UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Chad easily won coveted seats on the U.N. Security Council Thursday, despite criticism from human rights groups. Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile also won seats.
The five candidates endorsed by regional groups faced no opposition after there were no contested races for the first time in several years.
The countries were elected in the first round of voting by the 193-member General Assembly. Lithuania was the top vote-getter with 187 votes followed by Nigeria and Chile with 186 votes, Chad with 184 votes and Saudi Arabia with 176 votes.
Security Council seats are highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security, in places like Syria, Iran and North Korea, as well as the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeeping operations.
The 15-member council includes five permanent members with veto power — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and 10 nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.
The five countries elected Thursday will assume their posts on Jan. 1 and serve through the end of 2015. They will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.
Philippe Bolopion, United Nations director for Human Rights Watch, denounced the election of Chad, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
"The prestige of a seat at the world's foremost diplomatic table should prompt the new members to get their house in order," he said.
"Chad should put an end to the recruitment of child soldiers, which earned it a spot on the U.N. list of shame," he said. "Saudi Arabia should end its crackdown on human rights activists and grant women their full rights."
Bolopion also criticized Nigeria, saying it should "end chronic abuse by security forces and better protect civilians in the north" from attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist network.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch, accused Saudi Arabia of denying women the right to vote, drive a car or travel without the permission of a male relative. He also accused it of "praising and shielding Sudan" whose president, Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Neuer said Chad should not have oversight on U.N. peacekeeping operations as long it employs child soldiers.
Chad, Saudi Arabia and Lithuania have never served on the U.N.'s most powerful body while Nigeria and Chile have both been on the council four times previously.
Seats in the Security Council are allocated by region, and regional groups nominate candidates. There are often hotly contested races. In 2007, for example, a runoff between Guatemala and Venezuela went 47 rounds before Panama was finally elected as the Latin America candidate.
This year, there were initially two candidates for a West African seat but Gambia dropped out last week in favor of Nigeria.
To win, each country must obtain support of two-thirds of all General Assembly members present. Because balloting is secret, there is intense lobbying for votes by candidates, even in uncontested races, to ensure they get the minimum number needed for victory — and to see who gets the highest vote.
• Eminem is 41, Chris Kirkpatrick of ‘N Sync is 42, Ziggy Marley is 45, Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead) is 51 and Margot Kidder (Superman) is 65 years old. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women who exercise regularly and don't smoke may have a substantially lower risk of late-life disability than their peers with less-healthy habits, say UK researchers.
They found that among women in their 60s and 70s, behaviors like smoking, drinking and exercise could account for up to 17 percent of a woman's risk for disabling conditions like heart disease, arthritis and difficulty walking.
"We set out to quantify the influence of current lifestyle on subsequent disability," Lois Kim, lead author of the study and lecturer in medical statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Reuters Health.
More than 2,500 British women between the ages of 60 and 79 filled out surveys as part of the British Women's Heart and Health Study. The questionnaires asked about the women's smoking, exercise, alcohol consumption and eating habits. Seven years later, the women reported on whether they had developed any of several disabling health problems.
The study found that women who never exercised were about twice as likely to get arthritis and had about double the risk of developing problems walking; they were also more likely to develop heart disease.
Women who smoked currently or in the past also developed heart disease at more than twice the rate of those who had never smoked.
"This study provides more information - more ammunition - in support of the benefits of exercise as we age," said David Watts, an associate professor of geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the study.
"We know from other work that exercise is the most proven intervention to prevent not only physical decline, but also the cognitive decline so often associated with aging," he said.
The study found no influence on disability from eating fruit, and only a slight benefit from moderate alcohol consumption, but that effect was small enough to be due to chance.
Together, the four lifestyle factors analyzed explained 17 percent of a woman's overall risk for disabling conditions at the seven-year follow-up, the researchers report in the journal Age and Ageing.
Exercise alone accounted for 9 percent of the risk for walking problems, 5 percent of heart disease risk and 4 percent of arthritis risk, they note. They also acknowledge those numbers mean behavior changes in old age might make a relatively small difference in disability risk.
Watts cautioned as well that the study "does not answer the question as to whether healthy habits need to be continued lifelong. That is, can you start exercising at age sixty, or do you need to start much earlier to get a benefit?"
Other research and common sense would suggest "that a lifelong commitment to exercise is probably most beneficial," he added.
It's possible that the women who did not exercise at the first survey did not do so because they had pain or other limitations, and therefore may already have been "headed for higher rates of disability," Watts noted.
Watts agreed with other researchers, however, that healthy habits are important for long-term wellbeing and they have few drawbacks.
Recommendations to eat well and exercise "are generally safe and inexpensive, and likely have benefits on multiple mental health status, cognition, and cancer risks," said Terri McCarthy, an assistant professor of geriatrics at the University of Minnesota, who also was not involved in the study.
Getting older shouldn't discourage people from adopting new habits, which may be beneficial even if adopted later in life, according to Gerald Pankratz, an assistant professor of geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
"I would certainly advocate that healthy lifestyle choices should be lifelong, but I would never say it is too late to make a change," Pankratz told Reuters Health. "Older adults are frequently under that misconception."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1bsx7B7 Age and Ageing, online September 29, 2013.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Raymond steamed Sunday toward Mexico's southern Pacific coast, an area devastated by rains and mudslides from tropical storm Manuel in September.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Raymond is expected to become a hurricane soon, but is expected to take a strong westward turn before it reaches the coast and heads out to sea.
Raymond was located about 195 miles (310 kms) south of the beach resort of Zihuatanejo and had sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). It was moving northwest at about 7 mph (11 kph).
Authorities in southern Guerrero state, where Manuel and Ingrid caused about 120 deaths from flooding and landslides, were more worried about the possibility of floods than the winds.
The state government closed seaports and urged residents in risk areas to take precautions.
Forecasters say Raymond is expected to slowly approach Mexico's southern Pacific coast Mexico late Monday or Tuesday and then begin to meander. The center says Raymond is expected to become a hurricane by Monday.
Forecasters warn heavy rainfall is possible along the south-central Mexican coast in coming days and could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Acapulco to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico.
Wicked cast members Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth finally came together again this week, and they aren't the only ones reuniting!
Entertainment Weekly has brought together the casts of such classics as Mystic Pizza, Do The Right Thing, Frazier, The X-Files, and more for a huge reunion issue!
How amazing! Though we're guessing bringing David Duchovny and Gillian Andersontogether wasn't all that hard! LOLz!
President Obama, right, and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta meet in the White House on Oct. 17, 2013.
Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who met with President Obama on Thursday, spoke with Lally Weymouth beforehand about Italy's efforts to emerge from recession and spark growth. Excerpts:
Lally Weymouth: What will you discuss during your meeting with President Obama?
Enrico Letta: We have to reaffirm the strategic interest of our friendship—Italy and the U.S. We have to work together on many issues. We share the fact that after five years of crisis and austerity in Europe and the world, we need to have years of growth. Second, the main concern is instability.
L.W.: Are you worried about refugees coming into Italy if Syria continues to be so unstable?
E.L.: We are, because the situation today is out of control in Libya, Egypt, and Syria. We had a terrible tragedy [of refugees drowning] around Lampedusa [an island south of Sicily] some days ago. We [have] decided ... Italian ships and aircraft will patrol the sea between Libya, Lampedusa, and Malta.
L.W.: Is that to let immigrants in or keep them out?
E.L.: To rescue them if their ships capsize. We had a rescue operation two days ago saving 150 people, children and women. And of course we have to block the Libyan human traffickers—those who are creating these ships.
L.W.: You want to stop the organizers?
E.L.: The main problem is that Libya today is a weak country, so it is very difficult to deal with them but absolutely necessary to help. First, we must rescue people in the sea because we can't [allow] the Mediterranean to become a sort of death sea. Secondly, we also have to deal with the failure of some states, like Syria. We want to deal with refugees. In our constitution there is the right to accept refugees. The main problem is that we had a big change in migration trends. ... Ten years ago the migration trends were completely focused on economic reasons. Today, more than half are refugees from failed states.
L.W.: You have Syrian refugees?
E.L.: Yes, in Lampedusa, for instance.
L.W.: Many analysts call Italy, Spain, and France the troubled countries of the eurozone. Can Italy do enough to remain in the eurozone?
E.L.: We need to have a banking union in the European Council because if we had had the banking-union mechanism [whereby failing banks can be aided or shut down], we would have avoided the banking crises. ... Second, we need to have a stable situation in the markets. Since one year ago when [European Central Bank President] Mario Draghi said the ECB would do whatever it took [to buy government debt], that was the big change and stability came for Italy, Spain, and France. ... [This week] we approved in the [Italian] Council of Ministers the budget for 2014. And for the first time in five years, the general debt will be lower. The deficit will be 2.5 percent, so it will be lower than the 3 percent of this year.
L.W.: How will you do that?
E.L.: By cutting public spending.
L.W.: You're going to cut public spending? But haven't the unions already threatened to strike?
E.L.: Yes. They are not very happy, but I will convince them.
L.W.: Isn't Italy's deficit to GDP at 3.3 percent right now?
E.L.: We're at 3 percent for the deficit. ... The general debt today is 132 percent. ... Next year I hope we will have 130 percent.
L.W.: You're talking about debt-to-GDP ratio?
L.W.: It's horrendously high.
E.L.: Yes, it is. The main problem is the lack of growth. [But] the debt next year will be decreased, the deficit will be lower, and public spending for the first time will be lower. And, fourth, we will reduce taxes for the first time in years.
E.L.: Today we have a tax threshold that is 44.3 percent. At the end of three years, it will be reduced to 43.3 percent.
L.W.: If you cut all these things, where will you get revenue?
E.L.: From a privatization process. I think now the markets are ready to buy and we will sell public assets. ... Fincantieri, for instance—a shipyard. We will sell one part of Terna, which is the national electric grid. Of course, not 100 percent, but 49 percent. We will present this privatization plan, and I think it will be a very important step. ... The other main issue is the cut in public spending. That is, of course, not easy, but I think it is necessary.
L.W.: In order to attract outside investment?
E.L.: In order to have the budget completely under control and to have low interest rates. That, for a country with such big general debt, is absolutely decisive. We need low interest rates. Today, I am very happy that we have reached the lowest interest rates in two years.
E.L.: It is 4.2 percent on a 10-year bond. It is the best result in two years. For me, personally, it is a big result because the success of my government is linked to lower interest rates. It is a way to restore confidence in the markets.
L.W.: You feel you are restoring confidence in the markets?
E.L.: Today's result is a fact—it is a concrete achievement. I am happy about that, and we have to continue.
L.W.: What are the central elements of your economic program?
E.L.: Cutting public spending, privatization and, of course, the cut of labor taxes. That is the main issue for pushing growth and jobs.
L.W.: What is the reaction of the labor unions?
E.L.: They are happy about it. It gives companies the chance to give more jobs with lower taxes on labor. The problem with unions is that they want more cuts on labor taxes. But of course, to cut labor taxes is not easy because we need money.
L.W.: You feel Italy is on the path to financial recovery under your government?
E.L.: Yes, we are, because next year we will reach the targets I stressed, and these targets are absolutely necessary for having lower interest rates.
L.W.: What about your banking sector? Many analysts worry about the European banks.
E.L.: Our banks were obliged to recapitalize with public money for 3 billion euros in these last five years. It was, in the eurozone, the lowest level of public money for saving banks in Europe. It was a demonstration of the solidity of our banks and it was just for one bank—Monte dei Paschi.
L.W.: Only one bank needed capital?
E.L.: Yes, and only 3 billion euros, which is peanuts in comparison to Ireland, the U.K., Spain, and so on. This is the demonstration of the solidity of the Italian banking system. We in our budget passed some important tax rules to give them more capitalization.
L.W.: What if Italy ran a stress test? The U.S. banks had to mark down their balance sheets.
E.L.: The ECB and the banking authority at the European level ... are very tough with the stress tests. And the Italian banks passed.
