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Ethiopia hit by Coca-Cola drought

published by You on 24 March, 2009 - 18:54

Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa has run out of Coca-Cola as the credit crunch takes the fizz out of the economy.

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in the city says she has known African countries to run out of petrol, soap, sugar, batteries or tyres - but never Coke.

The East Africa Bottling Share Company, which produces the soft drink in the region, last week temporarily shut its bottling operation in Ethiopia.

It said they had the Coca-Cola - but did not have the bottle tops.

The firm, which has sent 1,000 workers on compulsory leave, said in its most recent statement that the Ethiopian government had intervened.

The company promised the familiar bottles would start rolling out of the plant again soon.

National emergency?

Death link to too much red meat

published by You on 24 March, 2009 - 03:50

Scientists have produced new evidence suggesting eating lots of red and processed meat damages health.

They found big meat eaters had a raised risk of death from all causes over a 10-year period.

In contrast, a higher intake of white meat was associated with a slightly reduced risk of death over the same period.

The US study, featured in Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on more than 500,000 people.

The researchers, from The US National Cancer Institute, found those whose diet contained the highest proportion of red or processed meat had a higher overall risk of death, and specifically a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least.

UK Government suspends links with Muslim Council of Britain over Gaza

published by You on 23 March, 2009 - 18:53

Move comes after body refuses to sack senior member over statements urging Muslims to resist Israeli military

The government has suspended ties with Britain's largest Muslim group and demanded that one of its leaders should be removed from office for allegedly supporting violence against Israel.

The news comes on the eve of the launch of a major government strategy aimed at fostering closer ties with Muslims to help counter the threat of Islamist terrorism.

The launch tomorrow of Contest 2, the government's revised counter-terrorism strategy, comes after ministers decided to stop engaging with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

Hazel Blears Demands resignation of Da'ud Abdullah from MCB

published by You on 22 March, 2009 - 23:00

Government shuns Muslim Council over link with Hamas

The Government has severed relations with the country's leading Muslim organisation, saying a senior member is a supporter of Hamas, the Palestinian military organisation.

A letter leaked to The Independent on Sunday shows that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, wrote to the Muslim Council of Britain, calling for Dr Daud Abdullah to resign.

She alleges he was one of 90 Muslim leaders from around the world who signed a public declaration of support for Hamas, the elected government of the Gaza strip in Israel, and military action against Israel...

Israeli troops shot 'unarmed Palestinian civilians under orders' during Gaza war

published by You on 19 March, 2009 - 17:18

Published soldiers' testimonies contradict official version of events and reinforce Palestinian accounts of disproportionate force

Striking testimony has emerged from Israeli soldiers involved in the Gaza war in which they describe shooting unarmed civilians, sometimes under orders from their officers.

One soldier described how an Israeli sniper shot dead a Palestinian mother and her two children, adding that fellow troops believed the lives of Palestinians were "very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers".

Labour MP Predicts Total Islamification of Britain

published by You on 19 March, 2009 - 17:07

Labour Party MP Shahid Malik has predicted the total Islamification of Britain and a Muslim prime minister, “Allah willing”, within the next thirty years.

The remarks were made at the October 2008 “Global Peace and Unity” conference held at the Excel London centre, but were deliberately withheld from the video coverage released of that event.

The video speech in which Mr Malik made his remarks has now been released on the internet — nearly five months after the event.

The suppression of the video was clearly designed to try and limit the damage to the ruling Tory and Labour elite, whose immigration policies have led to the situation where a Muslim cabinet minister can confidently predict the total Islamification of this nation.

Pious 'fight death the hardest'

published by You on 18 March, 2009 - 18:19

People with strong religious beliefs appear to want doctors to do everything they can to keep them alive as death approaches, a US study suggests.

Researchers followed 345 patients with terminal cancer up until their deaths.

Those who regularly prayed were more than three times more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging care than those who relied least on religion.

The team's report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It suggests that such care, including resuscitation, may make death more uncomfortable.

Just over 30% of those asked agreed with the statement that religion was "the most important thing that keeps you going"...

£60,000 awarded to terror suspect

published by You on 18 March, 2009 - 14:16

The Metropolitan Police have agreed to pay £60,000 damages to a man arrested during an anti-terror raid.

The High Court heard that Babar Ahmad was subjected to "serious gratuitous prolonged unjustified violence" and "religious abuse" after his arrest.

Mr Ahmad, a 34-year-old IT support analyst, was never charged following the dawn raid at his home in Tooting, south west London, in December 2003.

He is now in jail awaiting extradition to the US on separate charges.

Humiliate and debase

Mr Justice Holroyde heard that one of the unnamed officers allegedly involved will face criminal proceedings.

Phillippa Kaufmann, counsel for Mr Ahmad, told the High Court that he had been dragged by handcuffs and held by the neck.

Universities push for higher fees

published by You on 17 March, 2009 - 00:53

Many universities in England and Wales want a sharp increase in tuition fees, a survey by BBC News has concluded.

Two thirds of vice chancellors, speaking anonymously, said they needed to raise fees, suggesting levels of between £4,000 and £20,000 per year.

More than half of university heads want students to pay at least £5,000 per year or for there to be no upper limit.

The National Union of Students has warned of debts of £32,000 for students if fees rise to £7,000 per year.

The controversy over tuition fees is set to be re-opened, five years after it sparked one of the biggest backbench rebellions faced by the Labour government.

Higher debt

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