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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Qatar says 13 children among dead in mall fire

Smoke rises above the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end, as a fire took hold of the upscale mall in the Qatari capital of Doha Monday May 28, 2012. Qatar's Interior Ministry said 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out at one of the Gulf state's fanciest shopping mall on Monday. The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. It includes an ice skating rink and indoor Venice-style gondola rides. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

The father of a child killed after a fire took hold of the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end is comforted in the Qatari capital of Doha Monday May 28, 2012. Qatar's Interior Ministry said 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out at one of the Gulf state's fanciest shopping mall on Monday. The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. It includes an ice skating rink and indoor Venice-style gondola rides. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

Family members of victims of a fire react in grief after a fire took hold of the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end, in the Qatari capital of Doha Monday May 28, 2012. Qatar's Interior Ministry said 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out at one of the Gulf state's fanciest shopping mall on Monday. The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. It includes an ice skating rink and indoor Venice-style gondola rides. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

A survivor of a fire receives medical attention after a fire took hold of the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end, in the Qatari capital of Doha Monday May 28, 2012. Qatar's Interior Ministry said 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out at one of the Gulf state's fanciest shopping mall on Monday. The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. It includes an ice skating rink and indoor Venice-style gondola rides. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Qatar's Interior Ministry said 13 children were among 19 people killed in a fire that broke out in one of the country's fanciest shopping malls late Monday morning, raising questions about building safety in the booming Gulf state.

At least some of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach a child care center at the Villaggio mall in the capital Doha, according to Qatar's Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.

"We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside. We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people," Sheik Abdullah told reporters in Doha.

Four of the children killed were Spanish citizens living in the small Arab emirate, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said. It did not identify the children, citing Spanish privacy regulations.

Also, a 3-year-old French child was among the victims, the deputy minister for overseas French citizens, Yamina Benguigui, said in a statement.

Two-year-old New Zealand triplets, Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes, were among the victims, according to New Zealand media reports.

"Our daughter rang. What can you say? It's absolutely devastating," the children's grandmother, Jo Turner, told Fairfax Media. "They were everything to her. She was a great mum. She was a hands-on mum."

Turner said her daughter, Jane Weekes, had lived in Qatar for about five years, although she had returned to New Zealand to give birth to the triplets. The triplets' father, Martin Weekes, is listed on his LinkedIn networking site as a senior adviser at Qatar Media Services and a former chief executive of Auckland's Eden Park sports stadium.

Four teachers and two civil defense officials were among the dead, the Qatari ministry said on its official Twitter page.

At least three of the nursery teachers were from the Philippines and died of smoke inhalation, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in Manila.

Another 17 people were injured, including four children, according to authorities. Most of those hurt were rescuers responding to the blaze. A brother of one of the dead Filipino teachers was among the injured but had recovered, Hernandez said.

Witnesses earlier reported thick black smoke pouring from the ritzy mall around midday. Amateur photos and videos posted online showed firefighters rescuing victims by climbing on the roof.

The Interior Ministry said the fire was extinguished hours later.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Thick smoke and heat hindered rescue efforts, as did a lack of floor plans and malfunctioning sprinkler systems, the ministry said on Twitter.

Sheik Abdullah said all buildings in the country abide by safety requirements, but a special committee will nonetheless be set up to monitor building safety standards.

The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. Retailers include many well-known Western brands, such as Foot Locker, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and British department store Marks & Spencer, according to the mall's website.

Malls throughout the oil-rich Arab Gulf are popular with families looking for entertainment destinations that provide relief from soaring summer temperatures. The Villaggio includes an ice skating rink, theme park, movie theater and indoor Venice-style gondola rides.

New construction projects such as the Villaggio have transformed the face of once-sleepy Doha in recent years, as the country benefits from a hydrocarbon boom. The OPEC member state is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

Qatar won the right to host soccer's 2022 World Cup a year and a half ago.

___

Associated Press writers Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Jorge Sainz in Madrid, and Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Socato ? Blog Archive ? Uganda: Early Childhood Education Is a Right

Posted: May 28th, 2012 | Author: admin | Filed under: International News | Comments Off

Since all children are rights bearers, they have a right to education and parents should ensure to deliver this right.

Research made by UNICEF quotes the African Charter, which states that the family should be accorded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community, one of which is the growth and well-being of children.

Article 5 indicates the imperative to respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and the extended family or community as provided for by local custom and legal guardians to provide, appropriate direction and guidance while promoting child rights as recognised in the present Convention.

Article 18 affirms that parents or legal guardians have the primary responsibility for promoting children?s development and well-being. The article specifies that both parents have a common responsibility in this regard. It notes that States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children. Children of working parents have the right to benefit from child care services and facilities for which they are eligible.

The right to health in Article 24 also reflects the need for appropriate measures to ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed and supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of domestic and other accidents.

Effective and appropriate measures should be taken with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children. Article 27 concerns the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child?s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

The article indicates that States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their means, should take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for children, to implement this right. In case of need, material assistance and support programmes should be provided, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.

Article 25 urges member countries to pay attention to children; put in different placements for purposes of their care, protection, and treatment of their health. Countries are required to come up with regulations to safeguard and govern this right.

Article 29 talks about the need to respect a child?s cultural identity, language, and values and preparation of the child for a responsible life. Basically this article points out the need to help the child to acquire appropriate life skills and foundations for learning and later life.

The Charter on the rights and welfare addresses issues relating to the role of parents or the family in respect of the welfare of the child.

Article 9 relates to the parents? or the guardians? role in respect of guidance and direction in the exercise of these rights regarding freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It also emphasises free participation in play, rest, leisure and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child.

Parental responsibilities should be carried out in the best interests of the child, including development, discipline, material assistance, care services and facilities while parents are at work. There is an undertaking to give parents material assistance and support programmes, including child rearing, nutrition, health, education, clothing and housing, and to assist parents and others responsible for the child in the performance of child rearing.

International commitments

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is both a right and a major contributor to development and poverty reduction. International commitment to early childhood is growing and has been underlined by a number of frameworks and conventions to which Uganda adheres. These include:

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which focuses on guaranteeing the rights of young children to survive, develop and be protected.

The 1990 World Declaration on Education for All which states that learning begins at birth and encourages the implementation of ECD.

The World Education Forum, Dakar 2000, which reaffirmed the importance of ECD in reaching basic education goals.

The UN Special Session on Children, 2002.

The Dakar Framework for Action adopted by the World Education Forum, which commits signatory nations ? of which Uganda is one ? to attain the goals pertaining to the child with emphasis on expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ratified in 1981, has several provisions which apply to the state?s role in respect of ECD. For example, in Article 5 it advocates family education which includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children.

The Millennium Development Goals do not make explicit mention of the family though their achievement requires that interventions target families and communities in their strategies to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, reduce child mortality, combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and achieve Universal Primary Education.

The Education for All (EFA) goal of ?Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children,? has particular implications for extending interventions to those children not catered for in institutional programmes.

Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognised and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills? can be seen as requiring family and community participation.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201205241267.html

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Angry Birds and PES 2012 join Skype: won't work on Windows Phones with 256MB RAM (updated)

Putting the squeeze on those hardware specifications has lead to several more app casualties on Microsoft's ever-growing mobile platform. Unfortunately, it includes one of mobile gaming's biggest hitters: Angry Birds. We gave installation a go on our own Lumia 610 and were met with the unfortunate message seen above. According to WindowsPhoneApps Spanish, it's not the only one affected by the reduction in RAM on these lower-priced smartphones. PES 2012 won't run on the lower-specced smartphone, while videocall app Tango also joins its rival Skype on the no-go list.

Update: Nokia's confirmed that Rovio is, indeed, working on an optimized version of Angry Birds for the Lumia 610, though an exact release date is still up in the air.

Angry Birds and PES 2012 join Skype: won't work on Windows Phones with 256MB RAM (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 May 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UN Security Council condemns Syria massacre

Syria blamed terrorists for the Sunday massacre of more than 100 people, including children. Washington isn't buying it. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

Updated at?6:01 p.m. ET -- The U.N. Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the Syrian government for heavy-weapons attacks on the town of Houla, the site of a massacre of at least 108 people, including many children, the council president said.
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"The Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the killings, confirmed by United Nations observers, of dozens of men, women and children and the wounding of hundreds more in the village of (Houla), near Homs, in attacks that involved a series of government artillery and tank shellings on a residential neighborhood," the non-binding statement said.
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"The Security Council also condemned the killing of civilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse," said the statement, which was read out after the council's three-hour emergency meeting by Azerbaijan's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Tofig Musayev.

Facing mounting international outrage over the killings, Syria earlier on Sunday accused rebels of carrying out the massacre.

Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, lain carefully side by side after the onslaught on Friday, triggered shock around the world and underlined the failure of a six-week-old U.N. cease-fire plan to stop the violence.

Syrian authorities blamed "terrorists" for the massacre, among the worst carnage in the 14-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which has cost about 10,000 lives.

"Women, children and old men were shot dead. This is not the hallmark of the heroic Syrian army," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdesi told reporters in Damascus.

Makdesi said Syrian security forces were in their local bases Friday when they were attacked by "hundreds of heavily armed gunmen" firing mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles, staring a nine-hour battle that killed three soldiers and wounded 16.

Opposition activists said Assad's forces shelled Houla after a protest and then clashed with fighters from the Sunni Muslim-led insurgency.

Activists say Assad's ?shabbiha' militia, loyal to an establishment dominated by members of the minority Alawite sect, then hacked dozens of the victims to death, or shot them.

Maysara al-Hilawi said he saw the bodies of six children and their parents in a ransacked house in the town.

"The Abdelrazzak family house was the first one I entered. The children's corpses were piled on top of each other, either with their throats cut or shot at close range," Hilawi, an opposition activist, said by telephone from the area.

"I helped collect more than 100 bodies in the last two days, mostly women and children. The last were six members of the al-Kurdi family. A father and his five kids. The mother is missing," he said.

Damascus protesters shot dead
Syrian forces shot dead two men on Sunday at a protest in Damascus against the killings in Houla, opposition activists said. The men's funerals also turned into demonstrations.

Footage broadcast by activists in the Damascus suburb of Yalda showed a crowd of hundreds at one of the men's funerals shouting "the people want the downfall of the regime."

Shaam News Network / AFP - Getty Images

A picture released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network allegedly shows smoke billowing following a blast targeting a Syrian security forces vehicle on the ringroad outside the Damascus Mazze district early Sunday.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss the killings.

The United Nations believes that at least 108 people were killed in?the massacre, the U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the meeting.

U.N. observers in Syria have confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired, U.N.?Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter to the Security Council.

The letter, which was obtained by Reuters, said the observers "viewed the bodies of the dead and confirmed from an examination of ordnance that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential neighborhood."

Western countries and Arab states opposed to Assad put the blame for the deaths squarely on Damascus.

The Gulf Cooperation Council of Sunni-led monarchies accused Assad's soldiers of using excessive force and urged the international community to "assume its responsibilities to halt the daily bloodshed in Syria."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke of a "heinous act perpetrated by the Syrian regime against its own civilian population" in a statement on Sunday. The head of the European parliament said it could amount to a war crime.

'Rule by murder'
"We are horrified by credible reports of targeting killing, including stabbing and ax attacks on women and children in Houla. These acts serve as a vile testament to an illegitimate regime that responds to peaceful political protest with unspeakable and inhuman brutality," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded that those who carried out the killings be held to account.

"The United States will work with the international community to intensify our pressure on Assad and his cronies, whose rule by murder and fear must come to an end," she said.

France said it would call a meeting of the Friends of Syria, a group of Western and Arab countries keen to see Assad removed.

Britain said it would summon Syria's envoy over the massacre and that it would call for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in coming days.

The United Arab Emirates requested an urgent meeting of the Arab League, whose head, Nabil Elaraby, urged the U.S. Security Council to stop the killing.

Former U.N. Secretary-General Annan is to brief the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday and is likely to be guided on who is responsible by reports from U.N. observers in Houla.

Although the cease-fire plan negotiated by Annan has failed to stop the violence, the United Nations is nearing full deployment of a 300-strong unarmed observer force meant to monitor a truce.

The plan calls for a truce, withdrawal of troops from cities and dialogue between government and opposition.

Syria calls the revolt a "terrorist" conspiracy run from abroad, a veiled reference to Sunni Muslim Gulf powers that want to see weapons provided to the insurgents.

The United Nations has accused Assad's forces and insurgents alike of grave human rights abuses, including summary executions and torture.

NBC News contributed to this report from Reuters.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Rental Property in Slough | Real Estate

Slough is located in Berkshire, 35 kilometers west of London and a few miles away from Heathrow.?The expansion of Slough in recent years has led to a number of close by settlements being absorbed and becoming outlying districts of Slough, such as Cippenham, Colnbrook, Wexham and Upton.?It is feasible to rent a wide variety of places to live in these areas, as well as in the town centre itself.
Slough town centre is modern and has benefitted from significant development over the last few years.?As well as new development in progress, for example the Heart of Slough Project, legacy facilities have benefitted from extra improvement and enhancements, for example, the Queensmere Shopping Centre.?Slough is also set to receive additional investment into the local transport infrastructure due to improvements to the train station ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.?There has been criticism, however, of the demolition of several high quality buildings including Art Deco styled commercial buildings dating from the early part of the last century.
Transport links to Slough are very good, and a frequent running rail service runs to London in one way, and to Reading in the opposite direction.?The motorway network is easily reached via the M4, including the M25 and the M40 which provides the ability to reach Oxford, Banbury and Birmingham.?Slough Trading Estate has been in operation since the early part of the last century and is an important trade and industrial location, and even has its own power generating station.?The trading estate helped Slough to survive the global recession.
For those considering property to rent in Slough?you will find a wide choice.?For those wishing to live in close proximity to the central facilities such as transport links into London, you will find a considerable number of flats to rent in Slough in the various new apartment buildings.?Slough has rapidly become a popular location for people who work in London and communiting by train to Paddington Station takes around 30 to 40 minutes dependant on the time of day.?Apartments in Slough are competitively priced and the town compares well to its neighbours in affordability and amenities.
If you are a landlord looking for a letting agents Slough is home to many who are able to assist with the renting on your behalf.

The town is also an excellent location for families and the choice of of large employers means that excellent quality housing is readily available.?If you are looking for houses to let in Slough there exists a broad choice of family homes in villages such as Langley and Cippenham Village.

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Tens of thousands protest government in Georgia

Gergian opposition supporters with Georgian and EU flags rally in the main street inTbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Sunday, May 27, 2012. Tens of thousands of people have thronged the streets of Georgia's capital to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years. The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people, was seen as a test of the opposition's public support in Tbilisi ahead of a parliamentary election in October. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Gergian opposition supporters with Georgia's and NATO flags march in the main street inTbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Sunday, May 27, 2012. Tens of thousands of people have thronged the streets of Georgia's capital to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years. The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people, was seen as a test of the opposition's public support in Tbilisi ahead of a parliamentary election in October. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Gergian opposition supporters gather on the square in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Sunday, May 27, 2012, with the column of George the Victorious in the center. Tens of thousands of people have thronged the streets of Georgia's capital to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years. The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people, was seen as a test of the opposition's public support in Tbilisi ahead of a parliamentary election in October. (AP Photo/George Abdaladze)

Gergian opposition supporters with Georgian, NATO and EU flags gather on the main square in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Sunday, May 27, 2012. Tens of thousands of people have thronged the streets of Georgia's capital to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years. The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people, was seen as a test of the opposition's public support in Tbilisi ahead of a parliamentary election in October. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Opositores al gobierno de Georgia que portan banderas nacionales y de la OTAN marchan por la calle principal de la capital Tiflis el domingo 27 de mayo de 2012. (Foto AP/Shakh Aivazov)

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) ? Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Georgia's capital on Sunday to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years.

The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people, was seen as a test of public support for the opposition ahead of a parliamentary election in October.

It also was a political coming-out party for organizer Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire businessman who is Georgia's richest man and leading philanthropist. He made his entry into politics last October, announcing that he was forming a political party with the aim of winning the parliamentary vote and assuming the post of prime minister.

Saakashvili's second and last presidential term ends in January and his future plans are unclear. He has not excluded becoming prime minister, a position that will gain additional powers under a 2010 constitutional reform that his opponents said was designed to allow Saakashvili to remain a political force after leaving the presidency. But this would bring unwelcome comparisons to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spent the past four years as prime minister to accommodate a constitutional ban on two consecutive presidential terms.

As the thousands of participants marched from three directions to join the rally on Freedom Square, they wrote their "dreams" on pieces of paper and stuffed them in sacks printed with the name of Ivanishvili's new party: Georgian Dreams.

"My dream has always been a strong and united Georgia, where people live freely and are paid what they are worth," Ivanishvili said to the crowd. "I waited for Georgia to become strong and united, but the transitional period after the gaining of independence dragged on and I decided to begin to fight this regime."

Georgia won its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and began moving closer to the West when Saakashvili became president in January 2004. He is credited with pushing through a series of political and economic reforms, but he also led the country into a disastrous war with Russia in 2008 over two breakaway Georgian republics now fully allied with Moscow and beyond Tbilisi's control.

Saakashvili weathered weeks of opposition demonstrations in 2009 demanding his resignation over his handling of the war, but the splintered opposition groups failed to coordinate and the protests fizzled out.

Ivanishvili has formed a coalition with some opposition parties but has refused to work with others, including the party led by veteran opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze.

Sunday's rally was opened by Kakha Kaladze, the former captain of Georgia's national soccer team who played for nine seasons with Milan, and it ended with a performance by Ivanishvili's eldest son, Bera, a rap musician.

Associated Press

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