European human rights laws

Ken Clarke hopeful of deal on European human rights laws

Mr Clarke is seeking to obtain an opt-out for British courts in deportation cases

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Justice Secretary Ken Clarke says he is close to reaching a deal which would allow British judges to overrule European human rights legislation.

Mr Clarke says the agreement would prevent individuals repeatedly challenging deportation rulings, says the Daily Telegraph.

Last month Home Secretary Theresa May sparked a row over a man who could not be deported "because he had a pet cat".

The judiciary said the cat was not a factor in the man's right to stay.

Mr Clarke became embroiled in a row with Ms May over the cat story.

But there have been a number of deportation cases which have outraged government ministers.

Family life 'right'

In December 2009 attempts to deport Aso Mohammed Ibrahim, an Iraqi Kurd, failed because human rights legislation entitled him to a "family life" in UK.

Ibrahim knocked down and killed Amy Houston, 12, in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 2003 and was later jailed for driving while disqualified.

Mr Clarke said the deal with the European Court of Human Rights might be agreed at a conference in London in April 2012.

He said it would stop the situation where "everybody who's just lost his arguments about deportation should be able to go there and get in the queue, wait a few years to get it all reheard again when he's lost the argument three times already" in the UK.

Mr Clarke told the Telegraph: "What we are trying to do is get the role of the court sorted out so that it deals with serious human rights issues of the kind that require an international court.

"We want the court back to its proper business as an international court which takes up serious issues of principle."

Britain took over chairmanship of the Council of Europe, which oversees the court, earlier this month.

'Pig's ear'

Mr Clarke said: "A lot of member states have been pushing for similar things, and a lot of them believe a British chairmanship is the best time to deliver it, and they think we're the best hope of drawing this to a conclusion.

"The term human rights, it gets misused. There is a tendency in this country for the words human rights to get thrown about as much as health and safety. Both of them get hopelessly misused."

He added: "When some official, some policeman, whoever, has made some mistake in taking some absurd decision, the first thing they do to fend off criticism is to blame it on health and safety and blame it on human rights. The truth is that someone's made a pig's ear in the office."

On Monday, England and Wales' top judge said courts have tended to interpret the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights "too closely".

Lord Judge said a lot of ECHR rulings related only to specific cases and did not set wider legal precedents.

The Conservatives want to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA) - through which the European Convention is incorporated into UK law - with a British Bill of Rights but Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has insisted the HRA must remain in force.

Brazil police probe Rio de Janeiro Chevron oil spill

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Brazil police probe Rio de Janeiro Chevron oil spill

Police released aerial footage of the oil spill

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Brazilian police are investigating an oil spill in an offshore field operated by the US company Chevron.

Ships are working to disperse the slick 120km (75 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, and Chevron says it has plugged the oil well.

Brazil's Energy Minister Edison Lobao has said the company will be "severely punished" if it is found to have failed in its environmental responsibilities.

In recent years Brazil has discovered huge oil reserves in the Atlantic.

The oil is leaking from a well in the Frade oil project, 370km (230 miles) off the Brazilian coast.

Chevron initially estimated that 400-650 barrels of oil had formed a sheen on the water after seeping from the seabed near the well.

But the international environmental group Skytruth said satellite images suggested the spill was many times bigger.

Brazilian energy minister Edison Lobao said the spill "was not as serious as had been announced" and was not moving towards the Brazilian coast.

But he said Brazil's oil agency ANP was monitoring the situation closely and would apply the full force of the law.

"If Chevron is not fulfilling its responsibilities, it will be more severely punished," he said.

ANP said underwater images showed Chevron's effort to permanently seal the well with cement appeared to have been successful, although there appeared to be a residual flow of oil from the seabed.

"The slick is continuing to move away from the coast and dispersing, as is desired," it added.

'Bad faith'

Police environment experts have been sent on navy helicopters to assess the scale of the spill.

Green Party members of the Brazilian Congress have called for a debate on the matter.

Federal deputy Jose Sarney Filho said Chevron appeared to have underplayed the scale of the accident.

"What has alarmed us is the lack of transparency on the part of the company and the attempt to minimise the size of the disaster," he told the official news agency Agencia Brasil.

"This is a clear demonstration of bad faith," he added.

Chevron said on Thursday the flow of oil from the ocean floor has been reduced to "infrequent droplets" and the remaining oil sheen on the surface was estimated at less than 65 barrels.

"Chevron continues to fully inform and work with Brazilian government agencies and industry partners on all aspects of this matter," the company said in a statement.

In recent years Brazil has discovered billions of barrels of oil in deep water that could make it one of the world's top five producers.

So far there has been little public debate about the environmental dangers of offshore drilling.

Political discussion has instead focused on how future oil revenues should be divided between different states.

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• Chevron Corporation
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Measures to prevent illicit fishing of Mediterranean bluefin tuna

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Measures to prevent illicit fishing of Mediterranean bluefin tuna

Most of the bluefin will end up in Japanese markets such as Tsukiji in Tokyo

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Measures to prevent illicit fishing of Mediterranean bluefin tuna have been strengthened at the annual meeting of governments involved in the industry.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) decided to implement an electronic system for recording bluefin catches.

Research shows catches have been far higher than skippers have declared.

The meeting, in Turkey, also gave extra protection to the silky shark, whose numbers are falling because of fishing.

Tuna boats often snare this species by accident; and now, fishermen will have to release them alive.

Government delegates also voted through a minimum legal size for swordfish, and will draw up a comprehensive recovery plan in 2013.

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But proposals for protecting the porbeagle shark, classified as vulnerable to extinction on the internationally recognised Red List, were rebuffed.

The most controversial issue on the agenda - illegal fishing for the lucrative bluefin in Libyan waters during the height of this year's civil conflict, which BBC News revealed earlier this month - will be addressed in a separate meeting next year.

Conservation groups gave a mixed reception to the outcomes.

"Iccat's new bluefin tuna electronic catch documentation scheme is an important and positive leap forwards in the monitoring of the fishery and protection of the species," said Sergi Tudela, head of fisheries for WWF in the Mediterranean region.

A report from the Pew Environment Group last month showed that last year 140% more bluefin meat entered the market from the Mediterranean than was declared, largely because the paper-based catch recording system was open to abuse.

New EU rules on shark finning should give extra protection to vulnerable species

The new system will not, however, track bluefin through the "farms" or "ranches" where they are fattened for eventual sale, usually to Japan.

"The continued absence of data on quantity and size of bluefin tuna caged in fattening farms creates a black hole and provides an easy facility for the laundering of illegal, unregulated and unreported catches of Mediterranean bluefin tuna," said Dr Tudela.

Although the focus of Iccat meetings is often on the Mediterranean, the body also regulates fishing across a huge swathe of the Atlantic Ocean.

This includes waters off the west coast of Africa which are beginning to see heavy fishing.

Here, Iccat governments voted to restrict the use of fish aggregating devices (Fads) which attract tuna and sharks, and whose use often leads to significant catch of unwanted species and juveniles.

The Istanbul meeting also produced some good news for birds in the south Atlantic.

Longline boats, which tow lines tens of kilometres long carrying thousands of baited hooks, will have to use at least two out of three methods proven to reduce the accidental catch of albatrosses and other ocean-going giants.

The three strategies comprise deploying streamers from the back of the boat to scare birds away, setting lines at night, and adding weights to their hooks so they sink too deep for the birds to reach.

"This is a great day for albatrosses and other seabirds which die needlessly every minute of the day, accidental casualties in the tuna and swordfish fisheries," said Dr Cleo Small of the RSPB and BirdLife International.

NHS jobs 'under threat'

Nearly 50,000 NHS jobs 'under threat'

Continue reading the main storyThe RCN believes nearly 50,000 posts are under threat in England

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Nearly 50,000 jobs are under threat or have already gone in the health service in England, union figures suggest.

The Royal College of Nursing report warned in many cases front-line posts were being hit as the NHS was struggling to make savings.

The total represents 3.5% of the 1.4 million people employed by the NHS.

The union said that for some trusts the culls represented significant chunks of their workforces, but the government accused it of "scaremongering".

The RCN warned the cuts could end up harming patient care, while it also predicted the total would rise in the coming months as the figure was based on evidence from less than half the trusts in the country.

The remaining trusts either are not making cuts or have yet to have announced them, the college believes.

Cutbacks

The RCN has been closely monitoring job cuts since April 2010.

The posts it has identified have either being lost already or are due to be cut by March 2015.

Many of them do not involve redundancies as the NHS tends to cut posts by not replacing staff who leave or retire.

The total highlighted - 48,029 - is the equivalent of shutting four large hospital trusts.

It includes all types of staff from administrators and porters to doctors and nurses.

The union also carried out an in-depth look at 41 trusts where cuts were being made.

In total, nearly half of the posts under threat were clinical and the scale of the cutbacks represented nearly a tenth of the workforce on average.

In the worst cases over 20% of the workforce was due to be culled.

The RCN said the findings were proof that the savings the NHS has to make - £20bn over the next four years - could not simply be achieved through efficiencies.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham: "Nurses are being handed their P45s and patients are being told they have to wait longer"

Evidence was also uncovered of job cuts being made elsewhere in the UK.

Some of the trusts highlighted in the RCN's report have accused the union of using out of date figures, and said they have since downscaled the number of planned job cuts.

The RCN acknowledged the forecasted cuts did fluctuate regularly, but said overall the report was still an accurate picture of what was happening.

RCN chief executive Peter Carter said the scale of the cuts could have a "deep and potentially dangerous impact on patient care".

"Staffing levels should be based on rigorous clinical evidence and should not be arbitrarily lowered in a short-sighted effort to save money."

'Scaremongering'

David Stout, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents managers, questioned whether there would be a large drop in staff numbers overall, saying staff were more likely to be redeployed into other areas rather than losing their jobs.

But he added some would be affected.

"We all need to be honest with the public, patients and staff that we have no pain-free option.

"Managing the financial challenge, while undergoing a huge structural reorganisation, is going to be tough. There is no doubt that many staff will find this personally very difficult."

Health minister Simon Burns said it should be possible to make efficiency savings at the same time as improving patient care and accused the RCN of "typical trade union scaremongering".

FAO and World Vision

FAO and World Vision to join forces Partnership to boost global food security Laurent Thomas (left) and Walter Middleton signing the FAO-WVI Agreement 15 November 2011, Rome - FAO and World Vision International (WVI), one of the world’s largest non-governmental humanitarian organizations, are joining forces in promoting global food security under an agreement signed at FAO Headquarters today. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Laurent Thomas, FAO Assistant Director-General, Technical Cooperation Department, and Walter Middleton, WVI Partnership Leader for Food Security and Livelihoods, lays out terms and conditions for joint actions and projects for the  promotion of food security over a three-year period. Areas of potential collaboration include agricultural development projects, land tenure management, food price volatility and gender and nutrition programmes. "As we sign this agreement today, hunger continues to threaten the lives of millions of women, men and children in the Horn of Africa," said Thomas. "It is an acute reminder of the need for cooperation and long-term solutions. This agreement is about working together to implement those solutions." Fostering improvements The Memorandum of Understanding focuses on fostering improvements in early warning systems, preparedness in emergency responses, and gender and nutrition programmes - particularly field collaboration on nutrition issues. "World Vision works in nearly 100 countries worldwide, and we have seen the devastating effects of malnutrition on children under the age of five, and their families, for more than 60 years," said Middleton. "It shapes their entire lives. This partnership will improve end-to-end support for food-insecure communities; from global agricultural policy decisions through to field-level agricultural livelihood projects that are sustainable, effective and resilient." New opportunities Thomas said the agreement leveraged the strengths of the two organizations, presenting new opportunities for both. "We believe there are tremendous opportunities for joint work on agriculture development projects targeting improvements in productivity, sustainability and resilience, as well as issues of land tenure, watershed management and other natural resource management," he declared. "Ultimately this memorandum of understanding is about providing tangible improvements to the lives of children and communities hurt by hunger and malnutrition. The shared focus between the two organizations stands the partnership in good stead," Middleton added