Sex Education For British 5 Year Olds

Pupils in England will be given classes in sex and relationships from the age of five under Government plans to cut teenage pregnancies.

Children will learn about parts of the body, the facts of life and puberty in primary school. At secondary school, they will be taught about pregnancy, contraception, HIV and homosexual relationships, it was disclosed.

All mothers and fathers will be able to keep children out on moral and religious grounds but will lose the right of withdraw when they turn 15. The ruling will affect 600,000 pupils a year.

Report Slams Largest Banks Link To Internationally Ban Weapons

Leading banks have funded arms manufacturers, whose products include cluster bombs, to the tune of $5 billion in the past two years, despite an international accord to ban such weapons, a study said Thursday.

The report by Profundo consultancy and several NGOs said the banks loaned money to companies whose products include cluster bombs or their components.

It did not say the funds went directly to make cluster bombs. The manufacturers could use the money for any of their production lines.

Leading Economist Says World Still Mired In Financial Crisis

An internationally renowned economist said on Wednesday that banks need to review their banking strategy following the global credit crunch, noting that the world has not yet recovered from the financial crisis.

“One look at banking is that banking is accepting credit and lending money,” said Souhail Elia, chairman of the ABC anti discrimination league in Nevada and chairman of Asian American leadership council for president Obama, speaking before a panel of Beirut’s top bankers and economic experts.

“To me, this is not the true definition of banking. To me, banking is the business of buying and selling money.”

IMF Gold Sale Spikes Price

The price of gold leapt to a record peak of $1,095.40 an ounce in trading here on Wednesday in the wake of the International Monetary Fund’s massive sale of the precious metal to India.

Gold had already reached a record high of $1,087.80 on Tuesday as the IMF said it had sold 200 tons of gold to India’s central bank over a two-week period last month for $6.7 billion to bolster its finances.

After spiking to a new high Wednesday, gold pulled back to $1,091.75 in London.

Cuba Slams Book By Castro’s Sister

Cuba’s state-run media on Monday condemned a just-published book in which Fidel Castro’s sister admits she spied for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The country’s media added that the expose proves that the former Cuban leader was a “victim” of decades of US targeting.

“The truth is in full view: Fidel Castro is the victim, the offended person, the individual against whom they conspired,” wrote the government-run La Jiribilla magazine, saying the relentless effort to target the Cuban leader was in “bad taste” and “low moral standing.”

British Air Tax Takes Effect

Britain yesterday (01 Nov) went ahead with implementing the first phase of an increase in its air passenger tax, despite cries from Caribbean countries about the impact it would have on their tourism industries.

The structure of the Air Passenger Duty (APD) has been adjusted so that destinations are now divided into four distance bands.

Although the price of the shortest flights rose by just £1 (US$1.64), the revised APD regime will place long haul destinations like those in the Caribbean in one of the highest bands, with economy class passengers facing a tax of £50 (US$73) per ticket as of November 2009, and the amount increasing to £75 (US$110) in 2010. The proposed tax for premium economy, business, and first class tickets, will be double those amounts.

Rihanna On Domestic Abuse

Rihanna is determined to use her pop star status to help other women who fall victim to domestic abuse, following her notorious bust-up with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.

The pop star was thrust into the limelight following the February (09) incident, which left her battered and bruised at the hands of her former lover.
Rihanna kept completely quiet in the press as she recovered, but she’s now ready to use the media attention to help other women caught in violent relationships.

Rihanna: I Turned Into Britney After Brown Beating

Rihanna struggled to cope with the overnight surge in media interest after she was beaten by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, insisting she suddenly became hunted like paparazzi favourite Britney Spears.

The Umbrella hitmaker went into hiding after the vicious bust-up in February (09), which left her bloodied and bruised, and landed her ex-lover community service and five years probation for assault.
The singer admits she wasn’t expecting to be the subject of so much international press attention.

Occupiers Involved In Drug Trade: Afghan Minister

 The Afghan minister of counter narcotics says foreign troops are earning money from drug production in Afghanistan.

General Khodaidad Khodaidad said the majority of drugs are stockpiled in two provinces controlled by troops from the US, the UK, and Canada, IRNA reported on Saturday.

He went on to say that NATO forces are taxing the production of opium in the regions under their control.

Afghanistan is the world’s biggest supplier of opium. Drug production in the Central Asian country has increased dramatically since the US-led invasion eight years ago.

Germans Unhappy With Alternative Swine Flu Vaccine For Politicians

Damage control is the name of the game in Berlin on Monday as politicians rush to deny that they are receiving a better, safer swine flu vaccine than ordinary Germans. The first of 50 million doses arrived in Germany on Monday.

One might think that the arrival in Germany of the first of 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine on Monday might be cause for celebration. But with news breaking over the weekend that top government officials in Berlin will be injected with an alternative vaccine — one widely seen as safer — a debate about an alleged two-class medical system has erupted.