By Claire Buckie

Police in London are fearing that teenagers are using Hallowe’en as an excuse for violence and antisocial behaviour.

New figures show that teenagers are more likely to commit crimes at this time of year as they are dressed in disguise.

In the lead up to and on the 31st of October itself there seems to be a rise in robbery, violence and antisocial behaviour. The British Transport Police (BTP) this year are focusing on gathering information on teenagers who may be carrying knives around this period. More than 70 police officers have been patrolling major railway stations this week in a bid to crack down on knife crime.

The new operation involves an sms system in which youngsters can anonymously text police rather than speaking to them in person if they have any information at all on where there may be gangs and more importantly who is involved. Inspector Graham Urry of the BTP said: “This is secure, private and confidential.” The BTP began the search on Monday and since then there have been 90 arrests and 5 knives have been seized.

Hallowe’en is also the time where youngsters dress up and take to the streets trick or treating. Many of the vulnerable older generation feel the need to answer the door to them and ultimately give them money or sweets. This year, posters are being made available for residents who wish to be left in peace on all hallows eve.

The posters simply tell unwanted trick or treaters “No Trick or Treat, please enjoy your night without disturbing ours.” There are also posters for shop owners to display in windows which read “We reserve the right not to sell flour and eggs to anyone under 18. Have fun, be safe and respect others.” Supermarkets such as Sainsburys have already clamped down by refusing to sell eggs and flour to any suspicious looking teens.

In the past there have even been incidents involving broken property and graffiti on peoples doors and walls. Hallowe’en is supposed to be harmless fun but unfortunately some vandals find that this is the time to intimidate and distress others by for example, egging houses and cars as they are least likely to be caught at this time of year.

Light drinking during pregnancy can result in calmer babies it is claimed.

Recently the government and doctors have been giving conflicting advice to pregnant mothers about the safety of light drinking (one to two glasses of wine per week) during their pregnancies. However, a major study has found that some babies born to mothers who drank a little during pregnancy had calmer toddlers.

The government has advised pregnant mothers and women trying to conceive to avoid alcohol. Whereas doctors are convinced that drinking in moderation cannot harm a baby in the womb and new findings have shown that it can actually result in a more positive mental growth in toddlers.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy in the most serious of cases can lead to ‘foetal alcohol syndrome’. However research into the effects of light drinking done by The University College London Team has shown that a little alcohol has positive effects.

Dr Yvonne Kelly of the London college assures pregnant mothers that “light drinking does not increase the risk of behavioral difficulties.

Those born to light drinkers were less likely to have problems compaired to children with abstinent mothers.”

This study which has been published in the International journal of Epidemiology looks at the behavior of babies who were born to mothers who drank moderately, lightly and those who avoided alcohol completely during their pregnancy. Female babies born to mothers who drank lightly during their pregnancy were shown to have 30% less emotional problems than those born to mothers who avoided alcohol completely.

The study also showed that boys born to mothers who drunk lightly during pregnancy were 40% less likely to have conduct problems and also 30% less likely to suffer from hyperactivity in comparison to the boys from mothers who avoided alcohol completely.

However Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British medical association is worried that this research “may lull women into a false sense of security and give them the green light that there is no problem with drinking during pregnancy.”

Water is a basic necessity of life. It is simply something we all need. With out it we die . Many people throughout the world have to make do with very little water or water which is so dirty and contaminated that it will eventually kill those who drink it. How far would you go to guarantee clean water for your family to drink?

We, in the affluent west, take access to clean, safe water for granted, but, according to resent research around one sixth (that is over 1 billion) of the world’s population are without drinking water of a reasonable standard.

Good quality water is a necessity of life, and various groups will fight to gain access to it. This is one of the reasons why the U.N’s Millennium Development Goals have set out to reduce the number of those who are suffering due to a lack of drinking water and basic sanitation by half by 2015.

The lack of safe drinking water leads to a catch 22 for a huge proportion of the world population: drink and get sick and quite probably die a long drawn out death, or don’t drink and defiantly die a long drawn out death. Obviously this leads to rising tensions between various groups, but could this lead to civil war in the more arid regions? Or even full blown international war? Many analysts say that it already has.

A lack of access to clean water has been cited as a large contributing factor to existing conflicts in some of the poorest regions on earth. Competition for access to safe water supplies between rival groups has been blamed for the Darfur Crisis by analysts. Can it be doubted that it will continue to be a driving force of violence into the future?

According a quote attributed to Geologist and director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing, Farouk El-Baz: “Much of the unrest in Darfur and the misery is due to water shortages. Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, will help the peace process, and provides the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur.”

This statement holds true for many other places and not just on a local internal level. International tensions may be mounting over shared rivers and reservoirs, though by and large international relations tend towards sharing water supplies amicably.

In India a massive joining of two of the main rivers has been suggested, which would improve the supply of water to drought prone areas in the south but may also greatly affect the water supply to Bangladesh and other neighboring states. It has been suggested that this could destabilize the region farther, forcing some of the world’s poorest people farther into poverty.

There is a direct link between water, poverty, and war. For peace to be possible, poverty needs to be ended. For Poverty to be ended there needs to be significant economic growth. For economic growth there needs to be a sustainable workforce. For a sustainable work force to exist, they need access to the necessities of life like clean water to drink.
But while extreme poverty is partly to blame, there are other factors in the wars caused by water.

In regions such as the Middle East, which is rated as “Lower middle income” on www.mapsoftheworld.com’s economic map of the world, where interstate tensions are already high, water is seen as a ‘strategic’ resource. This means that countries will jealously guard their own supply, and during conflict will attempt to gain control of the enemy’s supply. This is why almost all of the past peace agreements have involved water and its distribution.

A quote attributed to former Secretary General of the UN Boutros Boutros Ghali says: “the next war in the Middle East will be over water”.

There are many charities and organizations committed to helping bring an end to water related strife throughout the world such as water aid and end water poverty. If you feel that the UN’s Millennium Goal of halving the number of people affected by a lack of safe water is worthy then please visit the websites and lend your support. With enough pressure on governments world wide to supply a free, clean source of water to their own people, we can take water out of the war equation.

Will the U.N’s Millennium Goals lead to world peace? No, but they might just help to remove one of the issues that lead to war and take us that one step closer.