Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Philippines president Duterte admits hunting for criminals to kill
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has said he used to tour city streets on a motorcycle looking for suspected criminals to shoot dead.
The former mayor of Davao claimed he used to patrol the streets with police and blindly fire at suspects during his 20 years running the southern city.
Mr Duterte made the remarks in Cambodia while talking to expatriates about his personal mission to wipe out illegal drugs, a campaign which has led to police and unknown assailants killing thousands of people since the president took office on 30 June.
Speaking to the businessmen at the Cambodian presidential palace, Mr Duterte said: "In Davao I used to do it personally.
"Just to show to the guys (police) that if I can do it why can't you.
"And I'd go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike ... and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also.
"I was really looking for a confrontation so I could kill."
The lawyer and former state prosecutor said: "If you say I shot someone, maybe I did. I was closing my eyes because I am scared of firing a gun."
Mr Duterte, 71, has been defiant in the face of criticism from human rights groups and Barack Obama about his anti-crime tactics, saying he would not be intimidated into stopping.
"Sorry, I am not about to do that," he said.
Mr Duterte has previously been accused of running vigilante death squads in Davao which organised the killing of more than 1,000 suspected criminals, including children accused of petty crimes.
He has both denied and acknowledged involvement in the death squads.
However, he has the support of the people, having easily won the presidential election in May after promising to roll out such law and order policies across the nation.
Since he won the presidency, 2,086 people have been reported killed in anti-drug operations. More than 3,000 others have been killed in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.
Syria's Civil War Explained
Five years since the conflict began, more than 450,000 Syrians have been killed in the fighting, more than a million injured and over 12 million Syrians - half the country's prewar population - have been displaced from their homes.
In 2011, what became known as the "Arab Spring" revolts toppled Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
That March, peaceful protests erupted in Syria as well, after 15 boys were detained and tortured for having written graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. One of the boys, 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb , was killed after having been brutally tortured.
The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded to the protests by killing hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning many more. In July 2011, defectors from the military announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group aiming to overthrow the government, and Syria began to slide into civil war.
In 2011, what became known as the "Arab Spring" revolts toppled Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
That March, peaceful protests erupted in Syria as well, after 15 boys were detained and tortured for having written graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. One of the boys, 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb , was killed after having been brutally tortured.
The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded to the protests by killing hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning many more. In July 2011, defectors from the military announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group aiming to overthrow the government, and Syria began to slide into civil war.
More than 1,000 high street bank branches closed over two years
More than 1,000 high street bank branches have closed over the past two years, according to a new report from consumer group Which?
The scale of closures is attributed to the shift to online banking as well as banking services being offered at Post Offices.
But the consumer group warned that while 56% of adults used online banking last year there were still 20 million adults that did not - often those who did not use the internet or had poor broadband.
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: "Access to the services necessary to make everyday banking possible should be simple and straightforward.
"Banks can and must do a better job of working with their customers to understand their needs and those of the local community, especially when they are making changes to the services they offer or closing branches."
The research found that across the UK, 1,046 sites had shut or were due to do so in the two years from January 2015 to January 2017.
It said HSBC cut the most branches, at 321, or about a quarter of its network.
Royal Bank of Scotland - a group which includes NatWest as well as the RBS brand - closed 191 branches or about 10%.
Lloyds Banking Group - which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland - shut 180 sites or 14% of its network.
There were 132 closures at Barclays, 117 at the Co-op, 87 at Santander and 18 at TSB, the report said.
In November, banks promised to offer greater support and advice to customers faced with bank closures after a report by Professor Russel Griggs called for improvements.
HSBC, responding to the latest report, said it remained committed to a "high-quality branch network" but that visits to its branches had fallen sharply.
The British Bankers' Association said there had been a "digital revolution" in the way people manage their money.
A spokeswoman said: "This has had an inevitable impact on the use of bank branches, which has led to a number of branch closures.
"However, the decision to close a branch is never taken lightly."
The scale of closures is attributed to the shift to online banking as well as banking services being offered at Post Offices.
But the consumer group warned that while 56% of adults used online banking last year there were still 20 million adults that did not - often those who did not use the internet or had poor broadband.
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: "Access to the services necessary to make everyday banking possible should be simple and straightforward.
"Banks can and must do a better job of working with their customers to understand their needs and those of the local community, especially when they are making changes to the services they offer or closing branches."
The research found that across the UK, 1,046 sites had shut or were due to do so in the two years from January 2015 to January 2017.
It said HSBC cut the most branches, at 321, or about a quarter of its network.
Royal Bank of Scotland - a group which includes NatWest as well as the RBS brand - closed 191 branches or about 10%.
Lloyds Banking Group - which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland - shut 180 sites or 14% of its network.
There were 132 closures at Barclays, 117 at the Co-op, 87 at Santander and 18 at TSB, the report said.
In November, banks promised to offer greater support and advice to customers faced with bank closures after a report by Professor Russel Griggs called for improvements.
HSBC, responding to the latest report, said it remained committed to a "high-quality branch network" but that visits to its branches had fallen sharply.
The British Bankers' Association said there had been a "digital revolution" in the way people manage their money.
A spokeswoman said: "This has had an inevitable impact on the use of bank branches, which has led to a number of branch closures.
"However, the decision to close a branch is never taken lightly."
Ministers approve 6% hike in council tax bills to help fund social care
Local authorities will be allowed to raise council tax bills by 6% over the next two years to help raise cash for social care in local communities, Sky News has learnt.
Hi Ministers are expected to announce the measure on Thursday in a bid to plug the funding gap in care services for the elderly and disabled.
Under the plans, local authorities will be able to accelerate council tax increases already pencilled in for this parliament by the former chancellor George Osborne.
Mr Osborne announced in November 2015 that councils would be able to raise council tax by 2% a year between 2016/17 to 2019/2020 to raise almost £2bn in social care. But under the new proposals, councils are expected to be allowed to front-load those planned increases to bring in more money sooner.
Senior government sources told Sky that councils will be allowed to add 3% to council tax bills next year and a further 3% the year after as long as the money is spent on social care.
This could see the average council tax bill rise by nearly £100 over the next two years: a 3% increase to the average Band D property bill of £1,530 (2016/17) amounts to £45.80 a year.
Under Mr Osborne's original plan the average council tax bill would have gone up by 2% a year over three years to 2019/20 - an average of about £30 a year.
The Treasury has been looking at this policy for a number of weeks and wanted to announce the measures in the Autumn Statement. But Number 10 blocked the move, saying the Prime Minister needed more time to look at the options amid concerns that accelerating council tax hikes would run counter to Theresa May's commitment to help the 'just-about-managing' families.
While the Government will allow councils to accelerate the planned increases announced under George Osborne across the parliament, they will not be allowed additional revenue raising powers.
A Government source said giving councils more revenue-raising abilities would enable them to plug the short-term gap in social care funding, but acknowledged a longer term solution would be needed to deal with the emerging social care funding crisis.
The Government figure acknowledged that council tax rises were only a partial solution, given that poorer or less populated areas of the country find it harder to raise as much money as wealthier and more populated parts of the UK, which is in turn opening up growing divisions in provision in different parts of the country.
One area the Government will look to do more on is the integration between local authority social care and NHS services in an effort to avoid duplication and find efficiencies.
Social care funding has fallen by 9% in real terms over the past five years, with local government blaming it on the cuts in their funding from central government. This has had a knock-on effect for the NHS with old and frail patients increasingly being admitted to hospital because of a lack of community provision.
Councils have warned that even if every local authority imposed the maximum extra levy, social care will still face a funding gap of at least £2.6bn by 2020.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman and the former care minister, has called for a cross-party commission on social care to ask the public how much they are prepared the fund the service.
Hi Ministers are expected to announce the measure on Thursday in a bid to plug the funding gap in care services for the elderly and disabled.
Under the plans, local authorities will be able to accelerate council tax increases already pencilled in for this parliament by the former chancellor George Osborne.
Mr Osborne announced in November 2015 that councils would be able to raise council tax by 2% a year between 2016/17 to 2019/2020 to raise almost £2bn in social care. But under the new proposals, councils are expected to be allowed to front-load those planned increases to bring in more money sooner.
Senior government sources told Sky that councils will be allowed to add 3% to council tax bills next year and a further 3% the year after as long as the money is spent on social care.
This could see the average council tax bill rise by nearly £100 over the next two years: a 3% increase to the average Band D property bill of £1,530 (2016/17) amounts to £45.80 a year.
Under Mr Osborne's original plan the average council tax bill would have gone up by 2% a year over three years to 2019/20 - an average of about £30 a year.
The Treasury has been looking at this policy for a number of weeks and wanted to announce the measures in the Autumn Statement. But Number 10 blocked the move, saying the Prime Minister needed more time to look at the options amid concerns that accelerating council tax hikes would run counter to Theresa May's commitment to help the 'just-about-managing' families.
While the Government will allow councils to accelerate the planned increases announced under George Osborne across the parliament, they will not be allowed additional revenue raising powers.
A Government source said giving councils more revenue-raising abilities would enable them to plug the short-term gap in social care funding, but acknowledged a longer term solution would be needed to deal with the emerging social care funding crisis.
The Government figure acknowledged that council tax rises were only a partial solution, given that poorer or less populated areas of the country find it harder to raise as much money as wealthier and more populated parts of the UK, which is in turn opening up growing divisions in provision in different parts of the country.
One area the Government will look to do more on is the integration between local authority social care and NHS services in an effort to avoid duplication and find efficiencies.
Social care funding has fallen by 9% in real terms over the past five years, with local government blaming it on the cuts in their funding from central government. This has had a knock-on effect for the NHS with old and frail patients increasingly being admitted to hospital because of a lack of community provision.
Councils have warned that even if every local authority imposed the maximum extra levy, social care will still face a funding gap of at least £2.6bn by 2020.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman and the former care minister, has called for a cross-party commission on social care to ask the public how much they are prepared the fund the service.
'Have you no shame?' US envoy lashes out at Syria and Russia over Aleppo
The US ambassador to the UN has lashed out at the Syrian government, and its allies Russia and Iran, saying they bear the responsibility for the "carnage" in Aleppo.
Speaking during an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Samantha Power used strong language as she addressed her counterparts directly.
"To the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, three member states behind the conquest of and carnage in Aleppo: you bear responsibility for these atrocities," she said.
"Is there literally nothing that can shame you?
"Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin?"
:: Aleppo under siege: A timeline
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting he had received "credible reports" of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.
UN officials had said earlier that civilians were being shot "on the spot" and in their homes.
"It is your noose," Ms Power said.
"Three member states of the UN contributing to a noose around civilians. It should shame you. Instead, by all appearances, it is emboldening you. You are plotting your next assault. Are you truly incapable of shame?"
In a tense climate, where insults often replaced diplomacy, the Russian ambassador said Ms Power was behaving "like Mother Theresa" and accused the US, UK and France of distributing fake news about the crisis.
Russia, Bashar al Assad's closest ally, has vetoed the last six UN resolutions aimed at easing the dire situation in Aleppo.
Syria's UN ambassador hailed "the liberation of Aleppo" from "terrorists" who controlled the east of the city.
Bashar Jaafari told the meeting that he "firmly and 100%" rejected allegations that Syria has been committing "acts of revenge, summary executions and terror" against civilians.
France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre, whose country had requested the emergency meeting along with the US, said "war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity are committed on a daily basis in Aleppo."
Speaking during an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Samantha Power used strong language as she addressed her counterparts directly.
"To the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, three member states behind the conquest of and carnage in Aleppo: you bear responsibility for these atrocities," she said.
"Is there literally nothing that can shame you?
"Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin?"
:: Aleppo under siege: A timeline
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting he had received "credible reports" of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.
UN officials had said earlier that civilians were being shot "on the spot" and in their homes.
"It is your noose," Ms Power said.
"Three member states of the UN contributing to a noose around civilians. It should shame you. Instead, by all appearances, it is emboldening you. You are plotting your next assault. Are you truly incapable of shame?"
In a tense climate, where insults often replaced diplomacy, the Russian ambassador said Ms Power was behaving "like Mother Theresa" and accused the US, UK and France of distributing fake news about the crisis.
Russia, Bashar al Assad's closest ally, has vetoed the last six UN resolutions aimed at easing the dire situation in Aleppo.
Syria's UN ambassador hailed "the liberation of Aleppo" from "terrorists" who controlled the east of the city.
Bashar Jaafari told the meeting that he "firmly and 100%" rejected allegations that Syria has been committing "acts of revenge, summary executions and terror" against civilians.
France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre, whose country had requested the emergency meeting along with the US, said "war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity are committed on a daily basis in Aleppo."
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
UN housing, water and sanitation experts urge Portugal to leave legacy of austerity through human rights
Portuguese
LISBON / GENEVA (13 December 2016) – Two United Nations human rights experts have expressed concern about the impact of the unprecedented economic crisis and the austerity measures on the enjoyment of the rights to housing, water and sanitation in Portugal.
At the end of a joint official visit* to the country, UN Special Rapporteurs, Léo Heller and Leilani Farha, warned about the situation of people in vulnerable situations, including the “new poor”- those who have been pushed into poverty as a result of the austerity measures.
“We visited informal settlements with deplorable housing conditions including no access to water and sanitation services, or electricity, and talked to different persons with unaffordable access to these services, inhabited mainly by Roma (ciganos) and people of African-descent” the experts underlined. “In a country like Portugal, this is hard to accept.”
During their ten-day visit, the experts met, among others, with representatives of the central government, local authorities, the Ombudsman, the Parliament as well as members of civil society organizations working on issues related to the rights to housing, water and sanitation.
Ms. Farha will submit a full report of her findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in March 2017. Mr. Heller will submit his comprehensive report to the Council in September 2017.
Human rights to water and sanitation
“Portugal can be proud of its outstanding progress in the water and sanitation sector over the last decades that have resulted in an impressive inclusion of huge part of the population to water and sanitation services of good quality,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.
“However, from the human rights lens, the so-called ‘Portuguese miracle’ in the water sector is incomplete,” Mr. Heller highlighted. “I am concerned that, while the achievements are celebrated, the most marginalized population - unemployed, retired people, migrants, and Roma (ciganos) - have been left behind.”
“I have learned the institutional complexity behind the water that flows into Portuguese households and the wastewater that flows out of them,” he added. “Tensions among relevant entities provoked by this complex arrangement may be the root cause of the situations that deserve attention under the human rights framework, particularly the affordability of services for the population that are most vulnerable.”
“The Government of Portugal must ensure affordability of water and sanitation for all by adopting different measures, such as extending the current legislative recommendation to automatic application of social tariff to all Portuguese in need,” Mr. Heller said.
“I also urge the country to adopt legislation recognizing the human rights to water and sanitation, including the explicit obligation of the local authorities and the autonomous governments,” he said. “This will be essential to ensure that individuals and groups are able to file complaints before the courts in case of rights violation.”
“The celebration of the Portuguese miracle in the water and sanitation sector is still premature.”
Right to adequate housing
“It was clear to me in my meetings with authorities that housing conditions for those in vulnerable situations is a real concern,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing.
“The question is, can the right to housing be implemented in the context of the liberalization of the housing market? In my view, this will be difficult without human rights oriented regulations and safeguards for the people in precarious economic situations,” Ms. Farha said.
“Lisbon and Porto are already experiencing the effects of the beefed up tourism industry, and it has resulted in the displacement of poor tenants and lack of affordability,” she noted.
“Portugal has been a leader in the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights internationally and it has an obligation to bring this commitment and enthusiasm back to the domestic context. An essential first step would be for the government, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to adopt a National Framework Law on Housing based in international human rights, in keeping with article 65 of its Constitution,” she urged.
“At the same time, Portugal could commit to addressing street homelessness on a priority basis adopting creative solutions, and it could take immediate steps to ensure those living in informal settlements and grossly inadequate rooming houses, ilhas and other situations are re-housed in a manner consistent with international human rights obligations,” the expert stressed.
(*) Check the Special Rapporteur’s full end-of-mission statement:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21014&LangID=E
Ms. Leilani Farha (Canada) is the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. She took up her mandate in June 2014. Ms. Farha is the Executive Director of the NGO Canada without Poverty, based in Ottawa, Canada. A lawyer by training, for the past 20 years Ms. Farha has worked both internationally and domestically on the implementation of the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized groups and on the situation of people living in poverty. Learn more: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/HousingIndex.aspx
Mr. Léo Heller (Brazil) is the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, appointed in November 2014. He is a researcher in the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil and was previously Professor of the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil from 1990 to 2014. Learn more:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/SRWaterIndex.aspx
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page – Portugal: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/PTIndex.aspx
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21021&LangID=E#sthash.qIfK7tZw.dpuf
UK has worse mobile phone coverage than Albania and Peru
Albania and Peru have better mobile phone coverage than the UK, according to a report from the National Infrastructure Committee.
The report, which said there are "too many digital deserts" across the country, ranked Britain 54th in the world for 4G coverage as people can access it just 53% of the time.
The figures have prompted the NIC to call on the Government to introduce a new universal service obligation to ensure that text, talk and data are available wherever needed.
In a statement, it said the Government "must now play an active role to ensure that basic services are available wherever we live, work and travel, and our roads, railways and city centres must be made 5G ready as quickly as possible".
The successor mobile network standard to 4G is 5G, which will offer much greater speeds, although its technical details are still being worked out.
5G will be used to enable communication between many more devices, from cars to trains to streetlamps and traffic lights, as part of the so-called "internet of things".
A resilient network would be important for the development of driverless cars, for example, which will need to be in constant communication with networks.
The NIC report calls for the Government to build networks alongside key rail routes and motorways by 2025.
NIC chairman Lord Adonis said: "5G is the future - ultra-fast, and ultra-reliable it has the potential to change our lives and our economy in ways we cannot even imagine today.
"But the UK is currently languishing in the digital slow lane. 5G offers us a chance to start again and get ahead.
"If Government acts now we can ensure our major transport networks and urban centres are 5G ready in time to give British industry every chance to lead the world in exploiting its applications."
Chi Onwurah, Labour Shadow Minister for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation, called on the Government "to take responsibility for developing the digital infrastructure that will equip our economy for the future".
She said: "Improving our digital connectivity will be a huge boon for business, and enable the UK to play a leading role in the coming 4th Technological Revolution.
"After a series of connectivity setbacks, the Government is now unable to offer anything but tinkering at the edges and have missed their own connectivity targets."
The report, which said there are "too many digital deserts" across the country, ranked Britain 54th in the world for 4G coverage as people can access it just 53% of the time.
The figures have prompted the NIC to call on the Government to introduce a new universal service obligation to ensure that text, talk and data are available wherever needed.
In a statement, it said the Government "must now play an active role to ensure that basic services are available wherever we live, work and travel, and our roads, railways and city centres must be made 5G ready as quickly as possible".
The successor mobile network standard to 4G is 5G, which will offer much greater speeds, although its technical details are still being worked out.
5G will be used to enable communication between many more devices, from cars to trains to streetlamps and traffic lights, as part of the so-called "internet of things".
A resilient network would be important for the development of driverless cars, for example, which will need to be in constant communication with networks.
The NIC report calls for the Government to build networks alongside key rail routes and motorways by 2025.
NIC chairman Lord Adonis said: "5G is the future - ultra-fast, and ultra-reliable it has the potential to change our lives and our economy in ways we cannot even imagine today.
"But the UK is currently languishing in the digital slow lane. 5G offers us a chance to start again and get ahead.
"If Government acts now we can ensure our major transport networks and urban centres are 5G ready in time to give British industry every chance to lead the world in exploiting its applications."
Chi Onwurah, Labour Shadow Minister for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation, called on the Government "to take responsibility for developing the digital infrastructure that will equip our economy for the future".
She said: "Improving our digital connectivity will be a huge boon for business, and enable the UK to play a leading role in the coming 4th Technological Revolution.
"After a series of connectivity setbacks, the Government is now unable to offer anything but tinkering at the edges and have missed their own connectivity targets."
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