Kenya: Human Deports UK Human Rights Lawyer

The Kenyan government has deported a British lawyer who was investigating human rights abuses in Kenya and other countries in the region. The orders declaring  the lawyer, Ms Gutteridge, who was investigating the human rights abuses in Kenya jointly with the KNCHR were signed by Immigration minister. She had been in the region for a month documenting cases of rendition, torture, secret detentions and abuses of due process.
Recounting her experience in London, she said she was given deportation orders after returning to the country from Tanzania. The immigration officials took all of her belongings and allowed her to make one phone call. She was detained overnight and was put on a flight the next day.
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Rihanna's Music Video Controversy

               The U.K. government's Office of Communications, or Ofcom, is up in arms after British music channel WTF TV aired an unedited version of Rihanna's "S&M" video at 11:25 a.m.—when children could be watching!—back in March, which started a controversy in the U.K music Bussinness. The song features a number of saucy images, including the Rated R songbird clad in latex and rubber and whipping a leash-bound Perez Hilton. The moral image represented beyond the song was mainly sexual which pushed the ofcom to request an all UK channels that music videos attend an emergency meeting at headquarters to discuss new guidelines regarding the "acceptability of material in music videos broadcast before 9 p.m."

              Unless they haven't notice this, but sex has became the main theme for most songs　lately; althought　I would understand why it shouldn't be acceptable to have televise that music video at an so early time of the day when 'everyone' could be watching. I still believe that 9 p.m is an early cut time to start televising the music video and instead 10 p.m. should be the cut time.

A modern Ireland will welcome the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen is going to Ireland – the first visit by a reigning monarch since 1911 – not to challenge its right to be a republic but to cement a new relationship of normality following the political settlement in Northern Ireland. A country that often struggles under the weight of its history. the majority of Irish people are looking forward to the Queen’s arrival and will give her the warm welcome for which their country is rightly renowned or at least we hope. Just a few weeks ago, the future king was married in the uniform of the Irish Guards; which marked the beginnig a very important era in the royal family. Now another very historic visite is about to be made by the queen herself.





http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/8517386/A-modern-Ireland-will-welcome-the-Queen.html

UK vote may bring Clegg more pain

                 A referendum was hold in the United Kingdom in order to change the way members of the parliament are elected. A "NO campaign" was held on May 5 on the voting system came with a strong overall lead of 56 to 29 percent unlike in January where the "yes" campaign led by 36 to 30 percent. The chairman Andrew Hawkins also stated that "people who initially answered ‘don’t know’ have moved towards ‘no’ because “there is still a huge amount of ignorance about the AV, huge gaps” he said, adding that the people do not see the referendum as a priority for the nation. The Alternative Voting (AV) electoral system gives voters a chance to rate candidates in order of preference.
                I believe that this referendum is a very big deal in the United Kingdom because they do not persuade or give strong arguments in order to persuade the people whether or not does the current system need change? And why the AV is is the right thing to adopt. If I was a voter, I would vote for no. After reading this article I would still have voted no and the only thing that would changed my mind has to be strong argument from the opposition that is trying to change the system.

http://www.euronews.net/2011/05/04/uk-vote-may-bring-clegg-more-pain-/

UK Home Prices -3.3% On Year In April - Hometrack

(RTTNews) - The average asking price for a home in the United Kingdom was down 3.3 percent on year in April, property intelligence group Hometrack said on Monday, standing at 153,100 pounds.

That follows the 3.2 percent annual contraction in March.
House prices were flat on month, Hometrack said, after easing 0.1 percent in March. It marked the first month in nine that failed to see a decline.
The volume of sales was up 8.0 percent after surging 12.6 percent in March, while the proportion of sales at or better than the asking price was 92.6 - down from 94 percent a year earlier.
By region, sales in London rose 0.3 percent, while prices in the North East were down 0.4 percent and prices in Wales and the East Midlands fell 0.3 percent.

The article doesn't really explain the reason for the down fall in price asking for homes. The economie could be one of the reasons, but security reasons could also be a consern for buyers. The United Kingdom is not known for having major security problems so that's why I believe it could hardly be a reason.

UK Calls For UN Ruling On Syria

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on May 2, 2011 that the time was fast approaching when the UN Security Council would have to rule on what he called the 'unacceptable' violence in Syria. William Hague, British Foreign Secretary, said that "On Syria, we condemn the violence against peaceful protesters. We have already brought in, in the European Union an arms embargo on Syria, and we are now considering targeted sanctions on individuals associated with this violence" when he met Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el-Araby. The British Foreign Secretary William Hague also added  "...Time is not on the side of the Gaddafi regime..." addressing himself toward the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi. Additionally, British Foreign Secretary Hague announced his support for a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah, a deal that has been condemned by Israel which rejects negotiations with Hamas. 

The violence in Syria has been rising and no precautions have been taken to make it stop the violent behaviors. Mr. Hague said that they have condemn the violence against peaceful protesters in Syria and that they are considering targeted sanctions on individuals associated with the violence, my question is when are they going to take action against those who are creating violence in that nation? As for the message addressing the Gaddafi's regime when he said that "Time is not on the side of the Gaddafi regime" I believe that they have shown which side they are willing to support.
For more information on the article please visit:
http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/news_middleeast_africa/2011-05-03/uk-calls-for-un-ruling-on-syria.html 

UK Minister for Africa disclose… 60, 000 Sierra Leoneans in the UK

About 60,000 Sierra Leoneans in UK and that most of them are doing well in whatever business or work they are engaged in. Despite speculations that due to global recession, the UK is going to cut down on aid in countries like Sierra Leone, the Minister disclosed that UK is not going to cut down aid to the country, instead they are going to increase foreign aid which is a short term issue, as they want the country to become a middle income country. The Minister said that the UK has a very good relationship with Sierra Leone as could be seen with the presence of IMATT, DFID and other institutions which the country has in the country and will do everything to strengthen and maintain that relationship.

The funding for Sierra Leone by the United Kingdom has been efficient and now it's time to cut off that funding and have them continue on improve their country to become a middle income country.This initiative taken by the UK Minister for Africa, even though it looks like it has a positive in sight, it does also leave with many questions such as: Are is arguments to cut the funding a sign for potential future success in Sierra Leone? because this decision could easy be very affective to the sixty thousand Sierra Leoneans in the UK.

Original Article

William and Kate's World Wide Wedding

The article covers many topic and here are a brief summary of those.

The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton was an event for the internet age. Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube were all given over to the royal wedding. Google's "doodle" featured a carriage progressing from Westminster Abbey to a fairytale castle.

Royal tweets: Throughout the ceremony, @ClarenceHouse tweeted updates of events and provided with some links of videos arrival of the well known guest.
Trending topics: Talk of the wedding dominated Twitter, not just in the UK, but around the world. Twitter users shared their thoughts using a variety of hash tags, including #royalwedding and #rw11. 
Royal channel: While blogs and social networking sites provided users with a way of sharing their thoughts on the royal wedding, the internet also allowed people to watch the ceremony. ABC News was one of many broadcasters streaming the wedding to mobile devices.
Web traffic: The number of TV viewers has been estimated at around two billion. In reality, that is little more than an educated guess. Global web traffic was 39% above normal during the wedding according to Akamai. You should also know that measuring the scale of a global media event is notoriously difficult.
Other traits discussed were: The Republican option and Facebook figures
This wedding that was said to became the wedding of the century really came out to be. Only one thing we can say: "LONG LIVE THEE PRINCE AND PRINCESS."

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Rep. Courtney leads mission to boost local economic ties to U.K.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney meets with business

leaders at BNL Industries in Vernon

 on March 23, to mark the official launch

of the mission to the United Kingdom.

Courtesy photo.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-2nd District) is visiting the United Kingdom, hoping to bring back with him some connections. Bringing more British tourists to Connecticut is also part of the mission.Courtney announced the trade mission in late March, and embarked on April 18 with 15 Connecticut companies, including BNL industries of Vernon. In a conference call with members of the press on April 19, Courtney said the trip, so far, has been positive, Courtney also said  that BNL has made good connections, including with BAE and Lockheed-Martin. Glankoff from Mystic Aquarium (an eastern Connecticut tourism promotion agency) was part of the mission's tourism initiative and said a delegation from China will also be visiting Connecticut in May.
Trying to increase tourism in eastern Connecticut by visiting the United Kingdom, the capital city of tourism in the world, would be a good source to start bringing more British, and European, tourists to Connecticut is going to be a strong connection between the two continents.

France, Italy, UK to send military advisors to Libya

Foreign refugee women

France and Italy will join the United Kingdom in sending small teams of military advisers to eastern Libya, as the limits of the NATO air campaign. The United States also announced that it will provide $25 million in "non-lethal assistance" to the Libyan rebels. The fear for the country's division is a debate in the NATO-led air campaign. Human rights groups have accused Gadhafi's forces of using cluster bombs in the city. The Italian defense minister said today that ten military advisers would be sent to Libya, while France will send fewer. The British military liaison advisory team being sent to Benghazi "will be drawn from experienced British military officers," Hague said in a statement.

The "advisers" will try to solve the problem and/or the will have to choose a side on which they are willing to support. I believe that the three neo-imperialist NATO members ( France, England and Italy), with the biggest investment in Libyan oil contracts, will demand NATO involvement in an invasion for regime change in order for them to still get oil from Libya. One reason that I can think of why they would send troops into another country without that country's permission is that the situation is becoming very severe and need to stop before it gets worse

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Early start for guests at Prince William's wedding

               A palace officials outlined April 7 describing how the wedding event proceed revealed that most of the guest have been asked to arrive 2 and a half hours before the bride. This includes William and Kate's friends, the butcher and the owner of the pub in the bride's local village, as well as representatives of charities that the prince supports. The British royal family, who will arrive just before Kate drives up in a Rolls-Royce accompanied by her father Michael.
              An extra 600,000 tourists are expected to flock to London for the event, according to Visit London, the capital's tourism body, on top of the normal 500,000 who visit each day.
              Stress and the need for perfection is causing the bride to indirectly start the ceremony two and half hours early. Asking the guests to arrive two and half hours early does not sound like a pretty convincing proposition, but after a decade of waiting I think that the bride actually deserves this one. I, like million other people, am looking forward to seeing how their magical would turn out to be.

Link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/04/14/11/early-start-guests-prince-williams-wedding

UK Rules Out French-style Burqa Ban

France and the British government have ruled out a similar ban on the Muslim outfit. A French law banning the wearing of face-veil – burqa or niqab - in public places took into force on Monday, April 11. Offenders might be required to take a citizenship class and would be fined  150 euros an equivalent to 189 US dollar; a year in prison and a fine of $41,000 would be administered to anyone who forces woman to wear a face-veil. In the U.K, the right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) has also supported calls for a veil ban in Britain. The face-veil, a garment that is often black, covers the face but leaves the eyes uncovered, different from burqa wore by Afghani women. A hijab might be an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, however a woman is not obliged to wear the face veil, or niqab, and it up to her to make the choice. Muslim women’s veil on campus had been banned last September in what officials called a security measure; islamophobia has become normal and accepted in British society.
            I don't believe that the government should be allowed to tell this women what they should and shouldn't be wearing in public unless their argument has a strong reasoning beyond it. Muslim women's veil being banned on campus or on the road for "security reasons" to me sounds like a convincing reason although it somewhat religious bias. A hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, but they also can choose not to wear it in public if it keeping the people around them uncomfortable.
Link:http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/451813-uk-rules-out-french-style-burqa-ban.html

France and UK urge NATO allies to pull weight in Libya

Libya

France and Britain urged their NATO allies, including the US, to intensify the campaign against the Libyan regime after the forces of Muammar Gaddafi had fired rockets along the eastern front line. The failure of the three-week bombing campaign to oust Gaddafi was expected to be discussed at a meeting in Qatar last night of the Libya contact group. Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister who defected to Britain, flew to Qatar to speak on the margins of the meeting, questions about whether he would ever face justice and fury among MPs and victims of the Lockerbie bombing were discussed. NATO was forced to defend its strategy in Libya after France and Britain called on allies to pull their weight. William Hague urged NATO to step up its efforts in Libya.

I haven't seen NATO's work doing any difference in the uprising rebellion that is going on in Libya. NATO, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party, such as Libya's revolution, is yet to take effect on the situation and bring peace back to the people of Libya. 

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Related Article

U.K. faces possible water shortage

   A very dry March would strike the United Kingdom leaving them with a shortage in water supply. In nearly 50 years, this March would be the driest March yet giving England and Wales only a third of the normal average rain. Reservoirs of water were running low in storage by as much as 20 percent below normal levels for this time of the year. Water companies have warned of possible restrictions on domestic water use. 
           The water shortage is not a problem often encounter in the United Kingdom. I wonder if the lack of water might transform part of the the United Kingdom into a desert. One thing that the article didn't mention, but grabbed my attention is that they didn't say anything on the average temperature for this month of  March; so what I'm wondering about is that what has suddenly caused this drastic decrease in rain supply? I believe the heat could be a factor, but I don't see why there could be a great increase in temperature either.

Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/04/08/UK-faces-possible-water-shortage/UPI-91121302282505/

Cote d'Ivore: UK joins worldwide calls for Gbagbo

           The African Union and the United Kingdom called for restraint by both sides and called on Alassane Ouattara to assume the Presidency, after the re-launch of a military offensive by the president Gbagbo's troops. The United Kingdom Foreign Secretary and the AU Commission President called for restraint from both sides and insisted that Ouattara should take control of the presidency because he was so democratically elected. The Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo has defied international pressure to remain in power despite international sanctions and a military offensive launched by forces loyal to Presidential rival Ouattara. The AU and the UK, called on the two sides to spare civilians in order to avoid worsening the humanitarian crisis.

           Like President Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, President Laurent Gbagbo does not want to give up the presidency sit, because he wants to avoid "humiliation" as the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. I believe that the African population rising against their awful leaders and dictators is a sign for future prospect in the African continent. The nations in Africa have suffered under-colonial rules and when they left, their leaders took take of themselves rather than taking take of their nations; enough is enough and these revolts are their last sign of extreme desperation.