Authorities in China have highlighted inadequate knowledge of contraception and poor sex education as major factors in the high number of abortions there. There are 13 million abortions each year, compared to 20 million births, according to newly published research. Researchers believe the real figure could be even higher because there are many abortions at unregistered clinics. Other countries have higher rates. They include Russia – which some years has more terminations than births. ‘More sex education’ The abortion figures were published in the China Daily newspaper. Other Chinese media outlets have published similar figures, although it was not immediately clear when the research was carried out. China imposed strict family planning rules in the 1970s in an attempt to limit the growth of its population. Many pregnant women who have had their full quota of children have abortions to prevent unwanted births. But young single women are most likely to have abortions in a country where there are 20 million births each year, the research found. In its front-page story, China Daily said the high number of abortions was ’cause for concern’, adding that many women who have abortions […]
Yosemite National Park has lost many of its large trees during the last century, possibly due to a warmer climate, a new study finds. Scientists analyzed data from the earliest records of large tree density in the park from 1932 to 1936, and compared them to the most recent records from 1988 to 1999. They found that the number of large-diameter trees - defined as those with diameters more than about 36 inches (92 cm) - in the park declined by 24 percent over that period. ‘Although this study did not investigate the causes of decline, climate change is a likely contributor to these events and should be taken into consideration,’ said USGS scientist emeritus Jan van Wagtendonk, lead author of a paper describing the results in the latest issue of the journal Forest Ecology and Management. ‘Warmer conditions increase the length of the summer dry season and decrease the snowpack that provides much of the water for the growing season,’ van Wagtendonk said. ‘A longer summer dry season can also reduce tree growth and vigor, and can reduce trees’ ability to resist insects and pathogens.’ Large trees are usually older than smaller trees, and serve […]
RAMALLAH, West Bank — For half a century, the fortunes of the Palestinian people have been inextricably linked to the fate of Fatah, the once-dominant political movement founded by Yasser Arafat. Five years after Arafat’s death, the movement is divided, and hopes of establishing even a weak Palestinian state alongside Israel appear as elusive as ever. Next week, for the first time in two decades, Fatah leaders from around the world will meet in Bethlehem at a conference they hope will be a new start. The run-up to the conference doesn’t give demoralized Palestinians much reason for hope, however. Fatah leaders have been feuding over allegations that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan conspired with Israel to kill Arafat - charges the two deny as scurrilous. Hamas, Fatah’s hard-line Islamic rival, which wrested electoral control of the Palestinian Authority in 2006 and then routed Abbas’ forces from Gaza in 2007, hasn’t allowed anyone living in the isolated Mediterranean strip to attend the conference. Many Palestinians have lost faith in a political party they consider corrupt, inept and ineffective. ‘The Palestinian national movement is in crisis,’ said Aaron David Miller, a veteran […]
From a distance Potsdamer Platz looks a bit like its old self. Once the central hub of Berlin, before it was turned into a rubble-strewn no-man’s-land divided by the Wall, it is now surrounded by shiny new towers. Get a little closer, however, and it becomes clear that many buildings are just façades painted onto giant hoardings that rise ten stories high between actual office blocks. This subterfuge makes for a far more pleasant view than that provided by vacant lots. It also points to an unusual degree of restraint among developers in Europe’s second-largest property market (by transactions). The commercial-property market in most other parts of the developed world is in deep trouble. Unlike other property busts, this downturn has not been driven by speculative overbuilding but by investors’ overenthusiasm. Commercial property was a popular asset class for much of this decade. Institutional investors who lost a lot of money when the dotcom bubble burst were persuaded that switching from the stockmarket into property would diversify their portfolios and reduce their risk. Cheap finance was plentiful. Investors could indulge in a version of the ‘carry trade-borrowing at a low interest rate to buy buildings and counting on […]
Call it a sign of desperate times: Legislators are considering selling the House and Senate buildings where they’ve conducted state business for more than 50 years. Dozens of other state properties also may be sold as the state government faces its worst financial crisis in a generation, if not ever. The plan isn’t to liquidate state assets, though. Instead, officials hope to sell the properties and then lease them back over several years before assuming ownership again. The complex financial transaction would allow government services to continue without interruption while giving the state a fast infusion of as much as $735 million, according to Capitol projections. For investors, the arrangement means long-term lease payments from a stable source. Once any deals are approved, money could begin flowing into state coffers in as little as 90 days. The plan has bipartisan backing, but that doesn’t make the prospect of paying rent for buildings once owned free and clear by taxpayers any easier to swallow. ‘We’ve mortgaged the legislative halls,’ said an exasperated state Rep. Steve Yarbrough, a Chandler Republican. ‘That just tells you how extraordinary the times are. ‘To me, it’s something we’re going […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
