Ten things we learned this week

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/29/-sp-ten-things-we-learned-this-week

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Failures in Rotherham led to sexual abuse of 1,400 children

Four years after five men were convicted of grooming underage girls for sex in Rotherham, a report by the former chief inspector of social work, Prof Alexis Jay, condemned the failures of police and political leadership in the town. The report estimated that 1,400 children had been abused over a 16-year period, even though the council knew as far back as 2005 that sexual exploitation committed by mostly Asian men was a widespread problem.

The report blamed the police for failing to take victims seriously and accused the authorities of choosing to ignore previous reports into the issue. Pressure is growing on South Yorkshire police commissioner Shaun Wright, who was responsible for Rotherham children and young people’s services from 2005 to 2010, to resign, after the leader of Rotherham council, Roger Stone, quit immediately after the report came out.

Egypt and the UAE have secretly been bombing Libya

As the attentions of the media have been firmly focused elsewhere in the Middle East, the situation in Libya has been steadily deteriorating.

On Tuesday, US officials claimed that the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were behind several air strikes on Islamist militias in Libya last week, representing an escalation of the conflict between Islamists and opposing governments across the region. The air strikes didn’t stop Islamist militias from capturing Tripoli and forcing Libya’s recently elected government to flee to the eastern city of Tobruk.

Guns are very dangerous

A firearms instructor was accidentally shot dead by a nine-year-old girl at a shooting range in the Arizona desert. Mohave County sheriff’s officials said 39-year-old Charles Vacca died at the University Medical Centre in Las Vegas on Monday after being shot at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range.

Video of the moments leading up to the incident were released by the county sheriff’s office. Vacca was standing next to the girl, who wore pink shorts, instructing her how to shoot when she lost control of the weapon. The sheriff said the instructor was shot at least once in the head. A local paper reported that the girl had successfully fired the 9mm weapon in “single-shot” mode before Vacca changed the setting to “fully automatic” mode.

The conflict in Gaza is over for now

Fighting in Gaza has come to an end after Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a ceasefire, almost identical to the one agreed at the end of the previous conflict in 2012. The deal, negotiated by the Egyptian government, brings an end to seven weeks of violent clashes which claimed the lives of more than 2,100 Palestinians and 70 Israelis, 64 of which were soldiers. Both sides have claimed victory, but despite 50 days of bloodshed many will be left wondering what exactly has been achieved.

Alex Salmond wins second Scottish independence debate

After a slightly flustered performance in the first televised Scottish independence debate, Alex Salmond emerged as the clear winner of this week’s contest. Salmond beat Alistair Darling by 71% to 29%, according to an instant Guardian/ICM poll of people who live in Scotland and had watched the debate. A similar poll after the last debate found Alistair Darling had won by 56% to 44%.

The loss was another blow to the pro-union campaign in a week when an attempt to bring undecided female voters on-side backfired. Better Together released an unfortunate video called ‘the woman who made up her mind’, which shows a frazzled working mother sitting in her kitchen discussing the pros and cons of independence over a cup of tea. It didn’t take long after its release for #PatronisingBTlady to start trending on Twitter.

Syria and Isis are committing war crimes, says UN

UN investigators have ruled that both the Syrian government and Islamic State (Isis) insurgents are committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. A 45-page report issued in Geneva on Wednesday said that government forces have dropped bombs, including chemical weapons, in civilian areas and deaths in custody in Syrian jails are on the rise. Forensic analysis of 26,948 photographs allegedly taken from 2011-2013 in government detention centres support its “longstanding findings of systematic torture and deaths of detainees”. The report stated that “violence has bled over the borders of the Syrian Arab republic, with extremism fuelling the conflict’s heightened brutality.”

Life isn’t fair – at least in Britain

Britain is “deeply elitist” with a “closed shop at the top”, according to a government report published on Thursday. The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission statistics showed that the majority of the top spots in society are still held by people who either went to private school or attended Oxbridge, or both. “Locking out a diversity of talents and experiences makes Britain’s leading institutions less informed, less representative and, ultimately, less credible than they should be,” the report says. “That is not a recipe for a healthy democratic society.”

We all scream for ice cream

There was drama in the Bake Off tent this week as Belfast-born Iain Watters had a meltdown following what may or may not have been the deliberate sabotage of his baked alaska. The episode, which culminated in Watters being eliminated from the show after throwing his ruined dessert in the bin, aired on Wednesday night and prompted widespread anger among viewers. The alleged culprit, Diana Beard, was vilified across social media, but both contestants and judges rushed to her defence, with Watters himself pointing out: “In the end, it’s only a reality show involving baking.”

Russian troops might have entered Ukraine after all

Both the US and Ukraine have accused the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of sending troops across the border into eastern Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists in the region. Russia has denied the claims, but Nato estimates there are now more than 1,000 Russian soldiers fighting in the country. “Russian forces have actually entered Ukraine,” Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said in a statement, although he stopped short of calling it an invasion.

Christine Lagarde has no intention of resigning

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has been placed under investigation in France, charged with negligence over her handling of a controversial €400m (£317m) payout to a French business tycoon when she was finance minister. But despite facing a possible one-year prison term and/or a €15,000 (£11,900) fine, Lagarde has insisted she did not break the law and would not step down as chief of the IMF. “I’m going back to work in Washington this afternoon,” she told reporters following the announcement on Tuesday.