http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=152988769 pa.press.net, Updated: 11/04/2010 23:29 Pope 'has no UK arrest immunity' Pope Benedict XVI 'would not be immune from arrest' in the UK, solicitor says Plans to have the Pope arrested when he visits the UK will succeed because he is not a head of state, a solicitor has said. Atheist authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens proposed the action against the Pontiff for his handling of child abuse scandals in the Catholic church. The writers' solicitor Mark Stephens said applications will be made to courts in the UK and the International Criminal Court for a warrant for Pope Benedict XVI's arrest. His likely defence would be be that he is immune from prosecution during his visit to Britain in September, according to the lawyer. Mr Stephens said: "The courts will examine the claim of immunity. I believe that an English court would reject it. If the Pope was here on a state visit, ordinarily a head of state would have sovereign immunity. What I believe is that because he's not a sovereign, not a head of state, he's not entitled to the defence." He said that the Vatican was declared to be a state by Benito Mussolini, but this had no standing in international law. The Pope faced criticism after it emerged that he signed a letter which delayed the punishment of a paedophile priest in the US for the "good of the universal church". Writing in 1985, the future Pontiff said that he needed more time to consider the case. Mr Stephens, who has represented abuse victims in the past said: "This will require the Pope to deal with the way in which he appears to have prioritised the reputation of the Catholic church over the welfare of children." Potential charges against the Pope would be crimes against humanity.
http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=152982764 pa.press.net, Updated: 11/04/2010 13:35 'Regret' over organ donor blunder Health Secretary Andy Burnham regretted the distress caused to bereaved families Health Secretary Andy Burnham said he deeply regretted the distress caused to bereaved families of people whose organs were removed without consent following a huge blunder affecting the UK donor register. Around 800,000 people had their wishes about the use of their organs wrongly recorded due to an error, it was revealed. An investigation found that 45 individuals for whom false data were stored have since died. The NHS is about to contact approximately 20 families who allowed organs to be taken after being misinformed about what consent had previously been given. Mr Burnham said: "Giving the gift of an organ is a most selfless act and organ donors transform the lives of thousands of people every year. "I want to assure the millions of people on the organ donor register that they can have full confidence that only their accurate information will be discussed with their families, and that their wishes will be respected. "This has clearly not happened in a small number of cases in the past, and I deeply regret the distress caused to the families. "In all cases, donation was discussed with family members before decisions were made. It is important that those who wish to donate tell their families of their wishes." He added: "I have asked NHS Blood and Transplant to take immediate steps to identify and contact all affected families. This process is under way and will be completed as quickly as possible. "I have asked Professor Sir Gordon Duff of Sheffield University to carry out a review to find out why this has happened, prevent mistakes like this being made again and ensure all necessary steps are taken to maintain confidence in the organ donor register."
http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=152975879 pa.press.net, Updated: 11/04/2010 05:32 Outrage as adopted boy returned A US woman has sent a boy she adopted back to Russia A woman in the US has stirred international outrage by sending a Russian boy she adopted back to Moscow on a flight by himself, yet local authorities said it's not clear if she broke any laws. The seven-year-old boy, Artyom Savelyev, was put on a plane with a note saying his adoptive mother no longer wanted to parent him because he was violent and had severe psychological problems. While her actions were condemned by Russia's president and US diplomats, the sheriff investigating the case said it's not clear if anyone can be charged. Russia threatened to suspend all child adoptions by US families over the treatment of the boy, who was called Justin Hansen by the Tennessee family.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1264729/Child-bride-13-dies-internal-injuries-days-arranged-marriage-Yemen.html Child bride, 13, dies of internal injuries four days after arranged marriage in Yemen By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 2:00 AM on 10th April 2010 Comments ( 134 ) Add to My Stories A Yemeni woman clothed in full Muslim dress (file photo). International rights groups are fighting to end the practice of child marriages in the country A 13-year-old Yemeni girl died of internal injuries four days after a family-arranged marriage to a man almost twice her age, a human rights group said. Ilham Mahdi al Assi died last Friday in a hospital in Yemen's Hajja province, the Shaqaeq Arab Forum for Human Rights said, quoting a medical report. She was married the previous Monday in a traditional arrangement known as a 'swap marriage', in which the brother of the bride also married the sister of the groom, it said. Sigrid Kaag, regional director for UNICEF, said in a statement that the United Nations child agency was 'dismayed by the death of yet another child bride in Yemen'. 'Elham is a martyr of abuse of children's lives in Yemen and a clear example of what is justified by the lack of limits on the age of marriage,' SAF said in a statement. A medical report from al-Thawra hospital said she suffered a tear to her genitals and severe bleeding. The Yemeni rights group said the girl was married off in an agreement between two men to marry each other's sisters to avoid having to pay expensive bride-prices. The practice of marrying young girls is widespread in Yemen and drew the attention of international rights groups seeking to pressure the government to outlaw child marriages. Legislation that would make it illegal for those under the age of 17 to marry is in serious peril after strong opposition from some of Yemen's most influential Islamic leaders. The group said that was a common arrangement in the deeply impoverished country. Yemen's gripping poverty plays a role in hindering efforts to stamp out the practice, as poor families find themselves unable to say no to bride-prices in the hundreds of dollars for their daughters. More than a quarter of Yemen's females marry before age 15, according to a report last year by the Social Affairs Ministry. Tribal custom also plays a role, including the belief that a young bride can be shaped into an obedient wife, bear more children and be kept away from temptation. Last month, a group of the country's highest Islamic authorities declared those supporting a ban on child marriages to be apostates. A February 2009 law set the minimum age for marriage at 17, but it was repealed and sent back to parliament's constitutional committee for review after some politicians called it un-Islamic. The committee is expected to make a final decision on the legislation this month. Some of the clerics who signed the decree against a ban sit on the committee. Further imperilling the effort is the weak government's reluctance to confront the clerics and other conservative tribal officials, whose support is essential to their fragile hold on power. The issue of Yemen's child brides got widespread attention three years ago when an eight-year-old girl boldly went by herself to a courtroom and demanded a judge dissolve her marriage to a man in his 30s. She eventually won a divorce, and legislators began looking at ways to curb the practice. In September, a 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said. Yemen once set 15 as the minimum age for marriage, but parliament annulled that law in the 1990s, saying parents should decide when a daughter marries. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1264729/Child-bride-13-dies-internal-injuries-days-arranged-marriage-Yemen.html#ixzz0kngJn1vU
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