Mexico has top rate of bullying

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Young victims tell their moving tales of torment

BY LILLIAN REYES

The News

MEXICO CITY –The absence of policies to prevent violence and bullying in Mexico has resulted in low academic performance, attrition and an increase in suicides.

Mexico has the highest rate of bullying cases in the world, in both private and public elementary and middle schools, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

According to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the number of children affected by bullying has increased 10 percent in the past two years, to the extent that seven out of 10 students have been victims of violence.

Figures released by specialists from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) show that bullying is most common between the ages of seven and 14, with 16.5 percent of victims (one in six) committing suicide.

According to statistics from the Secretariat of Health (SSA), 59,562 people in the country die on an annual basis, 20,643 of which are murders; 14,343 traffic accidents; 4,972 suicides; 2,315 falls ; 1,842 drownings; 548 burns; 1,043 poisoning; and 13,856 from various unspecified causes.

In the cases of suicide, the causes included physical, psychological, and now cyber-bullying among students, and occurred mostly in the states of Mexico, Jalisco, Veracruz, Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Puebla and Tabasco, as well as Mexico City.

One of the cases was the murder of a Tamaulipas high school student, which spurred a rise in awareness regarding the issue.

CARE AND COMBAT

According to Joshua Ruiz López, lecturer and researcher at the Aragón School of Higher Studies (FES), bullying is a phenomenon that involves teachers, students and parents.

“After collecting theoretical perspectives related to bullying, we realized that there is a lack of methodology in combating bullying within schools’ psychological, sociological and pedagogical framework,” Ruiz said. “We are researching ways for how to rectify this problem.”

During an interview, Ruiz said that bullying was caused by physical, economic, psychological and emotional factors.

He stressed that the School Violence Education and Advising Program, created by the Aragón Faculty for Higher Education at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (FES Aragón campus), is designed to reduce bullying in the classroom as well as to instruct those involved in developing cognitive, social, and emotional skills for later in life.

“We must educate our children in order to have a true impact, including teaching respect, coexistence and tolerance. It also means teaching children to think before acting and that there are ways to work things out without violence and impulsivity,” Ruiz said.

He added that this protocol is not exclusive to children and young people, but applies to parents as well.

DIFFERENT FROM THEM

Magdalena Uribe is 12. She is an elementary school student at a private bilingual school in the Linda Vista area of Mexico City. She has suffered from bullying for years.

“I did not know when things changed, but I was different from them,” Uribe said. “Friends who used to invite me to their houses for dinner or to go somewhere on the weekends suddenly started to ignore me. I was alone and no longer ‘Magdy’ but ‘Magialena.’ They gave me that nickname because they said that it was only by an act of magic (magia) that my parents could keep paying my tuition.”

She added, “There were days I did not want to go to school, and my grades started dropping. My parents were very concerned and asked me what was going on. They said that if I continued like this I would lose my scholarship, but I was afraid to tell them that I was being teased for being different; I didn’t think they would believe me.”

Believing that her parents would scold her for not going to school and possibly losing her scholarship, Uribe decided to confide in one of her teachers about what was happening, who then spoke to the group of students. The nightmare ended shortly after.

FEAR FOR THE VULNERABLE

Jorge Armando Ramírez is a 10-year-old student at the Emiliano Zapata Elementary School in Ecatepec, State of Mexico.

He is fairly short and wears glasses. He accepts that he is an easy target for bullying, but has never actually fallen victim to it thanks to his witty responses and resilient attitude.

“When someone starts calling me shorty or four eyes, I immediately reply with something that minimizes the comments like, ‘How clever of you to point out the obvious; that I’m a short and have two sets of eyes,’ and afterwards the whole situation becomes laughable,” he said.

Ramírez said that his strategy does not always work, but it usually prevents things from getting worse since he doesn’t get “hooked in.”

“If you show fear, you become a victim,” Ramírez said. “If you don’t show fear, they know that there will be consequences to face and that you will most likely tell your parents, so they decide to leave you alone and pick on the more fearful individuals. “

CYBERFAME

Kiara, who prefer to leave her last name anonymous, is finishing high school at a private school located in the north of Mexico City. She has also been a victim of bullying.

“Last year, I got transferred to another school because of photos and videos posted via Facebook depicting me as having a so-called ‘bad reputation,’” she said. “I felt cornered. Everyone in the school knew me, even kids in other grades. The alleged photos incurred a lot of disrespect from the opposite sex; I felt harassed.”

Kiara never told her parents about what happened, preferring to finish off the year and then requesting to be transfer to another school because she no longer liked the former one.

“I was lucky that they agreed,” she said. “Being an only child has its advantages.”

REVENGE

Elizabeth “N.” is 14 years old. She has been the victim of bullying, but prefers to keep silent out of fear. Her friends however have broken the silence by sharing her story.

“Eli is super cool,” said Mario “N.” “Last year, a new kid named Ángel came to our school. He was a real troublemaker and had already been expelled from two schools. H wanted Eli to be his girlfriend, and even though she had said no, he taunted her all year.”

Rosa María, another of her friends, adds: “He not only bothered her, but he tried to hurt her. Once, as revenge for saying no, he tried to snatch away her purse, leaving Eli on the floor covered in scratches.”

CURRENT INITIATIVES IN BRIEF

The Senate has been reviewing two initiatives to prevent bullying and has also proposed issuing a Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents.

Meanwhile, senators of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) are pushing for an initiative to identify, prevent, and eradicate school violence.

As a result, they proposed an addition to Article 39 of the Education Act that would empower the Secretariat of Education to promote actions to combat bullying.

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Putin pushes for Ukraine cease-fire

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Russia rebuffs east Ukraine appeals to join nation

BY LYNN BERRY

The Associated Press

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly expressed support Sunday for Ukraine’s declaration of a cease-fire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and called on both sides to negotiate a compromise.

Putin said such a compromise must guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine, who must feel like they are “an integral part” of their own country. Putin’s statement appeared to signal that he sees their future in Ukraine.

Separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence and asked to join Russia. Moscow has rebuffed their appeals, but is seen by Ukraine and the West as actively supporting the insurgency. Putin’s conciliatory words came as Russia began large-scale military exercises and after NATO accused Russia of moving troops back toward the Ukrainian border.

Putin appears determined to keep up the pressure to force the Kiev government to give the eastern industrial regions more powers and to prevent Ukraine from moving too close to the European Union or NATO. But he also wants to avoid more punishing sanctions from the U.S. and particularly from the E.U., whose leaders will meet Friday in Brussels, and therefore needs to be seen as cooperating with efforts to de-escalate the conflict.

The Kremlin initially dismissed the peace plan that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko laid out on Friday. But in a statement issued late Saturday, Putin said he welcomed the cease-fire and Poroshenko’s “intention to take other concrete steps to reach a peaceful settlement.”

As part of his plan, Poroshenko suggested a decentralization of power to give the regions more political authority. He also proposed new local and parliamentary elections, and measures to protect the language rights of Russian speakers in the east.

Putin was more specific on Sunday, when he spoke publicly following ceremonies commemorating the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

“That President Poroshenko announced a truce is without a doubt an important part of a final settlement, without which no agreement can be reached, and there is no doubt that Russia will support this intention, but in the end the most important thing is a political process,” Putin said.

Putin discussed the cease-fire on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, Merkel’s office and the Kremlin said.

“After the Russian government too referred to the cease-fire in positive terms, the interlocutors emphasized the need for all sides to abide by it now and for a political dialogue to be put in motion,” Merkel’s office said in a statement. “Another topic of the conversation was the issue of securing the Ukrainian-Russian border.”

In Kiev, Poroshenko also addressed his nation on the day on which Ukrainians and Russians mourn the millions who died during World War II. He called for peace, but urged his compatriots to stand strong and united.

“It was so during the violent struggle against the Nazis and it should be the same now,” Poroshenko said. “Facing a real threat, we must unite even more and secure our historical choice, defend our right to live freely on our land.”

Also Sunday, a few hundred pro-Ukrainian activists marched outside Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a revered Orthodox monastery, which was guarded by riot police, some on horseback. The activists had come to prevent pro-Russian supporters from holding their own march at the monastery, which is under the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchy.

Putin has appealed to both sides to halt all military operations and sit down at the negotiating table.

It remained unclear whether the pro-Russia separatists would comply and how much pressure Russia would put on them to cease fire.

Putin said Sunday that fighting was continuing, including what he said was artillery fire from the Ukrainian side. Poroshenko has said his troops reserve the right to fire back if separatists attack them or civilians.

Lahore incident: Sana, Shah didn’t appear before tribunal

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LAHORE: Former Punjab law minister, Rana Sanullah and former secretary Chief Minister Punjab Dr. Tauqir Shah did not appear before the tribunal probing the Model Town incident, citing apprehensions over security situation.

During today’s proceedings, the counsel of Rana Sanaullah adopted the stance before the tribunal that his client could not come due to the volatile security situation in Lahore in the backdrop of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Tahirul Qadri’s arrival.

He said once the security situation improves, Rana Sanaullah will attend the tribunal’s proceedings and testify.

Similar stance was adopted by Dr Tauqir Shah’s lawyer who said his client will have no problem appearing before the tribunal on any other day.

Secretary Health told the tribunal that most of the people sustained bullet injuries in the Model Town clash between police and PAT workers. He said the injured also include twenty-five police officers and personnel.

Chief Secretary Punjab said a joint investigation team has been constituted to probe the issue and that cheques were being prepared for disbursement of Rs3 million each to the bereaved families.

The inquiry tribunal directed the Chief Secretary to appear in the next hearing along with a report containing details of high-level bureaucratic transfers made prior to the Model Town incident.

Later, the tribunal summoned Rana Sanaullah and Tauqir Shah for the next hearing to be held on June 26.

Eight people including women were killed and scores others injured in a clash between police and PAT workers during an anti-encroachment drive here in Model Town last week.

 

Karachi: Four bodies recovered from Baldia Town

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KARACHI: Four bodies bearing torture marks and hands tied behind their back were recovered from Baldia Town area of Karachi on Monday morning, Geo News reported.

According to police, four blind-folded bodies were found from Rais Goth area of Baldia Town today morning. The bodies had torture marks and bullet wounds while their hands were tied behind their back

The spent shells of 9mm pistol were also recovered near the bodies.

The bodies were shifted to the hospital for medico-legal formalities and identification purpose, however, the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained until the last report was filed.

 

12 injured in suicide car bombing in Beirut suburb

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BEIRUT: A suicide car bombing in a southern Beirut suburb overnight left 12 people injured, the official Lebanese news agency said Tuesday.

The explosion happened around midnight local time on Tuesday (2100 GMT Monday) near an army checkpoint and a cafe where football fans were watching a World Cup match.

"Twelve people were injured in a suicide attack at an army checkpoint," the National Information Agency (ANI) reported.

"It was a car bomb and there is a strong possibility that it was a suicide attack," a security source told AFP.

There was no immediate word on any victims of the blast, but ambulances could be seen transporting some of the wounded.

An AFP photographer saw several cars on fire at the scene and other damage.

Firefighters were tackling the blaze.

A witness told Lebanese television that he saw a white Mercedes car travelling fast on the wrong side of the road before exploding.

"Terrorism seeks to undermine our unity," Hezbollah deputy Ali Ammar said. (AFP)

Super-Subs' score as Netherlands beat Chile 2-0 to top group

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Sao Paulo: Substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay converted brilliant assists provided by Arjen Robben as The Netherlands beat Chile 2-0 to finish on top of group B in the World Cup here on Monday.

Fer scored with his first touch of the match in the 77th minute when Robben curled one inside the box and he outjumped everyone to angle his header perfectly beating seasoned Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo as regular captain Robin van Persie applauded from the stands.

Young Memphis tapped home the second goal in the second minute of stoppage time as Robben sprinted down the left wing virtually unchallenged before keeping a nice low cross for the the 20-year-old to score.

Netherlands finished on top of group B with nine points while Chile also went into the round of 16 with six points.

Having scored 10 goals in the group league engagements, the Dutchmen also hold an envious record of scoring two or more goals in their last 13 international engagements.

It was a twin substitution from the Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal that worked wonderfully for the winners.

Norwich City's Fer and PSV Eindhoven's Memphis's introduction in place of off-colour Wesley Sniejder and Jermaine Lens worked wonders for the 'Oranje' brigade.

Just before the strike, it was Memphis whose 25-yard pile driver was brilliantly fisted by Bravo for a corner. In the next move, the goalie wasn't lucky though.

The Dutch certainly missed their in-form skipper Van Persie upfront but the match was played on even keel with both teams trying to measure each other's midfield ammunitions.

There was a lot of pressure on Arjen Robben and he almost delivered a stunning goal in the 40th minute. With a superb diagonal 60-metre sprint, Robben beat Charles Aranguiz and Gary Medel with sheer speed before his angular left-footed placement was just inches wide off the target.

PTI 

Brazil set up last-16 clash with Chile thanks to Neymar brace

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Brasilia: Brazil set up a last-16 clash with Chile after a convincing 4-1 win over Cameroon, thanks to a brace from Neymar, in the final round of matches in Group A of the FIFA World Cup at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia here Monday.

It was a star performance from Neymar, who in his debut World Cup has now scored four goals.

The Barcelona superstar opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a deft touch to finish a Luis Gustavo cross.

Cameroon defender Joel Matip silenced the boisterous home crowd with a 26th minute equaliser.

But the sea of yellow and green _ Brazilian colours _ were again sent into raptures after a brilliant individual effort from Neymar in the 35th minute.

Fred, who has received a lot of criticism for his performance in the previous two matches, scored his first goal of the tournament in the 49th minute while Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho sealed Brazil's top spot in the 84th minute.

Brazil will take on Chile, who lost 0-2 to the Netherlands earlier in the day, at Belo Horizonte Saturday.

Mexico, who beat Croatia 3-1, will take on the Dutch in the other last-16 encounter

Earlier, Brazil got out off the blocks quickly and created a few good chances early on against a Cameroonian side that had nothing to lose.

Yet the favourites found it difficult to break through the defence line of Cameroon that had conceded five goals in previous two games against Mexico and Croatia.

Cameroon looked a much better attacking side then they have done so earlier and created quite a few problems for a shaky Brazilian defence.

Neymar, though, ended a good spell of play from Cameroon with an excellent touch to guide Luis Gustavo's cross into the net.

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves was a weak link, allowing the Cameroon wingers to constantly venture into the Brazilian final third and put in dangerous crosses.

Alves was again beaten on the right that led to Matip stabbing in Cameroon's equaliser from close range.

Neymar grabbed his brace as he latched on to a David Luiz clearance and twisted and turned to beat couple of Cameroon defenders and bulleted his right-foot shot giving the keeper no chance.

To their credit, Cameroon refused to give up and harried the Brazilian defence and could have so easily scored another goal.

In the second half, it was all one-way traffic. Fred found himself at the end of a David Luiz cross and headed the ball in for Brazil's third.

The goal seemed to take the gas out of Cameroon who after that barely caused Brazil any problems at the back and let the opponents run the show.

Neymar and Oscar saw a lot of the ball and their one touch play was excellent to see.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took Neymar out taking the sting out of the game.

Substitute Fernandinho finished off a beautiful team move to make sure that Brazil continued to have a better goal difference than Mexico to finish top of the group.

IANS

Late Origi goal sends Belgium to knockout stage

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Rio de Janeiro: Belgium once again left it late bit but managed to qualify for the last 16 after an unconvincing 1-0 win over Russia in a FIFA World Cup Group H match at the Maracana stadium here Sunday.

Substitute Divock Origi gave Belgium the narrow win after a 81st minute strike.

Belgium had done very little in the first 80 minutes of the match but went hell for leather in the final 10 minutes, and finally broke the deadlock.

It was a lackadaisical performance from a Belgian side that promised much before the start of the tournament.

Even in their opening 2-1 win against Algeria, Belgium had to rely on two late goals from substitutes to save them the blushes.

And against Russia as well, the Belgians, regarded by many as the dark horses of the tournament, looked laboured in attack and created little from the possession they had.

Russia in contrast defended stoutly and hit the opposition on the counter.

Coached by former England manager, Fabio Capello's side created more clear cut chances and should have led but for some poor finishing.

Chelsea star Eden Hazard put in another disinterested performance and did little to help the Belgian cause. However, the 23-year-old woke up in the final minutes and it was his assistance that led to the goal.

Hazard, though, will have to improve his performance if Belgium are to go further in the tournament and will need to keep his intensity levels up the entire match.

Russia saw little of the ball in the first half but created three golden chances of which they should have put away at least one.

The best chance fell to Alexander Kokorin, who got in between two Belgian defenders but his free header went wide.

Belgium's built up play was very slow and every time they ventured into the Russian third, they were repelled back.

Dries Mertens was Belgium's best player in the half. He posed the greatest threat for the Russian defence but didn't get much support from his teammates.

The second half was much the same. Both teams looked very mediocre initially.

But as the match wore on, the game opened up and there was more attacking play.

At first, it seemed the Russians would steal the game away but in the final quarter, Belgium came back strongly and created numerous chances.

Substitute Kevin Mirallas of Everton went very close to giving Belgium the lead but his grounded free kick struck the right post.

Hazard came into his own only towards the end and it was finally his twisting and turning run and a brilliant cut back that Origi finished.

Mirallas could have easily doubled the lead after another incisive run from Hazard but his weak shot was easily saved.

Egypt sentences Al-Jazeera trio to at least seven years jail

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Cairo: An Egyptian court Monday sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to seven years in prison, media reported.

The guilty verdicts were delivered against Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, Al Jazeera reported.

Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison while Baher Mohamed was sentenced to an additional three years for possessing arms.

The three journalists were arrested in December last year in Cairo as they covered the aftermath of former President Mohamed Morsi's ouster last July.

The prosecution said Greste, Al Jazeera's east Africa correspondent, and his Egypt bureau colleagues aided the Brotherhood and produced false news reports of the situation in Egypt.

The prosecution produced a number of items as evidence including a BBC podcast, a news report made while none of the accused were in Egypt, a pop video by the Australian singer, Gotye, and several recordings on non-Egyptian issues.

The defence maintained that the journalists were wrongly arrested and that the prosecution had failed to prove any of the charges against them.

Another Al Jazeera journalist Abdullah Elshamy was released earlier June 17 on medical grounds as he was on hunger strike for 147 days to protest his prolonged imprisonment without charge.

He was arrested Aug 14 last year.

IANS

'Missing link' in ribosome production holds key for cancer cure

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'New York: Biologists have found the 'missing link' in the chemical system that enables animal cells to produce ribosomes - the thousands of protein factories in each cell that manufacture all of the proteins needed to build tissue and sustain life.

Their discovery provides scientists with a better understanding of how to limit uncontrolled cell growth, such as cancer, that might be regulated by controlling the output of ribosomes.

'The discovery of this specialised TRF2-based system for ribosome biogenesis provides a new avenue for the study of ribosomes and its control of cell growth,' said Jim Kadonaga, a professor of biology at University of California at San Diego in the US.

'It should lead to a better understanding and potential treatment of diseases such as cancer,' he said.

Ribosomes are responsible for the production of the wide variety of proteins that include enzymes; structural molecules, such as hair, skin and bones; hormones like insulin; and components of our immune system such as antibodies.

Regarded as life's most important molecular machine, ribosomes have been intensively studied by scientists.

In 1969, scientists discovered that the synthesis of the ribosomal RNAs is carried out by specialised systems using two key enzymes: RNA polymerase I and RNA polymerase III.

But until now, scientists were unsure if a complementary system was also responsible for the production of the 80 proteins that make up the ribosome.

'We found that ribosomal proteins are synthesised via a novel regulatory system with the enzyme RNA polymerase II and a factor termed TRF2,' Kadonaga said.

'For the production of most proteins, RNA polymerase II functions with a factor termed TBP, but for the synthesis of ribosomal proteins, it uses TRF2,' Kadonaga said.

The study appeared in the journal Genes & Development.

IANS