BBC Stories

A couple of things we heard on BBC as we traveled this week:

First, Russian billionaire and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son and Evgeny have purchased The Independent, a UK newspaper, for one pound sterling. Lebedev’s job as a KGB agent was to read British newspapers. He has pledged to “in-depth investigative reporting and campaigns which promote transparency and seek to fight international corruption.” His reputation as owner of Russian newspapers and the the London Evening Star is quite good, according to BBC.

Secondly, the British have announced that they will no longer use, produce or store cluster bombs. Said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “Cluster munitions cause immense suffering to civilians caught in conflict zones and leave a deadly post-conflict legacy for future generations. I am hugely proud that with this bill receiving Royal Assent, Britain is leading the world in banning the use of these munitions and moving to end the harm they cause.”

I was curious to see what kind of coverage this announcement would receive in the U.S., as our country is among just a few left in the world still using the bombs (Russia, China, Pakistan and Israel are among the others). The bombs are designed to release thousands of bomblets that tear people to shreds. If that were not enough, many of the bomblets are left unexploded and are attractive nuisances for children, who are drawn to their bright yellow colors. Wherever the U.S. and Israel have gone, there are stories for years to come of children losing arms, limbs and sight, if not being killed, by the residue bomblets from these nasty devices.

There is virtually no coverage in the U.S. that I could find. CNN International has it, as does Moon-owned UPI. That’s about it.