|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu warns residents 'we're in the hunker-down phase' as city waits for storm surge and flooding
Tuesday's Isaac developments Hurricane Isaac made landfall as a category 1 storm with top wind speeds of 80mph Tuesday in extreme south-eastern Louisiana, where authorities warned that the slow-moving storm could hit inland areas as well as coastlines hard. The National Hurricane Center reported "strong winds and a dangerous storm surge" along the Gulf coast after the storm came ashore at 7:45pm ET. A second landfall was expected overnight. As wind and rain intensified in New Orleans as the hurricane made landfall at the extreme southern part of the Plaquemines Parish region, mayor Mitch Landrieu held a press conference at 8pm ET. "The message of this press conference is to let you know that your city is secure," he said. More road closures this afternoon have made leaving the city increasingly difficult. The mayor warned residents to stay indoors because of the risk of flying debris and flooding. "We're in the hunker-down phase," he said. As of 10pm ET, Entergy Corp was reporting 150,000 were without power in south-eastern Louisiana. Most parts of New Orleans and the surrounding areas were expected to suffer power cuts overnight and into Wednesday afternoon. Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish on the coast south-east of New Orleans, said that water was lapping over the levee at the Mississippi River. He did not expect significant problems to develop as a result but said that the high water level was unexpected. "It was scary to see. We were worried about the back levee, never the Mississippi river," he said. Nungesser added on WWLTV that the degree of damage to his house was reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. "Water has blown through the sockets in my back wall; that only happened in Katrina. My whole roof is leaking. I didn't get that kind of damage from anything but Katrina – [Isaac] seems a lot more than a category one," he said. The National Hurricane Center had warned in its 5pm ET update that Isaac was getting better organised as it neared southeastern Louisiana. Isaac had picked up force, with maximum sustained winds measured at 80mph. President Barack Obama signed emergency declarations for Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and warned against overconfidence. "We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now is not the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss warnings," he said. Speaking in Mississippi, Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned that the storm was slow moving and that heavy rains could cause inland flooding. "This is not just a storm for the coastal counties," Fugate said. The Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, said the storm's slow speed of 10mph meant some areas of New Orleans would experience six to 10 hours of hurricane-force winds and that storm surges could top 10ft. He said 41 parishes had declared emergencies, and seven were at least partially evacuated. Seven years almost to the day after Katrina hit, New Orleans was hoping that that $14.5bn worth of civil works – a 133-mile chain of levees, flood walls, gates and pumps – would avert another catastrophe. Landrieu, the mayor, did not order an evacuation of the city, but those living outside the levee system were strongly encouraged to leave. "We don't expect a Katrina-like event, but remember there are things about a category 1 storm that can kill you," Landrieu said. In the lower ninth ward, a sprawl of largely ramshackle one and two-storey homes that was hit hard by Katrina, appeared abandoned at first glance. St Claude Avenue, the main drag, was empty. But as the sky turned an ominous metallic grey, you could find those who had stayed behind. "You need money to leave," said Scott McMorris, 47, a mechanic. "A lot of people can't afford to run. You either pay your bills or you run. Can't do both." Further up the street, bunkered in his home, was Gregory Richardson, 56, a retired oil rig worker with rheumatism. He had stocked up on water, ice, batteries and tinned food. He would have evacuated, he said, but didn't have the cash. "My social welfare comes on the third of the month. If it came this week I wouldn't be here talking to you now." He narrowly survived Katrina, which killed 1,800 people after the levees broke in the storm surges that followed the 2005 hurricane. "It was madness. I was rescued after four days by the army" – and prayed Isaac would be more merciful. As he spoke the wind opened and slammed shut his front door. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for St Charles Parish and parts of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish: low-lying regions outside the city's defenses. About 7,000 Plaquemines residents out of the population of 23,000 were ordered to evacuate, and many of those who could not or would not skip town were holed up in a well-preserved old hall with gold-painted chandeliers and ceiling fans. Folding beds were arranged in neat rows and seats face a flat-screen television and a kitchen; naval officers and police looked on "This building holds 80, next building 200, the backup location which we've overflowed to we have a capacity of 200. We're already pretty full. We're at 340," Gina Meyer, the superintendent of emergency medical services, said on Tuesday. One resident, 21-year-old Joseph Buras, was sanguine about the risks. "The worst it's probably going to get is 90mph winds, so people aren't in so much of a panic as they normally would. Then again the fear of Katrina is still in a lot of people's hearts. So when they heard a hurricane was coming they just hauled it," he said. "We've survived the worst, this isn't the worst. Back in the lower ninth, others stayed because they trusted the repaired and fortified levees would withstand whatever Isaac threw at them. The bolder ones intended to enjoy nature's show. Darrel Walters, 48, and Kerwin Brown, 50, watched an exodus of neighbours with nonchalance, perching on chairs in their yard, bare-chested, smoking and sipping Budweiser. "We got some medicine right here," said Walters, tapping his beer.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | European Central Bank firepower will be on the agenda when the leaders of Italy and Germany meet in Berlin today
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Relations frosty because of north's nuclear programme and kidnapping of Japanese citizens in 1970s and 80s Officials from Japan and North Korea are holding their first government-to-government talks in four years, amid hopes that new leader Kim Jong-un will adopt a less confrontational approach to relations between his isolated, impoverished communist state and the outside world. The talks are being held in China, the north's closest ally and biggest source of aid, which has been subtly pushing for economic reforms and a more co-operative tone. They are being described as preliminary discussions to pave the way for fully fledged talks in the future covering a broader agenda. Discussions between Tokyo and Pyongyang have been frozen since August 2008 because of animosity over past frictions and disputes over the north's nuclear programme and its kidnapping of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan is pushing to have the highly emotional issue included in the agenda for future talks, the chief Japanese government spokesman, Osamu Fujimura, said. North Korea has admitted abducting 13 Japanese nationals and using them to train spies. It pledged in the 2008 talks to reinvestigate the abductions, but has not done so. Japan ruled the Korean peninsula as a colony before and during the second world war. Ties between Japan and North Korea remain chilly, and they do not have formal diplomatic relations. The talks were scheduled after the two nations' Red Cross societies met in Beijing earlier this month to discuss the repatriation of the remains of Japanese soldiers, and come a day after a Japanese delegation landed in Pyongyang in a bid to bring back the remains of relatives who died in North Korea during the second world war. During the 10-day trip, the delegation will visit the graves of Japanese who died in Korea in the closing stages of the conflict. In another sign of a slight thaw in Japan-North Korea relations, Tokyo also issued special visas to North Korean footballers to allow them to participate in the women's under-20 World Cup in Japan. Japan has banned trade and exchanges of people with North Korea under sanctions it imposed over the north's nuclear and missile programmes, but sports and humanitarian visits are considered exceptions.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu warns residents 'we're in the hunker-down phase' as city waits for storm surge and flooding
Tuesday's Isaac developments Hurricane Isaac made landfall as a category 1 storm with top wind speeds of 80mph Tuesday in extreme south-eastern Louisiana, where authorities warned that the slow-moving storm could hit inland areas as well as coastlines hard. The National Hurricane Center reported "strong winds and a dangerous storm surge" along the Gulf coast after the storm came ashore at 7:45pm ET. As wind and rain intensified in New Orleans as the hurricane made landfall at the extreme southern part of the Plaquemines Parish region, mayor Mitch Landrieu held a press conference at 8pm ET. "The message of this press conference is to let you know that your city is secure," he said. More road closures this afternoon have made leaving the city increasingly difficult. The mayor warned residents to stay indoors because of the risk of flying debris and flooding. "We're in the hunker-down phase," he said. The National Hurricane Center had warned in its 5pm ET update that Isaac was getting better organised as it neared southeastern Louisiana. Isaac had picked up force, with maximum sustained winds measured at 80mph. President Barack Obama signed emergency declarations for Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and warned against overconfidence. "We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now is not the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss warnings," he said. Speaking in Mississippi, Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned that the storm was slow moving and that heavy rains could cause inland flooding. "This is not just a storm for the coastal counties," Fugate said. The Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, said the storm's slow speed of 10mph meant some areas of New Orleans would experience six to 10 hours of hurricane-force winds and that storm surges could top 10ft. He said 41 parishes had declared emergencies, and seven were at least partially evacuated. Seven years almost to the day after Katrina hit, New Orleans was hoping that that $14.5bn worth of civil works – a 133-mile chain of levees, flood walls, gates and pumps – would avert another catastrophe. Mitch Landrieu, the mayor, did not order an evacuation of the city, but those living outside the levee system were strongly encouraged to leave. "We don't expect a Katrina-like event, but remember there are things about a category 1 storm that can kill you," Landrieu said. Around 50,000 homes and businesses in the New Orleans area are without power, according to local electricity companies. Most parts of the city are expected to suffer power cuts overnight and into Wednesday afternoon. In the lower ninth ward, a sprawl of largely ramshackle one and two-storey homes that was hit hard by Katrina, appeared abandoned at first glance. St Claude Avenue, the main drag, was empty. But as the sky turned an ominous metallic grey, you could find those who had stayed behind. "You need money to leave," said Scott McMorris, 47, a mechanic. "A lot of people can't afford to run. You either pay your bills or you run. Can't do both." Further up the street, bunkered in his home, was Gregory Richardson, 56, a retired oil rig worker with rheumatism. He had stocked up on water, ice, batteries and tinned food. He would have evacuated, he said, but didn't have the cash. "My social welfare comes on the third of the month. If it came this week I wouldn't be here talking to you now." He narrowly survived Katrina, which killed 1,800 people after the levees broke in the storm surges that followed the 2005 hurricane. "It was madness. I was rescued after four days by the army" – and prayed Isaac would be more merciful. As he spoke the wind opened and slammed shut his front door. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for St Charles Parish and parts of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish: low-lying regions outside the city's defenses. About 7,000 Plaquemines residents out of the population of 23,000 were ordered to evacuate, and many of those who could not or would not skip town were holed up in a well-preserved old hall with gold-painted chandeliers and ceiling fans. Folding beds were arranged in neat rows and seats face a flat-screen television and a kitchen; naval officers and police looked on "This building holds 80, next building 200, the backup location which we've overflowed to we have a capacity of 200. We're already pretty full. We're at 340," Gina Meyer, the superintendent of emergency medical services, said on Tuesday. One resident, 21-year-old Joseph Buras, was sanguine about the risks. "The worst it's probably going to get is 90mph winds, so people aren't in so much of a panic as they normally would. Then again the fear of Katrina is still in a lot of people's hearts. So when they heard a hurricane was coming they just hauled it," he said. "We've survived the worst, this isn't the worst. Back in the lower ninth, others stayed because they trusted the repaired and fortified levees would withstand whatever Isaac threw at them. The bolder ones intended to enjoy nature's show. Darrel Walters, 48, and Kerwin Brown, 50, watched an exodus of neighbours with nonchalance, perching on chairs in their yard, bare-chested, smoking and sipping Budweiser. "We got some medicine right here," said Walters, tapping his beer.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Obama declares state of emergency for Louisiana and parts of Mississippi as New Orleans prepares for 10ft storm surges
Today's latest Isaac developments Tropical storm Isaac was declared a category 1 hurricane as it approached the US Gulf coast on Tuesday, where authorities warned that the slow-moving storm could hit inland areas as well as coastlines hard. The National Hurricane Center warned in its 5pm ET update that Isaac was getting better organised as it nears southeastern Louisiana. Isaac had picked up force, with maximum sustained winds measured at 80mph. President Barack Obama signed emergency declarations for Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and warned against overconfidence. "We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now is not the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss warnings," he said. Speaking in Mississippi, Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned that the storm was slow moving and that heavy rains could cause inland flooding. "This is not just a storm for the coastal counties," Fugate said. The Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, said the storm's slow speed of 10mph meant some areas of New Orleans would experience six to 10 hours of hurricane-force winds and that storm surges could top 10ft. He said 41 parishes had declared emergencies, and seven were at least partially evacuated. Seven years almost to the day after Katrina hit, New Orleans was hoping that that $14.5bn worth of civil works – a 133-mile chain of levees, flood walls, gates and pumps – would avert another catastrophe. Mitch Landrieu, the mayor, did not order an evacuation of the city, but those living outside the levee system were strongly encouraged to leave. "We don't expect a Katrina-like event, but remember there are things about a category 1 storm that can kill you," Landrieu said. In the lower ninth ward, a sprawl of largely ramshackle one and two-storey homes that was hit hard by Katrina, appeared abandoned at first glance. St Claude Avenue, the main drag, was empty. But as the sky turned an ominous metallic grey, you could find those who had stayed behind. "You need money to leave," said Scott McMorris, 47, a mechanic. "A lot of people can't afford to run. You either pay your bills or you run. Can't do both." Further up the street, bunkered in his home, was Gregory Richardson, 56, a retired oil rig worker with rheumatism. He had stocked up on water, ice, batteries and tinned food. He would have evacuated, he said, but didn't have the cash. "My social welfare comes on the third of the month. If it came this week I wouldn't be here talking to you now." He narrowly survived Katrina, which killed 1,800 people after the levees broke in the storm surges that followed the 2005 hurricane. "It was madness. I was rescued after four days by the army" – and prayed Isaac would be more merciful. As he spoke the wind opened and slammed shut his front door. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for St Charles Parish and parts of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish: low-lying regions outside the city's defenses. About 7,000 Plaquemines residents out of the population of 23,000 were ordered to evacuate, and many of those who could not or would not skip town were holed up in a well-preserved old hall with gold-painted chandeliers and ceiling fans. Folding beds were arranged in neat rows and seats face a flat-screen television and a kitchen; naval officers and police looked on "This building holds 80, next building 200, the backup location which we've overflowed to we have a capacity of 200. We're already pretty full. We're at 340," Gina Meyer, the superintendent of emergency medical services, said on Tuesday. One resident, 21-year-old Joseph Buras, was sanguine about the risks. "The worst it's probably going to get is 90mph winds, so people aren't in so much of a panic as they normally would. Then again the fear of Katrina is still in a lot of people's hearts. So when they heard a hurricane was coming they just hauled it," he said. "We've survived the worst, this isn't the worst. Back in the lower ninth, others stayed because they trusted the repaired and fortified levees would withstand whatever Isaac threw at them. The bolder ones intended to enjoy nature's show. Darrel Walters, 48, and Kerwin Brown, 50, watched an exodus of neighbours with nonchalance, perching on chairs in their yard, bare-chested, smoking and sipping Budweiser. "We got some medicine right here," said Walters, tapping his beer.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | US justice department says proposal by Republican-controlled legislature was intended to reduce the impact of Hispanic vote A federal court has blocked an attempt by Texas to redraw its electoral maps after the US justice department said the move was intended to diminish the impact of the Latino vote. The US attorney general, Eric Holder, had described the proposed changes as part of a broader attack on civil rights by states trying to roll back laws ensuring the right to vote using redistricting, voter identity card laws and other tactics. The issue may now end up before the US supreme court as part of a legal challenge by Texas and other states to voting rights legislation. The Republican-dominated Texas legislature last year redrew constituency boundaries to create new electoral districts after the latest census showed that the state's population grew by more than 4 million in a decade. That entitled Texas to four more members of Congress. Democrats said that the new electoral maps were manipulated to diminish the fact that minorities account for most of the population increase. Latino voters lean heavily toward voting Democrat while the boundaries were redrawn to ensure the additional seats would be won by Republicans. In May, Holder said that in Texas "electoral maps were manipulated to give the appearance of minority control while minimising minority electoral strength". A Washington DC court on Tuesday agreed with the federal government that the new maps did not comply with the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a key piece of civil rights legislation designed to put an end to practices that deprived minorities of the ballot or diminished the effect of their votes. Texas is one of 16 states, mostly in the south, that under the act must obtain US justice department approval for changes to voting laws or procedures because of a history of racial discrimination. Trey Martinez Fischer, a Texas state legislator with the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, welcomed the ruling. "This is absolutely a victory for Texas and for minority voters to elect a candidate of their choice," he said. The Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott, said he will appeal against the decision to the US supreme court. "Today's decision extends the Voting Rights Act beyond the limits intended by Congress and beyond the boundaries imposed by the constitution," he said. "The attorney general's office will continue defending the maps enacted by the Texas legislature and will immediately take steps to appeal this flawed decision to the US supreme court." Texas and five other states have already asked the US supreme court to strike down the section of the voting rights act requiring permission from the justice department for changes to electoral law. The states argue that while the requirement once served "a noble purpose" it is now outdated and that its "benefits have all but vanished". The decision will not have an impact on November's elections, which were already to be conducted using interim maps drawn up by a federal court in San Antonio. But the legal fight will decide districting at future ballots. In May, Holder characterised the move by Texas as part of a broader attempt by a number of states to roll back civil rights era gains including requirements for voters to show photo identification at the ballot box which poorer people and minorities, who tend to vote Democrat, are less likely to have. "Now unfortunately, electoral redistricting is far from the only area of concern in covered jurisdictions. The recent wave of changes to state-level voter identification laws also has presented a number of problems requiring the (justice) department's attention," he said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Archbishop pulls out of South African event over former prime minster's support of Iraq war Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel laureate and icon of the anti-apartheid struggle, has withdrawn from a seminar in South Africa in protest at the presence of Tony Blair and the former prime minister's support for the 2003 Iraq war. "The archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible," said Roger Friedman, a spokesman for the cleric, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1984. "Morality and leadership are indivisible. In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair," he added. Blair's office said he was "sorry" that Tutu had decided to pull out of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit, which is due to take place in Johannesburg on Thursday, adding in a statement that the two were not due to be sharing a platform at the event. "As far as Iraq is concerned they have always disagreed about removing Saddam by force – such disagreement is part of a healthy democracy," it said. "As for the morality of that decision we have recently had both the memorial of the Halabja massacre, where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons; and that of the Iran-Iraq war, where casualties numbered up to a million, including many killed by chemical weapons. "So these decisions are never easy morally or politically." The seminar's website says that other speakers at the event will include the chess grandmaster and Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov, and the former Tesco chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy. Muslim groups in South Africa had called for Blair to be arrested for war crimes when he arrived in South Africa. Mustafa Darsot, a member of the South African Muslim Network executive committee, told the Mail & Guardian newspaper: "Mr Blair is complicit in the murder of thousands of people in Iraq and should be tried for war crimes." Supporters pointed to the arrestblair.org website, which describes itself as a site that "offers a reward to people attempting a peaceful citizen's arrest of the former British prime minister". Such protests have become an increasingly common feature of Blair's life since he left office. In June, a speech by him in Hong Kong on faith and globalisation was interrupted by an activist seeking to make a citizen's arrest. In May, his testimony to the Leveson inquiry into the media was interrupted by an activist who shouted that the former prime minister should be arrested for war crimes.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Archbishop pulls out of South African event over former prime minister's support of Iraq war Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel laureate and icon of the anti-apartheid struggle, has withdrawn from a seminar in South Africa in protest at the presence of Tony Blair and the former prime minister's support for the 2003 Iraq war. "The archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible," said Roger Friedman, a spokesman for the cleric, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1984. "Morality and leadership are indivisible. In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair," he added. Blair's office said he was "sorry" that Tutu had decided to pull out of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit, which is due to take place in Johannesburg on Thursday, adding in a statement that the two were not due to be sharing a platform at the event. "As far as Iraq is concerned they have always disagreed about removing Saddam by force – such disagreement is part of a healthy democracy," it said. "As for the morality of that decision we have recently had both the memorial of the Halabja massacre, where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons; and that of the Iran-Iraq war, where casualties numbered up to a million, including many killed by chemical weapons. "So these decisions are never easy morally or politically." The seminar's website says that other speakers at the event will include the chess grandmaster and Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov, and the former Tesco chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy. Muslim groups in South Africa had called for Blair to be arrested for war crimes when he arrived in South Africa. Mustafa Darsot, a member of the South African Muslim Network executive committee, told the Mail & Guardian newspaper: "Mr Blair is complicit in the murder of thousands of people in Iraq and should be tried for war crimes." Supporters pointed to the arrestblair.org website, which describes itself as a site that "offers a reward to people attempting a peaceful citizen's arrest of the former British prime minister". Such protests have become an increasingly common feature of Blair's life since he left office. In June, a speech by him in Hong Kong on faith and globalisation was interrupted by an activist seeking to make a citizen's arrest. In May, his testimony to the Leveson inquiry into the media was interrupted by an activist who shouted that the former prime minister should be arrested for war crimes.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Families of those killed or injured in Colorado shooting say they have been not been consulted over how to spend the $5m cash Families of several of the 70 people killed or injured in the Aurora shooting in Colorado have launched an impassioned attack on local bureaucrats who they say have denied them a voice over the $5m relief fund raised after the tragedy. Family members of 11 of the 12 who died in the shooting on 20 July joined relatives of some of the injured at a news conference in which they disclosed increasingly rancorous relations between them and local organisations purporting to help them. They complained that although the funds had been raised to support victims and their families, they had been entirely cut out of decision-making process over how the money should be used. Tom Teves, father of Alex Teves, 24, who died during the rampage at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 theater in Aurora, read out a statement on behalf of the group. It said that not a single victim was represented on the 24-strong board of the 7/20 Recovery Committee that had been set up to disburse the funds. "We are certain that everyone who donated intended that their money goes directly to the victims. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case," Teves said. He had particularly harsh words for the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, who set up the Aurora Victim Relief Fund in partnership with local groups. "You came and you grieved with our families. We allowed you into our family circles at the worst time in our lives. You pledged to stand by the families, but are you a man of your word?" Teves said. So far the relief fund has handed out $350,000 of the $5m in lump sums of $5,000 to families of the dead or to those injured. But the families are angered that the money is being disbursed indirectly, with no direct involvement for them. The website of the fund states explicitly that "it does not make grants directly to individuals, but to non-profit organizations offering assistance to those individuals". When Teves protested that the families wanted a robust voice over how the funds were allocated, he said he was told that they should start their own money-raising charity. Tuesday's press conference was the first time that the Aurora families have spoken out since the massacre, other than sparse individual comments at the time of the shooting. They made no comment on gun laws or any security failings that might have contributed to the disaster, though Teves hinted that he might talk about such subjects on a separate occasion. The families were palpably distressed when they were asked by a reporter why they needed the money. Several family members referred to ongoing treatment and medical bills. Melisa Cowden talked about the impact on her four children who had lost their father, Gordon Cowden, 51, in the tragedy. "They will go through the rest of their lives without their dad – this is about their futures." Teves added: "Nobody's going to get rich out of this. For the 12 of us [families of the dead] – there's not enough money in the federal government to make up what we've lost."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If opposition group figures are correct, Saturday's action would be worst single atrocity by regime forces in 17-month-old civil war Opposition groups in Syria on Tuesday said up to 400 bodies had been found in the town of Daraya, south-west of the capital Damascus, in what appears to be the worst single massacre by government forces in the country's 17-month-old civil war. At least 200 bodies were found among the Sunni community on Saturday, after Syrian troops stormed the town and carried out house-to-house searches. On Tuesday following the army's withdrawal residents reported the death toll was higher. They said that government troops and pro-government shabiha militia raided some streets 'two or three times', in some cases demanding hospitality and then killing their hosts when they left. "The total number in Daraya so far is 400 bodies. The number of bodies buried unidentified is more than 100," one resident, Abu Kinan, told the Guardian on Tuesday via Skype. He added: "One of the massacre survivors told me that when the Syrian army stormed their alley, they put more than 50 people up against the wall. As they began spraying them with bullets, he threw himself to the floor. He was covered with blood though he was not shot. He pretended that he was dead. Four of his family were killed." The claim came after little sign of diplomatic progress on Syria. On Monday, France's president François Hollande urged Syria's divided opposition to form a provisional government, saying Paris was ready to recognise it. On Tuesday, however, US officials dismissed the move as premature. Kinan said the army remained in Daraya for two-and-a-half days. In this time government troops combed the district – followed by Shabiha "death squads". The siege of Daraya had now eased, he added, with some roads open again, and the wounded able to travel to hospitals. "We are still finding bodies," he said. Another resident, Abu Mua'tasim, added: "The Syrian army stayed in some of the houses. One belonged to my friend. People were forced to serve them food and tea. Just before they were leaving they killed the people in the house …I know the family." President Bashar al-Assad's regime has portrayed the killing in Daraya as a counter-terrorism operation, saying it cleansed the area of "terrorists". Human rights groups and locals say many of the dead were civilians. The operation follows a pattern seen previously, with the Syrian army first encircling an area known to be hostile to the regime, shelling it for a period of days, and then sending in troops house to house. Activists in the nearby al-Qadam district said they feared they would be next. On Tuesday they discovered the bodies of five local men dumped near the mosque. The al-Qadam victims had been stabbed and shot at point-blank range. Two of the bodies had smashed heads, graphic video footage showed. "There are many [government] checkpoints at the outskirts of al-Qadam district. Most of the people disappeared at these checkpoints,' one resident, Abu Hamza, told the Guardian via Skype. Hamza, said that 150 people had been wounded from shelling by tanks on the highway over the past three weeks. He said the Syrian army and shabiha militias had taken up positions in the police and train stations. said the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) was encamped in orchards outside town, he said. Hamza added: "This isn't the first time we have found bodies. During August we found more than 25 – sometimes four, sometimes six [at a time]. The discovery of these slaughtered bodies has made people in al-Qadam district flee. The population in more than 300,000 but over the past two weeks 90 per cent of the people have fled." He went on: "People are scared of repeated massacres. The big problem we have here is that Alawite districts surround al-Qadam district ... The five bodies we found today are of men aged between 25 and 45. People were able to identify two of them, a body beloning to Anass Ahmed and another, of Ziyad Abdulwah al-Masseri." In Damascus, at least 12 people died and dozens were wounded when a car bomb exploded at the funeral of two supporters of President Bashar al-Assad. The explosion took place in a Druze cemetry at the Jaramana district of south-east Damascus. Syrian state TV blamed the attack on the rebels and said 48 people had been injured in a "terrorist car bombing". Elsewhere in the city, government forces shelled several districts, including the Ghouta suburbs in the east, according to video footage. Clashes have been going on in Damascus for over a month with Assad's regime stepping up its efforts to wipe out resistance. Syrian military helicopters also dumped hundreds of leaflets over the capital and its suburbs, urging rebels to hand in their weapons, the Associated Press reported. The leaflets, signed by the armed forces and the army's general command, read: "The Syrian army is determined to cleanse every inch in Syria and you have only two choices: Abandon your weapons ... or face inevitable death. "No one will help you. They have implicated you in taking up arms against your compatriots," they read. "They drown in their pleasures while you face death. Why? And for whom?" The deteriorating situation inside Syria has prompted a fresh exodus of refugees. On Tuesday the UN refugee agency said the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey could reach 200,000, with others fleeing to neighbouring Jordan. "The increase in the number of Syrians arriving in Turkey has been dramatic. Compared to previous weeks in which we saw about 400-500 people arriving a day, we've been seeing peaks of up to 5,000 people in one day over the past two weeks," Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If opposition group figures are correct, Saturday's action would be worst single atrocity by regime forces in 17-month civil war Opposition groups in Syria on Tuesday said up to 400 bodies had been found in the town of Daraya, south-west of the capital Damascus, in what appears to be the worst single massacre by government forces in the country's 17-month-old civil war. At least 200 bodies were found among the Sunni community on Saturday, after Syrian troops stormed the town and carried out house-to-house searches. On Tuesday following the army's withdrawal residents reported the death toll was higher. They said that government troops and pro-government shabiha militia raided some streets "two or three times", in some cases demanding hospitality and then killing their hosts when they left. "The total number in Daraya so far is 400 bodies. The number of bodies buried unidentified is more than 100," one resident, Abu Kinan, told the Guardian on Tuesday via Skype. He added: "One of the massacre survivors told me that when the Syrian army stormed their alley, they put more than 50 people up against the wall. "As they began spraying them with bullets, he threw himself to the floor. He was covered with blood though he was not shot. He pretended that he was dead. Four of his family were killed." The claim came after little sign of diplomatic progress on Syria. On Monday, France's president François Hollande urged Syria's divided opposition to form a provisional government, saying Paris was ready to recognise it. On Tuesday, however, US officials dismissed the move as premature. Kinan said the army remained in Daraya for two-and-a-half days. In this time government troops combed the district – followed by Shabiha "death squads". The siege of Daraya had now eased, he added, with some roads open again, and the wounded able to travel to hospitals. "We are still finding bodies," he said. Another resident, Abu Mua'tasim, added: "The Syrian army stayed in some of the houses. One belonged to my friend. People were forced to serve them food and tea. Just before they were leaving they killed the people in the house …I know the family." President Bashar al-Assad's regime has portrayed the killing in Daraya as a counter-terrorism operation, saying it cleansed the area of "terrorists". Human rights groups and locals say many of the dead were civilians. The operation follows a pattern seen previously, with the Syrian army first encircling an area known to be hostile to the regime, shelling it for a period of days, and then sending in troops house to house. Activists in the nearby al-Qadam district said they feared they would be next. On Tuesday they discovered the bodies of five local men dumped near the mosque. The al-Qadam victims had been stabbed and shot at point-blank range. Two of the bodies had smashed heads, graphic video footage showed. "There are many [government] checkpoints at the outskirts of al-Qadam district. Most of the people disappeared at these checkpoints,' one resident, Abu Hamza, told the Guardian via Skype. Hamza, said that 150 people had been wounded from shelling by tanks on the highway over the past three weeks. He said the Syrian army and shabiha militias had taken up positions in the police and train stations. said the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) was encamped in orchards outside town, he said. Hamza added: "This isn't the first time we have found bodies. During August we found more than 25 – sometimes four, sometimes six [at a time]. The discovery of these slaughtered bodies has made people in al-Qadam district flee. "The population in more than 300,000 but over the past two weeks 90 per cent of the people have fled." He went on: "People are scared of repeated massacres. The big problem we have here is that Alawite districts surround al-Qadam district … The five bodies we found today are of men aged between 25 and 45. "People were able to identify two of them, a body beloning to Anass Ahmed and another, of Ziyad Abdulwah al-Masseri." In Damascus, at least 12 people died and dozens were wounded when a car bomb exploded at the funeral of two supporters of Assad. The explosion took place in a Druze cemetry at the Jaramana district of south-east Damascus. Syrian state TV blamed the attack on the rebels and said 48 people had been injured in a "terrorist car bombing". Elsewhere in the city, government forces shelled several districts, including the Ghouta suburbs in the east, according to video footage. Clashes have been going on in Damascus for over a month with Assad's regime stepping up its efforts to wipe out resistance. Syrian military helicopters also dumped hundreds of leaflets over the capital and its suburbs, urging rebels to hand in their weapons, the Associated Press reported. The leaflets, signed by the armed forces and the army's general command, read: "The Syrian army is determined to cleanse every inch in Syria and you have only two choices: Abandon your weapons … or face inevitable death. "No one will help you. They have implicated you in taking up arms against your compatriots," they read. "They drown in their pleasures while you face death. Why? And for whom?" The deteriorating situation inside Syria has prompted a fresh exodus of refugees. On Tuesday the UN refugee agency said the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey could reach 200,000, with others fleeing to neighbouring Jordan. "The increase in the number of Syrians arriving in Turkey has been dramatic. Compared to previous weeks in which we saw about 400-500 people arriving a day, we've been seeing peaks of up to 5,000 people in one day over the past two weeks," Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Concern ruling will allow Israel to exploit 'legal black hole' and avoid responsibility for its actions Human rights organisations have warned of a "dangerous precedent" following an Israeli court's dismissal of a civil lawsuit over the death of US activist Rachel Corrie, which stated that Israel could not be held responsible because its army was engaged in a combat operation. Corrie "was accidentally killed in the framework of a 'war-related activity' ... [and] the state bears no responsibility for the damages inflicted on the plaintiffs resulting from a war-related action," said Judge Oded Gershon at Haifa district court. The 23-year-old activist was crushed by a military bulldozer which she believed was intent on demolishing a Palestinian home in Rafah, southern Gaza, in March 2003. Gershon ruled that it was a "regrettable accident" that Corrie had brought upon herself. There had been no fault in the internal Israeli military investigation, which cleared the bulldozer driver of any blame, the court found. "The deceased was in a blind spot – the operator didn't see her," said Gershon. Corrie had "put herself in a dangerous situation" and could have saved herself by moving out of the zone of danger, he said. The area was "the site of daily warfare" and a closed military zone, and the US government had warned its citizens not to go there. Hussein Abu Hussein, the Corrie family's lawyer, said the ruling sent "a very dangerous message and precedent that there are no restrictions on Israeli military behaviour in Gaza and the West Bank". The ruling would "close the doors of justice to civilian victims", including foreigners, and "expand a legal black hole" in which Israel seeks to evade responsibility for its actions. The verdict, he said, was "yet another example of where impunity has prevailed over accountability and fairness. We knew from the beginning that we had an uphill battle to get truthful answers and justice, but we are convinced that this verdict distorts the strong evidence presented in court, and contradicts fundamental principles of international law with regard to protection of human rights defenders. In denying justice in Rachel Corrie's killing, this verdict speaks to the systemic failure to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violations of basic human rights." Human Rights Watch said the ruling contravened international law, which is intended to protect non-combatants in war zones, and set "a dangerous precedent". "The idea that there can be no fault for killing civilians in a combat operation flatly contradicts Israel's international legal obligations to spare civilians from harm during armed conflict and to credibly investigate and punish violations by its forces," said Bill van Esveld, a senior Middle East researcher at HRW. Shawan Jabarin, director of the Palestinian human rights organisation, Al Haq, said: "Israel has claimed that it is not responsible for the death of a civilian in armed conflict. However, this flatly ignores international law, which stipulates that Israel is under an obligation to take all measures to ensure that no civilians will be harmed during hostilities, and must at all times distinguish between military targets and civilians. "The presence of a civilian in a combat zone does in any way not affect their right to protection. Instead, their protected status applies regardless of their location in a conflict, and international law clearly states that they must be protected against acts of violence in all circumstances." Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, of Olympia, Washington State, sued the state of Israel, accusing it of the unlawful or intentional killing of their daughter or of gross negligence. The family was "deeply saddened and deeply troubled" by the ruling, Cindy Corrie said afterwards. "I believe this was a bad day, not only for our family, but for human rights, humanity, the rule of law and also for the country of Israel." The state, she said, "has worked extremely hard to make sure that the truth about what happened to my daughter is not known and those responsible will not be held accountable". The family will appeal to the supreme court. The Israeli justice ministry described Corrie's death as "a tragic accident". The bulldozer driver and his commander were "exonerated of any blame for negligence", it said in a statement. At the time of Corrie's death, house demolitions were common; part of an increasing cycle of violence from both sides. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said the homes it targeted were harbouring militants or weapons or being used to conceal arms-smuggling tunnels under the border. Human rights groups said the demolitions were collective punishment. Between 2000 and 2004, the Israeli military demolished 1,700 homes in Rafah, leaving about 17,000 people homeless, according to the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem. Corrie was one of a group of around eight international activists acting as human shields against the demolitions. Fellow activists said she was clearly within the line of sight of the bulldozer driver, who drove straight at her. Israel promised a "thorough, credible and transparent" investigation into her death. Within a month, an IDF internal inquiry had concluded that the driver of the bulldozer had not seen the activist and that no charges would be brought. During the Corries' civil lawsuit, which lasted almost two and a half years, the bulldozer driver testified anonymously from behind a screen for "security reasons". He insisted that the first time he saw the activist was when he "saw people pulling the body out from under the earth". His commanding officer, Colonel Pinhas Zuaretz, told the court that Rafah was a war zone in 2003 and said that "reasonable people would not be there unless they had aims of attacking our forces".
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Campaign had anticipated significant poll boost from convention but hurricane Isaac has dashed hope of gaining ground Mitt Romney's campaign team has downplayed the Republican presidential challenger's chances of achieving a vital poll bounce from the party's convention, blaming the havoc caused by hurricane Isaac. As Romney flew into Tampa, Florida, two days early in an attempt to kickstart the sputtering convention into life, his senior campaign strategist Stuart Stevens moved to lower expectations that the event would lead to a poll boost. "All bets are off," he told reporters on the plane from Boston. Only two weeks ago, Romney officials had confidently predicted a poll bounce of at least 5% and possibly as high as 11%. Romney, neck-and-neck in the national polls with Barack Obama, had been looking for a large jump in the polls as a result of primetime television coverage of the convention, which finally opened Tuesday after the first day was cancelled amid warnings that Isaac was heading for Tampa. Romney had not been planning to arrive until Thursday when he is scheduled to deliver a primetime television speech that is expected to attract an audience of 30 million or more. But he is now competing against television coverage of Isaac, due to hit the Louisiana coast in the early hours of Wednesday. New Orleans, which was hit by hurricane Katrina exactly seven years ago with the loss of 1,800 lives, is in the storm's path, leaving GOP strategists fearing what they term "split screen" media coverage, one showing disaster and the other Republicans cheering and celebrating in Tampa. Isaac has completely disrupted Republican election planning. The Romney team needed a substantial poll bounce this week not least because next week it will be the turn of the Democratic party to secure primetime television, at their convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the very minimum, the Romney team had hoped to have established a lead that would cancel out Obama's bounce next week. Stevens said he could not predict what will happen in the polls now. "I have no idea. Of course, this convention is different because of the hurricane. The conventions are different now. They're later now. We're having back-to-back conventions," he said. The Obama campaign spent $120m in advertising over the summer, mainly in the swing states, seeking to define Romney as a rich, elitist candidate who had made his fortune off the backs of sacked workers. Although he virtually tied with Romney in the national polls, the Democratic ad campaign appears to have paid off, giving Obama poll leads over Romney in all but two of about 10 swing states. This was to have been Romney's big week, his opportunity to regain lost ground. The main business of the day Tuesday was for the convention to formally adopt Romney as the party's presidential nominee. Although he won the primaries and caucuses against other Republican challengers months ago, he is not legally the challenger to Obama until chosen by a roll-call of delegates at the convention. Once chosen, he can unleash the millions of dollars he has been accumulating for the campaign, hoping to outspend Obama two-to-one in ads over the fall. That plan would have to be revised if there was substantial damage and loss of life along the Louisiana coast. Party officials expressed cautious optimism that the convention will be held without interruption, albeit with a revised schedule that sees some of the speakers who had had slots on Monday being crammed in later in the week. Russ Schriefer, the convention organiser, said: "We are at full steam ahead with our Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule." Some delegates who were out partying on Monday evening expressed hope that Romney and other speakers at the convention will spend less time attacking on Obama and saying more about what policies Romney would implement as president. Ann Romney was given the primetime slot on Tuesday evening, with the brief of humanising her husband, filling in personal details about a politician so often seen as detached, an image Republicans hope he can help discard this week. Part of her task is also to try to increase her husband's appeal among women voters, among whom Obama enjoys a big poll lead. In a CBS interview on Tuesday morning, she spoke about a miscarriage she suffered in her 40s. Her husband, usually reticent about revealing details of his personal life, appeared taken aback with her openness. She said her son Craig had been devastated when told she was going to lose the baby. "I was home by the time [Craig] got home from school that afternoon. And he walked in the door, and he was about 10, 11 years old. And he fell on the floor and just burst into tears. And the poor little kid had been at school all day long holding this sorrow inside of him. And having no one to speak to, no one to comfort him, no one to explain what was going on," she said. Her husband said he had not heard the story about their son's reaction before. "I hadn't heard the story about Craig coming home from school that day and being so devastated," said the presumptive GOP nominee. "I'm not surprised. He's a very tender heart and a wonderful father today himself."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bank of Spain data showing sudden drop in amount on deposit comes as recession revealed to be deeper than thought Spanish banks lost €1 out of every €20 deposited with them in July, making it the worst month for deposit flight in 15 years as rumours grew that the country is edging closer to a full bailout. News that banks were losing deposits came as Spain's statistics institute revealed the current recession is worse than thought, with the economy shrinking at an annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter. "The downturn in the Spanish economy is deeper than previously thought and accelerating," warned Robert O'Daly of the Economist Intelligence Unit. Against this background, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said it was up to Spain to decide whether to seek eurozone help, after meeting prime minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid. Rajoy repeated that he needed more details from the European Central Bank to help him decide. Tuesday's revised figures showed recession started three months earlier than previously indicated. "The data shows the recession started in the third quarter of last year," secretary for state for the economy, Fernando Jiménez admitted. A collapse in internal consumption in a country squeezed by government austerity and massive unemployment is largely to blame for the recession, as this fell at an annual rate of 3.9% in the second quarter. Unemployment is already at 25% but the speed at which jobs are being destroyed quickened to an average rate of 800,000 jobs a year in the second quarter, according to the statistics institute. That helps explain why Spaniards, and their companies, are both reducing spending and putting less money in the bank. Sources at the Bank of Spain claimed the sudden drop in the amount on deposit was mostly due to banks withdrawing money placed with other entities, but the fall came amid growing consumer anger with retail banks. Tens of thousands of small savers are set to be hit with losses on preference shares they bought in former savings banks that now need bailing out by the eurozone's rescue fund. Spanish banks can take up to €100bn (£79.7bn) from the fund, but preference shareholders must first bear losses of up to 80%. Many savers who bought the shares thought they were risk-free deposits from high street banks. A new law due to be passed on Friday should settle their part of the bill for a banking crisis whose origins lie in the residential housing bubble that burst four years ago. The new law should also set up a state "bad bank" to absorb toxic real estate – largely worthless building land and unsold new properties – that forced the nationalisation of several banks. Attempts to stave off a full bailout took a blow on Tuesday when the regional government of Catalonia said it needed €5bn from a central government rescue fund. Catalonia is one of half a dozen regional governments shut out of markets and needing government help to roll over debt and fund budget deficits. Regions have a combined debt of €145bn, with €36bn needing refinancing this year. A report by the Fedea thinktank predicts Catalonia – which accounts for one fifth of the economy – will miss the 1.5% deficit target set this year, with an expected 2.5% deficit making it the second worst performing region. Rajoy's conservative central government may eventually take direct control of the region's finances. Regional prime minister Artur Mas, of the Catalan nationalist Convergence and Union coalition, has threatened a snap election if that happens. His spokesman, Francesc Homs, rejected any "political terms" for borrowing the money. But as Spain pinned its hopes for avoiding a full bailout on future bond-buying by the European Central Bank, not all news was bad. On Tuesday it managed to borrow €3.6bn for three and six months at much lower rates than in recent auctions. Exports continue to grow, while unit labour costs fell 2% – signs that a gradual internal devaluation may be happening. Spain, meanwhile, has enjoyed a summer tourist boom, which generated 9% more income this July than a year earlier.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Public prosecutor will try to establish if Arafat was poisoned with polonium-210 French prosecutors have opened a murder inquiry into the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, to determine whether he could have been poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. Arafat's widow, Suha, lodged a French legal complaint for murder last month and the public prosecutor has now accepted that an inquiry can take place in France, led by an investigating judge. Arafat died aged 75 in Paris in 2004. He had been transferred to a French military hospital from his headquarters in the West Bank after his health deteriorated. French doctors have said Arafat died of a massive stroke and had suffered from a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC. But the records were inconclusive about what brought about the DIC, which has numerous possible causes, including infections and liver disease. The claim that Arafat may have been poisoned first emerged in the immediate aftermath of his death and was revived last month after a nine-month investigation by al-Jazeera TV, which said it was given access to a duffel bag of Arafat's personal effects by his widow. A Swiss institute detected that the belongings had elevated traces of polonium-210, the rare and highly lethal substance which was used to assassinate the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. But the institute said the findings were inconclusive and that Arafat's bones would have to be tested to get a clearer answer. The Palestinian authority has given the green light for Arafat's body to be exhumed in Ramallah, but no date has yet been set.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Republican National Convention gets under way in Tampa - follow our live coverage of the first session
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Republicans are in Tampa for their election-year jamboree, and the GOP stars (plus Donald Trump) will be out in force. How many can you spot?
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rick Santorum and Chris Christie among convention speakers as Republicans get down to business after Monday's washout Mitt Romney is flying into Tampa on Tuesday morning in the hope of kickstarting the Republicans' sputtering national convention into life. After tropical storm Isaac forced the cancellation of Monday's planned opening, the main business of Tuesday will be to hold a rollcall of delegates to officially nominate Romney as the Republican presidential nominee, a formality that will allow him to unleash millions of dollars he has been accumulating for the campaign. Even if business is disrupted later this week if Isaac creates havoc in New Orleans, Romney will at least have completed the bare minimum – the necessary legal process of the rollcall. Party officials are hopeful that, short of a disaster in New Orleans, they will be able to complete the remaining three days of the convention without further interruption. Russ Schriefer, the convention organiser, said on Monday evening: "We are at full steam ahead with our Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule." The Republican national committee chairman, Reince Priebus, insisted no further changes to the schedule were planned nor had there been any discussion about extending the convention to Friday. Priebus acknowledged that events in New Orleans could alter convention plans. "If we have to do anything to incorporate some of the occurrences around this into our schedule and programme … and what that means I don't know. I can just assure you we are moving on. We're planning on having all three days. We will be nimble if we need to be," Priebus told CNN. The convention hall was largely empty Monday apart from journalists. Delegates spent the rain-soaked day in their hotels or at many receptions that went ahead despite heavy downpours. Some supporters of Ron Paul, the libertarian who was among Romney's challengers for the nomination earlier this year, could mount a small demonstration during the rollcall. But party organisers expressed confidence this will not happen after a backroom compromise was worked out over complaints that grassroots power was being curtailed. As well as the rollcall, the party has a line-up of speakers on Tuesday that include Rick Santorum, Romney's main challenger during the primaries and caucuses, governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, one of the rising stars of the party, and the popular New Jersey governor Chris Christie. Ann Romney has been given top billing. Her task is to humanise her husband, filling in personal details about a politician so often seen as detached, an image Republicans hope he can help discard this week. Wednesday, unless there is further disruption, is scheduled to be dominated by Romney's running mate Paul Ryan and Thursday by Romney, when he makes his nomination acceptance speech. Republicans have not released Romney's schedule for Tuesday. Normally, the candidate would not turn up at the convention venue. Romney could break with that tradition to hear his wife speak or he could may opt to watch it from a hotel room. Isaac has distracted attention from what would have been – and may still be – one of the big issues of the week, the party split over abortion. Romney, in an interview with CBS on Monday, said he opposed abortion except "in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother". Until now, the only exceptions he had allowed were rape and incest. Ryan opposed exceptions for incest and rape too until he joined the ticket.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Storm likely to reach land as category one hurricane on Katrina's seventh anniversary – but mayor decides not to order evacuation Tropical storm Isaac is on the verge of becoming a hurricane and remains headed for a direct hit on New Orleans on Tuesday night. The city and surrounding areas are bracing for impact, with Isaac expected to reach land overnight and threaten a wide region of the Gulf coast. The National Hurricane Center warned that Isaac has the potential to cause flooding in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida through rising water levels of up to 12ft from storm surges and heavy, prolonged rainfall of up to 20in. Winds are expected to be far in excess of 70mph and there will be the threat of tornadoes. The center's 8am ET update reported that Isaac was about 105 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi river and moving north-west at 7mph, with tropical storm-force winds extending up to 205 miles from its center. Wednesday is the seventh anniversary of the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina, which caused an estimated 1,800 deaths – the vast majority in the New Orleans region after levees failed – and damage estimated at $96bn. There is optimism that New Orleans is far better prepared than it was for Katrina, and that Isaac will prove much weaker. Isaac is likely to reach land as a category one hurricane, the lowest on the five-stage scale. Katrina was a category three. New Orleans' mayor, Mitch Landrieu, did not order an evacuation of the city, but those living outside the levee system were strongly encouraged to leave, and people who chose to stay were asked to use Monday to gather supplies and be prepared to "bunker down in their homes". Mandatory evacuations were ordered for St Charles Parish and parts of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish: low-lying regions outside the city's defenses. Time to leave is running out, with winds expected to intensify this afternoon. Workers piled on tons of sand to bolster levees on Monday night, and highways in low-lying parishes near the city were scheduled to close in order to install makeshift flood barriers. Flights in and out of New Orleans airport ceased last night until further notice, and schools are closed until Thursday. Bus, streetcar and Amtrak services have been suspended. A steady stream of cars headed across Lake Pontchartrain on Monday evening as residents headed towards Baton Rouge and away from the expected track of the storm. There were long queues at gas stations and some ran out of fuel. President Obama signed an emergency declaration authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to oversee and help fund the cost of coping with Isaac. However, the Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, criticized the president's declaration as "limited" in a letter sent to the White House and released to media outlets on Monday evening. "We appreciate your response to our request and your approval," Jindal, a Republican, wrote. "However, the state's original request for federal assistance … included a request for reimbursement for all emergency protective measures. The federal declaration of emergency only provides for direct federal assistance." Jindal said the state had spent about $8m on "emergency protective measures". The authorities are confident that New Orleans has learned the lessons of Katrina. "We are prepared for what this storm is going to bring us at this point in time," Landrieu told reporters. Since 2005, in excess of $14bn has been spent on improved safety systems such as better levees, floodgates and pumps, though drainage work is not entirely finished and does not protect the entire New Orleans region. Isaac will be the first hurricane to hit the Gulf coast since 2008, when Ike and Gustav caused extensive damage. At least 24 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic died as Isaac headed north-west, brushing the southern fringes of Florida on Sunday, where it caused minor damage and power outages. It has severely disrupted offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to fears that the price of gas at the pumps will rise sharply in the coming days. A reported 78% of Gulf of Mexico crude production and 48% of natural gas production had been halted by Monday afternoon. The ports of New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, were closed. Some storefronts in central New Orleans were boarded up on Tuesday morning and the city was quiet, with gathering clouds and a light wind offering a portent of the coming storm. On Monday, Darren Williams, 16, stood on the stoop of his family's apartment in the Iberville homes, a brick housing project where there are still metal barricades on the doors from the months after Katrina. Though some residents, like the Williams family, returned a couple of months after, the project did not have water or electricity for over six months after Katrina. Representatives from Nola Ready, the city's new disaster preparedness program, had distributed emergency instruction pamphlets. Williams said the timing brought back terrible memories: "It don't really make sense – I know it's hurricane season, but why on the anniversary?" Many people at Iberville do not have cars and could not leave when the levees failed after Katrina. This time, the pamphlets explain the city's assisted evacuation program. The courtyards were quiet. It took Faynell Thomas, 38, three years to come back after Katrina. "I wish I never came back," she said. If I leave again, I'm not coming back." She has not left this time because her son is in hospital. Her friend, Cynthia Jordan, 58, was sitting on the stoop with her. She was at Iberville when the Katrina floods came up to the first storey. There was no official rescue – she escaped by getting on her daughter's boat, before being picked up by helicopter. She got on a bus to Houston, and was away from her home for a year and a half. "I hope it [Isaac] turns and goes away. I've been through it before, I don't wanna go through it again," she said. Worried about the storms that may follow Isaac, she has packed clothes anyway. Malcolm White, the executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, lives in Jackson and Bay St Louis, a coastal town directly in Isaac's path that was leveled by Katrina. He came back to Jackson for meetings on Monday but had spent the weekend on the coast preparing. "Seven years doesn't seem that far away to us," said White, who only rehung pictures at his Bay St Louis house this summer. Though people on the Mississippi Coast go through this twice a hurricane season, White said, "We're just sort of in disbelief because of the irony of the anniversary … this one looks so similar." At least, White said, Katrina taught residents and leaders important lessons about being ready: "We're as best prepared as we can be."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Isaac is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane before reaching the low-lying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi – follow live updates
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Isaac is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane before reaching the low-lying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi – follow live updates
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | There are some rich cinematic pickings to be had on the Lido this year; we cast an eye over some of the main runners and riders
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | American activist's family vows to appeal against Israeli court's ruling that her death was a 'regrettable accident' The death of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie was a "regrettable accident" for which the state of Israel was not responsible, a judge has ruled, dismissing a civil lawsuit brought by the family. The young American had "put herself in a dangerous situation" and her death was not caused by the negligence of the Israeli state or army, said Judge Oded Gershon at Haifa district court. The 62-page ruling found no fault in the internal Israeli military investigation which cleared the driver of the bulldozer which crushed Corrie to death in March 2003. The judge said the driver could not have seen the activist from the cab of the bulldozer. Corrie could have saved herself by moving out of the zone of danger "as any reasonable person would have done," he said. The area was a combat zone, and the US government had warned its citizens not to go there. International activists were intent on obstructing the actions of the Israeli military and acting as human shields "to protect terrorists". Corrie was killed on 16 March 2003, crushed under an Israeli military bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. The lawsuit, filed by Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, of Olympia, Washington state, accused the Israeli military of either unlawfully or intentionally killing Rachel or of gross negligence. The family had claimed a symbolic $1 (63p) in damages and legal expenses. The judge said no damages were liable, but the family's court costs would be waived. The family was "deeply saddened and deeply troubled" by the ruling, Cindy Corrie said at a press conference after the ruling. "I believe this was a bad day, not only for our family, but for human rights, humanity, the rule of law and also for the country of Israel." The state had, she said, employed a "well-heeled system" to protect its soldiers and provide them with immunity. "As a family, we've had to push for answers, accountability and justice." Rachel's sister, Sarah Corrie Simpson, said: "I believe without doubt that my sister was seen as the driver approached her." She hoped that the driver would one day "have the courage" to tell the truth. The US government believed the military investigation was flawed, she added. Last week, the US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, told the Corrie family that Washington remained dissatisfied with the the inquiry. Hussein Abu Hussein, the family's lawyer, said: "This verdict is yet another example of where impunity has prevailed over accountability and fairness. Rachel Corrie was killed while non-violently protesting home demolitions and injustice in Gaza, and today, this court has given its stamp of approval to flawed and illegal practices that failed to protect civilian life. "We knew from the beginning that we had an uphill battle to get truthful answers and justice, but we are convinced that this verdict distorts the strong evidence presented in court, and contradicts fundamental principles of international law with regard to protection of human rights defenders. In denying justice in Rachel Corrie's killing, this verdict speaks to the systemic failure to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violations of basic human rights." The family would appeal against the ruling to Israel's supreme court, he added. Also speaking after the ruling, the state's attorney said the Israeli soldiers at the scene of Corrie's death did "everything they could" to prevent harm being caused to any person. In a statement, the Israeli justice ministry said: "The death of Rachel Corrie is without a doubt a tragic accident. As the verdict states – the driver of the bulldozer and his commander had a very limited field of vision, such that they had no possibility of seeing Ms Corrie and thus are exonerated of any blame for negligence … "The security forces … were compelled to carry out 'levelling' work against explosive devices that posed a tangible danger to life and limb, and were not in any form posing a threat to Palestinian homes. The work was done while exercising maximum caution and prudence, and without the ability to foresee harming anyone." According to Bill Van Esveld of Human Rights Watch, the verdict "sets a dangerous precedent in its claim that there was no liability for Corrie's death because the Israeli forces involved were conducting a 'combat operation' … The idea that there can be no fault for killing civilians in a combat operation flatly contradicts Israel's international legal obligations to spare civilians from harm during armed conflict, and to credibly investigate and punish violations by its forces." The judge's statement that the military inquiry into Corrie's death had been without fault was "hard to reconcile with the facts. Military investigators repeatedly failed to take statements from witnesses, to follow up with the witness's lawyer, and to re-interview witnesses to clarify discrepancies." At the time of Corrie's death at the height of the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, house demolitions were common, part of an increasing cycle of violence from both sides. Palestinian suicide bombers were causing death and destruction with terrifying frequency; the Israeli military was using its mighty force and weaponry to crush the uprising. The Israeli Defence Forces said the houses it targeted with bulldozers and shells harboured militants or weapons, or were being used to conceal arms-smuggling tunnels under the border. Human rights groups said the demolitions were collective punishment. Between 2000 and 2004, the Israeli military demolished around 1,700 homes in Rafah, leaving about 17,000 people homeless, according to the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem. Corrie was one of a group of around eight international activists acting as human shields against the demolitions. According to witness statements made at the time and evidence given in court, she clambered atop a pile of earth in the path of an advancing Caterpillar bulldozer. Fellow activists said she was clearly within the line of sight of the bulldozer driver. The day after Corrie's death, Israel's then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, promised US president George W Bush that Israel would conduct a "thorough, credible and transparent" investigation into the incident. Within a month, the IDF had completed an internal inquiry, led by its chief of staff. It concluded that its forces were not to blame, that the driver of the bulldozer had not seen the activist, that no charges would be brought and the case was closed. The Corries launched their civil lawsuit against the state of Israel as an "absolutely last resort". The case opened at Haifa district court in March 2010. Among those giving evidence was the driver of the bulldozer, who testified anonymously from behind a screen for "security reasons". He repeatedly insisted that the first time he saw the activist was when she was already dying: "I didn't see her before the incident. I saw people pulling the body out from under the earth." The hearings ended in July last year.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Girl, who is said to be 14 but may have a younger mental age, will be tried in a juvenile court for blasphemy charge An official medical review of a Pakistani Christian girl accused of desecrating the Qur'an has determined that she is a minor, the girl's lawyer said on Tuesday. The finding, which means she will be tried in the juvenile court system, could possibly defuse what has been a highly contentious case in Pakistan, where blasphemy can be punished with life in prison or even death. The accusations against the girl have inflamed religious tensions in Pakistan and sparked a mass exodus of Christians from the girl's neighbourhood amid fear of retribution from Muslim neighbours. Lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said a report by a medical board investigating the girl's age and mental state determined she was 14 years old. He also said the board found her mental capacity did not correspond to her age. It was not clear exactly what that meant. Some Pakistani media reports have said the girl has Down's syndrome. Chaudhry said a bail hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday and that he would move to dismiss the case afterwards, saying there was "no solid evidence" against his client. He said he saw his client on Saturday in the Rawalpindi prison where she's being held and that she was "weeping and crying". The girl was accused by a neighbour of burning pages of the Qur'an, Islam's holy book. But many aspects of the case have been in dispute since the incident surfaced a little under two weeks ago, including her age, her mental capabilities and what exactly she was burning. The lawyer said a birth certificate provided by the church put her age at 11 years old, but the medical board later determined she was 14. Generally, birth certificates must be issued by the Pakistani government to be considered a legal document. The case has once again put the spotlight on Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which critics say can be used to settle vendettas or seek retribution. Many of Pakistan's minorities, including Christians, live in fear of being accused of blasphemy. Once someone is labelled a blasphemer, even if they are never convicted, they can face vigilante justice. In July, thousands of people dragged a Pakistani man accused of desecrating the Qur'an from a police station, beating him to death and setting his body alight. The potential public backlash also means few people have spoken out to change or repeal the law. Last year two prominent politicians who criticised the blasphemy law were murdered, one by his own bodyguard, who then attracted adoring mobs.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Travel privileges have been restored to more than 2,000 people who were officially barred from entering or leaving the country Burma's government has trimmed 2,082 names from its notorious blacklist, opening travelling privileges to roughly a third of the people officially barred from entering or leaving the country, an official said on Tuesday. The move was the latest sign of change as President Thein Sein's government implements reforms after decades of harsh military rule. It came a day after he announced a sweeping cabinet shakeup, which is seen as an effort to remove hardliners opposed to reform. "These relaxations are in line with the country's transformation," said presidential spokesman Nay Zin Latt. He said more names would eventually be struck off and "only those who were put on the blacklist due to criminal and other economic misdemeanours will remain on the blacklist". The list has included journalists, critics and a wide range of people that the former military junta deemed a threat to national security. It blocks foreigners and Burmese abroad from entering the country and also prohibits certain Burmese nationals from leaving. State-owned newspaper the New Light of Myanmar indicated that at least some of those removed from the list were Burmese nationals living abroad. It reported that the changes give a "green light … to those Myanmar citizens who are currently in foreign countries, enabling them to return home." The new government took office in March 2010 after the country's first elections in 20 years. Until now, it has continued to update the list as it sees fit. Among those famously blacklisted was former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, who played pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady, which was released last year. Yeoh had met Suu Kyi on an initial visit but was deported upon arrival for her second visit in June 2011 and informed she was blacklisted. Author Benedict Rogers, who wrote a 2010 biography on former junta chief Than Shwe, has been on and off the list. "This is an encouraging and positive step," said Rogers. "I hope all of the other people on the list will be removed, except those who genuinely pose a security threat to the country."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | iPhone maker's legal move following court ruling could hit rival's flagship phone, as analysts warn of effect on Android Apple is seeking speedy bans on the sale of eight Samsung smartphones in the US, as it seeks to turn its $1bn court victory last Friday into a tangible business benefit over a key rival. It faces a four-part test to persuade Judge Lucy Koh to implement the bans in September, against some of Samsung's Galaxy S phones – but might subsequently be able to snare this year's flagship Galaxy S3 model in a ban too without a full trial. To achieve a ban, Apple's case before the judge must pass a four-part test: it must show "irreparable injury" from the devices' previous sale; that monetary damages are inadequate as compensation; that another remedy is warranted; and that a ban on sale is not against the public interest. Previously Apple has managed to persuade Koh to implement bans on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The phones at issue are the Galaxy S 4G, Droid Charge, Galaxy Prevail, and five versions of the Galaxy S2 – Samsung's flagship phone of 2011. Though the jury found that 28 different Samsung devices had wilfully copied elements of the iPhone's functional patents, and that some also resembled it closely enough to confuse consumers, Apple is seeking bans on a far smaller list, because many of those named in the trial are no longer widely available in the US. But if it succeeds in getting a ban on the eight named phones, it could add the Galaxy S3 to the list through a more rapid "contempt proceeding" before the judge, according to legal experts. Many on Wall Street believe Apple now has momentum behind it in the wake of its near-complete triumph over the South Korean company on Friday. "The evidence and weight of the case are heavily in Apple's favor," said Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek. "We expect there's a two-thirds chance of an injunction against Samsung products." An injunction hearing has been set for 20 September. If Koh grants sales bans, Samsung will likely seek to put them on hold pending the outcome of its appeal. Samsung said it will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of its products in the US market. A source familiar with the situation said Samsung has already started working with US carriers about modifying infringing features to keep products on the market should injunctions be granted. Apple's win on Friday strengthens its position ahead of the expected launch on 12 September of the next iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone 5" by observers, and could cement its market dominance in the US as companies using Google Android operating system – which powers two-thirds of the smartphones shipped globally, though less in the US – may be forced to consider software changes, analysts say. Apple was awarded $1.05bn in damages after a US jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products. Apple's stock scored another record high on Monday rising 1.9% to add $12bn in value – while Samsung's fell by about 7.5% on the South Korean market on Monday, knocking the same amount off its total value. However Samsung's stock recovered 1.8% on Tuesday. While the victory does not cover new Samsung products including the Galaxy S3, Apple will push its case on these products in the near-term, Evercore Partners analyst Mark McKechnie said. "While a ban would likely increase Apple's leading smartphone share in the US market, we believe this verdict could lead to Samsung also delaying near-term product launches as it attempts to design around Apple's patents," Canaccord Genuity analysts said in a note. "The ruling marks an important victory for Apple against Android. Competitors may now think twice about how they compete in smart mobility devices with the industry's clear innovator," Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes wrote on Monday. "If Apple forces competitors to innovate more, it could take longer for competitive products to come to market, and make it more expensive to develop them." The victory for Apple – which upended the smartphone industry in 2007 with the iPhone – is a big blow to Google, whose Android software powers the Samsung products found to have infringed on patents. Google and its hardware partners, including the company's own Motorola unit, could now face legal hurdles in their effort to compete with the Apple juggernaut. Google shares closed 1.4% lower at $669.22. Microsoft, a potential beneficiary if smartphone makers begin to seek out Android alternatives, ended up 0.4%. Nokia, which has staked its future on Windows phones, gained 7.7%. Even BlackBerry maker Research in Motion – which has haemorrhaged market share to Apple and Google – climbed more than 5%, before ending 2% higher. "The mobile industry is moving fast and all players, including newcomers, are building upon ideas that have been around for decades," Google responded in a Sunday statement. "We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don't want anything to limit that." The verdict came as competition in the device industry is intensifying, with Google jumping into hardware for the first time with the Nexus 7 and Microsoft's touchscreen-friendly Windows 8 coming in October, led by its "Surface" tablet. Samsung, which sold an estimated 50m phones between April and June – almost twice the number of iPhones – will have to pay damages equivalent to just 1.5% of the annual revenue from its telecoms business. "The verdict does not come as a surprise," wrote William Blair & Co analysts. "From Apple's perspective, Samsung's market position and its leadership in the handset world was something the company could no longer overlook, and viewing this as another 'imitation is a form of flattery' was not possible." "Companies such as Samsung, who we categorize as fast followers, have been viewed by the industry for their ability to quickly adopt the latest handset trends ... rather than their ability to introduce fundamental innovation."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ECB president drops plan to speak at Jackson Hole symposium, in favour of working on the eurocrisis
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New GDP data shows that Spain's economy has shrunk by 1.3% in the last 12 months, more than first thought, before another bond auction
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