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Nearly six million die from smoking every year: WHO
Nearly six million die from smoking every year: WHO (AFP) / 11 July 2013 Despite public health campaigns, smoking remains the leading avoidable cause of death worldwide, killing almost six million people a year, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. If current trends hold, the number of deaths blamed on tobacco use will rise to eight million a year in 2030, the WHO said in a briefing unveiled at a conference in Panama. About 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths forecast for 2030 are expected in low- and middle-income countries, the report added. “If we do not close ranks and ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, adolescents and young adults will continue to be lured into tobacco consumption by an ever-more aggressive tobacco industry,” said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Every country has the responsibility to protect its population from tobacco-related illness, disability and death.” Among the dead this year, five million were tobacco users or former users, while more than 600,000 died from second-hand smoke, according to the WHO. Tobacco use is believed to have caused the deaths of 100 million people in the 20 th century. Barring dramatic change, the tally for this century could soar to one billion people, the WHO warned. “We know that only complete bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are effective,” Dr. Douglas Bettcher, the Director of the WHO’s Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases department, told the Panama conference. “Countries that introduced complete bans together with other tobacco control measures have been able to cut tobacco use significantly within only a few years,” he said. The report noted that 2.3 billion people from 92 countries benefit from some form of smoking restrictions, more than double the number who did five years ago. However, that figure still represents just a third of the world’s population, it said. Continue reading
First Delhi gang-rape verdict deferred: prosecutor
First Delhi gang-rape verdict deferred: prosecutor (AFP) / 11 July 2013 A New Delhi court trying a teenager over a fatal gang-rape last December that shocked India deferred on Thursday announcing the first verdict in the case, lawyers said. A juveniles’ court has finished hearing the case of the youngest suspect, aged 17 at the time of the assault on a moving bus, and had been widely expected to announce a verdict on Thursday. “The court has completed the hearing. The order has been deferred to 25th of July,” public prosecutor Madhav Khurana told reporters who had massed outside the court. The crime, which saw the 23-year-old student victim die of internal injuries inflicted during the attack, generated widespread anger about endemic sex crime in India to the boil. Several weeks of sometimes violent protests pushed parliament to pass a new law toughening sentences for rapists, while a round of public soul-searching sought answers to the rising tide of violence against women. The victim’s family had called for him to be tried as an adult, alongside five men initially arrested over the assault on December 16 who face the death penalty. The trial of the adult suspects — one of whom died while in jail from a suspected suicide in March — continues in a separate court but is expected to wrap up in the next few months. The parents of the victim, whom AFP is also not naming in accordance with Indian law, were present inside the small juveniles’ court on Thursday. “We hope we get justice on July 25th,” said the mother, who has previously called for all suspects to be hanged, before entering the court. Reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom. The juvenile suspect, a runaway who reportedly left home aged 11, can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, which will take into account the time he has already spent in custody. The teenager, the youngest of six children according to his mother, was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack and often slept rough or inside the vehicle, reports say. He has denied any involvement in the crime. The maximum sentence of three years’ detention is likely to cause further anger in India where the suspects, some of whom have been beaten up in jail, are public hate figures. Amid pressure to put the juvenile on trial in an adult court, officials conducted an investigation to determine his age and concluded he was 17. A government panel set up after the Delhi gang-rape to recommend changes to sex crime laws rejected calls to lower the age at which people can be tried as adults from 18 to 16. The panel’s report in January said India’s justice system continued to “breed more criminals including juveniles in our prison and reformatory system by ghettoing them in juvenile homes”. The report, overseen by a retired Supreme Court judge, added that it was “completely dissatisfied with the operation of children’s institutions.” Shahbaz Khan, from the “Haq: Centre for Child Rights”, told AFP that there were “no proper care plans” for institutionalised children which undermined the intention of rehabilitating wrong-doers. Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights activist from the Centre for Social Research, said police and the courts were still too slow to respond to the victims of sex crime. “What we got was a good piece of legislation and an increase in the number of women with the confidence to report crimes against them. But so what? That’s not good enough,” she said. Kumari said the teenager’s likely punishment was too lenient, and he should have been tried as an adult. “This is a very gruesome crime and he was almost an adult at the time it was committed,” she said. Continue reading
Soaking up the spirit of Ramadan
Soaking up the spirit of Ramadan Silvia Radan / 11 July 2013 In the olden days, the ones before supermarkets came into existence, Ramadan preparations would start two weeks before the holy month. People would prepare for Ramadan two weeks before or from the blessed night of mid Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan. They would go shopping in the souq to secure foodstuff needed during the fasting month. At home, housewives would gather in the biggest house of the neighbourhood to grind barley and grains for baking the thin bread, a popular item in the Iftar and Suhoor (meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting) menus. Nowadays, such preparations are no longer needed, but the excitement of Ramadan still builds up days in advance. Despite the nearly 15-hour long fasting day and temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius, Muslims across the UAE could hardly wait for the holy month. Khaleej Times catches up with some of them and asked them what it is that they like most about Ramadan. Khaled Sadek (Dubai resident from Egypt): There are quite a few things I specially like about our holy month. First of all, the spirit of Ramadan is different from any other month when any Muslim feels more relaxed and closer to Allah. Secondly, where I come from, in Egypt, we say Ramadan loves numbers or crowds, which means in Ramadan we never spend time alone; we are either with close family or relatives or friends or sometimes all of them. Thirdly, it feels great when you find all Muslims are doing the same things at the same time. It also feels great when you stay up till late hours with your friends waiting for the Suhoor meal. Saleh Al Romaithi (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): There is so much I like about Ramadan, but what comes to mind first is the spirit of giving, the atmosphere of sharing and caring. Also, there is a feel of togetherness, as family and friends come together. There is this feeling of a higher level of spirituality too and more socialising with people especially at night over food … and you even get a chance to lose weight by fasting. Khaled Al Magboul (Sudanese, Abu Dhabi): For me, I feel purely the spirit. I enjoy worshipping Allah, giving special time to thank and glorify Him. I enjoy, of course, the Ramadan atmosphere, gathering and sitting with family and friends, sharing food and thoughts, but ultimately it is the deep sense of worship that I like most. Nasser Al Kurby (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): From a religious point of view, this is that time when Allah the Almighty tests us to evaluate our belief, because while people do good for their own selves, fasting is done for Allah the Almighty alone. From a social point of view, Ramadan inspires family gatherings and visits. Each week we will be invited to have Iftar at one of our relatives, where elaborate feasts are laid out. From a wellbeing point of view, fasting is good for a person’s health. Ask doctors and specialists — they will tell you so. Maitha Al Ali (Emirati, Dubai): Once, some years ago, I lost my temper at work and shouted at someone during Ramadan. That colleague told me I just broke my fast, pointing out that fasting is not just for food and drink, but also abstaining from negative thoughts and angry impulses. Since that day I never get angry during Ramadan. It is not just a decision. I fill my heart with love for Allah and that love gets me through all fasting so easily. That’s what I like most about the holy month of Ramadan: the feeling of spirituality. Of course, I love all the rest of it, the traditional food and sharing this special time with family, friends and the community. Ayoob Ali (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): Ramadan is a great lesson that makes us realise how it feels to be hungry and thirsty. I love the whole atmosphere during Ramadan because you feel the change in people’s behaviour, how they treat each other and how they work harder to do good. Also, you can see that in many places, like in mosques, more people attend the prayers and greet each other warmly, and they are inviting each other for Iftar — breaking the fast together. Another thing is that in Ramadan people are donating more to the poor and those in need, and it is really a great pleasure to put a smile on the face of those in need. Of course, you can’t forget the food! In Ramadan we always have our traditional food like harees, threed, matchboos and so on and people send food items in their neighbourhood. All those things make the community stronger and you see people taking care of each other. It’s like one long holiday that we are waiting for year after year. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
