He also revealed that it was Chancellor Alistair Darling who decided not to
support a Northern Rock takeover bid.
CAIRO (AFP) - A young bedouin in Egypt's Sinai peninsula has been sentenced
to have his tongue cut out or hand over more camels after he made "naughty"
remarks to a shepherdess, local media reported on Tuesday.
A tent-based
tribal court in the desert region sentenced the unnamed man to pay 40 camels
compensation to the woman as well as either have his tongue cut out or cough up
another five camels, the Egyptian Gazette said.
It is now up to the woman,
who hails from a different tribe, whether she would rather have the amputated
tongue or additional camel.
The accused was not allowed to speak during the
trial, the paper reported, adding that tribal justice "has helped keep the peace
and maintain stability among the tribes of the desert for generations."
More than half were uncomfortable with their knowledge of regulations
and the impact of the new Companies Act, parts of which came into force last
month, on a public to private deal.The survey also found 56% of directors felt
they did not receive enough timely and accurate information during the course of
a deal. Half of the respondents said they felt constrained by the threat of
potential litigation or shareholder action. External pressure from market
observers such as the media and analysts was cited by 49% of respondents as
being another major constraint, while 43% also blamed scrutiny from regulators
and stock market obligations. The survey showed 38% of directors felt restricted
by potential conflicts of interest with those sponsoring, advising and / or
financing deals, while 30% said conflicts of interest with other board members
were a significant problem.
Regarding special committees, 61% of NEDs surveyed said they had sat on
one before, while 68% felt they contributed to good corporate governance and 61%
said they provided a "clear record of independence".Just over two thirds of NEDs
said external lawyers were more important than in-house counsel, while 59% said
external independent financial advisers were very important, compared to
in-house teams.Now if these are the numbers, then are you surprised that we have such severe losses at public firms?
Durga is the slayer of Mahishasura, the demon epitomizing all evils, hence our
inner demons: anger, fear, hate, lust; she is also Supreme Mother Goddess,
protecting all those who seek Her protection. In totality, she embodies Shakti -
the female force, latent in each human being, which manifests itself variously -
as the slayer of evil, the creative force (together with her male complement,
Shiva) and tender mother - in short, roles a woman usually plays. It is she to
whom the male God turns to vanquish evil.So, while Bengalis first pay homage to her valor in ridding the world of evil, and then welcome her as a daughter visiting her natal family, they essentially seek her blessing as the Supreme Mother.Over the years, however, Durga's symbolism for women in India has been undergoing a change. Increasingly, women are looking upon her as a symbol of feminine power, rather than a divine mother, an inspiration to reclaim rights that society has, over the centuries, deprived them of.
The wedding party, including the grooms, has now been freed and returned to
their village. The brides did not go with them.
"It is fairly unusual for the head of MI5 to speak at a media-focused
event. But the issue of trust is highly relevant to the world of intelligence.
All the more so as we tackle the most immediate and acute peacetime threat in
the 98-year history of my service.
"But before we look at the violent manifestation of that threat in the
UK, we need to remember where this comes from. The violence directed against us
is the product of a much wider extremist ideology, whose basic tenets are
inimical to the tolerance and liberty which form the basis of our democracy. So
although the most visible manifestations of this problem are the attacks and
attempted attacks we have suffered in recent years, the root of the problem is
ideological.
"Why? Because the ideology underlying al Qaida and other violent
groups is extreme. It does not accept the legitimacy of other viewpoints. It is
intolerant, and it believes in a form of government which is explicitly
anti-democratic. And the more that this ideology spreads in our communities, the
harder it will be to maintain the kind of society that the vast majority of us
wish to live in.
And it is important that we recognise an uncomfortable truth: terrorist
attacks we have seen against the UK are not simply random plots by disparate and
fragmented groups. The majority of these attacks, successful or otherwise, have
taken place because al Qaida has a clear determination to mount terrorist
attacks against the United Kingdom.
"As a country, we are rightly concerned to protect children from
exploitation in other areas. We need to do the same in relation to violent
extremism. As I speak, terrorists are methodically and intentionally targeting
young people and children in this country. They are radicalising, indoctrinating
and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism. This year,
we have seen individuals as young as 15 and 16 implicated in terrorist-related
activity.
"Long-term resolution requires identifying and addressing the root
causes of the problem. This is not a job only for the intelligence agencies and
police. It requires a collective effort in which Government, faith communities
and wider civil society have an important part to play. And it starts with
rejection of the violent extremist ideology across society - although issues of
identity, relative deprivation and social integration also form important parts
of the backdrop.
"This will not, however, happen overnight. I have been
directly engaged in work against this violent extremist threat for most of the
last decade, and I believe that terrorism inspired by it is likely to dominate
the work of my service well into the future.
"And here is an important point.
We know that the strategic thinking of our enemies is long term. But public
discourse in the UK works to a much shorter timescale, whether the electoral
cycle or the media deadline. We cannot view this challenge in such timescales.
If we only react tactically while our enemies plan strategically, we shall be
hard put to win this. A key part of our strategy must be
perseverance.
'The most important change in counter terrorism in the UK in recent
years has been the development of the relationship between the police and the
Security Service... it is no exaggeration to say that joint working between the
police and M15 has become recognised as a beacon of good practice.'
"So, our service will continue to put all its efforts into protecting
this country. And though our work is an essential part of the struggle against
violent extremism, on its own it is not enough. This struggle relies not only on
good intelligence and law enforcement, but also on the determination and
perseverance of us all to resist extremism and to protect a decent, tolerant and
open society."
Businesses in the City of London are being urged by police to report
any suspicious activity, amid concern that further terrorist attacks in the
UK are being planned in the Square Mile.
The new warning comes after it emerged that one of the UK's top five banks
has been forced in recent weeks to order a review of its security
arrangements because of fears that it was being targeted by a terrorist
cell.
The FT has learnt that at the end of August two people escaped arrest
outside the London headquarters of Lloyds TSB in Gresham Street after being identified on what security sources believe may have been a terrorist planning exercise. The individuals were challenged after being seen taking photographs of the building, but ran towards a car and drove away.
A spokesman for Lloyds TSB said on Friday: "We take the security of our
staff and buildings very seriously. We aim to have the best possible
security arrangements in place and to maintain a high level of vigilance at
all times." While the police subsequently told the bank there was no intelligence to
suggest that its building was a target, the bank confirmed last night that
following the incident it had raised the level of security in all its buildings in London.
The City of London Police on Friday said they could not comment directly on
an alleged incident as a matter of policy. However Frank Armstrong, the
assistant commissioner, confirmed that police were on the look out for
"hostile reconnaissance" and urged businesses to report any similar
sightings. "Hostile reconnaissance" is a well known terrorist tactic whereby a range of potential targets are observed and information gathered prior to a more
specific operation being planned or attack being ordered.
The UK threat level has remained officially unchanged since being lowered
from critical to severe on July 4, meaning that future terrorist attacks are
highly likely but no longer thought to be imminent.
Security in the City of London has been stepped up since the last terrorist
attack-by the IRA-in Bishopsgate in 1993. MI5, the security service, warned earlier this year that terrorist "attack planning" would increase in 2007.
I got very excited when I saw this book reference. I was under the impression that one can read about economics in that old Babylonian Age. But alas, all it is are more like fragments of seals. They have been classified under:
And the descriptions are like:
954. U 7060, 2.3 x 1.8, Fragment, Amount of gui-tur-tur, ar-za-na, suku-se, 7/-/-.
955. U 7040,6.9 x 4.5, Fragment, Records of amounts of i-gis, reverse almost completely destroyed, -
956. U 6716, 5.4 x 4.8, Fragment, List of dates, -/-/-.
957. U 5932, 4.7 x 4.0, Nearly Complete, Account of dates, also mentions kisib officials, n.d.
958. U 5593, 5.4 x 5.7, Fragment, Very fragmentary section of offering list including sa-dul _-Nanna
and ma6s-da-ri-a, 10th month in text/-/-.
959. U 5545, 4.7 x 7.4, Fragment, Small portion of two columns obverse, 2 columns reverse, mixed
account of commodities from? na-kads, sig, i-nun, ga-bar, -/-/-.
960. U 5536 + U 5553, 15.1 x 10.1, Three columns preserved on obverse and reverse, account of dates
and iamounts of oil with some personal names preserved, -/-/-.
961. U 5533, 3.9 x 3.5, Fragment, Monthly delivery of oil, -/-/-.
962. U 5531, 4.5 x 4.0, Fragment, Delivery (mu-TUM) of grain, 5/-/-.
So more like a catalogue rather than any description of how the economic system worked or the philosophy of taxes or something like that. But still, quite interesting if we could have got some more details on what exactly were these receipts, lists and points were all about. Still, you can see the drawings of the cuneiform seals.
Now this was something that was good, pretty rare these days, I must admit. But the idea that Afghan Kids are now getting better healthcare is very very good news. I quote:
Thousands of health clinics have been built across the country, and the Afghan government and aid agencies have trained tens of thousands of doctors, vaccinators and health volunteers who now reach into some of the country's most remote areas.
Access to health care for Afghans has jumped from 8 percent of the population in the 1990s to close to 85 percent today, thanks in large part to efforts by USAID, the World Bank and the European Commission.
The under-5 child mortality rate in Afghanistan has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, a 25-percent drop, the Ministry of Public Health said, relying on a new study from Johns Hopkins University.
"This is certainly very positive news," said the U.N. spokesman in Afghanistan, Adrian Edwards. "To come from such low life expectancy to see this improvement does appear to be an indication that the work on the health sector here is beginning to pay off."
But there is a very long way to go:
Still, Afghanistan faces severe problems. Even with the improvements, almost one in five Afghan children will die before age 5, translating into 250,000 childhood deaths a year, mostly from malnutrition, diarrhea, tuberculosis and malaria, said Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimi.
Childhood immunizations have risen dramatically, but Afghan infants make up the bulk of the country's high child mortality rate, said Tariq Ihsan of Save the Children.
"Many newborns are dying because they don't have access to immediate health care. I think that's a real challenge for Afghanistan. They need to ask, 'Are we saving enough newborns?'" Ihsan said.
Still, deaths of Afghan children who don't reach their first birthday have dropped from 165 per 1,000 in 2001 to 129 per 1,000 today, a drop of some 22 percent, Edwards said.
Afghanistan's child mortality rate, from birth to age 5, has been among the world's worst. Before recent improvements, only Sierra Leone, with 283 child deaths per 1,000 live births, Angola with 260 and Niger at 259 ranked below Afghanistan's 257, UNICEF said in a 2006 report.
By comparison, the United States has eight under-5 child deaths per 1,000 births. Singapore and Iceland, with three childhood deaths per 1,000, topped the rankings.
Some of the stuff that I have read about Afghanistan women and childbirth is truly hair-raising but still, even small steps are good steps!, let us hope this keeps on happening. But the Taliban will not want this to happen. As you see, as soon as this happens and life becomes better under the Karzai government, the Taliban's claim that life under the blessed Talibani Emirate was better will be shown up as a lie. Not that they give a toss about anybody other than their fanatic and stupid Islamist ideology.
