United States: Cops taser 12-year-old
“A police officer tased a 12-year-old girl inside a Victoria's Secret [on] Wednesday afternoon at South County Center [in St Louis County, Missouri].
“Police say the officer came into the Victoria's Secret looking for the teenager's mom, who had warrants for her arrest. But it was the teen who got tased.
“'This one goes in my chest. It was stuck in there so she had to keep on pulling trying to pull it out,' said Dejamon Baker, as she pointed to a small wound on her chest ...
“Baker said, 'I was just crying. I guess he got mad because I was crying or something, then he just took it out and just tased me.'
“A police spokesman says the officer stated the girl was physically getting involved and would not back away, but Dejamon and her mother deny that ...
“The police spokesman says he believes the officer's actions were justified, but he admits it's a unique situation.”
― KSDK.com, July 27.
Eurozone unemployment hits record high
“The number of people unemployed across the 17 eurozone countries hit a record high in June, official figures showed today. EU statistics office Eurostat said that 17.801 million people were out of work in the eurozone in June.
“That was 123,000 more than May and was the highest level since the euro was launched in 1999. The increase was the 14th in a row and means that around 2.25 million people have lost their jobs since April 2011.
“Spain, currently at the forefront of Europe's debt crisis concerns, had the highest unemployment rate across the eurozone of 24.8 per cent.
“Greece's rate was not far behind at 22.5 per cent, though the latest figures available are for April.
“Many eurozone countries, including France and Italy, also have double-digit unemployment rates.
“And even EU powerhouse Germany is starting to see rising unemployment rates.”
-- Morning Star, July 31.
Fukushima kids receive lifetime of radiation
“A Japanese study has found some children who live near the Fukushima nuclear plant have received 'lifetime' doses of radiation to their thyroid glands ...
“Despite the government announcing more than half of the children had zero exposure, the independent study found that on average they did receive thyroid gland doses of internal radiation. Several children were judged to have received an equivalent lifetime dose to the thyroid.
“But the government says it does not plan to notify the parents out of fear of creating anxiety.”
― ABC.net.au, July 12.
Taxpayers' billions bail out Fukushima owners
“The Japanese utility that operates the nuclear power plant sent into meltdown by last year's tsunami received a one-trillion yen (about $12 billion) government bailout today, effectively putting it under government control.
“Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) apologised for the 'inconvenience and anxiety' from the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and for raising electricity charges to cover the costs of dealing with the crisis.
“The company still faces massive compensation demands from those forced to evacuate and whose land and products were contaminated by radiation following the disaster that began on March 11 last year.”
-- Morning Star, July 31.