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About 100,000 protesters, led by trade unionists, have rallied in the Italian capital Rome

Sunday, 19 May 2013 01:53
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About 100,000 protesters, led by trade unionists, have rallied in the Italian capital Rome against the policies of the new coalition government.
 
Wielding red flags and placards, they urged the centre-left Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, to scrap austerity measures and focus on job creation.
 
Public trust in his fragile coalition with the centre-right is dropping, opinion polls suggest.
 
The country is experiencing its longest recession in more than 40 years.
 
National debt is now about 127% of annual economic output, second only to Greece in the eurozone.
 
Unemployment is at a record high of 11.5% - 38% for the under-25s.
Before taking office, Mr Letta vowed to make job creation his priority, but critics are unhappy that he has focused on property tax reform.
 
The issues of social justice and poverty came up when German Chancellor Angela Merkel had talks with the new Pope at the Vatican on Saturday.
 
'Losing patience'
Organised by the metalworkers' union FIOM and the CGIL union, Saturday's peaceful march and rally drew supporters from across the country.
 
"We ask the government to change [former Prime Minister Mario] Monti's and [former Prime Minister Mario Silvio] Berlusconi's politics," said Maurizio Landini, leader of the FIOM.
 
"If they don't change, as the country asked for with its vote, we are going nowhere."
 
One of the protesters, Enzo Bernardis, told Reuters news agency: "We hope that this government will finally start listening to us because we are losing our patience."
 
Soon after being appointed, Mr Letta met other eurozone leaders to convey growing public unrest over austerity measures in Italy.
 
But the new prime minister has to maintain a delicate balance between the policies of his own supporters and those of the centre-right, led by Mr Berlusconi.
 
Italy's coalition was only formed after two months of post-election deadlock.
 
Merkel visit,
Among the demonstrators in Rome were radical leftists.
A controversial poster depicted Chancellor Merkel, who is seen as typifying austerity, in mock-Nazi uniform.
 
On Thursday, the Pope said in a speech that the global economic crisis had made life worse for millions in rich and poor countries.
 
Speaking after her private meeting with the pontiff, Mrs Merkel told reporters: "Crises have blown up because the rules of the social market have not been observed... It is true that economies are there to serve people and that has by no means always been the case in recent years."
 
Mrs Merkel said she and Pope Francis had spoken mainly about globalisation, the European Union and the role of Europe in the world.
 
"Pope Francis made it clear that we need a strong, fair Europe and I found the message very encouraging," she added.
 
While she is not a Catholic herself, Mrs Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran minister, leads a party with a strong Catholic component.
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The Oslo Times editor in chief "Mr. Hatef Mokhtar" and a child marriage abolitionist from Bangladesh "Ms. Arzina Begum

Wednesday, 15 May 2013 20:33
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The Oslo Times editor in chief "Mr. Hatef Mokhtar" and a child marriage abolitionist from Bangladesh "Ms. Arzina Begum " had a meeting in "Oslo Freedom Forum" dated May 4, 2013. 
Ms. Arzina Begum is a member of the Union Council Women and Child Related Standing Committee, the Development Committee, and the Community Clinic Management Committee in her village in Nilphamari district. She works to promote education for girls and raise awareness on the negative impacts including health risks of child marriage.
They talked about women rights issues especially in Bangladesh during this meeting that was held about 40 minutes. By mentioning some women rights issues and also discriminations against women in her country, she emphasized the view point supposing woman as the second gender must be changed fundamentally and to reach this change, the first step is to change the men's mentality. 
"In my country, women profoundly suffer from wide discriminations resulting in violence against them in numerous fields in their life. I wish I could help women in my country so that they never cry because of violence against them; education possibility would be available for all women like me; girls wouldn't marry at very low age." She said.
Mr. Hatef Mokhtar indicated that freedom is a basic human right since human is freely born. So, both genders have equal right to utilize their natural rights so that there must not be any discrimination between man and woman. He emphasized "supporting and defending human rights as fundamental values are always one of the Oslo Times' aims and we are always ready to cooperate in this field."     
By mentioning this point that education and training are considered as effective solutions for women to combat against discrimination and any other kind of human right issue, The Oslo Times chief editor hoped that Ms. Arzina Begum would effectively help women in Bangladesh in this way. 
 
This meeting was finished in a friendly circumstance.   
Reported by: Sadegh Karami
 
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Women rights situation in a glance

Tuesday, 14 May 2013 22:11
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Women rights situation in a glance
Women are half of humane society whose rights are continuously violated all over the world. The number of news indicating women rights issues and inattention to their conditions are rising day after day. Considerable number of girls and women lose their life because of misbehavior, malnutrition, and illness every day. Researches and statistics show that 500.000 pregnant women are died annually because of inattention to women's health in the world. 
On the other hand, many rules in different governments indicate this important point that proper job opportunities, job position equality, wage equality, land and wealth acquisition right, inheritance equality, and education for children are unavailable for women in many societies so that such rules don't give women enough power to improve the situation and also to protect themselves against violence. 
In different societies, women protection rules are just theoretic so that such rules not only don't defend women rights practically but also result in disregarding many of their rights. Women trafficking, marriage at very low age and job inequality are very clear instances of women rights violation in these societies whiles there is no authority to investigate their complaint too.     
In several countries, women are under contempt and violence just because of being female and they must follow up the situation. The most part of the governments decline and even deny accusation of women rights issues. There are so many harmed women who can't find any responsible authority attending oppression on their rights. In some societies, there are old traditions and cultures that support fundamental values of those societies so that their governments seriously deny proof of being anti-human rights.  
Here are some women rights issues explained in details as the following.
Acquisition right: 
Women lose their inheritance, acquisition, and wealth supervision rights by transferring them to their husbands upon getting married in some countries. Divorce rules have considered more advantages for men so that they are allowed to own all the home furniture in many societies. 
Following the struggle between non-governmental women organizations and some governments in "The 4th Women Conference" in Beijing in 1990, the regulation on "Inheritance equality for female children and women" was guaranteed. In some countries, women's wealth is under father's or brother's supervision according to predicted special rules or traditions. Banks and credit institutions mostly prefer to provide men with loans rather than women. Therefore, women are more deprived than men at obtaining credits, loans, rental contract confirmation, and other commercial deals.   
Violence:     
"The Convention on Elimination of Violence Against Women" ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1993 defines the violence as below:
It means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
Many cultures, believes, and social institutions have considered inferior roles for women and also violence against women is supposed to be a legal phenomenon in such societies. According to the World Health Organization's viewpoint, violence means " intentionally utilization of physical power practically or in minatory form against self or someone else or a group of people that is very likely to result in psychological harms, wound, death, deprivation, or abnormal growth. 
Violence against women is a phenomenon indicating that a woman because of her gender only faces exertion and rights wastage by the other gender "man". Some philosophers believe that violence is a behavior with obvious (or hidden but understandable) intention and purpose to physically harm someone else. 
Anyway, there is no general agreement on violence definition because violence includes a wide range of human behavior that is very variable and sometimes depends on cultural and ethnic values. The UN document explains special types of violence against women and mentions its items including sexual trade, forced prostitution, and physical violence against wife. 
Considering the above explanation, we can categorize violence into physical, psychological, and economic types:
 Physical violence: like beating, cutting, burning, jailing at home, and other pressures that their results remain on the human body. 
 Psychological violence: includes deprivation and blaming, trivializing, misbehavior, not getting serious on misbehavior responsibility, and putting misbehavior occurrence responsibility on woman's shoulder.  
 Economic violence: the man who is doing violence continuously tries to take all monetary competences and even woman's income and money for himself and also to deprive woman from daily money utilization. He tries to prevent her choosing a job in order to deprive woman from financial independence and then to make her dependent to himself. 
Violence forms all over the world:  
Beating and battered is the biggest reason of injury among women in the USA. 
In New Guinea, %67 of urban women and %65 of village women have been victim of home violence. 
In India, 6200 deaths have been reported relating to dowry in 1994. It means that 7 married women whose families couldn't pay dowry to husband's family have been averagely killed per day.   
In Canada, %62 of the female victims have been killed by their sexual partner.  
In Costa Rica, it has been reported that %69 of an 80-women group have been battered during their pregnancy period so that %7.9 of them have aborted their fetus.
The UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence Against Women: 
The UN General Assembly ratified the declaration on elimination of violence against women (the general assembly statement 84/104 dated December 20) in 1993. Violence against women has been defined in a wide meaning as below:
Article 1: 
For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
 
 Article 2:
Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:
(a)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital    mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs (in other words, the State must be responsible for violence that are coming from both taking actions and avoiding actions).
 
Women occupation:
Labor force includes all persons who role in producing and supplying goods and services in economy. In many economic systems, there is a tendency to disregard women occupation so that such tendency affects on statistical data collection methods of women activities. Whiles the women economic activities purpose includes performing an activity that has wage or results in profit in economic sections. 
 
Women occupation obstacles:      
(a)Social mentality and beliefs: 
In some societies, people believe that woman's obligation is housework only. This opinion comes from special traditions that still continue in some societies. Accordingly, woman is trained for home only and man is trained for out of home only. Girls and boys are separated and each one has a special role and value from the beginning. Son gets the first priority and is known as privileged gender from the beginning too. His freedom scope, training type, and behavior are determined absolutely separated from girls during all growth steps. 
It creates a dual society where being woman and man is formed with much separated specifications. It normally causes that woman stays away from society and all social opportunities. It's not possible to eradicate such mentalities except of improving the values in order to make them (woman & man) closer. Family, doctrines, and social relations have certainly fundamental role in this solution.                 
 
(b) Marriage and familial responsibilities: 
Being married is one of the effective factors on women occupation decrease. If men as a husband or father get a quite equal share comparing to women's share in training and caring of children, food preparation, and other works at home the most part of social, economic, and cultural problems of society will be resolved. If governmental authorities and NGOs help women in performing their obligations the society will reach the same result too.
Applying such method can develop men's horizon in long-term and also take men out of mencracy subjective-cultural limitations by allowing women to gradually undertake the most part of their society's economic activities. So, women get possibility to raise their family's life level and also to participate in country economic development.
 
Women's education and training: 
Low literacy, education, and technical knowledge are always serious obstacles for women to get access to occupation especially in private and modern urban sections. 
The Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted in December 18, 1979 by the UN General Assembly has defined some measures to combat against factors on cultural and educational discriminations.   
 
The article 10 of this convention determines: 
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women. 
On the other hand, not only governments contravene women rights but also persons depending on values and cultures they have grown with are involved in this issue in different societies.   
 
Suggestion:
We as complicated human with many components involving in our identity formation can experience so many human rights contraventions. Therefore, we have to search solutions for the issues in many fields. To eliminate gender inequality and discrimination in societies, women's issues should be researched and investigated from all aspects in order to result in submitting comprehensive solutions in all fields. 
Some important prerequisites of protecting women rights include:
 Existence of authorities that record misbehaviors and violence against women.
 Existence of rules legally counting such misbehaviors as a crime to easily defend damaged women. 
At the first step, it requires the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" to recognize such women rights protection rules. In addition, women need receptive authorities who listen their voices, respect their rights, and also indicate their rights to people around the world not only because of being a woman but also because of being a member of the big human society. 
To develop international relations, many governments don't probably desire such negative news about themselves to be published around the world. Actually, publishing such news may result in excommunicating those governments in the international community. Therefore, they may try to improve their rules and behaviors regarding women.
So, changing the current situation via reporting the facts can role as a powerful solution in order to improve women rights all over the world.   
 

Written by: Maryam Sharifehzadeh    

May 14, 2013; Turkey

 

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six-year jail sentence and a lifetime ban from politics for former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Monday, 13 May 2013 21:41
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Italian prosecutors called for a six-year jail sentence and a lifetime ban from politics for former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is charged with abuse of office and having sex with a minor.

The 76-year-old centre-right politician is accused of paying for sex with Karima El Mahroug, better known by her stage name Ruby the Heartstealer, when she was under 18, during the notorious "bunga bunga" parties at his Arcore villa in 2010.

The more serious charge by the prosection on Monday was the abuse of powers of his office.

During a separate incident in 2010, Berlusconi arranged for El Mahroug to be released from police custody where she was being held on theft charges of a 3,000-euro bracelet.

They requested five years imprisonment for that plus a year for having sex with an underage woman. The verdict is expected on June 24. But no final verdict will be enforced in either case until the appeals process in exhausted, which can last for years.

"At Arcore there was a system of organised prostitution aimed at the satisfaction of the sexual pleasure of Silvio Berlusconi," Ilda Boccassini, Milan chief prosecutor, said in a more than six-hour closing argument.

Boccassini said a small army of young women, many of them aspiring starlets, took part in the sex parties at Berlusconi's residence, hoping to make it big on one of his television channels.

Those who stayed on after dinner were rewarded with cash, cars or free apartments, she said.

Mobile phone records

The prosecutor said mobile phone records showed that El Mahroug, a Moroccan runaway, had spent the night at Berlusconi's home on at least seven occasions between February and May 2010.

"There is no doubt that Ruby had sex with the defendant, from whom she received benefits," Boccassini said, adding that Berlusconi was well aware she was a minor.

Berlusconi flatly denies the accusations. El Mahroug, who staged a dramatic protest outside the Milan court last month, denies being a prostitute or having had sex with Berlusconi.

Boccassini portrayed Ruby as a "shrewd, intelligent girl who like some young people of the latest generations has only one objective: that of making it in the world of show business and making easy money".

In a statement, Berlusconi called Boccassini's arguments "lies inspired by prejudice and hatred".

Last week, Berlusconi lost an appeal against a four-year sentence for tax fraud in connection with his Mediaset broadcasting empire. He has launched a second and final appeal against that sentence.

Berlusconi's legal difficulties have created growing tension within Prime Minister Enrico Letta's governing coalition, which includes Berlusconi's centre-right party.

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Police in southern Russia are questioning two men over a murder they are treating as a homophobic attack. The victim's naked body had been dumped in a courtyard in the city of Volgograd. His skull was smashed and he had been sodomised with beer bottles.

Monday, 13 May 2013 20:22
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Police in southern Russia are questioning two men over a murder they are treating as a homophobic attack.
 
The victim's naked body had been dumped in a courtyard in the city of Volgograd. His skull was smashed and he had been sodomised with beer bottles.
 
Officials quoted by Russian media say the suspects had been drinking with the 23-year-old man and turned on him when he told them he was gay.
 
Gay rights activists say the case reflects growing intolerance in Russia.
 
The authorities are encouraging that intolerance towards homosexuals, the activists allege.
 
There are fears that homophobia is being fuelled by legislation banning gay parades and dissemination of "homosexual propaganda" to anyone under 18.
 
The body was discovered on Friday after Victory Day celebrations in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, which are held annually to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
 
One of the suspects had been a classmate of the victim, reports say.
 
The two suspects are aged 22 and 21. The 22-year-old had previously been convicted for burglary.
 
The viciousness of the attack sparked numerous comments in Russian social media.
 
The state-owned television channels - the main source of news for most Russians - did not report the case prominently. But it was widely reported in the newspapers, including in the government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
 
Community fears
In January a bill banning "homosexual propaganda" passed its first reading in the Russian parliament. The second reading is planned for 25 May.
 
The bill envisages a nationwide ban on events promoting gay rights and big fines for the organisers. A similar law is already in force in St Petersburg.
 
The European Court of Human Rights has fined Russia for banning gay pride marches in Moscow.
 
A prominent gay activist in Russia, Nikolai Alexeyev, says the gay community has asked the Moscow authorities for permission to hold a march in the city centre this month, despite the previous refusals.
 
The request offered two dates - 25 or 26 May - to celebrate 20 years since Russia stopped treating homosexuality as a criminal offence, Interfax news agency reports.
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An Essex University study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity and involving 10,000 children aged nine to 16, found one in 17 was too thin.

Monday, 13 May 2013 00:50
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The issue of underweight school children is being missed because of an "obsession" with tackling obesity, a group of researchers has claimed.
 
An Essex University study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity and involving 10,000 children aged nine to 16, found one in 17 was too thin.
 
Researcher Dr Gavin Sandercock said weighing too little was more damaging to health than weighing too much.
 
He warned that society was focused almost exclusively on obesity.
 
The research team looked at nearly 10,000 children aged nine to 16 in the east of England.
 
The height, weight, age and gender of the pupils was used to work out how many were too thin.
They showed 6% of all children were underweight, but it was more common in girls (6.4%) than boys (5.5%).
 
There were also large differences between ethnic groups. Asian backgrounds had the highest prevalence of being underweight at 8.7%.
 
It can lead to a lack of energy, weakened immune systems and delayed periods.
 
Forgotten problem?
The problem of underweight children "may be more prevalent than we thought in the UK", said the scientists.
 
They said the fear of becoming obese, rising food prices, poor diets and a lack of muscle from low levels of exercise may all be playing a role.
 
"The fact is the UK is obsessed with overweight and obesity - yet it is now accepted that underweight may pose a much greater risk to health."
 
Dr Sandercock said attention had "absolutely" swung too far towards tackling obesity and warned children who were underweight could be being "missed".
 
He called for better training for GPs to spot the problem and new ways of helping parents.Research published earlier this year showed that doctors may be missing the problem. University College London academics interviewed paediatricians at 177 hospitals in England and Wales and found a lack of knowledge about the warning signs of children being underweight.
 
Dr Hilary Cass, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "Dietary related problems in children are not uncommon, and it's been well documented that childhood obesity is prevalent amongst the UK population.
 
"Of course we also have to take seriously the fact that there are some children who are under-nourished or struggle with eating disorders."
 
The Royal College has developed growth charts for children between two and 18 which helps doctors tell if a child has a problem.
 
Dr Cass said: "Where children are severely underweight, it's often due to an underlying illness for which they'll need specialist medical help.
 
"But for the majority of cases, if we can get our children eating, choosing and ultimately cooking nutritious food, then we have a much better chance of preventing all sorts of dietary related problems - whether that's being over or underweight."
 
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A primary school in Vienna removed the crosses from all classes

Monday, 13 May 2013 00:27
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A primary school in Vienna removed the crosses from all classes. The mother of a pupil found that it was religious paternalism as less than half of the pupils were registered as Christians.

According to the initiative "Religion is a private matter", several similar complaints exist at a special registration office. It is expected that "further parents will now claim their right of freedom from religion in public schools".

The mother has apparently put a lot of effort into achieving her goal. First, neither the principal nor the school inspector wanted to tell her how many pupils were registered as Christians.

When it turned out that less than half of them are registered as Christians, there was no basis for installing crucifixes on the walls. The religious items were thus taken down.

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One of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Spain

Sunday, 12 May 2013 23:41
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One of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been arrested in a raid on a luxury villa on Spain's Costa Blanca.
 
Andrew Moran, 31, from Salford, Manchester, was detained after a pursuit by police in the Alicante resort of Calpe on Friday.
 
He was charged with an armed robbery of Royal Mail guards in Lancashire in 2005 but absconded during his trial.
 
The jury later returned a guilty verdict and he was convicted in his absence.
 
Spain's National Police said Moran confronted officers when they tried to arrest him.
 
'No hiding place'
The Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) said two handguns, 60 rounds of ammunition and a machete were recovered from his villa following his arrest.
 
Moran was placed on SOCA's most wanted list after leaping from the dock and assaulting four security guards during his trial at Burnley Crown Court in February 2009.
He had taken part in an armed robbery, alongside Stephen Devalda, in which Royal Mail guards were threatened with a gun, machete and baseball bat in Colne in May 2005.
 
One of the guards was assaulted before the offenders escaped with £25,000.
 
The arrest of Moran was a joint operation between SOCA, the north-west regional organised crime unit (TITAN) and Spanish National Police.
 
SOCA revealed Moran was located by local police officers in Los Alcazares, Spain in November but he evaded capture by ramming two unmarked police vehicles with his 4x4 vehicle and drove off at speed the wrong way down a motorway.
 
Det Ch Insp Janet Hudson, from TITAN, said: "It just goes to show that we will stop at nothing to capture criminals wherever they are in the world."
 
Matt Burton, SOCA's head of investigations, said although Moran had frequently changed his appearance and used false identities, there was "no hiding place"
Moran was the last of seven men targeted as part of a multi-agency initiative to combat organised crime in Salford.
 
He was also on the most wanted list for Crimestoppers' Operation Captura campaign and his arrest means 50 fugitives have now been caught since it was launched.
 
Mr Burton said extradition proceedings were under way and Moran will be appearing at a court in Madrid on Monday.
 
Devalda, 29, also from Salford, was charged with robbery but failed to attend court and went on the run before being captured in Spain in March 2011.
 
He was later jailed at Preston Crown Court for nine years and eight months
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United Kingdom company's spyware 'used against Bahrain activist'

Sunday, 12 May 2013 02:17
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Spy technology from a UK-based company was used to target a British citizen who became a leading light in Bahrain's Arab spring, according to documents filed in the high court.
 
The witness statement of Dr Ala'a Shehabi is seen by human rights groups as crucial in their attempt to force the government to examine the export of surveillance equipment.
 
They want to secure a judicial review of the government's alleged failure to provide them with information on what action it is taking to establish whether the sale of the technology to repressive regimes is in breach of export-licence controls.
 
Shehabi, who studed at Imperial College London, and has both Bahraini and British citizenship, is one of the founding members of Bahrain Watch, set up following the country's security crackdown in February 2011. Her father is the leader of the Bahrain Freedom Movement. Following the crackdown her husband was arrested and jailed having, she claims, been beaten. He was freed last year. Shehabi herself was arrested in April 2012, during the Formula One Grand Prix in Bahrain. She was later released.
 
According to her witness statement, a few weeks after her arrest Shehabi received a series of emails, the first purportedly from Kahil Marzou who was the deputy head of Bahrain's main opposition party, including one containing a virus. Other emails that claimed to be from an Al Jazeera journalist were also infected. Research found that the emails contained a product called FinSpy, distributed by a British company, Gamma International.
 
The witness statement claims that when a person's computer is infected with FinSpy, "it allows access to emails, social media messaging, and Skype calls, as well as copying the files saved on the hard disk. These products also enable whoever is doing the targeting to commandeer and remotely operate microphones and cameras on computers and mobile phones."
 
Shehabi, who has been forced to relocate to Britain, states: "I have real concerns about the Bahrainian regime having effective unfettered access to my computer, reading my emails and monitoring my calls. Not only is this a gross invasion of my privacy, I am concerned that it could put in danger from the Bahraini authorities myself, my family members and other activists."
 
Last November, the campaign group Privacy International provided a dossier of evidence against Gamma International to HM Revenue and Customs, urging it to investigate whether there had been any breach of the export control regime.
 
According to Privacy International, Gamma's technology has been deployed by secret police in 25 countries, many with a history of human rights abuses. The campaign group warns: "This is part of a growing global trend, where human rights defenders, political dissidents and other vulnerable groups around the world are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated state surveillance."
 
Gamma's managing director in Germany, Martin J Muench, did not respond to requests for comment. However, in the past, he has said that Gamma co-operates with UK, US and German export controls, adding: "It appears that during a demonstration one of our products was stolen and has been used elsewhere."
 
Shehabi's witness statement provides vivid testimony of the effects she claims the secret surveillance of her computer system has had on her mental health. "I found it very disturbing that an attempt was being made to spy on me through this medium," she explains. "It upset me a lot, scared me and made me feel quite paranoid. I am very concerned that it appears that a product of a British company is being exported in breach of export controls to be used to attempt to spy on pro-democracy activists such as myself."
 
Eric King, head of research at Privacy International, said the government needed to come clean on whether it was permitting surveillance technology to be exported.
 
"It is critical we understand what if anything it is doing to hold Gamma to account," King said....
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Parliamentary elections are due to begin in Bulgaria with opinion polls predicting no outright winner.

Sunday, 12 May 2013 01:49
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Parliamentary elections are due to begin in Bulgaria with opinion polls predicting no outright winner.
 
Mass protests against low living standards and widespread corruption forced the government of the centre-right Gerb party to resign in February.
 
However, the run-up to Sunday's election has been marked by voter apathy and claims of fraud.
 
On Saturday prosecutors said they had seized 350,000 illegal ballot papers at a printing house.
 
The election campaign had already been marred by revelations of illegal wiretapping of politicians.
 
Latest opinion polls suggested the Gerb party - headed by former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov - and its main challenger the socialist BSP party were running neck-and-neck.
 
Gerb has pledged to keep debts under control while the socialists say they will spend more and create jobs.
 
Other parties expected to pass the 4% threshold needed to enter parliament are the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - which represents Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish minority - the ultra-nationalist Ataka, and the centrist Bulgaria of the Citizens.
However, the prospect of an election with no outright winner has raised fears of a hung parliament and further instability in the EU's poorest country.
 
Bulgaria's 6.9 million eligible voters can choose between 36 parties but turnout is predicted to be below 50%.
 
A day before the election, prosecutors revealed they had raided a printing house near the capital Sofia and seized 350,000 ballot papers that were printed over the legally fixed number.
 
BSP leader Sergei Stanishev described the discovery as a "scandal".
 
He said it showed there had been "preparation for total falsification of the elections".
 
The election campaign has also been marred by revelations of illegal wiretapping of political opponents, with prosecutors pointing the finger at former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
 
More than 250 international observers will monitor Sunday's election.
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Four people have been killed and another 18 wounded in explosions in a Turkish town close to the Syrian border, officials say.

Saturday, 11 May 2013 12:37
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Four people have been killed and another 18 wounded in explosions in a Turkish town close to the Syrian border, officials say.
 
The blasts were reported in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, The interior minister told Turkish media they were caused by car bombs.
 
Thousands of refugees have fled Syria across the Reyhanli border.
 
Five people were killed last October when a mortar round hit the Turkish border town of Akcakale.
 
As many has four explosions were reported at around 13:45 local time (10:45 GMT), causing panic in the town, Turkish media said.
 
Reyhanli mayor Huseyin Sanverdi said a municipal building and a post office were hit. The municipal offices were badly damaged, reports said.
 
Interior Minister Muammer Guler promised a government investigation.
 
The border area of Reyhanli has itself been attacked in recent months. In February, 13 people were killed and more than 20 others wounded when a mortar round landed close to a border gate.
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The UK has recognised the coalition of forces opposed to the Syrian government

Friday, 10 May 2013 19:36
camila k
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Prime Minister David Cameron has said the international community must do more to "help shape" a transitional government in Syria after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
 
At a press conference in Sochi, Mr Cameron admitted the two men differed over how to deal with the conflict.
 
But he said they agreed on the need to end the violence, prevent the growth of extremism and stop Syria "fragmenting".
 
Mr Putin said the two had a "common interest" in stabilising the country.
 
The talks, at Mr Putin's summer residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. were dominated by the two-year conflict in Syria, in which 80,000 people have been killed.
 
'Vicious cycle'
 
The UK has recognised the coalition of forces opposed to the Syrian government and said President Bashar al-Assad must step down as part of a transition to a more representative government.Britain has stepped up support to the opposition, providing armoured vehicles and body armour as well as communications supplies, and said the EU arms embargo may need to be lifted to help opposition forces.
 
In contrast, Russia has opposed further action against Damascus and expressed concerns about the prospect of a political vacuum in the event of the government's collapse and the rise of Islamist extremist groups.
 
Despite their different approaches to the crisis, Mr Cameron said the two had made "real progress" in discussions he described as "substantive, purposeful and frank".
 
He welcomed Russia's recent agreement to convene an international conference to find a political solution to the crisis.
 
He said there was an urgent need to "break the vicious cycle that threatens to destroy Syria" and that the UK and Russia, as members of the UN Security Council and the G8, must take the lead in helping shape a political transition.
 
"As permanent members of the United Nations, we must help to drive this process, working with partners in the region and beyond, not just bringing the regime and opposition together at one negotiating table but Britain, Russia, America and other countries helping shape a transitional government that all Syrians can trust to protect them."
 
President Putin said he and Mr Cameron had discussed a number of steps and options to resolve the crisis",
 
The two, he added, had "a common interest in putting an end to the violence in the country and launching a peace settlement preserving Syria as an integral and sovereign state".
 
'Even more dangerous phase'
The UK has acknowledged that there are some extremist elements fighting alongside more moderate opposition forces, but it says only a political transition can bring long-term stability to Syria.
 
Our correspondent said the meeting was taking place as developments, including Israeli air strikes on targets in Syria and concerns about the possible use of chemical weapons, risk bringing the conflict into an even more dangerous phase.
 
The Syrian authorities say the strikes by Israel on army targets this month show it is co-ordinating with militants to destabilise the government, but Israel said it was targeting weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
 
Mr Putin, addressing relations between the UK and Russia, said that bilateral trade and wider co-operation were increasing, and London and Moscow would be collaborating to develop "promising" energy projects.
 
Winter Olympics security
Mr Cameron said the two countries still had differences but that a more effective relationship would make the citizens of both nations "safer and better off".
 
The UK will be providing "limited" security support for the Winter Olympics next year in Sochi, the prime minister revealed.
 
Relations between the UK and Russia were strained for many years after the death of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 - a period in which there were no meetings between Mr Putin and senior British ministers.
 
But Mr Cameron visited Moscow in 2011 and Mr Putin came to London last year, where the two watched a judo bout at the Olympics, as the countries sought to broaden their trade and security links.
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Mr Erdogan rejected the idea that the weapons could have been used by rebels.

Friday, 10 May 2013 16:43
camila k
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told US media he has evidence that Syria employed chemical weapons against opposition forces.
 
He cited as proof the discovery of missile remains and added that Syrian patients brought to Turkey "were wounded by these chemical weapons".
 
Mr Erdogan rejected the idea that the weapons could have been used by rebels.
 
This contradicts an earlier claim by a UN expert who said there were "concrete suspicions" that rebels used nerve gas Carla del Ponte, who serves on the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said testimony from victims strongly suggested that opposition fighters had used sarin, an extremely potent chemical nerve agent - although there was "no incontrovertible proof".
 
However, the commission later stressed that it had "not reached conclusive findings" as to their use by any parties.
 
Red line 'crossed'
Mr Erdogan said he did not think that the rebels had access to chemical weapons.
 
"There is no way I can believe in this now," he said in an interview with American broadcaster NBC.
 
"First of all, how are they going to obtain this? And who will give this to them? But if it exists, we are against this. We are against whoever holds the weapons."
 
He said Turkish intelligence had determined that the government of President Bashar al-Assad had used at least 200 chemical missiles."We have the remainders of these missiles, there are pictures and then there are intelligence reports," he said.
 
"And there are patients who are brought to our hospitals who were wounded by these chemical weapons."
 
He did not give details on the type of chemical weapons he believed Syria had used.
 
Last month, the White House said intelligence agencies believed "with varying degrees of confidence" that Syria has used chemical weapons against rebels.
 
President Barack Obama warned that chemical weapons use would be a "red line" for possible intervention, but said existent intelligence did not represent sufficient proof.
 
The Turkish prime minister, however, said he believed that Syria had crossed the red line "a long time ago".
 
Mr Erdogan, who is due to meet Mr Obama next week, called on the US to take stronger action.
 
"We want the United States to assume more responsibilities and take further steps. And what sort of steps they will take, we are going to talk about this".'Limited but persuasive'
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Syria's closest allies.
 
The visit came after Mr Cameron told British MPs that there was "a growing body of limited but persuasive information that Syria has used and continues to use chemical weapons, including sarin
Britain has increased support to rebels and called for President Assad to step down.
 
Russia has opposed further action against Damascus, and has expressed concerns about the prospect of a political vacuum and the rise of Islamist extremist groups in the event of the government's collapse.
 
Speaking after Friday's talks, Mr Cameron said the two countries had made "real progress" in discussions he described as "substantive, purposeful and frank".
 
He said they had a "common interest" in stabilising Syria and preventing the growth of extremism.
 
Mr Cameron also welcomed Russia's recent agreement to convene an international conference to find a political solution to the crisis.
 
Russia gave its backing to the conference after a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week.
 
Mr Kerry said later it was "very significant" that Mr Lavrov had said Moscow "was not tied to any one person" and had backed the idea of transitional government.
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