|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | State-run television confirms death after leader had not been seen in public for several weeks The Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, 57, has died of a sudden infection while recovering from illness at a hospital abroad, the country's state-run television said on Tuesday. The longtime ruler had not been seen in public for several weeks. The broadcast said Meles died just before midnight on Monday after contracting an infection. The most recent images of Meles aired had shown him noticeably thinner. The country's deputy prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, is said to be taking charge of the cabinet. "Prime Minister Zenawi suddenly passed away last night. Meles was recovering in a hospital overseas for the past two months but died of a sudden infection at 11.40," state television said. Born in 1955, Meles became president in 1991 and prime minister in 1995, a position that is both head of the federal government and armed forces. The US had long viewed Meles as a strong security partner and has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years. US military drones that patrol east Africa, especially over Somalia, are stationed in Ethiopia. Though a US ally, Ethiopia has long been criticised by human rights groups for the government's strict control. Dissent is met with a strict government response. During Meles' election win in 2005, when it appeared the opposition was likely to make gains, Meles tightened security across the country, and on the night of the election he declared a state of emergency, outlawing any public gathering as his ruling party claimed a majority win. Opposition members accused Meles of rigging the election, and demonstrations broke out. Security forces moved in, killing hundreds of people and jailing thousands. In 2010 Meles won another five years in office while receiving a reported 99% of the vote. Meles was the longtime chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front and has always identified strongly with his party. "I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party. Whatever achievement there might have been, it does not exist independent of that party," Meles once said. Meles grew up in the northern town of Adwa, where his father had 13 siblings from multiple women. He moved to the capital, Addis Ababa, on a scholarship after completing an eight-year elementary education in just five years. State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Government vows crackdown but is accused of neglect after weekend of armed clashes at Yare I complex in Miranda state A riot by armed inmates has left 25 people dead in one of Venezuela's notoriously overcrowded prisons, according to the government.
Relatives wept outside the Yare I complex in the central coastal state of Miranda as sketchy details emerged of fighting among armed gangs in the prison over the weekend. The prisons minister Iris Varela told reporters that 25 people, including one visitor, died in the riot. "We will make them answer for this," she said, adding another 29 inmates and 14 visitors had been injured. Venezuela's 34 prisons are holding about 50,000 prisoners, three times their capacity, according to advocacy groups. Many of the prisoners are armed and hundreds are killed each year in riots and gang fights. With a presidential election due in less than two months, prison chaos is a politically sensitive issue. Hugo Chávez, the incumbent, blames it on decades of neglect before he took power in 1999 but critics say he socialist president has done little to fix it. "The transformation of the Venezuelan prison system is another big lie that we've been told by this government," wrote the opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, on Twitter. "How many more will die?" Chávez did not mention the situation in a TV appearance. In May, as police forcibly transferred inmates out of La Planta jail in Caracas – built for 350 but housing nearly 2,500 – gunshots rang out among the prisoners. Some were sent to Yare. A month-long siege occurred last year at El Rodeo prison, just outside the capital, leaving 22 dead before some 5,000 soldiers restored order. In Venezuela's worst incident about 130 prisoners were burned or hacked to death with machetes during gang fights at Sabaneta jail in Maracaibo in 1994.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Standup built her career on persona of a corner-cutting housewife and was an influential figure for women in comedy Phyllis Diller, the pioneering US comedian who aimed some of her sharpest barbs at herself, has died aged 95. Diller, who broke into comedy in the 1950s, created an indelible persona with her distinctive braying laugh, cigarette holder, teased hair, outlandish costumes and a fictional lout of a husband nicknamed Fang. A friend and fellow comic, Joan Rivers, said Diller cleared a path for a younger generation of female standup artists to trade on their jokes alone. "The only tragedy is that Phyllis Diller was the last from an era that insisted a woman had to look funny in order to be funny," Rivers said on Twitter. "If she had started today, Phyllis could have stood there in Dior and Harry Winston and become the major star that she was. I adored her!" she added. Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that Diller was "the queen of the one-liners". Whoopi Goldberg called her a "true original." Born Phyllis Driver in Lima, Ohio, she was a late bloomer by showbusiness standards, getting her start at 37 in 1955 when she made her debut at San Francisco's Purple Onion and broke into the male-dominated comedy circuit. Diller was a housewife who had raised five children, but also worked as a newspaper columnist, publicist and radio writer. She discovered a flair for standup jokes at school parent-teacher meetings and decided to make comedy a career at the urging of her then-husband, Sherwood Diller, with whom she had five children. The couple divorced in 1965 and a second marriage to singer Warde Donovan ended 10 years later. Diller's act consisted of rapid-fire jokes and one-liners that often spoofed social pretences by poking fun at herself ("I went bathing nude on the beach the other day; it took me 20 minutes to get arrested") as well as a world of invented characters including her mother-in-law Moby Dick and her skinny sister-in-law Captain Bligh. TV appearances followed and Diller became an instantly recognised star. She made her movie debut in 1961 with a small part in Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass and played the title role in a 1970 Broadway production of Hello Dolly! Diller became friends with Bob Hope and co-starred with him in three films. In later years, she suffered from heart problems but continued to work in clubs and on TV well into her 80s. She played an insect in the 1998 animated film A Bug's Life, appeared in the 2005 comedy documentary The Aristocrats and voiced Peter's mother in 2006-2007 episodes of the cartoon TV series Family Guy.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Party leaders mount pressure on Senate candidate as Republicans refuse to back Akin financially despite apology The Republican party leadership has withdrawn financial and political support from a US congressman who is refusing to resign from a Senate race in Missouri after claiming that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. As pressure mounted from all sides, Todd Akin, chosen last week as Republican candidate in the closely-fought challenge for the Senate in Missouri, apologised for his remarks but refused to step aside. "I'm not a quitter," he said on a radio show hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. "By the grace of God, we're going to win this race." He added that the people who had elected him knew he was not perfect and that just because someone made a mistake, it "doesn't make them useless". No-one had called him to suggest he drop out, he said. His defiance came in spite of criticism from senior Republicans, including White House challenger Mitt Romney and senator John Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which provides funding for candidates. Barack Obama also denounced his remarks. Both the Republican party and prominent political action committees, known as Super Pacs, said they would withdraw their support. Ad campaigns worth millions of dollars were being scrapped. Akin went on Huckabee's radio show in an attempt to save his position. He said: "I've really made a couple of serious mistakes here which were just wrong, and I need to apologise for those. There is no such thing as legitimate rape. It's an evil act and it's committed by violent predators." He added: "I've even known some women who have been raped and I know that it's a terrible, terrible thing." In spite of the row over his comment that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy, he argued his background and ability made him a big asset in unseating the Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. Republicans want him to step aside because the row is threatening the White House race, and reduces the chances of taking the Missouri seat, one the party is banking on to secure a majority in the Senate. In a statement, Cornyn said: "I recognise this is a difficult time for him, but over the next 24 hours, congressman Akin should carefully consider what is best for him, his family, the Republican party, and the values that he cares about and has fought for throughout his career in public service." Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, also urged him to rethink his position, describing his comments as inexcusable. Obama, speaking at the White House at a rare press conference, denounced Akin's comment. "Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we're talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me." He said that politicians, most of whom are men, should not be making healthcare decisions on behalf of women. While accepting that Romney had also denounced Akin, he said there was a significant difference between Democrats and Republicans on the issue. "The underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women for their healthcare decisions, or qualifying 'forcible rape' versus 'non-forcible rape' – those are broader issues … between me and the other party." Asked if he thought Akin should quit, he said he had been chosen by the Republican party in Missouri and the decision was one for it to decide. Earlier, Romney used an interview with the National Review Online to denounce Akin in unusually forthright language. "Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong," Romney said. "Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive." He added: "I have an entirely different view. What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it." But he stopped short of calling for Akin to step down. Republican senator Scott Brown became the first member of the party to call publicly for Akin to resign. "Rep Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri," Brown said in a statement. Brown's response is not surprising, given he is well to the left of the party, fighting to retain his seat in a tight race in liberal Massachusetts. Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson also called for Akin to pull out. On Twitter he said: "Todd Akin's statements are reprehensible and inexcusable. He should step aside for the good of the nation." His intervention was more significant as Ryan is from Wisconsin and the latest poll suggests Romney has taken a narrow lead over Obama in the state. But even figures such as Karl Rove, George W Bush's strategist, told Fox News that Akin's "got some real explaining to do". Barack Obama's campaign team portrayed the comments by Akin as further evidence of what it has dubbed the Republican "war on women". The row began when Akin, in an interview with the St Louis channel KTVI-TV broadcast on Sunday, was asked about his opposition to abortion, even in the case of rape. "It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin replied. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child." Akin won the Republican primary only this month with the backing of Tea Party groups. The Missouri race, against Democratic Senator Clare McCaskill, was seen as one of the most winnable for the Republicans in its bid to take control of the Senate. Akin is only narrowly ahead in the polls and pollsters predicted his remark is almost certain to lose him a lot of votes, especially among women. But the row could also have implications for the White House campaign as it has focused attention on an area of sensitivity for Romney: the views on abortion of his running mate Paul Ryan. In a statement released after Akin's remarks, Romney's campaign team said: "Governor Romney and congressman Ryan disagree with Mr Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape." But the statement leaves questions about Ryan unanswered. Until the statement was released Ryan had been opposed to abortion even in the case of rape. Ryan was the co-sponsor of a House bill last year called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that included what it referred to as "forcible rape", though the phrase was later dropped after a backlash from women's groups. Romney has an ambiguous record on abortion, promising while campaigning for governor of Massachusetts not to change existing law but adopting a tougher position when campaigning to become the Republican presidential nominee. Ryan, by contrast, has been consistently opposed to abortion in almost all circumstances. Akin's opponent, Claire McCaskill, a close ally of Obama's, said that Akin had not addressed several issues raised by his original comments, including his comment that women's bodies closed down during rape. She called on Akin to apologise for that and other contentious statements, but rather than join the calls for him to quit she warned the Republican leadership that any attempt to oust him as the candidate would backfire. McCaskill, seeking re-election, was widely regarded as vulnerable but her opponent's remarks play into her strategy of painting him as an extremist, provided he remains the candidate. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, sought to broaden the issue beyond Missouri politics, accusing Republicans of wanting to "take women back to the Dark Ages". She added: "The real issue is a Republican party – led by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – whose policies on women and their health are dangerously wrong."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Party leaders mount pressure on Senate candidate as Republicans refuse to back Akin financially despite apology The Republican party leadership has withdrawn financial and political support from a US congressman who is refusing to resign from a Senate race in Missouri after claiming that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. As pressure mounted from all sides, Todd Akin, chosen last week as Republican candidate in the closely-fought challenge for the Senate in Missouri, apologised for his remarks but refused to step aside. "I'm not a quitter," he said on a radio show hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. "By the grace of God, we're going to win this race." He added that the people who had elected him knew he was not perfect and that just because someone made a mistake, it "doesn't make them useless". No-one had called him to suggest he drop out, he said. His defiance came in spite of criticism from senior Republicans, including White House challenger Mitt Romney and senator John Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which provides funding for candidates. Barack Obama also denounced his remarks. Both the Republican party and prominent political action committees, known as Super Pacs, said they would withdraw their support. Ad campaigns worth millions of dollars were being scrapped. Akin went on Huckabee's radio show in an attempt to save his position. He said: "I've really made a couple of serious mistakes here which were just wrong, and I need to apologise for those. There is no such thing as legitimate rape. It's an evil act and it's committed by violent predators." He added: "I've even known some women who have been raped and I know that it's a terrible, terrible thing." In spite of the row over his comment that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy, he argued his background and ability made him a big asset in unseating the Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. Republicans want him to step aside because the row is threatening the White House race, and reduces the chances of taking the Missouri seat, one the party is banking on to secure a majority in the Senate. In a statement, Cornyn said: "I recognise this is a difficult time for him, but over the next 24 hours, congressman Akin should carefully consider what is best for him, his family, the Republican party, and the values that he cares about and has fought for throughout his career in public service." Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, also urged him to rethink his position, describing his comments as inexcusable. Obama, speaking at the White House at a rare press conference, denounced Akin's comment. "Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we're talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me." He said that politicians, most of whom are men, should not be making healthcare decisions on behalf of women. While accepting that Romney had also denounced Akin, he said there was a significant difference between Democrats and Republicans on the issue. "The underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women for their healthcare decisions, or qualifying 'forcible rape' versus 'non-forcible rape' – those are broader issues … between me and the other party." Asked if he thought Akin should quit, he said he had been chosen by the Republican party in Missouri and the decision was one for it to decide. Earlier, Romney used an interview with the National Review Online to denounce Akin in unusually forthright language. "Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong," Romney said. "Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive." He added: "I have an entirely different view. What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it." But he stopped short of calling for Akin to step down. Republican senator Scott Brown became the first member of the party to call publicly for Akin to resign. "Rep Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri," Brown said in a statement. Brown's response is not surprising, given he is well to the left of the party, fighting to retain his seat in a tight race in liberal Massachusetts. Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson also called for Akin to pull out. On Twitter he said: "Todd Akin's statements are reprehensible and inexcusable. He should step aside for the good of the nation." His intervention was more significant as Ryan is from Wisconsin and the latest poll suggests Romney has taken a narrow lead over Obama in the state. But even figures such as Karl Rove, George W Bush's strategist, told Fox News that Akin's "got some real explaining to do". Barack Obama's campaign team portrayed the comments by Akin as further evidence of what it has dubbed the Republican "war on women". The row began when Akin, in an interview with the St Louis channel KTVI-TV broadcast on Sunday, was asked about his opposition to abortion, even in the case of rape. "It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin replied. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child." Akin won the Republican primary only this month with the backing of Tea Party groups. The Missouri race, against Democratic Senator Clare McCaskill, was seen as one of the most winnable for the Republicans in its bid to take control of the Senate. Akin is only narrowly ahead in the polls and pollsters predicted his remark is almost certain to lose him a lot of votes, especially among women. But the row could also have implications for the White House campaign as it has focused attention on an area of sensitivity for Romney: the views on abortion of his running mate Paul Ryan. In a statement released after Akin's remarks, Romney's campaign team said: "Governor Romney and congressman Ryan disagree with Mr Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape." But the statement leaves questions about Ryan unanswered. Until the statement was released Ryan had been opposed to abortion even in the case of rape. Ryan was the co-sponsor of a House bill last year called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that included what it referred to as "forcible rape", though the phrase was later dropped after a backlash from women's groups. Romney has an ambiguous record on abortion, promising while campaigning for governor of Massachusetts not to change existing law but adopting a tougher position when campaigning to become the Republican presidential nominee. Ryan, by contrast, has been consistently opposed to abortion in almost all circumstances. Akin's opponent, Claire McCaskill, a close ally of Obama's, said that Akin had not addressed several issues raised by his original comments, including his comment that women's bodies closed down during rape. She called on Akin to apologise for that and other contentious statements, but rather than join the calls for him to quit she warned the Republican leadership that any attempt to oust him as the candidate would backfire. McCaskill, seeking re-election, was widely regarded as vulnerable but her opponent's remarks play into her strategy of painting him as an extremist, provided he remains the candidate. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, sought to broaden the issue beyond Missouri politics, accusing Republicans of wanting to "take women back to the Dark Ages". She added: "The real issue is a Republican party – led by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – whose policies on women and their health are dangerously wrong."
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | US president threatens 'enormous consequences' if Assad regime fails to safeguard weapons of mass destruction US president Barack Obama bluntly warned Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Monday not to cross a "red line" by using chemical or biological weapons in his country's bloody conflict and suggested that such action would prompt the United States to consider a military response. Pointing out that he had refrained "at this point" from ordering US military engagement in Syria, Obama said that there would be "enormous consequences" if Assad failed to safeguard his weapons of mass destruction. It was Obama's strongest language to date on the issue, and he warned Syria not only against using its unconventional weapons, but against moving them in a threatening fashion. "We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised," Obama said. "That would change my calculus." "We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people," Obama told an impromptu White House news conference. He acknowledged he was not "absolutely confident" the stockpile was secure. Obama said the issue was of concern not only to Washington but also to its close allies in the region, including Israel. Seeking re-election in November, Obama has been reluctant to get the United States involved in another war in the Middle East, even refusing to arm rebels fighting a 17-month-old uprising against Assad. Syria last month acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical and biological weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervene - a threat that drew strong warnings from Washington and its allies. Western countries and Israel have expressed fears chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militant groups as Assad's authority erodes. Israel has said that if Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas used the situation to take control of the weapons, it would "act immediately and with utmost force." "We're monitoring that situation very carefully. We have put together a range of contingency plans," Obama said when asked whether he envisioned the possibility of using US forces at least to safeguard Syria's chemical arsenal. The Global Security website, which collects published intelligence reports and other data, says there are four suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria: north of Damascus, near Homs, in Hama and near the Mediterranean port of Latakia. Weaponsproduced include the nerve agents VX, sarin and tabun, it said, without citing its sources. Obama also used the opportunity to renew his call for Assad to step down. "The international community has sent a clear message that rather than drag his country into civil war, he should move in the direction of a political transition," Obama said. "But at this point, the likelihood of a soft landing seems pretty distant." Obama said the United States had already provided $82m in humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees and will "probably end up doing a little bit more" to keep the situation from destabilising Syria's neighbors.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Decision defies ICC demands that he face charges of war crimes at The Hague in order to ensure a fair trial Libya will put deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son on trial, defying a demand by the international criminal court, the Libyan representative to The Hague court said on Monday. Ahmed al-Jehani said the trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will begin next month. One possible venue is Zintan, a town in the western mountains, where he is being held. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was considered his father's political heir. The ICC issued an arrest warrant and demanded to try him on war crimes. Libya has argued that its new regime should try him. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was captured last year by a militia from Zintan, where he has been held ever since. Local spokesman Khaled al-Zintani said a government delegation would inspect the town before a decision is made on whether to try him there. The ICC has expressed concern that Libya is not set up to give the younger Gaddafi a fair trial. During his four decades of rule, Muammar Gaddafi dismantled most institutions, setting himself up as the sole ruler. After Gaddafi's overthrow, capture and killing last year, interim rulers struggled to unite the country, leaving powerful militias and tribes in control of various areas. A newly elected parliament is working on appointing a cabinet after choosing a president. Among its main tasks is to build a functioning judiciary. Libya has insisted that it is capable of putting on a proper trial for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. He has expressed a preference to be extradited to The Hague for trial. Also on Monday, a small bomb hit a vehicle of an Egyptian diplomat in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. No one was hurt. Maged al-Urfi, a Benghazi internal security spokesman, said the explosive hit the car of the deputy at the Egyptian consulate in an upscale Benghazi neighborhood that houses foreign diplomats. The diplomat was at home at the time, al-Urfi said, adding that a small amount of explosives was in the device, not enough to injure passengers. "This is meant to send a message, not hurt," he said.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Decision defies ICC demands that he face charges of war crimes at the Hague in order to ensure a fair trial Libya will put deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son on trial, defying a demand by the International Criminal Court, the Libyan representative to the Hague court said on Monday. Ahmed al-Jehani said the trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will begin next month. One possible venue is Zintan, a town in the western mountains, where he is being held. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was considered his father's political heir. The ICC issued an arrest warrant and demanded to try him on war crimes. Libya has argued that its new regime should try him. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was captured last year by a militia from Zintan, where he has been held ever since. Local spokesman Khaled al-Zintani said a government delegation would inspect the town before a decision is made on whether to try him there. The ICC has expressed concern that Libya is not set up to give the younger Gaddafi a fair trial. During his four decades of rule, Muammar Gaddafi dismantled most institutions, setting himself up as the sole ruler. After Gaddafi's overthrow, capture and killing last year, interim rulers struggled to unite the country, leaving powerful militias and tribes in control of various areas. A newly elected parliament is working on appointing a cabinet after choosing a president. Among its main tasks is to build a functioning judiciary. Libya has insisted that it is capable of putting on a proper trial for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. He has expressed a preference to be extradited to the Hague for trial. Also on Monday, a small bomb hit a vehicle of an Egyptian diplomat in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. No one was hurt. Maged al-Urfi, a Benghazi internal security spokesman, said the explosive hit the car of the deputy at the Egyptian consulate in an upscale Benghazi neighborhood that houses foreign diplomats. The diplomat was at home at the time, al-Urfi said, adding that a small amount of explosives was in the device, not enough to injure passengers. "This is meant to send a message, not hurt," he said.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Decision takes the country's leaders one step closer to resolving the biggest political upheaval in decades Gu Kailai, the wife of the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, has escaped the death penalty for murdering the British businessman Neil Heywood in a decision that takes the country's leaders one step closer to resolving the biggest political upheaval in decades. A spokesman for the court in Hefei said Gu's "despicable" crime deserved the death sentence but it would be suspended for two years because the Briton had verbally threatened her son and because Gu suffered mental impairments that had weakened her self-control. Suspended death sentences are almost always commuted to life imprisonment in China. Experts say the judgment will have been decided high up in the Communist party – which controls the courts – as it tries to deal with the scandal surrounding Bo, only months ahead of a once-a-decade leadership transition. While many suspect that Bo's political enemies saw the murder trial of his wife as an opportunity to bring him down, the case has nonetheless cast an unwelcome light on the party elite. Cheng Li, of the Brookings Institution, an American thinktank, said: "This whole thing is not just about Gu Kailai or even Bo Xilai: it's about the survival of the Communist party and how it can get out of this very embarrassing and threatening situation." Coverage was carefully controlled, with Chinese news sites running reports of events from Xinhua, China's official press agency. While there was widespread discussion of the case on blogs, with several users arguing that Gu's sentence was unfairly lenient compared with those given to less well-connected criminals, BBC and CNN broadcasts were blocked. Tang Yigan, the court's spokesman and vice-president, said Gu, 53, regretted her crime and had also provided information about other people's crimes. In a state television clip, Gu appeared calm as she told the court: "The judgment is just. It reflects the court's special respect to the law, to reality and to life." A family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, 33, was jailed for nine years. Tang said it was relatively lenient because he was an accessory rather than the crime's instigator, had confessed and had expressed regret. He Zhengsheng, a lawyer representing relatives of Heywood in Hefei, said: "We respect the sentence from the court." Tang said Gu poisoned Heywood, 41, with cyanide after she and her son, Bo Guagua, had a financial dispute with him in 2011, which worsened when the Briton threatened Bo verbally. But the court found no proof that Heywood had taken action, as Gu's lawyers apparently claimed. The businessman's friends say they fear that he was smeared to justify a lighter sentence for Gu. His death last November in south-western Chongqing – where Gu's husband Bo was then party secretary – was initially blamed on excessive alcohol consumption. But two months later Chongqing's former police chief, Wang Lijun, fled to the US consulate in Chengdu after breaking with Bo, triggering the scandal. Wang is expected to go on trial soon, though it is unclear what charges he will face. That could be a step on the path towards action being taken against his former boss and patron. Little has been heard about Bo, who was once tipped to join the party's highest ranks, since the announcement in the spring that he was being investigated for disciplinary violations. Some analysts think the party will deal with him internally, pointing out that his name was not mentioned during his wife's trial and that prosecutors focused on the murder without raising issues such as corruption. Bo, a polarising figure, remains popular in Chongqing and his former stronghold of Dalian, and supporters would almost certainly react angrily to a trial – especially if he did not co-operate. It would also raise questions about how someone with such flaws could reach such a senior level. But Li suggested Gu's sentence might have paved the way for charges against her husband – first disciplinary and then probably criminal. "People are already asking, why not Bo Xilai? This is what authorities want: step by step to handle Bo," he said. "But we still don't know whether it will be before the party congress or after." In a separate session, four police officers from Chongqing were jailed for between five and 11 years for covering up the murder. The court said they "faked, hid and destroyed" evidence to protect Gu. Two British diplomats attended Gu's trial and sentencing in a consular capacity. A spokesman for the British embassy in Beijing said: "We welcome the fact that the Chinese authorities have investigated the death of Neil Heywood, and tried those they identified as responsible. "We consistently made clear to the Chinese authorities that we wanted to see the trials in this case conform to international human rights standards and for the death penalty not to be applied. "Our thoughts are with Mr Heywood's family during this distressing time … our focus remains on offering them all the support we can." Lenient sentence
Suspended death sentences have become more common in recent years, with official sources indicating that they exceeded actual death sentences in 2007. But lawyers said Gu Kailai's sentence was nonetheless an extremely lenient one for premeditated murder. "If the murderer was an ordinary person who killed someone, not to mention killing a foreigner, the criminal would be sentenced to immediate execution," said Peking University law professor He Weifang. Well known rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang added: "Although I welcome this verdict, it doesn't actually stand up from a legal standpoint." Analysts suggested before the sentencing that officials faced a political dilemma: too heavy a penalty might be seen as retaliation against the family of a popular official by rivals; too lenient might suggest that those with powerful connections could literally get away with murder. Although suspended death sentences are almost invariably commuted to life imprisonment, few of those who receive them die in prison. Joshua Rosenzweig, an independent human rights scholar in Hong Kong, said one study showed such sentences usually resulted in the criminals serving between 14 and 24 years. Gu might also be eligible for medical parole, but would have to wait two years for her sentence to be commuted and then serve a minimum of at least seven more years.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Home of Masters admits women for first time in 80-year history and adds former secretary of state and top banker as members The hallowed fairways of Augusta National, the home of golf's annual Masters tournament, are being opened up to women for the first time, ending an increasingly controversial and anachronistic ban on female membership which had survived for 80 years. Bowing to the not-so-modern concept of gender equality, the club announced on Monday it had invited two female members to join the club: former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore. "This is a joyous occasion," club chairman Billy Payne said in a statement. "We are fortunate to consider many qualified candidates for membership at Augusta National. Consideration with regard to any candidate is deliberate, held in strict confidence and always takes place over an extended period of time. The process for Condoleezza and Darla was no different. "These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership," Payne continued. "It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall." In a statement released by the club, Rice, who served in George Bush's administration, said she looked forward to "playing golf, renewing friendships and forming new ones through this very special opportunity". Moore, the vice-president of private investment firm Rainwater, said being asked to join the Augusta National represented "a very happy and important occasion in my life". The announcement marks the end of a rearguard action by Payne and the Augusta leadership against the march of sexual equality. As recently as the last Masters tournament in April, Payne had reaffirmed the all-male policy. After successfully fending off demands to admit women members, the club faced intense scrutiny this year following the appointment of Ginni Rometty as IBM's chief executive officer. IBM is a major sponsor of the Masters, and Rometty's four predecessors had been invited to become members of the club. However, no such invitation was issued to Rometty. In the ensuing controversy, Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney joined the calls for Augusta to abandon its men-only rule. Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organisations, who has led the campaign for the club to admit women since 2002, said she was delighted at the news, but added that her invitation to join had yet to arrive. "I am very pleased. The woman's movement has prevailed," she said. "It took a decade, but we did it. It is definitely a vindication." She added: "If I get an invite I will accept, absolutely." Burk had repeatedly clashed with then Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson, who defended the policy even when it meant losing television sponsorship. Corporate sponsors, unnerved by the controversy over sexism, pulled out of the 2003 and 2004 Masters tournaments. Before stepping down in 2006, Johnson conceded that Augusta National might one day have a woman in a green jacket, "but not at the point of a bayonet." It became a battle cry for stubborn male members. Although under the previous policy women were prohibited from gaining membership, they were allowed onto the course as guests. It should not be surprising that Augusta National has taken so long to fall in line with the rest of society. The club, which opened in in December 1932, only accepted its first black member in 1990.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Grief-stricken directors and actors express dismay at death of British film-maker who leaped from bridge A shaken and grief-stricken Hollywood has saluted Tony Scott as a great director as speculation swirls over why he leaped from a bridge to his death in Los Angeles bay. An autopsy was due to be carried out on Monday afternoon a day after police divers recovered the British film-maker's body from turbid water beneath the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge spanning the harbour. There was no immediate official word about the results of the autopsy. Officials and relatives were studying suicide notes reportedly left in his office and the black Toyota Prius he parked on the bridge at around 12.30pm local time before jumping – "without hesitation", according to witnesses – to his death 185ft below. He splashed close to tourists enjoying a boat cruise in balmy sunshine. "He landed right next to our tour boat, and many of us saw the whole thing," one witness told TMZ. An anonymously sourced report by ABC that said Scott had inoperable brain
cancer caused uproar on Twitter. Hours later TMZ rubbished the claim and said Scott's wife had told investigators her husband did not have cancer or any other serious medical issue. "The family asks for privacy during this time," said Simon Halls, a publicist who represents Scott and his brother Ridley, also a veteran director and producer. He was due to fly from London to Los Angeles on Monday. News of the apparent suicide stunned Hollywood on Sunday night. A grim-looking Tom Cruise, who launched to stardom with Top Gun and remained close to Scott, was photographed leaving a restaurant and texting on his phone. Cruise paid tribute on Monday to the the 68-year-old director of Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Beverly Hills II and other blockbusters: "Tony was my dear friend and I will really miss him," the actor said in a statement. "He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable. My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time."' Twitter flowed with praise for his talent and condolences to his family. "Tony Scott … You left us too soon," tweeted Rosario Dawson, who starred in Scott's most recently released film, 2010's Unstoppable. "How terribly sad. What a lovely, kind human being you were. I will love and miss you much. Blessings to your family. Rest In Peace." "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day," tweeted the director Ron Howard. "RIP Tony Scott. So sad to hear this," said documentary film-maker Morgan Spurlock. Several touched on the fact Scott's commercial success with big budget action movies had not been matched by critical acclaim, with detractors saying style trumped substance. "True Romance (written by Tarantino) did not receive the recognition
it so rightly deserved (one of the decade's best films)," tweeted film-maker Michael Moore. Jonathan Levine, another director, highlighted Scott's first feature, a 1983 vampire horror starring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve which bombed with audiences and most critics. "For those who haven't, please watch Scott's first film, "The Hunger." it is immensely ballsy and beautiful... RIP." Channel 4 films said it would run a retrospective of his work. Others recalled the director's warmth. "Tony always sent personal, handwritten notes & always drew a cartoon caricature of himself, smoking a cigar, with his hat colored in red," tweeted Joe Carnahan. Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for the thriller Domino, which Scott directed, said: "Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning. I felt safe." Despite the lack of Oscars, Scott remained busy. He was a producer on Ridley's recent blockbuster Prometheus. Scott Free Productions, which the brothers ran together, has a film starring Christian Bale due next year. It was also working on Killing Lincoln, a film based on a bestseller by Bill O'Reilly, and was mulling a sequel to Top Gun, the biggest hit of 1986. Cruise, who reportedly was going to play an instructor to new pilot hotshots, scouted locations last week at a naval air base near Fallon, Nevada. Scott was also had recent and upcoming television mini-series such as Coma, The Good Wife, Numbers, and Pillars of the Earth. If he was stung by the lack of critical acclaim, or the greater success of Ridley, he never showed it. "The biggest edge I live on is directing. That's the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life," he said in a 1995 interview, sentiments he often repeated. Rarely seen without his trademark red baseball cap, he had collaborated with Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Robert De Niro and Gene Hackman, among others. Hits included The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Fire, The Last Boy Scout and Enemy of the State. Witnesses saw Scott climb a fence on the south side of the bridge's apex on Sunday and swiftly leap into the void. The Los Angeles police department, California highway patrol, firefighters and the coast guard conducted a search, while cargo vessels slowed so as to minimise disturbance. Sonar equipment helped divers locate and recover the body around 4.30pm. Scott was married to Donna Scott, who had starred alongside Cruise in Scott's 1990 film Days of Thunder. The couple had twin boys, Frank and Max. The director, whose full name was Anthony David Scott, lived in Beverly Hills. He grew up on Teeside, northern England, where his father was harbour-master. Tony originally wanted to be a painter but followed Ridley, six years his senior, into making television commercials, then feature films.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Grief-stricken directors and actors express dismay at British film-maker's death as reports emerge he may have been ill A shaken and grief-stricken Hollywood has saluted Tony Scott as a great director as speculation swirls over why he leaped from a bridge to his death in Los Angeles bay. An autopsy was due to be carried out on Monday a day after police divers recovered the British film-maker's body from turbid water beneath the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge spanning the harbour. Officials and relatives were studying suicide notes reportedly left in his office and the black Toyota Prius he parked on the bridge at around 12.30pm local time before jumping – "without hesitation", according to witnesses – to his death 185ft below. He splashed close to tourists enjoying a boat cruise in balmy sunshine. "He landed right next to our tour boat, and many of us saw the whole thing," one witness told TMZ. ABC news quoted unnamed sources saying the 68-year-old director of Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Beverly Hills II and other blockbusters had inoperable brain cancer. The report did not elaborate. Neither officials nor family immediately responded to the claim. "The family asks for privacy during this time," said Simon Halls, a publicist who represents Scott and his brother Ridley, also a veteran director and producer. He was due to fly from London to Los Angeles on Monday. News of the apparent suicide stunned Hollywood on Sunday night. A grim-looking Tom Cruise, who launched to stardom with Top Gun and remained close to Scott, was photographed leaving a restaurant and texting on his phone. Twitter flowed with praise for his talent and condolences to his family. "Tony Scott … You left us too soon," tweeted Rosario Dawson, who starred in Scott's most recently released film, 2010's Unstoppable. "How terribly sad. What a lovely, kind human being you were. I will love and miss you much. Blessings to your family. Rest In Peace." "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day," tweeted the director Ron Howard. "RIP Tony Scott. So sad to hear this," said documentary film-maker Morgan Spurlock. Several touched on the fact Scott's commercial success with big budget action movies had not been matched by critical acclaim, with detractors saying style trumped substance. "True Romance (written by Tarantino) did not receive the recognition
it so rightly deserved (one of the decade's best films)," tweeted film-maker Michael Moore. Jonathan Levine, another director, highlighted Scott's first feature, a 1983 vampire horror starring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve which bombed with audiences and most critics. "For those who haven't, please watch Scott's first film, "The Hunger." it is immensely ballsy and beautiful... RIP." Channel 4 films said it would run a retrospective of his work. Others recalled the director's warmth. "Tony always sent personal, handwritten notes & always drew a cartoon caricature of himself, smoking a cigar, with his hat colored in red," tweeted Joe Carnahan. Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for the thriller Domino, which Scott directed, said: "Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning. I felt safe." Despite the lack of Oscars, Scott remained busy. He was a producer on Ridley's recent blockbuster Prometheus. Scott Free Productions, which the brothers ran together, has a film starring Christian Bale due next year. It was also working on Killing Lincoln, a film based on a bestseller by Bill O'Reilly, and was mulling a sequel to Top Gun, the biggest hit of 1986. Cruise, who reportedly was going to play an instructor to new pilot hotshots, scouted locations last week at a naval air base near Fallon, Nevada. Scott was also had recent and upcoming television mini-series such as Coma, The Good Wife, Numbers, and Pillars of the Earth. If he was stung by the lack of critical acclaim, or the greater success of Ridley, he never showed it. "The biggest edge I live on is directing. That's the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life," he said in a 1995 interview, sentiments he often repeated. Rarely seen without his trademark red baseball cap, he had collaborated with Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Robert De Niro and Gene Hackman, among others. Hits included The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Fire, The Last Boy Scout and Enemy of the State. Witnesses saw Scott climb a fence on the south side of the bridge's apex on Sunday and swiftly leap into the void. The Los Angeles police department, California highway patrol, firefighters and the coast guard conducted a search, while cargo vessels slowed so as to minimise disturbance. Sonar equipment helped divers locate and recover the body around 4.30pm. Scott was married to Donna Scott, who had starred alongside Cruise in Scott's 1990 film Days of Thunder. The couple had twin boys, Frank and Max. The director, whose full name was Anthony David Scott, lived in Beverly Hills. He grew up on Teeside, northern England, where his father was harbour-master. Tony originally wanted to be a painter but followed Ridley, six years his senior, into making television commercials, then feature films.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hopes for fresh start after civil war as MPs sworn in tainted by fears that president will not give up power A dusty seaside car park with black folding chairs was the makeshift setting on Monday for the first parliament to sit in Somalia for more than two decades. About 250 MPs wearing new ID tags and, in some cases, the scent of cologne were sworn in by the chief justice on worn copies of the Qur'an in front of Somalia's national flag of a white star on sky blue background. It was a day that many hope will mark a new chapter after the civil war and bloodshed that followed the collapse of central government in 1991. But sceptics warn that the process is already tainted and prone to unravel. The inauguration was held at the main airport, one of the most heavily secured areas of the capital, Mogadishu, watched over by African Union peacekeepers in armoured Casspir personnel carriers. Just over a year after the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab was driven out of the city, suicide bombings and assassinations remain a constant threat. Although ordinary citizens could not vote, there was campaigning in Mogadishu, with election posters hanging on buildings and from cars, a scene scarcely imaginable when it was a war zone. By the end of the day, Somalia had achieved a parliament, still some way short of the final target of 275 members. There should also have been a new president and speaker but, in a transition process that has taken a year longer than the original 2011 deadline, the international community has had to lower expectations. For now, the oldest member of parliament, the former army general Muse Hassan, has been inaugurated as the interim speaker to oversee the political wrangling in weeks to come. The switch from the UN-backed leadership structure known as the transitional federal government (TFG), which ruled for eight years, to this new phase has been characterised more by selection than election. All the MPs vowing loyalty to the country's provisional constitution have had their names put forward by 135 traditional elders and been vetted by a technical selection committee in an attempt to ensure they are educated and gender balanced. The constitution demands that 30% of MPs are female; so far it is closer to 20%. The vetting process is also intended to exclude warlords, who have long been agents of chaos in the Horn of Africa country. The 27 Somalis and nine international observers on the committee said they had fended off telephone death threats and turned away brown envelopes of encouragement. The optimism of the moment is therefore qualified. "It's a defining time in Somalia," said Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, chairman of the Peace and Development party. "The playing field is not level and I'm not saying Somalia will get what it deserves, but it will be better than the status quo." On Sunday, two press conferences reflected the rhetoric of the process to date. An array of diplomats and UN officials painted an upbeat picture, claiming their efforts to steer Somalia's troubled transition back on course have succeeded, and brushing aside fears that there have been many false dawns before. "It's going to be a qualitatively different parliament than anything you've seen before," said Augustine Mahiga, the UN special representative to Somalia. "It's certainly the beginning of legitimate, representative and accountable institutions." But the Somali president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has accused the selection committee members of overstepping their bounds by not including those he felt should be MPs. As a morning drizzle fell on inauguration day, rumours of protests and security worries circulated by text message. UN officials confirmed a quiet meeting was held between Mahiga and the president in an attempt to smooth things over, but the uneasy truce has left a sense of trepidation on the streets of Mogadishu. Abdi Fatah, a former parliamentary official who is now an aid worker, said: "We're fearing that if he doesn't win, the president won't give up his palace. And his people – his clan – may do demonstrations in the streets." Some external observers have condemned the regionally brokered and UN-backed roadmap as deeply flawed. The International Crisis Group said: "The current political process has been as undemocratic as the one it seeks to replace, with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation. The end of the transition roadmap process – a that is supposed to usher in an inclusive political dispensation– may fail to bring stability. "Convening an incomplete parliament and electing a contested, tainted leadership in Somalia's polarised political environment could easily unravel the painstaking humanitarian, political and security progress made in the past three years. The extremist Islamist movement al-Shabaab is down but not out, and it is evolving, and plots to take advantage of the resulting chaos to regain power." Those benefiting from the capital's economic rebirth say the flow of investment, reconstruction and good intentions is fragile, and political instability could destroy all they have achieved. While the composition of decision-makers in the fledgling assembly is a mix of old timers and new faces, some analysts warn it could simply perpetuate an ongoing power struggle between the TFG speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, and the president.¬ It has turned into a numbers game. The magic number is 4.5, a formula that acknowledges the primacy of Somali clan loyalties, ensuring that the spoils of power can theoretically be divided between the four main groups – the Hawiye, Darod, Dir, and Rahaweyn – and the "others", an amalgamation of smaller clans. In coming days and weeks, the full 275-member parliament, a number divisible by 4.5, will vote for a speaker in a secret ballot, to be followed by a similar process for the presidency. But one new MP, Sahra Korrshell, 58, smiled with quiet pride as she explained that she had responded to the call of her clan, the Darod. She gazed over the sea of faces and reflected: "It's a hard task ahead, but change is good. When new people come, they do things differently, and that's what Somalia needs now."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tech firm valued at more than $619bn after shares hit high of $664.75 in morning trading, topping Microsoft's 1999 record Apple has become the most valuable company of all time – surpassing a record set by Mircrosoft in 1999. Shares in the tech giant hit a high of $664.75 in Monday morning trading, valuing the company at over $619bn. The price topped the $618.9bn Microsoft achieved in December 1999. In January, Apple surpassed oil firm Exxon Mobil for the first time to become the most valuable company on the planet. It now dwarfs Exxon's $405.6bn market value by more than $213bn. The company's shares dropped dramatically last month as sales figures disappointed analysts, even as profits rose 21% year-on-year to $8.8bn (£5.6bn). But shares have risen again on rumours that Apple is planning to launch a smaller version of its top-selling iPad and is close to making a new push in the TV market, which has long been a target for chief executive Tim Cook. The company's share price was $378.55 on October 5 2011, the day that Steve Jobs, co-founder and the driving force behind the firm's most famous products, died. Since his death, Apple has gone on to report record sales, and its share price has soared. Apple's landmark high comes as Facebook's shares hit new lows on Monday, sinking to less than half their initial public offering price and halving the fortune of founder Mark Zuckerberg. By mid-morning, Facebook's shares hit a new low of $18.75, less than half the $38 they were sold for in May amid the most heavily hyped stock sale in recent history. The slump has knocked close to $10bn off the value of Zuckerberg's stake in the firm, which is now worth about $9.5bn. Facebook's latest share slide comes after the expiration of a lock-up period that allows some of its earliest investors to sell more of their shares. The expiration increased the pool of available shares by 60% and confirmed analysts' fears that it might lead to more falls in Facebook's already battered share price. Some of Silicon Valley's most prominent investors are among those now able to reduce their holdings. Details of which large shareholders have decided to cash in are not yet available. Facebook's share price faces a series of other potential challenges in the next few months as more lock-up periods expire and staff are allowed to sell shares. Facebook's fall comes as its peers, too, have faced investor scepticism. Shares in Groupon, the daily deals site, are also close to new lows and early investors including Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's most respected investors, have been cutting their holdings. Shares in Zynga, the online games firm, have fallen over 68% since last year's initial public offering. The firm, whose hits include Words With Friends and Draw Something, was responsible for 12% of Facebook's revenue last year. On the day of its IPO in May Facebook was briefly valued at more than $100bn, more than the combined worth of Nike and Goldman Sachs. The social network is now valued at $40.61bn. The company is on course to claim a billion people as users this year. But while its size and reach are undisputed analysts fear that the firm has been unable to find a way to make money from its mobile users, the fastest growing sector of its business.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Film director Tony Scott, who has jumped to his death, had a life like his movies – loud, over-the-top and full of drama It seems oddly appropriate that Tony Scott, who made his living blowing things up and crashing cars, should have taken his life by jumping off a bridge that was a frequent location for movies of a Tony Scott bent, if not for any actual Tony Scott movies. The Vincent Thomas bridge in Los Angeles can be seen in car-chase movies such as The Fast and The Furious and Gone in 60 Seconds, and is misnamed (as the "Saint Vincent Thomas Bridge") by Robert De Niro in one scene in Michael Mann's Heat. Whatever it was that led the director to park his car and leap from the bridge to his death in the harbour below, one can't help but recollect the stunning opening sequence of his 1991 film The Last Boy Scout, in which a blackmailed pro footballer pulls a gun on the field and shoots anyone attempting to tackle him as he runs for a touchdown, before putting the gun to his head, saying: "Ain't life a bitch?" and pulling the trigger. Scott's incredible journey from South Shields to Beverly Hills Cop II is a shadow-version of the career of his elder brother, Sir Ridley Scott, seven years his senior. And whatever the critics (myself included) may have said, his success at the box office and among his many and varied fans – first in advertising, then as one of the top directors in Hollywood – goes some way towards refuting that football player's grim assessment of our sojourn here on earth. That being said, rumours are floating around that Scott had recently been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, which suggests a reason for this dispiriting act of self-annihilation. Like his brother, Tony Scott made his name in the golden age-cum-gold rush of 1970s British advertising, when future directors included Adrian Lyne, Hugh Hudson, Alan Parker and Ridley were reinvigorating the form by adding sumptuous production design and camerawork to ads for bland and boring products such as Hovis bread (that one was Ridley's). Although, like his brother with The Duellists, he had an arthouse bent that can only be detected in his 1983 debut feature The Hunger and perhaps in a Henry James adaptation he shot for French television in 1975 (after winning – or losing? – a coin-toss with his brother), the failure of The Hunger at the box office left him free to embrace – reluctantly, at first – the kind of projects that he later came to be associated with. He was fortunate enough to fall in with the archetypal production team of the coke-dusted, money-swamped, excess-craving 1980s, Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson – gluttons for style over substance and masters of the hi-concept pitch meeting – after they saw a Saab car commercial Tony had shot. Top Gun, the movie they gave him, went on to become one of the biggest hits of the decade, inaugurating the box-office primacy of the young Tom Cruise. It seemed like a brain-dead flagwaver at the time, but Quentin Tarantino gave a famous exegesis (allegedly nicked from his Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary) of the movie's throbbing homoerotic overtones in his cameo in the 1994 independent movie Sleep With Me, an early sign that whatever the critics felt, Tony Scott enjoyed the respect of his fellow directors. Indeed, one of the notable aspects of Scott's work is his enthusiasm for good writers. Tarantino himself wrote True Romance, the movie that Tony held closest to his heart, while The Last Boy Scout – chock-full of juicily cynical one-liners – was about the best script Shane Black ever wrote (at the time, he was the highest-paid screenwriter in town). Days of Thunder may not linger long in the memory, but that doesn't alter the fact that it was written by Chinatown's Robert Towne. Scott essentially invented the modern action movie and his amped-up, noisy, rapidly edited film-making method became the house style of the Simpson-Bruckheimer ascendency. Scott stuck with it even after Simpson's OD death in 1996 broke up the partnership. Thereafter, Scott churned out a movie each year, usually loaded with top-tier stars – he made four movies with Denzel Washington alone – and another super-kinetic one-line pitch of a story ("We can't stop this train!" – Unstoppable; "they've hijacked a subway train!" – The Taking of Pelham 123, and so on). For me, the oddities of Scott's career offer the most fun. I am hard-pressed to think of another movie about Hollywood that is as daffy and off-the-wall as Domino, and even after seven or eight viewings, I haven't reached the bottom of it, if there is one. I have a sneaking suspicion that in dens and rec rooms across the US, other people are thinking the same thing. True Romance gave the lie to anyone who thought Scott didn't appreciate invigoratingly colourful dialogue, and those arthouse tendencies given full rein in The Hunger do in fact linger like ghosts in the fabric of his mainstream hits. He lived his life like he made his pictures, with all the knobs turned up to 11 and all the needles flicking deep into the red zone: loud, unbelievably over-the-top film-making, enormous wealth and success, an incredible arc to his life from South Shields to the top of the Hollywood heap, and fond remembrances from his peers. The man was beloved. The man will be missed.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HSBC warns that central banks are unlikely to raise interest rates to counter higher living costs due to softening labour market America's worst drought in half a century will push up inflation and put a fresh obstacle in the path of the struggling global economy, one of the UK's leading banks has warned. Senior global economist at HSBC, Karen Ward, said sharp rises in the cost of wheat, corn and soya beans came when growth was slowing but said the weakness of wage pressure meant there was no need for central banks to raise interest rates in response to a higher cost of living. Blistering heat in the US has destroyed 45% of the corn and 35% of the soya bean crop in the worst harvest since 1988. Russia and Ukraine have also had poor crop yields. Ward said higher food prices would result. "This is another dampener for the global economy at a time when the headwinds are already acute," Ward said. She added that workers were unlikely to press for higher wages to compensate for dearer food at a time when labour markets were softening and this would allow policy makers to ignore the increase in inflation as an external shock. "Even if prices stabilise at these levels, we are likely to see headline inflation rates rise across the world in the coming months, particularly in the emerging economies where food accounts for a larger proportion of household spending. Latin America is more susceptible than Asia, where rice is the more common staple. So far rice prices remain subdued. According to the HSBC report, relatively high stocks of grain could be run down to meet demand until new harvests were reaped in unaffected parts of the world. "But much depends on government behaviour. With memories of Haiti's 2008 food riots and the Arab spring (where high food prices played a part) still fresh, panic buying by governments and/or export bans would only exacerbate the problem and may cause social unrest."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HSBC warns that central banks are unlikely to raise interest to counter higher living costs due to softening labour market America's severest drought in half a century will push up inflation and put a fresh obstacle in the path of the struggling global economy, one of the UK's leading banks has warned. Karen Ward, senior global economist at HSBC, said sharp increases in the cost of wheat, corn and soya beans came at a time when growth was slowing but said the weakness of wage pressure meant there was no need for central banks to raise interest in response to a higher cost of living." Blistering heat in the US has destroyed 45% of the corn and 35% of the soya bean crop in the worst harvest since 1988. With poor crop yields in Russia and Ukraine, Ward said higher food prices would result. "This is another dampener for the global economy at a time when the headwinds are already acute", Ward said. She added that workers were unlikely to press for higher wages to compensate for dearer food at a time when labour markets were softening and this would allow policy makers to ignore the increase in inflation as an external shock. "Even if prices stabilise at these levels, we are likely to see headline inflation rates rise across the world in the coming months, particularly in the emerging economies where food accounts for a larger proportion of household spending. Latin America is more susceptible than Asia, where rice is the more common staple. So far rice prices remain subdued. According to the HSBC report, relatively high stocks of grain could be run down to meet demand until new harvests were reaped in unaffected parts of the world. "But much depends on government behaviour. With memories of Haiti's 2008 food riots and the Arab spring (where high food prices played a part) still fresh, panic buying by governments and/or export bans would only exacerbate the problem and may cause social unrest."
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Company gives workers extra day to return after three-quarters refuse to return to mine where 44 were killed by police last week Lonmin has given its striking miners one more day to return to work before it says it will follow through with its threat to sack them. The London-listed company, which is still reeling from the deaths of 34 of its workers in the worst police violence since the end of apartheid, said 30% of its 28,000 strong workforce reported for duty on Monday. Lonmin said it would give the striking workers until Tuesday to report for duty before dismissing them. "Those illegal strikers who did not return to work this morning will not be dismissed and have been allowed an extra day in light of the tragic events of last week," the company said in a statement. Local media reports suggested most of the striking miners will continue to refuse to attend work. Miner Kaizer Madiba told the South African Times newspaper: "People have died already so we have nothing more to lose … We are going to continue fighting for what we believe is a legitimate fight for living wages. We would rather die like our comrades than back down." A rock-driller told the Mail & Guardian: "It's better to die than to work for that shit … I am not going to stop striking. We are going to protest until we get what we want. They have said nothing to us. Police can try and kill us but we won't move." Another miner, who asked to be only identified by his first name, Thulani, said: "You work so very hard for very little pay. It is almost like death." The 3,000 striking rock drillers are demanding their wages be trebled from 4,000 rand (£306) a month to 12,500 rand a month. In comparison, Lonmin's chief executive Ian Farmer, who is currently seriously ill in hospital, collected pay and bonuses of £1.2m last year. The deadline imposed by Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum miner, had been condemned by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). "It is too harsh of management to talk in this way," said its treasurer, Jimmy Gama, describing the ultimatum as "very unfair". Mark Munroe, Lonmin's executive vice-president for mining, said: "What has happened here has been a tragedy, and the pain and anger it has led to will take time to heal. "But those representing the vast majority of our workforce have been clear again in our discussions today that we need to try to return to some kind of normality as we go through that healing process." Thirty-four striking miners were gunned down at the mine on Thursday when they stormed a police line. Ten other people, included two police officers, died in violence earlier last week. The incident has stunned South Africans and provoked comparisons with the brutality of apartheid-era security crackdowns. President Jacob Zuma has announced a week of mourning after the tragedy, with flags flying at half mast all over South Africa, and set up a ministerial task team and judicial commission of inquiry. Two hundred and fifty-nine strikers arrested in connection with the protests were set to appear in Rustenburg magistrates court on Monday facing charges including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, public violence and malicious damage to property. Lonmin's shares, which have fallen by more than a third so far this year, dropped by 4.5% to 610p on Monday. The company had been struggling before the strikes due to a collapse in the platinum price. Ironically, the violence has lead to 5.3% spike in the price to $1,470 an ounce in the past week – the biggest weekly gain since January. Analysts at UBS warned that the unrest is "unlikely to be resolved swiftly, and will probably continue for the next six to eight weeks". They added that there is an "increasing likelihood of contagion, with market focus now shifting to Amplats [Anglo American Platinum, the world's top platinum producer]." Deutsche Bank, which downgraded Lonmin from "hold" to "sell", said the crisis would cost Lonmin $74m in lost production. They said there was a "strong likelihood" that Lonmin will be forced to launch an emergency rights issue. At the weekend, sources close to the company strongly played down the suggestion that Lonmin was considering tapping shareholders for an extra $1bn.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Remarks that women can't get pregnant from 'legitimate rape' draw condemnation from senior members of Akin's own party The Republican candidate at the centre of a firestorm over his claim that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy is facing growing pressure to stand down as the row threatens to undermine both the party's White House and Senate campaigns. Todd Akin, a Tea Party-backed congressman from Missouri who is running for the US Senate, was rounded on by senior members of his own party, as well as his Democratic opponent and women's groups. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president, used an interview with the National Review Online to denounce Akin in unusually forthright language that throws into doubt Akin's survival as a candidate. "Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong," Romney said. "Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive." He added: "I have an entirely different view. What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it." But he stopped short of calling for Akin to step down. Republican senator Scott Brown became the first member of the party to break ranks and call publicly for Akin to resign. "Rep Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri," Brown said in a statement. Brown's response is not surprising, given he is well to the left of the party, fighting to retain his seat in a tight race in liberal Massachusetts. Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson also called for Akin to pull out. On Twitter he said: "Todd Akin's statements are reprehensible and inexcusable. He should step aside for the good of the nation." His intervention is potentially significant as vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan is from Wisconsin and the latest poll suggests Romney has taken a narrow lead over Obama in the state. But even figures such as Karl Rove, George W Bush's strategist, told Fox News that Akin's "got some real explaining to do". Barack Obama's campaign team portrayed the comments by Akin as further evidence of what it has dubbed the Republican 'war on women'. The row began when Akin, in an interview with the St Louis channel KTVI-TV broadcast on Sunday, was asked about his opposition to abortion, even in the case of rape. "It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin replied. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child." Akin won the Republican primary only this month with the backing of Tea Party groups. The Missouri race, against Democratic Senator Clare McCaskill, was seen as one of the most winnable for the Republicans in its bid to take control of the Senate. Akin is only narrowly ahead in the polls and pollsters predicted his remark is almost certain to lose him a lot of votes, especially among women. But the row could also have implications for the White House campaign as it has focused attention on an area of sensitivity for Romney: the views on abortion of his vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan. In a statement released after Akin's remarks, Romney's campaign team said: "Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape." But the statement leaves questions about Ryan unanswered. Until the statement was released Ryan had been opposed to abortion even in the case of rape. Ryan was the co-sponsor of a House bill last year called 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act' that included what it referred to as "forcible rape", though the phrase was later dropped after a backlash from women's groups. The Obama campaign, which has successfully dictated the agenda of the White House race over the last few weeks, is running a campaign ad in swing states focusing on Romney and Ryan's views on abortion. The ad said Romney had made his VP choice but "what choice will women be left with?" The ad says that both Romney and Ryan support proposals to outlaw abortion even in the case of rape and incest. Romney has an ambiguous record on abortion, promising while campaigning for governor of Massachusetts not to change existing law but adopting a tougher position when campaigning to become the Republican presidential nominee. Ryan, by contrast, has been consistently opposed to abortion in almost all circumstances. The row is a distraction the Romney-Ryan team did not need as the two were campaigning Monday in New Hampshire. On the stump together, they sought to discuss Medicare, an issue on which they are vulnerable, anxious to have the debate now rather than later in the campaign, and the slowness of the economic recovery. Akin, later on Sunday, partially backtracked from his earlier remarks, saying he had been speaking off the record and had "misspoke".
He added: "I recognise that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life, and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action." His opponent, Claire McCaskill, a close ally of Obama, said that Akin had not addressed several issues, including his comment that women's bodies closed down during rape. She called on Akin to apologise for that and other contentious statements, but rather than join the calls for him to quit she warned the Republican leadership that any attempt to oust him as the candidate would backfire. "I think for Washington party insiders to come in and try to invalidate the votes of Missourians would be radical," McCaskill said in a phone interview with The Huffington Post. McCaskill, seeking re-election, was widely regarded as vulnerable but her opponent's remarks play into her strategy of painting him as an extremist, provided he remains the candidate. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, sought to broaden the issue beyond Missouri politics, accusing Republicans of wanting to "take women back to the Dark Ages". She added: "The real issue is a Republican party – led by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – whose policies on women and their health are dangerously wrong."
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