Report: Syrian operation can be Crime against humanity - voice of America

An image taken of uploaded images on YouTube shows hundreds of thousands of Syrian anti-government demonstrators in the floods in the streets of the central city of Hama on July 1, 2011

Amnesty International, explains the forces of Syrian security may have committed crimes against humanity during a deadly month last in a town near the Lebanese border.

Citing the evidence, the Group of accused London-based rights Syria of rounding of the scores of male residents of Talkalakh and torture, most of them, at least nine people die in custody.

In a report released Wednesday, Amnesty said that the attack appears to be part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population," which constitutes crimes against humanity.

The Group urged the United Nations Security Council to refer to the international situation in Syria to the Criminal Court.

On Tuesday, the Syrian Government forces opened fire on civilians in the Centre of the city of Hama, killing at least 11 people. The militants, said that the shooting took place after that troops tanks to the outskirts of the city in apparent preparation for assault.

In response, the residents implemented dozens of road and burned debris dams to prevent tanks ringtone now advance the city. Hama residents burning tires and garbage cans and established sand barriers and other obstacles to block the onslaught expected.

Security forces also mounted a second attack Tuesday in the Northwest of the Idlib province.

The United States and Britain urged the Syria to immediately withdraw its forces from Hama and other cities.

Reuters quoted a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry Tuesday that the call to the Security Council of the United Nations to take a stand firm against what he called "unacceptable, fierce army crackdown the Syria.".

Hama is one of the centres of opposition to the autocratic rule of 11 years President Bashar al-Assad and was the site of an anti-Assad Friday gathering that attracts hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.

Monday, soldiers sealed off the coast of the city and raided houses, one month after the withdrawal of the forces of the Government. At least 20 people were arrested in the ongoing suppression of the Syria on dissent.

Unlike its European partners and the United States, the France said that Mr. Assad has lost his legitimacy to rule. But a French campaign for their condemnation of the repression of the United Nations has met with resistance, Russian and Chinese.

But the Minister for Foreign Affairs Alain Juppe - who held talks in Moscow last week-, said Tuesday, and there are signs that Russia begins to question his policy of the Syria. Juppe said that he tried to sway his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, but that the Russia is always threatening to veto any United Nations resolution against the Syria.

Rights groups say the forces of Syrian security killed in less than 1 300 civilians since mid-March in trying to suppress the uprising against the Government. The Syrian Government said terrorist and Islamic militants have killed hundreds of security during the same period.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter
and discuss our page Facebook. Window.fbAsyncInit = function() {FB.init ({ID: "173332546055825", status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: "http://www.voanews.com/templates/facebookCustomChannel.html"});}; (function() {var e = document.createElement ('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + ' / / connect.facebook.net/en/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root') methods (e);})());

Royal Mail to invest mln $31 to fight against the cold (tiscali.co.uk)

London (Reuters) - Royal Mail has agreed to invest another 20 million pounds to help cope with a period of severe cold weather currently affecting the country.

Royal Mail said Monday that the additional investment would finance recruitment of 3,000 additional staff members and additional deliveries to support operations of Christmas.

Britain suffered its worst period of cold for many years in the last two weeks with a large part of Scotland affected by heavy snowfalls.

Use of vaccination against cholera in Haiti is now displayed as viable (International Herald Tribune)

So far, cholera vaccine has been little used in Haiti, where the disease has killed more than 2,000 people and spreads yet. However, major obstacles remain, including shortages, problems of transportation and the need to administer the vaccine several times so that it can be effective.

But the Pan American Health Organization, which represents the W.H.O. in the Western Hemisphere, learned recently that there may be one to two million doses of vaccine in the world, not only the 200,000 initially thought, Dr. Jon k. Andrus, the Pan American Deputy Director of the Organization, said Friday. "We recognize that it is time to rethink our position," he said. "We want miss an opportunity."

His organization held an expert meeting in Washington Friday next to consider buying these doses and move them to Haiti.

Even if the group is committed to move forward, no there is no quick fix. Most doses are in bulk, and it may take up to two months for loans, said Mr. Andrus. In addition, vaccines have not been tested by the W.H.O.

Also Friday, Dr. Paul Farmer, who is well known for the fight against AIDS in Haiti, has approved the widest use of vaccine he called for the establishment of stocks of emergency million doses keep cholera spread to other countries.

It has approved measures such as the central mountains of Haiti people too ill to achieve the use of antibiotics clinical, even research where moderate and rebuild networks in water and sanitation ruined by the earthquake of January.

Other experts of cholera, including a different team from Harvard Medical School, where Dr. Farmer teaches, also called for the millions of doses of stop outbreaks, as is now done with measles and influenza drug Tamiflu vaccine storage.

There are only two brands of cholera vaccine in the world: Dukoral, Sweden, which is approved by W.H.O. and costs $ 40 by dose and Shanchol, presented last year by Shantha Biotechnics India 6 $ one dose.

Well that are not approved by the World Health Organization, Shanchol was created at the international Institute for vaccines in Seoul, South Korea pursuant to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and designed to meet W.H.O..

Cholera is widespread in India Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and is estimated at more than 100 000 people per year in the region to kill. Genetic tests have shown that the outbreak of Haiti is a strain of the region.

Until very recently, cholera vaccines have been little used. Injectable old protected less than half of those who gave them and protection decreased after a few months. New vaccines are oral, making it easier to give, but they need two doses at least a week apart in adults and three children and start protecting a week later.

A spokesman for doctors without borders, fighting cholera in Haiti, said that he had no position on vaccines yet because they were not available and necessary too long to work.

Creation of a world reserve against future outbreaks is "a separate issue" response to Haiti, where doctors will complete just to die rehydrated people, Mr. Andrus said.

A building would be very expensive, but it pointed out that donors such as United States and Canada, foundations and philanthropic groups raised billions of dollars for vaccines against polio and other diseases. They could contribute to build a pool of cholera now that better vaccines are deployed, he said.