Further to an earlier article in which I commented on the relaxed attitude of the British public in the wake of the economic crisis, The Guardian report

Police are preparing for a "summer of rage" as victims of the economic downturn take to the streets to demonstrate against financial institutions, the Guardian has learned

The article reveals that it is

middle-class individuals who would never have considered joining demonstrations who may now seek to vent their anger through protests this year.

At last the country is waking up to the reality of the situation and making their voice heard. The government may choose not to listen but the message needs to get through. United we stand, divided we fall

Alistair Darling pulls out of Davos

Times Online reports that Alistair Darling has pulled out of out of Davos -

"A spokeswoman for the Treasury confirmed that Mr Darling would not be going to the event, and had been due to fly to the WEF earlier this week. It also emerged today that David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has also pulled out of Davos.

A spokesman for the Treasury said it was decided that since a number of people Mr Darling had been due to meet had pulled out of Davos, his time would be better spent doing other things."

What better things could Mr Darling be turning his attention to? Rescuing the failing economy would be the first thing that springs to mind.

The Telegraph report "that the UK will be at the bottom of the league table of major developed countries this year, in the weakest year for the global economy since the Second World War"

This means that the UK is set to face a worse recession than any other major country in the world. The future looks bleak however according to a report in The Australian Post"FOR a nation that has just been officially told by the International Monetary Fund that it is about to suffer the worst recession of any developed country since 1945, Britain is remarkably relaxed.

There are no threats of mass strikes by workers fearing for their jobs, no calls for a crisis election and certainly no hints of the street riots that have recently been seen in several other European countries."

Although I do not condone the actions of those in other countries at least they are making their feelings known to those in charge. A relaxed attitude is one that has served to place Britain at the bottom of the league table. . British politicians NEED to get a grip of the situation, instead of the constant bickering between the different political parties, the government needs to work as a team that mean TOGETHER. A viable solution can only be achieved if all parties are in agreement.

Blockade puts Gaza on brink of serious food crisis, says UN

Destitution and food insecurity among Gaza's 1.5 million residents has reached an unprecedentedly critical level, according to unpublished UN findings that they now need "urgent assistance" to avert a "serious food crisis" in the occupied Palestinian territories.

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Gaza's humanitarian crisis

Startling statistics that shed light on the situation in Gaza. A report on the BBC website highlights the need for urgent action to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza in what is described as an unprecendented crisis

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A group of UK-based human rights and development organisations have called for fundamental policy changes towards the Gaza Strip by Israel, the international community and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership.A report sponsored by Amnesty International, Care International UK, Cafod, Christian Aid, Medecins du Monde UK, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and Trocaire, details what the organisations say is the worst humanitarian crisis in the strip since Israel occupied it in the 1967 war, and describe it as a man-made disaster resulting from the isolation and blockade of Gaza after its take-over by Hamas militants last June. The full report can be read here The Gaza Strip:A Humanitarian Implosion

The main points of the report cover the dramatic decline of social and economical indicators and flag key issues such as poverty, food aid dependency, humanitarian access,unemployment, access to basic services and medicalsupplies, They describe the situation as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Israel, as the occupying power, is ultimately responsible for ensuring the welfare of the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, all of whom are protected persons.Israeli officials however contend that Israel is no longer bound by the laws of occupation since it redeployed its forces to the perimeter of the Gaza Strip in 2005. Israel does control however , The Strip's air space and territorial waters, and the movement of people and goods. The report concludes the Israeli authorities are
bound by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to ensure the welfare of the Palestinian population in the OPT.

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