US commission slams 1940s Guatemala tests

30/08/11 11:33 CET

world news

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A US presidential commission has admitted vulnerable Guatemalans were treated like animals during a 1940’s experiment to test the then-new drug, penicillin.

Experts say the scientists must have known they were violating ethical standards by deliberately allowing vulnerable people to get syphilis from prostitutes.

Those experimented on were not even told they were taking part.

For Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, this amounts to a violation of human rights.

The surviving victims are suing the US government.

The findings echo the infamous Tuskegee study on African-American men in the 1960s. The final report is due in December.

More about: Guatemala, Health, Human Rights, USA

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Mali: Rebel groups agree to creation of Islamic state

Two Rebel groups have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in Northern Mali. After seizing Azawad – an area larger than France – two months ago, the groups had initially disagreed, with the secular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)…