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- Royal spectacle: all eyes on William & Kate
- EU to discuss sanctions in Syria
- US tornadoes were worst since 1974
- Morocco terrorism attack kills 15
- Stoate attacks PM over NHS claim
- Bahrain 'torture' official at wedding
- Jury ponders unlawful killing verdict
- Palestinian PM must go, Hamas says
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| Royal spectacle: all eyes on William & Kate Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:00 PM PDT Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey throughout the day Adam Gabbatt is on the Mall with the freezing crowds:
Adam will be spending the day out and about among the crowds, tweeting and posting video and audio as he meets people along the way. His journey will be mapped out below as he goes. Navigate around the map and timeline to experience the royal wedding with him. _ My colleague Hannah Waldram is here with the weather:
Marina Hyde of the Guardian's Lost in (Royal) Showbiz column has emailed with her first bulletin:
Thousands of well-wishers have lined the mile-and-a-half route to Westminster Abbey this morning, Stephen Bates, Sandra Laville and Lee Glendinning report. Yesterday evening, Prince William met the crowds waiting on the Mall, shaking hands and telling delighted members of the public he was focusing on "remembering the lines" for the "big day". The Press Association news agency has more:
The Middleton family spent the evening quietly at the Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, which was cordoned off with a marquee shielding the entrance so that the bride will be able to slip unobserved into one of Buckingham Palace's Rolls Royces for her journey to the abbey at precisely 10.51am this morning. Her dress will not be revealed until she arrives at the abbey nine minutes later. The designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen appeared to have entered the hotel in disguise yesterday afternoon, suggesting she may have designed the dress. Other designers named as possible candidates are Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield. William will wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards of which he is colonel. The police and intelligence services launched an unprecedented security operation in London. Scotland Yard carried out a series of dawn raids, arresting 20 people in five squats across the capital. The rehearsals are over, the bunting is out, and the tasteful memorabilia is on display. And that's just here at the Guardian, where, as you can imagine, we are gripped with royal wedding fever. Hopefully it's just a 24-hour thing. The word's media has arrived, unwelcome ambassadors have been disinvited, protests have been called on and called off, and at last the big day has arrived. And it wouldn't be a national occasion without a live blog, so welcome to our coverage. We'll be all over the service, the procession, the dress, the kiss, the fly-past, the parties – and all the rights and wrongs of royalism and republicanism – right here, all day. I'm not on my own. The Guardian has deployed a cast of several in order to bring you the top wedding news: Esther Addley is with the most ardent royalists camping out on the Mall, Adam Gabbatt has travelled down from Manchester with a coachload of revellers and is now tweeting his way around the capital. Hadley Freeman will be on hand from New York to share the full horror of the US media spectacle while Vicky Frost does the same for the UK, Kate Carter will cast her eye over all the outfits and our fashion guru Jess Cartner-Morley will give her verdict on The Dress. Crime correspondent Sandra Laville is at Scotland Yard keeping an eye on the security situation and Steven Morris has the view from Kate Middleton's home village. We're on the procession route too: Sam Jones is on Whitehall, while Peter Walker has the best view of the Buck House balcony from his vantage point at the Victoria memorial. Meanwhile, our man in morning dress is Stephen Bates, who has secured his place in the pews and will be reporting from inside Westminster Abbey. Finally, our Lost in (Royal) Showbiz columnist Marina Hyde will be on hand to give us a healthy dose of Guardian scepticism to keep us all in check. As if we could possibly get over-excited about a mere wedding. If even this gently sceptical tone is just too much then click on the top-right button on the Guardian home page: all our royal coverage melts magically away. There's plenty of proper news for you to get stuck into. For those of you who remain, pull up a velvet cushion and break out the Babycham: here's how we expect things to develop. Timetable8am-9.45am: Congregation begins to arrive at Westminster Abbey. 10.10am: Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for the Abbey. 10.25am: Royals begin to leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey. 10.50am: Kate Middleton and her father leave Goring Hotel. 11am: Marriage service begins. 12.15pm: Marriage service over, the carriage procession leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. 1.25pm: William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their families. 1.30pm: Fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight. Afternoon to around 3.30pm: Private afternoon reception hosted by the Queen. 7pm onwards: Private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles. The route to and from Westminster Abbey will take in The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square, and Broad Sanctuary. Here's a map of the route. The service will be broadcast through speakers along the route, and there are giant screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. There are more details on the royal wedding website here. The full programme and order of service is available online here (with a nice drawing of the route on pages four and five) and here. The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and the couple will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, will give the address. Philippa Middleton, Kate's sister, will be the maid of honour, while Prince Harry will be his brother's best man. The bridesmaids and page boys are all young children, and mostly relatives. The music will be performed by two choirs, two fanfare teams and one orchestra: the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, the fanfare team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the London Chamber Orchestra. More details of the musicians can be found here. Around 1,900 people have been invited, including 1,000 of the couple's family and friends, as well as members of foreign royal families, politicians, diplomats, foreign leaders "from the Realms", royal staff, and representatives from the armed forces, William's charities, the Church of England and other religions. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunch reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and around 300 to the dinner Prince Charles is hosting in the early evening. The first royal wedding of the social networking age has quite properly got not only its own website, but also its own Twitter account, Facebook page, Flickr site and YouTube channel, which will be broadcasting the service live. Watch out if you sign up for that Facebook page; the resulting message "X likes the British monarchy" may come as an unwelcome surprise to some of your friends. There's a map of the wedding route here, and information for those visiting London today here. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| EU to discuss sanctions in Syria Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:30 AM PDT Five hundred now dead in crackdown, monitors say, while talks begin to find an international response European governments will meet on Friday to discuss imposing sanctions on Syria, responding to the repression by the Assad regime by possibly imposing travel bans and freezing the bank accounts of the president and his relatives, and of key government figures. It comes as pressure on the Syrian regime increased after the resignation of hundreds of members of President Bashar al-Assad's Ba'ath party in protest at the bloody crackdown, now believed to have claimed at least 500 lives. The situation is reported to be desperate in the southern city of Deraa, where the dissent began six weeks ago. It remains under siege from tanks of the ultra-loyal Fourth Mechanised Brigade, commanded by Assad's brother, Maher, as well as, residents say, snipers and machine guns. With even basic supplies running out, locals said they were terrified to leave their homes. One told the Associated Press that 43 people had died in the city since the troops arrived on Monday, including a six-year-old girl shot by a sniper. More than 230 members of the party that has ruled Syria since 1963 announced their resignation on Wednesday night. "Considering the breakdown of values and emblems that we were instilled with by the party, and which were destroyed at the hand of the security forces … we announce our withdrawal from the party without regret," said 30 party members from the coastal city of Banias in a letter. About 200 members from the southern Hauran region, which includes Deraa, also stood down. Senior officials from the 27 EU governments are to discuss sanctions on the Syrian leadership for the first time on Friday, with Britain, France, and Germany encouraging Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, to draw up a list of the toughest measures. While opinion will split on how to respond to the crackdown, diplomats said no one was expected to block action agreed by a majority. The officials are to receive an intelligence briefing on the situation in Syria and are to discuss a range of options, from a mild slap on the wrist such as suspending an EU association agreement with Damascus, to more punitive measures such as a travel blacklist preventing prominent regime figures from travelling in the EU, and the freezing of bank accounts and other assets. Figures that would be targeted would be the president's "extended family" and other key officials in the military and security apparatus, diplomats in Brussels said. While a tougher line is espoused by the EU's big three, Germany, France, and Britain, as well as Denmark and the Netherlands, the Austrians are said to be lukewarm on sanctions, while the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, regularly voices his scepticism on the utility of sanctions against foreign governments. While the international response has so far been limited to stern words and vague threats – a divided UN security council is seen as unlikely to agree on sanctions – the US has raised the stakes by specifically linking the Syrian crackdown with its main antagonist in the region, Iran. The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said Washington was "very conscious of and concerned by the evidence of active Iranian involvement and support on behalf of the Syrian government and its repression of its people". She refused to go into details. With outside media barred and many communications cut off, it has been impossible to verify the reports from Deraa. A series of residents have described dozens of corpses left in the streets and staple supplies including blood and baby formula running out. One local told Reuters: "Anyone who gets out will find a sniper ready to shoot him. They are not sparing anyone, men, women or children." Large numbers of Syrian women and children have crossed into northern Lebanon to escape fighting, Reuters reported. Mahmood Khazaal, former mayor of the Lebanese border town of al-Buqaya, said 1,500 people had come on foot. The Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah said that at least 500 civilians have been killed since protests demanding political freedom and an end to corruption erupted. There were also reports of fresh shooting in the Damascus suburb of Douma. Around 90 people were arrested and scores reportedly injured after tanks rolled into Madaya, a small mountain town 25 miles north-west of the capital. A witness told al-Jazeera he saw tanks and armoured personnel carriers surrounding Madaya, where all mobile and landline phone connections and electricity were cut from 4am until 9am. "We don't understand why this is happening," he said. "There were no plans for protests today and neither had any protests been held in the city in the past two days." There have also been unconfirmed reports of limited dissent within the military, including soldiers from a regiment separate from the Fourth Mechanised Brigade refusing to fire on civilians in Deraa. The government denied there had been any splits in the military, which is seen as fiercely loyal to Assad. Opposition activists in Damascus were heartened by news of the Ba'ath party resignations. "It is only low-level but it shows that discontent is rippling through the ranks," said one local analyst. Although the officials have no real power, splits from the party, whose position as the leading party in state and society is enshrined in the constitution, are rare. At least 10% of Syria's population of 22 million is believed to belong to the party, which has as a long-standing power base the rural and poorer sections of society to which many protesters also belong. Despite the increasing death toll, activists are predicting more people will take to the streets following Friday prayers, often a time for dissent. Wissam Tarif, the executive director of human rights organisation Insan, told the Guardian: "Youth from many cities are saying they prefer death to silence and detentions."ends guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| US tornadoes were worst since 1974 Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:08 PM PDT Death toll close to 300 after severe storm batters south, with authorities warning of more to come The hilltop town of Rainsville, Alabama, bills itself as a peaceful area surrounded by beautiful ridges, valleys and lakes. By Thursday morning, after a mile-wide tornado had torn through six southern US states, killing at least 297 people, it almost seemed to have been erased from existence. "It looks like something just washed parts of the town off the map," said Israel Partridge, a volunteer search and rescue worker. "Whole subdivisions, where there were 20 or 30 houses, there is nothing left. It is just totally gone. All that is left are the concrete steps leading up to rubble. It is not just that the houses have severe damage. They are gone." By 3am on Thursday, when workers finally paused to rest, about 35 bodies had been laid out at the fire department of a town with a population of 5,000, Partridge said. Rainsville, north-east of Birmingham, ranked among the towns worst hit by the dozens of tornadoes unleashed on the south. By late evening, 297 people were confirmed dead across the six states, but some 210 of those, were in Alabama alone. Barack Obama, who is due to visit Alabama shortly, said he had spoken to the state's governor, Robert Bentley, and approved his request for emergency relief aid. "Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster," he said. The national weather service said the storms were the most ferocious some of their forecasters had ever seen; the deadliest since tornadoes in 1974 killed 315 people. "These were the most intense supercell thunderstorms that I think anybody who was out there forecasting has ever seen," meteorologist Greg Carbin told reporters. "If you experienced a direct hit from one of these, you'd have to be in a reinforced room, storm shelter or underground to survive," he said. As well as the 210 people killed in Alabama, Mississippi reported 33 dead, Tennessee 33, and Georgia 15, with five in Virginia and one in Kentucky. The governor of Alabama declared a state of emergency and mobilised the state's 2,000 members of the national guard. Authorities reported that downed power lines and communications and blocked roads prevented them from gaining a full measure of the destruction. A million people in Alabama were without power. The tornadoes also forced a temporary shutdown at a nuclear plant in Alabama, but the nuclear regulatory commission said there was no danger. Among the other towns reporting heavy casualties and damage was the city of Tuscaloosa in Alabama, which reported 36 killed. "I don't know how anyone survived," the city's mayor, Walter Maddox, told reporters. "We're used to tornadoes here in Tuscaloosa. It's part of growing up. But when you look at the path of destruction that's likely five to seven miles long in an area half a mile to a mile wide … it's an amazing scene. There's parts of the city I don't recognise." Similar scenes unfolded across the south, with television images of heavily damaged churches and government buildings. In many instances, houses were lifted clear off their concrete foundations, and slammed back down, crushing those seeking shelter. Adam Melton, a student in Tuscaloosa, told the Alabama university newspaper he and a group of friends had been sheltering in a cellar when the building lifted off above them. "Then a Jeep Cherokee came right over us and hit me in the head. We were underneath of the Jeep on our knees and chest for the end of it," he told the Crimson White. "After we got hit, we pulled five or six people out, but it was gone. The house was gone." Partridge said he saw the tornado heading straight for his home on Lookout Mountain, about a 10 minute drive from Rainsville. "By the grace of God, where I was it just missed us. You could see it coming towards us and it dumped us with debris, but it took a turn and missed us," he said. But Rainsville absorbed the full force of the storm system. Landmarks such as the sport stadium were reduced to twisted wreckage. An entire trailer park of 73 mobile homes was destroyed. "Even the houses that made it suffered severe damage," said Partridge. US weather forecasters had been warning for days of a powerful storm coming up out of the south-east. Schools were shut and many people took a day off work. However, those precautions were overwhelmed by the sheer force of the storm system. The tornadoes took up a far wider stretch of ground than typical twisters, and stayed on the ground much longer. A number had wind speeds of more than 200mph, the weather service said. Survivors said they had had no idea what they would be facing. "I believe it caught most people by surprise, or they believed that most portions of their homes would be secure enough when, in fact, most of their homes are completely gone," Partridge said. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Morocco terrorism attack kills 15 Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:16 PM PDT One Briton reportedly among 11 tourists killed after suspected suicide bomb blows apart cafe in Marrakech A suspected suicide attack blew apart a well-known tourist cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakech on Thursday killing at least 15 people, including 11 tourists, and injuring at least 20 more. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the dead was a British tourist. If the bombing is the work of Islamists, it will be their first major attack in Morocco since 2003, when a spate of suicide bombings in the commercial capital, Casablanca, killed more than 45 people. At around 11.50am the blast ripped through the second story of a cafe overlooking Marrakech's Jamaa-el-Fnaa square, the most popular tourist spot in the old imperial city at the foot of the Atlas mountains. The Argana cafe, lauded in guidebooks for its panoramic view, was blown apart by the force of the explosion, its second storey reduced to mangled wreckage. Witnesses described the blast sending people flying from their chairs. The square, normally full of tourists and local vendors and storytellers, was swept up in panic as ambulance crews recovered dismembered bodies from the debris. A photographer described "shredded bodies" being pulled from the cafe. There were gruesome injuries at the city's main hospital, where at least 20 wounded were being treated. Boris Thiolay, a journalist for the French weekly L'Express who was in the square at the time, described a deafening explosion. "We all jumped, then we saw a plume of black smoke rise above the restaurant and the souk." A local hotel worker told France-Info she heard a great boom and everything in the square suddenly went grey. There were conflicting accounts of how the attack took place. One witness who escaped unharmed told Agence France Presse that a man had entered the cafe and ordered an orange juice before blowing himself up minutes later. Others said a bomber dropped a suitcase before walking out of the building. "I heard a massive blast. The first and second floors of the building were destroyed," one local woman told Reuters. "Some witnesses said they had seen a man carrying a bag entering the cafe before the blast occurred." The Moroccan interior ministry said early evidence collected from the scene confirmed it was a bomb attack. Other local officials said indications were of a suicide attack and traces of nails were found in one of the bodies at the hospital. Initially, within moments of the explosion, officials had blamed a gas canister catching fire. Eleven of the dead were believed to be tourists, around half were women and at least six were French, according to Moroccan television. The Elysée confirmed that many of the dead and injured were French. President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned a "hateful, cruel and cowardly attack". An unconfirmed report on Le Figaro's website claimed a couple from Marseille were among the dead, as well as one Briton. Marrakech is Morocco's top city-break destination and the blast came during French school holidays and at the start of the UK's extended bank holiday. "You can't find a more emblematic target than Jamaa-el-Fnaa square," said one restaurant owner in the city. "With this attack and amid the worrying unrest in the region, tourism will hit the doldrums." The Moroccan government did not say whether the attack was thought to have been carried out by Islamists. In January, the Moroccan interior ministry said 27 suspected terrorists recently arrested in the south of the country had links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a regional offshoot of the group. Last week, men claiming to be Moroccan members of al-Qaida's north African wing appeared in a video posted on YouTube threatening to attack Moroccan interests. Two weeks ago the king, Mohammed VI, pardoned or cut the sentences of 190 detainees, including Islamists and Sahrawi political prisoners, as part of his promised concessions on rights and judicial independence. Last month he announced political changes and promised constitutional reform in an attempt to stave off a knock-on effect from the Arab popular uprisings that have overthrown Tunisia's dictator and Egypt's autocratic regime. Since 20 February, there have been three nationwide mass demonstrations for democracy and equality in Morocco, which is plagued by massive social injustice and a growing gap between the rich and the very poor. The Marrakech blast is likely to hurt Morocco's tourist trade, a major source of revenue, which is already struggling to recover from the effects of the global downturn. Morocco's main stock exchange, the Casablanca bourse, was down 3.3% by early afternoon. "People are panicking," said a trader on the bourse. "This is a terrorist act and it will affect the economy and tarnish the country's image. Local investors are selling." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Stoate attacks PM over NHS claim Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:12 AM PDT GP Howard Stoate, who stood down at last election, says claim that he supported NHS reforms was 'entirely misleading'
Howard Stoate, the former Labour MP who left parliament to focus on his work as a GP, has attacked David Cameron for quoting him "out of context" on the government's health bill. The comments triggered heated exchanges during which Cameron told a female shadow cabinet member to "calm down, dear". Stoate, the former MP for Dartford, writes in the Guardian that doctors do not "glibly accept every aspect of the health bill; it clearly has many inherent problems". He says Cameron "should stop using the health service as a political football and allow GPs to get on with the job of improving health services". "I [had] said many GPs were enthusiastic about the chance to help shape services for patients," he writes. "I was referring to GPs in my own borough of Bexley, south London, and qualified this by saying GPs in the borough had a head start, building on their experience of commissioning over the last four years. Taken out of context, and interspersed with condescending comments to backbench MPs, Cameron's quote is entirely misleading." With senior Labour figures claiming the prime minister lost his cool because he has lost "the argument over the NHS", the intervention by Stoate– the only practising GP to serve in parliament when he stood down at the general election – robs Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, of a line of attack: that the government reforms have high-profile defenders in the medical profession. In his blog, Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former director of communications and strategy, said Cameron was rattled over the dispatch box because of the unpopularity of the coalition's reforms. "The plans are not thought through, not popular with those who run the NHS or those who use it, and politically toxic, not least because they have no mandate for them," he said. Cameron laughed off the row on an election campaign visit to North Wales. He said: "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to calm down. I don't know what it is about some people on the left. It seems that when they put the socialism in, they take the sense of humour out. "I got home last night and my wife said to me 'What sort of day did you have, dear?' And I told her I was attacked by Harriet Harman and defended by Michael Winner and she said 'What on earth were you up to?'" guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Bahrain 'torture' official at wedding Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:22 AM PDT Ambassador to UK was previously in charge of Bahraini agency that is accused of electric shocks and beatings The former head of an agency accused of torture and human rights abuses is expected to be a guest at Friday's royal wedding, the Guardian has learned. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ali al-Khalifa is a former head of Bahrain's National Security Agency (NSA) and will attend the wedding in his role as the current Bahraini ambassador to London. British sources confirmed he had been invited and a spokesperson for the Bahraini embassy in London said he was expected to attend. Khalifa was head of the agency from 2005 to 2008. The pressure group Human Rights Watch alleges that in 2007 detainees in Bahrain suffered torture including electric shocks and beatings. On Thursday an invitation to attend the wedding was withdrawn from the Syrian ambassador to London because of concerns over domestic repression and human rights abuses. Libya is also excluded. Bahrain has in recent months been wracked by protests and its government has been accused of unleashing a violent crackdown on dissent. The concerns led to Bahrain's crown prince declining to attend the wedding after originally being invited. However an invitation remains open to Khalifa, who became Bahrain's ambassador to London in 2008. According to the ambassador's biography on the embassy's website, he was head of the NSA from 2005 to 2008 before taking up the London posting. A spokesperson for the Bahraini embassy in London confirmed the ambassador had been invited to the wedding and said: "I'm expecting he's going to participate." A spokesperson for St James's Palace said: "All heads of mission in London from countries with whom the United Kingdom is in normal diplomatic relations have been invited to the wedding. We acted in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office." A Human Rights Watch report on torture in Bahrain found: "Since the end of 2007 officials again have used torture and ill-treatment, particularly during the interrogation of security suspects. Human Rights Watch's conclusion is based on interviews with former detainees and others, as well as its review of government documents. "Security officials appear to have utilised a specific repertoire of techniques against many of those arrested designed to inflict pain and elicit confessions. These techniques included the use of electro-shock devices, suspension in painful positions, beating the soles of the feet (falaka) and beatings of the head, torso, and limbs. "Some detainees also reported that security officials had threatened to kill them or to rape them or members of their families." The report implicates Bahrain's NSA: "Most of the former detainees who spoke with Human Rights Watch said that they had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment at the headquarters of the ministry of interior's general directorate of criminal investigation (CID) ... and/or at the offices of the NSA, also on the grounds of the ministry of interior." The report tells of a group of men who claimed to have suffered torture at the hands of the NSA. "Seventeen of the men also identified one or more of the officers from the CID or NSA who they claimed participated in their torture." The decision to rescind the royal wedding invitation to Dr Sami Khiyami, the Syrian ambassador, was made after the foreign secretary, William Hague, decided it would be "unacceptable" for a representative of the Syrian government to attend in the light of the killing of hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators. Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain, where at least 30 people have been killed in recent demonstrations, put out a statement on Sunday saying that with "deep regret" he had to decline his invitation, complaining that media reports about his attendance "clearly sought to involve my potential attendance as a political proxy for wider matters involving Bahrain". The invitation had been criticised by human rights groups. One alleged victim of the torture in Bahrain deplored the decision to invite the ambassador. The victim was granted asylum in Britain after claiming he had been ill treated in Bahrain and persecuted. Moosa Abdul Ali Mohammed, 30, says on two occasions he suffered beatings, sexual violence and threats against his family. Mohammed, who now lives in London, said: "He is a bad man. I was tortured while he was in charge. It's a bad thing he is invited to the wedding." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Jury ponders unlawful killing verdict Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:00 AM PDT Coroner says jury would have to be sure police officer's actions had been intentional and dangerous during G20 protests The jury at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson has been told it can return a verdict of unlawful killing, but only if it is satisfied the police officer who beat him with a baton and shoved him to the ground acted deliberately and illegally. Judge Peter Thornton QC, sitting as assistant deputy coroner, said the jury of six men and five women would have to be sure beyond reasonable doubt that PC Simon Harwood's actions had been intentional and dangerous during the G20 protests in central London two years ago.. Thornton said the jury could also consider verdicts of misadventure, death from natural causes and an open verdict. He said they would have to decide whether the 47-year-old newspaper vendor died from internal bleeding or a heart attack. Although Harwood – a member of the Metropolitan police's territorial support group – initially claimed he had hit and shoved Tomlinson because he was "being defiant" and "encroaching" on a police line. But he conceded this was not the case when confronted with footage of the encounter. "PC Harwood said that [Tomlinson] was not a threat to him or any other officer," said the coroner in his summing-up. "In evidence PC Harwood said his perception at the time was significantly different to what the CCTV camera footage shows … "s his perception, as he puts it, an honest mistaken perception of events, or is it an untruthful account of events put forward as a deliberate lie to try to excuse his actions? You will have to decide." Thornton asked the jury to consider whether the force used in either the baton strike or the subsequent push was reasonable or excessive and illegal. "If you are sure that either a heart attack caused by stress from the baton strike and/or the fall or [an] injury from the push or fall causing internal bleeding were proved, you would find [one of the requirements for unlawful killing] proved," he said. Turning to the medical evidence, the coroner said the jury would have to decide exactly how Tomlinson died. "[He] was more vulnerable than a normal person as a result of a number of factors" they include his diseased liver, his alcoholism, his input of alcohol that day and the condition of his left shoulder," Thornton said. "But at the same time, the police officer [had] a duty to [protect] the more vulnerable, and also the mere fact that Mr Tomlinson was vulnerable cannot excuse the police officer from an unlawful act." He reminded the jurors that they had heard two very different explanations of Tomlinson's death. Dr Freddy Patel, the Home Office pathologist who initially examined Tomlinson's body, had concluded he died as a result of a spontaneous heart attack, but other medical experts had suggested the cause had been internal bleeding. Patel had later made a number of important changes to his evidence. "Is there a good reason for these changes which justifies and supports his original cause of death, or is his credibility as an expert witness no longer intact?" asked the coroner. Although the jury had been told that Patel had been removed from the Home Office register of experts and is suspended for failings in cases unrelated to Tomlinson's death, Thornton urged them to "not put this aspect of the case out of all proportion". He reminded the jury that no one was on trial. "There is no indictment, no criminal charge – it is simply a way of establishing facts," he said. "Come to your decision coolly and calmly and on the evidence. Your duty is to find the facts and conclude from the evidence, and from nothing else." The inquest is expected to retire next Tuesday to consider its verdict. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Palestinian PM must go, Hamas says Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:25 PM PDT Islamist faction makes demand as part of Palestine unity pact with Fatah, set to be signed in Cairo next week Hamas has insisted on the departure of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister favoured by Israel and the west, under a deal agreed with its rival faction Fatah for a unity government, according to sources in Gaza. The Islamist organisation also said it would keep control of the Gaza Strip under the accord, which is expected to be formally signed by leaders of the two factions in Cairo next week. The plan drew further criticism on Thursday from Israel, which has said it would not deal with a Palestinian government that included members of Hamas. However, the interim Hamas-Fatah government will have no involvement in negotiations with Israel. Talks will still be conducted by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, headed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas said a caretaker government would feature technocrats and exclude Hamas members. "The people will be independents, technocrats, not affiliated with any factions," he said. He said it was "too early to tell" whether Fayyad, an independent and non-elected prime minister, would continue in post. Under the reconciliation deal, presidential and legislative elections will be held next year. Egypt said it would send a security team to Gaza. "An Egyptian security delegation will head to Gaza to help settle and organise the internal security situation there, now that the reconciliation agreement is finally in place," an Egyptian security source told Reuters. Egyptian negotiators, who brokered the deal in a series of secret meetings, persuaded Hamas to accept a non-political cabinet, which will not deter foreign donors, and convinced Fatah to allow Hamas to maintain its security control of Gaza, sources told the Guardian. But Hamas insisted on the removal of Fayyad as prime minister. Although his stewardship of the Palestinian Authority and success in reforming its institutions has been praised by the international community, Fayyad is seen as anti-Hamas and his continued premiership would seem like a defeat for the Islamist faction. Abbas will appoint the new prime minister. The most popular candidate is Munib al Masri, a US-educated businessman respected by both factions. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders continued to criticise the agreement. President Shimon Peres called it a "fatal mistake that will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and will sabotage chances of peace and stability in the region … the world cannot support the establishment of a state that part of its regime is a terror organisation". Israel's hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, told the Army Radio station: "Hundreds of terrorists will flood the West Bank and therefore we need to prepare for a different situation." The opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, urged the international community to put pressure on the Palestinians to ensure the new government renounced violence and recognised Israel's right to exist. The two factions were persuaded by "friends in the Arab World and the European Union that it was time to finish the split", said Faisal Abu Shahla, a Fatah legislator in the Gaza Strip. But some expressed scepticism about the extent of reconciliation. Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at al-Azhar University in Gaza, described the agreement as "a very vague format which will allow Palestinians to speak with one voice but, at a practical level, there will remain two separate entities in the West Bank and Gaza in terms of security. "Hamas will be able to maintain its militias and its rhetoric of resistance to Israel. There will not be many changes on the ground. Each one will be in charge of their territory," he said. Hamas officials indicated that the organisation understood the unity agreement could be jeopardised by any militant operations. "We have to be careful of how we respond to Israel because they will do everything to dismantle the agreement," said Ghazi Hamed, Hamas's deputy foreign minister. "It is clear that Israel does not like us. They want to divide us because it gives them more power. I expect they will try to provoke us and create chaos to put pressure on Mahmoud Abbas. All sides admit that the agreement is the first step of a complicated process. Hamed said: " The challenge will be to implement the agreement. If we succeed in choosing a strong PM and a strong minister of interior, we stand a better chance of success." Abu Shahla said one consequence of the agreement would be that Fatah would be able to operate openly in Gaza for the first time since 2007 and Hamas would be able to do the same in the West Bank. Following the signing of the deal, Abbas may make his first visit to Gaza in more than four years. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Manning no longer held in solitary Posted: 28 Apr 2011 04:29 PM PDT Soldier now detained among medium-security inmates at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas as he awaits court martial Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking classified cables to WikiLeaks, is no longer being held in solitary confinement and is now being allowed to move among other military prisoners, according to the Pentagon. Reporters were allowed to view the kind of accommodation in which Manning is currently being detained, at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, after he was moved earlier this month from Quantico marine base in Virginia as he awaits court martial. His treatment in Virginia– which included 23 hours in his cell and being stripped down to a smock at night – was widely condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International and the UN rapporteur on torture, who subsquently launched an investigation into conditions. Manning is now detained among other medium-security inmates also awaiting military trial, according to Associated Press, which took part in a media tour of his new accommodation. The move implies that Manning has been cleared as a suicide risk, as any detainee deemed a risk of suicide would be held on their own. It has long been a complaint of Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, that the advice of psychiatrists at his old prison in Quantico was ignored. Records show that mental health professionals regularly assessed him and found him to be no risk to himself, but Manning was kept on a "prevention of injury" order, which required him to be segregated from other inmates. Reporters were told that Manning will, in future, be housed alongside another 10 or so prisoners, all of whom are awaiting trial. AP said he will have his own cell, wear standard prison clothing and have open access to a communal area except overnight. With concern receding about the way Manning is being treated, the focus is now likely to swing towards the trial. No date has yet been sent for the court martial, though it is understood that the first subpoenas have been sent out for acquaintances of Manning to appear before a grand jury investigating the charges. Manning faces multiple counts relating to the leaking of hundreds of thousands of documents and videos to WikiLeaks, which include the Iraq and Afghan war logs, and the US embassy cables disclosing secret diplomatic intelligence from around the world. Last week President Obama was accosted by Manning supporters at a fundraising event in San Francisco. The president spoke to one supporter and reportedly said: "He broke the law." The supporters interpreted Obama's words as referring to Manning, and have complained that by declaring the suspect guilty the president has destroyed the chance of a fair trial. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 03:38 PM PDT Company's revenues and profits rise but are eclipsed by those of main rival as PC market shows signs of decline Microsoft's quarterly profits and revenues were eclipsed for the first time in 20 years by Apple as a slowdown in the PC business and continuing huge losses in its search division held it back. Though the company reported net income up 30% to $5.2bn (£3.1bn) from $4bn, and revenues up 13% to $16.4bn from $14.5bn, both were smaller than figures released by Apple last week showing $6bn profits on revenues of $24.7bn. The overshadowing of Microsoft's financial might by Apple will be seen by some as marking a key moment in the industry, as Apple's iPad tablet computer and iPhone smartphone have both become important sources of revenue even while its desktop and laptop computers – the areas where Microsoft dominates – have become less important. Microsoft overtook Apple in profits in 1991, and revenues in 1995. But since the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and then the iPad in 2010, Apple has grown rapidly, and its market capitalisation overtook Microsoft's in May 2010. Microsoft's dependence on the PC industry, which recorded a surprise year-on-year fall in sales during the first quarter, means that its profits from Windows licences, which generate roughly half its profits, are vulnerable to any slowdown. Analysts believe that the iPad and other tablets using Google's Android software are eating into Microsoft's PC business, and have not seen any convincing response from the Redmond-based giant. Sales of its Windows Phone have been unimpressive so far, and are not mentioned in the formal earnings announcement. Trip Chowdhry, managing director of Global Equities Research, said: "This is the best they can do in the industry they have. The quarter was almost in line. There is nothing to get excited about. But 2012 is going to be much weaker versus 2011. It's all about innovation and the pace of innovation. The question to ask is: is there any product line in Microsoft that they are not playing catch-up on?" Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial, said: "The concern is PC markets are being disrupted. There's some validity [in that]. "But it's also overblown when you factor in that Windows 7 is the fastest-selling OS in history. There was $4.5bn in [Windows] revenue. You've got to put it in perspective. Tablets are not going to replace PCs. OK, they are definitely eating into laptops in some markets. But Microsoft will be in that game. You're going to see Windows 8 come in September, that's going to help offset the tablet concerns, because it's going to run tablets." Channing Smith of Capital Advisors Growth Fund said: "It's hard to get excited about the Microsoft story when there are more exciting growth opportunities in the marketplace. With that said, Microsoft to me is no longer a growth stock but it is a very attractive value stock." Search remains a source of financial pain for the company. Its Online Service division, which contains its search engine Bing, recorded a loss of $726m (previously $709m) on revenues of just $648m, up from $566m last year. By contrast Google's latest quarterly results showed a profit of $2.3bn on revenues of $8.5bn – more than 10 times larger than Bing and its properties. The only other sources of encouragement were higher sales of Office, the company's other established monopoly, which generated profits of $3.1bn on revenues of $5.2bn, and the Kinect games add-on, the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever, which contributed to a 60% growth in its Entertainment and Devices division, which includes the Xbox 360 console. • RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, slashed its quarterly profit and revenue forecasts from the already lower numbers given at its last quarterly results. It said phone shipments would be closer to 13.5m, and that more would be cheaper models. It cut its earnings forecast by 12%. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Jaycee Dugard's captors plead guilty Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:25 PM PDT Guilty pleas will spare Dugard, now 30, and her daughters from having to testify at a trial A convicted sex offender and his wife have pleaded guilty in California to kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard when she was 11 and holding her captive for nearly 20 years. Phillip Garrido, who had two children with Dugard, faces a maximum sentence of 431 years in prison while his wife, Nancy, could be jailed for 36 years. The guilty pleas are part of a deal with prosecutors that will spare Dugard, now 30, and her daughters from having to testify at a trial. "I'm relieved Phillip and Nancy Garrido have finally acknowledged their guilt and confessed to their crimes against me and my family," she said in a statement. Dugard and her children, now 13 and 16, were kept in a hidden compound of backyard tents and sheds for 18 years, never attending school or receiving medical attention. Garrido, 60, pleaded guilty to 14 kidnapping and sexual assault charges. Nancy Garrido, 55, who originally faced the same charges as her husband, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of rape. She is technically eligible for parole, but county District Attorney Vern Pierson said it was "extraordinarily unlikely" she would ever be released from prison. Pierson said the plea deal was only possible because Dugard was willing to testify about her experiences in captivity. He said he spoke with her on Wednesday, and she remained willing to take the witness stand but was reluctant to put her children through the ordeal. "Frankly, I'm relieved that this means that that will not happen," Pierson said. "Should her children be called and drug [sic] into all of this was something that I don't think any mother in her right mind would want to see." Both defendants waived their right to appeal and are due to be sentenced on 2 June. Dugard was snatched from her family's South Lake Tahoe street in June 1991 while walking to a school bus stop. Her disappearance prompted a massive search, nationwide publicity and one of the largest police investigations in the region. The case attracted international attention after Dugard surfaced in August 2009. She and her children were discovered in August 2009 when Phillip Garrido took them to a meeting with his parole officer. Dugard has been reunited with her mother and has remained in California with her and her daughters. She requested privacy and has not attended any of the court hearings. She is writing her memoirs, which are expected to be published in September. Dugard's case revealed problems with California's sex offender monitoring system, which has since been reformed. She received a $20m (£12m) settlement under which the state acknowledged parole agents responsible for monitoring Garrido had missed numerous clues and chances to find her. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Nepalese choir missing on trip to UK Posted: 28 Apr 2011 09:01 AM PDT Ten singers who flew in for the Cornwall international choir festival landed in London but then disappeared A Nepalese choir that who flew to Britain to take part in a music festival has gone missing. The 10 men had been due to perform at the Cornwall international male voice choral festival which started on Wednesday, but they vanished after touching down at Heathrow. Immigration officials are investigating if the group has absconded or simply decided to give the event a miss. David Peters, the festival organiser, had arranged to have the group picked up from the airport in a minibus but was shocked when he discovered they had landed – and then vanished. He said the disappearance was a mystery. "They did arrive at Heathrow and it seems they have absconded. We kept on hoping they had missed the plane, but we have been in touch with the immigration authorities who are now investigating what has happened." The group had been booked to perform in Penzance and other venues across the county as well as to take part in workshops in schools. Peters said: "We've had to reorganise everything they were involved in. We have 30 shows and the Nepalese choir were supposed to appear in most of them." A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We are aware of this group and are looking into the matter further. All of the group entered the UK lawfully at Heathrow on valid visas. Anyone in the UK on a visa who later fails to abide by its conditions faces having the visa withdrawn and will be required to leave the country." The agency refused to say if the group travelled on tourist or working visas. More than 3,500 singers from more than 60 choirs are performing at venues across Cornwall. The festival finishes on Monday. Another choir will be absent: a Russian choir called Voice Message did not make it out of Russia. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Superman threatens to renounce US citizenship Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:52 PM PDT Conservative commentators and bloggers react with disgust to the DC Comics superhero's decision After years of declaring he stood for "truth, justice and the American way," Superman has provoked the ire of rightwingers by threatening to renouce his US citizenship. In the latest issue of Action Comics, which went on sale on Wednesday, the Man of Steel decides to take the step after he intervenes in a protest against the Iranian government. After the Islamic regime brands his non-violent protest as an act of war taken on behalf of the US president, the DC comic hero says he will renounce his citizenship before the United Nations. "I'm tired of having my actions construed as instruments of US policy," he says. Although Superman never actually renounces his citizenship in the story, conservative commentators reacted with disgust. In a blogpost at The Weekly Standard, senior writer Jonathan Last questioned Superman's beliefs, now that he seems to have rejected the United States. "Does he believe in British interventionism or Swiss neutrality?" Last wrote. "You see where I'm going with this: If Superman doesn't believe in America, then he doesn't believe in anything." Posters on comic book discussion forums drew parallels between the superhero's doubts about his citizenship and the conspiracy theories about Barack Obama's nationality. Several posters branded conservative critics of the storyline "Earthers" - a reference to the Birthers - the nickname for the rightwingers who have questioned Obama's citizenship. The plot comes as the superhero from the planet Krypton, who was raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, looks to take on a more global mission for his battle against injustice. "The world's too small. Too connected," Superman says. Superman, who was first introduced in 1938, has a long association with the United States, although Joe Shuster, the artist who helped create the character with writer Jerry Siegel, was born in Canada. Superman's life story of assimilating into US culture has been seen as a metaphor for the immigrant experience, particularly Jewish immigrants. DC Comics co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio appeared to downplay their character's declaration in a joint statement. "In a short story in Action Comics 900, Superman announces his intention to put a global focus on his never ending battle, but he remains, as always, committed to his adopted home and his roots as a Kansas farm boy from Smallville," they said. In a story published in 1974 Superman was granted citizenship of every member country of the United Nations. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Maths formula shows tattoos' ageing Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:38 AM PDT Mathematical model uses the way dye moves over time within skin to predict how a tattoo will blur and fade It may be small comfort if you wake up after a heavy night with a hazy memory and some unsuitable words inked in to your body, but it is now possible to predict what a piece of body artwork will look like in years or decades hence. A mathematical model uses the way dye moves over time within skin to predict how a tattoo will blur and fade. The tool may also be some comfort to the handful of celebrities sporting misspelled tattoos in foreign languages. Footballer John Carew can look forward to the day that his "my life, my menstruation" tattoo, which was supposed to read "my life, my rules" in French, will be illegible. Britney Spears, who sports a Chinese tattoo that was meant to say "mysterious", but instead reads "strange", may be keen to find out when hers will fade. Tattoos are created by puncturing the skin with a needle up to 3,000 times a minute and depositing a drop of insoluble ink into the dermis with each puncture. The indelible markings are not resistant to the effects of ageing, however, and over time ink disperses as the cells that contain it either divide or die and exit the body. How quickly an image will degrade depends on factors including its size, location and exposure to the sun. Skin type, age and ink type will also influence how a tattoo disperses. Ian Eames, a reader in fluid mechanics at University College London, who has published details of the model in Mathematics Today, said small details in a tattoo were lost first while thicker lines were less affected, and larger tattoos fared better in appearance than smaller ones. The details of complex patterns are lost after about 10 years. Eames's model enables him to estimate the movement of ink particles. "The dye spreads in some sense like heat spreading along a metal bar. But the rate of spreading is very, very small and takes many years to spread a few millimetres," he said. This may come as a surprise to the growing number of human canvasses in the UK. Tattoos have become more socially acceptable, with the likes of Samantha Cameron sporting a dolphin on her ankle, and a fifth of all British adults now have tattoos. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Freetown Christiania faces last stand Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:17 AM PDT Residents form barricade in freetown that Danish government wants to 'normalise'
For four decades, the freetown of Christiania has existed as a testimony to an alternative way of life, where hash was sold openly and squatters' shacks jostled comfortably with architect-designed eco-sheds. For some, the commune was a human jungle in the centre of Copenhagen; for others a bastion of irreverence. But now residents have erected its last line of defence against the Danish government attempts to "normalise" one of Europe's most famous squats after 40 years of legal wrangling. Residents have erected fences at entrance points which they patrol, handing out flyers which declare that "Christiania will be temporarily closed until further notice". Cafes and shops were closed as residents began meetings to debate their future. In what residents see as the final attack by the right-of-centre government, and property developers eager to get their hands on the valuable real estate, they have been given until 2 May to decide whether to take up an offer to buy the properties – collectively or as individuals – for 150m kroner (£18m). Many argue that, for residents who have renounced materialism, this is impossible. The other deal tabled by the government is to turn the freetown into a public housing association. For many, the battle has already been lost. In February the government won a legal tussle over the rights of use after the supreme court upheld a 2009 ruling which handed the state control of the area. Christiania, on the site of an old barracks and home to almost 1,000 people, has become a tourist destination. Cannabis is openly on sale, even if other bans – on arms, hard drugs and insignia on leather jackets – have been imposed by the commune over the years. Since its creation in 1971 by a group of hippies and squatters, its 34 hectares have become a warren of micro-neighbourhoods, with cutting-edge eco-houses placed alongside restored shacks. Initially labelled a social experiment by the government, in the last decade the Liberal-Conservative coalition has made a number of attempts to "normalise" the freetown. Critics argue the area has become a haven for criminals. Earlier this month, police seized almost 1m kroner and 24kg of hash in a raid by more than 100 officers who were met with rocks and molotov cocktails, reported the Copenhagen Post. Tensions between the state and the commune are long-standing. Four days of demonstrations in 2009 saw 1,500 people arrested after protesters set fire to barricades and hurled fire bombs at riot police, who responded with teargas. Police were accused of being heavy-handed after using controversial kettle tactics and more than 200 official complaints were filed. The government has been accused by its rightwing support party, the Danish People's party, of being too generous in its recent offer, but Christiania residents fear any deal would lead to the end of the autonomous enclave. In the statement handed out at the blocked-off gates, the residents said: "We believe that the ultimatum issued by the Danish government about dividing up Christiania and selling off parts of the land will mean the destruction of the open, self-managed, experimental and socially inclusive Christiania as we know it." The finance ministry, brokering the deal, has demanded that Christiania reopen. Meanwhile, the police were content to bide their time. "We will do nothing about the closure," an officer told the Ritzau news agency. "It would seem odd to me if the police were to use force to reopen something we have spent 39-and-a-half years fighting to shut down." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| I have sexual dreams about my father Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:59 PM PDT It's not about sex. There's something about yourself you have to come to terms with, says Pamela Stephenson Connolly Last night I had a sexual dream about my father. I don't often have sex dreams but when I do, my dad features in them quite a lot. In the dream it is never taboo or unpleasant, but I wake up feeling disturbed and disgusted with my subconscious. In real life I have a good relationship with him and I've never been abused. I've had a couple of satisfying sexual relationships with guys my own age (I'm in my mid-20s) and am not aware of any issues relating to this topic except that my dad came out when I was a young teenager, and for a while I was worried anyone I ended up with would also turn out to be gay. Could the dreams be confronting that fear? Or is it fairly normal to have taboo dreams? It is certainly common to have dreams depicting taboo acts, but their meanings are usually more complex. Your recurring dreams are not really about having sex with your father. Dreams give an insight into the unconscious mind. If your father in your dream represents a part of you, which part would it be? Perhaps it's a part of you with which you have a strong, unconscious desire to connect – but of which you're afraid. The feeling of the dreams is pleasant, so if there is something about yourself you have yet to come to terms with (whatever your father in your dream represents) it's something you'll eventually welcome on a conscious level. • Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. •Send your problem to private.lives@guardian.co.uk guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| In Florida, 'uterus' is a dirty word Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:30 AM PDT Scores of US state legislators are pushing new anti-abortion laws to roll back Roe v Wade. But the uterati are fighting back In Florida, "uterus" is a dirty word. A member of the state house of representatives drew a reprimand when he complained that while Republicans want to repeal rules and regulations on corporations, they are all hot to impose rules and regulations on individuals. Women, for example. The rightwingers who control both the house and the senate in Florida have introduced 18 bills to restrict abortion. Representative Scott Randolph, a Democrat from Orlando, said that his wife had decided the only way to protect her rights was to, as he put it, "incorporate her uterus". Maybe then the business sycophants of the Republican party would stop trying to micromanage it with laws circumscribing reproductive freedom. Speaker Dean Cannon said he was shocked – shocked! – at such language on the house floor, deeming it a breach of "decorum". Stephanie Kunkel, Planned Parenthood's Florida director, rolled her eyes: "If the speaker can't bear to hear or say the word 'uterus', he shouldn't be legislating it." Newspaper columnists amused themselves concocting acceptable euphemisms: Frank Cerabino of the Palm Beach Post suggests "baby garage". And that's pretty much how Republicans see women – as a place to park a kid till he's ready to pop out and go to Sunday School and learn that sex is filthy. Republican-controlled legislatures across the US are hell-bent on stopping women from exercising control over their own bodies. Florida is one of 13 states that would require women to have an ultrasound – which they would have to pay for – before terminating a pregnancy. In Indiana, Texas, Kentucky and four other states, a woman would be forced to look at the foetus. Doctors would have to describe to her, in great detail, the foetus and its physical functions. After all this, she would still have to cool her heels for several days before being permitted to actually have the abortion. Along with the waiting periods, which would seriously harm women in rural states who have to travel long distances to the only clinic or poor women who have to keep taking off work, some states want to allow only up to 20 or 21 weeks, the point at which many anti-choice activists claim foetuses feel pain. The medical evidence for this is highly disputed, but that doesn't matter: science shouldn't be allowed to get in the way of ideology. Mississippi, Alaska, Texas and Oklahoma tell women abortion increases their risk of getting breast cancer – even though the National Cancer Institute says that's not true. Raising the ante, an Indiana legislator insists that women who are victims of rape or incest provide documentation – those chicks could so be lying! – while a Michigan legislator proposes a offering women a photograph of the foetus at least two hours before the abortion. Ohio Republicans want to ban abortions the minute a foetal heartbeat is detected, which could be as early as four or five weeks. In Texas, where they're trying to restrict RU-486, the "morning after pill", the legislature also threatened to cut funding for low-income contraception programmes on the logic that birth control among the poor leads to increased abortion rates. That's bad and stupid, but not as bad and stupid as what's going on in Louisiana where Representative John LaBruzzo has introduced a bill to outlaw all abortions – no exceptions, even where the life of the mother is at risk – and charge doctors who perform abortions with "foeticide". On 26 April, Mother Jones reported that LaBruzzo would also like to make criminals of women who have abortions, but that he may remove that provision in his bill, making it easier to pass. LaBruzzo's law would be, of course, unconstitutional. A lot of these new state laws (and some old ones) are unconstitutional. Women have a right to get an abortion (with some restrictions), and have had that right since 1973 when the US supreme court ruled in Roe v Wade. But unconstitutionality is the point. Anti-choicers no longer want to tinker with a state statute here and there; they want Roe v Wade overturned. They want to return to the bad old days of back streets and coathangers, of the wages of sin and Taliban-style circumscription of female sexuality. John LaBruzzo has admitted that he wants to "immediately go to court". The plan is for one state of another's illegal abortion laws to make it to a hearing before the US supreme court where Roe v Wade can be refought and, maybe, come out differently this time. At the moment, there are four solid pro-Roe votes (Kagan, Ginsburg, Breyer and Sotomayor) on the nation's highest court and four solid antis (Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalito). Justice Anthony Kennedy, always the swing vote between the court's progressive and rightwing blocks, has, up to now, voted to uphold a woman's right to choose. Nevertheless, some think he might change his mind. Or that he might want to let each individual state decide where it stands on abortion. Or, if a Republican president is elected in 2012, Kennedy may retire from the court, opening up a place for a Roe foe. And you thought the Republicans were only interested in the economy. Outlawing abortion is the long-cherished dream of every evangelical in the US, especially the ones born without ovaries. Back in Florida, the resistance is mobilising: the uterus has its own Facebook page. Susannah Randolph, now famous as the woman who threatened to incorporate her uterus, has suggested starting a political action committee called U-Pac. "Who's in?" she blogged. "It's time to bring power back to the uterus." The sister speaks true. As Gloria Steinem said, so many years ago: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Can a stranger camp in your garden? Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:41 AM PDT As campers descend on Clapham Common ahead of the wedding, another camping phenomenon has just launched, where you can pitch in a stranger's garden for £10 a night Usually the only canvas to be seen on Clapham Common are the shelters erected by optimistic fisherman seated around the pond. But by tonight a temporary canvas village will have sprung up, complete with toilets, hot showers and of course, plenty of bunting. The gates to Camp Royale, which is billing itself as London's Royal Wedding campsite, opened at midday Thursday. While the site has failed to reach its full capacity of up to 1,000, several hundred campers are expected by this evening, each paying £75 for a three-night stay. A few are forking out rather a lot more. A spokeswoman for Camp Royale said several of the maharaja-style tents, provided by Camp Kerala and offering proper beds with Italian mattresses and Egyptian cotton bedding, have been booked – the poshest for a mere £3,500. Whether campers are glamping or slumming it in a two-man, it will be a short stroll across the common to the garden party area where festivities – from fairground attractions to a Pimm's bus and, of course, a giant screen for the live show – will kick off early on Friday morning. If the idea of pitching your tent in the midst of a three-day, Pimm's-fuelled mass bender doesn't appeal, how about the peace and quiet of a private garden? Campinmygarden.com is a new website inviting people to advertise their private garden to cash-strapped travellers. Owners can charge up to £10 a night to people who want to pitch on their lawn. At the time of going to press, two Londoners – one north of the river and one south – were advertising their gardens. Campinmygarden is pushing itself as the affordable accommodation alternative for sports events, festivals and exhibitions in the UK, although a quick mosey round the site reveals a distinct lack of gardens so far. However, founder Victoria Webbon is optimistic that the concept will take off. "I hope that one day there will be thousands of private gardens being offered as temporary campsites across the world," says a quote on the site. Meanwhile, wheretosleep.co.uk, which launched this week, provides a more comfortable alternative to a hotel, offering short-term lets in private homes in 10 countries. This weekend it is advertising a couch in Westminster for £10. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Shirelles sue Broadway musical Posted: 28 Apr 2011 04:29 AM PDT Producers of Baby It's You! accused of pilfering names and likenesses of original members of 1960s girl group The producers of a new Broadway musical about the 1960s girl group the Shirelles have been hit with a lawsuit, charging them with pilfering the names and likenesses of the original members. Singer Dionne Warwick, who is also portrayed in the show, Baby It's You!, joined the legal action, which was filed in New York supreme court a day before Wednesday's opening night. Three of the four women – surviving member Beverly Lee, who owns the trademark to the Shirelles name and the estates of Doris Coley Jackson and Addie Harris McFadden – filed the lawsuit on Tuesday. Baby It's You! is the story of Florence Greenberg, a suburban housewife from New Jersey who discovered the all-girl group and created Scepter Records. It has been running in preview at New York's Broadhurst theatre for several weeks. The Shirelles had hits in the 1960s with records including Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Dedicated to the One I Love and Soldier Boy. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Oren Warshavsky, a lawyer for the four, said that like many other recording artists in the 1960s, his clients were not treated well even as they were growing in popularity. "It's unfortunate that they have to live through it again and watch their stories be told, again without their consent," he said. The lawsuit accuses Warner Bros Theatre Ventures Inc, Warner Bros Entertainment Inc and Broadway Baby LLC of "cashing in on plaintiffs' stories and successes, while using plaintiffs' names, likenesses and biographical information without their consent and in violation of the law". Paul McGuire, a Warner Bros spokesman, declined to comment. Warshavsky said the timing of the suit on the eve of opening night was a coincidence. The plaintiffs had been in discussions with Warner Bros, but could not resolve their differences and took legal action, he said. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Suffolk's 'virtual council' in trouble Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:30 AM PDT Radical plans to outsource all town hall services hang in the balance after a revolt by Tory backbenchers unnerved by public hostility to funding cuts Tory-controlled Suffolk's much-vaunted "virtual council" experiment looks like it is grinding to a halt. The council's radical strategy, unveiled last year, controversially promised to cut costs by 30% by outsourcing everything it does to private companies and local social enterprises and charities. But now, after what is seen by some as a "backwoods" Tory councillor revolt, the prosaically named New Strategic Direction (NSD) is in tatters: the leader of the council who introduced the plan has stepped down; his annointed successor was unexpectedly defeated by a putative Stop-The-NSD candidate; and the highly-paid CEO who masterminded NSD finds herself under constant attack from a hostile media, locally and nationally. The jury is still out on whether the changes amount to a u-turn or something less fundamental - a "pause" in the NHS reforms sense - while the council takes stock of the speed and scale of the NSD, and comes up with something more palatable to the public. But what is clear is that this amounts to perhaps the first notable Tory "cuts revolt" we have seen in local government as councillors start to feel the wrath of local voters. Interestingly, it appears to be micro-politics that have scuppered NSD: for all the political class grumbling over "privatisation" it was the council's stubborn determination to cut entirely the county's £180,000 school crossing budget - a tiny if highly symbolic fraction of council spending - that crystalised public unhappiness. That act caused Tory backbench councillors - sick of what what blogger (and Suffolk Lib Dem councillor) Craig Dearden-Phillips has described as months of "getting it in the neck at parish council meetings" - to mutiny. Dearden-Phillips explains Suffolk's "Lollipop Lady" policy disaster eloquently as a kind of "how not to" guide to major organisational transformation (which has fascinating echoes of the Coalition's disastrous approach to NHS reform): "This wasn't, of course, about saving money. It was a Big Statement, to say, this is what we are doing - and it's up to communities now to pick up where the state is leaving the stage. Many of us sensed that, regardless of the merits, this was Bad Politics - and a really daft way to get people signed up to major change. But the Administration pressed on, despite an outcry. Rather than pull back and say 'We're listening', they ploughed on, leaving many on their own side, privately, very upset." The first thing the new council leader, Mark Bee, did after being elected was to suggest that school crossing patrols will be saved. The NSD, which has been portrayed as a "Tory flagship" model of municipal reform, might be less vulnerable had its leadership not had to deal with the consequences of Communities secretary Eric Pickles' relentless attacks on council chief executive "Fat Cats". The media's sustained and often personal pursuit of Suffolk's colourful £218,000 a year CEO Andrea Hill (she published this extraordinary and lengthy defence of herself in the council newsletter last month) has left Hill and the council hierarchy wounded. Hill was the architect and driver of NSD: last month she was named the fifth most influential figure in local government by the Local Government Chronicle. But political support for her on the council seems to be fading as the controversy surrounding her grows. There are whispers that staff morale is low. The council has also had to deal with the recent departure of two senior managers, and the death by suspected suicide, of a third. The political heat in supposedly sleepy Suffolk has become intense, and not everyone likes this. As local blogger and Lib Dem parish councillor James Hargrave puts it: "Suffolk never asked to be an experiment in ideological political ideas be they from the left or the right. We just want the County Council to get on with running services the best they can, accepting that there need to be savings made. We don't want the county we love turned into a laughing stock nationally, a byword for wasteful and overpaid local governement with the Chief Executive literally all over the national papers. At times I have maybe said that Suffolk is a bit too sleepy and behind the times. Can we go back a bit more to those days...?" So what will happen to the "Virtual Council"? The lessons of Suffolk will be studied closely by other Tory-led councils who share its ambitious dreams of municipal minimalism and have seized on the spending cuts as an opportunity to pursue radical change. Some Suffolk political bloggers - like Ipswich Spy - believe NSD must be scrapped; others, like Dearden-Phillips, argue that although momentum has been checked the direction of travel towards the virtual council will continue: "Interestingly, my hunch is that, once the dust settles the new leadership will embark on a path that isn't much different from the New Strategic Direction set out by Andrea Hill. It will have a different name. It will be slower, more consultative and done with less pzazz. But the essentials of it - divestment of council services, the build-up of community capability and a new role for the council as commissioner rather than provider will, over time, prevail." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Officials warned 'playboy' Obama Sr Posted: 28 Apr 2011 03:00 AM PDT New files reveal Barack Obama father's disturbing treatment at the hands of US immigration and university officials While the release of Barack Obama's birth certificate was the big news of the day, it wasn't the only new document about Obama's life published on Wednesday. A far more interesting trove of documents has also been unearthed by Heather Smathers, an investigative journalist writing in the Arizona Independent, a weekly newspaper. Smathers made an Freedom of Information Act request for the US immigration service file on Obama's father, Barack Obama senior – and it contains a disturbing picture of Obama senior's treatment by government and university officials. As early as 1961, a memo in the file notes a statement from a Mrs McCabe, a foreign student adviser at the University of Hawaii:
The memo also considers Obama senior's earlier Kenya marriage, and after noting that "polygamy is not an excludable or deportation charge," it recommends that "the Subject be closely questioned before another extention is granted – and denial be considered."
Looking at the documents – posted online in full by Smathers – Obama senior is described within as "a slippery character," his relationships with several women are discussed and investigated, while the question of Obama senior's "marital problems" are repeatedly raised – in an era when interracial marriage was still illegal in many parts of the US. In the memos, immigration officials press for more details on Obama senior's marriages and relationships, while in a memo dated 19 May 1964 an immigration service official appears to be conspiring with Harvard University to get rid of the student:
Another immigration memo, from June 1964, records that Harvard officials were trying "to get rid of him" and "couldn't seem to figure out how many wives he had." Writer Andrew Rice has read the documents and sees a theme:
It's worth remembering that state laws banning interracial marriage in the US were only overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1967, at which time 17 states had "anti-miscegenation" laws – including Maryland, Delaware, Oklahoma, Missouri and Virginia. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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| Which industries emit the most CO2? Posted: 28 Apr 2011 03:10 AM PDT This question and answer is part of the Guardian's ultimate climate change FAQ "Carbon" is shorthand for greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and F-gases. These gases are released by many different types of activity – not just the burning of fossil fuels, but also farming, deforestation and some industrial processes. Global emissions can be allocated to human activities in various ways. One of the most granular analyses is this one from the World Resources Institute (WRI), which breaks down total global emissions from 2005 into the following headline sectors: Energy These sectors are then assigned to various end uses, giving the following results (nicely visualised here): Road transport (10.5%) It should be stressed that there is a fair degree of uncertainty about the precise contribution of some activities, especially those which include biological processes such as land use change and agriculture. Indeed, the total contribution from deforestation is much lower in the data above than it was in the equivalent figures from 2000, due to a change in the underlying methodology – as described in the WRI's accompanying paper (pdf). The other point to note is that emissions levels are permanently changing. Total global emissions are significantly higher now than they were in 2005, and the ratios between sectors will also have changed. But global datasets take a long time to compile, hence there is usually a multi-year lag before reliable figures are published. The numbers provided above are broadly consistent with the 2004 data published in the latest UN IPCC report. The ultimate climate change FAQ• This answer last updated: 03.03.2011 Related questions guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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