YouTube Blocked by Governments in Turkey and China

Youtube banned in Turkey since May - article from Reporters Without Frontiers

Orders issued by three Ankara courts has blocked access to Youtube and other photosharing sites since may 2008, despite the material which sparked the controvery being removed from the sites. Youtube has also been banned this year by Pakistan , Indonesia and China.  

RedCross Newsthink! Myanmar Cyclone, Sichuan Earthquake and Gordon Ramsay

News think! brings you a look at the stories behind recent headlines. Use them as “thought for the day”, to trigger tutor time discussion, or to plan more developed citizenship projects.

Issue 15th May 2008

- High Death Toll in Two Disasters: Two devastating natural disasters have caused enormous loss of life and suffering in southern and eastern Asia.In both countries a major task for the aid effort is to reach people in remote areas. In Myanmar many people have access only to unclean water, contaminated by dead bodies, animals, human waste and industrial debris.

- Caring About Care: The expected rapid growth in the number of elderly and disabled people will put “tremendous pressure” on social services and the benefits system, according to the government. It may include services like cooking, shopping, washing, dressing and helping with going to the toilet and other personal needs. The total spend on such care for older people in England is forecast to rise from £12.7 billion to £24.1 billion in 2026.

- Lebanon Fears: Fierce fighting in the Lebanese capital Beirut has spread to other parts of the country, increasing concern for the safety of civilians.Clashes involving machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades are thought to be the worst fighting in Lebanon since 1990 when the 15-year civil war ended.

- Season’s Greetings: Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay says British restaurants should be fined if they serve imported fruit and vegetables. The celebrity chef wants to see “stringent” licensing laws and fines to make sure that fresh produce is used only in season.Critics have pointed out that many livelihoods in developing countries depend on growing and exporting fruit and vegetables.

 

Open University Blogs

     

The Open University’s Open2.net blog portal is a wealth of information and news on a huge range of subjects. Posts are topical, current and written by OU lecturing/teaching staff.

There are also links back to BBC OU programmes (some are even hosted on the BBC iPlayer if you missed them), with upcoming show lists and some free learning resources available.

RedCross - Newsthink!

News think! brings you a look at the stories behind recent headlines. Use them as “thought for the day”, to trigger tutor time discussion, or to plan more developed citizenship projects.

Issue 2nd May 2008

Austrian Cellar captives Released: A man has confessed to sexually abusing his daughter and keeping her hidden in a secret cellar for 24 years. Police say they uncovered a series of underground rooms in a house in Amstetten, north-west Austria, where a woman was held captive from the age of 18 to 42.

New Rules in Scotland for Sunbeds: Under-18s in Scotland are to be prohibited from using sunbeds and tanning booths. The ban to be introduced by the Scottish Parliament follows press reports that children as young as 10 are regularly using sunbeds. Unmanned, coin-operated tanning salons will also be outlawed.

Possible Nuclear Reactor Destroyed: An installation in the Syrian desert that was secretly destroyed by Israeli warplanes last September was a partially-built nuclear reactor, according to the United States. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it will investigate.

Fuel Shortages Avoided During Strike: A two-day strike over pensions at Britain’s third-biggest oil refinery ended without causing fuel shortages. The strike by 1,200 workers closed the Grangemouth refinery which produces a tenth of Britain’s petrol and diesel. It also led to the closure of one of the major pipelines bringing oil from the North Sea.

 

 

 

New York Times - Free Archive Access

Interested in American current affairs and maybe even 20th Century US History? 

Get access to the archives of the New York Times online.

Free article access from years 1851-1922 and from 1987-present .

College Scores Top Marks from Estyn!

See the BBC News Report here

Coleg Llandrillo Cymru based in Rhos-On-Sea, Conwy scored straight grade ones by the education inspector. The college received top marks for its teaching, student success and curriculum provision in a number of subject areas.

 

Red Cross Newsthink!

The real stories from behind the headlines

Tutors are encouraged to use these links as a “Thought for the Day” or to start a class discussion…..

Issue 4th March 2008

The UK government has said it breached the human rights of nine Iraqi prisoners who were held in a British detention centre in Basra in September 2003. The Ministry of Defence admits a “substantive breach” of Article 2 (right to life), and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The number of under-18 year olds attending UK universities is rising rapidly. There are now nearly 8,000 such students in higher education. Although most are 17, there could be up to a hundred who are under 16. The incidence is thought to have increased since anti-age-discrimination legislation came into force.

The government has backed new plans to protect children from potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games. It says it will create a UK Council on Child Internet Safety whose job will be to keep children safe online. The report by researcher Dr Tanya Byron backed by the government also recommends that new computers are sold with software to prevent children seeing harmful online content.

The government has announced the publication of the first ever National Security Strategy for the United Kingdom. It highlights what it calls “the new security challenges”, and how the government is responding to them. The strategy sets out how the military, police and security services are responding to all the security threats it knows about.

Clocks Spring Forward - 30th March

Don’t forget - the start of British Summer Time is on Sunday - all changes should be made at 1am!

Britain has been doing this for nearly a 100 years!

Find out more about the history of BST and you can even see what dates your clock will change on for the next 3 years!

Red Cross NewsThink!

The real stories from behind the headlines

Tutors are encouraged to use these links as a “Thought for the Day” or to start a class discussion…..

Issue 21st March 2008

Relief of Discovery - The discovery of Shannon Matthews was met with relief and a praise for the local police operation. Children missing for more than 3 weeks are statistically unlikely to be found alive.

Iraq humanitarian Crisis continues - The crisis in Iraq shows no let-up, according to the Red Cross. Five years after the start of the war, millions of Iraqis do not have sufficient access to clean water, sanitation and health care. More than 2,200 doctors and nurses have been killed since 2003 and over 250 kidnapped.

Action on Discrimination- The government is considering proposals to change current laws that ban employers from taking race or sex into consideration when interviewing job candidates. Under the new proposals, if candidates were equal in other respects, it might be lawful to choose someone from an under-represented group on the basis of their race or sex.

Clocks spring forward - Summer time in Britain starts officially at the end of March. Losing an hour at 1am on Sunday 30 March marks the move from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST). An Energy Saving (Daylight) Bill which would move the clocks forward one additional hour all year was rejected by the government earlier in the year.

World Water Day - 22nd March 2008

 

World Water Day Official Website and UN Website.   Click on the link for a Worldwide Water and Sanitation Fact Sheet.

Celebrate 40 years of the IRC - International Water and Sanitation Centre - helping to support and provide low-cost water supply, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries. The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaboration Council (WASH) also work to help people around the world without adequate sanitation and help us all to view water, sanitation and hygiene as an inseparable trinity for development.

Did you know that 2008 is also the ‘International Year of Sanitation’ - find out all about what happening around the world on their Sanitation Updates blog. This is also part of the UN ‘Water for Life Decade 2005-2015′ initiative.

If you have the BBC World channel check out ‘Clean Living’ in Earth Report being broadcast on Friday 14th March - 20:30, with repeats at 10:30 on Monday 17th March, 15:30 on Tuesday 18th, and 02:30 and 08:30 on Wednesday 19th.

                           

Have a look at the ‘Sanitation Library’ to find official documents.  

Check out the tips for saving water in your own home - Eartheasy, Direct Gov.,  Environment Agency.

How you can help - WaterAid.org, Justadrop.org, Charity:Water , WaterLife 

Find out more about this subject in the Library @ 333.7