Mexican officials have long complained about the flow of weapons from the US to Mexico
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A US Congressional report suggests more than 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 came from the US.
The report indicates Mexican drug cartels are arming themselves with US military-style weapons.
The senators who compiled the report urge a strengthening of US regulations to stem the flow of guns to Mexico.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has repeatedly called for stricter firearms laws.
The report by Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein (California), Charles Schumer (New York) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) says US guns have contributed to “Mexico’s dangerous levels of violence”.
It quotes Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kenneth Melson stating that of the 29,284 firearms recovered in Mexico in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing, 20,504 came from the United States.
The report recommends a number of measures to curb firearms trafficking, including:
Congress pass legislation requiring background checks for all firearms purchases, including those at gun showsThe ATF tighten existing laws to make the import of military-style weapons from the former Eastern bloc harderSellers report multiple sales of all firearms in order to allow law enforcement agents to track all bulk buying of firearmsAccess be expanded to the ATF’s firearms tracing system so that the backlog in tracing of seized weapons can be tackled
The senators accuse the US Congress of having been “virtually moribund” while Mexican drug gangs snap up US military-style guns.
Their report comes a day after Mexico’s president accused the American arms industry of causing thousands of deaths in Mexico.
“Why does this arms business continue?” he asked.
“I say it openly: it’s because of the profit which the US arms industry makes,” he added.
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Lulz Security said the intrusion was “just-for-kicks”
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US officials said they have ordered a security review after hackers managed to break into the Senate website at the weekend.
An official said the incident had been “inconvenient”, but had not compromised the security of the staff.
The confirmation came after Lulz Security, a loosely aligned group of hackers, said it had carried out the attack for fun and posted files online.
Lulz has previously targeted Sony, Nintendo and Fox News.
Senate Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Martina Bradford said the hacking had been noticed at the weekend, and that officials were now reviewing all the sites hosted on Senate.gov.
“Specifically, there is no individual user account information on the server supporting senate.gov that could have been compromised,” she said in a statement.
Lulz Security posted files online which indicated they had been in the Senate network. However, none of the files appeared to be sensitive.
“We don’t like the US government very much,” Lulz Security said at the top of a release.
“This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov – is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?” it added.
The US recently said it would consider cyber attacks an “act of war”, and reserved the right to respond to attacks with conventional means if they were found to have been orchestrated by a nation state.
Lulz is a reference to internet-speak for “laugh out loud”.
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Real wages have fallen 34% in the last five years in Gaza, the report says
Gaza’s unemployment rate was among the world’s highest, at 45.2% in late 2010, the UN has found, as Israel’s blockade of the territory enters its fifth year.
Real wages meanwhile fell by more than a third, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said.
The report says that private businesses have been hardest hit by the continuing ban on virtually all exports.
Israel imposed sanctions in 2006 after Gaza militants snatched Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
The blockade tightened a year later when Hamas ousted rival Palestinian organisation Fatah from the territory.
UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said of the report in a statement: “These are disturbing trends and the refugees, who make up two-thirds of Gaza’s 1.5 million population, were the worst hit.”
The unemployment figure, for the second half of 2010, was a slight improvement on the 45.7% jobless rate during the same period in 2009.
“If the aim of the blockade was to weaken Hamas, the employment numbers suggest this has failed”
Chris Gunness UNRWA
But it was an increase from the first half of 2010, when a temporary building boom boosted jobs.
The report says that while private businesses have suffered most, the Hamas-run public sector is one of the few areas where there has been economic growth, with the government employing tens of thousands of people.
Mr Gunness said the research had found that since 2007 Hamas had been able to increase public employment by at least one fifth.
“If the aim of the blockade policy was to weaken the Hamas administration, the public employment numbers suggest this has failed,” Mr Gunness added.
Israel says the measures against Gaza are necessary to stop weapons smuggling and to put pressure on Hamas, but the UN insists the restrictions amount to collective punishment of Gaza’s population.
The blockade was eased by Israel last year in response to international pressure, after nine Turkish activists were killed in an Israeli raid on a convoy of aid ships seeking to enter the territory.
Restrictions at Gaza’s border with Egypt have been eased since the ousting of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this year.
A change of policy by Cairo has seen the southern border crossing at Rafah opened daily for civilian traffic, but not for trade.
Although Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, it refuses to recognise Israel or to renounce violence and is designated in the West as a terror organisation.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has seen people from surrounding areas evacuated
Japan’s cabinet has approved a plan to set up a fund to help Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) compensate victims of its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.
The plan still needs to be approved by the Japanese parliament.
Earlier this year Tepco reported a loss of $15bn (£9.2bn) and may have to pay more than $100bn in compensation.
Japan’s other nuclear power operators will make annual contributions to the fund and the government will also inject money if necessary.
Trade Minister Banri Kaieda, whose ministry regulates Tepco, said the government aimed to submit the bill to parliament as soon as possible.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
RAF Tornados have been at the forefront of the UK contribution to operations over Libya
The cost of the Nato-led campaign in Libya will create “challenging decisions” for the UK government, the head of the Royal Navy has said.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope also admitted Britain’s response would have been “much more reactive” if the carrier Ark Royal had not been scrapped.
Sir Mark said priorities must change if the operation exceeds six months.
Last week Defence Secretary Liam Fox denied the Libya mission had a six-month deadline.
The rebellion against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi broke out in February, but despite Nato’s aerial intervention, the Libyan leader remains in control of the capital Tripoli and much of the west of the country.
Adm Stanhope, the First Sea Lord, told journalists: “How long can we go on as we are in Libya? If we do it longer than six months we will have to reprioritise forces. That is being addressed now.
“Certainly in terms of Nato’s current time limit that has been extended to 90 days, we are comfortable with that.
“Beyond that, we might have to request the government to make some challenging decisions about priorities.”
He did not say what might have to be reprioritised and insisted he was not calling for a re-examination of the decision to cut the Ark Royal and its fleet of Harriers.
‘Great distinction’
Critics of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) have suggested the Libya mission illustrated the importance to the Navy of an airport carrier.
Adm Stanhope admitted Harrier jets could have been deployed in 20 minutes rather than the 90 minutes taken to send Tornado and Typhoon aircraft from the Gioia del Colle air base in Italy.
But he conceded they would not have been able to use Brimstone missiles carried by the Typhoons and Tornados.
“I hope the straight talking by the First Sea Lord will be met with some straight answers from ministers”
Jim Murphy Shadow defence secretary
Dr Fox said: “Operations in Libya are showing how capable we are post-SDSR as a leading military power with the fourth largest defence budget in the world.
“We continue to have the resources necessary to carry out the operations we are undertaking and have spare capacity with the Royal Navy Cougar Taskforce which is currently on exercise in the Gulf.
“The SDSR is not being reopened. The Harrier has served with great distinction over a long period and in a number of theatres, but we are not bringing them back into service.
“Our planning assumptions remain valid and we have been able to effectively conduct missions over Libya. We are now progressing with the disposal of the Harrier force.”
Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said Adm Stanhope’s comments were “incredible”.
“The country will be dismayed to hear that the operation in Libya could have been conducted more cheaply and more effectively had the government taken a different approach,” Mr Murphy said.
“I hope the straight talking by the First Sea Lord will be met with some straight answers from ministers.
“In particular, it is vital that ministers tell us now how they intend to equip the mission in Libya should it go beyond the six-month mark.”
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Watch: Nick Higham looks around BBC Television Centre
The BBC has announced that Television Centre is up for sale. The West London home of corporation for over 50 years, it has played a central role in the history of the BBC. Here stars share their favourite memories of working in the place.
The For Sale sign is going up at BBC Television Centre. Shows recorded in its studios include Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Blue Peter and Strictly Come Dancing, as well as earlier series of Doctor Who.
Myth has it the building – with the famous circle shaped outdoor area known as the “doughnut” at its very heart – evolved from a sketch of a question mark doodled on the back of an envelope.
But what is definite is the central role it has played in British television over the years. Stars share their memories of working there.
The building means working with so many friends over the years. The biggest memory I have is my 80th birthday when the BBC put up a big silhouette of my pose with the fists. I’ll never forget leaving the studio and seeing my pose the whole length of the building.
I first did the Generation Game in 1971, so I go back 40 years with it. It’s a big part of my life. The Generation Game was wonderful. And it was great to bring it back in the 90s. Now Strictly is done there. It’s risen from being a small show done in front of an audience at tables to something wonderful.
Lots of things have gone wrong but I love that, I love being spontaneous. I remember two of the dancers getting entwined in their microphones, they had to stop and the producer ran on. I said “Who are you” and started dancing with her. We got another laugh.
In the old days it was a hive of activity. At one time you could walk from one studio to another and they’d be three or four shows going on at once.
It’s a great shame but life goes on.
It’s a tragedy, a real shame. TV Centre to me is a special place that represents the BBC.
We used to call it the Electric Doughnut. It’s a lovely building that holds so many memories.
Tony Blackburn has many happy memories of presenting Top of the Pops
I used to do Top of the Pops there, and Noel’s House Party. We had so much fun. Every time I go there I feel like I’m coming home.
To a lot of people that represents what the BBC is. It’s totally nostalgic and represents everything that’s great about broadcasting. It’s been the centre of television for me all my life.
Sure, move with the times. But this is like knocking down Buckingham Palace. The new buildings are fine but there’s no history.
The Top of the Pops studio wasn’t vast. But there were so many memories there.
For me, the highlights were introducing Diana Ross, the Four Tops and Stevie Wonder in that studio. I remember talking to Stevie Wonder in his dressing room while he bashed out a tune on his electronic organ. It’s such a shame…
Going to Television Centre for the first time was a huge deal for me. Working in those studios and knowing the history made it a really special place.
Curry presented the show for three years
We’d be filming Blue Peter and next door they’d be making Top of the Pops or Doctor Who. You’d see all the stars of other programmes in the corridors.
You were right at the heart of things. It was like playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon. We had the Blue Peter garden there as well, but it was the studios that really excited me. They were huge – you could get a double-decker bus inside.
The fact it’s closing down is a double-edged sword. It’s sad because of all the memories. But I do think change is a good thing.
I’m really upset to hear this. I have so many happy memories of Television Centre. It’s like no other TV studio or set-up in the world.
If you walk around that circular corridor and you see all the pictures of shows and presenters, it’s magical.
Cheryl Baker presented Record Breakers from Television Centre for 11 years
It’s such an iconic building. When you present a programme there you feel so privileged because you know all the big names who went before you.
I’m distraught, really. I hope they turn it into a museum or a visitor centre.
It must have so much memorabilia and footage, people would come from all over. It’s like the V&A of television.
I feel very fond of it, as it was where some of my first shows were filmed and the Monty Python programmes were recorded there. It was an odd place, with these circular corridors. I just remember holding the doors for people all the time. But there was something appropriate about going round in circles, trying to find something new to do.
Monty Python was filmed at TVC
It was quite something going up to the comedy floor and seeing Johnny Speight or Galton and Simpson. I remember seeing a newly delivered script of Steptoe and Son in an office and thinking “that’s really amazing” .
And of course, there was the bar. Those were the days when people would go there at midday until 2.30 and then write a great sitcom.
I haven’t worked there for a long time but one can get quite sentimental about the building. If there’s a better way to use the BBC’s money then fair enough, but I just regret that a place that was custom-built as a television centre can’t be used for that any more.
Joan Bakewell says the building symbolises an era
Years ago I signed a petition to have it listed. It’s a building of peculiar idiosyncrasy because it was designed for the television of the 50s and is a vivid symbol of that era.
I lived through its heyday of the 50, 60s and first half of the 70s. It was a wonderful time, they used to do huge live dramas in big studios transmitted live.
In the 60s, I worked on Late Night Line-Up with guests like Woody Allen, Barbara Streisand and Jonathan Miller. There was a good deal of drinking in the hospitality lounge. The show would finish at midnight and we’d empty the drinks cabinet every night.
It is nostalgic for me. This was a place where unique things happened. How will I feel if I pass and see it’s become a supermarket? I’d be heartbroken.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
