El mundo celebra hoy por primera vez el Día de Nelson Mandela

La fecha coincide con el 92 cumpleaños del primer presidente negro de Sudáfrica y Premio Nobel de la Paz

El primer presidente negro de Sudáfrica y símbolo de la lucha contra el apartheid cumple hoy 92 años y el mundo celebra por primera vez el Día de Nelson Mandela , que instauró la ONU el pasado noviembre. Mandela es primera persona individual a la que la ONU dedica este tipo de reconocimiento por su "contribución a la cultura de la paz y la libertad".

Mandela celebrará en familia su cumpleaños, en su casa del barrio de Houghton, en Johannesburgo, según ha informado su nieta Zwelivelile Mandela, quien explicó que 95 niños de Mvezo, el pueblo natal de su abuelo, y de la cercana ciudad de Qunu, en el sureste del país, han viajado a Johannesburgo para "pasar ese día con él".

El País

El huracán Alex beneficiará a la agricultura del noroeste de México

MÉXICO (Notimex) — A pesar de los efectos negativos del huracán Alex en algunos estados del noroeste del país, se espera que a largo plazo la producción de alimentos derivados de la agricultura se vea beneficiada, indicó la Confederación Nacional Campesina (CNC).

El presidente de la CNC, Cruz López Aguilar, detalló en un comunicado que dentro de los efectos por el huracán Alex se encuentran daños en los cultivos de Tamaulipas, Nuevo León y Coahuila.

En Coahuila se han tenido daños sobre todo en la ganadería, sin embargo, se tendrá como resultado el aumento en la producción de granos al terminar la temporada, indica el organismo.

El incremento en la producción rural se dará en la región que incluye Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora y Baja California, de acuerdo con las previsiones del titular de la CNC.

En Tamaulipas, se espera la pérdida de más de un millón 500 mil toneladas de sorgo por las inundaciones que causó Alex en un área aproximada de 300 mil hectáreas sembradas, agrega el documento.

CNN MX

Al menos 9 muertos y 9 heridos en ataques contra dos familias en Guatemala

GUATEMALA (EFE) — Al menos nueve personas fueron asesinadas y nueve más heridas de gravedad en ataques separados perpetrados en contra de dos familias, uno en el departamento norteño de Petén y el otro en la periferia oeste de la capital, informaron este domingo fuentes oficiales.

Un portavoz de la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) dijo a periodistas que el primer ataque se registró anoche en la población de San Benito, del departamento de Petén, a 300 kilómetros al norte de la capital, en donde fueron asesinados una mujer y tres menores de edad.

Según la fuente, hombres armados que se cubrían los rostros con gorros pasamontañas llegaron a la medianoche a la residencia de las víctimas y dispararon de forma indiscriminada en contra de los moradores.

Las víctimas mortales fueron identificadas como Hortensia Villafuerte, de 60 años y tres de sus nietos: Melvin, de 17; Sulman, de 12, y Sergio de 6, los tres de apellidos Pérez.

En el ataque también fueron heridos de gravedad otros tres menores.

CNN MX

World Cup, now golf: Bravo South Africa!

Trapped inside the hard, forbidding walls of his jail cell, with barely space to move, did Nelson Mandela the prisoner ever dream that things would turn out quite this well? Surely, even the world's most inspirational and famous optimist must be thrilled and perhaps a little surprised — who isn't? — that South Africa is proving to be such a shining ambassador for itself.

Talk about a country having a banner sporting year. First, hosting a football World Cup that radiated warmth and joy. Then, giving golf a new champion with an alphabet-soup name who came out of nowhere to win the British Open.

How deliciously intriguing that a player nurtured under the African sun proved best able to handle Scotland's howling gales.

Do, however, spare a thought for the engraver who had to carve "Louis Oosthuizen" onto the base of that celebrated silver trophy. Takes up more space than Tiger Woods. And yet, in four short days that transformed him from who? to the

name on everyone's lips, Oosthuizen ensured that the entire golfing world now knows that his tongue-tripping jumble of vowels and consonants is pronounced WUHST-hy-zen.

AFP

Man dies following Howth Head fall

A man has died following a fall from cliffs on Howth Head in North Dublin, Coast Guard officials said.

The alarm was raised shortly before 3pm yesterday when the Dublin Coast Guard received a call from a member of the public that someone had fallen off the cliffs on Howth Head. The caller was a tourist and wasn't sure of the exact location they were at on the cliffs.

Howth Coast Guard Patrol Boat was at the time on the water nearby and they were tasked to go to the incident to search from the water side. At the same time the Coast Guard Heights Rescue Unit and a Coast Guard Helicopter were paged to attend. Due to the uncertainty of the location a shore search was carried out along Balscadden Bay to the Bailey lighthouse.

Irish Examiner

Goldtrail holidaymakers to be flown back to Britain

Civil Aviation Authority promises flights and insurance payouts to customers of failed travel firm

Thousands of Britons who faced being stranded in Turkey and Greece after the collapse of budget travel company Goldtrail will be brought home, most of them by tomorrow, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said.

The holiday company went into administration on Friday, leaving an estimated 16,000 people abroad and tens of thousands more who have yet to travel with their holiday plans wrecked.

Seeking to reassure holidaymakers, the CAA said that most people who had booked to travel with the firm this summer would be able to claim money back "within months" and that those who had booked through a travel agent would be able to swap their trip for something similar, via the Atol (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) compensation scheme.

Jonathan Nicholson of the CAA said: "Everyone will be brought back home. The majority of people will be on the flights they would have come home on anyway. The bulk of the people abroad will be back by Monday evening. We will be having a look on Monday [at] future flying to see if we will need to merge flights. If people have to move, it is likely that they will be getting a few hours more on holiday".

Goldtrail does not own an airline. It uses other flight operators, which will be paid by the CAA, he said.

The Guardian

Pharma Revamp to Require Foreign Cash, State Commitment

Most of the customers at a drug store in northern Moscow prefer medicines made abroad because of their better reputation for quality.

"At this point, people don't trust Russian drug makers," said Larisa Bezuglaya, a pharmacist at the drug store.

Svetlana Kopteva, 34, who had just bought a bottle of French moisturizing cream, agreed, saying it didn't matter that Russian-made drugs were cheaper.

"If Russian drug makers improved the quality of their products while retaining lower prices than foreign firms, I might change my mind," she said.

The Russian government is hoping she will.

As of 2007, only one out of every five drugs purchased in Russia was produced domestically, and only one of the top 20 producers of drugs sold domestically was a Russian firm — Pharmstandart.

The Moscow Times

Saudi family robbed at gunpoint in Syria

RIYADH: Giving weight to apprehensions that Saudi holidaymakers were being targeted by robbers in Syria, another Saudi family has said that it too had been robbed there.

According to a report in Sunday’s Al-Riyadh newspaper, Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Dowaihi and his family had a miraculous escape when an armed gang shot at them during a carjacking. Al-Dowaihi complained that the Saudi Embassy in Damascus has failed to respond to his plea for help.

In an earlier report, Al-Riyadh newspaper addressed a spate of recent attacks on Saudis in Syria, including the gun attack on lawyer Bataa Al-Shamri. He was hospitalized after being shot in Syria where he had gone to spend his summer vacation. His fate was unknown.

Another Saudi was seriously wounded in a similar attack in that country a month ago. That victim later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment following his transfer to the Kingdom.

The Al-Dowaihis, the victims of the latest attack, are from Hautat Sudair, about 140 km north of Riyadh. Al-Dowaihi was driving his wife and six children on their way back from holidays in Syria when they were fired upon and robbed of the vehicle.

Arab News

Egypt says Israel, Palestinians not ready for direct peace talks

Israel and Palestinians have failed so far to create conditions for the resumption of direct peace talks, the Egyptian foreign minister said.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit attended on Sunday separate back-to-back meetings held by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

"Egypt believes there is the need for direct talks, that they are the road to reach a settlement ... but to have these direct talks, the atmosphere must be ripe and enough progress made," Gheit told reporters in Cairo.

RIA Novosti

Ahmadinejad: U.S. behind Iran suicide bombings

(CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that only U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq could be behind such bombings as the ones that struck the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan last week, state-run media reported.

"No grouping other than U.S.-backed terrorist groups which are devoid of human feelings can commit such acts," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Ahmadinejad's comments were his first public statements on Thursday's suicide bombings that killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens more.

An Iranian extremist group claimed responsibility Friday for the bombings in an announcement on the official website of Jundallah, also known as the People's Resistance Movement of Iran.

CNN

China Curbs ‘Vulgar’ Reality TV Show

BEIJING — When viewers tuned into China’s most popular dating show this spring, they saw beautiful women, brutal rejections and plenty of money worshiping, as when a female contestant was asked by a possible date whether she would like to go for a bicycle ride.

“I’d rather sit and cry in the back of a BMW,” she said.

Or when another woman, asked for a handshake, responded: “Only my boyfriend gets to hold my hand. Everyone else, 200,000 renminbi per shake,” or about $29,475.

Such witticisms made “If You Are the One,” produced by Jiangsu TV, the most watched reality television program in the country. Then the censors started watching.

Late last May, central government propaganda officials issued a directive calling the shows “vulgar” and faulting them for promoting materialism, openly discussing sexual matters and “making up false stories, thus hurting the credibility of the media”.

The New York Times

At least 50 feared dead as trains collide in West Bengal

SAINTHIA (WB): At least fifty people were feared killed as an express train hit a stationary train from behind at Sainthia station in Birbhum district of West Bengal early on Monday. 

The accident occurred at 1.54 am when 3148 down New Coochbehar-Sealdah Uttarbanga Express rammed into 3404 down Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express which was leaving platform no 4 of the station. 

Three coaches, two unreserved and a luggage van, of Vananchal Express became mangled heap of steel due to the impact of the crash which also caused the roof of one of the coaches to fly and land atop a flyover ahead, a visiting PTI correspondent saw. 

The Times of India

Curfew imposed in parts of Kashmir Valley again

SRINAGAR: Authorities imposed curfew in parts of the Valley on Sunday to prevent protests after residents of north Kashmir's Baramulla town alleged that a teenager drowned after the cops chased him a day earlier. 

Hundreds of troops patrolled streets and erected barricades to impose restrictions on the people's movement as hardline Hurriyat faction had called for a shutdown. 

Officials said the local administration was looking for Faizan Rafiq Buhroo's body when the reports last came in. He was a class XII student at Baramulla's Guru Nanak School. A police officer said restrictions were also imposed in Srinagar's old city, Maisuma, Batmaloo and Humhama to prevent violence. 

The Times of India

Four arrests in Grenoble for attempted police murder

Four people in the French city of Grenoble have been arrested for attempted murder after a riot in which police were fired on.

uspected armed robber shot dead during a police chase.

Around 15 cars were burnt out during a second night of rioting on Saturday.

Police also arrested seven people in the run-down suburb of Villeneuve for carrying weapons.

Police say a second suspected robber escaped into Villeneuve after Friday's car chase.

A gang had robbed a casino near Grenoble of more than 20,000 euros (£17,000; $26,000).

Rioters also attacked a tram with baseball bats and iron bars.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux promised to restore order when he visited the scene of the disturbances on Saturday afternoon.

BBC News

Troops to stay in Afghanistan until 2014 says minister

The government has restated a target of removing UK troops from Afghanistan by 2014.

Leaked documents to a Sunday newspaper suggested a timetable for a phased transition to Afghan forces could begin within months.

But Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said 2014 remained the target for the handover of security control to Afghan forces.

Earlier, it was revealed that aid to the country is to be increased by 40%.

During and interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the defence secretary refused to comment on the Independent on Sunday's report on an accelerated timetable for troop withdrawals.

"It has always been our aim to be successful in the mission, and the mission has always said that the Afghan national security forces would be able to deal with their own security by 2014," he said.

BBC News

America lowers the flag: Iraq's unquiet peace

At the end of next month, the United States is pulling its combat troops out of Iraq. But the country they are leaving behind is still a barely floating wreck, says Patrick Cockburn

On 14 June, this year an interpreter for the US army called Hameed al-Daraji was shot dead as he was sleeping in his house in Samarra, a city 60 miles north of Baghdad.

In some respects there was nothing strange about the killing, since 26 Iraqi civilians were murdered in different parts of the country on the same day. As well as working periodically for the Americans since 2003, Mr Daraji may have recently converted to Christianity and unwisely taken to wearing a crucifix around his neck – a gesture quite enough to make him a target in the Sunni Arab heartlands.

What made Iraqis, inured to violence though they are, pay particular attention to the murder of Mr Daraji was the identity of his killer. Arrested soon after the body was discovered, his son is reported to have confessed to his father's murder, explaining that his father's job and change of religion brought such shame on the family that there was no alternative to shooting him. A second son and Mr Daraji's nephew are also wanted for the killing and all three of the young men are alleged to have links to al-Qa'ida.

The Independent

Patch heralds new era in battle against pandemics

Scientists unveil an innovative and cheap method of delivering vaccines without the need for needles or medical experts

A revolutionary way of vaccinating against infectious diseases has been invented by scientists who have developed a skin patch containing an influenza vaccine.

The patch does away with needles and syringes and could transform the battle against future pandemics by painlessly inoculating patients with vaccines that could be sent out in the post and self-administered in the home by somebody with no medical experience.

In the developing world, the skin patches could eliminate the need for the costly medical infrastructure of mass-vaccination campaigns, which require trained medical personnel to inject vaccines, and expensive storage equipment. Skin patches also bypass the hazards of dirty needles.

The Independent

Limits to methadone prescription proposed by drugs agency

National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse wants open-ended heroin substitute use ended

Strict limits on how long drug addicts are allowed to stay on heroin substitute methadone have been proposed by the government body responsible for treatment strategy, in what will be seen as a watershed in UK drugs policy.

The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) is describing the move as a rebalancing of the system in favour of doing more to get addicts clean.

But cynics will regard the shift by the NTA, which has faced criticism and calls for it to be scrapped, as a late attempt to save itself before the coalition review of arm's-length government bodies.

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of the DrugScope charity, which represents 700 local drugs agencies, said: "A goal of avoiding open-ended prescribing through improved practice is not the same as, and should not be confused with, the setting of time limits."

An estimated 330,000 people in England and Wales are addicted to heroin, crack cocaine or both. More than 200,000 are in contact with treatment agencies, but most are "maintained" on methadone or other synthetic opiates, at a cost of £300m a year, rather than pushed towards abstaining from all drugs, whether prescribed or illegal. Strict time limits on methadone treatment would require a big expansion of residential care for addicts.

The Guardian

8 dead in Indian truck crash

New Delhi, India(CNN) -- At least eight people were killed when a truck carrying them crashed on its side in western India Sunday, police said.

About 19 others were injured in the wreck at Rajasthan state's Sikar district, according to officers.

District police chief Vikas Kumar told CNN that all passengers were returning from a family trip to a Hindu temple when the accident occurred.

Authorities suspect the truck driver lost control of the vehicle.

Deadly road accidents are common in India.

CNN

Venezuela recalls ambassador to Colombia amid dispute

(CNN) -- Venezuela recalled its ambassador to Colombia on Friday as it rejected Colombia's assertion that Colombian rebels are living in Venezuela.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the administration of outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is trying to undermine the possible normalization of relations between the two countries, which have had strained ties in recent years.

"After eight years of failed diplomacy and of militarism as the only regional policy, President Uribe leaves a country at war, a government isolated in Latin America and detached from its neighbors," the statement said.

CNN

8 die in Argentina cold snap

(CNN) -- At least eight people have died in a cold snap in Argentina in the past several days, the nation's state-run news agency reported.

Half the country is covered in snow and the capital Buenos Aires recorded its lowest temperatures in a decade on Friday, Telam reported.

Mercury fell to -1.5 degrees Celsius (29 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital, close to the coldest temperature ever recorded there.

CNN