This week Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, who will shortly be given the findings of a two-year public inquiry into one of the greatest disgraces in the history of the NHS says hospital and care home scandals are ‘not worthy of a civilised country’, and hints at tougher penalties. The Church of England has reopened discussion of the most divisive issue in Anglicanism by dropping its prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships becoming bishops and the Met Office has warned that “extreme rainfall” is becoming more frequent, something that could be connected to climate change. In New Delhi, five men have been formally charged with rape and murder in the assault of a young student last month, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has delivered a rare TV address, his first public speech for seven months, denouncing his opponents
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad first public address since June
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has delivered a TV address, denouncing his opponents as “enemies of God and puppets of the West”. Syria’s president, who appeared before cheering crowds at an opera house in the capital Damascus, has blamed Islamic extremists and “outside forces” for orchestrating the conflict in his country in a rare public address to the nation. With insurgents fighting their way closer to the seat of his power, President Bashar al Assad spoke about the latest developments and “suffering” of the people in the civil war, saying a “black cloud” of pain engulfed every corner of the country.
Mr Assad said “we are now in a state of war in every sense of the word,” and called for a “full national mobilisation” to fight against the rebels, whom he branded al Qaeda “terrorists” and “murderous criminals”. While outlining proposals for what he described as a peace plan including a new constitution and amnesty, there was no suggestion of him relinquishing his power. Mr Assad asserted the government and army would continue military operations against opposition groups stating however that change must come through constitutional means, appealing for dialogue once the fighting had ended.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) quickly dismissed Mr Assad’s proposals. Spokesman Walid Bunni told Reuters no solution could be accepted that did not include the departure of Mr Assad and his government. The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which began in March 2011.
Care failings are betrayal of NHS values, says Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt, the recently appointed health secretary, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, has said “proper accountability” was needed in the health service. Mr Hunt was writing ahead of a report into malpractice and neglect at Stafford Hospital, which is expected to be published within months. Up to 1,200 patients are thought to have died unnecessarily there. Ahead of its report, Mr Hunt called for “total openness and transparency when things go wrong”, and a change of culture to give greater priority to compassion. “Just as a manager wouldn’t expect to keep their job if they lost control of their finances nor should they expect to keep it if they lose control of the care in their organisation either,” he went on.
Even the likes of Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS, might be in the firing line when the Mid Staffordshire report is published. Sir David had already conceded that NHS’s managers “lost the plot” in the past few years, because they were to buried in the detail of complicated reforms. The Patients’ Association backed Mr Hunt’s comments, saying “managers and boards must be held accountable for what goes on within their trusts and the appropriate action must be taken”.
Church of England drops opposition to gay bishops in civil partnerships
The Church of England has agreed that gay clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops so long as they remain sexually abstinent, a decision that looks likely to reignite one of the Anglican community’s most bitter internal debates. In a statement on behalf of the House of Bishops, the Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich said: “The House has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate office of Bishop.” The issue has split the church since 2003 amid a row over gay cleric Jeffrey John becoming Bishop of Reading and the decision has prompted criticism from both liberals and traditionalists.
The Rev Colin Coward, director of the Changing Attitude group, which campaigns for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the Church, said the statement “will be laughed at by the majority in this country,” and added that insisting on celibacy was wrong. Conservative evangelicals denounced the concession outright and insisted that few people believed clergy in civil partnerships were genuinely celibate.
In a statement, Michael Lawson, chairman of the Evangelical Council of the Church of England, a traditionalist group which promotes Church heritage, said: “At the very least [it] will spread confusion and at worst will be taken as an effort to conform to the spirit of the age.” The Church of England, is already under pressure after voting narrowly last November to maintain a ban on women becoming bishops. Rod Thomas, chairman of the conservative evangelical group Reform, said the church’s move on gay bishops would provoke further dispute. “It will be much more divisive than what we have seen over women bishops. If you thought that was a furore, wait to see what will happen the first time a bishop in a civil partnership is appointed,” he told BBC television.
Five Men Charged In India Gang-Rape And Murder Case
Indian authorities have charged five men with the kidnap, gang rape and murder of a woman in Delhi last month. The woman, a university student, had boarded a bus in New Delhi with a male companion when her attackers raped her, and beat her and her companion repeatedly with iron rods, according to authorities. The victims allegedly were then thrown off the bus, naked and unconscious, onto the roadside. If convicted of the rape and murder of the 23-year-old woman, who died of severe internal injuries, the five men could be handed the death penalty. A sixth suspect is likely to be tried in a juvenile court.
The victim’s father said he backed calls for the men to be executed if found guilty. “The whole country is demanding that these monsters be hanged. I am with them,” he told reporters at his home in Uttar Pradesh state.
Rapes are often routinely described in India’s press, though many more attacks go unreported to the public or the police. The case has prompted tough talk by lawmakers, several of whom are calling for tougher laws, including the death penalty and chemical castration for rapists. They are also examining reforms in the criminal justice system’s handling of sexual assaults. The UN’s human-rights chief has called rape in India a “national problem” and activists say the tragedy could mark a turning point for women’s rights.
Is climate change to blame for extreme rainfall?
The frequency of extreme rainfall in the UK may be increasing, according to analysis by the Met Office. Britain endured its second wettest year on record in 2012 and the Met Office has warned that “extreme rainfall” is becoming more frequent, something that could be connected to climate change.
Although the first few months of last year were dry, the rest of 2012 was a washout, and by the end of December the total rainfall stood at 1330.7mm, just 6.6mm off the record set in 2000. Four of the five wettest years since records began in 1910 have occurred since the turn of the century.
The phenomenon of more frequent downpours has already been noted elsewhere, particularly in China and India. Scientists say that as the world has warmed by 0.7C, the atmosphere is able to hold 4% more moisture, which means more potential rain. The change in the UK trend is slight, but if the trend is confirmed it will clearly increase the risk of flooding.
Image Credits: bbc.co.uk, guardian.co.uk