8-year-old girl gets divorce after forced marriage

A Yemeni court on Tuesday granted a divorce to an eight-year-old girl whose unemployed father forced her into an arranged marriage this year, saying he feared she might be kidnapped. "I am happy that I am divorced now. I will be able to go back to school," Nojud Mohammed Ali said, after a public hearing in Sanaa's court of first instance.

Her former husband, 28-year-old Faez Ali Thameur, said he married the child "with her consent and that of her parents" but that he did not object to her divorce petition. In response to a question from Judge Mohammed al-Qadhi, he acknowledged that the "marriage was consummated, but I did not beat her." Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, has no law governing the minimum age of marriage.

Nojud was a second grader in primary school when the marriage took place two and a half months ago. "They asked me to sign the marriage contract and remain in my father's house until I was 18. But a week after signing, my father and my mother forced me to go live with him."

Nojud's father, Mohammad Ali Al-Ahdal, said he had felt obliged to marry off his daughter, an act he claims she consented to. He said he was frightened after his oldest daughter had been kidnapped several years ago and later married to her abductor. He said the same man then kidnapped another of his daughters who was already married and had four children, resulting in him being jailed. Dressed in traditional black, Nojud said she would now go to live in the home of her maternal uncle and did not want to see her father. The girl's lawyer, Shadha Nasser, said Nojud's case was not unique. "I believe there are thousands of similar cases," she said, adding that civil society groups are pressing parliament to set the minimum age for marriage at 18.

Breitbart.com

Retired NYC Subway Cars Creating a Reef off the Coast of Delaware

If you think subway cars are only useful so long as they are efficiently carrying urban travelers from point A to point B, well, you're wrong! It turns out that hundreds of retired New York City subway cars have been finding a second home--80 feet underwater, and 16 nautical miles off the coast of Delaware. There they are helping to transform "a barren stretch of ocean floor into a bountiful oasis, carpeted in sea grasses, walled thick with blue mussels and sponges, and teeming with black sea bass and tautog." So far, 666 subway cars have already made their way to the ocean floor, and the results have been impressive: "a 400-fold increase in the amount of marine food per square foot in the last seven years," and "In the last several years, the reefs have drawn swift open-ocean fish, like tuna and mackerel, that use the reefs as hunting grounds for smaller prey. Sea bass like to live inside the cars, while large flounder lie in the silt that settles on top of the cars." This is great news, as ocean acidification from climate change and other human disruptions are harming reefs around the world.

So what about the environmental impacts from the subway cars themselves?

Some environmental groups, such as the American Littoral Society, "opposed the use of the Redbird cars because they have small levels of asbestos in the glue used to secure the floor panels and in the insulation material in the walls." However, "State and federal environmental officials approved the use of the Redbirds and other cars for artificial reefs in Delaware and elsewhere because they said the asbestos was not a risk for marine life and has to be airborne to pose a threat to humans."

The only significant problem, it seems, is that other states are catching on to the trend, but unfortunately there is only a limited number of retired subway cars available. As a result, "States have experimented with other types of artificial reef materials, including abandoned automobiles, tanks, refrigerators, shopping carts and washing machines." But none have worked very well; the fish seem to like the roominess of the subway cars, and their weight ensures that the structure stays stably anchored to the sea bed. Besides, while the environmental impacts of dumping subway cars are, at worst, minimal, it doesn't seem like a great idea to begin throwing all our abandoned appliances in the sea in the hopes of restoring aquatic ecosystems...

Treehugger

Real-life 'Spiderman' scales HK hotel

The real-life spiderman, Frenchman Alain Robert, climbed up the Four Seasons hotel in Central using his bare hands on Tuesday afternoon.Mr Robert told journalists he made the climb to help promote awareness about global warming.
The 45-year-old urban climber began the climb about 1.00pm. He then spent 45 minutes climbing up to the hotel's 26-storey high balcony.

Police and firemen have deployed air cushion units under the hotel. More than 100 onlookers at the pedestrian level and office workers were watching while he climbed.

The Four Seasons hotel is part of the International Finance Centre. It has a height of 206m – 60-storeys – and is the largest Four Seasons hotel.

A spokesman from the Four Seasons hotel said although they had not been informed about the climb, they had no intention to take legal action over it.

Mr Robert told local media that he had wanted to climb IFC II, but was worried he might have been sued by the property's owner. He also said the air conditioning systems on the balcony of the building would have increased the difficulty of the climb.

He is also in town to promote his memoir With Bare Hands. The book is about his story and philosophy of being one of the world's leading urban climbers. On Tuesday night, he will appear at a literary dinner at SoHo SoHo to discuss his new memoir.

He once told a journalist that “I cannot do any normal job... I plan the climb so I know what to expect,” he said. “It is rare I can't climb a building – it's only the law that will stop me, not the building.”

Alain Robert has scaled 85 giant structures around the globe including many of the world's tallest structures, most of which he has scaled using only his bare hands and climbing shoes.

He has also climbed some of the world's most famous buildings. These include the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and the Montparnasse Tower in Paris, along with some very tall skyscrapers.

Mr Robert is well-known in Hong Kong and the mainland.

On May 31, 2007, he scaled China's highest skyscraper, the 88-story Jin Mao Building in Shanghai. For this climb he wore a Spiderman costume. Robert was later arrested and jailed for five days. He was then expelled from the mainland. Then in November 2007, Mr Robert was invited by the local government of Zhangjiajie, a region in the southern province of Hunan, to climb the 1,518 metres Tianmen mountain, to promote tourism.

On June 11, 2005 he climbed the Cheung Kong Centre in Hong Kong and the Far East Financial Centre in 1996.

SCMP. Apr. 15, 2008

[A+] Advice on saving buildings ignored

Government has accepted only four of the 59 sites named by antiquities board

The Antiquities Advisory Board has advised the government to declare at least 59 historic buildings as monuments since the 1970s - but only four of its recommendations have been accepted, a confidential document has revealed.

Five of the buildings have been demolished.

The revelation has prompted calls for an urgent overhaul of the conservation process. Board members and a conservation expert have also complained that the system does not offer full legal protection to valuable buildings.

The board is a statutory body set up to advise the Antiquities Authority on matters relating to antiquities and monuments and can only make recommendations on items referred to it by the authority.

The document, discussed at a board meeting in 2006, reports on the status of buildings recommended as monuments. Between 1977 and 2005, the board recommended monument status for 59 buildings, of which 15 were on government sites.

Of the five that were demolished, the Marine Department Building in Central and the south block of Western Market in Sheung Wan were government buildings and had been recommended for monument status in 1977. They were demolished in 1982. The other three were the Hong Kong Club in Central, the Sacred Heart Canossian College in Mid-Levels and the Old Sports Pavilion at the University of Hong Kong.

Five buildings or groups of buildings - Lui Seng Chun, 344 Shanghai Street in Mong Kok, Kom Tong Hall in Mid-Levels, Tat Tak Communal Hall in Yuen Long, and Pak Mong Village on Lantau Island - are expected to be declared monuments in the near future. The fate of the remaining 45 buildings, some of which have been on the preservation list for nearly three decades, is still in the balance. Tsang Tai Uk in Sha Tin, Pun Uk in Yuen Long, and Wong Chuk Hang San Wai in Aberdeen were recommended as monuments in 1978, 1979 and 1983 respectively.

While in most cases it was the owners or tenants of the buildings who objected to proposed monument status, there were instances where government departments also did so, the document revealed. For example, the Lands Department and the Government Property Agency objected to declaring the Ex-Commodore's House in Bowen Road in Mid-Levels as a monument because they needed to sort out building maintenance and public access to other buildings in the area. The building is now leased to a charitable organisation, Mother's Choice.

"It [the paper] is evidence showing that heritage, and the board, have long been neglected by the government," board member Ng Cho-nam said. "The demolished buildings could have been saved if more resources were allocated for heritage protection, at least for the government-owned buildings."

Board member Laurence Li Lu-jen blamed what he described as a flawed conservation system. "The court clearly stated that the Antiquities Authority is only required to consult the board when it intends to declare a building a monument," he said, referring to the court's statement after the judicial review filed against the demolition of Queen's Pier.

Professor Lee Ho-yin, director of the architectural conservation programme at the University of Hong Kong, said the board should have the power to recommend buildings for monument status instead of having to wait to be consulted by the Antiquities Authority. The decision to declare a monument should not rest only with the authority.

A spokesman for the Antiquities and Monuments Office said it would not comment on confidential documents. He said the board's advice was not a determining factor in declaring a monument. That decision rested with the Antiquities Authority, a role that rests with the secretary for development.

SCMP. Apri 13, 2008.

Ikea Train in Kobe, Japan

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has converted the Kobe Portliner Monorail into a moving showroom before the April 14 opening of a new retail outlet at Port Island. The redecorated train, which features a colorful exterior, bright upholstery and fancy curtains, will carry passengers in style until May 6.

More photos at Pink Tentacle.

Academic vocabulary

Academic vocabulary

Aim:
This page contains academic vocabulary. Click on a number to see the word list: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Students at the level of F.6/7 should try to learn one list every two weeks. Although there are about 60 items in each list, many of them you will know already.

Associate degree graduates may have a more secure future

The number of top-up degree places for associate degree graduates at publicly funded universities will be doubled under the education minister's plan released yesterday.

Announcing the move, Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung made 21 other recommendations aimed at addressing concerns over the quality and recognition of associate degree programmes.

The package will now go to the Legislative Council education panel next week and then to the Finance Committee for approval.

The report recommends creating publicly funded Year Two university places in the coming academic year, and not in 2010/11 as previously scheduled.

This means the number of Year Two places at University Grants Committee-funded universities would increase from 967 to 1,927.

The report also recommends encouraging private universities to expand self-financing top-up courses for sub-degree graduates.

It also proposes extending a loan scheme - the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students - to cover such graduates.

Several measures are aimed at freeing up resources at sub-degree institutions so they can spend more money on teaching - for instance, doubling to 20 years the tenure of start-up loans for institutions. The loan would be interest-free for the first 10 years.

Mr Suen said the plan involved a new HK$100 million grant for institutions to provide language courses and other learning programmes to help weaker students.

The report also suggests subdegree programme providers be given priority to use vacant school premises, and charged just a token fee for land to build campuses.

A proposed loan scheme for the students would be extended to cover living expenses, costing HK$390 million in the coming academic year and rising to HK$420 million in 2012/13.

Mr Suen dismissed criticism that introducing associate degree programmes was a mistake.

"We have seen some shortcomings in sub-degree programmes since their introduction in 2000, but the aim of this review is to find out these shortcomings and seek ways to address them," he said.

He noted cases where associate degree graduates were not recognised by employers because they had not passed language subjects in open exams.

"But they were only individual and exceptional cases," he said.

"We observe that most institutions have been sticking to strict admission standards, and one area we will continue to work on is to ensure that they adhere to these standards." He said the bureau did not support a "significant" increase in the number of associate degree programmes given the plentiful supply courses.

Victor Lee Sze-kuen, chairman of the Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions, called the HK$100 million grant a "first step" for better community colleges. If the money was well-spent, the amount should be increased, he said.

"More bridging courses are the way forward for the expansion of higher education in Hong Kong and I have heard of one or two community colleges that are planning to apply for accreditation to become private universities."

The recommendations

• Double second-year places on full-degree courses reserved for holders of associate degrees at publicly funded universities
• Extend scheme providing loans for graduates of diploma and associate degree programmes to pursue full degrees
• Make vacant school buildings available to prospective providers of sub-degree courses
• Offer institutions grants to enhance the quality of sub-degree courses
• Extend from 10 years to 20 years the tenure of start-up loans to institutions providing sub-degree courses
• Make the differences between diploma and associate degree courses, and their purpose, more clear
• Provide an information portal about associate degree programmes and their provider

SCMP. Apr. 11, 2008

Teenage girl left looking like alien after hair dye causes severe allergic reaction

A teenager was left in agony and covered in weeping sores after suffering a severe allergic reaction to hair dye.

Lois Queen, 13, was rushed to hospital after using L'Oreal Casting Crème Gloss in chocolate brown.

Her face is still swollen 10 days after using the product and she's vowed never to dye her hair again.

Miss Queen bought the hair dye from a local shop near her home in Mottingham, south London, for £5.99.

She wanted to colour her hair for her forthcoming 14th birthday party, which takes place next month.

Miss Queen followed the instructions on the pack and, under the watchful eye of her mum Lorna, 40, carried out the allergy patch test 48 hours before applying the dye.

After her face ballooned, she was rushed her to hospital where doctors diagnosed a severe allergic reaction and gave her steroids and antihistamines.

Miss Queen said: 'The pain was intense. It was terrifying. Within hours of using it my eye went red and itchy, then the swelling started. The next morning I could barely open my eyes.

'It was so painful. I thought I was going blind and dying. My head was such a weird shape, I looked like an alien.'

Lois said: 'Doctors gave me medicine but it didn't get better, it got worse. I had to go back three times.

'I'd wanted to look better but ended up looking like a freak.'

Mrs Queen, a mum-of-four children and a trainee teacher, said: 'The doctor said she was lucky to avoid permanent eye damage.

'Lois missed a whole week of school and has been miserable. She's really down, won't eat and won't leave the house.

'The swelling has gone down a bit but she is still covered in weeping sores that are getting infected. It's miserable.

'She dyed her hair for her 14th birthday party – coming up in May. She's really gutted.

'I'm revolted and Lois will never dye her hair again. L'Oreal obviously use very strong ingredients.'

The hair dye used by Lois Queen

Daily Mail.

Teen's organs prove deadly for recipients

Alex Koehne had a love for life and always wanted to help people.

So when his parents were told that their 15-year-old son was dying of bacterial meningitis, the couple did not hesitate in donating his organs to desperately ill transplant recipients.

"I immediately said, `Let's do it'," Jim Koehne recalled. "We both thought it was a great idea. This is who Alex was."

A year later, their dream that Alex's spirit might somehow live on has become a nightmare.

It turned out that Alex did not die of bacterial meningitis, but rather a rare form of lymphoma that was not found until his autopsy, and apparently spread to the organ recipients.

The suburban New York couple was told that two of the recipients had died and two others had the donor kidneys removed and were being treated for cancer.

The revelation has led two hospitals to revise transplant procedures, although the state Health Department found that no one was to blame. Experts said getting cancer from an organ donor was extremely rare: only 64 cases have been identified in a national study of 230,000 cases, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

"A 15-year-old boy's organs are a gift from the Almighty," said transplant surgeon Lewis Teperman, noting that most organ donors were much older than Alex. "Usually the organs from a 15-year-old are perfect. In this case, they weren't."

Dr Teperman is the director of transplantation at New York University Medical Centre, where two of the transplants were done, and lead author of a report on the case.

In March of last year, Alex was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island after treatment at another hospital for nausea, vomiting, severe back and neck pain, seizures and double vision. Doctors told his parents they suspected he had bacterial meningitis - an infection of the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and brain - although tests did not reveal what bacteria caused it.

He was treated with antibiotics but died on March 30 last year.

The Koehnes requested an autopsy. They were told that Alex had actually died from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but in a rare form of the blood cancer that affects fewer than 1,500 people in the US annually.

"Our jaws dropped," Mr Koehne recalled. "We walked out of there crying."

Mr Koehne and his wife, Lisa, later learned that a 52-year-old man died of the same rare lymphoma about four months after receiving Alex's liver.

The couple said they were also told a 36-year-old woman who received Alex's pancreas also developed lymphoma and died.

Two patients who received the kidneys were undergoing cancer treatment and were faring well, according to a report in the American Journal of Transplantation.

All four recipients were notified immediately of the autopsy results and received chemotherapy, the report said. None has been publicly identified.

The report's authors noted a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis does not preclude donating organs, because the recipients can be given antibiotics to prevent infection, but they concluded "a more thorough evaluation of the donor" should be done when there is any doubt.

SCMP. Apr 09, 2008

Paris puts out Olympic flame as protests mount

Games' symbol extinguished; IOC chief voices concern

Protesters against China's policies on human rights and Tibet forced security officials to put out the iconic Olympic flame and take refuge on a bus five times before aborting its relay through Paris yesterday.

Games organisers vowed to defeat the "few Tibet separatists" who threatened to spoil the biggest relay in Olympic history.

Speaking in Beijing hours after similar protests during the torch relay in London, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said he was very concerned about the protests and about the recent deadly unrest in Tibetan-populated regions.

"The torch relay has been targeted. The IOC has expressed its serious concern and calls for a rapid peaceful resolution in Tibet," he said.

The comments were the sternest yet by Dr Rogge, who has repeatedly defended the awarding of the Games to China and said at the weekend the IOC saw "no momentum" for a boycott of Games events.

French officials cut short the torch relay after protesters had repeatedly held up its progress.

On the Eiffel Tower's first floor, Green Party activist Sylvain Garel lunged for the first torch-bearer, shouting, "Freedom for the Chinese". Security officials pulled him back.

After just 200 metres, protesters confronted the relay. Security officials extinguished the torch and put it on a bus.

Crowds booed and jeered its progress down the Champs Elysee - the most famous street in Paris - and protesters, among them city councillors, hung banners depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs from landmarks including City Hall, where a Tibetan flag also flew. Mayor Bertrand Delanoe cancelled a ceremony there marking the torch's passage, citing Chinese objections.

One protester tried to douse the flame with a fire extinguisher.

Each time officials resumed the relay, it was interrupted. The flame was put out at least twice. Police made 28 arrests.

When the torch was whisked to the stadium where the relay was to have ended, fighting broke out nearby between French pro-Tibet activists and demonstrators carrying Chinese flags. The French activists spat on them and shouted, "Fascists!"

The head of the French Olympic Committee called the protests against the relay highly regrettable.

Wang Hui , spokeswoman for the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, was defiant. "The Tibet separatists are doomed to failure. Nothing can stop the smooth operation of the torch relay. It will be a success. We will not change our schedule," she said.

Earlier, a government spokesman described Sunday's demonstrations in London as "vile misdeeds" by "disgusting" separatists seeking to sabotage the relay.

Dr Rogge, clearly rattled by the images of protesters trying to snuff out the flame, called on the 205 national Olympic committees meeting in Beijing this week to form a united front to prevent the Games being overshadowed by violent protests.

"Our major responsibility is to offer a good Games to the athletes. The world expects it, and the unity of the Olympic movement will deliver it," he said.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuter