Missing girl 'found 18 years on'

There have been few clues as to Jaycee Lee's whereabouts in 18 years

A US woman found after being abducted as a girl in 1991 gave birth to two children fathered by her alleged kidnapper, police say.

Jaycee Lee Dugard and the children, aged 11 and 15, were kept isolated in a back garden in Antioch, California.

Alleged kidnapper Phillip Garrido, 58, and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, are being held in custody.

DNA tests are being done to establish Ms Dugard's identity, but meanwhile she has been reunited with her mother.

Ms Dugard disappeared in 1991, aged 11, from outside her Lake Tahoe home, apparently taken by two people.

El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar she had lived with the couple in the Antioch property since the kidnapping, isolated from view in a "hidden backyard within a backyard."

"The tents and outbuildings in the backyard were placed in a strategic arrangement to inhibit outside viewing and to isolate the victims from outside contact."

Phillip Garrido allegedly fathered two children with Ms Dugard, police say

The three spent "most of their lives" there, he said, adding that they had never been to school or seen a doctor.

Their identities were revealed after Mr Garrido was spotted by police at the University of California Berkeley campus with the two young children.

He raised suspicions because as a registered sex offender he was not allowed to be with young children.

He was called in by his parole officer for questioning, and brought the two children and a young woman he called Alissa with him.

During questioning he revealed that Alissa was actually Ms Dugard. She also confirmed her identity to police.

At the Antioch property, there was also a vehicle hidden in the backyard which matched the vehicle originally described at the time of the abduction, Mr Kollar said.

"It's a pretty spectacular story just to find someone like that. Someone we assumed was dead," said Bill Clark, a senior prosecutor in El Dorado County.

Jimmie Lee, a local police spokesman, said Mr Garrido was also being held for investigation of rape by force, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and sexual penetration.

Under suspicion

She sounds like she's okay. I hope she's been well treated this entire 18 years Carl Probyn Stepfather

As news spread of Ms Dugard's apparent re-appearance, her stepfather Carl Probyn told ABC News in the US that her family was now convinced she was coming back to them.

"I had personally given up hope," he said, saying that he just wanted to find the people responsible.

Mr Probyn was watching on 10 June 1991, as the young girl was apparently taken away by two unidentified people.

The incident occurred as she was walking from her home to a school bus stop in the southern Lake Tahoe town of Meyers.

Her stepfather - who initially came under suspicion in her disappearance and is now estranged from Ms Dugard's mother - has described how a stranger drove up and grabbed Ms Dugard, bundling her into a grey car even as she tried to resist by kicking and screaming.

US police give details of Jaycee recovery

Mr Probyn believed a man and woman were in the vehicle. Despite several false reports of sightings in the intervening years, Ms Dugard was never seen again.

"She sounds like she's okay," he said.

"She had a conversation with my wife and she remembers things. I hope she's been well treated this entire 18 years."

"To have this happen where we get her back alive, and where she remembers things from the past, and to have people in custody is a triple win," he told the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

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Bolivia's Child Miners

Filmmaker: Rodrigo Vasquez

The Llallagua tin mine in Bolivia has been active for 100 years.

For much of that time poor Bolivians have been dying as they struggle to extract the valuable metal in appalling conditions.

In 2006 Witness travelled to Bolivia to film with child miners Jorge Mollinedo and his friend Alex Choque, soon after the country's first indigenous President Evo Morales had won elections with the promise of renationalising the mining industry.

But armed conflict between the cooperatives that extract tin and the National Miners Union broke out in October of that year.

Jorge's mining town was partially destroyed and 20 miners, among them women and children, were killed.

The cooperatives have been denied access to the pits ever since so now Jorge's father has lost his job.

But because the child miners are not part of the cooperative they've carried on working, and now Jorge is helping to support his entire family, at the age of just 13.

Rodrigo Vasquez made that first film for Witness, and in Child Miners he returns to Llallagua to ask what happened to the promised reforms, and to find out if life for Jorge and Alex has improved.

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Taliban confirm commander's death

The fate of Baitullah Mehsud has been the subject of intense speculation

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, is dead, two of his senior commanders have told the BBC.

It is the first time that the militant group has acknowledged his death.

The commanders, Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, said that he had died of injuries sustained in a US missile strike earlier this month.

Hakimullah has been named as successor to Baitullah Mehsud, who was Pakistan's most feared militant, accused of scores of suicide bombings and other attacks.

Hakimullah Mehsud, who is believed to be in his late 20s, said Baitullah Mehsud had been critically wounded by the missile strike but died only on Sunday.

Waliur Rehman said that Hakimullah Meshud had his support as leader, and denied reports of differences between the two men.

"There are no differences between the various Taliban faction and we are all united."

Earlier, government officials said the two factions led by Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman had taken up arms against each other.

Profile: Hakimullah Mehsud Obituary: Baitullah Mehsud

There were also claims that the newly appointed leader had been killed in a clash between the two sides.

"These are only false reports being spread by the government," Waliur Rehman said.

The fate of Baitullah Mehsud has also been the subject of intense speculation.

Senior Pakistani government officials have previously said they had information that Baitullah Mehsud was killed when a missile struck his father-in-law's compound on 5 August.

A Taliban spokesman arrested last week also reportedly confirmed Baitullah Mehsud's death to Pakistani intelligence officials.

But the Taliban have repeatedly denied these claims, despite announcing the appointment of Hakimullah Mehsud as its new leader just days ago.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that the Pakistani government will be pleased that the Taliban has confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud.

It has been unable to provide tangible evidence of his death because of the remote and hostile terrain of Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan.

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Hopes raised for MS treatment

Professor Wynick set up research into the effects of galanin on MS

Scientists in Bristol claim results from a research project into multiple sclerosis (MS) could lead to treatment to reduce the severity of the disease.

The team carried out tests on mice and then on human brain tissue and found galanin, a protein within brain nerve cells, was resistant to MS.

Professor David Wraith at the University of Bristol said the results were "extremely promising".

The team said it could be at least 10 years before a drug is developed.

Professor David Wynick, who works on the function of galanin, set up the project with a group of other scientists working on the development of a vaccine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

He said: "It has been known for some time that galanin plays a protective role in both the central and peripheral nerve systems - when a nerve is injured levels of galanin increase dramatically in an attempt to limit cell death."

The team discovered that mice with high levels of galanin were completely resistant to the MS-like disease, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Transgenic mice that contained no galanin at all developed a more severe form of the disease.

MS is a neurological condition that affects the transfer of messages from the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

It is the most common neurological disorder among young adults, affecting 85,000 people in the UK with 2,500 newly diagnosed each year.

There is no cure for MS, but drugs can be used to reduce the number and severity of relapses, and to reduce the number of new attacks.

Dr Doug Brown, research manager at the MS Society, said: "This is an early study and there's a long way to go before we understand what this means for people with MS, but any insight into how MS might be treated is valuable to researchers.

"This is worth further investigation."

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California jail release vote due

By Rajesh Mirchandani BBC News, Los Angeles

The riot at a south California prison has been blamed on 'racial tensions'

California lawmakers are to vote on a plan to release 27,000 prisoners early.

The proposal is part of a solution to a $26bn dollar budget deficit and the problem of chronic prison overcrowding.

It comes soon after a prison riot in which hundreds of inmates were hurt. The prison was holding well over its official capacity.

A federal court recently ruled that conditions in California's prisons were appalling and ordered inmate numbers to be cut by 40,000.

The early release of thousands of prisoners could save California more than a billion dollars as well as easing overcrowding.

Opponents of the idea say it will put dangerous criminals back on the streets.

Thanks to tough laws the state has nearly 170,000 people in prisons that were designed for far fewer.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks releasing low-level offenders - like those near the end of their sentences - would be a better use of scarce resources.

However, no politician here wants to be seen as soft on crime. So, lawmakers are divided but they must reach agreement.

Just two weeks ago, prisoners rioted at a facility near Los Angeles, setting fire to cell blocks. More than 100 were injured at the California Institution for Men in the southern town of Chino. Racial tensions were blamed.

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1,000 cameras 'solve one crime'

London is one of the world's most monitored cities

Only one crime was solved by each 1,000 CCTV cameras in London last year, a report into the city's surveillance network has claimed.

The internal police report found the million-plus cameras in London rarely help catch criminals.

In one month CCTV helped capture just eight out of 269 suspected robbers.

David Davis MP, the former shadow home secretary, said: "It should provoke a long overdue rethink on where the crime prevention budget is being spent."

The Metropolitan Police has been extraordinarily slow to act to deal with the ineffectiveness of CCTV David Davis MP

He added: "CCTV leads to massive expense and minimum effectiveness.

"It creates a huge intrusion on privacy, yet provides little or no improvement in security.

"The Metropolitan Police has been extraordinarily slow to act to deal with the ineffectiveness of CCTV."

Nationwide, the government has spent £500m on CCTV cameras.

But Det Sup Michael Michael McNally, who commissioned the report, conceded more needed to be done to make the most of the investment.

He said: "CCTV, we recognise, is a really important part of investigation and prevention of crime, so how we retrieve that from the individual CCTV pods is really quite important.

"There are some concerns, and that's why we have a number of projects on-going at the moment."

Among those projects is a pilot scheme by the Met to improve the way CCTV images are used.

Officers from 11 boroughs have formed a new unit which collects and labels footage centrally before distributing them across the force and media.

It has led to more than 1,000 identifications out of 5,260 images processed so far.

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'Oscar's miraculous recovery'

By Jane Elliott Health reporter, BBC News

Oscar is now fully recovered

Oscar Parry has had leukaemia twice, three bone marrow transplants and five brain haemorrhages.

His doctor says it is a "miracle" that the 10-year-old Essex boy is still alive and is back at school as well as fundraising for the hospital that saved him.

His mother Yvonne said: "Even by Great Ormond Street Hospital standards he is doing well."

Oscar was born with a genetic syndrome called Noonan's Syndrome which left him with a minor heart condition and slightly small for his age.

Treatment regime

Doctors thought these were the only side effects, but no one knew that the condition had also made him vulnerable to leukaemia and at the age of three he developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) - one of the most common forms of the disease

To begin with, Oscar was treated with low doses of chemotherapy, which worked well.

However, after three years of treatment his blood counts dropped and he was diagnosed with a rarer, more aggressive, type that could only be cured by a bone marrow transplant.

A lot of special stuff goes on here and a lot of sick children get better, but he is probably at the top of our list Dr Paul Veys

After three months a good match was found and Oscar had his first transplant. But his blood counts remained low and he needed an operation to remove his spleen. For some time this made a difference.

But just as he was set to go home, his leukaemia came back and a second, more experimental, type of transplant was needed.

Oscar's doctor at Great Ormond Street, Paul Veys, head of the bone marrow transplant unit ,said they gave him just a 10% chance of survival.

His mother said this was one of the worst times for the family.

More battles

But Oscar's battles were not over as he then developed a very virulent version of graft-versus-host disease, where the new donor cells start to fight the patient's body.

This is not uncommon following a transplant, but Oscar was very ill and spent weeks in intensive care with infections.

"There were times when Oscar was in intensive care and we thought he wouldn't make it," said his mother.

"It was numbing.

Oscar had leukaemia twice

"The first time he went into intensive care and had brain haemorrhages I was making his funeral arrangements."

Dr Veys agreed that things had been fraught.

"He had one genetic disease and two, or possibly three, leukaemia at various times," he said.

"He needed three transplants, the third with slightly specialised cells - he was the first child to be treated in the UK with this treatment.

"The bottom line is you do a transplant to try and cure the leukaemia, it comes back, you do the second transplant in a different way making the new cells fight like crazy but then they fight too much so we have to switch them off and that is the the reason for the third specialised cells, and the chances of his coming through that were extremely small.

"The horrible irony is that it's often not the leukaemia that gets you, it's the heavy treatment or the after-effects of it, either the infections or the graft-versus-host disease."

Yvonne said things are now looking very rosy, although Oscar does have osteoporosis due to two years on steroids.

His growth also halted while he was taking the drugs, and his teeth were not replaced as he lost them.

This is all starting to improve and Oscar, aged 10 is now even boasting that he's taller than his four year old brother, Finn.

"We came home June 2007 and have not been back since and his immune system is running at about 75%," said Yvonne.

"He went back to school in February 2008 and is absolutely loving it and joining in with everything.

"He is great and we have a normal family life now."

'Not a dry eye'

Dr Veys, said Oscar is a star.

"A lot of special stuff goes on here and a lot of sick children get better, but he is probably at the top of our list.

Oscar is now back at school

"Not many children survive three procedures, but his outlook is very good now and he is helping fundraising by giving presentations to major donors.

"He is very good and will stand up in front of a crowd.

"He looks younger than he is, and when he tells his dramatic story there is not a dry eye in the house."

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A step closer to 'synthetic life'

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News

The cells replicated to produce a new strain of Mycoplasma mycoides

In what has been described as a step towards the creation of a synthetic cell, scientists have created a new "engineered" strain of bacteria.

A team successfully transferred the genome of one type of bacteria into a yeast cell, modified it, and then transplanted into another bacterium.

This paves the way to the creation of a synthetic organism - inserting a human-made genome into a bacterial cell.

The team describe the work in the journal Science.

This advance, the researchers say, overcomes the obstacle of making a new inserted genome work inside a recipient cell.

The experiment was carried out by a team that included scientist J Craig Venter, a leading figure in the controversial field of synthetic biology.

Sanjay Vashee, a researcher at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, in the US, was one of the authors.

The resulting cell he and his team created went on to undertake multiple rounds of cell division, to produce a new strain of the modified bacteria.

Dr Vashee explained to BBC News that the work overcame a hurdle in the quest to create a fully synthetic organism.

J. Craig Venter is a leading figure in this controversial field

"Bacteria have 'immune' systems that protect them from foreign DNA such as those from viruses," he explained.

He and his colleagues managed to disable this immune system, which consists of proteins called restriction enzymes that home in on specific sections of DNA and chop up the genome at these points.

Bacteria can shield their own genomes from this process by attaching chemical compounds called methyl groups at the points which the restriction enzymes attack.

The scientists modified the original genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides, whilst it was inside the yeast cell. Then they either attached methyl groups to it, or inactivated the restriction enzyme of the recipient bacterium, before transplanting the genome into its new cell.

One of the team's ultimate aims is to transplant a fully synthetic genome into a bacterial cell - creating bacteria that can be programmed to carry out specific functions - for example, digesting biological material to produce fuel.

Race for life

Researchers at the same institute have already synthesised the complete genome of a bacterium they have called Mycoplasma genitalium. Dr Vashee described this work as a "logical extension" of that.

He told BBC News that attempts to create a synthetic bacterium by transplanting M. genitalium into a cell were "ongoing".

"We have as of yet no conclusive proof that we have obtained M. genitalium cells after its genome has been put into various recipient cells," he said.

"[But this] is a major advance in our effort to create a synthetic cell."

Dr Vashee continued: "We were very concerned that the differences between the modifications in... bacterial DNA and [yeast] DNA might be an insurmountable barrier, preventing transplantation into bacteria of genomes that were passed through yeast.

"Now we know how to do this."

Critics have expressed reservations about synthetic biology, and the aim to create what has been widely referred to as artificial life.

Many are concerned that the technology to engineer organisms could end up in the wrong hands.

Dr Vashee concluded: "Dr Venter and the team at JCVI continue to work with bioethicists, outside policy groups, [politicians], and the public to encourage discussion and understanding about the societal implications of their work and the field of synthetic genomics."

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Healthcare around the world : Healthcare Comparisons

Healthcare around the world

United States - Private system

Private sector funded, with more than half from private sources. Private health insurance available through employer, government or private schemes.

Millions of people in the US are not covered by health insurance

15.3% of population (45.7 million people) do not have health insurance.

Federal government is largest healthcare insurer - involved in two main schemes, Medicaid and Medicare, each covering about 13% of population.

Medicaid - joint funded federal-state programme for certain low income and needy groups - eg children, disabled.

Medicare - for people 65 years old and above and some younger disabled people and those with permanent kidney failure undergoing dialysis or transplant.

Most doctors are in private practice and paid through combination of charges, discounted fees paid by private health plans, public programmes, and direct patient fees.

In-patient care is provided in public and private hospitals. Hospitals are paid through a combination of charges, per admission, and capitation.

UK - Universal, tax-funded system

Public sector funded by taxation and some national insurance contributions.

Emergency ambulances are part of free NHS service

About 11% have private health insurance. Private GP services very small.

Healthcare free at point of delivery but charges for prescription drugs (except in Wales), ophthalmic services and dental services unless exempt.

Exemptions include children, elderly, and unemployed. About 85% of prescriptions are exempt.

Most walk-in care provided by GP practices but also some walk-in clinics and 24-hour NHS telephone helpline. Free ambulance service and access to accident and emergency. In patient care through GP referral and follow contractual arrangements between health authorities, Primary Care Trusts and the hospital.

Hospitals are semi-autonomous self-governing public trusts.

France - Social insurance system

All legal residents covered by public health insurance funded by compulsory social health insurance contributions from employers and employees with no option to opt out.

Most people have extra private insurance to cover areas that are not eligible for reimbursement by the public health insurance system and many make out of pocket payments to see a doctor.

Patients pay doctor's bills and are reimbursed by sickness insurance funds.

Government regulates contribution rates paid to sickness funds, sets global budgets and salaries for public hospitals.

In-patient care is provided in public and private hospitals (not-for-profit and for-profit). Doctors in public hospitals are salaried whilst those in private hospitals are paid on a fee-for-service basis. Some public hospital doctors are allowed to treat private patients in the hospital. A percentage of the private fee is payable to the hospital.

Most out-patient care is delivered by doctors, dentists and medical auxiliaries working in their own practices.

Singapore - Dual system

Dual system funded by private and public sectors. Public sector provides 80% of hospital care 20% primary care.

Financed by combination of taxes, employee medical benefits, compulsory savings in the form of Medisave, insurance and out-of-pocket payments.

Patients expected to pay part of their medical expenses and to pay more for higher level of service. Government subsidises basic healthcare.

Public sector health services cater for lower income groups who cannot afford private sector charges. In private hospitals and outpatient clinics, patients pay the amount charged by the hospitals and doctors on a fee-for-service basis.

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Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools

By M.J. Stephey Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009

Dorling Kindersley / Getty

Impairing Education
American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch
Aug. 11, 2009
62 pages

The Gist:

It seems like a scene from Oliver Twist — a young pupil being beaten by a 300-lb man wielding an inch-thick wooden paddle — but according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, nearly a quarter of a million children were subjected to corporal punishment in public schools in the U.S. during the 2006-2007 academic year. Based on 202 interviews with parents, students, teachers and administrators, and supplemented with data from the U.S. Department of Education, the report reveals how the spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child philosophy continues to rule thousands of classrooms across America, and how students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by such draconian methods of discipline.

Highlight Reel:
1. What "corporal punishment" means: "Corporal punishment is defined under human-rights law as "any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort." There is no comprehensive definition of corporal punishment under U.S. state or federal law. The ACLU and Human Rights Watch documented cases of corporal punishment including hitting children with a belt, a ruler, a set of rulers taped together or a toy hammer; pinching, slapping or striking very young children in particular; grabbing children around the arm, the neck or elsewhere with enough force to bruise; throwing children to the floor; slamming a child into a wall; dragging children across floors; and bruising or otherwise injuring children in the course of restraint."

2. On its widespread use in classrooms, especially in punishing disabled students: "Corporal punishment is legal under domestic law in 20 states ... Texas paddles the most students in the nation, as well as the most students with disabilities ... The total number of students, with and without disabilities, who were subjected to corporal punishment in the 2006-2007 school year was 223,190. ... Nationwide, students with disabilities receive corporal punishment at disproportionately high rates. In Tennessee, for example, students with disabilities are paddled at more than twice the rate of the general student population. ... Students with autism are particularly likely to be punished for behaviors common to their condition, stemming from difficulties with appropriate social behavior. ... Anna M., whose son with autism was physically punished repeatedly when he was seven years old, noted, "The teacher felt he was doing some stuff on purpose. If you met him, you wouldn't know he was autistic straight away. People thought we were making an excuse for him.' "

3. On why corporal punishment is still condoned: "Educators, who face the difficult task of maintaining order in the classroom, may resort to corporal punishment because it is quick to administer, or because the school lacks resources and training for alternative methods of discipline. One teacher pointed out that corporal punishment can be considered 'cost-effective. It's free, basically. You don't have to be organized. All you need is a paddle.' Logistical or financial obstacles may prevent teachers from using other methods of discipline. One 18-year-old student who was critical of the use of corporal punishment in his rural school district stated that 'we couldn't have after school detention. There was no busing. Kids who got detention would have to find another way home.' "

4. On the aftermath: "The Society for Adolescent Medicine has documented serious medical consequences resulting from corporal punishment, including severe muscle injury, extensive blood-clotting (hematomas), whiplash damage and hemorrhaging. ... Corporal punishment led to deterioration in family life, as parents were forced to withdraw children from school, resort to homeschooling and give up jobs. ... Rose C.'s son was unable to tell her that he was repeatedly punished in school, but she learned of some of the abuse after watching a security video. She said, 'I don't trust my own eyes anymore.' "

The Lowdown:
As the report notes, corporal punishment is banned in most juvenile correction facilities in the U.S., and yet it continues in public schools. The legal paradox can be traced to a 1977 Supreme Court ruling that found the Eighth Amendment only protects convicted criminals from cruel and unusual punishment — not students confined to a classroom. In its plea to convince federal and state lawmakers to impose a national ban on the practice, the authors point out yet another paradox, using the words of a special-ed teacher in Mississippi: "I see these children who get in fights and then get paddled. So you're supposed to teach them not to hit by hitting them?"

The Verdict: Read

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