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Egypt’s Mubarak leaves jail for house arrest
Egypt’s Mubarak leaves jail for house arrest (AFP) / 23 August 2013 Egypt’s toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak was transferred from prison to house arrest at a military hospital on Thursday, in a move overshadowed by a blistering crackdown against his Islamist successors. The former strongman, forced to quit in early 2011, was flown by medical helicopter to a military hospital, where he will remain under house arrest as he stands trial on corruption and murder charges. His ouster in 2011 was a pivotal moment in regional democratic upheavals that in Egypt led to an Islamist government, which lasted a year before a popularly backed military coup last month. In other circumstances, the 85-year-old’s removal from prison might have caused shockwaves. But with Egypt mired in a deadly conflict between the military-installed government and Islamists, Mubarak’s transfer took place amid little fanfare or protest. He was ordered released after his lawyer argued Mubarak’s stay in prison had exceeded the maximum pre-verdict detention, and Mubarak made financial amends for one of his charges. He still faces trial for corruption and his role in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that toppled him, with his next hearing on Sunday. Prime minister Hazem Al Beblawi, empowered with the authority to order arrests under the current state of emergency, ordered Mubarak to be placed under house arrest after release from jail. Mubarak chose to be held at the military hospital, the official MENA news agency reported. The decision to grant Mubarak pre-trial release added a volatile new element to the political turmoil that has gripped Egypt since the army ousted president Mohammed Mursi on July 3 following massive protests against him. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the past week in violence following the forcible break-up of two pro-Mursi camps in the capital. Authorities have arrested dozens of members of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, including its supreme guide Mohamed Badie — the first time the group’s chief has been arrested since 1981. Mursi himself is being held at a secret location and faces charges related to his 2011 escape from prison and inciting the death and torture of protesters. The juxtaposition between the fates of the two ousted presidents, Mubarak and Mursi, is notable, analyst Hisham Kassem said. Mubarak “committed numerous crimes… against the country, but managed to hide the evidence, particularly as all the state’s institutions were working for him at the time he was overthrown.” “The opposite is true for Mursi, who was thrown in prison while all the state’s apparatus were against him.” Arrests of Brotherhood leaders continued, with authorities detaining Ahmed Aref, a spokesman for the group, in Cairo. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch condemned the government for failing to protect churches, but also the Brotherhood for failing to halt incitement against Christians. Violence has also targeted police and soldiers, including two who were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Suez Canal town of Ismailia on Thursday. The unrest has prompted international criticism, and EU foreign ministers agreed at an emergency meeting on Wednesday to suspend the sale of arms and security equipment to Cairo in response to the mounting violence. They issued a statement calling recent security operations “disproportionate”, while also condemning “acts of terrorism” in the Sinai and the church attacks. But they expressed concern over the economic situation and said “assistance in the socio-economic sector and to civil society will continue”. The United States has also criticised the violence, as well as Badie’s arrest, and announced the cancellation of joint military exercises. But it has stopped short of halting its $1.3 billion annual defence aid package to Egypt, and denied reports it was withholding aid. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which backs the army-installed interim government, has said it would step in with other Arab nations to fill any funding gap if Washington halts aid. Meanwhile, a Hamas official said Egypt is set to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip daily from Saturday after closing it in the wake of last week’s bloodshed. Continue reading
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria (AP) / 23 August 2013 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on the Syrian government to allow a UN team now in Damascus to swiftly investigate an alleged chemical weapon attack outside the capital that killed at least 100 people. UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Ban remains “deeply troubled” by the alleged attack on the eastern suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday and believe it needs to be investigated “without delay.” Syrian anti-government activists accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of carrying out an attack using toxic gas and have reported death tolls ranging from 136 to 1,300. Even the lowest figure would make it the deadliest alleged chemical attack in Syria’s 2 1/2-year civil war. The government has denied that it used chemical weapons, calling the allegations “absolutely baseless.” Del Buey said the secretary-general “takes positive note” of the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that backed his initial call for “a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation.” He said the secretary-general has been in touch with world leaders since Wednesday and is sending UN disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus to press for a UN investigation. Under the terms of an agreement with Syria negotiated by Kane and chief weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom in July, the UN team can investigate three previous incidents of alleged chemical weapons use. A new agreement would need to be negotiated for the 20-member team to be able to go to the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The UN team is scheduled to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack that happened March 19 on the village of Khan Al Assal outside the city of Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels last month. The government and rebels blame each other for the attack. The sites of the two other incidents to be investigated are being kept secret for security reasons. More than 35 countries signed a letter to the secretary-general Wednesday requesting the UN experts to launch “an urgent investigation … as expeditiously as possible” into Wednesday’s incident as well. Del Buey said the secretary-general is sending a formal request to the Syrian government to grant permission and access to the Ghouta area to the UN chemical weapons experts. “He expects to receive a positive response without delay,” del Buey said. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who briefed the Security Council on Wednesday, expressed hope that the Syrian government will give the team access to the site as soon as possible, though he cautioned that because of fighting “the security situation right now does not allow such access.” “This represents, no matter what conclusions are, a serious escalation with grave humanitarian consequences and human consequences,” Eliasson stressed. The secretary-general reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities so that humanitarian assistance can be urgently delivered to the area of the latest incident, del Buey said. Continue reading
Eating disorders a growing concern
Eating disorders a growing concern Olivia Olarte-Ulherr / 22 August 2013 In a country where obesity and diabetes are major health issues, it is quite easy to overlook the dangerous threat of eating disorders amongst the adolescent population. “A study conducted at Zayed University revealed that almost a quarter of the 228 female students who took part in the survey suffered from abnormal eating attitudes and are at risk of developing eating disorders,” said Dr Osman El Labban, family medicine consultant at Al Zahra Hospital in Dubai. “The researchers asked students to rate their figures against nine silhouettes, and to indicate the shape they aspired to be. Almost 75 per cent were unhappy with their bodies and more than 80 per cent picked thin figures as their ideal body image,” he added. Dr El Labban made the comments ahead of his lecture ‘Adolescent Eating Disorders’ at the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress and Exhibition, which will be held from October 27-29 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). At this year’s Family Medicine Conference, he will focus on how a family doctor in the UAE should provide primary prevention through health education, an early diagnosis of eating disorders and monitoring of medical complications. “The UAE has many cultural changes associated with the emergence of Western eating disorders. There is a lack of public awareness about the seriousness of the condition with an increase in the pressure to have the ‘ideal body shape’ by the media and the social changes in our community…Nowadays, working parents rarely sit with their kids to eat together”, Dr El Labban pointed out. Parents can identify eating disorders in their children by observing certain habits such as restriction in food intake, excessive exercise, recurrent vomiting or abusing laxatives and other medications. The consequences and complications of these behaviours may be serious and life-threatening. Parents of adolescents should focus on the following to be able to better identify if their child is experiencing eating disorders: a constant focus on dieting, food and exercise; if the child is feeling stressed because they are unable to exercise; weighing themselves frequently; insisting on consuming different meals from rest of family; and, skipping meals. The adolescents suffering from eating disorders may also try reducing meal portion sizes or leaving food behind, having frequent visits to the bathroom after meals. The prevalence of eating disorders amongst teens includes four per cent of adolescents with a peak age of onset of eating disorders between 14-18 years. It is more common in girls than boys with the ratio of six females to one male. “A survey was conducted last year on 900 girls by Al Ain University and it showed that 1.8 per cent of 13 to 19-year-old girls were anorexic; while in comparison the rate is one per cent for British girls between 16 and 18-years-old. It is evident that adolescents with eating disorders are sleepy in class or struggle to focus. “A counsellor in one of the women’s colleges in the UAE reports that ‘the students don’t come for help; we usually only notice them if they faint in college or are having trouble concentrating in class or by their physical appearances’,” continued Dr El Labban. Organised by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress and Exhibition is the region’s key healthcare event. The event has expanded to 10,000sqm, with more than 150 exhibitors from 25 countries. – ne ws@khaleejtimes.com Expert: These are ‘deadly and dangerous illnesses’ Eating disorders are “deadly and dangerous illnesses” that needs to be to curbed early, says a specialist. According to Dr Veena Luthra, consultant psychiatrist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology in the Capital, girls as young as 14 years could present early signs of eating disorders that could lead to anorexia and bulimia. With anorexia, a person is unable to stop dieting even if she has already lost a lot of weight. “You can die from that. The whole body shuts down and the heart rate slows down,” said Dr Luthra. Bulimic person meanwhile eats large amount of food then “compensates by making herself vomit, exercise a lot or take as much as 10-20 laxatives a day just to lose weight.” “They do very dangerous things. Purging (vomiting) can cause bleeding in the stomach and can cause electrolyte imbalance. They basically want to look a certain way and are willing to do anything even if it’s hurting them,” she stressed. According to her, eating disorder is a psychological disorder that required psychological treatment. “However, there is a stigma attached to going for psychiatric treatment (here),” she said. At the newly-established Obesity and Eating Disorder unit at the centre, which Dr Luthra oversees, she sees between one to two patients per week. Part of her work at the specialist unit includes working with private school counsellors discussing problems that affect their students. She said eating disorder is a big concern affecting both the students’ physical and mental health. “The school is (often) the one telling the parents” when they see signs and symptoms, said Dr Luthra. — olivia@khaleejtimes.com Common types of eating disorders Anorexia Nervosa It is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterised by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. It is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses in young women. Approximately 90-95% of sufferers are girls and women. It typically appears in early to mid-adolescence and has one of the highest death rates of any mental health condition. Symptoms > Resistance to maintaining normal body weight. > Intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”. > Disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape. > Loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty. Bulimia Nervosa A potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterised by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviours such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating. It is frequently associated with symptoms of depression and changes in social adjustment. Approximately 80% of bulimia nervosa patients are female. It affects 1-2% of adolescent and young adult women. Symptoms > Regular intake of large amounts of food accompanied by a sense of loss of control over eating behaviour. > Regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, fasting, and/or obsessive or compulsive exercise. > Extreme concern with body weight and shape. Binge Eating Disorder (BED) It is a type of eating disorder not otherwise specified and is characterised by recurrent binge eating without the regular use of compensatory measures to counter the binge eating. BED affects women slightly more often than men – estimates indicate that about 60% of people struggling with binge eating disorder are female, 40% are male. Symptoms: > Frequent episodes of eating large quantities of food in short periods of time. > Feeling out of control over eating behaviour during the episode. > Feeling depressed , guilty, or disgusted by the behaviour. > There are also several behavioural indicators of BED including eating when not hungry, eating alone because of embarrassment over quantities consumed, eating until uncomfortably full. Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) These serious eating disorders can include any combination of signs and symptoms typical of anorexia and bulimia. Examples of EDNOS > Menstruation still occurring despite meeting all other criteria for anorexia nervosa. > All conditions are present to qualify for anorexia nervosa except the individual’s current weight is in the normal range or above. > Purging or other compensatory behaviours are not occurring at a frequency less than the strict criteria for bulimia nervosa. > Purging without Binging—sometimes known as purging disorder. > Chewing and spitting out large amounts of food but not swallowing. (Source: National Eating Disorders Association NEDA), US) olivia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
