those affected. In the end £28m was paid out by Diageo following a campaign by Harold Evans, then editor of the Sunday Times. Last week Grünenthal chief executive Harald Stock admitted his company had failed to reach out "from person to person" to the victims and their mothers over the past 50 years. "Instead, we have been silent and we are very sorry for that," he added. Astbury said that he believed the company was only apologising now because of court proceedings brought by victims in Australia. "Being disabled is very expensive and thalidomide people need help and care, and adaptations to their cars and homes. We just want people to live a comfortable life, and that means Grünenthal have to pay for their mistake financially." Thalidomide Agency UK says there are 458 people in the UK who are affected by the drug, but that for every thalidomide baby that lived there were 10 that died. In January 2010, the government expressed "sincere regret" for the decision to give the drug the stamp of approval and set up a funding scheme to help survivors cope. Thalidomide babies often suffered missing or deformed limbs and extreme shortening of arms and legs, but the drug also caused malformations of the eyes and ears, genitals, heart, kidneys and digestive tract.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Romney says 'America is going to come roaring back' as Obama argues GOP convention didn't offer 'a single new idea' Mitt Romney and Barack Obama vied for voter attention in battleground states Saturday as both used the break in conventions to woo undecided ballots and attempt to seize campaign momentum. Seemingly invigorated by his party's get-together in Tampa, Romney gave one of his more passionate appeals while on the stump in Ohio. Hitting out at the "divisiveness and bitterness" of his rival's campaign, Romney pledged that he could turn around America's economic fortunes so that it would come "roaring back" under his presidency. Not to be outdone, Obama also delivered a fired-up speech while on the road in Iowa. To chants of "four more years, four more years", the president called on voters to help him take the country forward. "We have come too far to turn back now, that is why I'm asking for a second term," he said. The president contrasted his agenda with that of the Republicans, a blueprint for America that was "better suited for the last century". The Republican convention didn't offer "a single new idea", Obama said, added: "It was a rerun. We'd seen it all before, you might as well have watched it on a black-and-white TV". The Iowa set-piece event kicked off a four-day tour of swing states as Obama makes his way to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Democratic National Convention next week. Saturday's campaigning serves as a potential political barometer as to where the momentum lies in the race at present. And despite a convention that was blown off course – initially by tropical storm Isaac and then by a somewhat bizarre star turn by actor/director Clint Eastwood – Romney appeared to campaign with a little more swagger on Saturday. His rhetoric was delivered with greater passion than is usual for a candidate that many have accused of being too wooden. At one point, he even appeared to tear up a little, as an enthusiastic crowd in Cincinnati broke into a chant of "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt". He was aided by a decision to give the candidate's wife Ann a greater prominence. Mrs Romney was one of the stars of the Republican convention in Tampa, managing to humanise her husband in a much-praised address to the party faithful. Encouraged by her reception, Republican strategists have seemingly decided to give the candidate's spouse a more central role. Introducing her husband, Ann Romney noted that many families in America were suffering as a result of a sluggish economy. "Help is on the way," she told the cheering crowd, handing over to husband Mitt. For his part, Romney gave a recap of his convention address, using many of the same key phrases and throwing around the same accusations of fiscal mismanagement at the White House incumbent, while also mocking Obama's aspirations to combat global warming He also laid out a campaign platform that includes making North America energy independent, lowering taxes and reducing the national debt. Romney also sought to present himself as the "unity" candidate, lashing out as what he perceived to be the "divisiveness and bitterness" of the Obama campaign. "I will bring us together," he told supporters, adding that under his watch "America is going to come roaring back". The country is overdue a "winning season", Romney added. Obama's criss-crossing of the country is aimed at countering the Republican candidate's message, and putting a halt to any post convention Romney bump. After Iowa, Obama will campaign in Colorado and Ohio in a busy weekend schedule. The focus on key states comes amid polling that suggest a tight White House race, which could be decided by where independent voters decide to put their cross come election day. Obama will get the chance to appeal to a national audience on Thursday when he will deliver his keynote convention address. That speech is expected to hang on pledges to end tax cuts for the rich, while putting more effort into education, energy and debt reduction. It has been reported that he will dismiss Romney as a peddler of failed trickle-down ideas that will hurt struggling families. Obama campaign aide Stephanie Cutter said the convention would rely less on rallying the base or levelling "petty attacks" on his rival, but would rather focus on "what we need to do with the country to move us forward, not back". "We don't need to reintroduce the president or reinvent him, as in the case with Mitt Romney," she said. "Instead, our convention will tell the story of the last four years, how the president made some tough choices to help a country and the economy recover."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Riding a post-convention high, GOP candidate rallies in Ohio as Barack Obama launches 'Road to Charlotte' campaign tour Mitt Romney and Barack Obama vied for voter attention in battleground states Saturday as both used the break in conventions to woo undecided ballots and attempt to seize campaign momentum. Seemingly invigorated by his party's get-together in Tampa, Romney gave one of his more passionate appeals while on the stump in Ohio. Hitting out at the "divisiveness and bitterness" of his rival's campaign, Romney pledged that he could turn around America's economic fortunes so that it would come "roaring back" under his presidency. As he spoke, the man currently occupying the post was preparing to make his pitch for four more years at a set-piece event in Iowa. It kicks off a four-day tour of swing states as Obama makes his way to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Democratic National Convention next week. Saturday's events serve as a potential political barometer as to where the momentum lies in the race at present. And despite a convention that was blown off course – initially by tropical storm Isaac and then by a somewhat bizarre star turn by actor/director Clint Eastwood – Romney appeared to campaign with a little more swagger on Saturday. His rhetoric was delivered with greater passion than is usual for a candidate that many have accused of being too wooden. At one point, he even appeared to tear up a little, as an enthusiastic crowd in Cincinnati broke into a chant of "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt". He was aided by a decision to give the candidate's wife Ann a greater prominence. Mrs Romney was one of the stars of the Republican convention in Tampa, managing to humanise her husband in a much-praised address to the party faithful. Encouraged by her reception, Republican strategists have seemingly decided to give the candidate's spouse a more central role. Introducing her husband, Ann Romney noted that many families in America were suffering as a result of a sluggish economy. "Help is on the way," she told the cheering crowd, handing over to husband Mitt. For his part, Romney gave a recap of his convention address, using many of the same key phrases and throwing around the same accusations of fiscal mismanagement at the White House incumbent, while also mocking Obama's aspirations to combat global warming He also laid out a campaign platform that includes making North America energy independent, lowering taxes and reducing the national debt. Romney also sought to present himself as the "unity" candidate, lashing out as what he perceived to be the "divisiveness and bitterness" of the Obama campaign. "I will bring us together," he told supporters, adding that under his watch "America is going to come roaring back". The country is overdue a "winning season", Romney added. In a bid to end Romney's post-convention bump, Obama embarked on a weekend criss-crossing the states and countering his message. Starting off in Iowa, Obama will campaign in Colorado and Ohio in a busy weekend schedule. The focus on key states comes amid polling that suggest a tight White House race, which could be decided by where independent voters decide to put their cross come election day. Obama will get the chance to appeal to a national audience on Thursday when he will deliver his keynote convention address. That speech is expected to hang on pledges to end tax cuts for the rich, while putting more effort into education, energy and debt reduction. It has been reported that he will dismiss Romney as a peddler of failed trickle-down ideas that will hurt struggling families. Obama campaign aide Stephanie Cutter said the convention would rely less on rallying the base or levelling "petty attacks" on his rival, but would rather focus on "what we need to do with the country to move us forward, not back". "We don't need to reintroduce the president or reinvent him, as in the case with Mitt Romney," she said. "Instead, our convention will tell the story of the last four years, how the president made some tough choices to help a country and the economy recover."
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eight months after the Observer revealed the shocking story of how tourists were paying to gawp at reclusive tribe, Gethin Chamberlin returns to find the practice still goes on "Jarawa!" The cry goes up from the front of the bus and, in an instant, the tourists are on their feet, craning their necks to see a small boy clutching a short spear. He is standing on the edge of the jungle, watching the convoy of vehicles thunder past on the Andaman trunk road. The tourists lurch towards the right-hand side of the vehicle to catch one last glimpse of him and then the government-run bus is past and he is gone. It is Wednesday morning, three days before the start of the official tourist season and eight months since an Observer investigation into the plight of the aboriginal Jarawa tribe, and an accompanying video of young tribal women dancing semi-naked for food, scandalised India and brought international condemnation of the Andaman human safaris. The spectacle of more than a third of a million people pouring through the dwindling tribe's jungle reserve each year, many of them intent on catching a glimpse of its largely reclusive inhabitants, prompted an outpouring of fury that could not be ignored. The Indian government moved swiftly to introduce laws punishing interference with the Jarawa with seven years in jail. Two policemen were arrested over the video, and the inspector general of police was transferred after he was caught taking his family on a human safari. In July the country's supreme court – which ordered the closure of the road in 2002 – banned commercial and tourist activity inside a 5km buffer zone around the tribal reserve, warning that any breach of the order would amount to contempt of court. That should have been the end of the human safaris, the term coined to describe the eight daily convoys of vehicles that run up and down the road through the heart of the pristine jungle. Last week, however, when the Observer returned to the Andamans, it was business as usual for the human safari industry. Not only does it continue, but it does so with the blessing of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, which runs its own daily tourist bus through the reserve. It costs 1,000 rupees (£11.36) for a ticket on the air-conditioned bus (850 rupees without air conditioning), ostensibly to visit a limestone cave and mud "volcano" on Baratang island, which lies 100km north of the capital, Port Blair – and inside the buffer zone fixed by the supreme court. Hundreds of private tour operators offer their own versions of the tour. But as the reactions of the bus passengers testify, the real attraction of the trip is that it runs through the Jarawa reserve on South Andaman island and offers the opportunity to see the inhabitants in their natural habitat. The white bus, with the national tourism advertising slogan "Incredible !ndia" painted on its side in large blue letters, picks up its first passengers next to the statue of Gandhi in the centre of Port Blair at 6.30am. A private bus company offering the same trip is collecting passengers from the same spot. It has been raining heavily, but it starts to ease as the bus heads north, entering the tall forest with its mix of hardwood trees and coconut palms. The bus draws up at the last checkpoint before the reserve to await the start of the second convoy of the day. The 13 passengers climb out and head for the stalls selling snacks and drinks. Half a dozen cars are parked at the side of the road, also waiting for the convoy to start. Five minutes before the tour is due to depart, a loudspeaker crackles into life, instructing those waiting by their vehicles to stick to the rules, which are set out on the board – not yet updated –next to the police post: don't give the Jarawa bananas and biscuits, don't take pictures, don't stop, don't let the Jarawa into your vehicles. Anyone breaking the law faces five years in jail. The passengers board the bus and a policeman with a luxuriant handlebar moustache joins the tour, clutching an ancient Lee-Enfield .303 rifle. Then the convoy is off, picking up speed and bouncing along the uneven surface. The rain has stopped and the trees glisten with moisture. Those on board do not have to wait long. "Jarawa!" The driver points to the side of the road ahead. The tourists are on their feet, eager to catch a glimpse. A man is crouching by the road with a bow on his knees. The bus flashes past. "Jarawa," the tourists say contentedly to each other as they sit down. This is what they came for. The cave is an unimpressive gash in a limestone cliff, the mud "volcano" merely a large puddle that occasionally belches out a few bubbles of gas from decomposing vegetation trapped below. This is the main event. But they have heeded the warnings: no one tries to take pictures and the sealed bus windows make throwing out food an impossibility. The bus breaks down and everyone is decanted on to the private vehicle that is following behind. There is another hiatus as the convoy squeezes past another, larger one, coming in the opposite direction. Then it is off again, moving swiftly, the new vehicle bouncing fiercely. "Jarawa!" This time it is two women, naked from the waist up, with bright red cloth wrapped around their heads. The tourists are on their feet. "Jarawa!" Every few minutes, the cry goes up. Each time the tourists spring up, but there are several false alarms. The policeman, also standing now, forgets his rifle, propped against the back of a seat, and it crashes to the floor of the bus as the vehicle hits another pothole. He picks it up, glances sideways, then stares straight ahead. There are 22 people on the bus now and most are on their feet, peering out of the windows on the left side. Then the forest ends abruptly and the bus pulls up next to a jetty. The passengers board a ferry and a local bus and a couple of cars squeeze in behind them. It takes less than 10 minutes to reach Baratang, where a small flotilla of motorboats is waiting to convey the tourists to the walkway that gives way to a muddy path leading 1.2km inland to the cave. A few people make appreciative noises as the guide points out the stalagmites and stalactites inside. Although Baratang lies within the buffer zone, the island's administration has allowed the tours to continue, claiming that it has sought an eight-week stay to allow time for an appeal, a request refused by the supreme court. Two boat rides later and the tourists are back on the bus. A couple ask about the "volcano", but the guide shrugs and says it is not worth seeing. At 3pm the convoy sets off, and for those hoping to see members of the tribe it is a vintage afternoon. "Jarawa!" "Jarawa!" "Jarawa!" A woman, then a man, then the child with his spear, then another woman. The tourists are leaning forward, some not even bothering to sit down as they try to get a better view through the windscreen. This is not a big convoy: a dozen cars, four buses and a couple of lorries. Even so, the vehicles are carrying about 100 people. Another convoy squeezes past, heading towards Baratang, the last northbound convoy of the day, made up of 10 cars and five buses. At the height of the tourist season there can be as many as 150 private tour vehicles on the first convoy of the day alone, along with the tour buses and commercial vehicles. During the tourist season, which runs from September to May, an estimated 250 vehicles use the road each day. The number drops to 150 during the off season. Even using the low vehicle and passenger figures from this one trip, that amounts to almost 150,000 people a year going up and down the road. Factor in the much higher numbers travelling when the tourist season is at its peak and a very conservative average of 500 people on the road every day produces an annual total of 180,000 people. Even if only half of them were tourists, they outnumber the Jarawa by 228 to one. There is widespread agreement that this volume of interference with the Jarawa's nomadic, largely insular existence can only hasten their demise. The Andamans lie in the Bay of Bengal, closer to Burma than to India, and anthropologists say the tribe has been there for tens of thousands of years, probably having migrated from Africa. It is only 14 years since they dropped their hostile attitude towards outsiders and started to come out of the jungle in any numbers. Before that, intruders had to risk attack from members armed with bows and arrows and there were numerous fatal clashes. Some younger members of the tribe are voluntarily seeking contact now, but most shun it. Environmental groups, including Survival International, warn that interaction with outsiders will lead to destruction of the Jarawa, as it has done with other tribes on the islands, including the Great Andamanese, who once lived in large numbers around Port Blair. Survival has repeatedly called for closure of the road, but the islands' administration appears determined to keep it open to provide access for settlers. It is 10 years since India's supreme court first ordered the closure of the road to protect the Jarawa. Despite the international outrage, despite the anger of the government in Delhi, despite the rulings of the highest court in the land, despite the repeated interventions of Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi on behalf of the Jarawa, the human safaris go on.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Controversial Maricopa County sheriff had been under investigation over alleged corruption and financial misconduct The federal abuse-of-power investigation into America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff – Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio – has been closed, with prosecutors saying no charges will be filed. Authorities were investigating Arpaio for his part in failed public corruption cases against officials who were at odds with him. The sheriff brought cases against a judge and two county officials in 2009. Federal authorities also said that they have decided to not prosecute matters tied to alleged misuse of county credit cards by sheriff's officials, alleged misspending of jail-enhancement funds and other matters. "They did their investigation, they didn't find enough probable cause and they didn't bring an indictment," Arpaio said at a hastily called news conference after returning from the Republican National Convention in Florida. "We don't go around framing anybody. My people are not crooks." Assistant US attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel released a statement saying her office "is closing its investigation into allegations of criminal conduct" by current and former members of the sheriff's and county attorney's offices. Scheel, who is based in Arizona, said she was acting on behalf of the US department of justice. In a four-page letter to Maricopa County attorney Bill Montgomery explaining the decision, Scheel wrote that "our limited role is to determine whether criminal charges are supportable. After careful review, we do not believe the allegations presented to us are prosecutable as crimes." "I've been in law enforcement for 50 years. Nothing surprises me. But I know my people did the right thing," said the 80-year-old Arpaio, who is running for a sixth term as sheriff in Arizona's most populous county. "I'm just happy for my organization, for my deputies. Not for me." The federal probe focused specifically on the sheriff's anti-public-corruption squad. In a separate probe, the US justice department has accused Arpaio's office of a wide range of civil rights violations, and in another case, a federal judge has yet to rule in a civil case brought by a group of Latino plaintiffs that claimed Arpaio and his deputies engaged in racial profiling. The timing of the federal authorities' announcement – at 5pm on a Friday before a holiday weekend – was questioned by some Arpaio critics. "It is a miscarriage of justice that the federal government is dropping its case against sheriff Arpaio and to make such an announcement on the Friday night before the Democratic National Convention can only be politically motivated to shield the administration from criticism," Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said in a statement. Arpaio and his top ally, former county attorney Andrew Thomas, were embroiled in a three-year feud with county officials and judges and defended their investigations as necessary to root out corruption. The officials who were targets of the investigations contend the probes were trumped up as retaliation for political and legal disagreements with the sheriff and prosecutor. Criminal cases against former superior court judge Gary Donahoe and county supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley were dismissed after a judge ruled that Thomas prosecuted one of the three officials for political gain and had a conflict of interest in pressing the case. Authorities say the charges against Donahoe were filed in a bid to prevent the judge from holding a hearing regarding Arpaio and Thomas' claim that judges and county officials conspired to hinder a probe into the construction of a court building. Donahoe had disqualified Thomas from handling the court building investigation and was poised to hold another hearing over a request to appoint special prosecutors to handle the probe. The hearing was called off after the charges were filed against the judge. The judge also had been critical of the ability of Arpaio's office to bring inmates to court on time for hearings. Thomas was disbarred in early April by an ethics panel of the Arizona courts that found he brought unsuccessful criminal cases against the judge and two county officials for the purpose of embarrassing them. In the separate probe, which is still ongoing, the justice department says Arpaio's office racially profiles Latinos, retaliates against critics of its immigration patrols and bases its immigration patrols on racially charged citizen complaints that did not allege crimes. The sheriff denies the allegations. And in the civil case, the Latino plaintiffs aren't seeking monetary damages. Instead, they want a declaration that Arpaio's office uses racial profiling and an order requiring policy changes. If Arpaio loses the case, he won't face jail time or fines.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fighters take anti-aircraft rockets and 16 captives in attack on air defence facility in east, says UK-based group Syrian rebels have seized an air defence facility and attacked a military airport in the east of the country, according to a UK-based monitoring group. Saturday's attacks in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zor follow rebel strikes against military airports in the Aleppo and Idlib areas, close to the border with Turkey. The Syrian government has recently used helicopter gunships and fighter jets to attack rebels and residential areas. Rebels in Deir al-Zor overran an air defence building early on Saturday, taking at least 16 captives and seizing an unknown number of anti-aircraft rockets, said Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Video posted on the internet by activists showed the officers and soldiers captured by the rebel fighters, and al-Arabiya television broadcast footage of what it said were rockets and ammunition seized in the raid. Syrian TV also claimed that government forces had repelled an attack on the Rasm al-Abboud air base near Aleppo and showed footage of captured guns and vehicles. Abdulrahman said rebels also attacked the Hamdan military airbase at Albu Kamal, close to Syria's eastern border with Iraq, but did not succeed in breaking into it. The attacks come three days after rebels attacked the Taftanaz air base in Idlib province, where they said several helicopters were damaged. The insurgents also said they shot down a fighter jet and a helicopter last week. Assad's forces have launched numerous air strikes against civilians in rebel-held parts of Syria. Helicopters have strafed towns with heavy machine guns, and jets have unleashed rockets and bombs against opposition strongholds. Turkey has called for the creation of safe havens inside Syria after the UN refugee agency said the flow of Syrians into Turkey and Jordan – which already host more than 150,000 registered refugees – was increasing markedly. Turkish government sources said Ankara would again push for agreement on safe zones inside Syria at the UN general assembly later this month and would try to put pressure on Russia and Iran, which strongly oppose any such action. The Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, a former ally of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, said: "We cannot take such a measure unless the United Nations security council decides in favour of it … First a decision for the no-fly zone must be taken, then we would be able to take a step towards a buffer zone," Erdogan said in an interview broadcast on Turkish television late on Friday. "Bashar al-Assad has come to the end of his political life. At the moment, Assad is acting in Syria not as a politician, but as an element, an actor, of war," he said. A UN official said 1,600 people were killed in Syria in the last week, the highest weekly figure in nearly a year and a half of conflict, and aid agencies say living conditions are worsening dramatically. An estimated 1.2 million people are uprooted within Syria, including 150,000 in Damascus and surrounding areas, according to the UN. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he had pressed the Syrian government to allow international aid workers in, and received a positive reply during talks in Tehran this week. Ban told Reuters he had "long and in-depth discussions with the Syrian officials" on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement meeting. "While I criticised all the parties that have been depending on military means to resolve this issue, the primary responsibility rests with the Syrian government," he said. But the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it would be wrong to press Damascus alone to end the violence. "It is absolutely unrealistic to say that the unilateral capitulation of one of the parties in conflict is the only way out, in a situation when there's ongoing urban fighting," he told students of the Moscow Institute of Foreign Relations.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A judge has deferred hearing of Rimsha Masih over charges of burning sacred Islamic texts after legal wrangling Hopes that a Christian girl in Pakistan accused of blasphemy would be released on bail have been dashed, as the case, which has attracted worldwide condemnation, became bogged down in legal wrangling. A judge at an Islamabad court deferred the bail hearing of Rimsha Masih until Monday after it emerged that two separate sets of lawyers were attempting to defend her against charges of burning sacred Islamic texts – a crime in Pakistan that can be punished by death. The dispute allowed lawyers from the other side to challenge the authenticity of the bail application. In court for the short hearing was Rimsha's accuser, Malik Amad, who claims to have spotted her last month walking near her house in a slum area on the outskirts of Islamabad carrying ashes, which it is claimed included burned pages with verses from the Qu'ran. The desecration of the holy book is regarded as a particularly grave form of blasphemy and can easily spark violent public reactions in Pakistan. Also present was a local mullah, Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, who has called for the law to be followed to its conclusion, even if that means the girl is executed. As with other members of the Muslim community in the area, he has rejected claims that Rimsha has Down's syndrome or is mentally impaired. Central to the case is the age of Rimsha and whether her case should be heard by the more lenient juvenile justice system. In their bail application, the defence lawyers argue she is 13. A medical report prepared earlier in the week said she was 14 with a lower mental age, although the court has not yet decided to accept the report. Chishti has also been at the forefront of a dispute between the two communities, complaining that Christians in the area were holding noisy services in their churches. He welcomed the departure of nearly all the Christians from the Islamabad neighbourhood in the tense days after Rimsha's arrest, but about half of the families have now returned to the area. "They have returned, but they are still living in fear," said Shamaun Alfred Gill, spokesman for the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance. With the plight of Rimsha attracting international condemnation the case has brought more attention to the treatment of Pakistan's minorities. Murderous attacks against members of the Shia sect are on the rise, particularly in the restive province of Baluchistan. On Saturday the death toll increased again, with seven people gunned down in two separate incidents near Quetta, the provincial capital. Complaints by Hindus have also been mounting in recent months, with families claiming their daughters have been forcibly kidnapped, converted to Islam and then married to their abductors. Parties of Hindu pilgrims were recently detained at the border with India after the government feared they intended to claim asylum and never return. Christians, as well as Muslims, have long suffered at the hands of the country's blasphemy laws. For years rights campaigners have demonstrated how the laws, which ultimately stem from British colonial rule, have been used by individuals to settle scores and economic disputes, often on the basis of flimsy evidence. Despite several ludicrous cases, including the jailing of people for allegedly touching a Qu'ran with dirty hands, public figures are loath to try to reform the system. Two politicians have been assassinated by religious hardliners for criticising the laws. Unusually, Rimsha has attracted support from some heavyweight Islamic clerics, many of them regarded as hardliners. A statement published earlier in the week by Rimsha's father, Misrek Masih, credited the support by the clerics to the amount of international attention the case was getting, which had also forced the attention of the president, Asif Ali Zardari. In an online petition, Masih urged supporters to "keep up the global outcry on my daughter's case". The uproar, however, has bemused Rao Abdur Raheem a lawyer for the prosecution, who said Muslims could "take the law into their own hands" if Rimsha was not convicted. On Saturday he blamed foreign powers for whipping up support. "I don't understand the interest of the international community because there are so many innocent people in Pakistan being murdered," he said. "A single drone attack and hundreds of people die. What is the difference between Rimsha and these innocent people?" Another member of the prosecution team said that even if Rimsha was acquitted she would never be able to return with her family to her home. "She would not stay in Pakistan," said Mohammad Izzat Khan. "She would be in America within a week."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Evacuees allowed to return home after fleeing wildfire that killed 78-year-old man and prompted mass evacuations Spanish firefighters say they have tamed a wildfire that had threatened villages near the upmarket beach resort of Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, allowing about 4,000 evacuees to start returning to their homes and hotels. The fire, which broke out on Thursday, killed a 78-year-old man, and a couple in their fifties were treated for serious burns. An initial report that the dead man was British was dismissed by the Foreign Office, which said no British nationals were missing in the region. More than 400 firefighters and members of the military fought the flames overnight, using eight helicopters and planes to help drench the flames when they came close to several small towns. The threatened villages included Ojen, where most of the evacuees came from. Officials reopened the road beteween Marbella and Ojen on Saturday morning and were allowing evacuees to return, said a spokeswoman for the government of the Andalucia region. The regional government said the body of a British man had been found in a tool shed near Ojen. The fire started in the hills above Marbella and raced south and west through the countryside, fanned by strong winds and high temperatures. Unusually dry weather in Spain has resulted in wildfires burning thousands of hectares of land this summer, and temperatures have hit record highs in some regions. Last month thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the Canary Islands, and in July four people died in fires in the border area between France and Catalonia, in north-east Spain.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Grünenthal Group apologises but says it 'acted in accordance with the state of scientific knowledge and industry standards' Campaigners have called the first apology for half a century by the German maker of the anti-morning sickness drug thalidomide "insulting and insincere". The Grünenthal Group said it regretted the consequences of the drug, which was used to combat morning sickness but led to the births of children without limbs or with shortened limbs during the 1950s and 60s. Thalidomide was pulled from the market in 1961 after it was linked to birth defects and many victims have only recently received compensation. The company's chief executive, Harald Stock, said Grünenthal had failed to reach out to the victims and their mothers "from person to person" over the past 50 years. "Instead, we have been silent and we are very sorry for that," he said. However Nick Dobrik, a member of the Thalidomide Trust's national advisory council, said the apology should be unreserved and admit wrongdoing. "It is strange when a company gives an apology which is not the truth, but is a lie," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "We feel that a sincere and genuine apology is one which actually admits wrongdoing. The company has not done that and has really insulted the Thalidomiders." Thalidomide UK Agency, which represents people who were affected by the drug in Britain, also rejected the apology. Freddie Astbury, the charity's head consultant, claimed the company was only now apologising because of court proceedings brought by victims in Australia and said it needed to "put their money where their mouth is" rather than simply express regret. "If they are serious about admitting they are at fault and regret what happened, they need to start helping those of us who were affected financially," said Astbury, who was born in Chester in 1959 with no arms and no legs after his mother took the drug. "Being disabled is very expensive and thalidomide people need help and care, and adaptations to their cars and homes. We just want people to live a comfortable life and that means Grünenthal have to pay for their mistake financially." Stock was speaking in the western German city of Stolberg, where the company is based, at the inauguration of a memorial to commemorate the victims of thalidomide. "Thalidomide is and will always be part of our company's history. We have a responsibility and we face it openly," said Stock, who added that the inauguration of the memorial had "triggered very critical reactions alongside great support". He told the city clerk, Johannes Igel, who campaigned for the memorial: "We have chosen to support your cause, which is also the cause of many affected people. The memorial symbolises an important milestone of a larger development. It is a development towards an ongoing dialogue, ongoing moving towards one another, incipient efforts to understand and – consequently – to act together." "On behalf of Grünenthal with its shareholders and all employees, I would like to take the opportunity at this moment of remembrance today to express our sincere regrets about the consequences of thalidomide and our deep sympathy for all those affected, their mothers and their families." "We see both the physical hardship and the emotional stress that the affected, their families and particularly their mothers, had to suffer because of thalidomide and still have to endure day by day." Stock went on to say the "thalidomide tragedy" had taken place 50 years ago "in a world completely different from today". "Grünenthal has acted in accordance with the state of scientific knowledge and all industry standards for testing new drugs that were relevant and acknowledged in the 1950s and 1960s. We regret that the teratogenic [capable of resulting in a malformation of an embryo] potential of thalidomide could not be detected by the tests that we and others carried out before it was marketed." He added that the company wanted to address its message particularly to all the affected and their mothers, adding: "We also apologise for the fact that we have not found the way to you from person to person for almost 50 years. Instead, we have been silent and we are very sorry for that. "We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the silent shock that your fate has caused us. We have learned how important it is that we engage in an open dialogue with those affected and to talk and to listen to them." Thalidomide UK Agency says there are 458 people currently in the UK who were affected by the drug, but that for every thalidomide baby that lived there were 10 that died. The British government expressed "sincere regret" in January 2010 for the decision to give the drug the stamp of approval and set up a funding scheme to help survivors cope. Thalidomide was originally prescribed as a "wonder drug" for morning sickness, headaches, coughs, insomnia and colds. Babies often suffered missing or deformed limbs and extreme shortening of arms and legs, but the drug also caused malformations of the eyes and ears, genitals, heart, kidneys and digestive tract.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Six people staying at Yosemite national park in California have contracted the illness, which has claimed two lives Up to 12,000 visitors to Yosemite national park in California may have been exposed to a deadly mouse-borne virus that has already claimed two lives. The mice nested in the cavity walls of insulated tents and the virus was spread through their faeces, saliva and urine. The company that operates the tents contacted 3,000 people who made reservations during the summer. A further 9,000 could have also stayed in the tents. On Thursday, the California department of public health confirmed that six people had contracted the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome at Yosemite, up from four suspected cases earlier in the week, and the centres for disease control and prevention said they have identified other possible cases of the virus which have yet to be confirmed. The illness begins with flu-like symptoms and can take six weeks to incubate before rapid acute respiratory and organ failure. There is no cure, and anyone exhibiting the symptoms must be hospitalised. About 36% of people who contract the rare illness will die from it. All of the victims of the virus stayed in specific four-man tents in the Curry Village area of the park between mid-June and early July.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brazil asks Caracas for help in determining whether gold miners killed more than 70 members of Yanomami tribe from helicopter Brazil is pressing Venezuela to determine whether Brazilian gold miners crossed the border and massacred a village of about 80 indigenous people from a helicopter. The alleged assault, which a tribal group says could have killed more than 70 people in early July, came to light this week when the group asked Venezuela's government to investigate. Because of the remoteness of the region and the scattered nature of the native settlements, fellow tribe members were able to alert the government only on Monday. Brazil's foreign ministry said on Friday that its embassy in Caracas had asked the Venezuelan government to provide it with any information that could help it determine whether the attack had happened and whether Brazilians had been involved. Brazil's National Indian Foundation, a government body that oversees indigenous affairs, said it would seek a joint investigation by officials from both countries at the site. The border area between the two countries – a long, dense swath of the Amazon rainforest – has increasingly become the site of conflicts between indigenous people, gold miners, and others seeking to tap jungle resources. The tribe that was allegedly attacked, the Yanomami, says it has given repeated, but unheeded, warnings to Venezuela's government that the conflicts are intensifying. On Wednesday, Venezuela's public prosecutor said it would investigate. By late Friday, however, Venezuela's government still could not confirm whether the attack had occurred. The Venezuelan interior minister, Tareck Al Aissami, said in televised comments on Friday that officials had managed to speak with seven of the nine known groups of the Yanomami tribe and thus far had no proof of an attack in any of their settlements. Officials would soon meet with those and the other two groups to further clarify the matter, he said. "God willing, there won't have been any violence among the other two groups either." In the document presented to Venezuelan authorities this week, Yanomami leaders said tribe members in the area had spoken with three villagers from the community where the attack allegedly took place. The three villagers, the only inhabitants of the community known to be alive, said they had been hunting away from the settlement when they heard a "tokotoko" – their indigenous word for helicopter. They also heard gunfire and explosions, the document said. Other Yanomami who visited the village later said a communal hut had been burned and that they found charred bodies and bones. The attack was the latest in a growing number of conflicts with Brazilian gold miners, the Yanomami said in the document. The tribe alerted soldiers in the region in late July about the attack and the soldiers interviewed some of the tribespeople who had seen the destroyed village, according to the document. Venezuela's army has not commented. The remote settlement is a five-hour helicopter flight, or 15-day walk, from Puerto Ayacucho, capital of the southern Venezuelan state of Amazonas. Because of the distance and isolation of many indigenous settlements, the government is often unable to protect tribes from incursions by outsiders. Much of the violence goes unreported, and followup investigations are difficult once conflicts take place.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scores injured as fuel tanker driven by attacker explodes in Wardak province and second attacker detonates explosive vest Two suicide attackers, one driving a fuel tanker, have blown themselves up near a US base in Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people. The bombing took place in Sayed Abad, in Wardak province, 40 miles from Kabul. Shahidullah Shadid, a spokesman for the Wardak provincial governor, said one suicide bomber detonated a vest rigged with explosives outside a compound housing the district governor's office, while another in a fuel tanker detonated his bomb on a road separating the compound from the base. Shadid said the dead included eight civilians and four Afghan police. Fifty-nine people were wounded, including two Nato troops, 47 civilians and 10 Afghan police officers, according to the governor's office. General Abdul Qayum Bakizai, the head of police, said: "It was a very powerful explosion. It broke windows all over the area. Most of the injuries are from broken glass from the windows of homes and shops. It was so powerful we couldn't find much of the truck." A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said was aimed at the American base. In a separate incident on Saturday, two US soldiers were killed in eastern Ghazni province. Nato did not provide any further information or details about the deaths. A total of 53 foreign troops were killed in Afghanistan in August.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Live blog: Join Ian McCourt for live coverage of all the goings-on today at the London 2012 Paralympics
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Live blog: Join Ian McCourt for coverage of all the goings-on today at the London 2012 Paralympics
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