In strand Gaza fish in short supply

Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:32am EST Related News Hamas hosts Fatah leader for unity talksWed, Feb 3 2010Israel launches air strikes in GazaWed, Feb 3 2010

GAZA (Reuters) - With their fishermen at risk of being shot at by the Israeli navy, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are finding new ways to supply the blockaded territory with a staple that is in short supply.

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Seafood is coming into the Mediterranean enclave through tunnels from Egypt and fish farms are starting to fill a supply gap resulting from restrictions that stop fishermen from venturing more than 3.4 miles from the coast.

The emergence of new ways of supplying seafood highlights the ever deepening impact of a blockade that controls land, air and sea access to Gaza, ruled by the Hamas Islamist group.

Israel says the blockade aims to prevent Hamas, which is hostile to the Jewish state, acquiring weapons or materials that could be used for military purposes.

For the majority of Gaza"s population of 1.5 million, the result has been increasingly miserable living conditions, while Hamas"s grip on power since 2007 shows no sign of weakening.

The group controls the tunneling businesses which have for more than three years been a supply route for everything from cement to electrical goods and now, fish.

Gaza"s fishermen, once allowed to sail up to 12 miles from the coast, risk having their boats confiscated if they go too far out. Several have suffered bullet wounds in confrontations with Israeli patrol vessels enforcing the embargo.

The current fishing limit has been in place since January, 2009, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

FISH FARMS

In Rafah, at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, a masked man emerged from the mouth of a tunnel carrying a box of fish packed in ice. Anxious not to be identified, he would not speak to the media because of the dangers associated with an increasingly risky business.

The Israeli military launches regular airstrikes on areas where it believes Hamas is using the tunnels to bring weapons into Gaza. Egypt, which has a strained relationship with Hamas and a peace treaty with Israel, is building an underground barricade on its side of the border to thwart the tunnelers.

Bringing fish through the tunnels from Egypt is not as profitable as supplying other goods, said Suleiman Itta, a fish monger who has started buying fish that come to Gaza that way.

Quality can also be a problem.

"Sometimes the fish arrives almost two-thirds fresh," he told Reuters. "We bring it from Egypt because of the lack of fish here," added the father of eight.

With their own catches becoming ever more meager, Gaza"s fishermen have found another way of bringing fish ashore. They rendezvous at sea with their Egyptian counterparts and buy from them, sometimes venturing further than allowed by Israel.

"We cross the line. Most if not all fishing boats do that, and yes, it is risky but we go to buy," fisherman Ashraf Assaeedi said.

In Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Zeyad Al-Attar is farming fish in tanks. "We have resorted to this kind of work because of the lethal siege. We produce 70 tonnes every six months," he said.

But restaurant owner Ahmed Abu Haseera does not buy from the farms. His clients prefer fish supplied the traditional way.

"Clients do not like it. But what can we do? Things are difficult. One day we have fish and the next we don"t," he said.

(Editing by Tom Perry)

World

Woman shot and killed on doorstep after dual days in country

Adam Fresco & , : {}

A hitman was being hunted by police last night after he blasted a woman at point blank range with a shotgun as she opened her door.

The killer knocked on the 26-year-old Turkish victims house in Clapton, east London at 8.30 on Monday night and opened fire. The woman, who is only thought to have been in the country for two days, is believed to have been found slumped on the doorstep by her mother.

Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene. She died from gunshot wounds to her chest.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said she watched the police arrive.

The mother of two said: I heard all the shouting and panicking and sirens. I ran out to see what had happened I was worried it was my daughter.

My daughter says the woman had her eyes open when her mother found her, but I have heard she died.

Her mother was in a very bad way last night. She was screaming and falling over in the street. She was praying in Turkish, but she kept collapsing, sobbing. The girl had only come here two days earlier. They lived above the chemists. I did not see the body, just all the police.

Detectives sealed off the area and were yesterday conducting door to door inquiries.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: We have the results of the post mortem and she died of a gunshot wound to the chest. As yet no arrests have been made.

A police source said that they were keeping an open mind about the motive for the murder.

Argos and Homebase sales shudder in the snow

Ian King, Deputy Business Editor & , : {}

Home Retail Group, the owners of Argos and Homebase, certified currently to a dump in sales at both since the commencement of 2010, but insisted that full-year increase were approaching to be improved than expected.

Britains greatest domicile products tradesman pronounced that, since the begin of the year, like-for-like sales at Argos that magnitude how stores open in the same format for some-more than a year have traded were down by 9.4 per cent on the same duration last year.

At Homebase, Britains second-biggest do-it-yourself tradesman after BQ, they were down by 0.6 per cent in the same period.

The association additionally certified that distinction margins during the duration had additionally fallen.

Related LinksHome Retail upgrades distinction but warns of tough timesArgos owners underneath glow over senior manager excessHome Retail Group enjoys balmy sales sum

However, Terry Duddy, the arch senior manager of Home Retail Group, pronounced that the companys full year pre-tax increase were right away approaching to be around 290 million, somewhat forward of marketplace expectations.

It was the second time in 3 months that Home Retail Group has pronounced annual increase will be improved than expected.

He said: This is a great result to a severe year, and is sum with glorious money generation.

Mr Duddy pronounced that sum sales at Argos since the commencement of the year were down by 6.6 per cent to 537 million.

He pronounced that the bigger tumble in like-for-like sales reflected both the bad go on in Jan and to a after launch of the store giants spring/summer catalogue.

He pronounced that the decrease in distinction margins was due to the diseased pound.

At Homebase, Mr Duddy pronounced that go on had additionally played a part, with the debility of argent additionally attack hard.

He added: This short trade duration reported currently saw flighty trade patterns, creation it formidable to consider any changes in underlying consumer demand.

"For the new monetary year, we go on to plan carefully since the capricious mercantile outlook, but do so from the on all sides of operational and monetary strength.

Shares of Home Retail Group, that have risen by 31 per cent during the past year, rallied 6.5p to 274.3p in early trading.

But Freddie George, a sell researcher for the broker Seymour Pierce, told clients to go on offered the shares after what he described as a churned trade statement.

He said: The marketplace is approaching to be endangered with the diseased like-for-like sales at Argos. Looking ahead, formula in 2010-11 are approaching to be influenced by a some-more formidable medium-term trade outlook, with the ubiquitous choosing and the World Cup, foe intensifying, quite from the food retailers ramping up their efforts, and from new debility in sterling.

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Irrepressible Wayne Rooney fires Manchester United in to last eight Manchester United

Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent & , : {}

If there was one thing that seemed to make a difference roughly as most as feat for Manchester Uniteds supporters last night, it was that the pursuit got finished quickly.

Only afterwards could courtesy move on to alternative objectives: the refuge of Wayne Rooney, the acclamation of David Beckham and the unruly defamation of the hated Glazer regime.

None of those impediment subplots, though, should inhibit even the smallest courtesy from the main drama. To kick AC Milan 4-0 even this Milan team, a dark fabrication of their most shining predecessors takes a small you do and whilst Beckhams preference of neckwear at the last alarm will fundamentally authority headlines on these shores, it is Uniteds coruscating opening and resounding feat that will be promulgation informed shock waves by the rest of Europe.

The feeling for most of this deteriorate was that this is not a selected United team, that the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo has left usually perspiration where once there was inspiration. But see at last nights formula and ask yourself, Who is blank whom?

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Ronaldo, similar to Beckham 6 years earlier, went to Real Madrid in poke of footballing immortality, but whilst the Spanish clubs European ambitions were entrance to a beforehand finish nonetheless again, United were marching on to the quarter-finals nonetheless again. For that they can appreciate the healthy contingent of Rooney, Park Ji Sung and Darren Fletcher, who common the 4 goals in between them.

It was no surprise, since new form, that Rooney should assistance himself to the initial dual goals, or that the initial of them should be nonetheless an additional header. The United brazen is in the form of his hold up and it seemed touching that, with the compare won, the man of the impulse should take his leave mid by the second half, usually as Beckham, yesterdays man, had entered to similarly good acclaim.

Beckham did his most appropriate to revive a small honour to a discouraged Milan group on what contingency certainly be his last coming on this stage. He had his moments a couple of of those diabolical heading crosses, a resounding bombardment that was well saved by Edwin outpost der Sar, the spoilsport but, whatever the cinema competence say, this was not his night.

It was all about United not usually Rooney, Park and Fletcher but Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, dual of Beckhams contemporaries and former team-mates, who referred to that, discordant to renouned belief, Milan competence not be the experts in preserving players in their mid-30s.

For all of Sir Alex Fergusons speak about the implausible experience of Milan, it was hard, on scrutinising the teamsheets, to interpretation that the Italian side had the top palm in this regard. While Milan began with Beckham and Clarence Seedorf on the substitutes bench, Uniteds starting choice enclosed a 39-year-old in goal, a 35-year-old at right behind and a 35-year-old in midfield Van der Sar, Neville and Scholes respectively who have done some-more than 375 appearances in European competition.

Neville was entrusted with the pursuit of containing Ronaldinho, the former World Player of the Year, who had since the runaround to Rafael Da Silva in the initial half at San Siro a fortnight earlier. That contingency have been Nevilles budding objective, but he seemed dynamic to take each event to show that age is no separator to a full backs capability to get forward.

In the third minute, he cut in from the right and astounded Christian Abbiati, the goalkeeper, with a left-foot shot that flew usually over the crossbar. Ronaldinho, tellingly, was nowhere to be seen, ensuring that, in Neville, United had an additional man each time they pounded down that flank.

When Uniteds opening idea came, in the thirteenth minute, the provenance was not the warn that it competence have seemed when Neville had initial galloped forward. The full behind took a hold to harmonise himself and delivered a cranky the peculiarity of that Beckham would have been proud. Rooney, once again display the anticipation, timing and instincts that have done him a inclusive goalscorer, got to the round prior to Daniele Bonera and sent his header over the groundless Abbiati.

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Secondary schools should take over primaries contend Tories

Greg Hurst, Education Editor & , : {}

Successful delegate schools should take over internal first schools to expostulate up standards at an progressing stage, the Conservatives pronounced yesterday.

Michael Gove, the Shadow Schools Secretary, urged head teachers of high-performing schools to spin themselves in to academies and urge beside schools.

I would similar to to see far some-more first schools entrance underneath the wing of good delegate schools, Mr Gove told an invited assembly of heads in London.

He forked to Haberdashers Askes Hatcham college in Lewisham, South London, that entered in to a association with a poor-performing internal first school, observant that this was one of Londons fastest mending schools.

Related LinksSchools onslaught to place ex-private pupilsTories would throw avocation for home schoolingBoycott threatens first propagandize tests

Mr Gove told his assembly of 200 head teachers of superb schools that in some-more than 1,000 first schools half of pupils left incompetent to review or write properly, carrying unsuccessful to reach Level 4 in both subjects, and in 400 schools usually 40 per cent did so.

Young people nearing at delegate propagandize simply dont have the believe and skills required to be means to follow the delegate curriculum, he said.

However, Mr Gove appeared to double back from his prior idea that inhabitant tests for eleven year olds be changed from the last year of first propagandize to when they arrive at delegate school.

He certified that his proposal, done last year, had triggered a churned reply with arguments for and against.

Thousands of first propagandize heads are melancholy to protest this years tests in May arguing that their formula disgrace schools with less means or formidable children. But most fright that delegate schools, if they staged and noted the tests, would have an seductiveness in imprinting young kids down to maximize the swell they done afterwards.

Asked about the in jeopardy protest of this years tests, that heads and teachers will opinion on subsequent month, Mr Gove said: These tests will go forward in their stream form. The theme is how we can urge them. He told the discussion that a Tory supervision would concede any propagandize judged superb by Ofsted to spin itself in to an academy as shortly as September, with evident legislation stealing halt powers from internal authorities.

Ofsteds investigation complement of administration would additionally be slimmed down radically, with the most appropriate schools no longer theme to inspections unless relatives lifted concerns or trigger-thresholds were passed, such as a tumble in formula or most staff quitting.

Other schools would be legalised usually on 4 measures: peculiarity of leadership, teaching, attainment, and student reserve and behaviour.

Although head teachers in his assembly welcomed most of his proposals, multiform asked minute questions about the practicalities of switching to academy standing and about checks on Tory plans to let relatives make use of open supports to set up their own schools.

Martin Bacon, principal of Swavesey Village College, circuitously Cambridge, concluded that high-performing schools should work with circuitously schools to lift standards and was meddlesome in academy status, but indispensable to know some-more about the proposal.

The questions is, what is the inducement for these schools? We need to be transparent what it is about, he said.

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, pounded the Tory plans observant that it was wrong in element for a little schools to be private from the cycle of Ofsted inspections.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, indicted the Conservatives of unwell to contend how they would account their process to allot additional income to young kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Classroom unions additionally pounded the plans. The National Union of Teachers, that opposes academy status, pronounced that the process would bit the preparation complement further. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers pronounced there was no justification academies combined value.

Portsmouth forced behind to justice after HMRC hurdles administration department Football

The executive Andrew Andronikou was astounded that HMRC has asked Portsmouth behind to the high court. Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

Portsmouth contingency lapse to the high justice tomorrow after Her Majesty"s Revenue and Customs challenged the intentional administration.

Andrew Andronikou, the executive in assign of the Premier League club, was told of the ultimate growth today.

Despite doubt over the inlet of HMRC"s objection, Andronikou is assured Portsmouth will go on down the track of administration department department department department department department department department as planned. "We"re carrying to go to justice to show that the debenture is valid," he said. "I don"t assimilate the expect reason because this is, we"re only following normal protocol. We"re not unduly worried.

"It"s not customary procession but I"d suppose that HMRC are fundamentally channel their Is and dotting their Ts. We"re awaiting the administration department department department department department department department department to ensue as it was."

Portsmouth timeline

27 May 2009: Club accepts takeover bid from Sulaiman al-Fahim.

21 July: Fahim passes Premier League"s "fit and correct persons" exam and rught away joins Portsmouth board, nonetheless the takeover is not nonetheless finalised.

19 August: Club opens negotiations with a consortium fronted by the arch executive, Peter Storrie, over a probable takeover.

26 August: Fahim completes takeover.

1 October: Club admits unwell to compensate players" salary on time.

5 October: Fahim sells 90% of his Portsmouth shares to Ali al-Faraj.

7 October: Avram Grant allocated executive of football.

28 October: Premier League issues keep out on Portsmouth induction new players until they compensate off debts to Chelsea and Arsenal for the signings of Glen Johnson and Lassana Diarra respectively.

24 November: Manager, Paul Hart, sacked.

26 November: Club announces Grant will be subsequent manager.

3 December: Club confirms remuneration of players" salary has again been delayed.

4 December: Club announces players have been paid.

10 December: Club responds to conjecture over the destiny by insisting it are not about to go in to administration. In a matter it additionally reveals HMRC had been paid £2m and "other chronological balance are being dealt with on an ongoing basis".

30 December: Club denies being rigourously served with a winding-up apply to by HMRC.

31 December: For the third time this season, the players" salaries are not paid on time. Club says Dec salaries will be paid on 5 Jan interjection to a short-term loan.

4 Jan 2010: Non-playing staff are paid.

5 January: Player payments are again delayed, bar tells Professional Footballers" Association, adding that salary should be processed on 6 January.

7 January: Portsmouth"s players are paid their Dec wages.

14 January: Premier League house confirms it will discharge promote price payments without delay to Portsmouth"s football creditors, done at home and overseas.

19 January: Portsmouth"s focus for a winding-up apply to done opposite them by HMRC to be struck out is discharged by a high justice judge. Club but releases a matter insisting it is "confident" of winning an appeal.

20 January: Club confirms a former player, Sol Campbell, is suing it for fees and bonuses he is owed.

26 January: Premier League rises send embargo.

27 January: Portsmouth sell their defender Mike Williamson to Newcastle for an undisclosed fee.

28 January: Official bar website quickly close down due to disaster to say payments to Juicy, the association obliged for using www.portsmouthfc.co.uk.

28 January: Club waits for Younes Kaboul"s £5m send to Tottenham to go through, and supports to clear, prior to it can compensate monthly salary bill.

30 January: Kaboul joins Tottenham.

3 February: Club pays Jan wages.

4 February: Hong Kong office worker Balram Chainrai"s association Portpin take determining seductiveness in Portsmouth from Faraj after sportive a proviso in their agreement over a £17m loan done to the Saudi.

9 February: Portsmouth fails to determine a understanding with HMRC to compensate a apportionment of their superb taxation check and reschedule the remainder.

10 February: High justice gives the bar one week to pull up a matter of the monetary affairs as it seeks to equivocate HMRC winding-up order.

17 February: Portsmouth presents a matter of monetary affairs at high court.

20 February: Club has a bid for accede to sell players outward the send window deserted by the Premier League.

21 February: Storrie reveals a South African consortium is posterior a understanding to buy the club.

22 February: Former owners Fahim quits as non-executive authority and passes on his 10% shareholding to the club"s supporters" trust.

23 February: Chainrai confirms Portsmouth will go in to administration department department department department department department department department if a new customer has not been found by twenty-six February. Earlier, New Zealand-based office worker Victor Cattermole certified his seductiveness in shopping Portsmouth, but pronounced a understanding would not be in place prior to Portsmouth"s high justice date on 1 March.

25 February: Club"s owner"s orator confirms Pompey has proposed routine of going in to administration.

26 February: Portsmouth confirms it has left in to administration.

1 March: HMRC plea intentional administration department department department department department department department department process, definition bar contingency lapse to high justice on 2 March.

Blanket HIV contrast "could see Aids failing out in 40 years" World headlines The Guardian

People who exam HIV-positive could be put on a lifetime march of anti-retroviral drug underneath a new plan being deliberate by health officials. Photograph: Krista Kennell/ZUMA/Corbis

Health officials are deliberation a in advance change in the fight opposite HIV and Aids that would see everybody tested for the pathogen and put on a lifetime march of drug if they are found to be positive.

The strategy, that would engage contrast majority of the world"s race for HIV, aims to revoke the delivery of the pathogen that causes Aids to a turn at that it dies out utterly over the subsequent 40 years.

Brian Williams, highbrow of epidemiology at the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis in Stellenbosch, pronounced that delivery of HIV could effectively be halted inside of five years with the make make use of of of antiretroviral drug (ARVs).

"The widespread of HIV is unequivocally one of the misfortune plagues of human history," Williams told the American Association for the Advancement of Science assembly in San Diego.

"I goal we can get to the starting line in one to dual years and get finish coverage of patients in five years. Maybe that"s being optimistic, but we"re confronting Armageddon."

Major trials of the plan are programmed in Africa and the US and will feed in to a last preference on possibly to adopt the magnitude as open health process in the subsequent dual years.

The move follows investigate that shows sweeping prescribing of ARVs could stop HIV delivery and separate cases of Aids-related illness inside of 10 years.

More than thirty million people are putrescent with HIV globally and dual million die of the disease each year. While ARVs have been a outrageous success in preventing the pathogen from causing full-blown Aids, scientists guess usually 12% of those vital with the infection embrace the drugs.

The disease is overwhelmingly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, that accounts for a entertain of all HIV/Aids cases globally. Half of these are in South Africa.

In ubiquitous epidemics, a chairman with HIV infects in between five to 10 others prior to succumbing to complications of Aids. Treating patients with ARVs inside of a year of apropos putrescent can revoke delivery tenfold, sufficient to means the widespread to die out.

In the trials, people will be offering HIV tests once a year, possibly as slight when they revisit their GP, or by mobile clinics in some-more remote regions. Those contrast certain will be put on a lifetime march of ARVs.

"Over the past twenty-five years we have saved the lives of probably dual to 3 million people utilizing antiretroviral drugs, but roughly zero we have finished has had any stroke on delivery of the disease," Williams said. "We have stopped people failing but we haven"t stopped the epidemic."

If patients take ARVs when they should, the volume of pathogen in their bodies can tumble by 10,000 times, to a turn at that they are intensely doubtful to pass the pathogen on.

"The subject is, can we make make use of of these drug not usually to keep people alive, but additionally to stop delivery and I hold that we can. We could effectively stop delivery of HIV in five years." Scientists guess that the cost of implementing the plan in South Africa alone will be $3bn-$4bn a year. The universe now spends $30bn (£19.4bn) a year on Aids investigate and treatment, a figure that a little experts hold will stand in over the subsequent decade.

Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a thespian climb in cases of illness between HIV patients, who are additionally receptive to alternative infections since their defence systems are weakened.

"If you cause in all of the costs, in my opinion, you do this would be cost saving from day one, since the cost of the drug would be some-more than offset by the cost of treating people for all of these alternative diseases and afterwards vouchsafing them die," Williams said.

"We"re murdering probably half a million immature adults each year in the budding of their hold up usually at the point where they should be contributing to multitude and the cost of that to multitude is enormous," he added. "The usually thing that"s some-more costly than you do this is not you do this."

HIV patients in southern Africa are some-more expected to take ARVs when they should than people vital in grown countries, according to health officials. The anticipating gives doctors goal that the sweeping administering of drug competence conceal the pathogen sufficient that it dies out naturally.

Last year, scientists reported extrinsic success of a HIV vaccine following a large scale hearing in Thailand. The vaccine benefited usually 31% of those who perceived it. A vaccine is in all regarded as inestimable if it protects some-more than 70% of those treated.