Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Australia may have breached key element of refugee convention in return of Sri Lankans intercepted at sea: UNHCR

The United Nations refugee agency has expressed convern about the fat eof returned Sri Lankans intercepted at sea.

The United Nations refugee agency has expressed concern about the fate of returned Sri Lankans intercepted at sea. Photo: AFP

Michael Gordon-July 16, 2014No interviews or charges five months after death at Manus centre

The United Nations refugee agency has expressed alarm that Australia may have breached a cornerstone of the refugee convention by returning a group of asylum seekers to Sri Lanka after intercepting their boat at sea.

Volker Turk, Director of International Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said there was a serious risk that the "enhanced screening" of claims at sea fell well short of requirements for the fair processing of claims and could mean that asylum seekers were returned, or refouled, to persecution.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse with Immigration Minister Scott Morrison in Colombo at a ceremony commissioning two Australian-gifted naval patrol boats that will be deployed for preventing people smuggling operations. Photo: AFP

"You can only ensure respect for the principle of non-refoulement if you have in place proper and fair procedures that identify, with due process, who is in need of international refugee protection and who is not," he said.

In an exclusive interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Turk has also expressed concern at the fate of 153 asylum seekers who remain on board a customs vessel after their boat was intercepted and urged the Abbott government to rethink its approach.

While the world faced a displacement crisis that was "probably unprecedented since the end of the Second World War", Mr Turk said he was "absolutely" concerned about the message Australia's approach sent to the rest of the world.

Data interactive - Asylum seeker drownings since 1990

Drownings reach a grim milestone: Explore data on asylum seeker deaths at sea.

"You cannot extrapolate Australia's approach to the rest of the world because, if that was the case, you would spend an enormous amount of resources on moving people from one country to the next and keeping them in limbo.

"And that's not what we need as an international community in order to address the massive displacement problems that we face in today's world."

With almost three million refugees outside Syria and more than one million internally displaced in Iraq, Mr Turk said the agency found itself "a bit startled" by the debate in Australia.

His interview came after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison signaled that the boat still on the high seas will not drop its human cargo at Christmas Island.

Mr Morrison said the reason border protection policies were working was that "we have been adamant that, on every occasion that may present, we will apply all of the policies we have to ensure that no venture successfully reaches Australia".

Mr Turk said the imperative, in the context of the scale and complexity of the global displacement crisis, was for countries capable of showing leadership to make sure their systems were "fully in accord with international law and standards".

"When one looks at some of the trends that we have seen in Australia over the years – not just by this government, but also by the previous ones – it gives cause for concern on a number of fronts," he said.

"We have a refugee convention, it's the hallmark of our civilisation, and it's important that that convention is used in the way that it was initially intended to be used and respected in all its components.

"Quite frankly, when one looks at what's happening with those two boats . . . it does give rise to concerns whether this is in line with international law and standards."

Mr Turk also expressed concern about the failure to grant permanent residency and family reunion to those in Australia whose refugee claims have been recognised and the failure to settle any of those who have been held on Manus Island.

Of those on Manus, he said: "If they can't do it, another solution has to be found. We don't think putting people in limbo for months and years in some instances is the response."

He said the UNHCR shared Australia's concern about people smuggling and loss of life at sea, but pointed to the approach of Italy, which had rescued 64,000 asylum seekers in the Mediterranean since beginning of the year.

"What is really required is commitment to address smuggling as a criminal issue and not punish the victims of smuggling and trafficking," he said, adding that the Bali process set up to address people smuggling in the region needed to "look at protection much more forcefully", rather than being a regional deterrence framework.

His message to Australia was not to lose perspective of the global dimension and to re-examine policy to make sure the system in Australia has space for people who come in unauthorised fashion.

Waterproof: Standards

JUL 15, 2014 09:48 AM

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Canada’s drinking water standards continue to lag behind international benchmarks and are at risk of falling even farther behind, according to the findings of a special investigative report, Waterproof: Standards, released by Ecojustice in July 2014.

“There is no reason Canadians shouldn’t have the safest drinking water the world,” said Ecojustice staff lawyer and report co-author Randy Christensen. “But regulatory efforts required to create, implement and maintain strong, world-class standards are sorely lacking.”

Waterproof: Standards examined the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality — which determine the maximum allowable level of contaminants in water considered safe for human use and consumption — and compared them with corresponding frameworks in the United States, European Union, and Australia, as well as standards recommended by the World Health Organization.

The findings are troubling. While Canada has, or is tied for, the strongest standard in 24 instances, it has, or is tied for, the weakest standard for 27 substances. And in 105 other cases, Canada has no standard where at least one other comparison country does.

For instance, the standard for 2,4-D is 1.5-3 times stronger in other countries than it is in Canada. Long-term exposure to this substance, a common herbicide that can be detected in surface water across Canada, has been linked to liver, kidney and nervous system damage.

In another troubling case, Canada has no standard for styrene, a possible human carcinogen, even though it is regulated by the United States, Australia and the World Health Organization.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Canada has no microbiological water treatment standard— advanced filtration or equivalent technology — that provides protection, in addition to the microbiological water quality standards, from waterborne pathogens, such as E.coli.

“Access to clean, safe drinking water is human health and rights issue,” said Ecojustice senior scientist and report co-author Dr. Elaine MacDonald. “Without a concerted effort to improve Canada’s deficient water standards, legislators will continue to put the health of Canadians at risk and perpetuate inequity in water quality across the country, particularly in rural and First Nations communities.”

Ecojustice has identified five recommendations to address the systemic problems contributing to Canada’s weak standards and failure to update them in a timely way:

Review problem standards immediately;
Incorporate health-based objectives;
Introduce treatment standards;
Introduce a special review policy; and,
Create a national approach to drinking water standards.

These recommendations — explained in further detail in Waterproof: Standards — outline a pragmatic approach to strengthening Canada’s standards and bringing them up to par in the short-term.

“Strong, world-class standards will prevent unnecessary deaths and illnesses, reduce health care expenses and improve the quality of life of all Canadians,” Christensen said.

“It’s time for all levels of government to take action and renew their commitment to protecting our country’s most precious natural resource: drinking water.”

Canada’s Drinking Water Standards Continue to Lag Behind International Benchmarks by Maria Anderson

Honduran child migrants leave home because of poverty and violence

Children do work at a school in the violent Chamelecon neighborhood of San Pedro Sula in Honduras. (Joshua Partlow/The Washington Post)

By Joshua Partlow July 15 at 8:16 PM

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — They are coming to America because a good job here means sewing underwear in a sweatshop for $47 a week.

Honduran Child Migrants Leave Home Because of Poverty and Violence by Maria Anderson

Thousands flee as typhoon batters east Philippines, heads to Manila

Residents secures their small boat in a safer area in preparations for the strong winds brought by Typhoon Rammasun, locally name Glenda, in a coastal area of Cavite city, south of Manila July 15, 2014.

BY ROSEMARIE FRANCISCO-MANILA Tue Jul 15, 2014

(Reuters) - Thousands of people in the Philippines fled from their homes on Tuesday as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year made landfall, toppling trees and cutting power as it made its way straight towards the capital, Manila.

Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere, which killed more than 6,100 people last year, many in tsunami-like sea surges, and left millions homeless.

Typhoon Rammasun, with gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph) and sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) near its centre, hit land over Rapu-Rapu island in the eastern province of Albay, the weather bureau said.

It is expected to cross the main Luzon island at 19 kph (12 mph), with the eye of the storm likely to be over the capital before noon (0400 GMT) on Wednesday.

"The wind is very strong, we are really being battered," Joey Salceda, governor of coconut- and rice-growing Albay province said in a television interview, adding he expected high economic losses rather than casualties.

The province ordered the evacuation of low-lying and coastal areas, as well as villages at risk of landslides.

Tropical Storm Risk upgraded Rammasun to a category-three typhoon, on a scale of one to five of which five is the most severe. It is expected to bring moderate to intense rainfall of up to 20 mm per hour within its 500-km (300-mile) radius.

It is the strongest storm to threaten the country since Haiyan, a category-five "super typhoon," wiped out nearly everything in its path when it crossed over the central Philippines in November.

Rammasun was expected to bring storm surges of up to three metres (10 feet) in coastal villages, the weather bureau said.

The storm would be the first in about four years to score a direct hit on Manila and storm surges were also likely in Manila Bay.

FULL ALERT

Disaster officials said at least 300,000 people had fled from their homes in Albay province alone, and almost 6,000 ferry passengers were stranded in ports after the coast guard suspended voyages.

About 40 provinces, cities and municipalities on Luzon island, including the capital, suspended all schools and colleges. Thirty domestic and international flights were cancelled, said Alexander Pama, head of the national disaster agency.

Albay and Camarines Sur provinces declared a state of calamity, officials said, which will allow the release of funds for relief efforts.

President Benigno Aquino said the armed forces were on full alert.

"I reiterate, the objective has to be: minimize the casualties and the hardship of our people," Aquino said.

The storm will pass north of Eastern Samar and Leyte, the provinces worst hit by Haiyan, where some residents are still living in tents due to slow recovery efforts. Those areas may see heavy rain and strong winds.

Governor Miguel Villafuerte of Camarines Sur said he had asked the army to help with mandatory evacuations. But despite all the warnings, many residents were reluctant to leave home.

"We are prepared for the worst," said 67-year-old Rosemarie Poblete of Tobaco City in Albay, whose family of four lives near a river swollen by heavy rain early on Tuesday.

"We bought extra food and candles and are ready for any emergency," she told Reuters.

(This story was corrected in third paragraph to say typhoon hit Albay province, not Sorsogon)

(Additional reporting by Erik dela Cruz, Karen Lema, and Siegfrid Alegado; Editing byRobert Birsel)

Witness to a shelling: first-hand account of deadly strike on Gaza port

There is a deafening explosion, then a second. Four children are dead. Four survivors reach the safety of our hotel

Peter Beaumont

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Palestinian employees of al-Deira hotel carry a wounded boy following an Israeli military strike on the beach in Gaza. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

The retaining wall of Gaza's harbour sticks out into the Mediterranean about 100 metres from the terrace of al-Deira hotel, base to many of the journalists covering the conflict in Gaza. The first of the artillery shells came in a little after 4pm on Wednesday as I was writing on the hotel's terrace.

There is a deafening explosion as it hits a structure on the pier, a place we have seen hit before, where fishermen usually store their nets. Behind the smoke, I see four figures running, silhouettes whose legs are pumping raggedly. They clear the smoke. From their size it is clear they are a man and three young boys.

Where the harbour wall ends and the beach starts, there are a few brightly coloured tents and chairs for beach users in more peaceful times. The four figures jump on to the beach and begin running towards us and the safety of the hotel.

Only afterwards do we discover there are four others who are dead, all children, lying on the wall. I am shown a picture of one of the dead boys, his skin scorched and bruised. Their names are released later: Ahed Bakr, aged 10; Zakaria, 10; and two other boys from the Bakr family, both named Mohammad, aged 11 and nine.

The second shell catches the survivors as they reach the brightly coloured tents. As it explodes, my colleagues, now standing by the terrace wall, shout at unseen Israeli gunners who can't hear them: "They are only children."

The man makes it to the terrace first, scrambling up a steep sandy bank. A skinny man in his 30s, he groans and holds up a T-shirt already staining red with blood where he has been hit in the stomach. He faints, and as he grows pale and limp he is carried to a taxi waved down in the street.

The children are brought up next. Pulling up the T-shirt of the first boy, who looks about eight years old, we find a shrapnel hole, small and round as a pencil head, where he has been hit in the chest over the second rib. Another boy, a brother or cousin, who is uninjured, slumps by the wall of the terrace, weeping by his side.

The boy cries in pain as we clean and dress the wound, wrapping a field dressing around his chest, pressing to staunch the bleeding. He winces in pain, and he is clearly embarrassed too as a colleague checks his shorts to look for unseen femoral bleeding.

A waiter grabs a table cloth to use as a stretcher, but a photographer takes the boy in his arms to carry him to the ambulance that has arrived.

Other colleagues work on the final surviving casualty, an older boy. His arms are scuffed, and a bandage around his head barely staunches a head wound. He too is quickly carried to the ambulance.

In less than 10 minutes it is over. Even the smoke on the pier has died away, save for a last few drifting wisps.

Israel's Iron Dome Gets New Funding as Gaza Fight Intensifies

BY KATE BRANNEN-JULY 15, 2014

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has kept the country safe from the hundreds of Hamas rockets flying toward its major cities from the Gaza Strip. With fighting intensifying, Congress seems poised to give Israel and one of the United States' largest defense contractors a jolt of good news: $175 million in new American aid that will help fund an expansion of the program.

Israel's Iron Dome Gets New Funding as Gaza Fight Intensifies by Maria Anderson

Snowden confirms that Al Baghdadi was trained by MOSSAD

The former employee at the National Agency for American security, Edward Snowden, revealed that the British and American intelligence and the Mossad worked together to create the ex-EIIL or Islamic State Iraq and the Levant, according to Iranian news agency Farsnews.

Snowden confirme que Al Baghdadi a été formé par le MOSSAD

: Fri, Jul 11th, 2014

Snowden said the intelligence services of three countries, namely the United States, Britain and the Zionist entity have worked together to create a terrorist organization that is able to attract ALL extremists of the world to a one place, using a strategy called “the hornet’s nest.”

The documents of the American National Security Agency refers to “the recent implementation of an old known as the” hornet’s nest “to protect the Zionist entity PLANbritannique, and creating a religion including Islamic slogans reject any religion or faith. ”

According to documents Snowden, “The only solution for the protection of the” Jewish State “is to create an enemy near its borders, BUT the draw against Islamic states who oppose his presence.”

Leaks revealed that “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took an intensive military training for a whole year in the hands of Mossad, besides COURSES theology and master the art of speech.

Germany 'may revert to typewriters' to counter hi-tech espionage

NSA inquiry head Patrick Sensburg claims communications technology mistrusted in wake of US spying allegations

The ultimate counter-espionage tool? Photograph: Corbis

Philip Oltermann in Berlin-Tuesday 15 July 2014

German politicians are considering a return to using manual typewriters for sensitive documents in the wake of the US surveillance scandal.

The head of the Bundestag's parliamentary inquiry into NSA activity inGermany said in an interview with the Morgenmagazin TV programme that he and his colleagues were seriously thinking of ditching email completely.

Asked "Are you considering typewriters" by the interviewer on Monday night, the Christian Democrat politican Patrick Sensburg said: "As a matter of fact, we have – and not electronic models either". "Really?" the surprised interviewer checked. "Yes, no joke," Sensburg responded.

"Unlike other inquiry committees, we are investigating an ongoing situation. Intelligence activities are still going on, they are happening," said Sensburg.

Last week, Merkel's government asked the CIA's station officer in Germany to leave the country after an employee of the German intelligence agency BND confessed to passing confidential documents to the US secret service. The ongoing investigation prompted speculation that the CIA may have actively targeted the Bundestag's NSA inquiry committee.

Last year, the Russian government reportedly took similar measuresafter the extent of US electronic surveillance was revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The federal guard service, a powerful body tasked with protecting Russia's highest-ranking officials, put in an order for 20 Triumph Adler typewriters, which create unique "handwriting", that allows the source of any documents created on them to be traced.

But judging by the reaction to Sensburg's comments, manual typewriters are unlikely to be widely adopted in German political circles.

"Before I start using typewriters and burning notes after reading, I'd rather abolish the secret services," tweeted Martina Renner, an opposition member of the parliamentary committee investigating the activities of US and other intelligence agencies in Germany. Sahra Wagenknecht, Die Linke party's deputy chair, described the suggestion as grotesque.

Christian Flisek, the SPD's representative on the committee, told Spiegel Online: "This call for mechanical typewriters is making our work sound ridiculous. We live in the 21st century, where many people communicate predominantly by digital means. Effective counter-espionage works digitally too. The idea that we can protect people from surveillance by dragging them back to the typewriter is absurd."

Yet while Sensburg may regret his comments, there is little question that revelations about digital surveillance have triggered a fundamental rethink about how the German government conducts its communications.

"Above all, people are trying to stay away from technology whenever they can," wrote Die Welt. "Those concerned talk less on the phone, prefer to meet in person. More coffees are being drunk and lunches eaten together. Even the walk in the park is increasingly enjoying a revival."

Last November, in the immediate aftermath of the revelations of NSA monitoring of Merkel's mobile phone, the German government instructed its MPs to only use encrypted mobile phones for sensitive calls. The use of iPhones for intra-governmental communications is reportedly banned.

Since then, some have even questioned whether the state-of-the-art "Secusmart" encryption mobile currently used by the chancellor is safe from bugging attempts.

The Bundestag's NSA inquiry committee has found its own way of protecting itself from surveillance: before every meeting, members leave their mobiles in a metal box in an adjacent room, in which any remaining snippets of conversation are drowned out by the music of Edvard Grieg played at full blast.

NSA: Releasing Snowden Emails Would Violate His Privacy

Surveillance agency says publishing more Snowden messages would be a 'clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'

Whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks to European officials via video conference during a parliamentary hearing on mass surveillance at the European Council in Strasbourg, France, on April 8, 2014

By Steven Nelson-July 14, 2014

The National Security Agency says it can’t release emails sent by exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden to NSA officials because doing so would invade his personal privacy.

That rationale was one of several given to journalist Matthew Keys, formerly social media editor at Reuters, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request that sought emails sent from ejsnowd@nsa.ic.gov in the first five months of 2013.

Keys published the NSA’s response on Thursday. The NSA’s FOIA office, which is dealing with a significant backlog, could not immediately supply a copy to U.S. News.

Snowden has said repeatedly he raised concerns internally when he worked as an NSA contractor before he decided to leak documents that exposed the agency’s sweeping – and arguably illegal – surveillance programs.

[READ: White House Ignores 'Pardon Snowden' Petition for Full Year]

In May the NSA released one email from Snowden, in which he inquired about the relative power of executive orders and laws.

“The email did not raise allegations or concerns about wrongdoing or abuse,” the NSA said in a release. The agency said it found no emails from Snowden that expressed “other concerns or whistleblower allegations.”

Snowden condemned the release of that email as a “clearly tailored and incomplete leak,” telling The Washington Post, “The fact is that I did raise such concerns both verbally and in writing, and on multiple, continuing occasions – as I have always said, and as NSA has always denied.”

Keys’ FOIA request sought documents that might support Snowden’s claim. Instead, he received the already-released email and a list of overlapping exemptions, among those the claim that Snowden’s privacy must be protected.

[ALSO: Inexpensive, Encrypted 'Snowden Phones' Flying Off the Shelf]

“The sixth exemption of the FOIA … protects from disclosure information which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” the response said. “In balancing the public interest for the information you request against the privacy interests involved, we have determined that the privacy interests sufficiently satisfy the requirements for the application of the (b)(6) exemption.”

It’s unclear if the NSA asked Snowden for his opinion.

Ben Wizner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union representing Snowden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn't the first time the NSA has invoked Snowden's privacy interests in refusing a FOIA request. In June 2013 the agency rejected a more expansive request from Michael Morisy of MuckRock with similar language. Morisy sought Snowden's employment records and emails mentioning him, whereas Keys only sought emails sent from the former contractor.

[MORE: FBI May Seek Facebook Data for Facial Recognition]

In its response to Keys the NSA cited other FOIA exemptions, saying the emails were also protected from release because they were compiled for law enforcement purposes.

“This includes information that, if released, could interfere with enforcement proceedings, could cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, could reveal the identities of confidential sources, or would reveal law enforcement techniques and procedures,” the response said.

Additionally, “[s]ome of the withheld information was also found to be currently and properly classified” and some of the documents contain either names of intelligence employees or information concerning the agency’s activities, the response said.

Keys wrote that he intends to appeal the denial. NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether any Snowden emails are currently being reviewed for declassification.

Brazilian who turned 126 years old last week could be oldest living person

A Brazilian man aged 126 years old is thought to be oldest living man ever documented, according to reports

Jose Aguinelo dos Santos was born on July 7 1888 Photo: Matt Roper

Brazilian who turned 126 years old last week could be oldest living person Jose Aguinelo dos Santos was born on July 7 1888

By Matt Roper-15 Jul 2014

A Brazilian man whose parents were African slaves could be the oldest living person ever documented after receiving a birth cerficate showing he turned 126 last week, it was reported on Tuesday.

Jose Aguinelo dos Santos was born on July 7 1888, just two months after slavery was abolished in Brazil - the last country in the world to outlaw the trade.

Yet the batchelor, who never married or had children, still walks without a stick, eats four meals a day and has no health problems - despite smoking a packet of cigarettes a day for the last 50 years.

Jose - known simply as Ze - was apparently 26 when the First World War broke out, and already a pensioner at 65 when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne.

If the birth certificate is genuine, he would have been 52 when Brazil football legend Pele was born - and 62 when Brazil last hosted the World Cup, in 1950.

One of five children, Jose was born in a slave compound in the town of Pedra Branca in the state of Ceara, northeast Brazil.

He was among hundreds of slave families who continued to live there, even after being granted their freedom.

He later travelled south to the state of Sao Paulo, where he spent most of his life working on a coffee plantation in the town of Bauru.

Now a resident of an old people's home in the same town, Jose likes to tell jokes and sing, hates having a bath, and never misses his daily plate of rice and beans.

And he told Brazil's G1 website there is no secret to living a long life: "The truth is that you just keep getting older. You take each stage at a time.

"If I got to this age it's because I've lived a lot, that's all."

Mariana Silva, psychologist at the Vila Vicentina home, said Jose has no health problems and is so lucid he still amuses other residents by cracking one-liners.

She said: "He's one of our most with-it residents.

"He doesn't have high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure. The only medicine he takes are vitamins and a tablet to give him an appetite, which you can lose with old age.

"When he's on his own he likes to sing. None of us know the songs he sings. They're from a time no-one else remembers.

"He doesn't like to take a bath every day and it's sometimes impossible to get him to the shower. When he puts his foot down, that's it. No-one can get him in there."

Jose, who arrived at the home in 2001, received his birth certificate last month after living his entire life without any documents.

A team of experts arrived on his birth date after researching his past and interviewing him about his earliest memories, during which he was able to describe the slave compound perfectly.

The old people's home now hopes to provide conclusive evidence that he is the world's oldest man through 'Carbon-14' dating.

Jose Roberto Pires, the president of the retirement home, said they are determined to do the test even though it costs around £13,000.

But he added: "We are trying to find a way to do it without having to pay. This is very important. We believe the world's oldest ever person is living here with us, and this is the only way we can really prove it."