Category: news

King Mohammed VI will retain a number of key posts under the proposed reforms

Demonstrations are expected later in Moroccan cities after reformists said constitutional changes proposed by King Mohammed VI do not go far enough.

Many critics want constitutional changes drawn up by a democratically elected committee instead.

They also say the proposed referendum on the constitution comes too soon and leaves little time for a real debate.

The king said on Friday the reforms would limit his power and usher Morocco towards a constitutional monarchy.

The proposed measures include giving the prime minister and parliament more executive authority and recognising the minority Berber language.

But King Mohammed would keep key powers and remain head of the army.

The king’s proposals will be put to a referendum on 1 July, but many activists said Morocco’s 400-year-old monarchy has a long history of enacting superficial reforms.

Members of the February 20 reformist movement plan protests on Sunday calling for greater changes to the country’s political system.

Like many countries across the Middle East and North Africa, Morocco has seen a growing call for major reforms to its political system in the past year.

The country has also been facing severe economic challenges with high unemployment and rising levels of poverty.

King Mohammed, 47, acceded to the throne in 1999 following the death of his father, Hassan II, and now heads the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The report highlighted “major problems” in the home care system

The human rights of older people receiving care at home are being overlooked, an inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found.

The inquiry is investigating how well over-65s who receive homecare visits are looked after in England.

The commission says it has uncovered worrying cases of neglect and examples of lack of respect for older people’s privacy and dignity.

Its full report will be published in November.

After looking at the evidence, it says there are “major problems” in the home care system.

The Commission describes cases of people being left in bed for 17 hours, or more, between care visits and a failure to wash people regularly.

It received reports of people being left in filthy nightwear and bedding after a homecare visit, or without a wash or hair wash for several weeks.

Visits are sometimes so brief, the report says, that people have to choose between having a cooked meal or a wash.

The short visits also mean that staff have to rush tasks like washing and dressing, which frustrates elderly people and care staff.

High staff turnover also has an impact on those being cared for, the commission finds.

The report said: “People have described the emotional impact of being washed and dressed by a large number of different people, and having to repeatedly disclose personal information every time a new care worker comes to the house.”

Some older people describe feeling that their privacy and dignity were not respected when they were undressed by care staff in front of family members or in front of their bungalow window.

To gather evidence for the inquiry, the Equality and Human Rights Commission carried out surveys with local authorities, primary care trusts and home care providers.

Fifty-four per cent of local authorities completed the survey, as did 250 home care providers in England.

The commission also looked at over 500 written submissions from older people and their families, and 101 from home care staff.

One in five older people who responded to the commission’s request for evidence said they would not normally complain because they didn not know how to – or for fear of repercussions.

The commission says it will explore what protection and support is in place for people who want to expose poor or abusive practices.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, said the findings showed “serious neglect”.

“Providing personal care for older people should not be about completing tasks in whatever is the quickest or cheapest way. Decent care is about looking after a fellow human being in the way that we would like to be cared for when we are older.

“Despite government commitments made by both the previous and current government, basic rights to dignity, respect and autonomy are still being breached.

“The biggest threat to the human rights of older people receiving care at home is from cuts to adult social care budgets and it is very unclear whether tightening eligibility criteria to care will allow local authorities to continue to meet their human rights obligations.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Relatives react to the evacuation of inmates from El Rodeo jail

The Venezuelan authorities have transferred 2,500 prisoners from a jail near Caracas as they seek to reassert control there.

On Friday, thousands of troops took control of three-quarters of El Rodeo jail in Guatire, after a riot between rival gangs of inmates a week ago.

But a stand-off continues elsewhere in the jail, after attempts to negotiate with a group of armed inmates failed.

The interior minister said some 50 prisoners were refusing to disarm.

In the meantime, the authorities have sought to deal with the prisoners from the part of El Rodeo they already control.

In the early morning of Sunday, they transferred more than two-thirds of those inmates by bus to a number of other prisons in the country.

They plan to move the remaining 1,000 inmates later on Sunday.

They say the measure is a temporary one, designed to protect the fundamental rights of the prisoners.

But many of the inmates’ relatives remain highly anxious about the situation.

Hundreds of relatives have again gathered outside the jail, where they have clashed with security forces in recent days.

Two members of the security forces and at least one prisoner were killed in clashes inside the jail when the security operation started on Friday.

And more than 20 inmates were killed in the original rioting last Sunday.

Venezuelan prisons are notoriously overcrowded and there have been a series of jail riots since the beginning of the year.

Attempts to end the stand-off inside part of El Rodeo have so far failed.

On Saturday, Interior Minister Tareck el-Aissimi said the leaders of a group of rebel inmates – whom he called “hostile” and “negative” – had been using their weapons to exert control over more than 1,000 fellow inmates in that area of the jail.

Mr Aissami told the state television channel, VTV, that the leaders were demanding that government troops – who number some 4,000 – pull out of the jail.

And he said the men would not permit a search of the part of the prison they controlled.

The authorities have been trying to implement a crackdown on guns within the jail, and have so far confiscated a number of firearms and a quantity of drugs.

But Mr Aissami said he was prepared to play a waiting game.

“We’ll last out for as long as it takes,” he said.

“Time is not on their side. We’re on our guard, waiting for them to hand over their weapons.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.