Wednesday, March 4, 2020

On Sunday in Argentina’s National Congress, President of Argentina Alberto Fernández announced he is to send a bill to the congress in the next ten days which aims to legalise abortion of human pregnancy. The president had previously called it “a matter of public health”.

“[W]ithin the next 10 days, I will present a bill for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy that legalises abortion at the initial time of pregnancy and allows women to access the health system when they make the decision to abort”, Fernández said. Thousands of people had gathered outside the National Congress with slogans supporting the legalisation of abortion of pregnancy.

Abortion of pregnancy is currently illegal in the Catholic-majority country, and is permitted only in two cases: if the pregnancy was a product of rape, or if it poses a risk to the woman. Fernández said the law has “condemned many women, generally of limited resources, to resort to abortive practices in absolute secrecy, putting their health and sometimes their lives at risk”.

Estimates by the Argentinian government state about 350 thousand illegal abortions are carried out in the country each year. Illegal abortion is a crime punishable with a prison term in the Latin American country since 1921. Saying “there are many abortions despite the criminal threat” ^{((es))Spanish language: ?hay muchos abortos pese a la amenaza penal}, President Fernández elaborated, “A state that is present must protect citizens in general and obviously women in particular. And in the 21st Century, every society needs to respect the individual choice of its members to decide freely about their bodies ^{((es))Spanish language: ?En el siglo XXI, toda sociedad necesita respetar la decisión individual de sus miembros para disponer libremente de sus cuerpos}“.

Following the president’s announcements, the director of Argentina’s Amnesty International, Mariela Belski, said the president had “heard the demands of women, adolescents and girls”.

The proceedings of the abortion rights was criticised by archbishop Monsenor Jorge Eduardo Scheinig. Calling it a “culture of death” the archbishop said “We need to pray so that in Argentina, the yes to life is stronger than death.”

Uruguay, Guyana and Cuba are the other Latin American countries where abortion during the early weeks of pregnancy is legal. Back in 2018, the Argentine congress approved a bill legalising abortion, but it was dismissed by the senate.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

The sale of the BBC subsidiary BBC Resources Ltd., has hit a hurdle after it emerged that the BBC could be left with a loss of up to £15 million on the deal. The cost of transferring the pensions of BBC Resources staff from the BBC pension scheme to its new owners could be up to £50 million according to a Guardian Newspaper report.

Managers from the division will meet with union representatives from BECTU on Monday to discuss this and related sale issues. BECTU general secretary, Gerry Morrissey is quoted as saying: “If the BBC gets less than £50 million for BBC Resources then how can it fulfil [sic] its duty of care to licence fee payers?”

It is believed that the BBC had hoped that a surplus in its pension fund could be used to bridge the possible £50 million gap — but the trustees of the fund have said “no”. A BBC source said: “This is being discussed at the highest level”.

Since April 2004 members of the BBC pension scheme have seen their contributions into it increase regularly, the BBC — like many other employers — having reduced its contribution (to 4.5% of payroll) over a ten year period when the stock market was booming in the 1990s.

The Guardian is seen as a reliable source on BBC matters, having reported the proposed sale of BBC Television Centre back in January 2007, with the formal announcement finally being made by BBC Director General Mark Thompson on October 18, 2007.

The Resources business-to-business unit was formed in 1998 and operates television studios, post-production and outside broadcast facilities for it’s parent share-holding company, the BBC. It does not own any studios or premises, its assets being staff and equipment.

Advertised for sale on 16th August in the Financial Times, The Times and Broadcast and last year making profits of £5.2 million with a revenue of £126 million, the disposal — led by Ernst & Young — invited expressions of interest for the whole division or for each of its three operations separately. The BBC has yet to release the names of the short-listed companies.

BBC Resources was the first of the BBC’s commercial business-to-business divisions to be set up as a limited company and will be the last to be sold, the BBC having previously divested itself of BBC Technology and BBC Broadcast — BBC Worldwide, formerly BBC Enterprises, will remain in-house as it earns revenue from the archive, media and licensing of products — in the year to 31 March 2007 Worldwide had a turnover of £810.4 million, generating profits of £111 million.

The BBC wants to use any money raised to be put into international commercial expansion and content, most probably through Worldwide.

It had been intended to float Resources back in 2005, but this was postponed for two years following strike action and ACAS talks in June 2005 — the BBC giving an undertaking that there would be no preparations made to sell the company until January 2007, and no sale allowed before July of this year. The current time-scale would see its disposal by the end of the current financial year in March 2008.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

India won the final match of the recent cricket series. Yuvraj Singh made a unbeaten 107 (93b, 15×4)helping India’s , chasing 287, achieved with 19 deliveries remaining on a good batting pitch. India have clinched the Hutch Cup ODI series 4-1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (77 not out, 56b, 6×4, 4×6) was another important contributor to the Indian Innings.

The Pakistani bowling, apart from a probing spell from paceman Rao Iftekar Anjum, was made to look ordinary. The Pakistani fielding let the side down again. Mohammed Sami lost the ball twice. When on 64, Yuvraj was put down at covers by Shoaib Malik.

India preferred to rest Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan. Tendulkar carried the drinks, indicating that in this Indian side experience and youth blended into one.

In Tendulkar’s absence, Rahul Dravid opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir.

The left-handed Gambhir sparkled with a few pick-up shots on the leg-side; this also showed Pakistan’s pacemen were not bowling the right line.

Mohammed Asif has not been a big factor in the ODIs since the away going delivery is a lesser weapon in this variety of the game, especially if a side is bowling in the afternoon. It was his two-way movement that made him so dangerous in Tests.

Gambhir once again wasted a start, but the opening pair had, importantly, raised 69. Dravid’s 50 (6×4) might have consumed 82 deliveries, but he made sure that, in the absence of Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar, the Indians had enough wickets in hand before they began the final onslaught. The chase was splendidly orchestrated.

It was Sreesanth who dented Pakistan in the morning after Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar shared the new ball. The Kerala paceman, who is learning fast, cut down on his pace realising that there was not too much assistance for him from the wicket. He struck thrice and Pakistan, from 62 without loss, slumped to 77 for three. In the context of the match, Sreesanth’s spell of 5-1-25-3 was crucial. Both Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal, after putting together 62, fell to pull shots, and Shoaib Malik steered right into Suresh Raina’s hands at gully. There is fluency about Sreesanth’s run-up and action that is hard to ignore, and he did bowl well at the death, swinging the ball into the right-hander.

And off-spinner Ramesh Powar won a leg-before decision against an ominous looking Inzamam on the sweep; the delivery drifted into the right-hander from outside the off-stump and then straightened.

Pakistan recovered through a strokeful fifth-wicket stand of 95 in 110 balls between Mohammad Yousuf (67, 85b, 6×4) and vice-captain Younis Khan (74 not out, 79b, 3×4, 2×6). Yousuf appeared set for his hundred when he flicked Ajit Agarkar into Zaheer Khan at mid-wicket.

Abdul Razzaq biffed a 15-ball 24 before miscuing a pull of R.P. Singh, but Pakistan lost some momentum towards the end. However, the 18 runs off the last six balls by Zaheer came in handy for the side; Younis twice smote the left-armer over the mid-wicket ropes.

The bowlers, backed by aggressive fielding, had performed a fair job, under the conditions.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

On Tuesday, an interim ceasefire between Israel and the armed factions in Gaza was broken again, ending the talks between the delegations of both sides in Cairo before a long term agreement could be achieved.

The armed factions in Gaza renewed their rocket launching into Israel, while Israel renewed its targeted bombings in the Gaza Strip, including an apparent attempt to kill Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, collectively resulting according to Hamas in at least nineteen Palestinian deaths. Reportedly at least 80 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since Tuesday and sirens were heard in many areas across Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas’ exiled deputy leader, announced on Facebook Israel had tried to kill Mohammed Deif, Hamas military chief since 2002, and “The wife of the great leader was martyred with his daughter”. Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar commented on the event to Israeli Army Radio, “Mohammed Deif deserves to die just like bin Laden. He is an arch murderer, and as long as we have an opportunity, we will try to kill him”. Reports suggest Deif already suffered from a number of disabilities caused by earlier Israeli assassination attempts.