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| Mensah Otabil |
By Ekow Mensah
Reverend Dr Mensah Otabil was passionate in
his prayer for the success of the Kufuor administration.
He
prayed for wisdom for the President and sometimes pleaded with God to improve
the health of President Kufuor.
There
were prayers for general improvement in the health of the national economy and
sermons about what government needs to do to succeed.
So impressed was President Kufuor with the pastoral
services of Reverend Dr Mensa Otabil, that on the seventh anniversary of the
Fourth Republic, he marched his ministers and appointees to the International
Central Gospel Church for the celebration.
President Kufuor arrived at the Church clad in
a white silky cloth and accompanied by his sweetheart Theresa.
He was given what the media described as a
deafening applause when they were usshered into the church hall for the service
marking the ninth anniversary celebration of the Fourth Republic.
In a sermon, Pastor Otabil said it was
important for Ghanaians to discern the counsel of God and the devices of man in
all their endeavours.
“The counsel that lasts is the counsel of
God”, Reverend Otabil said.
He
called on Ghanaians to begin the second year of the NPP government “with an
open, thankful, listening, willing and believing heart because the lord is
always good and with such qualities, the year 2002 will be a better one for the
nation”.
Reverend Otabil prayed to God to give
president and the Government wisdom to lead the country.
Professor Christopher Ameyaw- Ekumfi, Minister
of Education, who expressed the Governments’ appreciation to the church, said
under the leadership of President Kufuor, the country would move forward.
He appealed to all religious bodies to
continue to pray for the government to overcome the socio-economic challenges
facing the country.
Perhaps, it may be alright to ask, when did
Pastor Mensah Otabil realize that prayers don’t solve socio-economic problems?
Editorial
Hypocrisy In
The Church
Normally the church ought to be seen as a
sanctuary for the weak and the poor; a place where those who are marginalised
in the society can seek comfort and inspiration.
Unfortunately, some of the clergy have turned
the church into a den of criminals busily misusing the name of God to grab the
nearest cedi.
These days, some church leaders are only
concerned about how to get rid of their own poverty so they can join the league
of the Arabian kings.
They will lie prostrate before some
politicians and banish others into hell fire just to get more than their fair
share of the national cake.
In this bizarre enterprise, the church leaders
have not managed to be consistent.
They say one thing today and something
completely different tomorrow.
Some
of them are even telling us that prayers can no longer help in finding
solutions to national problems.
Of
course, we have always known this to be true but when it comes from the mouths
of pastors it get more interesting.
The
hypocrisy in the church is rising.
THE RISE OF THE C.P.P.
-As Told By K. A. Gbedemah, Finance Minister.
 |
| K.A Gbedemah |
The
part the Convention Peoples Party, CPP has played to bring Ghana its Independence
could fill several volumes if every detail was told. And it would be impossible
for any writer, no matter how versatile to condense this story into a short
newspaper article, without detracting seriously from its importance or denuding
it of interest.
One
event will stand out above all others in Ghana political history, and the date
of that event must therefore be accepted as possibly the most important date in
this country’s history.
The
event is the launching of the Convention People Party on June 12, 949. Only
those who are ignorant of the facts or those dishonest enough not to admit the
truth even when it stares them starkly in the face would deny that what I have
said above is true.
In
a lengthier discourse, I would have taken time to prove that what I have said
above is correct, but since this only a short article it is sufficient for me
to refer to a statement of a former British Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Condition for SG
He
stated that Britain would hand over self government when they are satisfied
that there is an organised party system, with one party in government and
another in Opposition. If this was sine-qua-non for independence, then is not
the date when the first national political party was launched a very important
date?
After
seven years of hard struggle, events have proved Kwame Nkrumah right in
launching the CPP in 1949; also the sincerity of the British as stated by the
Secretary of State, whom I have quoted above, has been proved. For immediately
after they were satisfied that a government ``with a reasonable majority’’, and
an opposition were established they named March, 6, 1957, as the date when
Ghana should be free.
And
yet Nkrumah was called “The Arch Divider” and hundreds of other unworthy names
because he had taken the right step on the road to independence. Of course those
with limited vision did not see it then and some do not now even see that we
needed well organised political parties with strong and determined leadership,
to get independence and democracy from the British colonial power.
Politically mature
So
much consternation was caused by the launch of the Convention People Party, and
so much confusion was engineered from certain quarters that the significance of
the event was not appreciated except by the politically mature. Either because
it took their breath away or cut the ground from under their feet. June 12,
1949, so disturbed some political leaders that they have not yet recovered from
their shock to join in on the Independence Celebrations.
I
do not know how many hats were lost in those days, but I have had in my house
till today, a hat left by someone, whom I cannot remember, who came to my house
where Nkrumah was then living to demonstrate with us about the “wicked” step we
had taken in breaking away and forming a party.
To
these leaders, there was “the noise of war in our camp” and fear that
“independence will be long delayed”.
BUT
INDEPENDENCE HAS COME IN SEVEN YEARS, IN SO ORDERLY A MANNER THAT IT HAS DRAWN
REPRESENTATIVES OF NATIONS FROM ALMOST EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE TO WITNESS THE
BIRTH OF GHANA. WHAT PART HAS THE CONVENTION PEOPLES PARTY PLAYED TO BRING THIS
ABOUT?
No retreat
Immediately
after the June 12, 1949, Nkrumah and we, his close associates realized that we
had taken a plunged from which there could be no retreat, cost what it may. We all
of us, realized the importance of Nkrumah’s statement, when on launching the
party; “There comes in all political struggle, rare moments, hard to
distinguish, but fatal to let slip, when all must be set on a hazard, and out
of a simple man is ordained strength”. He said then.
These
words have inspired us all the years. Out of simple men-great strength. Yes we
needed great strength indeed.
In
order to educate public opinion, Nkrumah set up the evening news; paper whose
history also requires another chapter to itself. To us, it was a weapon, and
with it we attacked and expose colonialism and the wrong that were perpetrated
against us. It was a mighty force and a weapon without which we could never
have gone very far.
Soon,
however, a spate of fines, court prosecutions for sedition, libel and contempt
of court descended on us. Almost every Editor or Manger of that paper had seen
the inside of prison since 1949.
I
got six month for publishing an article said to be force and likely to cause
alarm. Up to this day I don’t know who got alarmed after reading the said
article, but it put me out of circulation for a while at the most important time when we were busy
educating public opinion to rally round the struggle and organizing our party.
Prison alerted
One
of the greatest demonstrations ever made in this country was given in September
1949, when Nkrumah was brought up to show why he should not be jailed for
contempt of court. This, because the editor of his Sekondi paper “The Telegraph”
had published a telegraph from Abongu Duncan, representative of the
ex-servicemen’s union, on some matter of minor importance.
It
is significant that this trial did not end up by his being committed to prison
despite the fact the prison authorities have been alerted to expect his arrival
at James fort prison.
In
spite of these attacks on Nkrumah which we know were supported and sometimes
advised by the disturbed and confused political leaders, we had organised the
party in strength enough to support the Positive Action.
The provisions of the Coussey Constitution did
not satisfy our aspirations. A demand had been made for full autonomy. But the
Imperialist and their Agents had never listened nor take Nkrumah seriously. So
the workers and the common people in support of the party went on strike.
This
strike has gone down in history as Positive Action. It brought the full fury of
the colonial government on Nkrumah’s head. He and his supporters were arrested,
tried and jailed.
Fortunately
I was already “graduating”. As Nkrumah and his party leaders were coming into
jail, I was getting ready to come out.
Prison cap
On
March 2 1950, I came out wearing the prison cap. Thsi took the sting out of
imprisonment; it made martyrs of us and that was just what we needed at this
time. Wearing prison cap and going from village to village with a picture of
Nkrumah soon got the party back to life.
As
one prisoner after another was discharged, I went to the place and organised a
reception forhim.Party enthusiasm soon revived, and results begun to show.
I
came out of jail on March, 2 1950.at that time the emergency regulations were
still on. They were lifted on March 15. The head quarters of the party were
reopened, and I got together some of the Party Executives in Accra who had been
spared imprisonment. (They have since been sorry they were not jailed too).
We
held a few rallies in Accra, campaigning for the Accra Town Council elections.
On April 1, the elections were held, and the CPP won all the six seats. This
was soon followed by two elections in Cape Coast, one ,when the party won all
the Town Council Seats, and the second when the late Kwesi Plange , then 23 years of age, was returned
to the Legislative Council as member for Cape Coast.
National campaign
These
victories spared the imagination of the masses, and a country-wide campaign
begun. Soon another victory followed, when in November 1950, the party won the
Kumasi Town Council elections.
Positive
action had borne fruit.
By
now, it was quite obvious that the Party would sweep everything before it, at
the on-coming elections to the first Legislative Assembly elections.
Nkrumah
was released by the governor “as an act of grace”. In truth he not helps
releasing him. How could the leader of a victorious party be kept as a prisoner
here in a British colony?
He
was called upon to form the government. He did, and with him as leader of the
government business, five of his party members took Ministerial Office.
Then
begun the most difficult phase of the struggle. Here was Nkrumah with his Party,
still to be organised effectively for action of any sort accepting office with
his top aides. What will happen to the Party? What could happen soon begun to
be evident?
Struggle for control
The
struggle for control of the party, soon ensued between certain elements that
had also gone into prison, but could not be put up for elections to the Assembly.
This
would be disastrous, if the ideological view point begun to get blurred, so we
quickly put a stop to the threat by proposing life Chairmanship for Nkrumah at
the Easter delegates’ Conference at Saltpond in 1951.
This
was accepted by the Conference wholeheartedly. Since then most of those who had
hoped to get control of the party have deflected from the party and some of
them, I am afraid to say, shall probably never hear their names cheered and
hailed again on political platforms as they used to see and hear when they were
within the ranks of the CPP.
Steady leadership
The
leadership of the party was never flagged. We kept the party organised and
strengthened. From the date of our appointment as Minister in 1951 till today,
hardly a week-end passed without our going out either together or individually
to some part of the country for political activity of one kind or another.
With
the burden of Ministerial responsibilities and all that this entails on our
shoulders, this has not been easy, but it had to be done, and we have done it.
For proof that it had been done, the evidence, is at the two General elections
held in 1954 and 1956 the CPP won 71 seats each time.
Meanwhile,
inside Government, we had used our strength in Parliament and Cabinet to bring
about those reforms and progress which were too obviously required to bring up
the standards of living of the people.
New
and better roads, hospitals, schools and colleges, bridges, water supplies,
house – all these have been done at the cost of millions of pounds sterling. It
is true that to satisfy all not enough has been done, but certainly what has
been done is tremendous.
I
have heard it remarked before “Are big trucks made only in America? And is it
only when the CPP came to power that they started making these machines. We
have never seen the likes of such machines before then”. Unprecedented things
have happened in our time!
Also
using our position in the Cabinet we have negotiated step by step for Constitutional
change, removing all the attributes of Colonialism one after the other till
today, we have a Constitution which although it has some weaknesses, still
gives us something which can be used as the basis for democratic government in
Ghana.
(First published in
daily graphic on March, 20th 1957)
Hanna Tetteh In Algeria
 |
| Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs |
The
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana,
Hon. Hanna Tetteh Serwaah has was arrived in Algeria for an official visit at
the invitation of her Algerian counterpart, H.E. Ramtane Lamamra.
The
two day visit will offer the opportunity to assess the bilateral cooperation
between Algeria and Ghana and identify prospects to strengthen it in the spirit
of historically friendly and mutually beneficial relations between the two
countries.
The
visit will also allow both parties to work together on both regional and
international issues of common interest within the context of many challenges
facing African countries in order to ensure peace and stability on the
continent as well as its economic and social development.
The
two ministers will consider further coordination between the Algerian and
Ghanaian diplomacies within the African Union and United Nations, as well as
within the bodies the two countries belong to.
“Algeria
and Ghana are to strengthen their relations in the area of security, as both
countries face the same challenges”, the Ghanaian Foreign Minister, Hon. Hanna
Tetteh Serwaah said to the press upon her arrival at Algiers.
"Algeria
and Ghana are united by strong relations", Ms. Tetteh said stressing that
the two countries share the same values, including the fight against
colonialism. Ms. Tetteh affirmed that the cooperation between the two countries
should be in the field of security, as she declared that "whatever
threatens Ghana’s security affects Algeria also".
The
head of the Ghanaian diplomacy said that the purpose of her visit to Algiers is
to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries, adding that several
areas of cooperation such as the energy and mining sectors, health, as well as
education and culture will be discussed during this visit.
Algerian Press Service
(APS)
Algiers, 18 March 2014
“Crimea is Now Part of Russia”: Putin Signs Treaty
.jpg) |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin |
Russia and Crimea have signed treaty of accession of the
Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russian Federation following President
Putin’s address to the Parliament. Crimea and Sevastopol are joining Russia as
two separate regions, President Putin said.
The
agreement will temporarily apply from the signature date and will take effect
once ratified. Russia guarantees all peoples inhabiting Crimea and Sevastopol
the preservation of their native language and the creation of conditions for
learning and developing it, according to the agreement.
The
Kremlin said Tuesday that it now considers Crimea part of Russia following the
signing of a treaty. According to a report posted on the Kremlin website, “the
Republic of Crimea is regarded as accepted in the Russian Federation from the
date of the signing” of the relevant treaty.
Russian,
Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar will be the official
languages in Crimea, according to a relevant clause in the
agreement between Russia and the Republic of Crimea, which was posted on the
Kremlin’s official website.
Elections
to Crimea’s and Sevastopol’s government bodies will be held on the
second Sunday of September 2015, according to a treaty on Crimea’s and
Sevastopol’s accession to the Russian Federation and the formation of new
entities within it.
“Elections
to the government bodies of the Republic of Crimea and the government bodies of
Sevastopol as a city holding federal status shall be held on the second Sunday
of September 2015,” says the text of the treaty available on the Kremlin
website. Before the elections, the Crimean State Council and Sevastopol’s Legislative
Assembly will perform the functions of these government bodies, it says.
The
treaty on the inclusion of Crimea in the Russian Federation envisions a transition period, which
will last until January 1, 2015.
According
to a report posted on the Kremlin website, the purpose of this transition
period is to “settle all issues relating to the integration of new regions of
Russia [the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in the economic, financial,
credit, and legal systems of Russia, and also in the Russian public
administration system.”
“Issues relating to conscription and military
service on the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the federal-status city
of Sevastopol” will also be resolved during this transition period.
According to a treaty signed by Russia and Crimea
on the inclusion of Crimea into Russia, Russian citizens conscripted in Crimea
and Sevastopol will serve on the territory of these regions until 2016.
The Ukrainian citizens residing in Crimea become
Russian after the signing of an agreement admitting the
republic and Sevastopol as parts of Russia, unless they express their wish to
retain their current citizenship within a month.
“As of the day of the admission of the Republic
of Crimea to Russia and the formation of new Russian constituent regions, the
Ukrainian citizens and non-citizens permanently residing in the Republic of
Crimea and in the federal city of Sevastopol are recognized as Russian
citizens,” according to an agreement on the admission of Crimea and formation
as new Russian constituent regions, posted on the Kremlin’s website.
An exception will be made for persons “who within
one month from this day express their wish to retain their current (other than
Russian) citizenship for themselves and their underage children or to remain
persons without citizenship,” the document said.
Delimitation
of maritime borders in the Black Sea and in the Sea of Azov following the Crimea’s
joining Russia, will be based on international law.
This
is clear from an agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
the Crimea on the Crimea’s joining Russia and on the formation of new
constituent members within the Russian Federation, posted on the Kremlin’s
website.
“The
delimitation of the sea space in the Black Sea and in the Sea of Azov will be
based on Russia’s international agreements and on the norms and principles of
international law,” the agreement says.
“The
land border of the Republic of the Crimea adjacent to the territory of Ukraine
shall be deemed the border of the Russian Federation,” it says. The agreement
will be temporarily applied from the date of signing and will enter force from
the date of ratification.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has proposed that parliament pass a bill that accepts
Crimea and Sevastopol as parts of Russia.
“I
am submitting and asking the Federal Assembly to consider a constitutional bill
on accepting two new constituent regions as part of the Russian Federation –
the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,” Putin said in an address to
the Federal Assembly on Tuesday.
The
federal bill is being submitted based on the result of the Crimean referendum
and its people’s will, Putin said.
“The
political decision is up to Russia itself, it can only be based on the people’s
will. Only the people are its source of power,” the Russian president said.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said Russia does not want a division of Ukraine and
Crimea will stay Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar.
“I
want you to hear me, dear friends. Don’t believe those who scare you with
Russia, who are shouting that other regions will follow Crimea. We don’t want a
division of Ukraine. We don’t need that,” Putin said in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
“As
for Crimea, it has always been and it will remain Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean
Tatar,” Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly.
Germany,
whose unification Russia has supported, will also approve the aspiration of the
Russian world to restore unity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his
appeal to the Russian Federal Assembly on Tuesday.
“I
believe that Europeans, firstly Germans, will understand me,” the president
said. During the political consultations on the unification of East Germany and
West Germany “at expert, but very high levels, representatives of not all
countries, who were Germany’s allies, supported the very idea of unification,”
Putin said.
“Our
country, on the contrary, supported explicitly and sincerely the aspiration of
Germans for national unity,” he said.
“I
am certain that you have not forgotten this and I count that German citizens
will support the aspiration of the Russian world and historical Russia to
restore unity,” Putin said.
Russia
is also grateful to China and India for their stance on Ukraine and Crimea,
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his appeal to the Russian Federal
Assembly on Tuesday.
“We
treat with gratitude everyone, who approached our step in Crimea with
understanding. We are grateful to the Chinese people, whose leadership has
considered and is considering the situation concerning Ukraine and Crimea in
its entire historical and political complexity,” Putin said.
“We
highly appreciate India’s constraint and objectivity,” the Russian president
said.
President
Vladimir Putin said relations with Ukraine are of key and fundamental
importance for Russia.
“Relations
with Ukraine and its fraternal people are and will remain of key and
fundamental importance for us. It’s no exaggeration,” Putin told the Federal
Assembly on Tuesday.
Russia
did not send troops to the Crimea, but only reinforced its grouping within the
limits set by an international agreement, said President Vladimir Putin.
“It
is true that the Russian president has received the right from the upper house
of parliament to use the armed forces in Ukraine. Strictly speaking, the
president has not even used this right so far. The Russian military did not
enter Crimea. The troops were there already in compliance with an international
agreement,” he told the Federal Assembly on Tuesday.
“It
is true that we have strengthened our grouping. But I would like to make a
point everyone should know and hear: we have not even surpassed the limit of
25,000 troops – the assigned strength of our armed forces in the Crimea. There
was just no need in that,” he said.
The
referendum on independence in Crimea was conducted in strict accordance with
democratic principles and the international law, President Vladimir Putin told
the Federal Assembly, as he was welcomed by a standing ovation. Putin stressed
that the results of the referendum, in which more than 82 percent of Crimean
residents came to polling stations and more than 96 percent of those voted for
rejoining Russia, leave no room for equivocation.
He
said the history of Crimea, its cultural, religious and spiritual ties bind it
with the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, which explains the attitude Russians
have towards the peninsula.
The
president said Crimea had dark pages in its past, particularly the persecution
of Crimean Tatars and other minorities in the USSR. The authorities of Crimea
seek to recompense for those ills.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said that it is important to ensure the right of all
ethnicities in Crimea, including Crimean Tartars, and measures to complete
rehabilitation of Crimean Tartars should be taken.
There
will be three official languages – Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tartar.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin is about to make a statement on Crimea’s application
for accession to the Russian Federation.
Earlier
today, Putin has approved draft agreement to accept the Republic of Crimea as a
consitutuent entity of the Russian Federation.
President
Vladimir Putin on Monday, March 17, signed a degree recognizing the Republic of
Crimea as a sovereign and independent state.
War Looms Over Libya
 |
| Muammar Al Gaddafi |
By
Esam Mohamed
A militia commander controlling
Libya's oil terminals denounced the United States for seizing a tanker that his
militia was using to try to export oil in defiance of the country's central
government, saying Tuesday that Washington was siding with Tripoli against the
aspirations in the eastern half of the country for greater autonomy.
Ibrahim Jedran is part of a movement
demanding autonomy for eastern Libya, and last summer his militia took over
Libya's oil facilities in the east. As a result, the country's exports of its
biggest revenue earner have slowed to a trickle. This month, Jedran's militia
loaded a tanker full of more than $30 million-worth of oil at a Mediterranean
port it controls and tried to export the oil for sale for the east's coffers.
On Sunday night, U.S. Navy SEAL
commandos captured the tanker, Morning Glory, as it was anchored off the
Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The U.S. Navy is now escorting the vessel back
to Libya to hand over to the central government.
The tanker episode illustrated the
extreme weakness of Libya's government since the 2011 ouster and death of
longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Authorities in Tripoli have almost no
authority around the country, the army and police are in disarray, and multiple
militias around the country have filled the void, claiming their own power. At
the same time, the autonomy movement in the east — a region historically known
as Cyrenaica — has gained strength, building on local resentment over years of
discrimination and marginalization of the area by Tripoli.
Speaking in a televised statement
aired on his private TV network, the militia commander Jedran said Washington
was aligning with the wrong side in the dispute of Libya's regions. He said the
central authorities in Tripoli are dominated by Islamists, who hold sway in
parliament, and ignore the aspirations of the east.
"The free world should stand next
to the side of truth," Jedran said. "But today we find a super power
declaring piracy."
Jedran warned the U.S. against
handing the tanker and three eastern Libyans on board over to "the
criminal militia that rules Tripoli," adding that "such a dangerous
measure would lead to a civil war."
It is not known who the oil was to
be sold to or who owns the tanker. Jedran in his comments said it is owned by
the Libyan Company for Oil and Gas, a parallel body created by the autonomy
movement in the east to run the oil industry in its area. The Cyrenaica
autonomy movement has created a number of administrative bodies in the east
that are not recognized by Tripoli.
Jedran claims to have around 20,000
fighters under his command, originally rebel fighters who participated in the
eight-month uprising that toppled Gadhafi. After the collapse of Gadhafi's
rule, the fighters were tasked with guarding oil terminals in the east, where
most of Libya's oil infrastructure is located. After long accusing the
government of corruption and embezzlement, he moved his forces to take over the
terminals, virtually shutting down the country's previous production of 1.4
billion barrels a day. He demands investigation into corruption allegations in
oil sales, fair distribution of oil revenues among the country's three regions
— Tripoli, Cyrenaica and the southern region known as Fezzan — and a return to
the 1951 constitution, in which the country was a federation where regions had
considerable autonomy.
During the oil tanker crisis,
parliament tasked western-based militias to launch an offensive to take back
the oil facilities. After some initial clashes with Jedran's forces, the
offensive has been put on hold — but the violence deepened polarization.
Jedran benefits from the increasing
sense among the eastern population that authorities are unable to bring
stability to the country, with killings taking places almost on a daily basis
in eastern cities. Many militias in the east have Islamic extremist ideologies
and are suspected in frequent attacks on police and the military.
On Monday, a car bomb struck just
outside the gates of a military technical school in the eastern city of
Benghazi, killing nine soldiers and wounding at least others, Libya's state
news agency and officials said. Hours later, a second blast from a car bomb
rocked a central district in the city, killing one person, a security official
said.
On Tuesday, a slain Christian Iraqi
professor was found inside his car in a central city of Sirte, according to
state news agency.
The agency LANA reported that
security forces found the body of Adison Karkha, a 54-year-old medical school
professor. The agency added that motives behind the killing are unknown.
Libyan military officers say that
hard-line Islamic militias including the extremist Ansar al-Shariah have
stepped up their presence in recent months in Sirte, once Gadhafi's stronghold.
Christians appear to have been targeted in the past by radicals. Seven Egyptian
Christians were found dead last month in the eastern city of Benghazi, where
Ansar and other hard-liners groups are strong.
LANA also reported that two bodies —
apparently of African migrants — were found with their hands chopped off in
Benghazi, the main city of the east.
UN praises Iran’s fight against narcotics
 |
| Iranian President Hassan Rohani |
The
United Nations anti-narcotics chief has praised Iran’s efforts in fight drug
trafficking.
"…Iran
takes a very active role to fight against illicit drugs," Yury Fedotov,
executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told reporters
on Tuesday before an international meeting slated for March 13-14 in Vienna on
global efforts to fight illicit drugs.
Fedotov
added that nearly 390 tons of opium were seized by Iran in 2012 which is
equivalent to 72 percent of all such seizures around the world.
"It
is very impressive," he added.
The
UNODC chief further made clear that the agency would continue its drug control
programs in Iran although some countries including Britain and Denmark have
stopped in recent years providing funding for UNODC drug control programs in
the Islamic Republic.
"I
don't believe that the international community would welcome this because it
would mean, as a possible reaction from Iran, that all these huge quantities of
drugs, which are now being seized by Iranians, would flow freely to
Europe," he said.
Iran,
which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used by
smugglers as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins
in Europe.
Over
the past three decades, the country has spent millions of dollars to seal its
borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and
Central Asian countries.
The
war on drug trade, a lucrative business originating in Afghanistan, has also
claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers.
Obesity
A
new study has found a link between obesity in adolescent girls and lower
academic levels throughout their teens.
The researchers, from various universities in the UK, have published the results of their study in the International Journal of Obesity, and they say theirs is the first comprehensive study to look into the association between obesity and academics in teens.
Though the association was less clear in boys, the team says for teenage girls, the link was clear.
"Further work is needed to understand why obesity is negatively related to academic attainment, but it is clear that teenagers, parents and policymakers in education and public health should be aware of the lifelong educational and economic impact of obesity," said Professor John Reilly, principal investigator and professor at the University of Strathclyde in the UK.
To conduct their study, the team assessed data from nearly 6,000 children who were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
This included information on weight status and academic attainment, as determined by national tests at the ages of 11, 13 and 16 years old.
Overall, the results revealed that girls who were obese at age 11 had lower academic achievement at ages 11, 13 and 16 years, compared with those of a healthy weight.
Additionally, in the core subjects of English, math and science, academic performance was lower by a grade equivalent to a D instead of a C, which the researchers say was the sample's average.
Even after taking into account factors that could distort their findings, such as socio-economic status, mental health, IQ and age of onset of the menstrual cycle, the researchers found they did not change the link between obesity and academic achievement.
"There is a clear pattern which shows that girls who are in the obese range are performing more poorly than their counterparts in the healthy weight range throughout their teenage years," says Dr. Josie Booth, of the University of Dundee.
The team notes that because mental health, IQ and age of onset of the menstrual cycle did not affect the link they found, "further work is required to understand the underlying mechanisms."
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