Docudharma Times Friday Fedruary 5

Fear of E.U. economic woes, rise in U.S. jobless claims send markets plunging



By Ylan Q. Mui and Steven Mufson

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, February 5, 2010

Fears about financial crises in the wobbling economies of southern Europe and an unexpected increase in U.S. jobless claims sent global stock markets reeling Thursday, posing new challenges for the European Union and the U.S. economic recovery.

Despite several pieces of upbeat economic data at home, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 2.6 percent, finishing just two points above the 10,000 threshold it first crossed in 1999. Broader U.S. and foreign market indices fell about 3 percent, and oil prices fell 5 percent. The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar since May.

Last of the Bo takes her language to the grave as 65,000-year-old tribe dies out

From The Times

February 5, 2010

Jeremy Page in Delhi

The last member of a unique tribe that inhabited the Andaman Islands for as long as 65,000 years has died of old age – taking to the grave with her one of the country’s many endangered languages.

Boa Sr, who died last week aged about 85, was the last member of the Bo – one of the ten Great Andamanese tribes that are considered indigenous inhabitants of the islands, which lie 750 miles off the east coast of India.

She was the oldest of all the Great Andamanese tribespeople, who now number only 52 among the archipelago’s total population of about 300,000, the vast majority of whom are recent immigrants from mainland India.

USA

Behind Film’s Drama, a Tale Like a Country Song



By EDWARD WYATT

Published: February 4, 2010

FOR all of the on-screen drama that led “Crazy Heart” to three Academy Award nominations this week, an equally poignant tale is unfolding behind the scenes of the film in a battle over the estate of the songwriter Stephen Bruton, who co-produced the “Crazy Heart” soundtrack and tutored Jeff Bridges on guitar for his Oscar-nominated role as an aging country singer seeking love and redemption.

The estate battle involves Mr. Bruton’s wife of 13 years, Mary Keating Bruton, a photographer and former model, and T Bone Burnett, the award-winning music producer, who recruited Mr. Bruton – his friend since the two hung out together as youths in the Fort Worth music store owned by Mr. Bruton’s father – to the movie project.

Charter schools’ growth promoting segregation, studies say

A UCLA study is one of two finding that the increasingly popular campuses skew toward racially separate student bodies. Charter advocates criticize the reports.

By Howard Blume

February 5, 2010

The growth of charter schools has promoted segregation both in California and nationwide, increasing the odds that black, Latino and white students will attend class with fewer children who look different from themselves, according to two new studies.

Charter school advocates contend that the researchers’ presumptions about racial separation are out of date. They said parents — including low-income minority parents — are turning to charters for a quality education that traditional schools have not provided.

Charters are independently managed public schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. About 2.5% of the nation’s students attend charters — a threefold increase over seven years.

Europe

Europe is not heading for a population collapse

There may be a slow decline in the number of people, but it should be welcomed

Tomáš Sobotka

The Guardian, Friday 5 February 2010

Fred Pearce vividly portrays population collapse in the town of Hoyers­werda in eastern Germany and links it with a likely future for Europe: “Europe’s population is, right now, peaking, after more than six centuries of continuous growth. With each generation reproducing only half its number, this looks like the start of a continent-wide collapse in numbers. Some predict wipeout by 2100” (Lonely planet, G2, 1 February).

As a demographer specialising in fertility and population trends in Europe I find it unsettling that so much attention is paid to overblown claims of the continent’s population demise. Yes, Europe as a whole is projected to experience a gradual decline of its population, from 732 million now to 691 million in 2050 according to the United Nations. But, although further decline after 2050 will most probably follow, this gets nowhere close to a collapse.

Strikes bring Greece to its knees

Public sector workers stage wave of walkouts after government unveils spending cuts to meet EU targets

By Anthee Carassava in Athens   Friday, 5 February 2010

The Greek government’s emergency efforts to revive the country’s ailing economy met with angry protests in Athens yesterday, as customs officials and tax collectors went on the first of an expected rash of rowdy strikes.

The two-day protest comes after the government enacted a brutal reform package in response to a disastrous economic picture in the eurozone’s weakest economy. The absence of the customs workers was already making itself felt yesterday, as lines of trucks formed at the country’s borders unable to bring imports into the country except perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. Fears arose that a fuel shortage would soon result.

Asia

The village that stood up to the Taliban  

The people of Shah Hassan Khel want revenge for attack on volleyball game that caused 97 deaths

Declan Walsh in Lakki Marwat

The Guardian, Friday 5 February 2010

Volleyball might seem an odd sport of choice in Lakki Marwat, a scrubby district of bearded rifle-wielding tribesmen on the border between Pakistan’s “settled” areas and its lawless tribal belt.

But it makes perfect sense. Volleyball requires little equipment or land, which suits the poverty-stricken players, and games can be played in small courtyards ringed by mud-walled farmhouses – ideal in a tribal society where blood feuds are common.

Unfortunately that also makes it a perfect target for a Taliban massacre.

On 1 January, a suicide bomber rammed his truck into a crowd watching a volleyball game in Shah Hassan Khel, a village on the edge of Lakki Marwat.

Thailand to kick out Burmese refugees

Thousands of ethnic Karen could face torture or death if ‘voluntarily repatriated’

By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent Friday, 5 February 2010

Thousands of refugees who fled Burma for safety in Thailand after their country’s junta launched a military offensive could be forced to return home where they could face torture or even death, campaigners believe.

Activists say that up to 3,000 ethnic Karen, who were forced from eastern Burma last summer, could be “voluntarily repatriated” as early as today. While the Thai authorities insist that no one will be forced to return to Burma against their will, they have said that those who want to go home could start returning immediately. It has been claimed that officials have already been putting pressure on some of the refugees.

Middle East

Please forgive me, begs British woman facing lashes over ‘subversion’ in Iran

From The Times

February 5, 2010

Martin Fletcher

A British national has begged forgiveness from an Iranian revolutionary court after being put on trial in Tehran for subversive activities, Iranian websites reported yesterday.

An unidentified woman, 24, the daughter of a British mother and Iranian father, has admitted some of the charges against her including encouraging and attending demonstrations, consorting with foreigners and drinking alcohol, government and opposition websites said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has asked the Iranian Government for clarification of the reports, and that the woman be given consular assistance if true.

Gaza: UN chief Ban Ki-Moon rules evidence ‘incomplete’

There is not yet enough evidence to say whether Israel and the Palestinians are complying with UN demands to probe the Gaza conflict, the head of the UN says.

The BBC  Friday, 5 February 2010

In a report, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said submissions by both parties remained incomplete.

They were asked to respond by Friday to last year’s Goldstone report, which accused both of war crimes in Gaza.

Mr Ban said a ruling was not possible as Israel’s probe was ongoing and the Palestinians only began recently.

“No determination can be made on the implementation of the (UN) resolution by the parties concerned,” Mr Ban said in a report to the UN General Assembly.

The General Assembly has demanded that both Israel and Hamas launch independent investigations into their conduct during the 22-day Israeli operation which began in December 2008.

Latin America

Haiti PM: Child abduction issue ‘distracts’ from relief

The Haitian prime minister has warned that the case of 10 US missionaries charged with child abduction is a “distraction” from earthquake recovery.

The BBC  Friday, 5 February 2010

Jean-Max Bellerive said more than 200,000 people had died in the quake and one million still needed help.

The group of missionaries has been charged with child abduction and criminal conspiracy.

They deny allegations that they tried to smuggle 33 children across the border to the Dominican Republic.

When stopped on the border last Friday, the group said they were taking the children to an orphanage. But it has since emerged some of the youngsters’ parents were still alive.

‘In good faith’

Mr Bellerive said the case of the missionaries risked diverting international attention from the continued plights of the Port-au-Prince residents who had lost their homes and livelihoods.

Ignoring Asia A Blog