The Guardian World News

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• Miliband calls for inquiry into press abuses
• Libya: MPs warn of 'mission creep'
• Parcel bombs sent to Celtic manager
• Cameron may block Brown IMF role
• Manning to be moved from Quantico
• Syria lifts 48-year state of emergency
• Goldman Sachs posts $2.7bn profit
• Michelle Obama's plane in close call
• Focus on 'lost hour' of shot Britons
• Fish worth £4m seized in crackdown
• EU oil spill rules come under attack
• Pre-emptive wedding arrests planned
• Malawi orders British envoy to leave
• Murdoch and Mexican billionaire in F1 takeover talks
• All rise for the boys in Blue
• Lost in royal showbiz
• 'Now I've got ambitions'
• Thor – review
• Interview: Keir Starmer
• British 20th-century art? Phooey

Miliband calls for inquiry into press abuses Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:14 PM PDT Exclusive: Labour leader calls for review of regulation and practices after News International's admission of wrongdoing Ed Miliband has become the first political leader to call for an independent review of newspaper regulation and practices after the admission by News International that it hacked into the phones of celebrities and politicians then failed to carry out full inquiries into the wrongdoing. Miliband told the Guardian: "I think there does need to be a review after the police inquiries have been completed and any criminal cases that flow from it. "I think it is in the interests of protecting the reputation of the British press that these matters should not simply be left to rest, and lessons have to be learned." He is aware that a front-rank politician, especially a party leader, is taking a political risk by challenging the media over its practices, including the powerful News International stable, but he argued: "The press itself will want to look at how self-regulation can be made to work better because it clearly did not work very well in relation to these issues here." He went on: "What happened was very bad, and it is right to say that, but there are very good traditions in our press, and they have to be maintained, but we have to get rid of the bad ones, and we have to find a way of doing that." He argued: "My strong instincts are that we do not want governmental regulation of these issues, but I don't think the Press Complaints Commission has covered itself in glory." The PCC, chaired by the Tory peer Lady Buscombe, is responsible for newspaper regulation and has been widely criticised for failing to challenge News International over the scale of phone hacking. Miliband said: "It is not about government imposing this on the press, but I think the review needs to have some independence, both from government and from those involved in the day-to-day running of newspapers. I think that would help the industry. There has to be a sense that the future is not going to be like the past. Wider lessons have to be learned." He stressed he had no grand plans about who should run the inquiry. Labour is aware that Lord Fowler, the chairman of the Lords communications select committee and a former Conservative party chairman, has been calling for a judge-led inquiry into the newspaper industry. Miliband added: "I would separate out the backward looking issue of who did what wrong, and any criminalitity, on the one hand and the forward looking issue of what lessons need to be learned." He stressed: "The immediate priority is to have this police inquiry, for it to do its work and to get to the bottom of what really happened. We now know because News Interantional have said so the media did some things they regret. This inquiry has got to take its course and it is very important it does that". He added: "My clear view is that self regulation continues to be the right thing. We do not want the government regulating the press." He was also pleased the police were investigating suggestions that newspapers regularly paid police for stories. "The first police investigation clearly did not uncover the full facts, but in the second investigation they seem to be going about it the right way, and I am sure they too will want learn lessons from it." In a wide-ranging interview while on the election trail, Miliband also disclosed he was engaging closely with the so-called "Blue Labour" project associated with Lord Glasman, the controversial political theoretician ennobled by Miliband. Glasman has argued Labour has become disconnected from its traditional working class voters by developing a top-down model of government that became remote, bossy and managerial. Miliband said: "People value local institutions in their lives that go beyond the bottom line from the local high street, the local post office, the NHS and the local Sure Start. Local people have got be able to have more say about their area, its character and whether they have a local Tesco. People have got to have more say about 24-hour drinking and nightclubs, and what is changing in their area. We need strong communities." He said he disagreed with Glasman's claim in a forthcoming interview that Labour caused a massive rupture of trust by lying about immigration, but said the party had to talk more about the big issues underlying immigration's impact on working-class people, including the undercutting of wages. "I don't agree we lied," he said. "We underestimated the impact of eastern European migration and flexible labour markets. The two came together and we got aspects of that badly wrong." He also said the elections on 5 May represented "a chance to change the contours of British politics for the rest of the parliament" and he did not rule out the coalition imploding if the Lib Dems were hit hard. Nick Clegg had made a fundamental mistake in aligning himself with the Conservatives and becoming a prisoner of David Cameron, Miliband argued. He suggested trust in the Lib Dem leader had been destroyed. "There is a fundamental lesson about politics – if you go round making promises and then breaking them, it is disastrous for you personally and pretty bad for politics generally, and that is what has happened. "When you say you are going to vote against rise in tuition fees and parade round students saying that and then do the opposite, it just makes people cynical and jaded." He also promised to say more about the Labour government's mistakes. Faced by polls showing the party is blamed by most people for the deficit, he accepts "there is more work to win back economic credibility". He added: "We have been very clear about mistakes on bank regulation and the fact that we did not build a broad enough industrial base. "We should have acknowledged earlier that our four-year deficit reduction plan did involve spending cuts, but what I am not going to do is to buy into the Tory argument that the deficit is all the fault of Labour overspending. "It is not true, it is just not true, I am not going to say because it is not the case." Press freedom Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Ed Miliband News International Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Libya: MPs warn of 'mission creep' Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:42 PM PDT Rebels fighting Gaddafi regime to get military advice on the ground as MPs warn of 'mission creep' The British government has come under intense pressure over its response to the crisis in Libya as ministers prepared to dispatch a team of military officers to advise rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi's forces and the RAF stepped up air strikes. Nato commanders said the alliance was extending Nato's targets in Libya to include small satellite communications systems and telephone exchanges in strikes described by defence officials as marking a clear "shift" in targeting policy. MPs expressed deep concern about mission creep. The UN appealed for a ceasefire in Misrata, saying at least 20 children had been killed in attacks by government forces on rebel-held parts of the city, but senior Nato officers admitted air strikes could do little on their own to prevent a worsening crisis there. Officials from countries engaged in the bombing campaign made it clear the situation is becoming increasingly difficult. Military action is not securing their goal, the end of the Gaddafi regime, while more direct intervention would be unpopular at home and might breach UN security council resolutions on Libya. Libya's foreign minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi said the Anglo-French decision is a "clear violation" of the UN security council remit and will prolong the crisis engulfing the country. "It is a step to prolong the confrontation, there is no doubt about that," he said. "Sending military personnel will encourage the other side to be more defiant." William Hague, the foreign secretary, said a number of "experienced military officers" would be sent to Benghazi to advise the rebels on intelligence-gathering, logistics and communications. About 10 British and 10 French officers will make up a combined team run by a joint headquarters. The advisers "will enable the UK to build on the work already being undertaken to support and advise the NTC [National Transitional Council] on how to better protect civilians", Hague said. "In particular they will advise the NTC on how to improve their military organisational structures, communications and logistics, including how best to distribute humanitarian aid and deliver medical assistance." British defence officials stressed the team would consist of advisers, rather than trainers. The officers will be equipped with small arms for their own protection but would not arm the rebels. There are no plans for the team to go to Misrata, the officials added. General Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British army, said the decision to send military advisers to Benghazi was "an entirely logical further step to achieve legitimate aims". Referring to last week's joint statement by David Cameron, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy that it would be an "unconscionable betrayal" if Gaddafi were allowed to remain in power, Dannatt added: "Some will always say 'mission creep', but [Britain should] interpret the UN mandate broadly to avoid mission collapse." But the decision provoked a political row at home. David Davis, a former Conservative home secretary, said: "A lot of people will see this as mission creep, some of us as an inevitable outcome." The ex-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "Sending advisers for a limited purpose is probably within the terms of Resolution 1973, but it must not be seen as a first instalment of further military deployment. Vietnam began with a US president sending military advisers. We must proceed with caution." The Labour MP David Winnick said: "However much one despises the brutality of the Gaddafi clan which rules Libya, the fact remains that there is a danger of mission creep. There is a civil war in Libya and this is a big escalation of Britain's involvement." The six European countries in the bombing campaign – led by the French and the British and also including the Canadians, Danes, Norwegians, and Belgians – appear to have closed the gap in the bombing capacity caused by the withdrawal of the US more than a fortnight ago. Officials said France had taken on the lead role, moving the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier closer to the Libyan coast and placing the aircraft on board under Nato command. Officials pointed specifically to an attack near Tripoli that destroyed the communications facilities of Gaddafi's crack 32nd brigade, regarded as the most formidable unit in the regime's military. The aim was to cut the regime's supply lines and disrupt Gaddafi's ability to direct his forces. Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, said he remained "absolutely opposed" to troop deployment on the ground. But he acknowleged: "What we have perhaps underestimated is Muammar Gaddafi's capacity to adapt." The British submarine HMS Triumph, is understood to have fired cruise missiles at Libyan targets over the past two days. It emerged that last Friday's meeting of Nato foreign ministers supplied the go-ahead for more intensive bombing and securing more aircraft and weaponry. "Gaddafi is not able to use his forces as he wants. He's not able to fight the way he wants," said Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, Nato's chief of allied operations. But "nothing indicates that Gaddafi has any intention of disengaging. His forces continue to use heavy weapons". Nato officers admitted they could have little impact on the urban warfare in Misrata. "There's a limit to what can be achieved by air power to stop fighting in a city," said Van Uhm. Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian commander of the air campaign, told German radio: "It's a knife fight in a phone booth and it's very difficult to get in the middle of that." Aid groups say food, medicines and other basic items are in short supply in the city, and tens of thousands of casualties and foreign workers are waiting at the port to be evacuated. Libya Muammar Gaddafi William Hague Military Nato Middle East United Nations France Arab and Middle East unrest Europe David Cameron Barack Obama Nicolas Sarkozy Ian Traynor Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Parcel bombs sent to Celtic manager Posted: 19 Apr 2011 04:36 PM PDT Police say three devices discovered, addressed to Lennon, Trish Godman and Paul McBride not hoaxes and contain explosives Parcel bombs intended to kill or maim have been sent to the Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two other prominent fans of the club – the manager's lawyer and a senior Labour politician. The three devices were discovered at several locations in the west of Scotland over the past month, and are considered dangerous, a senior police source has confirmed. One addressed to Lennon at Celtic's training ground was intercepted by Royal Mail staff, but a second was forwarded to the constituency office of Trish Godman, a former deputy presiding officer of the Scottish parliament and Labour MSP and passionate Celtic fan. Her office staff became suspicious and alerted Strathclyde police. Detectives initially believed the parcels were elaborate hoaxes intended to distress their targets but later decided they were viable explosive devices. The third device was addressed to Paul McBride QC, who, speaking at the Faculty of Advocates lawyers' offices in Edinburgh, made outspoken attacks on the Scottish Football Association for its treatment of Lennon over alleged disciplinary offences. It is understood all devices were all sent from within Scotland: anti-terrorism branch officers were initially involved but have ruled out loyalist terrorist involvement. The device sent to McBride was apparently posted in Ayrshire when it was discovered by a postal worker in a letterbox, and taken to a sorting office. Ministers in the Scottish government secretly convened a cabinet sub-committee meeting on Saturday to discuss the discoveries. News media were asked not to report the incidents to avoid prejudicing a police investigation. The incidents mark a significant escalation in a campaign against Lennon, a Northern Irish Catholic, involving death threats, hate mail, bullets sent in the post and an earlier letter bomb. Lennon, his wife and children have left their home and have been living under 24-hour guard at a secret location for some weeks. The former Northern Ireland player has been involved in repeated disputes with the Scottish football authorities and with his fiercest rivals, Rangers, involving refereeing decisions, the conduct of each team's players and his own behaviour. Although he has not been directly been in disputes about sectarianism, senior figures in Celtic, including its chairman and former Labour home secretary John Reid, and the Catholic church were involved in public rows over alleged bias against Celtic. In March, the first minister Alex Salmond convened a meeting involving both clubs, the football authorities and Strathclyde police to clamp down on the violent on-field disputes involving both clubs and the sectarianism on the terraces, largely involving Rangers fans. Both clubs agreed to allow senior police officers onto training grounds to remind players they face arrest for on-field misconduct. The two clubs are next due to meet this weekend, on Easter Sunday, in their final derby match of the season. Asked about the latest discoveries, Salmond told BBC Scotland: "We will not tolerate this sort of criminality in Scotland, and as an indication of the seriousness with which we view these developments the cabinet sub-committee met last Saturday to ensure that the police investigation has every possible support to come to a successful conclusion." Michael Kelly, a former Celtic director and Lord Provost of Glasgow, told the BBC: "This now is terrorism, purely and simply. It's got nothing to do with football and the background of the summit and the Old Firm game. It's up to the police to refocus their targets on these people and to catch them." Neil Lennon Celtic Rangers John Reid Alex Salmond Police Scotland Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Cameron may block Brown IMF role Posted: 19 Apr 2011 07:35 AM PDT Prime minister accused of being 'vindictive' after indicating he will seek to block potential Brown bid to become managing director of International Monetary Fund David Cameron has been accused of being "vindictive" after indicating that he would block any attempt by Gordon Brown to become the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. David Blanchflower, a former Bank of England monetary policy committee member, hit out at the prime minister's suggestion that Brown "might not be the most appropriate person" to head the IMF in the light of his record in ministerial office. Brown has emerged as the favourite to take the £270,000-a-year role when the incumbent managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, stands down. The former prime minister, who was reportedly networking at a US conference of policymakers at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire – where the IMF was founded – last week, would need to be nominated for the post by the government. But Cameron raised doubts about his suitability for the post, saying he was someone "who didn't think we had a debt problem in the UK when we self-evidently do". Blanchflower accused the prime minister of appearing "extremely small minded". "This is the most vindictive thing I've heard from a prime minister in 50 years," he said. "It looks to me to be extremely small-minded." The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, insisted that his former boss was "eminently qualified for the job" and accused Cameron of "jumping the gun". "To rule someone out even before the vacancy has even arisen seems to be going some, even for him," Miliband said. "Let's see if the vacancy does arise – but I think he [Brown} would be a strong candidate." Miliband described Brown's record over the 2007-08 financial crisis as "outstanding" and blamed the budget deficit on a worldwide financial meltdown. He said: "The government sometimes wants to tell you the deficit caused the financial crisis – I think they're wrong about that." Earlier today, asked whether the coalition would veto a move by Brown to take the helm, Cameron told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "I haven't spent a huge amount of time thinking about this, but it does seem to me that, if you have someone who didn't think we had a debt problem in the UK when we self-evidently do have a debt problem, then they might not be the most appropriate person to work out whether other countries around the world have debt and deficit problems." The prime minister said it was important that the IMF was headed by "someone extraordinarily competent and capable" and praised Strauss-Kahn for doing an "excellent job" in the role. He suggested that the IMF should look to "another part of the world" for its next leader in order to increase its global standing. "If you think about the general principle, you've got the rise of India and China and south Asia, a shift in the world's focus, and it may well be the time for the IMF to start thinking about that shift in focus," he said. "Above all, what matters is – is the person running the IMF someone who understands the dangers of excessive debt, excessive deficit? "And it really must be someone who gets that rather than someone who says that they don't see a problem." The Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds said: "It is not patriotic, or in Britain's interests, for the prime minister to play party politics with important international appointments. "We shouldn't forget that David Cameron called it wrong on every occasion during the financial crisis." Gordon Brown David Cameron Ed Miliband Labour IMF Economics Global economy Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Manning to be moved from Quantico Posted: 19 Apr 2011 04:21 PM PDT WikiLeaks suspect to be moved to Fort Leavenworth after storm of protest at his treatment in Quantico military prison The US soldier accused of downloading hundreds of thousands of state secrets and passing them to WikiLeaks is to be moved from the military prison where he has been held for the past 10 months after international protests that he is being held in conditions amounting to torture. US officials quoted by AP said that Bradley Manning is to be moved from the military brig in Quantico marine base in Virginia to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. He was arrested last year in a US base outside Baghdad where he had been working as an intelligence analyst and has since been charged with passing classified information to an unauthorised party. The charges relate to the posting by WikiLeaks of a trove of state secrets, including US embassy cables first published by the Guardian in tandem with other newspapers. In Quantico, Manning has been held in solitary confinement under a "prevention of injury order" which, his lawyer has argued, amounts to an unjustified form of coercion ahead of his court martial. In recent weeks he has been stripped of his clothes at night and left wearing only a smock. Campaigners who have demanded an end to the mistreatment of Manning in jail are sceptical about the move to Fort Leavenworth. The Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich, who has raised the case on Capitol Hill, said "nothing the department of defence has done so far with respect to PFC Manning provides any assurance that his basic human and constitutional rights are being protected. Any move does not change the fact that he has been held under conditions which may constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th amendment of the US constitution." In its Twitter feed, WikiLeaks said there was no guarantee of better treatment for Manning in Fort Leavenworth and that access to the prisoner would still be limited to his lawyer and family. In the past days the outcry about Manning's conditions has grown. The UN rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, criticised the US government for refusing him permission to visit Manning in private. Many of America's most respected constitutional lawyers signed a joint letter denouncing Manning's treatment as unconstitutional and possibly illegal. Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's general counsel, told reporters at a hastily announced briefing at the Pentagon: "Given the length of time he's been in pretrial confinement at Quantico ... and given what the likely period of pretrial confinement in the future ... we reached the judgment this would be the right facility for him." Bradley Manning WikiLeaks US military United Nations United States Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Syria lifts 48-year state of emergency Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:41 AM PDT Biggest concession yet to pro-democracy movement, which is gathering steam but has not reached tipping point Syria's government has approved the lifting of a draconian, decades-old emergency law in the most important concession yet made by the embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, after a month of unrest. Security forces again opened fire on demonstrators in Homs, Syria's third largest city, in the early hours of Tuesday morning after more than 5,000 anti-government protesters took over the main square on Monday night, emulating demonstrators in Cairo and Bahrain by vowing to stay until their demands for change were met. The centre of Homs, which is north of Damascus, was described as a ghost town, with shops, markets and schools closed in the city of around 700,000 people where 17 protesters were killed on Sunday night. In the absence of major protests in Damascus and Aleppo in the north, gaining a foothold in Homs would be significant for Syria's pro-democracy movement. Activists have drawn inspiration from counterparts in Egypt, where Tahrir Square in Cairo became a focus for weeks of protest that brought down President Hosni Mubarak. Syria's official Sana news agency said the government had also approved abolition of the state security court, which handled trials of political prisoners, and had passed a law allowing peaceful protests. The emergency law requires Assad's signature to take effect, but that is expected to be a formality. "I think this will be done in the coming few days," said Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer in Damascus. The Foreign Office said the abrogation of the emergency law was "a step in the right direction" but it was "only one part of a wider package of necessary reforms. The Syrian authorities should do more to ensure the Syrian people experience real political progress without delay." Lawyers and protesters told the Guardian that the moves were not enough. "If it had been made earlier, it might have made a difference," said one activist in Damascus. "But now we have seen the regime for what it is." Haitham Maleh, a former judge, said: "This [announcement] is all just talk. The protests won't stop until all the demands are met or the regime is gone." Syria's ubiquitous security services are immune from prosecution under a law passed in 2008. It was reported that a prominent leftist in Homs, Mahmoud Issa, was taken from his house around midnight by members of Syria's feared political security division. Reports suggest the new law to regulate protests still gives the government considerable scope to decide when a protest is legal. Stringent anti-terrorism legislation is expected to enacted soon. Protesters have been increasingly angered by the government's policy of disinformation. In an ominous sign, the government said on Monday that it was now facing an "armed insurrection" by Salafists – fundamentalist Sunnis who are equated by many with al-Qaida. "It is a ridiculous and dangerous comment," said Rime Allaf, a Syrian analyst at the Chatham House thinktank in London. "How many 'armed insurrections' have you seen sit in a square and wait to be gunned down?" Diplomats and analysts in Damascus said they feared the move to implicate "terrorists" would be used to justify a harsh crackdown. Syria's government has often invoked the threat of Islamism to justify its hardline policy on internal dissent. The country has large minorities of Christians and Druze, and the fear of sectarian violence is often cited as an argument against too much political freedom. Conservative Sunni groups have represented the biggest challenge to the Ba'ath regime since it took power in 1963, when the emergency law came into force, prompting a hard line by the government throughout the 1970s and 80s, culminating in the notorious Hama massacre of 1982 in which at least 10,000 died. Such a violent reaction may be less likely in the age of Twitter and YouTube, but the violence in Homs has heightened fears among protesters. A small protest was held at Damascus University's faculty of medicine on Tuesday, just hours after the government had warned protesters not to take to the streets after security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Homs. Witnesses said the security forces had closed off the Clock Square in Homs and fired into the air and crowds. "People were running away from the square but the security forces chased them, beat and detained them," said a man who identified himself as one man, Anwar al-Omar. "Many people are missing and we don't know if they were killed, detained or are hiding somewhere." He added that security forces opened fire again after protesters attending funerals on Tuesday threw shoes at security forces, although no fatalities were reported. Rights groups said at least one person was confirmed dead. Syrians have been increasingly drawing parallels with the 1980s, pointing to the heavy-handed tactics of the government including shootings and arrests, as well as the deaths of army officers, which the government claims were due to armed criminal groups. Katherine Marsh is a pseudonym for a journalist living in Damascus Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Katherine Marsh Ian Black guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Goldman Sachs posts $2.7bn profit Posted: 19 Apr 2011 06:33 AM PDT • Earnings per share of $1.56, against forecasts of 82 cents • Bank sets aside $5.2bn to pay staff • Figures hit by $5bn payout to Warren Buffett • Boss Lloyd Blankfein 'wants to leave' Assailed by critics on all sides, Goldman Sachs did what it does best on Tuesday, smashing estimates for its first-quarter results and setting aside $5.23bn (£3.2bn) to pay its staff. The bank reported net revenues of $11.89bn and net earnings of $2.74bn for the first quarter which ended on 31 March, 2011. Profits were down 21%, held back by a payout to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, but the figures comfortably beat analysts' forecasts. Diluted earnings per common share were $1.56. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected Goldman to post first-quarter earnings of 82 cents a share, down from $5.59 a year earlier. The bank's results were hampered by the decision to buy back $5bn of shares from Warren Buffett. The billionaire investor made a $5bn bet on Goldman at the low point of the financial crisis in a move that was seen as a major vote of confidence in the bank. Goldman bought back the preferred stock from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway during the quarter, reducing its earnings by $1.6bn. The $5.23bn set aside to pay salary, bonuses and other compensations was 5% lower than the money set aside by the bank in the first quarter of last year but 132% higher than the $2.25bn set aside in the last quarter. The ratio of compensation and benefits to net revenues for the first quarter of 2011 was 44%, compared to 43% for the same quarter last year. "We are pleased with our first-quarter results," said Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive. "Generally improving market and economic conditions, coupled with our strong client franchise, produced solid results. Looking ahead, we continue to see encouraging indications for economic activity globally." Excluding Buffett's payment, the firm posted a per share profit of $4.38. Investment banking revenues rose 5%, investment management revenues overall rose 16% to $1.3bn. Institutional client services revenues dropped 22%. Last year's first quarter was a trading bonanza for many Wall Street banks and has proved hard to match with both Bank of America and Citigroup reporting big declines in trading revenues from the year-ago period. Goldman's arch-rival JP Morgan Chase managed to post strong trading results last Wednesday, especially in fixed income, currencies and commodities. Goldman's results come as speculation mounts that Blankfein is considering stepping down. Friends told the New York Times that the 56-year-old is "exhausted" and would be leaving "when he could do so gracefully, without the move appearing to be anything but voluntary". Last week Senator Carl Levin singled out Goldman for particular criticism after the publication of the 650-page bipartisan report, Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse. Levin said "Goldman clearly misled their clients and they misled Congress," and said he would push for the department of justice to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought against Blankfein and other executives. In a statement the bank said: "While we disagree with much of the report, we take seriously the issues explored by the subcommittee. We recently issued the results of a comprehensive examination of our business standards and practices and committed to making significant changes that will strengthen relationships with clients, improve transparency and disclosure and enhance standards for the review, approval and suitability of complex instruments." Goldman Sachs Banking Warren Buffett Financial crisis United States Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Michelle Obama's plane in close call Posted: 19 Apr 2011 08:04 PM PDT The plane carrying Michelle Obama was too close to a military jet, an incident that has put the FAA in the spotlight again Air traffic controllers directed a plane carrying first lady Michelle Obama to abort a landing at Andrews Air Force Base because it was too close to a military cargo jet, officials said, in yet another embarrassment for the Federal Aviation Administration. The episode puts the FAA back into the spotlight as officials struggle to calm public jitters about flying that have been raised by nine suspensions of air traffic controllers and supervisors around the country in recent weeks, including five for sleeping on the job. This latest incident occurred at about 5pm (2100 GMT) on Monday when a Boeing 737 belonging to the Air National Guard, one of several guard planes used by the White House, came within about three miles of a massive C-17 as the planes were approaching Andrews to land, according to the FAA and Major Michelle Lai, a spokeswoman for Andrews. The FAA requires a minimum separation of five miles between two planes when the plane in the lead is as large as the 200-ton cargo jet, in order to avoid dangerous wake turbulence that can severely affect the trailing aircraft. The FAA is investigating the incident as a possible error by controllers at a regional radar facility in Warrenton, Virginia, that handles approaches and departures for several airports, including Andrews, where the president's aircraft, Air Force One, is maintained. The C-17 and Mrs Obama's plane didn't have the proper separation when controllers in Warrenton handed them off to the Andrews controllers, a source familiar with the incident said. Andrews air traffic controllers initially ordered the plane to conduct a series of turns to bring it farther from the military jet. When that didn't provide enough distance, controllers realised that there might not be enough time for the cargo plane to clear the Andrews runway before Mrs Obama's plane landed. Controllers then directed the pilot of Mrs Obama's plane to execute a "go-around" to stop descending and start climbing and circle the airport, located in a Maryland suburb of Washington. A go-around is considered a type of aborted landing. "The aircraft were never in any danger," the FAA said in a statement. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, was also on the plane with Mrs Obama. The first lady and Mrs Biden had been in New York earlier in the day for a joint TV interview. The first lady's office declined to comment and referred all questions to officials at the FAA and Andrews. The president's West Wing press office did likewise. The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information about the incident but hasn't yet decided whether it will open a formal investigation, board spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said. The controllers in Warrenton and at Andrews work for the FAA, and it is their job to keep planes separated. When aircraft get too close, the FAA counts that as an operation error. Over the past several years, errors by controllers have increased substantially. The first disclosed case of a controller falling asleep on duty occurred March 23 at Washington's Reagan National airport, not far from Andrews. The most recent was this week when a controller at a regional radar facility near Cleveland was suspended for watching a movie on a DVD player when he was supposed to be monitoring air traffic. The head of the US air traffic system resigned last week. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has said the higher number of known errors is due to better reporting and technology that can determine more precisely how close planes are in the air. Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation of Alexandria, Virginia, said the kind of spacing error that occurred in the handling of Mrs Obama's plane happens every day. "It was more an embarrassment than a danger," said Voss, a former controller. United States Michelle Obama Air transport guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Focus on 'lost hour' of shot Britons Posted: 19 Apr 2011 05:37 PM PDT US detectives anxious to speak to women in video to help fill in 'lost hour' between closing time and discovery of bodies Detectives have released video images showing British holidaymakers James Kouzaris and James Cooper enjoying their final night out in a Florida bar less than three hours before the friends were found shot dead in a crime-plagued neighbourhood. The series of grainy stills shows the pair drinking and talking to several women, who police want to interview to help fill in the crucial "lost hour" between closing time in downtown Sarasota in the early hours of Saturday and the discovery of their bodies with multiple gunshot wounds on a street in Newtown several miles away. "None of these women are suspects but we'd like to see if they know what the victims were talking about shortly before their deaths," said Captain Paul Sutton of the Sarasota police department. "The bars are open until 2am and at 2.56am we got the call. Assuming they stayed until closing time, it would be a very narrow time frame. We'd like to know if they were talking about their plans for the evening, anyone they were going to meet up with, where they might be going." Assistant state attorney Karen Fraivillig said that Shawn Tyson, 16, will be tried as an adult on first-degree murder charges following his arrest on Monday. A grand jury will hear allegations within two weeks that he shot and killed Cooper, 25, from Warwick, and Kouzaris, 24, of Northampton, during their three-week holiday with relatives on the exclusive west coast barrier island of Longboat Key. "Despite the fact that he's being tried as an adult, the death penalty simply doesn't apply in Florida to anyone who's under 18 years old," she said. Sutton said that although police were "very happy" to have a suspect in custody, much work needed to be done. Detectives have visited several bars along Sarasota's Main Street, where the friends, who met as students at the University of Sheffield, were drinking. The images were recorded at a popular hangout called Smokin' Joe's. "We're going all out on that. We've looked at video and interviewed employees and we're trying to piece together the events of Friday night and Saturday morning for our two victims," Sutton said. Investigators believe Tyson did not have access to a car and that he was already waiting in Newtown when an unknown third party arrived with the pair shortly before 3am. Police also believe the two were there of their own volition. "It's plausible they were taken there and confronted by at least one individual," Sutton said. "We're continuing to investigate the possibility that others were involved." Family members attacked suggestions that Cooper was buying marijuana. "He never did drugs. He did not even smoke. He was a professional tennis coach. Taking drugs would be the last thing on his mind," Desmond Walton, Cooper's grandfather, told reporters. Gun crime Florida United States Crime Richard Luscombe guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Fish worth £4m seized in crackdown Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:46 AM PDT Catches of octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper, allegedly caught using child labour, impounded in Canary Islands European authorities have impounded 5m portions of fish destined for tables across the continent following allegations they were caught by illegal "pirate fishing" off west Africa using child labour. The block on catches of octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper landed in the Spanish port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands represents the biggest action yet against the landing of illegally caught fish in the European Union following the introduction of new Brussels regulations last year that ban the practice. The catches weighed a combined 1,100 tonnes and were worth around £4m. They were found on three refrigeration vessels owned and flagged to South Korea, Panama and China. The boats were heading to processing plants from where their catch was to be distributed to fish counters in Spain and the rest of Europe in time for Holy Week, when fish sales typically double in Spain. But the EU is pursuing allegations the catch was taken from waters protected for use by local fishermen and that some of the crew were 14-year-old Senegalese boys who had been at sea for three months. Local fishermen's nets had allegedly been slashed by the foreign crews and one was allegedly assaulted with a metal bar when trying to retrieve his nets from entanglement with the industrial ship. "Those vessels could be totally frozen out of trade with the EU," Maria Damanaki, commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries told the Guardian last night. "Illegal fishing is a nightmare. A lot of countries are losing money from it and while we talk a lot about aid to the third world, if we stop illegal fishing a lot of local citizens in poorer countries will benefit." She said illegal fishing damaged the sustainabilty of fish stocks and went hand-in-hand with criminality on a wider scale. It is estimated Sierra Leone loses up to $29m a year from pirate fishing. The new EU regulations aim "to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing". Spanish officials seized a 500-tonne cargo on the South Korean-owned Seta No 73, which European Commission investigators believe was packed with fish illegally caught off Sierra Leone. Spain has also blocked the catch from the Chinese-flagged Haifeng 823 and Chinese-owned but Panama-flagged Lian Run, which together had nearly 600 tonnes on board. They await explanations from the flag states about where the fish came from. Processing plants in Gran Canaria have been becalmed by the sanctions and, with Easter looming, parts of the Spanish fish industry have complained the timing of the seizures is political. The moves are the start of a crackdown on pirate fishing planned by Brussels which could see dozens of industrial fishing ships banned from landing their catch in Europe, the world's biggest market for fish. In a planned "second strike" the EU is investigating the activities of 70 vessels from 11 non-EU countries and five member states which it suspects of fishing illegally, Damanaki said. Alarm over Seta No 73's activities was raised by a fisherman from Mania village in Sierra Leone, who reported the destruction of 250 yards of nets to the Environmental Justice Foundation, a British charity which runs a community surveillance programme in the area. The fisherman had spotted a fleet of canoes fishing around a trawler, the South Korea-flagged Marcia 707, in an inshore exclusion zone reserved for "artisanal" fishermen. Buoys had been cut from many of the local fishermen's nets, causing them to sink. Some of the canoe crews gave their age as 14 and said they had been picked up in Senegal before spending three months at sea, EJF reported. When the local fishermen and EJF officials boarded the rusty trawler they saw two men who they believed to be South Korean sitting on the dirty and waterlogged deck. Up to 120 fishermen slept in a block of makeshift rooms on deck in cramped and very basic conditions with latrines which dumped directly over the side of the ship. The boat is thought to have fed its catch to the Seta No 73. The crew of another vessel which provided part of the seized catch are alleged to have attacked a local fisherman who tried to retrieve his net when it became entangled with its fishing gear. He was allegedly hit on the head with a metal bar, opening a large gash, when he clashed with the crew in the exclusion zone. "This investigation has exposed the highly organised theft of natural resources from some of the world's poorest people – communities dependent on fish for food security and employment," said Steve Trent, executive director of EJF. "Without flag states better regulating the activities of their vessels and coastal countries taking responsibility for monitoring their waters, this theft will continue." In the case of the Seta No 73, the European Commission is demanding answers from the Panamanian authorities who provided certificates the catches were legal and within international fishing agreements, which protect certain waters for local fishermen. "The most likely outcome is that a large part of the catch will be illegal," said Oliver Drewes, a spokesman for the commission. "The ultimate sanction is they could lose their licence to land fish at EU ports." Fishing Food Wildlife Conservation Animals Marine life Spain Sierra Leone Senegal European Union Europe Robert Booth guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

EU oil spill rules come under attack Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:04 PM PDT UK and other governments oppose EU regulations aimed at preventing oil leaks at deepwater drilling operations European plans to crack down hard on oil companies with a series of measures to prevent a spill in EU waters like that of BP's Gulf of Mexico disaster, are under attack from the UK and other national governments, the Guardian has learned. The measures, backed by the EU's energy chief Günter Oettinger, require companies to use a higher standard of equipment, pay for damage for which they are not liable now, and prove they have enough funds to clear up after any accident, before they can be licensed to drill. The rules will be brought forward in July, and would apply to new and controversial deepwater drilling operations being embarked upon by several firms, such as Chevron at its site west of Shetland, and Cairn Energy in Greenland. A year ago on Wednesday, an explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and caused the biggest offshore oil spill in US history, wreaking devastation in the Gulf. Green campaigners welcomed the tougher stance from the European commission, but warned that the proposals were under attack. Richard George, an oil campaigner for Greenpeace, said: "If these regulations pass they'll be a good first step towards ensuring that oil companies are held responsible for their spills. The concern right now is that national governments, with the UK at the forefront, are working hard to water down these proposals at the behest of the oil companies. David Cameron needs to get behind efforts to prevent a Deepwater Horizon-style disaster in European waters." One proposal, which would extend the EU regulations to the overseas operations of European offshore oil firms, is the subject of a sustained attack. If this rule had been in place last year BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling would have been subject to EU safety standards. Greenpeace said it was vital that this was retained. A European commission source said that at first officials tried to involve oil executives in talks on the proposals but had been rebuffed by the companies, which insisted the Deepwater Horizon spill was solely due to shoddy practices. The commission has now decided to go ahead with the crackdown without input from the industry. The oil industry is mounting a rearguard action, to get the rules changed before they can be brought into effect. The planned rules must be approved by member states and the European parliament before they can come into operation, a process likely to take at least two years. But lobbying from the energy industry has been intense even before the proposals are scheduled to be formally brought forward, in July. Under the commission plans, tough rules would apply to all drilling sites within 200 miles of the coast. Previous piecemeal EU attempts to regulate oil drilling extended only to wells within 12 miles of shore, a limit that would have exempted BP's Deepwater Horizon operation. The rules would cover the boundary with international waters where the legal standing of wells is unclear, and mean virtually all offshore oil drilling operations within the EU being covered. Oil companies would have to prove they could pay for any damage caused, either through an obligation to buy sufficient insurance, or by paying into a fund. They would also have to submit detailed plans on dealing deal with any accident. Mobile oil rigs, like BP's Deepwater Horizon floating platform, would also be covered, with new tough rules on the kind of equipment to be used, such as blowout preventers, the failure of which was a key factor in the BP catastrophe. At present, laws requiring a high standard of safety equipment are limited to fixed rigs. Companies would have to record any incidents, however minor, and notify the EU, with a description of the problem and and what was done to solve it. At present, companies can conceal such incidents. The disclosure rules will help regulators gain an early insight – for instance, if there is a pattern of incidents across a company's sites, that could indicate problems with that firm's practices. Oil spills Oil European Union Pollution Europe Oil Energy Fossil fuels Oil and gas companies Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Pre-emptive wedding arrests planned Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:52 PM PDT Scotland Yard to mount one of its biggest ever operations on the day of the wedding amid fears of disruption by activists Police across the country could make pre-emptive strikes in the coming days to arrest activists intent on causing trouble during the royal wedding, Scotland Yard has revealed. The Metropolitan police are working with other forces across England and Wales and using local intelligence to identify activists and anarchists who they believe are committed to carrying out criminal activity on 29 April. "We will attempt to prevent people coming to London to carry out criminal activity," said assistant commissioner Lynne Owens, head of central operations at Scotland Yard, adding there would be police activity in the days ahead of the event to "disrupt any criminal behaviour that may be anticipated". But the tactic of making pre-emptive arrests of groups or individuals planning demonstrations is controversial. Police have to prove that a criminal plot has taken place before moving in, or that a breach of the peace is imminent, for example seconds, minutes or possibly hours away, according to legal experts. Scotland Yard has also said that two groups have applied for permission to protest in the immediate area of the wedding on the day. Muslims Against Crusades, an offshoot of the outlawed group al-Muhajiroun, is in ongoing discussions with the police. The Yard has refused them permission to demonstrate outside Westminster Abbey but cannot stop them mounting a static protest elsewhere. In response, the English Defence League has indicated they will mount a counter-demonstration, raising fears of a flashpoint on the day. Anjem Choudary, spokesman for Muslims Against Crusades, said the group believed the royal wedding was the perfect time to mount a demonstration. "The timing on the royal wedding is absolutely spot on because it will raise awareness among the masses here and around the world that the Muslims will never remain silent," he said. In the past, members of the group have burned poppies on the anniversary of Armistice Day and carried out demonstrations in east London against troops returning from Afghanistan. Scotland Yard will mount one of the biggest operations in its history on the day of the wedding. Just under 5,000 officers will be deployed. Police are likely to use section 60 of the Criminal Justice Act 1996 to impose zones where officers can stop and search individuals, regardless of suspicion. Owens said: "If anyone comes to London on the day of the royal wedding intending to commit criminal acts, we will act quickly, robustly and decisively so it is a safe and happy environment for everyone else who wishes to be here and celebrate." She said it was a security operation and, as such, might not be compatible with the wishes of any protesters. The police said they were getting daily intelligence updates from both covert and open sources, such as social media sites. But they admitted the tactic adopted by anarchists of creating a "black bloc", where individuals turn up at an event, cover their heads and put on black clothing to appear as a solid mass and remain anonymous, was difficult to anticipate. The Yard said those who had committed criminal acts at previous demonstrations, including the TUC march and the anti-fees protest last year, came from all over the country. Sixty people who have been arrested at previous demonstrations have bail conditions which ban them from entering the City of Westminster. They would be arrested if they were seen in the area on the day, the police said. Pre-emptive action could include moving in to break up squats in London or elsewere where individuals are gathering. They could also carry out arrests under conspiracy laws if they had enough evidence that a criminal plot or conspiracy had taken place. But Mike Schwarz, of Bindmans solicitors, said: "Both of these tactics would be very controversial, particularly with protesters, because they have rights of expression under Article 10 of the European convention on human rights and under Article 11 of assembly, and the police have an obligation to facilitate that. "The police would have to show that what was planned was not just a demonstration but an unlawful act and that could be problematic for them." Royal wedding Protest Police London Metropolitan police Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Malawi orders British envoy to leave Posted: 19 Apr 2011 09:45 AM PDT Memo from Fergus Cochrane-Dyet refers to President Bingu wa Mutharika as 'ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism' In days gone by, British ambassadors would wait until they were leaving before firing off a valedictory despatch that revealed what they really thought about their foreign hosts. Not Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, the high commissioner to Malawi, whose use of undiplomatic language while still in the post may now hasten his exit. Cochrane-Dyet was quoted in a leaked cable to London describing Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika as "ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism". As if to prove the point, Malawi's foreign ministry in Lilongwe summoned him on Monday and ordered him to leave the country this week. There was a sharp response from Britain, where the Foreign Office insisted that declaring its man "persona non grata" would be unacceptable. Any such action would have "consequences", it warned. In the leaked memo to the foreign secretary, William Hague, Cochrane-Dyet said that in Malawi the "governance situation continues to deteriorate in terms of media freedom, freedom of speech and minority rights". According to the Nation newspaper, which published the correspondence, he said rights activists had reported a campaign of intimidation through threatening anonymous phone calls. "They seem genuinely afraid," Cochrane-Dyet wrote. "The office of one high-profile activist has allegedly been raided and his house broken into. There are unsubstantiated rumours that the ruling party is forming a youth wing modeled on the Young Pioneers used as a tool of repression during the country's three-decade dictatorship." Britain, Malawi's main bilateral donor, cut aid by £3m last year after the purchase of a presidential jet at a cost of more than £8m. British officials said they were concerned about the purchase in the impoverished nation that relies on donor support for up to 40% of its development budget and the salaries of its 169,000 civil servants. Mutharika defended the new jet, saying it was cheaper to run it than hire an aircraft each time he wanted to travel abroad. The British diplomat was quoted as saying that "for donors, the local political relationship has definitely got worse [although working relations with most key ministries remain good]. "Some ambassadors have been summoned by the foreign minister for a dressing down, others [including me] have been summoned by the president's brother [Peter] for gentler delivery of the same message: stop supporting civil society to destabilise the government." Cochrane-Dyet said donors had responded robustly. "We deny the accusation, our development goals require more stability not less, far more of our assistance goes through government than through NGOs." Cochrane-Dyet said that given "our huge investment in Malawi development, the UK interest is for these tensions to be defused. "Our leverage is limited and must be used carefully with this combative president. We want the government to reverse its two-year slide on governance issues, mend fences with faith groups and civil society and adopt a more open approach to dissenting views." On the other hand, he wrote that "we want civil society to be less confrontational". He warned there was "no reason for optimism as the political temperature is likely to rise further ahead of elections in 2014 when Mutharika steps down", but added that "the effect of a serious cut in overseas aid for the fragile Malawian economy and for development would be serious ... the 75% of Malawians who live on less than $1 per day would suffer most." In London, the acting permanent under secretary, Sir Geoffrey Adams, summoned Malawi's charge d'affaires to the Foreign Office on Tuesday to convey the foreign secretary's strong concern at suggestions that Cochrane-Dyet could be expelled. "Sir Geoffrey made clear to the charge d'affaires that such an action would be unacceptable," the Foreign Office said. "Mr Cochrane-Dyet is an able and effective high commissioner, who retains the full confidence of the British government. "Sir Geoffrey added that if the government of Malawi pursued such action there were likely to be consequences affecting the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship. He urged the Malawian authorities, through the charge d'affaires, not to proceed down such a road." Malawi has recently drawn criticism from donor countries, including Britain, over "certain negative trends" including a new law that allows publications to be banned if deemed contrary to the public interest. Mutharika, who ends his two terms as president in 2014 and is likely to hand over power to his brother Peter, often accuses local independent newspapers of negative reporting about Malawi. In 2009, he threatened to shut down newspapers he accused of lying when the weekly Malawi News, owned by the family of the late dictator Kamuzu Banda, reported that up to a million people would need food aid. Mutharika, who has made the country self-sufficient in food through the $180m subsidy fertiliser programme given to more than a million peasant farmers, demands that he be given kudos because half Malawi's 12 million citizens previously faced starvation. Malawi Foreign policy William Hague Godfrey Mapondera David Smith guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Murdoch and Mexican billionaire in F1 takeover talks Posted: 19 Apr 2011 02:15 PM PDT News Corp in talks to make joint bid for one of few sports where it has no foothold with Mexican magnate Carlos Slim Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is in talks with Carlos Slim, said to be the world's richest man, about making a joint bid for the control of Formula One motor racing – one of the few major commercial sports in which it has yet to gain a foothold. The bid was, according to Sky News, in the early stages, with News Corp in talks about forming a consortium that would include the Mexican billionaire. It would also be the first time that the global media group, which currently owns the rights to most live Premier League football, had taken over an entire sport and could be a major blow for the BBC. The BBC counts F1 as the last major sport – unprotected by legislation governing its broadcast – over which it has sole broadcasting rights in the UK. It secured the television rights to show Formula One in the UK from the 2009 season as part of a five-year deal covering all platforms and can broadcast F1 on the BBC Sport website as well as on TV and radio. However, senior managers have questioned whether the £40m a year cost of the contract is worth it at a time the BBC needs to make savings. A spokesperson for News Corp declined to comment on what she described as "rumour and speculation". However, a source with knowledge of the discussions has confirmed to the Guardian that News Corp was considering options regarding F1. "News Corp going into this transaction now is premature. They are thinking about F1 and options they could take but that is all it is at this stage," the source said. The Concorde Agreement between F1's governing body and the teams, which governs the distribution of commercial revenues from the sport expires at the end of next year. "They [News Corp] will do nothing until after the next Concorde meeting – there is no way to possibly value or plan until after that," the source added. News Corp already has its hands full with a very real attempt to take over the broadcaster BSkyB. The path for its proposed £8bn purchase of the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own was cleared in March when the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, approved News Corp's plan to separate off Sky News. F1's current majority stakeholder, the private equity group CVC Capital Partners, was reported to be unaware of News Corp's interest, according to Sky News, which said there was no contact between them. Aside from CVC's holdings, the ownership of F1 is held by a mosaic of different, smaller companies. JP Morgan, the Wall Street bank which was a former F1 shareholder, was reported to be advising News Corp about the bid and said that taking part in a consortium was one of several options that News Corp is examining in relation to motor racing. Mark Kleinman, Sky's business editor, said he had been told that the bid was at "an embryonic stage". He added that James Murdoch, News Corp's deputy chief operating officer, was involved in the company's discussions with prospective partners. "The company is kicking the tyres, as you would expect, given that there may be a serious business opportunity to examine in relation to F1," Kleinman quoted a person close to the sport as saying yesterday. "It has been approached by a number of potential co-investors and is thinking about its options but there is a very real chance that it will come to nothing." CVC Capital Partners, which paid more than $2.5bn to gain control of F1 in 2005, declined to comment. Any bid involving News Corp would face calls for regulatory scrutiny, because of rights issues involved and the political heat that surrounds the media firm. A source told the Guardian that when CVC gained control of F1, European regulators "looked extremely hard" at the deal and he believes that given News Corporation's control of rights and sports there could be regulatory hurdles. Also, both the FIA, F1's governing body, and its chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone, are considered, pretty much, to have veto rights on new owners. "Unless any bidder – be it News Corp, its partners or a rival – is welcomed by Bernie nothing is happening," said the source. News Corp is already facing investigations over its takeover of the remaining shares in BSkyB as well as the ongoing probe into its newspapers involvement in the illegal phone hacking scandal. As well as regulatory scrutiny, a takeover might also face stiff opposition from some in the car industry who have been in favour of it remaining a free-to-air television event because of the large audiences it delivers for each race. In the meantime, CVC faces issues of its own. The British entrepreneur billionaire Bernie Ecclestone has been questioned by German authorities about an alleged multi-million pound bribery scandal involving the sale to CVC. Ecclestone is not the subject of the investigation and is co-operating with the authorities. Officials are trying to establish who paid about $50m (£33m) to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former banker with state-owned BayernLB who oversaw F1's sale to CVC in 2006; they are believed to be planning to question CVC executives. Gribkowsky was arrested in January. F1 would be a small investment for Slim. Last month, the 71-year-old was named the world's richest man by Forbes magazine – worth $79bn, most of which is wrapped up in América Móvil, Latin America's largest mobile phone company. Rupert Murdoch Formula One News Corporation BSkyB BSkyB Carlos Slim Sky Sports Jeremy Hunt BBC Motor sport Bernie Ecclestone Sky News JP Morgan Media business Television industry Dominic Rushe Ben Quinn Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

All rise for the boys in Blue Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:00 PM PDT They are the best Eurovision hope the UK has had for years. But could it be career suicide for the boyband? The coach comes to a stop in Volendam, a village just outside Amsterdam. Holland's Eurovision song contest organiser, Rene, checks we're all here. "San Marino?" he calls out. "Yes." "Croatia." "Yes." "Russia . . . Russia?" He gives the Russians a look. "Yes we are here." "And UK." "Here," chime Simon Webbe, Lee Ryan, Duncan James and Antony Costa, AKA Blue. We could be on the road to Euro triumph for the first time in many years. Blue are visiting country after European country to boost support, and show the rest of Europe they really want to win. The countries are asked to hold a flag to show who they represent. As Blue get off the bus, they are told their flag is unnecessary. Six years since they split up, the band are still famous. Newly reformed, they have been hand-picked as the UK entry. They have a strong song, I Can, and the only way is up. They look little different from their boyband glory years – bigger biceps and more facial hair, but that's about it. The mayor of Volendam welcomes us to the fishing village with the very best of Holland – salted cod, mackerel and herring – and the Dutch entrants, 3JS, perform live for us. Even though the Netherlands are pleased with their effort, it is unlikely to make the final. And this gets to the heart of the hostility to the UK – not only have most recent songs been risible, but the UK, alongside Spain, France, Italy and Germany, gets a free pass to the final. No wonder they want to kick us in the Baltics. Way back in the 20th century, when Abba and Celine Dion won Eurovision, the UK treated it with respect. Great artists such as Sandie Shaw and Lulu came home victorious, as did Brotherhood of Man and Bucks Fizz. Then came the bleak decades, when our entries were regarded as ironic at best, or simply rubbish. In recent years, the UK has been dismissed with contempt by the rest of Europe. We had no political allies, we were said to have the wrong attitude, and country after country ganged up against us. The nadir came in 2003, when Jemini's Cry Baby suffered the ignominy of nul points. Last year, Josh Dubovie finished bottom with 10 points. But now we're ready for a Eurovision renaissance. For three glorious years in the early 2000s, Blue were huge – their three albums topped the UK charts and there were 11 top 10 singles (including All Rise, One Love and a cover of Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word with Elton John). They were not manufactured (though they looked as if they must have been) and dominated the tabloids by saying the unsayable. Then saying it again, only worse. But by 2005, nobody wanted to know – the final two singles didn't chart in the UK. The boys went on to experience mixed fortunes – Simon enjoyed greatest success as a solo artist. Duncan has done well in West End musicals such as Legally Blonde, Lee has had a few hits and Antony has dabbled in acting. All four now have children, have separated from their partners, and are struggling romantically. Duncan recently announced he was bisexual – cynics suggested it was publicity stunt. This month they marked their return with a nude photoshoot for the gay magazine Attitude. Blue's former manager, Daniel Glatman, described the decision to enter Eurovision as "reckless insanity", saying: "They will have to win. Anything less and their reputation would be in tatters. It is the equivalent of Lewis Hamilton entering a go-kart race." Do the band think it a risk? "Honestly?" Duncan says. "I thought it's going to go one way or another. But we were a massive band in Europe, and we want to let everyone in Europe know we're back. What bigger platform could we use to let everyone know in one hit? One hundred and twenty-five million people watch it on the night, not including people watching on the net. So we sat down and went, you know what, it's a no-brainer." In Amsterdam, the nude shoot is a popular topic of conversation. Are they stripping their way to success? "Well, that's not a bad way of putting it, but if that's the way to get there why not?" Duncan says. "We're in shape, we work hard and it's a good way to let everyone know we're back." We head back to the hotel. A handful of fans who greeted the band at the airport have reconvened in the lobby. Priscilla Vanhuystee, a big, beautiful girl in her mid-20s, is trying to explain her obsession. "It started in 2003. I can't tell you how many times I saw them. It's a disease, it really is, because normal people don't understand it. They are very good singers, and I like them as a group, and it's just fun to get to know the people." Is it wise for Blue to make a comeback? "They are still young men. I think they are better-looking now. They are like grownup men now, not the boyish thing now." She loves the fact that you never know what Blue are going to come out with next. What's her favourite story? "Lee having a baby with his fan. He dated this girl from MySpace who sent him naughty pictures. Hahahaha!" Lee is sitting on the table next to us, so we ask him if it's true. "No, it's bullshit." Lee, the youngest member of Blue, was only 16 when the band got together, and was often the source of the news stories. He says he has always been. Where does it come from? "Stupid fucking journalists writing what they want to make me look like a cunt. It's really frustrating. I'm not like that at all." Take the 9/11 controversy, which almost did for the band. At the time, they were trying to make it in America, the twin towers had just been blown up, and Lee suggested that worse things were happening in the world. "I just said there were kids dying of Aids and stuff, and the whole country went on a campaign for New York, and I was just saying there are plenty of other things we can change now. Listen, it was a tragic thing that happened, but there have been tragic things that have happened since then that don't get half as much of the coverage. And that's the truth." He pauses. Actually, he says, he knows what really did for him. "The thing is, I said the words 'Fuck New York', but I didn't mean it in a malicious way, it just came out as a 17-year-old articulating himself." What he said was: "Who gives a fuck about New York when elephants are being killed?" "I got about 20,000 emails saying they wanted to shove anthrax down my throat." Did it scare him? "Yeah, it scared my mum. Cos you get some crazy fucks in America." He became disillusioned with the industry, and still is. "I will never ever work with a major record label again in my whole life. Cos they're crap, they don't know what they're doing. And if they fuck it up, it's your fault . . . I don't think you need a record label these days." He sips his latte. "You know what pisses me off most about this industry is when people call me thick. I hate that. Because things I say sometimes come out stupid. But I don't need to prove myself. I know what I'm good at." It's nearly midnight and we're heading off to a club in the centre of Amsterdam where the Eurovionistas are singing. Blue have top billing, and are on last. Everybody has been telling the band they are favourites to win, and this is worrying them. "No," insists Antony, "we're only second favourite and if we finish top five we'll have done well." I ask Duncan about the different personalities in the band. Well, he says, first there are the voices. "Lee's like the voice of the angels – a really high, beautiful voice. Antony has a rockier voice. Si has got the open kind of sound, very soulful, and I've got quite a husky voice. And personality: Lee is a law unto himself, the crazy one, the genius. They say with geniuses, they're all a bit unbalanced in their head, which, in the most loving way, he is." In what way is he a genius? "His brain works on such a different level. Lyrically, the way he writes, the way he paints, he's just very creative. I'm the worrier of the band, the dad of the band. Sometimes I can be a bit too bossy. I need to learn to chill. Ant is the comedian of the band. He's the joker. When everything gets a bit too much he'll diffuse it instantly and everything's cool again. Si's very chilled, very laidback, very hard-working." Who's the most popular? "We all have different fans," Duncan says. "I get a lot of the mums and the disabled children. A lot of my fans have got cerebral palsy, but you know what? I love children like that, and I love people who have got disabilities because I spent a lot of time in hospital with my grandparents when they were ill, and Mum was a nurse. It's just in my nature. I'm like a magnet to them, and I treat them like normal people so they latch on. I once had a launch party and there was a queue of disabled kids all in wheelchairs come to see me, and Sara [the band's manager] walked in and goes: 'What is it with you and disabled people?'" The sound is so bad at the club that they decide to mime. Twelve hundred middle-aged men in checked shirts pump their fists in the air to I Can. After the performance, they retire to a tiny staircase where a journalist interviews the band while squeezed between the knees of Simon and the chest of Duncan. He looks like he's in heaven. I wonder if he knows his trouser buttons are undone. Later, in a cab, they weigh up their options. "I'd really like to get mashed," Lee says. "It seems mad being in Amsterdam and not making a night of it . . . but we've got telly tomorrow and it won't be a good look." In the old days, yes, but now they've matured. So we retire to the hotel bar for a Glenfiddich or two. They chat away, obviously happy in each other's company. Towards the end of Blue mark one, they were getting tired and irritable, but now it's all fresh again. It really is like starting out again, Simon says – sharing rooms with other bands, constantly on the road, working around the world. Yes, he says, he enjoyed life as a solo artist, but there was something lonely about it. Was he surprised he did so well? "You bet." He gives me the recipe for his success. "When I grew up there was only one CD I had, which was Bill Withers. And he had a song called Grandma's Hands, and I thought I want to write a song like that so I wrote Lay Your Hands. He had Just The Two of Us so I did After All This Time. And he had Lean On Me, which goes 'Sometimes in our life we all have pain' so I went 'So, is this how it goes?'" So basically he nicked all Bill Withers's songs? "You're damned fucking right I did." At nearly noon the following day, there is no sign of the boys. I assume they are still in bed. Then I feel a tap on the shoulder. It's Lee, and he fancies heading into Amsterdam for something to eat. Great, I say – what about the others? He'll try calling them. No response, he says. It's a beautiful day, and we're sitting in the midday sun sharing pizza and pasta and garlic bread, and Lee is talking about his son, Rayn Amethyst (Rayn is an amagram of Ryan, but he's trying to get it changed to Rain), and how he'd like to produce films and write scripts. He's already written one that he hopes to make into a film about a boy with attention deficit disorder who is forcefed the drug Ritalin. Is it autobiographical? "In some ways. They tried to make me take it, yeah. That's why I came up with the idea of the film." And did he take it? "No, and then they kicked me out of school." When we get back to the hotel the boys are outside waiting for us. "Where've you been?" asks Duncan. "Why didn't you ask us?" Lee did, I say – he rang you. But the boys aren't happy. They start interrogating me. Antony: "What did he eat?" "We had pizza, pasta . . ." Duncan: "We've been measured for our Eurovision suits. He's in trouble." Lee gets back on the bus just in time to take the heat off me. Simon: "You're in trouble, young man." Duncan: "Yeah you're in trouble, bruv." Duncan gives me a withering look. "You just forcefed him crap, didn't you? Feeder!" Then he looks at Lee. "You're out of order, man. You been eating pizza!" Lee: "Yeah, what's the matter with that? I had a little bit of pizza." Simon: "Aha! We've heard, and the garlic bread. He's already grassed you up." The boys are serious, but they're also laughing about it. We're at the studio of the popular cooking-and-chat show Life 4 You, where Blue will be singing. Sara irons trousers and advises on the routine while the boys warm up with a barbershop number. Their voices are very good. Duncan says they have become better singers since they split up – in his case, largely due to the West End musical training. They sing live, and the mix isn't good – Lee is too low, Duncan can't hear properly. It's not disastrous, just not the impression they'd hoped to make. Duncan is deflated. "Was I flat?" he asks. "He's going to be worrying all night now. Checking his Twitter every minute," says Sara. "Anyone taking responsibility for these pants?" she adds, with a pair of briefs in each hand. Lee arrives a little later. He has been on set cooking with the stars. "Did you see the cooking? I thought I'd get more air time. They gave me a cookbook in Hollish. What's it called, Dutch, sorry. How useful will that be?" "Just sign that autograph will you, Lee," Duncan says. "In Hollish." We talk about the hairy moments the band has had in the few months they've been back together. The most public was Antony being caught on camera urinating against a cash machine. To be fair, that's not all he was doing. "I was taking money out, texting my friend to see if she got home all right, and weeing," he says. "I didn't think you could do that," Sara says. "I thought it was a given that one had to hold one's penis. I didn't think men could multitask, but no one said good on him." Antony looks shame-faced. "I never got a pat on the back. I've learned the hard way and trust me it will never happen again." Look, Duncan says, Weegate is already in the past, and now the most important thing is to do the UK proud. "This is just the beginning for Blue," he says. • Blue's single I Can is released on 1 May on Blue World Records Blue Eurovision Pop and rock Simon Hattenstone guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lost in royal showbiz Posted: 19 Apr 2011 10:48 AM PDT Prince William and Kate Middleton can headline a royal wedding like Jennifer Aniston can open a movie. They can't • Pull up a pink gin and tug your forelock at the first Lost in Royalbiz – your daily look at the wedding the media would have you believe is all about class. And perhaps it is. After all, who are these fabled gazillions who genuinely care about it? One certainly doesn't know such people socially. Chances are, you think Prince William and Kate Middleton can headline a royal wedding like Jennifer Aniston can open a movie. Which is to say, they can't. They wouldn't even get top billing at one of the Reverend Moon's events, sure to be outdone in the charisma stakes by approximately 25,000 couples from suburban Seoul. Yet much like Jennifer Aniston's cinematic career, so-called royal wedding fever does sustain the media – and as an avowedly republican newspaper, the Guardian will obviously be devoting eleventy thousand column inches to it all. If you don't like it, why not register your displeasure by putting in a full day's work on the bank holiday you're getting out of it? I know I will be. • We begin with the launch of behind-the-scenes feature Know Your Pundits, wherein we celebrate the experts glossing the Royal Wedding for no-marks like us. First up is novelist Kathy Lette, who parlays a fleeting encounter with Kate Middleton at some polo event last year into a Reader's Digest article about what the couple "are REALLY like". As always when Kathy makes a foray into print, the only source of mild intrigue is how she will shoehorn one of her trademark sexual puns into what follows, perhaps in this case making arch reference to the Regina Monologues. Ah yes, call off the search. "I've no doubt," Kathy declares, "the down-to-earth KM has already concluded that the 'cream of British society' just means rich, thick, and prone to whipping." • And so to the news that Ms Middleton's dress is now heavily tipped to be designed by dark horse Sophie Cranston, founder of little-known label Libelula. Alas, this column finds itself in the desperately vulgar position of being able to "exclusively reveal" something: namely, that Sophie was also a pupil at Downe House, the school at which Kate spent two ill-starred terms, and which would go on to inspire one recent News of the World splash, and a deluge of Fleet Street follow-ups. Should you require further detail, Sophie would have been a few years above Kate, but both girls were in Tedworth house. Indeed, following a painstaking journalistic investigation already believed to be attracting the admiration of the Pulitzer committee, I can further reveal that the girls' housemistress was the sensationally charmless Mrs Gwatkin, who once led me by my ear back to my own house (Aisholt – we won all the lax cups), having caught me after-hours within her purview, despite my attempts to escape using a goods lift. (Hey, don't hate the playa, hate the game). Apologies if you're having trouble picturing this incident – I did ask the Guardian art department to create a graphic showing the route from Tedworth goods lift, down the Kitchen Passage (the catering end, not the bit with the tuck shop in), across the Vestibule and back into Aisholt, but it turns out they had other stuff on. • As for Prince William's appeal to the wider dominions, much light is shed by a recent piece in the Sun by Kathy Lette, who, the paper informs us somewhat vaguely, "knows Wills". "Egalitarian, earthy, sceptical Aussies detest pomp and ceremony," explains Kathy. "We think the cream of society just means rich, thick and prone to whipping." • From the Downing Street press office, no less, comes official confirmation that wedding attire means a lounge suit for David Cameron, to whom almost nothing is more important than not appearing posh. Yet does this go far enough, I inquire of No 10? Couldn't the PM wear something by Sean John, accessorised with a nine-carat gold-plated necklace bearing the legend "Mo money, mo problems"? "Is this a serious inquiry?" asks a spokeswoman. Deadly serious. Requires an official response. "I highly doubt the prime minister is going to wear a tracksuit to the royal wedding," she eventually obliges. Long may this co-operative mindset continue. • To the Sydney Morning Herald, finally, where a certain royal expert is struck by a flash of inspiration. "Australians have chronic sceptic-emia," reveals Kathy Lette in a trenchant comment piece. "We detest pomp and ceremony. To us, the 'cream of society', just means rich, thick and prone to whipping." It never loses its bite, does it? Let its author henceforth be known as Regina Dentata, and not leave it long before granting us players of Lette Bingo a full house. Royal wedding Kate Middleton Prince William Monarchy Weddings Marina Hyde guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

'Now I've got ambitions' Posted: 19 Apr 2011 12:30 PM PDT When a 15-year-old has a baby, it doesn't have to mean the end of her education and her hopes of a career. Amelia Hill visits the school that treats motherhood as an opportunity Pregnant at 15, Tanya didn't think having a baby would ruin her life. But then, she didn't think she had much of a life left to ruin. Rarely going to school, fighting with her mother, and depressed, Tanya had been devastated to discover that John, her boyfriend and the father of her child, was just 13 years old; throughout their 15-month relationship, he had pretended to be 17. The couple stayed together during the pregnancy, but five weeks after the birth of their daughter, Amy, John told Tanya he didn't want anything to do with either of them. Yet today, Tanya is bubbling with love for her 10-month-old daughter, with shy pride in herself and hope for both their futures. In the past 14 months, she has gained five GCSEs and two level 1 qualifications. Next year, she will take two more GCSEs. If all goes to plan, she will then start a beauty therapy course at the local college. "Amy makes my world a better place. It makes my day when she smiles," she says. "I never went to school much until I got pregnant. I had no plans for the future. Now I want to do well and go to college, then get a job and be a good mum for Amy." Teenage pregnancies have been falling since 2002 and are now at their lowest for more than a decade: 7,586 under-16-year-olds became pregnant in the past 12 months, compared with 8,200 the year before, according to the most recent research by the Office for National Statistics. Despite the fall in numbers, however, the UK still has the highest rates of teenage births and abortions in western Europe – five times those in the Netherlands, and double those in France and Germany. Britain's young people are still likely to become sexually active at a younger age than their European peers. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases among children aged 14 and younger is rising. Launched in 1999, the government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy aimed to halve the rate of conception in a decade. Instead, the conception rate has fallen by just 13.3% among those aged under 18, and by 11.7% in under-16s. But even this hard-won reduction is at risk, campaigners warn, thanks to the scrapping of all direct funding to the £285m scheme by the end of the year. It is left to people such as Dr Kathy Burton, head of Moat House school in Stockport, Cheshire, to try to improve the life chances of the 20,000 under-18s who get pregnant each year and decide to keep their babies. To try to make education and a job the priority of mothers who are little more than children themselves. To teach them how to be good parents and, ideally, to delay further pregnancies. "My opening gambit to every girl who comes to us is: 'What would you have wanted to be doing, 12 months from now, had you not got pregnant?' Then I make it clear that they will still be able to achieve that ambition – or do even better – with a baby," says Burton, whose school was one of the first of a dozen units across the country dedicated to pregnant girls or young mothers aged between 13 and 17. Last month, the Guardian was granted rare access to Moat House. The unit, discreetly tucked into a quiet residential close near the centre of Stockport, is clearly no ordinary place of learning. Signs on the walls instruct teachers what to do if a girl goes into labour while at school. Visitors are greeted by a bold picture display of cheerful pink and blue cots, each one naming and congratulating a new mother on the birth of her baby. A large, bright creche is the centrepiece of the school: the girls are allowed to check on their babies at any time during the school day but are expected to spend breaks and lunchtimes caring for them. Four teachers, including Burton, teach the usual core curriculum to between 19 and 24 girls. Expectations are high – GCSEs are completed in two and a half terms instead of the usual two years, with the assumption that the students will go on to college. Their chances are good: last year, more than half of the 65 GCSEs taken by the students were achieved at grade C or above. Last May, Ofsted ranked the school as "outstanding" for the third time. Alongside the maths and English lessons, the school prepares the girls for their new role as mothers. Midwives and health visitors run sessions on sex education, what to expect during labour, pain relief, weaning, potty training – and preventing further pregnancies. Nursery nurses talk to the girls about how to care for a new baby. A Connexions careers adviser eases each girl into college by encouraging her to apply for college courses in line with her interests and aptitudes. The school even has its own Young Parents' Project co-ordinator, part of Stockport's drive to help its post-16 mums find college places and access childcare. Such specialist support has put Stockport at the head of the national league table for the government's Care to Learn scheme, which helps get teenage parents back into learning by funding childcare while parents are at college. Having been excluded from school for much of the time between turning 13 and becoming pregnant at 14, Annie was functionally illiterate when was referred to Moat House. She is now headed for college where she will study animal care and hopes to become a zoologist. If she makes it to university, she will be the first member of her family to do so. "Being pregnant calmed me down a lot. I had a lot of anger but I've grown up," she says, expertly cradling her three-and-a-half-month-old daughter in one arm and tidying toys with the other. "I've learned I can read if I try – and I want to try now, I want to be a good role model for Tara. Without her, I wouldn't have done anything with my life but now I've got plans and ambitions." Most of the girls are in long-term relationships. Often with the same boyfriends since the age of 14, they talk of how having a baby has strengthened their relationships and given their partners a new focus in life. "My boyfriend, Colin, used to be so immature," says 16-year-old Lauren, who gave birth to her son Ciaran two months ago. "He was just a kid himself. But now he's got a job and is finding us a house. At the beginning, he wouldn't hold Ciaran because he was so scared, but now he changes his nappy, feeds and burps him. He's a brilliant father and Ciaran's a real daddy's boy: his eyes light up whenever his dad comes into the room." Behind Lauren is a shelf of Romeo and Juliet textbooks. Underneath are letters the girls wrote earlier in the year, to their "bumps": "When you get old enough to have sex, please use protection because you don't want to end up like Mummy," reads one. Another says: "Me and your daddy are going to bring you up so you can go and sort yourself out with a career when you're older." By her own admission, Lauren had little idea what to do with her future before she became pregnant. Now she laughs as she remembers the recent suggestion of her boyfriend that they should have eight children. "My dad wants me to have more kids too," she says. "He asked me when I was going to give him a granddaughter but I've told them all that they have to wait. I don't want another kid until I'm at least 24. I want to train as a nursery nurse and get a good job sorted before I have more kids." Currently there is no requirement to provide mothers aged up to 16 with a full-time education if they cannot attend school towards the end of their pregnancy and in the weeks after the birth. The Department for Education has said it "thinks that this is wrong". From September 2011, the DfE will require all local authorities to provide full-time education for every child, with the aim of getting 60% of young mothers into education, employment or training. Whether it will achieve its goal is another question: a recent report by Barnardo's, the children's charity, found that 72% of young mothers are currently not in education, employment or training, compared with about 10% of 16- to 18-year-olds generally. Many young mothers interviewed as part of the Barnardo's research said they had never been officially excluded but that their schools had put pressure on them to drop out over unfounded health-and-safety fears. Other young mothers admitting having dropped out – effectively excluding themselves – because of their schools' lack of support and flexibility. In some cases there were no offers of home tuition or alternative teaching arrangements. "Most mainstream schools, even if they let a girl stay on when she gets pregnant, are unhappy letting her continue her education in school beyond 36 weeks," says Burton. "Here, we have them up to and beyond their due date. After they give birth, they are only given four weeks' maternity leave. Most nurseries won't take a baby until they are 12 weeks old, which means that even if a girl stays in the most accommodating of mainstream schools, she can take up to 18 weeks' absence – which, in year 11, is a significant amount of time." Funded by Stockport local authority, Moat House is expecting cuts of no more than 7% next year. But Burton fears the impact of reductions in the welfare services that target school attendance and deprivation, both key predictors of teenage pregnancy. She also believes the scrapping of direct funding for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is "short-sighted" and says the disappearance of the education maintenance allowance, and of all childcare-specific funding after the age of 19, will hit young mothers trying to stay in education and training. But while reducing the numbers of teenage pregnancies can seem a sisyphean task, there are some reasons to be cheerful. Some authoritative studies have found that early parenthood does not guarantee social deprivation. In fact it can be a positive influence on the lives of young mothers – if they are given enough support. "Young mothers often see parenthood as providing a chance to create a loving family – often compensating for their own bad experiences of childhood," said Suzanne Cater and Lester Coleman, authors of a 2006 report into planned teenage pregnancy for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. "Many said that their life would have been worse if they had not become a parent, pointing to family insecurity, a growing sense of worthlessness and lack of direction." A 2003 study by John Ermish for the Institute for Social and Economic Research came to a similar conclusion. Using evidence from the British Household Panel Study, the professor of economics found that outcomes for women at age 30 showed that the negative consequences of teenage parenthood had been overstated. Most notably, he said, outcomes are shaped most powerfully by poverty. Dr Jan Macvarish, author of the new book Teenage Parenthood: What's the Problem?, agrees. "The disproportionate political attention given to teenage parenthood has produced a number of profoundly unhelpful outcomes for young parents," says Macvarish, a lecturer at the University of Kent. "Rather than [society] respecting young people who have chosen to grow up through parenthood, they are treated as dysfunctional, destined to fail and in need of 'special treatment' that is far more intrusive than most new parents would accept." Back at Moat House, 17-year-old Natalie agrees. "Being a teenage mother is hard," she says. "But the most difficult thing is the way I'm judged and treated by people who assume bad things about me, just because of my age. They don't know how much I love my baby. They don't know I'm a good mother. They don't know any of that, but they assume all sorts of things about me. And that makes changing the future for me and my child so much harder." Young people Schools Parents and parenting Sexual health Pregnancy Parents Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Thor – review Posted: 19 Apr 2011 03:48 PM PDT It's overlong and all over the place but there's something weirdly charming about Kenneth Branagh's superhero epic By the glittering towers of Asgard, Kenneth Branagh's big-screen Thor is a rum old affair. Yes, this superhero epic comes complete with CGI monsters, cacophonous battles and a scene in which our musclebound hero stands out in the rain and wails "Waaaah!" at the heavens. But it also contains some broad, fish-out-of-water comedy, an odd couple romance and a scene in which Thor storms into a pet shop and calls for a horse. I watched from the gods, chuckling at the sheer, silly exuberance of it all. Thor, according to Norse mythology, is the god of thunder, lightning and, intriguingly, oak trees as well. In the 1960s the deity found himself repackaged by Marvel Comics, which brought him down to earth and paired him off with a foxy young nurse, although Thor's sombre, bombastic persona ensured that he never quite chimed with the fans in the way, say, Spiderman did. Now along comes Branagh's jokey riff on the comic-book version, played out under tie-dyed skies and swinging between small-town New Mexico and a gleaming, tinfoil Asgard that looks like Nordic night at Studio 54. If Marvel Studios figured that the director would bring a little Shakespearean gravitas to the proceedings then by God, they've got another think coming. As played by Australian newcomer Chris Hemsworth, our protagonist swaggers about like some celestial beer monster. Cast out of Asgard by his exasperated father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), he crash-lands in the desert where he is promptly run over by Jane (Natalie Portman), an earnest young scientist. Suffice to say Thor is not enamoured of these new surroundings. "I'm the son of Odin!" he roars, hurling mugs of coffee to the floor and grappling with the medics who want to inject sedative into his buttocks. "No more smashing!" scolds Jane. What Thor desires above all else, of course, is his mystical hammer of hammering. And he had better find it sharpish because, up above, heaven is already going to hell in a handcart, what with Odin on his sick bed and the duplicitous Loki (Tom Hiddleston) scheming to forge an alliance with the frost giants. Only when the hammer makes its reappearance can Thor be returned to his former glories. Clobbered, believed dead, he suddenly rears up on Main Street, with his billowing red cloak and big, dopey grin. "Oh. My. God," breathes Jane, and she is more right than she can ever know. I'd hesitate to call this a good film, exactly. It's overlong and all over the place. The sets are tacky and the script is skittish. Some of the supporting players (most notably a stricken Stellan Skarsgård) appear poignantly all at sea. But there's something weirdly charming about it just the same. Branagh has knocked his film together with a terrific, freewheeling gusto. It has its tongue in its cheek and the fun is infectious. For all its faults, Thor's never a bore. Rating: 3/5 Kenneth Branagh Xan Brooks guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Interview: Keir Starmer Posted: 19 Apr 2011 10:11 AM PDT Interview with Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions As the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer is responsible for prosecutions, legal issues and criminal justice policy. Since he took up the post in November 2008, he has had to contend with the case of the death of Ian Tomlinson at the 2009 G20 Summit, the controversy around assisted suicide and has been drawn into the News of the World phone hacking scandal. Now he faces another challenge. Last autumn, a 28-year-old mother began an eight-month prison sentence for "falsely retracting" a rape allegation against her husband, despite the court accepting that she had suffered prolonged domestic abuse and had withdrawn the rape accusation under pressure from her husband. News of the case triggered outrage, and the woman was later freed by the court of appeal, with the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, commenting that there should be a "broad measure of compassion for women who had already been victimised". To avoid the possibility of any repetition, Starmer, has since December requested that all perverting the course of justice cases that involve retracted rape and domestic violence allegations should be submitted to him for approval. The nature of rape as a crime that usually occurs in private, with only the victim as a witness, makes it challenging to prosecute. How to handle allegations of rape that are subsequently retracted by the victim is an equally fraught part of law. When is it in the public interest to prosecute the woman for perverting the course of justice? Recognising that mistakes have been made, Starmer has drawn up interim guidance, published in February, to help prosecutors establish where the public interest lies in this delicate area. Over the past month, he has had two detailed consultation sessions with around 20 domestic violence and rape support groups, to be sure that their concerns are reflected in the guidelines, and the public has until 6 May to register its thoughts on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) website. His main objective, he says, is to ensure that victims have sufficient confidence in the system to report the crime. "Confidence is really important here: general public confidence but, more importantly, confidence among victims to come forward," he says. "We prosecute about 4,000 rape cases a year, and most of the time it is done really well. But when things go wrong it attracts a lot of publicity." Malicious Since he began reviewing files of evidence, he has seen 24 new cases involving charges of perverting the course of justice in relation to retractions of domestic violence and rape allegations. He and his staff have to establish whether the original accusation has been retracted because it was malicious, or because the woman who made the accusation has come under pressure from a violent, abusive partner. If there is evidence to suggest that the woman has withdrawn an allegation concerning a rape or an act of domestic violence that actually happened, then the new guidance makes it clear that no case for perverting the course of justice should be brought. It states: "The prosecutor should be aware that victims of domestic violence may sometimes retract a true allegation: for example as a result of pressure, fear of violence, or intimidation, or because of other factors such as a desire to give the relationship another chance." It adds that anyone who deliberately makes a false allegation may be guilty of perverting the course of justice, but clarifies (crucially) that "the prosecution must prove that the allegation was in fact false. If there is any question as to whether the original allegation might in fact have been true, then there is not a realistic prospect of conviction, and no charge of perverting the course of justice should be brought." "We tried as a policy to draw a line between malicious falsehood cases on the one hand and on the other cases where it may be that the allegation is true," Starmer says. "Unless you can prove, to criminal standards, that the allegation is false, then we are not going to be taking a case for perverting the course of justice." To do that, prosecutors will be encouraged to study medical evidence, listen to the 999 call recording, and examine CCTV footage. "Underlying all this, we want to give complainants the confidence to come forward in the knowledge that only if it is a deliberate lie are you likely to face perverting the course of justice charges. You're not going to be facing them because you weren't supported or because you retracted under pressure for other reasons," he says. "If people fear that if they don't see it all the way through, they might be prosecuted, then that is not helpful, and that is critically what we need to address." The guidance will not make the law more lenient towards those who make up allegations of rape. "Where there is a deliberate falsehood, where someone is falsely, and wrongly accused of rape, and it is baseless, then we will prosecute. Particularly where they [the accused] have been arrested, charged and tried," he says. But even here the guidance is nuanced. One case, where the allegation was retracted, and later turned out to be false, involved a girl and a boy aged 14, he says. "So you have this really tricky situation. For a 14-year-old boy to be accused of rape, and for everyone to know about it, it is pretty awful for him and his family. But she was of a similar age. We didn't prosecute; there was enough evidence, but the question was whether a prosecution was in the public interest," he says. The guidance offers help on what factors might reduce the public interest in prosecuting – taking into account, for example, whether the "suspect appears not fully to have understood the seriousness of making a false allegations (bearing in mind his or her age and maturity)". Starmer is also focusing on the way the CPS handles domestic violence generally. Last week, the Home Office announced automatic multi-agency reviews for every death as a result of domestic abuse in order to try to learn the lessons from it, and Starmer promised more support for victims. "A million women experience domestic violence year on year; we are still seeing two women killed every week by their partners; women are 54% more at risk of sexual violence from their partners than from anyone else; women are more at risk from violent crime in their own home, than anywhere else. So it needs to remain a priority for us," he says. Cuts The CPS is facing a 25% cut over four years, and Starmer says these cuts are forcing him to focus attention on deciding what should be the service's key priorities. "The spending review last year was one of the toughest this organisation has had to endure. We are restructuring and trying to make our team more resilient, but I thought we needed to think to be clear what our priorities were," he says. "I'm determined that the budget cuts will not affect our service to victims of sexual offences and domestic abuse." Neither he nor his colleagues will spell out which areas are becoming less of a priority as a result; Starmer's message seems to be that whatever does lose out as a result of financial pressures, it won't be this area. Behind his determination, lies a sense that success rates are still not good enough. But he stresses that the system is improving. "Ten years ago we were still in the era of saying, 'It's just a domestic.' Now, there are many more cases of domestic violence brought than even five years ago. The change in mindset came when we said to prosecutors: 'When you are building the case, assume from the outset that you might end up with a woman who won't support the prosecution.'" Now prosecutors are guided to get photographs or videos of the scene, and secure the 999 recording. "It really does make a difference. The conviction rate used to be only 49% – only one out of two cases. Now it is up at 72%," he says. "The 999 tape is critical, once that's served, the likelihood of a guilty plea goes up dramatically. Very often, you hear a very distressed woman in the background. The defence that nothing happened is just impossible. " Domestic violence Rape UK criminal justice Amelia Gentleman guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

British 20th-century art? Phooey Posted: 19 Apr 2011 08:15 AM PDT You get the art history you deserve, and trying to honour ours from 1900-1940 won't work – it's just too boring In the 1950s, American modern art leapt to the forefront of global esteem. In the wake of Jackson Pollock, the previous history of American painters, sculptors and architects was resurrected. From being seen as either provincial talents or local examples of larger trends, earlier American artists from the Hudson River landscape painters to Grant Wood became part of a proud national art history. Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a glorious American section with such treasures as Tiffany stained glass to gawp at. Something comparable is happening now in British galleries and museums. It seems we choose the art history we want, or need. Since Damien Hirst broke the ice at the start of the 1990s, British artists have succeeded and become fashionable at home and abroad. The generation who grew up with this art have now had time to do their PhDs and become curators or lecturers, and the official picture of Britain's art history is changing before our eyes. The intensity of American abstract painting in the 1950s, followed by pop art, made historians rediscover first the romanticism then the luxury of the American artistic heritage. By a similar logic, the new global prestige of contemporary British art since 1990 has made curators focus on the story of British modern art in the 20th century. Suddenly, it seems that Britain – which has traditionally been seen as an also-ran in the history of modern art, where Edwardian portrait painters held sway while Picasso was unleashing Les Demoiselles d'Avignon – was a great avant-garde country after all. The Guggenheim in Venice is celebrating vorticism, the British movement that briefly emulated futurism. The Royal Academy recently bigged up British 20th-century sculpture. Meanwhile at Tate Britain, current displays excavate the British art scene from 1900 to the 1990s with the determination of an archaeologist convinced that the next pottery shard will reveal a new way of seeing the past. Phooey, I say. British art in the first half of the 20th century has never been underestimated. It has been accurately seen for what it was, a backwater. Of course there are fascinating figures, like Sickert and Epstein. After the second world war it all gets much more dynamic in the age of Francis Bacon and Richard Hamilton. But come on. Bigging up British modernism from the 1900s to 1940s is a fool's game. You can get carried away by any art. But it does not matter how many Henry Moore statues are exhibited, they still look tame as soon as they are set next to a Picasso. This obsession with 20th-century British art is an illusion. It is also insidiously conservative. It offers a vision of proper, serious British modern art that supposedly long-preceded Hirst. But in the modern displays at Tate Britain, only one room is exciting: the Damien Hirst gallery. His art explodes in my head. It is real, it is alive. It is free. Away from the Flock, at Tate Britain, is gripping and entrancing. In comparison, all those British modernists from the days of Bloomsbury and Metroland are just sheep, baaing in the field, stuck in the flock. Art Damien Hirst Jonathan Jones guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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