Thousands of Chinese soldiers occupy Urumqi

Chinese security forces gather in a square in Urumqi, western China’s Xinjiang province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. China’s president cut short a G8 summit trip to rush home Wednesday after ethnic tensions soared in Xinjiang territory, and the government flooded the area with security forces in a bid to quell emotions in the wake of a massive riot that left at least 156 dead. AP Photo

Military patrols marched in formation past the deserted store-fronts, chanting “Defend the nation, Defend the people”.

AGI | Jul, 8 2009

(AGI) – Urumqi (China), 8 Jul. – Following the enactment of a curfew, thousands of soldiers covered the city of Urumqi – capital of the Xinjiang region of China – in order to calm a wave of inter-ethnic violence which began this Sunday. With a heavy display of force, thousands of soldiers entered Urumqi, during the same hours in which Hu Jintao, with an unprecedented gesture, left the G8 summit in Italy to return to his native country. While Chinese Liberation Army helicopters surveyed from above, soldiers and police officers entered and secured the city.

The forces were armed with automatic weapons, many of them clad in riot-proof gear, and the soldiers quickly took control of the abandoned city streets. During the curfew hours, from 9pm to 8am, military patrols marched in formation past the deserted store-fronts, chanting “Defend the nation, Defend the people”. The situation has yet to pacify entirely. Skirmished continue between the Han population and the Uyghur of the Xinjiang region. According to international media, two Uyghur were assaulted separately by mobs of Han Chinese.

In one of the incidents, nearly 20 Han men armed with sticks assaulted an Uyghur man in the city centre. The attack was stopped after several minutes, when security forces were able to disperse the crowd. In the second incident, a group of Han men passed three Uyghur men on the street and began following them. Two were able to escape, while the third was caught and assaulted by the crowd, which chanted “Hit, Hit”. The victim was kicked and shoved by various men and women, before police were able to save him. There are rumours of others dead. 156 victims were registered Sunday.

Meanwhile, Beijing has blocked tourism in the Xinjiang region, and has blocked access to the internet site Facebook within the country. The website, the most popular social networking site world-wide, has been inaccessible for some hours now. The block is an addition to some restrictions already enacted Sunday, immediately following attacks, such as the ban of Twitter. The country has also blocked access to many foreign sites, most of which are running exceptionally slowly, while sites such as Youtube remain entirely closed. China has the most internet users in the world (more than 300 million) though it enacts amongst the heaviest net censorship, especially during moments of political tension.

Reality shows ‘eroding children’s sense of reality’

Big Brother ‘eroding children’s sense of reality’

Children’s sense of reality is being eroded by soap operas, game shows and computer games, according to a leading headmaster.

Telegraph | Jun 15, 2009

By Graeme Paton

The influence of programmes such as Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity… are leading to young people losing awareness of the challenges facing them as they grow up, it is claimed.

Robert Holroyd, head of Repton School, in Derbyshire, said teachers should encourage pupils to watch the news and read quality papers including The Daily Telegraph to provide a “reality check”.

The comments follow a survey of 800 teachers that found that the vast majority believed TV programmes had a negative effect on the behaviour of pupils.

Mr Holroyd said: “An increasing number of young people think that celebrity status is available to everyone, usually through television. Many also have the impression – generated by reality TV, computer games and soap operas – that the world beyond a small area or community has no impact on people’s lives.

“They need to understand that ‘reality television’ often shows a modified and highly influenced form of reality.”

He added: “Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity are the biggest concerns here. In a sense I want to draw a distinction between that sort of programme and some of the talent shows like Britain’s Got Talent which has at least got an element of rewarding hard work.

“At least that may make children look at their own performance and think ‘what would Amanda Holden or Simon Cowell say about me?’”

He was speaking ahead of a conference at the school, which charges up to £25,000 per year for boarders. The Global Perspective event on Thursday to Saturday for sixth-formers will feature speeches and workshops on the environment, wealth distribution and use of natural resources.

The school has already opened a second campus in Dubai for up to 1,500 international pupils.

Mr Holroyd said schools had a duty to promote awareness of global issues. This includes ensuring children are “regularly reading a good quality newspaper and listening to or watching the news or factual documentaries”.

The school encourages pupils to subscribe to broadsheet newspapers instead of magazines and limits access to the internet amid concerns over its effect on young people.

“The first thing a child often goes for when they walk into a newsagent is a corrosive magazine, particularly those marketed towards teenage girls which are packed with premature relationship issues,” he said. “What they are missing out on is the every day exposure to real life that reading a quality daily like The Daily Telegraph can give them. That’s why we encourage our pupils to read the newspapers.”

The comments follow research from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers which warned access to inappropriate TV was turning young children into “Vicky Pollards” – the rude Little Britain character known for her “Yeah-but, no-but” catchphrase.

Two thirds of those questioned said Big Brother was a bad influence on children’s behaviour with 61 per cent naming Little Britain and 43 per cent picking out EastEnders as responsible for changes in how they act.

After suicide of 7-year-old, agency finds serious shortcomings in monitoring of foster children on psychotropic drugs

Review finds shortfalls in monitoring of foster children on psychiatric drugs

13.19 percent, are taking one or more psychotropic medications

St. Petersburg Times | May 29, 2009

By Kris Hundley

Spurred by the shocking suicide of a 7-year-old on psychiatric drugs, the agency in charge of Florida’s foster children has discovered serious shortcomings in its monitoring of kids on such powerful prescriptions.

After reviewing its files, the Department of Children and Families determined it had undercounted the number of foster kids on such medications as Risperdal and Adderall, overlooking hundreds of cases.

It also has failed to meet its legal requirement that such prescriptions be given only after parental consent or court order.

On Thursday, DCF said a review of the files of more than 20,000 children currently in the state’s foster care showed 2,669, or 13.19 percent, are taking one or more psychotropic medications.

That compares with about 4 or 5 percent of children in the general population who are on such prescriptions.

Of those foster children taking drugs, DCF discovered 16 percent had no proof either a parent or judge had signed off on the prescription, as required by a 2005 Florida law.

“That is unacceptable,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon. “We’re going to bring every single case of a foster child on drugs into compliance with the law.”

Concerns about pediatric use of antipsychotic and antidepressants such as Adderall and Risperdal have been growing along with increased warnings of such side effects as suicide, diabetes and weight gain. Few of the drugs have been tested or approved by the FDA for children, though physicians can prescribe them for this age group.

Robin Rosenberg, a Tampa lawyer and deputy director of Florida’s Children First, said advocacy groups like hers have been fighting for oversight of psychotropic drugs for years. “We’re not as far along as we should have been if the state had followed up on serious concerns starting in the late 1990s,” she said. “It’s a shame we’re in this place today.”

Sheldon, who was named to the top job at DCF in October, left no doubt that he had been deeply affected by Gabriel Myers, the 7-year-old who hanged himself on a shower hose in South Florida in mid April. The boy was in his third foster home and on Vyvanse, a medication for ADHD, as well as Symbyax, a combination antipsychotic and antidepressant.

Though his caseworker repeatedly said Gabriel’s mother had agreed to the medications, that was not true. The boy’s psychotropic medications also had not been entered in the state’s tracking system.

To correct ongoing problems, Sheldon set a deadline of June 5 for action on cases without consent. This could include scheduling new doctors’ appointments, gaining informed consent from parents or expediting a judge’s review of the prescription.

Sheldon said he also was going to focus on the cases of 73 children under age 6 found to be on psychotropic drugs.

“I want a sense of urgency, but I also want to get it right,” he said. “I want to move forward, but I think it’s important for the agency to apologize for misinformation it may have put out in the past.”

Flaws in DCF’s record-keeping became clear in the immediate aftermath of Gabriel’s death. An initial review of the state’s database showed only 1,950 kids on psychotropic prescriptions. After a thorough review of individual records, however, that number grew by more than 700.

Preliminary data released in mid May also showed some questionable dates on judicial consent. Though it’s not inconceivable a judge might sign an order on a Saturday or Sunday, early returns showed weekend consent orders on 129 occasions.

The final database, including information on types of drugs and diagnoses, was not available Thursday. Sheldon said a summary of the drug data would be posted on the DCF Web site and updated weekly.

“I’ve got a lot more confidence in these numbers than I had two weeks ago,” he said. “But any database is only as good as the quality of the information being put into it.”

One ongoing area of concern, Sheldon said, is the validity of any consent given by parents whose kids are in the state’s custody.

“A parent whose child is taken into our care is going to sign virtually anything and that’s not informed consent,” he said. “My preference is that the biological parent have a dialogue with the psychiatrist.”

Now that DCF has a handle on the number of foster children on psychotropic drugs, Sheldon said the department can begin to address the bigger issue of the efficacy of such drugs.

He has asked an independent panel investigating Gabriel Myers’ death to make recommendations on improving DCF’s oversight of these medications. Sheldon said a second-party review of all such prescriptions might be necessary; currently, only prescriptions for kids under age 6 require such review.

DCF has set up a page on its Web site that tracks the progress of the panel investigation into the boy’s suicide. The page includes a photo of the smiling boy.

“We have his face on the screen watching us to see how well we learned from his life and death,” Sheldon said. “We cannot let him down.”

Abu Ghraib photos ’show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.’

Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, it has emerged.

Telegraph | May 28, 2009

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent and Paul Cruickshank

At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.

Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts.

Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq.

Allegations of rape and abuse were included in his 2004 report but the fact there were photographs was never revealed. He has now confirmed their existence in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

The graphic nature of some of the images may explain the US President’s attempts to block the release of an estimated 2,000 photographs from prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan despite an earlier promise to allow them to be published.

Maj Gen Taguba, who retired in January 2007, said he supported the President’s decision, adding: “These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.

“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them, and British troops who are trying to build security in Afghanistan.

“The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”

In April, Mr Obama’s administration said the photographs would be released and it would be “pointless to appeal” against a court judgment in favour of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

But after lobbying from senior military figures, Mr Obama changed his mind saying they could put the safety of troops at risk.

Earlier this month, he said: “The most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to inflame anti-American public opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.”

It was thought the images were similar to those leaked five years ago, which showed naked and bloody prisoners being intimidated by dogs, dragged around on a leash, piled into a human pyramid and hooded and attached to wires.

Mr Obama seemed to reinforce that view by adding: “I want to emphasise that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib.”

The latest photographs relate to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 in Abu Ghraib and six other prisons. Mr Obama said the individuals involved had been “identified, and appropriate actions” taken.

Maj Gen Taguba’s internal inquiry into the abuse at Abu Ghraib, included sworn statements by 13 detainees, which, he said in the report, he found “credible based on the clarity of their statements and supporting evidence provided by other witnesses.”

Among the graphic statements, which were later released under US freedom of information laws, is that of Kasim Mehaddi Hilas in which he says: “I saw [name of a translator] ******* a kid, his age would be about 15 to 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn’t covered and I saw [name] who was wearing the military uniform, putting his **** in the little kid’s ***…. and the female soldier was taking pictures.”

The translator was an American Egyptian who is now the subject of a civil court case in the US.

Three detainees, including the alleged victim, refer to the use of a phosphorescent tube in the sexual abuse and another to the use of wire, while the victim also refers to part of a policeman’s “stick” all of which were apparently photographed.

Discovery of Rwandan genocide priest taints Vatican

Uwayezu, far left, meets Giuseppe Betori, archbishop of Florence, who approved the Rwandan’s appointment

London Times | May 17, 2009

By Jon Swain

THE Vatican has come under renewed pressure to purge its ranks of suspected killers after a second Rwandan Catholic priest accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide was found to be working in Italy under an assumed name.

An international arrest warrant is being prepared by Rwanda for Father Emmanuel Uwayezu following the discovery that he is working in a parish at Empoli, near Florence. It will accuse him of direct complicity in the massacre of more than 80 students, aged from 12 to 20, at a Catholic school where he was headmaster.

One of the few survivors lives in Britain. She still has nightmares and is too afraid to be identified by name. Last week she identified Uwayezu and described how he brought soldiers to the school at Kibeho and conspired with them to have the Tutsi students killed.

“He seemed to be happy with what he was doing. He told us to stay in the classroom. Some people who were working in the kitchen were shot in front of his eyes but he did not say a word. Others were hacked to death, raped or buried alive,” she said. “Now Uwayezu is enjoying his life. Is he really a father [priest]?”

Uwayezu denied taking part in the genocide and said he had tried to save the students. He said their deaths still haunted him. He is a Hutu like another notorious Rwandan priest, Athanase Seromba, who joined the campaign to exterminate Rwanda’s Tutsi minority and who also ended up in Florence.

After the genocide they both escaped to Italy with the help of Catholic supporters and began new lives as priests with the approval of Florence’s archbishop. Seromba, who was found in Italy by The Sunday Times, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of slaughtering 2,000 of his parishioners by bulldozing his church as they cowered inside. He was the first priest to be tried by a United Nations war crimes tribunal for genocide and crimes against humanity.

For a long time the Vatican had vigorously proclaimed his innocence. It also questioned the objectivity of a Belgian court that had given two Rwandan Benedictine nuns long jail sentences for genocide.

It remains to be seen how it will react in Uwayezu’s case. He has modified his name slightly and is known to his parishioners as Wayezu.

In Rwanda in 1994, the Catholic church was the most powerful institution after the government, but some senior members sided openly with the Hutu extremist government and the church hierarchy failed to prevent the slaughter. In 100 days of killing, 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority were massacred. Some priests and nuns sided with the Hutu militias and joined in the slaughter.

Yesterday Rakiya Omaar, the director of African Rights, a human rights organisation that has investigated the genocide and which has issued a comprehensive report on Uwayezu’s activities during the genocide, called on the Catholic church and the Italian and Rwandan authorities to conduct their own investigation.

“All concerned will have drawn lessons from the Seromba case,” she said. “Denials and dismissals by the Catholic church eventually led to his conviction and imprisonment for the remainder of his life.”

Jobless Spaniards sell off their kidneys to transplant tourists

London Times | May 10, 2009

By Matthew Campbell

A MACABRE traffic associated with poor countries in Asia and Latin America has sprung up for the first time in western Europe as the credit crunch reduces Spaniards to selling organs to “transplant tourists”.

Spanish “kidney for sale” advertisements have proliferated recently on the internet as people struggle to make ends meet in a country whose 17% unemployment rate is the highest in Europe.

Sergio, a 42-year-old welder and father of four, said he had received an offer of £20,000 from a German couple who needed his kidney for their five-year-old son. If tests showed them to be compatible, an operation would be performed in a “third country” since such transactions are illegal in Europe.

“Apparently, there’s a waiting list of at least five years for a kidney in Germany,” he told a television programme, “but in five years the kid will be dead.”

Just to advertise a human organ for sale is illegal in Spain and other sellers sounded nervous when contacted last week on the telephone by The Sunday Times.

Alberto, an unemployed construction worker in Valencia with two small children, said he was afraid of ending up on the street because he could no longer pay his mortgage.

“The bank is on my back,” he said. “If I could think of some other way of raising the money, believe me, I would.”

His biggest fear was that he might fall into the hands of professional traffickers who might operate on him without paying.

He said the price of £150,000 was negotiable but he wanted at least half of the money up-front before going under the knife. He said he had not yet received any offers.

Spanish medical experts said that prices in Spain were much higher than in countries outside Europe. For instance, a kidney can be acquired in Pakistan or Brazil for £1,000. Transplant tourism has been thriving in many Asian and South American countries for years.

Some buyers might prefer a kidney from Europe in the belief that it is healthier than one from the Third World. However, a doctor in a hospital outside Europe would have to perform the operation, said Rafael Matesanz, director of Spain’s national transplant office.

“In general, transplant tourists prefer a complete package,” he added.

This did not stop Edgar, a 44-year-old mechanic who lost his job in August last year, from placing an advertisement for his kidney on the internet in the hope of paying off debts of £90,000.

Kidney problems affect about 10% of the global adult population and there are 2m new cases of renal failure each year. Sufferers can die within a few weeks unless they receive a kidney transplant or undergo dialysis, an expensive procedure for cleansing the blood.

The World Health Organisation estimates that about 70,000 kidney transplants are performed each year, of which 20% are carried out on the black market in countries including China, Pakistan, Egypt and Colombia.

Facua, a Spanish consumers’ association, has recently reported dozens of internet organ advertisements to the police and an investigation has been opened in Seville into a man who offered a kidney for sale. The practice is likely to grow, however.

“The explanation most often given is economic necessity,” said Ruben Sanchez, a spokesman for the association.

“In a time of economic crisis such as the one we are living through, we think it will be a growing phenomenon.”

Democrats were routinely briefed on Bush’s torture techniques

Raw Story | May 8, 2009

By John Byrne

The CIA has released a devastating document detailing the dates and explicit details of secret Congressional briefings in which members of Congress were told of the Bush administration’s torture techniques and when they had been used.

Most damning, perhaps, is its description of a meeting held between CIA staff and then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and now-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which shows that Pelosi was briefed on the Bush Administration’s torture techniques in 2002 — even though she’s publicly said she was never told about the use of waterboarding.

Equally striking, however, is the volume of the briefings that have been conducted on the CIA’s interrogation practices since 2002. The document runs ten pages, with up to four briefings a page.

Briefings given to Democrats are of particular significance because the party has been the most vocal about the Bush Administration’s torture practices. Apparently, however, they had known about the practices for years. At least 19 Democrats were briefed about the techniques in detail  by end of 2006.

Those briefed earliest on the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” included Pelosi, Goss, Rep. Jane Harman, then-Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), Sen. John Rockefeller (D), Sen Patrick Roberts (R-KN) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).

On Sept. 6, 2006, the CIA briefed the full Senate Intelligence Committee, excluding Sen. Ron Wyden (D-WA), who did not attend. According to the document, “Significant details of EITs were provided in this briefing to include mentions of waterboarding, diet manipulation, nudity, walling, and stomach slap.” EIT is shorthand for “Enhanced Interrogation Technique.”

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Twitter can make you immoral, claim scientists

The danger is that heavy Twitters and Facebook users could become ‘indifferent to human suffering’

Daily Mail | Apr 14, 2009

By Jenny Hope

Social networks such as Twitter may blunt people’s sense of morality, claim brain scientists.

New evidence shows the digital torrent of information from networking sites could have long-term damaging effects on the emotional development of young people’s brains.

A study suggests rapid-fire news updates and instant social interaction are too fast for the ‘moral compass’ of the brain to process.

The danger is that heavy Twitters and Facebook users could become ‘indifferent to human suffering’ because they never get time to reflect and fully experience emotions about other people’s feelings.

US scientists from the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California (USC) say the brain can respond in fractions of seconds to signs of physical pain in others.

But they show it takes longer to activate processing of social emotions such as admiration and compassion, which are critical for developing a sense of morality.

The study raises questions about the emotional cost of heavy reliance on a rapid stream of news snippets obtained through television, online feeds or social networks such as Twitter.

The impact could be most damaging for youngsters whose brains are still developing.
USC researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang said ‘For some kinds of thought, especially moral decision-making about other people’s social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and reflection.

‘If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people’s psychological states and that would have implications for your morality.’

Mature celebrity users of Twitter such as Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand are behind the growing popularity of the site used by around 10 million people worldwide.

Barack Obama used it as a tool during last year’s US presidential elections to talk directly and quickly – only 140 characters can be posted at any time by website or mobile phone – to thousands of followers.

But a new study led by Antonio Damasio, director of the USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute, suggests that digital media may be better suited to some mental processes than others.

The study used compelling, real-life stories to induce admiration for virtue or skill, or compassion for physical or social pain, in 13 volunteers.

The emotions felt were verified by researchers in a series of interviews before and after, conducted using a careful protocol.

Brain imaging showed the volunteers needed six to eight seconds to fully respond to stories of virtue or social pain.

However, once awakened, the responses lasted far longer than the volunteers’ reactions to stories focused on physical pain.

The study will appear next week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition.

Manuel Castells, holder of the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society at USC, said ‘Damasio’s study has extraordinary implications for the human perception of events in a digital communication environment.

‘Lasting compassion in relationship to psychological suffering requires a level of persistent, emotional attention.’

‘In a media culture in which violence and suffering becomes an endless show, be it in fiction or in infotainment, indifference to the vision of human suffering gradually sets in.’

Although normal life events provide opportunities to feel admiration and compassion, the researchers fear heavy social networkers may not have time for traditional ways of developing a moral sense such as reading books and seeing friends.

The study showed physical and social pain both engage the posteromedial cortex, the region of brain related to the sense of self and consciousness, but in different areas.

Professor Damasio said ‘The brain is honouring a distinction between things that have to do with physicality and things that have to do with the mind.

‘When it comes to emotion, because these systems are inherently slow, perhaps all we can say is, not so fast.’

He said humans ’separate the good from the bad’ largely thanks to the feeling of admiration.

It is also deeply rooted in the brain and the sense of the body, the study found, engaging primal neural systems that regulate blood chemistry, the digestive system and other parts of the body.

Prof Damasio called it proof, pending replication of the findings, that social emotions have deep evolutionary roots.

He said ‘People generally don’t think of emotions like admiration and compassion as having forerunners in evolution.

‘We reveal that these emotions engage the basic systems of our physiology.’

Millions of Britons racked with worry over recession, crime, health and the Big Brother surveillance state

Stress is causing a generation of anxious Brits worrying about everything from money to bird flu

The report, In the Face of Fear, calls for a campaign to cut ‘institutionally-driven fear’

Daily Mail | Apr 14, 2009

By Jenny Hope

More than seven million Britons are living with anxiety problems, almost a million more than a decade ago, a report reveals.

Two in three say the financial downturn has caused them to be anxious, fuelled by 24-hour news and ‘worst case’ images used by politicians.

Mental health experts believe that fear and anxiety could actually make the economic crisis worse and result in a longer recession.

Knife crime, MRSA, bird flu and terrorism are among other issues contributing to a ‘culture of fear’, says a report from the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) charity.

Even measures to tackle crime such as CCTV cameras may be counter-productive because they intensify fears.

The report, In the Face of Fear, calls for a campaign to cut ‘institutionally-driven fear’ and raise awareness of mental health problems.

It says: ‘The more fearful people feel in the general population, the more will be tipped over into diagnosable anxiety disorders.’

A poll of 2,246 adults for the MHF report found 77 per cent believed the world had become a more frightening place in the last ten years.

Asked specifically about the economic crisis, 49 per cent said they were anxious about money, with 66 per cent experiencing fear or anxiety about the current economic situation.

The MHF says fear is partly driving the economic crisis because emotion overrides logical thinking and this could hinder efforts to escape it.

It says: ‘Individuals and institutions – keen to protect themselves – are now too afraid to lend, spend and invest, despite the fact that these actions could assist in ending the recession.’

Research shows people with anxiety are at increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

Anxiety has also been linked to increased incidence of gastrointestinal problems, arthritis, migraine, allergies, thyroid disease and chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: ‘This report shows that fear is having a serious negative impact on the mental and physical health of the nation.

‘The modern world will test our resilience again and again, and people need to know how to process their emotions better to prevent harm to their mental and physical health.

‘Prevention campaigns about physical illnesses like heart disease and cancer are often mounted, but less than 0.1 per cent of adult mental health investment is allocated to mental health promotion.’

Care services minister Phil Hope said: ‘During the last ten years, we’ve seen major improvements in the mental health services available, but now we need to develop a dynamic new approach, which actively helps create more mentally healthy and resilient communities.’

British thinktank warns of ‘global pandemic of unrest’

SIFY | Mar 21, 2009

London: A leading British thinktank Friday warned of the “grave threat” of social unrest in response to the global recession over the next two years.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in a paper published Friday, rated the risk of upheaval that could “disrupt economies and topple governments” as “high or very high” in 95 countries.

“Popular anger around the world is growing as a result of rising unemployment, pay cuts and freezes, bail-outs for banks, and falls in house prices and the value of savings and pension funds,” said the EIU paper, entitled ‘Manning the Barricades.’

“As people lose confidence in the ability of governments to restore stability, protests look increasingly likely.”

A spate of incidents in recent months had shown that the global economic downturn was having political repercussions.

“This is being seen as a harbinger of worse to come. There is growing concern about a possible global pandemic of unrest,” said the paper.

Top of the list of high-risk countries were Zimbabwe, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia and Sudan.

However, three of the European Union’s neighbours – Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina – were rated as being at “very high risk” of social upheaval.

The paper pointed out that two European governments – in Iceland and in Latvia – had already fallen as a result of crisis.

World Bank warns of worst recession since Great Depression

In Europe, Britain was “not immune” from the danger of serious social unrest and “more likely” to suffer from it than Germany and the Netherlands, but “less likely” than France and the US.

A lot depended on how US President Barack Obama responded to pressure to “defend American jobs and companies against foreign imports,” said the paper.

“As the downturn worsens, far more intense and long-lasting events can be expected, such as armed rebellions, military coups, civil conflicts and perhaps even wars between states,” it said.