Gates foundation spends bulk of agriculture grants in rich countries

Most of the $3bn (£1.8bn) that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to benefit hungry people in the world’s poorest countries has been spent in the US, Britain and other rich countries, with only around 10% spent in Africa, new research suggests.
Analysis of grants made by the foundation shows that nearly half the money awarded over the past decade went to global agriculture research networks, as well as organisations including the World Bank and UN agencies, and groups that work in Africa to promote hi-tech farming.
The other $1.5bn went to hundreds of research and development organisations across the world, according to Grain, a research group based in Barcelona. “Here, over 80% of the grants were given to organisations in the US and Europe, and only 10% to groups in Africa. By far the main recipient country is the US, followed by the UK, Germany and the Netherlands,” it says in a report published on Tuesday.
Of the $678m given to universities and national research centres, 79% went to the US and Europe, and only 12% to Africa.
“The north-south divide is most shocking, however, when we look at the $669m given to non-government groups for agriculture work. Africa-based groups received just 4%. Over 75% went to organisations based in the US,” says the report.

Culled from The Guardian.

Working Irregular Shifts can Age the Brain by Extra 6.5 Years

Working shifts significantly damages people’s ability to think and remember, and doing so for at least a decade “ages” the brain by an extra six and a half years, new research has found.
The findings are the latest to link working outside normal hours to an increased risk of health problems.
Other studies have suggested links with cancers, heart attacks, strokes, ulcers and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
Researchers from Université de Toulouse and Swansea University studied 3,000 people in south-west France who were either working, or had retired, in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
Those who worked abnormal hours or had done so were found to score lower for memory, speed of processing information and overall brainpower than participants who had never done so.
People who had worked rotating shifts (a mixture of mornings, afternoons or evenings) for 10 years or more also had poorer mental function than those who had not done so to the extent that they had suffered an extra 6.5 years of age-related cognitive decline, the scientists found.
That association was “highly significant”, they said.
While stopping working shifts did halt the decline in cognitive powers, it took five years for people to recover fully, according to the study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
“Shift work chronically impairs cognition, with potentially important safety consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society,” say the authors, led by Dr Jean-Claude Marquie, from the Université de Toulouse.

 

Culled from The Guardian.

Jailed Iranian Woman on Hunger Strike

A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran after trying to watch a volleyball match is on a hunger strike, refusing food or liquids, her brother has said.
Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, is protesting because the judge has yet to confirm her one-year prison sentence, Iman Ghavami said.
“She’s been on hunger strike from Saturday,” he said. “She’s not eating any solid foods and she’s not drinking any liquids.”
Ghavami said his sister’s lawyer had seen the court document sentencing her to one year in jail, but that a deadline to make the verdict formal had passed.
“The case is in limbo … I don’t understand why they don’t want to issue the verdict when they have made the decision,” he said. “It’s quite concerning for us. They have no legal basis to have her detained.”
Ghavami was arrested on 20 June after attempting to attend a men’s volleyball match between Iran and Italy in Tehran’s Azadi stadium.
Female fans and journalists were told they could not attend, leading to a brief protest. Ghavami was initially released after a few hours, but was rearrested days later at a police station, when she went to reclaim items that had been confiscated.
Women are banned from attending volleyball and football matches in Iran, which officials say protects them from lewd behaviour.
No reason was given for her sentencing, but Ghavami was accused of spreading anti-regime propaganda, a broad charge often used by the Iranian judiciary.
Officials have said that Ghavami was arrested for security reasons unrelated to the sporting event.
Ghavami previously went on hunger strike for two weeks before her sentencing, when she was detained for months before going on trial behind closed doors.
Her case has drawn international condemnation and was described by Amnesty International as “appalling”.
The British Foreign Office has raised concerns about the court’s ruling as well as “grounds for this prosecution, due process during the trial and Miss Ghavami’s treatment while in custody”.
Ghavami’s family have said that at least 41 days of her detention before trial were spent in solitary confinement.
The case comes as Iran is under pressure for its human rights record after the easing of its international isolation with the election of moderate Hassan Rouhani as president.
Questioned over increasing executions and detentions under his rule, Rouhani has said the judiciary is independent of his government.

Culled from The Guardian.

Protest in Burkina Faso Over Military Coup

Thousands gathered on Sunday in the centre of Burkina Faso’s capital to denounce what they called a military coup, two days after mass protests forced the president, Blaise Compaoré, to resign.
Compaoré’s 27 years in charge of the landlocked west African country ended on Friday when his bid to change the constitution to extend his rule was thwarted.
A power struggle ensued, and on Saturday Presidential Guard commander Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida was appointed as transitional leader, superseding an earlier claim by the army chief of staff.
In Ouagadougou’s Place de La Nation on Sunday, opposition leaders denounced the power grab to the assembled crowds, while a UN official warned of possible sanctions if Zida obstructed a return to civilian rule.
The central square was the site of the violent demonstrations against Compaoré in which three people were killed and the parliament set ablaze.
On Sunday, those gathered there turned their anger against Zida, a large, bespectacled man little known outside military circles, whose trademark is a red beret.
One citizen carried a placard saying “Zida = Judas” while another said “Zida – get out of here”.
“They are coming from Kossyam to enslave us,” said protestor Sanou Eric, in a reference to the presidential palace. “This is a coup d’etat. Zida has come out of nowhere.”
“I am here to stop the army from stealing our victory,” said another protestor, Boubacar Sow.
The head of the United Nations office for west Africa joined the United States and the African Union in rejecting the army’s seizure of power but expressed cautious optimism about a return to civilian rule.
“We are hoping for a transition led by civilians in line with the constitution,” Mohammed Ibn Chambas said.
“[Zida] said he will reflect and try to work with the UN, African Union and the economic community of west African states to find an acceptable agreement which conforms to the constitution,” he said, adding that sanctions were a possibility if there was no progress.
Under Burkina Faso’s constitution, the head of the National Assembly should take office if the president resigns, with a mandate to organise elections within 90 days. However the army has dissolved the legislature and suspended the constitution.
Events in Ouagadougou are also being carefully followed by a generation of long-serving African leaders in Benin, Congo Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo who are also butting up against constitutional term limits.
The United States and other western countries have urged leaders to respect their constitutions, although analysts say that external pressure to democratise may be governed by strategic interests.
Compaoré, who seized power of the small, impoverished country in a 1987 coup, became a key ally of the United States and colonial power France in operations against al-Qaida linked groups in west Africa.
Washington could freeze military cooperation with Burkina Faso if it deems a coup took place, and has urged a power transfer to civilian rule as soon as possible.<

Culled from The Guardian.

British-Iranian Woman Jailed for Trying to Watch Volleyball Game

Law graduate from London found guilty of spreading ‘propaganda against regime’ following secret hearing in Iran

A British-Iranian woman detained in Iran for trying to watch a volleyball game has been sentenced to one year in a notorious prison, according to her family and lawyer.
Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, a law graduate from London, was found guilty of spreading “propaganda against the regime” following a secret hearing at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.
Ghavami has been detained for 127 days in prison since being arrested on 20 June at Azadi (“Freedom” in Farsi) stadium in Tehran where Iran’s national volleyball team was to play Italy. Although she had been released within a few hours after the initial arrest she was re-arrested days later.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ghavami’s brother Iman, 28, said the family was “shattered” by the court verdict.
“We are really disappointed because we felt she would get out on bail immediately. She’s been through a lot and now it’s a full year sentence and she’s already served four months,” he said.
No reason was given for the conviction though Ghavami had been accused of spreading propaganda against the regime, a broad charge often used by Iran’s judiciary.
Ghavami’s parents, who have been based in Tehran throughout their daughter’s ordeal, were too distressed to talk after Saturday’s court hearing - which they were not allowed to attend. “I found out the verdict from the lawyer. My parents were with him but were too emotional to talk. As we speak my parents are scrambling from one office to another to see if we can get leniency or bail.”
Ghavami’s lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie was quoted in Iranian media as saying: “According to the verdict she was sentenced to one year.”
Asked if the sentence could be reduced, Tabatabaie, who has not been allowed to visit his client, said: “Considering that Ghoncheh Ghavami has no criminal record, the court can alleviate the verdict.
“In a meeting Ghoncheh had with her mother on Wednesday, she said no new charges have been filed against her.”
Earlier this month Ghavami spent 14 days on hunger strike in protest at her detention, which has drawn condemnation from the highest political level. David Cameron underlined his concerns in a meeting with Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani in September at the UN general assembly in New York.
Iman, from London, said he hoped his sister would be moved to another wing of the notorious Evin prison, where she has been held since June in relative solitary confinement in a jail known for housing high profile political prisoners and activists.
He said: “She will be in the same prison but we hope she’s going to be transferred to a general section of it where she can interact with other people because now she’s being held in solitary confinement. It’s hell for everyone who is kept there.”
A petition on the site Change.org started by Iman has amassed more than 700,000 signatories calling for Ghavami’s release.

Culled from The Guardian.

Sir Richard Branson will fly into space next year - along with Angelina Jolie and 529 other passengers paying £128,000 each

Sir Richard Branson today announced that he and his children will be the first passengers when the Virgin Galactic space tourism programme begins.

Virgin boss Sir Richard and son Sam and daughter Holly are expected to be flying 60 miles up into space on the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) aircraft by the end of next year.
Today, Sir Richard joined around 120 other tourists who have signed up for the two-hour flights, at £128,000 a trip - a total of 529 guests have already signed up.

Culled from Daily Mail.

Canada suspends visas for residents of west African Ebola outbreak countries

Canada, which has not reported any cases of Ebola so far, will not process visa applications from those who have been to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Canada will stop issuing visas to people from the three west African nations where the Ebola virus is widespread, the government said on Friday.
The federal citizenship ministry, explaining the move, said in an official document that “the introduction or spread of the disease would pose an imminent and severe risk to public health”.
About 5,000 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year in the worst Ebola outbreak on record. Fears rose that the disease could spread beyond the region after a few cases were diagnosed in Spain and the United States.
Canada – which has not reported any cases of Ebola so far – is following in the footsteps of Australia, which on Tuesday became the first developed country to issue such a ban. The country’s official in charge of the response to Ebola said the move was medically unjustified.
Under the new regulations, which come into force immediately, Canada will not process visa applications from foreign nationals who have been in an Ebola-affected country within the previous three months.
US President Barack Obama is so far resisting pressure to impose similar travel restrictions.

Culled from the The Guardian.