Animal rights activists try to shut down China dog meat festival

A group of animal rights activists are trying to shut down an annual summer dog meat festival in southern China which has been blamed for making the country's international reputation look bad, as well as fueling extreme cruelty to canines and unhygienic food practices.

Activists said on Monday that they will continue to press for the festival to be banned as well as press for legislation to outlaw the killing of dogs and cats and the consumption of their meat.

Accordingto research,about 10-20 million dogs are killed each year in China. The dog meat festival will take place on June 20 in the city of Yulin.

Yu Hongmei, director of the VShine Animal Protection Association, said China needs to follow the example of developed nations that have banned eating dog and cat.

He said:

"China needs to progress with the times,". "Preventing cruelty to animals is the sign of a mature, civilized society."

Restaurant owners defended themselves by saying eating dog meat is traditional during the summer, but animal activists say the festival that began in 2010 has no cultural value and was merely invented to drum up business

In 2014, the local government disassociated itself from the event and forbade its employees from attending and limiting its size by shutting down some dog markets and slaughter houses.

As much as the activists try, over 10,000 dogs, many of them stolen, still wearing their collars, are slaughtered for the festival held deep inside the poor, mainly rural Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

this pregnant girl killed herself after listening to ed sheeran's song

Jade Rees, a young single mother of one, killed herself after struggling to come to terms with an abortion she had just weeks earlier. She terminated her pregnancy after a five month relationship with the unborn baby's father ended and he began dating another woman. But her decision left her ''upset and distressed'' and three weeks later she took her own life after listening to Ed Sheeran's song 'Small Bump' which the artiste recorded in response to a friend’s miscarriage at five months.


Tragic Jade left a handwritten note addressed to her parents and also her two-year-old son to explain the struggles she had faced since the procedure. One note said of her child:
''He means everything to me''.
An inquest heard Jade, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, had a history of eating disorders and had battled depression since she was just 14.

She had been prescribed antidepressants after being diagnosed with anorexia but was taken off the tablets when she fell pregnant with her son in 2013.

Although Jade split from the boy's father when she was just four months pregnant with him, she had coped “exceptionally” well as a doting single mother.

She met her latest boyfriend in early 2015 but they split after she became pregnant with his child.
Devastated by the break-up she had the termination soon afterwards in October last year. It is not known how far gone she was at the time of the procedure.

The hearing was told Jade's mental state worsened when she went to a pub she used to visit with her ex-boyfriend only to discover he had asked the landlord to bar her.

Initially she took an overdose of tablets although she had not told anybody or pursued any medical treatment. Then 48 hours later she took another overdose and was taken by her father to the Royal Oldham Hospital's A&E department.

Jade stayed in hospital for two days before being discharged.

Dr Easodhavidhya Elango, a trainee psychiatric specialist, told the inquest how she had come to know Jade, following her visit to the Royal Oldham Hospital.
She said:
''She told me about the abortion she had just three weeks earlier, and how the split from her ex-partner had been very distressing for her. She told me she believed he had a new girlfriend and was struggling to come to terms with it.
''She denied having any past medical history or any form of psychotic illness. When I asked her about this, she said 'For God's sake, I have a son to look after. She told me she regretted taking the overdose, and promised to keep herself safe.”
She eventually hung herself at her home.

Chelsea Football Club appoints Antonio Conte as First Team Head Coach

Conte, who is currently the manager of the Italy national side, has signed a three-year contract. He will begin work in London following his country’s participation in this summer’s Euro 2016 tournament.

The 46-year-old said: ‘I am very excited about the prospect of working at Chelsea Football Club. I am proud to be the coach of the national team of my country and only a role as attractive as manager of Chelsea could follow that.


'I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the club and the day-to-day challenge of competing in the Premier League.

'Chelsea and English football are watched wherever you go, the fans are passionate and my ambition is to have more success to follow the victories I enjoyed in Italy.

'I am happy we have made the announcement now so everything is clear and we can end the speculation. I will continue to focus on my job with the Italian national team and will reserve speaking about Chelsea again until after the Euros.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Alex Iwobi is a great loss to England

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Alex Iwobi's decision to play for Nigeria and not England is a loss to the Three Lions of England. 19 year old Iwobi has scored in his last two games for Arsenal and in their last match against Watford scored a goals and assisted another, leaving bigger players like Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell on the bench.

England persuaded Iwobi and his family to play for them after evaluating his talent and enormous potential but the attacker, who is also nephew to Austin Jay Jay Okocha opted to play for the country of his birth- Nigeria.

“Is he a loss for England? Yes,” Wenger said.
“We have values in our club that are maybe not rated always, but one of them is to give a chance to young people and educate them. “Every year we bring players out and not many can say that. I’m happy Alex is one of them.”

Wenger concedes that Iwobi's rapid development has been surprising to witness, but says the forward who made his competitive debut for Nigeria during the lastinternational break has been working on his skills all season long.

"The fans have seen many good players over the years and they know straight away when a player has something special, so they acknowledge that," Wenger told Arsenal Player.

"You cannot cheat people. They've seen how quickly Alex's improved and how well he's played.
"It's surprising how quickly he's integrated into our game. He's worked with us since the start of the season and he has grown, gained confidence and when he came in he had an impact straight away.

"That's benefited from the fact that he knows everybody and they trust him as well. I didn't expect that level of efficiency or impact on the scoresheet."