| English tests for spouses may breach human rights, UK told Ireland sets sights on 50% rise in foreign students; Arizona investigated for accent discrimination; British Columbia offers lessons to child refugeesThe UK government's plans to introduce an English language test for those coming to Britain to marry UK citizens could breach human rights and race relations laws, leading human rights lawyers have said.A legal opinion by Rabinder Singh QC and Aileen McColgan, of Matrix Chambers, said the decision to impose the test from November has more to do with reducing the number of immigrants to Britain than minimising abuse.The lawyers said that the introduction of pre-entry tests amounted to a breach of the right to family life under human rights laws. They also said it was likely to be discriminatory to require someone with a degree in English from India to take the test but not someone from California who speaks only Spanish.The legal opinion was commissioned by the human rights group Liberty. Its director, Shami Chakrabarti warned that the opinion would support a high court challenge if the tests, which will affect more than 25,000 spouses a year, go ahead."We have warned that pre-entry English tests are discriminatory and unlawful – a view now endorsed by one of the foremost barristers in the country," Chakrabarti said. "If the government persists with this half-baked policy, it will face embarrassing litigation unworthy of a coalition built on fundamental freedoms."The tests apply only to those who come from non-English-speaking countries. The top five countries of origin of those coming to marry UK citizens are Pakistan (8,570), India (5,110), Bangladesh (2,780), the US (2,110) and Thailand (1,776).Ireland sets sights on 50% rise in foreign studentsThe Irish government has set a target to increase the number of international students at universities by 50% and in English language schools by 25% by 2015.The aim of the new five-year strategy, entitled Investing in Global Relationships, is to increase the contribution of the education sector to the Irish economy to $1.6bn by 2015, up from an estimated $1.2bn currently.As part of the strategy, the government has also launched new immigration rules for international students that reduce requirements but put in place additional safeguards that aim to prevent abuse of the system.A statutory code of practice and a quality mark for education institutions will be introduced to strengthen international marketing of Ireland as a study destination.Numbers of full-time students are intended to rise from the current level of 17,000 to 25,500 by 2015. Numbers of English language students would rise from 100,000 to 120,000, ministers said.Arizona investigated for accent discriminationEducation officials in Arizona are under investigation by the departments of justice and education to determine whether the state breached the civil rights of teachers who are not native English speakers by singling them out because of their accents.The state's education officials have defended their policy of monitoring the fluency in English of teachers who are teaching English language classes in schools with high numbers of non-English speakers.British Columbia offers lessons to child refugeesChildren from among a group of nearly 500 Tamil refugees who arrived by ship off the Canadian coast in August are being given English lessons while they accompany their parents, who are being held in custody. "The more we can give them a head start if they are settling in our country, the better off they will be," said Elliott Grieve, associate superintendent of the Burnaby Board of Education in British Columbia.Max de Lotbinièremax.delotbiniere@guardian.co.ukTeflInternational education newsIrelandArizonaRefugeesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Chinese Property Prices Rebound Property prices in China rebounded in September, underscoring the government's continuing struggle to stabilize a soaring real-estate market. online.wsj.com |
Don't believe in God? Read this | Fred Edwords The constitutional rights that guarantee freedom of worship also enable non-theists to reclaim the public forum for freethinkingNew advertisements on Washington DC bus stop shelters ask a simple question: "Don't believe in God?" After that gets your attention, they answer it: "Join the club." More than a figure of speech, this rejoinder is a direct invitation to join one of the dozen local non-theistic groups that have come together as Washington CoR – the Washington DC area Coalition of Reason. Believers in traditional religion are often shocked at such ads. Since 2008, this message and others like it have been placed on billboards, buses, subway trains and at subway stations in cities across the United States. But the ads don't actually address believers. They address non-believers, in an effort to get them "out of the closet", or at least, to let them know they aren't alone. The goal is to end a conspiracy of silence of sorts, where quietness is next to godlessness, and begin the process of giving non-theistic Americans their place at the table. But why is this happening now? Well, it actually began in 2004 with the emergence of what the media quickly dubbed the "new atheism". In the wake of that, godless Americans suddenly found themselves in a sweet spot. They were no longer so controversial as to be beyond the pale, yet just controversial enough to be endlessly interesting. Other groups have gone through a similar phase. Remember when being interracially married would get you air time? Or being transsexual? These controversies have passed, of course. And this phase will pass for non-theists, too. But not yet. And so, in city after city where these ads are put up, reaction follows. Sometimes in the form of a backlash – which only multiplies their power. So, the United Coalition of Reason has been striking while the iron is hot, stoking the flames of public interest in secularism, anti-clericalism and religious diversity to bring the growing number of godless groups together into local coalitions. Thus organised, they pool their efforts in a common website that links to all the groups, creating a sort of online one-stop-shopping for the religiously disaffected and spiritually uninterested. That website is then publicised through the ads; and via the media attention and internet buzz the ads generate, more people emerge as interested non-theists and coallesce into the groups. The size of the freethought and humanist community thereby expands. In the United States, evangelical Christianity dominates the field of religious advertising. Which only makes atheist messages stand out more. Further, because freedom of speech and freedom of the press are enshrined in the US constitution, transit companies that allow religious advertising can't ban non-theistic alternatives. So the ads must be allowed to run. And when they do – over and over and across the land – people start getting used to them. This increases public tolerance of dissenting views and gives more people permission either to be open about their unbelief or even to begin questioning their faith. So, in the end, everybody wins because society becomes more open, inclusive and free.ReligionAtheismAtheist busFreedom of religionFreedom of speechUS constitution and civil libertiesUnited StatesFred Edwordsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Mexico head stresses US drug role Mexico's President Felipe Calderon tells the BBC that the US should do more to help tackle the illegal drugs trade that has seen 28,000 deaths in his country. bbc.co.uk |
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