|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rafael Correa says allegations should still be investigated but Ecuador will stand firm on asylum for WikiLeaks founder Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, has said Julian Assange should respond to the sexual assault allegations made against him by two Swedish women, even though the case would not in his view constitute criminal behaviour in Latin America. His remarks are likely to add to the controversy surrounding the WikiLeaks founder but they also hint at a possible avenue for a compromise in the diplomatic row caused by Ecuador's recent decision to grant asylum to Assange at its London embassy. In the latest in a series of strident comments, Correa accused the British government of hypocrisy and said he was prepared for the stand-off to last indefinitely even if it risked a loss of UK business and public support. "If the UK distances itself from Ecuador as a result of this decision to grant asylum that would make us very sorry because we appreciate the United Kingdom – especially its people – but that will not make us go back on our position. "Despite the attitude of the United Kingdom, we as a country are obliged to act responsibly," he told a gathering of international press in Guiyaquil. "As we have previously said, now that he has asylum, Mr Assange is entitled to remain in the embassy for as long as he wants." He spelled out three possibilities for the stand-off to be broken: for the UK to promise safe conduct to the airport without the threat of arrest; for Assange to leave asylum of his own accord; or for the government in Ecuador to change its mind, which he said would not happen. The British government has insisted on an investigation into the rape and sexual assault accusations. It wants to comply with a court request that Assange should be sent to Sweden for questioning. Assange's supporters have tried to discredit the allegations, saying they are part of a plot to extradite him to the US. Senior politicians in Ecuador have implied much the same. Correas added his voice but said the case needed to be answered. "I don't want to judge allegations that have not been proven and would not, in any case, be considered a felony in Latin American too," he said. "It has never been the intention of the Ecuadorean government or Julian Assange not to respond to those allegations." Ecuador has proposed interrogations by Swedish investigators on embassy property and has said it would support Assange going to Sweden if it could get reassurances from the UK government that he would not then be extradited to the US. Critics say this is grandstanding for domestic political reasons. Correa – already Ecuador's longest serving president for a century – will contest an election early next year. Although his support rates are high, one of his least popular moves has been to assert greater control over the media through lawsuits, referenda and closures of radio stations. Providing a haven for Assage – a champion of whistleblowers – may be designed to offset these negative perceptions. During the Q&A on Tuesday Correa spent a chunk of the time addressing this issue and defending an offensive against TV, radio and print. "Don't let yourself be fooled by what's going. There is this image of the media as being about Woodward and Bernstein and Watergate and the struggle for freedom of expression. But that isn't the case here." The reality, he said, was more like the the novel Pantaleón y las Visitadora by Mario Vargas Llosa. "Instead of grabbing the news they are blackmailing people. The press in Latin America is totally corrupt."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Curiosity given instructions to make a cautious trip three metres from its landing spot and back again on Wednesday The Mars rover Curiosity will take its first test drive on Wednesday, moving about three metres (10ft) on its own before steering back to its landing site, Nasa has said. If all goes to plan Curiosity will end up parked at 90 degrees to its original touchdown position. "We want to park in a place we've exactly examined. We just want to be extra safe," said Michael Watkins, the mission manager. Curiosity's only problem so far is the loss of one of its two wind sensors. Engineers suspect pebbles kicked up by the rover's landing rockets during touchdown may have hit its deck and severed delicate wires on one of the sensor's circuit boards. "These are pretty fragile devices," deputy project scientists Ashwin Vasavada said, adding the damage was believed to be permanent. So far the wind sensor is the only instrument on Curiosity that is not working properly. On Monday the rover flexed its robot arm for the first time since landing on Mars and pivoted one of its back wheels, a preparation for Wednesday's test drive.
The arm holds a 33kg toolkit needed to collect and analyse rock and soil samples. "The arm has already performed all these motions on Earth, but in a different gravity condition and that gravity does matter," said rover engineer Louise Jandura. The one-tonne, six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover landed inside Gale crater on 6 August. Ultimately scientists plan to drive it to Mount Sharp, a three mile high mound rising from the centre of the crater's floor that is the primary target of the $2.5bn, two-year mission. Scientists believe Mount Sharp is the remnant of sediment that once completely filled the 96 mile wide basin. The rover is equipped with 10 science instruments to search for organic materials and other minerals needed to support and possibly preserve signs of microbial life.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Romney says Missouri congressman should step aside, but Akin ignores deadline to abandon Senate bid Todd Akin, the Republican congressman at the centre of a row over remarks he made about rape, ignored a direct appeal from Mitt Romney to abandon his campaign for a Missouri Senate before a key election deadline. A defiant Akin described the pressure on him to quit the Missouri Senate race, for which he was selected only a week ago, as "an overreaction", and the deadline passed. Romney, who had previously denounced Akin's comments about rape but had not urged the congressman to drop out, said on Tuesday afternoon: "Today, [Akin's] fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race." A group of Missouri legislators had advised Akin to drop his campaign against Democratic senator Claire McCaskill before the 6pm ET Tuesday deadline. His decision to stay on will be viewed with dismay by senior members of the Republican party. Speaking live on the Mike Huckabee radio show on Tuesday, Akin said that he had received a large amount of support from small, grassroots supporters, including donations, and this helped counter-balance withdrawal of support from Republican leaders. "I just misspoke one word in one sentence on one day," Akin said. Akin had claimed women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape". An unusual coalition of senior and grassroots Republicans has been making a concerted effort to get him to quit, including Tea Party groups, some of which helped Akin secure victory in the primary last week. Under state election law, Akin would have faced no financial penalties if he had pulled out by 6pm ET on Tuesday, and the party would be free to pick an alternative. The next date for withdrawal would be 25 September, but that would require a court order to allow him leave the race. Leaving it until September could also mean he would face significant financial penalties, such as reimbursing the cost of reprinting ballot papers or other election material. But the Republicans' difficulties on abortion are unlikely to go away. On Tuesday, as the leadership turned up the heat on Akin, the party approved language in its platform calling for a constitutional amendment banning abortion with no explicit exemptions in cases of rape and incest. Meanwhile, another Republican congressman, Steve King of Iowa, inflamed the row, defending Akin and suggesting that he'd never heard of a woman getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest. Talking Points Memo on Monday reported that King told Iowa radio station KMEG-TV reported him saying: "Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter." The controversy has also focused attention on the anti-abortion views of Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan. The Missouri seat held by McCaskill is regarded by Republicans as the top target in the campaign to take control of the Senate. McCaskill, who has used the row to portray Akin as an extremist, is urging him to stay in the race. The Republican Senate campaign committee and conservative Super Pacs have withdrawn about $10m in financial support for Akin. The last remaining hope for Akin is to attract donations from individual donors. If Akin eventually quits, he could be replaced either by Jim Brunner, a businessman who came second in the primary with 30% – 6% behind Akin – or Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer, who took 29%. Brunner has already been sounding out party members about replacing Akin. Public Policy Polling, in a survey conducted on Monday night, showed the row has not had any significant impact on voting intentions yet. Akin is leading McCaskill 44% to 43%, almost unchanged from May when he was ahead 45% to 44%. It may be that the poll was conducted too soon to fully register any unease with Akin. As well as possible repercussions for the Senate race, Democrats also see Akin as useful in highlighting differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the Romney-Ryan ticket on abortion. In the light of the row, there will be pressure to change the draft to include exceptions for rape and incest.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Facing mounting criticism, factories have made significant changes, but bigger steps are ahead for electronics supplier Foxconn, Apple's top manufacturer, has improved safety conditions and cut working hours in an effort to resolve violations at its plants that triggered a global scandal for the iPad and iPhone maker. The Taiwanese company submitted to an audit by an independent group, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), after reports of suicides and abusive conditions at several of its factories in China. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, asked the FLA to investigate after a series of reports into working conditions at Apple's key supplier. In February and march the FLA found at least 50 violations of local regulations at Foxconn plants in Chengdu, Guanlan and Longhua. The FLA said Foxconn had made significant improvements such as introducing more breaks and better maintenance of safety equipment. The company more than doubled wages after protests from worker groups and is backing a local law adjustment that will extend unemployment insurance. Foxconn had completed all the 195 actions that were due at the time of the FLA's report and another 89 action items were completed ahead of their deadline, according to the FLA. Another 76 actions are due over the course of the next year. But the FLA said Foxconn faces more challenges in the coming months. Foxconn has reduced hours to under 60 per week including overtime and is aiming to reach full compliance with the Chinese legal limit of 40 hours per week plus an average of nine hours of overtime per week. "The next phase of improvements will be challenging for Foxconn because they involve major changes in the working environment that will inevitably cause uncertainty and anxiety among workers. As Foxconn prepares to comply with the Chinese legal limits on work hours, consultation with workers on the changes and implications will be critical to a successful transition," said FLA president Auret van Heerden. Foxconn is the world's biggest electronics contract manufacturer. As well as being Apple's largest supplier Foxconn, which employs about a million people, makes products for Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and others. Criticism of the company has been mounting for years. In 2009 a 25-year-old worker committed suicide, reportedly after losing an iPhone prototype. After a spate of suicides Foxconn installed nets around the edges of some buildings to prevent people jumping off roofs. In January following a New York Times article that documented problems inside its supplier factories Cook emailed staff worldwide to say: "we care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don't care is patently false and offensive to us."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Romney says Missouri congressman should step aside after Akin said he would ignore deadline to abandon Senate bid Mitt Romney called for Todd Akin to abandon his campaign for a Missouri Senate seat as pressure on the embattled Republican congressman continued to build ahead of a key election deadline. Romney, who had previously denounced Akin's comments about rape but had not urged the congressman to drop out, said on Tuesday afternoon: "Today, [Akin's] fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race," Romney said. A group of Missouri legislators had advised Akin to drop his campaign against Democratic senator Claire McCaskill before the 6pm ET Tuesday deadline. Akin had earlier insisted that he would not quit the Missouri Senate race, and described the pressure on him to quit as "an overreaction". He said he would be ignoring the deadline. However, Romney's comments increase the pressure on Akin to stand down. His decision to continue will be viewed with dismay by senior members of the Republican party. Speaking live on the Mike Huckabee radio show on Tuesday, Akin said that he was receiving a large amount of support from small, grassroots supporters, including donations, and this helped counter-balance withdrawal of support from Republican leaders. "I just misspoke one word in one sentence on one day," Akin said. Akin had claimed women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape". An unusual coalition of senior and grassroots Republicans has been making a concerted effort to get him to quit, including Tea Party groups, some of which helped Akin secure victory in the primary last week. Under state election law, Akin would face no financial penalties if he pulls out by 6pm ET on Tuesday, and the party would be free to pick an alternative. If he goes beyond that time, the next date for withdrawal would be 25 September, but that would require a court order to allow him leave the race. Leaving it until September could also mean he would face significant financial penalties, such as reimbursing the cost of reprinting ballot papers or other election material. But the Republicans' difficulties on abortion are unlikely to go away even if Akin does quit. On Tuesday, as the leadership turned up the heat on Akin, the party approved language in its platform calling for a constitutional amendment banning abortion with no explicit exemptions in cases of rape and incest. Meanwhile, another Republican congressman, Steve King of Iowa, inflamed the row, defending Akin and suggesting that he'd never heard of a woman getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest. Talking Points Memo on Monday reported that King told Iowa radio station KMEG-TV reported him saying: "Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter." The controversy has also focused attention on the anti-abortion views of Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan. The Missouri seat held by McCaskill is regarded by Republicans as the top target in the campaign to take control of the Senate. McCaskill, who has used the row to portray Akin as an extremist, is urging him to stay in the race. The Republican Senate campaign committee and conservative Super Pacs have withdrawn about $10m in financial support for Akin. The last remaining hope for Akin is to attract donations from individual donors. If Akin quits, he could be replaced either by Jim Brunner, a businessman who came second in the primary with 30% – 6% behind Akin – or Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer, who took 29%. Brunner has already been sounding out party members about replacing Akin. Public Policy Polling, in a survey conducted on Monday night, showed the row has not had any significant impact on voting intentions yet. Akin is leading McCaskill 44% to 43%, almost unchanged from May when he was ahead 45% to 44%. It may be that the poll was conducted too soon to fully register any unease with Akin. As well as possible repercussions for the Senate race, Democrats also see Akin as useful in highlighting differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the Romney-Ryan ticket on abortion. In the light of the row, there will be pressure to change the draft to include exceptions for rape and incest.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mourners throng outside airport and world leaders pay tribute, but human rights groups condemn 21-year authoritarian reign One of Africa's most powerful and divisive leaders, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, has died of an undisclosed illness, raising fears of a regional power vacuum. David Cameron was among the world leaders who paid tribute to Meles, a towering political figure who shaped modern Ethiopia in his own image. The country is now one of Africa's fastest-growing economies and among the United States' closest allies on the continent. But human rights groups condemned Meles as an authoritarian strongman whose 21-year rule was marred by rigged elections and the persecution, imprisonment and torture of critics. Meles, 57, died in a hospital in Brussels on Monday after contracting an infection, authorities said. The prime minister had not been seen in public for about two months, and speculation about his health increased after he failed to attend a meeting of African Union heads of state in the capital, Addis Ababa, last month. His demise raises the prospect of political turmoil in Africa's second most populous country. Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, said: "One fears for the stability of Ethiopia upon his death, because you know that the Ethiopian state is fairly fragile and there is a lot of ethnic violence … I don't know that [Ethiopian politicians] are sufficiently prepared for a succession: this is my fear – that there may be a falling out within the ruling movement." Hailemariam Desalegn, 47, appointed deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister in 2010, will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, said Bereket Simon, the communications minister. On Tuesday, state TV showed pictures of Meles against a soundtrack of classical music. Thousands of mourners thronged outside the airport in Addis Ababa as they awaited Meles's coffin, some holding portraits of the late prime minister and placards that said "We will continue what you have begun." Groups of women dropped to the ground ululating and sobbing. One mourner, Rosa Betemariam, who had been living and working as a dental nurse in the US, said: "I am devastated. I am visiting Ethiopia after not having been home for 20 years. I am overcome by joy and sadness. I am so sad at his passing but also amazed at what Meles has done for this country. I cannot recognise this city. His vision as a leader has transformed Ethiopia." Sitting in a khat bar, where people chew the narcotic leaf, Abraham Getachew, an engineering student, said: "As a human being, I am upset at the news of his death. But I am not sad that we have lost him as a leader. We do not feel that we have benefited from his leadership. Seventy per cent of students cannot find employment. We want to play a part in the development of Ethiopia but we have not been afforded this opportunity." There were numerous tributes from within Africa and beyond. The African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, said: "The death of Prime Minister Meles has robbed Africa of one of its greatest sons." Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said: "Meles Zenawi was an economic transformer, he was a strong intellectual leader for the continent." Cameron described Meles as "an inspirational spokesman for Africa" on global issues. "His personal contribution to Ethiopia's development, in particular by lifting millions of Ethiopians out of poverty, has set an example for the region," the British prime minister said. The US viewed Meles as a strong security partner in the war on militant Islamism 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. At the end of 2006, Somalia's UN-backed government asked Ethiopia to send troops into Somalia to try to put down an Islamist insurgency. Ethiopian troops moved in and captured Mogadishu, but the Somali population rebelled against what it saw as an occupation and Ethiopian forces withdrew in 2009. Ethiopia again sent troops to Somalia in early 2012 as part of an increased international effort to pressure the al-Qaida affiliated group al-Shabaab. On Tuesday Yesterday al-Shabaab welcomed Meles's death. "We are very glad about Meles's death. Ethiopia is sure to collapse," spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told Reuters. Human rights groups have long denounced Meles's government for its use of arbitrary detention, torture and surveillance of opposition members. Under a 2009 anti-terror law more than 100 opposition figures have been arrested; the government insists it is tackling rebel groups that have links with al-Qaida and Eritrea. More than 10 journalists have also been charged under the law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Claire Beston, Amnesty International's Horn of Africa researcher, said: "The 21 years of Meles Zenawi's rule were characterised by ever-increasing repression and widespread human rights violations. "His government stamped out dissenting voices, dismantled the independent media, obstructed human rights organisations and strangled political opposition." She added: "Ethiopia's jails are packed to the seams with suspected political opponents - from urban intellectuals to rural farmers. Torture and ill-treatment are commonplace. State resources, assistance and opportunities have been broadly used to control the population. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians were forced to flee the country during his rule." Critics saw Meles as paying only lip service to democracy. Opposition members accused him of rigging the 2005 election and, when demonstrations broke out, security forces killed at least 200 people and jailed thousands. Almost the entire leadership of an opposition group that won an unprecedented number of seats in parliament was jailed for life for treason. In 2010, Meles won a further five years in office while receiving a reported 99% of the vote in an election that the US and other international observers said did not meet international standards. Meles' legacy will be debated. Under him, Ethiopia recorded improvements in education with the construction of new schools and universities. Women gained more rights. In the mid-2000s Ethiopia experienced strong growth, tripling in size in 15 years, which won Meles plaudits. The International Monetary Fund in 2008 said Ethiopia's economy had grown faster than any non-oil exporting country in sub-Saharan Africa. But many Ethiopians complain that his close business ties with China did not translate into more jobs. Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 85% of employment. Per capita income is only about $1,000 - about $3 a day. Henok Beyene, an artist, said: "Meles was an autocrat. Ethiopians have no experience of democracy, we have only ever experienced leadership from autocrats. Zenawi's genius was in how he controlled the minds of his people. He led everyone to believe there was no alternative to his leadership by creating a climate of fear and intimidation." Meles is survived by his wife, Azeb Mesfin, an MP, with whom he had three children. State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mourners throng outside airport and world leaders pays tribute, but human rights groups condemn 21-year authoritarian reign One of Africa's most powerful and divisive leaders, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, has died of an undisclosed illness, raising fears of a regional power vacuum. David Cameron was among the world leaders who paid tribute to Meles, a towering political figure who shaped modern Ethiopia in his own image. The country is now one of Africa's fastest-growing economies and among the United States' closest allies on the continent. But human rights groups condemned Meles as an authoritarian strongman whose 21-year rule was marred by rigged elections and the persecution, imprisonment and torture of critics. Meles, 57, died in a hospital in Brussels on Monday after contracting an infection, authorities said. The prime minister had not been seen in public for about two months, and speculation about his health increased after he failed to attend a meeting of African Union heads of state in the capital, Addis Ababa, last month. His demise raises the prospect of political turmoil in Africa's second most populous country. Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, said: "One fears for the stability of Ethiopia upon his death, because you know that the Ethiopian state is fairly fragile and there is a lot of ethnic violence … I don't know that [Ethiopian politicians] are sufficiently prepared for a succession: this is my fear – that there may be a falling out within the ruling movement." Hailemariam Desalegn, 47, appointed deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister in 2010, will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, said Bereket Simon, the communications minister. On Tuesday, state TV showed pictures of Meles against a soundtrack of classical music. Thousands of mourners thronged outside the airport in Addis Ababa as they awaited Meles's coffin, some holding portraits of the late prime minister and placards that said "We will continue what you have begun." Groups of women dropped to the ground ululating and sobbing. One mourner, Rosa Betemariam, who had been living and working as a dental nurse in the US, said: "I am devastated. I am visiting Ethiopia after not having been home for 20 years. I am overcome by joy and sadness. I am so sad at his passing but also amazed at what Meles has done for this country. I cannot recognise this city. His vision as a leader has transformed Ethiopia." Sitting in a khat bar, where people chew the narcotic leaf, Abraham Getachew, an engineering student, said: "As a human being, I am upset at the news of his death. But I am not sad that we have lost him as a leader. We do not feel that we have benefited from his leadership. Seventy per cent of students cannot find employment. We want to play a part in the development of Ethiopia but we have not been afforded this opportunity." There were numerous tributes from within Africa and beyond. The African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, said: "The death of Prime Minister Meles has robbed Africa of one of its greatest sons." Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said: "Meles Zenawi was an economic transformer, he was a strong intellectual leader for the continent." Cameron described Meles as "an inspirational spokesman for Africa" on global issues. "His personal contribution to Ethiopia's development, in particular by lifting millions of Ethiopians out of poverty, has set an example for the region," the British prime minister said. The US viewed Meles as a strong security partner in the war on militant Islamism 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. At the end of 2006, Somalia's UN-backed government asked Ethiopia to send troops into Somalia to try to put down an Islamist insurgency. Ethiopian troops moved in and captured Mogadishu, but the Somali population rebelled against what it saw as an occupation and Ethiopian forces withdrew in 2009. Ethiopia again sent troops to Somalia in early 2012 as part of an increased international effort to pressure the al-Qaida affiliated group al-Shabaab. On Tuesday Yesterday al-Shabaab welcomed Meles's death. "We are very glad about Meles's death. Ethiopia is sure to collapse," spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told Reuters. Human rights groups have long denounced Meles's government for its use of arbitrary detention, torture and surveillance of opposition members. Under a 2009 anti-terror law more than 100 opposition figures have been arrested; the government insists it is tackling rebel groups that have links with al-Qaida and Eritrea. More than 10 journalists have also been charged under the law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Claire Beston, Amnesty International's Horn of Africa researcher, said: "The 21 years of Meles Zenawi's rule were characterised by ever-increasing repression and widespread human rights violations. "His government stamped out dissenting voices, dismantled the independent media, obstructed human rights organisations and strangled political opposition." She added: "Ethiopia's jails are packed to the seams with suspected political opponents - from urban intellectuals to rural farmers. Torture and ill-treatment are commonplace. State resources, assistance and opportunities have been broadly used to control the population. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians were forced to flee the country during his rule." Critics saw Meles as paying only lip service to democracy. Opposition members accused him of rigging the 2005 election and, when demonstrations broke out, security forces killed at least 200 people and jailed thousands. Almost the entire leadership of an opposition group that won an unprecedented number of seats in parliament was jailed for life for treason. In 2010, Meles won a further five years in office while receiving a reported 99% of the vote in an election that the US and other international observers said did not meet international standards. Meles' legacy will be debated. Under him, Ethiopia recorded improvements in education with the construction of new schools and universities. Women gained more rights. In the mid-2000s Ethiopia experienced strong growth, tripling in size in 15 years, which won Meles plaudits. The International Monetary Fund in 2008 said Ethiopia's economy had grown faster than any non-oil exporting country in sub-Saharan Africa. But many Ethiopians complain that his close business ties with China did not translate into more jobs. Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 85% of employment. Per capita income is only about $1,000 - about $3 a day. Henok Beyene, an artist, said: "Meles was an autocrat. Ethiopians have no experience of democracy, we have only ever experienced leadership from autocrats. Zenawi's genius was in how he controlled the minds of his people. He led everyone to believe there was no alternative to his leadership by creating a climate of fear and intimidation." Meles is survived by his wife, Azeb Mesfin, an MP, with whom he had three children. State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | S&P 500 reaches levels not seen since May 2008 – before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Markets in the US hit a post-financial crisis high on hopes central banks will stimulate their economies and the eurozone debt crisis is easing. The S&P 500 index reached 1425, up 10 points, at highs not seen since May 2008 before the Lehman Brothers collapse. The index has been making continuous gains for the past six weeks, climbing 12% since June. The number of shares being bought and sold has been at record lows, partly due to the summer period but also because investors are waiting on the policymaker meetings due to take place next month across Europe. Markets have risen steadily as investors have pinned some hope on reports the European Central Bank could target specific borrowing costs for troubled eurozone countries as a trigger for intervention. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes also opened higher, while the euro hit a seven-week high against the dollar, up 1% at $1.2466. The pound was at a three-month high at $1.5784. Spanish treasury bonds worth €4.5bn were sold with yields on 12-month bills down to 3.07% from 3.9% and 18-month bills down to 3.335% compared with 4.242% previously. Guy Foster, head of portfolio strategy at Brewin Dolphin said: "Since Mario Draghi's famous announcement that the ECB will do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of the euro, events have been moving apace. "Even long-time eurozone sceptics must accept that a huge policy shift is underway and that Europe is making an uncharacteristic rendezvous with economic pragmatism." The perception of declining risks from the euro crisis has been a major factor behind equity gains, however, any ECB rescue is still reliant on German political leaders' attitudes at key meetings. Nick Spiro of Spiro Sovereign Strategies warned: "Market expectations of aggressive bond-buying of Spanish and Italian debt on the part of the ECB are overdone. "The watchword is conditionality. When the German government itself comes out in favour of ECB bond-buying, it should be crystal clear to investors that whatever ECB-backed bond-buying programme emerges is going to be a heavily conditional one and not the unlimited intervention that Madrid and Rome have been clamouring for." The FTSE 100 leading index has also been trading well, at a four-and-a-half month high. It closed up 33 points on Tuesday at 5858. It would need to hit 6300 to be at its own four year high.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Senate candidate had until Tuesday evening to quit without penalty as he describes outcry over remarks as 'an overreaction' The Republican congressman at the centre of a row over remarks he made about rape has once again insisted that he will not quit the Missouri Senate race and described the pressure on him to quit as "an overreaction". Todd Akin said he would be ignoring a state election deadline this evening that would have provided an opportunity to exit easily. He is under huge pressure from the Republican leadership to stand down from the closely fought Missouri race. His decision to press on will be viewed with dismay by senior members of the party. Speaking live on the Mike Huckabee radio show on Tuesday, he said that he was receiving a large amount of support from small, grassroots supporters, including donations, and this helped counter-balance withdrawal of support from Republican leaders. "I just misspoke one word in one sentence on one day," Akin said. An unusual coalition of senior and grassroots Republicans has been making a concerted effort to get him to quit. Tea Party groups, some of which helped Akin secure victory in the primary last week, urged him to go. There were similar calls Monday by presidential challenger Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan, congressional leaders and conservative talk show hosts. Under state election law, Akin would face no financial penalties if he pulls out by 6pm ET on Tuesday, and the party would be free to pick an alternative. If he goes beyond that time, the next date for withdrawal would be 25 September, but that would require a court order to allow him leave the race. Leaving it until September could also mean he would face significant financial penalties, such as reimbursing the cost of reprinting ballot papers or other election material. But the Republicans' difficulties on abortion are unlikely to go away even if Akin does quit. On Tuesday, as the leadership turned up the heat on Akin, the party approved language in its platform calling for a constitutional amendment banning abortion with no explicit exemptions in cases of rape and incest. Meanwhile, another Republican congressman, Steve King of Iowa, inflamed the row, defending Akin and suggesting that he'd never heard of a woman getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest. Talking Points Memo on Monday reported that King told Iowa radio station KMEG-TV reported him saying: "Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter." The controversy has also focused attention on the anti-abortion views of Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan. The Missouri seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill is regarded by Republicans as the top target in the campaign to take control of the Senate. McCaskill, who has used the row to portray Akin as an extremist, is urging him to stay in the race. The Republican Senate campaign committee and conservative Super Pacs have withdrawn about $10m in financial support for Akin. The last remaining hope for Akin is to attract donations from individual donors. If Akin quits, he could be replaced either by Jim Brunner, a businessman who came second in the primary with 30% – 6% behind Akin – or Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer, who took 29%. Brunner has already been sounding out party members about replacing Akin. Public Policy Polling, in a survey conducted on Monday night, showed the row has not had any significant impact on voting intentions yet. Akin is leading McCaskill 44% to 43%, almost unchanged from May when he was ahead 45% to 44%. It may be that the poll was conducted too soon to fully register any unease with Akin. As well as possible repercussions for the Senate race, Democrats also see Akin as useful in highlighting differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the Romney-Ryan ticket on abortion. In the light of the row, there will be pressure to change the draft to include exceptions for rape and incest.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | TMZ reportedly viewed, but did not purchase, the video of the director's death as more questions emerge about his motives Witnesses who filmed and photographed Tony Scott's fatal leap from a bridge into Los Angeles harbour are reportedly hawking the footage to media outlets. The material captures the British director crouching moments before he jumped an estimated 185ft to his death on Sunday. The show business website TMZ said it had seen – but not purchased – some of the footage. Some witnesses said they assumed at first it was an extreme sports stunt, not a suicide. A surveillance camera from a nearby business also recorded the jump. News of the macabre footage came as it emerged Scott made meticulous preparations for his death and had planned to use the bridge from which he jumped in a blockbuster film. The 68-year-old left a list of contact names, numbers and instructions in his car for police to find after he jumped, one of several notes he left in various locations. The most detailed note, which reportedly explained why he took his own life, was left in his office. Its contents were not immediately revealed, leaving his motives a mystery to the public as harrowing details emerged of his final moments. ABC reported on Monday that the 68-year-old had inoperable brain cancer but hours later the theory was rebuffed by Craig Harvey, the coroner's department chief investigator. "A family spokesman told us late this afternoon that the information was not true, but we will be looking at everything," he told reporters. ABC quickly retreated from the story. An autopsy had been completed but final results must wait six to eight weeks for toxicology tests, added Harvey. The lack of obvious motive baffled commentators who said the British director of Top Gun, Crimson Tide and Beverly Hills Cop II appeared to have it all: success, wealth, respect, a wife and two young children. His brother and production partner, Sir Ridley Scott, flew from London to Los Angeles as tributes continued flowing for the late director. Tom Cruise, who was planning to make a Top Gun sequel with Scott, said in a statement: "Tony was my dear friend and I will really miss him … My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time." Oliver Stone tweeted: "My favorite Tony Scott film is "Enemy of the State" (1998). Brilliant and way ahead of its time. Will miss him." It emerged that Scott was very familiar with the Vincent Thomas bridge near Long Beach, about 30 miles south of his Beverly Hills home, because he planned to use it in a remake of the 1970 cult classic The Warriors, about a gang crossing New York to their Coney Island home pursued by rival gangs. In a 2009 interview with the website Rotten Tomatoes Scott said he wanted to switch the story to Los Angeles because it was horizontal whereas New York was vertical. He envisaged the climax of the film on the suspension bridge which spans the harbour. "I'm hoping to get 100,000 real gang members standing on the Vincent Thomas bridge for one shot. I've been meeting the various gangs as part of the research. I've met them all, Crips, Bloods, The 18th Street Gang, The Vietnamese and so on. They all love The Warriors, so it was, 'Yeah, fuck yeah, we'll be in that!" Witnesses described the director's final minutes on a sun-drenched early afternoon. After parking his black Toyota Prius he made his way to a fence on the bridge's southern side. "He was looking around and fumbling with something at his feet," David Silva, a car passenger on the northern side, told the Los Angeles Times. "He looked nervous. I thought it was some extreme-sports guy."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | General Martin Dempsey, chair of joint chiefs of staff, has to use different aircraft after attack on Bagram airbase during visit A rocket attack damaged the plane of a top US general while he was visiting Afghanistan to discuss the war, at a time of heavy violence and a crisis over insider attacks on foreign forces. General Martin Dempsey, chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, was not in the aircraft when it was hit by one of two rockets fired onto Bagram airbase, north-east of the Afghan capital, Kabul. But two people were lightly injured by the attack, which also damaged a helicopter, and Dempsey had to fly back in a different plane because of "exterior damage". The Taliban claimed the attack as a targeted hit on Dempsey's plane, but the Nato-led coalition said it was almost certainly a chance hit on an aircraft that looked no different from many others next to the runway of the base. "Indirect fire rocket or mortar attacks at Bagram airport are not unusual and there is no indication that this was a targeted attack," said a military spokesman, Martin Crighton. "More likely is that … one of the rounds just happened to land in the vicinity of General Dempsey's plane. "This was a standard US military aircraft, there were no unique markings on the aircraft." He added the two members of the US maintenance crew sustained minor wounds that "didn't even warrant classification", and that they were back on duty later in the day. Dempsey was in Afghanistan on a brief visit to meet top Afghan and coalition officials, who are grappling with how to stem a growing number of deadly attacks by Afghan army and police on their foreign mentors and comrades-in-arms. Barack Obama on Tuesday promised to do more to protect US soldiers from such incidents. Over 10% of foreign combat deaths this year have been at the hands of those who are meant to be allies; there have been more than 30 attacks since January, compared with 21 during the whole of 2011. "We have got to make sure we are on top of this," Obama told a news conference, adding that vetting for Afghan troops needed improving. He has discussed the matter with top US generals and also plans to speak to his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, the Associated Press reported. With the US and European economies struggling, and the end of the mission looking likelier than a downturn in violence, there are other signs of fatigue in the Nato mission. New Zealand said this week that it would be bringing its troops home early, the day after three of its soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in a province once seen as an island of peace. The deaths came just a few weeks after two other New Zealand soldiers were killed in a firefight in the same area; together the five victims account for more than half of the country's combat losses in a decade-long deployment. • Mokhtar Amiri contributed reporting
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Company took in $12m in second quarter, down from $128m a year ago as it shutters big-box stores in attempt to save money Profits at Best Buy, the US's biggest consumer electronics retailer, plummeted 91% in the second quarter, an announcement that came a day after the company named a new chief executive. The troubled retail chain saw sales drop both in the US and internationally, but the biggest hit came from a $91m restructuring charge, primarily related to its plans to shut down a swathe of its "big-box" giant retail stores. Best Buy reported a profit of $12m for the quarter ended August 4 versus $128m a year earlier. The company's shares hit a nine year low in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares had fallen Monday when the firm announced takeover talks with founder Richard Schulze had collapsed and that Hubert Joly, who specialises in corporate turnarounds, would take over as CEO. The firm has been without a full-time CEO since April when former boss Brian Dunn, 51, left Best Buy with a $6.6m payoff after what the company described as "close personal relationship" with a 29-year-old female employee that "negatively impacted the work environment". Joly is the former head of Carlson, a hospitality company that owns TGI Fridays among other brands. Analysts were disappointed by his lack of retail experience. Joly, who is French, is expected to start in September when his visa is secured. "We believe that this is a herculean task even for an accomplished retail executive and believe that Mr Joly's complete lack of retail experience will be an impediment to his success," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a research note. Joly faces a corporate as well as a financial challenge at the company. Schulze has offered to take the company private for $9bn. Schulze, who grew the chain from a single store and was its chief executive for 36 years, owns 20% of Best Buy. The talks stalled ahead of the appointment of Joly and the earnings announcement. Schultze said he was "disappointed and surprised by the Best Buy Board's abrupt termination of our discussions." Best Buy has seen off real world rivals including Circuit City, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, to emerge as the last large electronic retail chain in the US. But it too is struggling with increased competition from Amazon and other online retailers. Along with its real-world rivals Best Buy suffers from what retail analysts call "show-rooming" when potential customers try products in store then go home to purchase them cheaper online. In March Best Buy announced plans to shut 50 stores as part of an $800m cost saving drive. In its latest results Best Buy said it had reduced its US big box square footage by 4% year-over-year and that domestic revenue per square foot were up 1% year-over-year. Sales from stores, call centers and websites operating for at least 14 months – known as same-store sales – fell 3.2% in the latest period. Best Buy's US same-store sales fell 1.6%, while internationally sales dropped 8.2% with the company blaming lower sales in China, Canada and "increased competitive conditions in Europe". Sales of mobile devices including eReaders and smartphones soared but were offset by falling sales for notebooks, TVs, cameras and other items. The company declined to give any guidance on future sales but on a conference call with analysts executives said they were more confident about the second half of their financial year, traditionally the largest sales period for retailers. Best Buy made a $1.34bn (then £1bn) investment in Carphone Warehouse in the UK in 2008 and had planned to open branches across Britain. The venture failed and it shut its larger Best Buy stores in the UK. The two companies retain a joint venture called Best Buy Europe. Same-store sales at Best Buy have declined for two of the last three years. The company posted a net loss of $1.23bn on revenue of $50.7bn for the year that ended in March, its first annual loss since 1991.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Endurance swimmer's latest attempt at 103-mile crossing derailed by bad weather, sharks and swarms of jelly fish An endurance swimmer has failed in her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida after suffering repeated jellyfish stings and labouring through heavy storms. Diana Nyad, who turns 63 on Wednesday, was making her fourth try to complete the 103-mile swim, her third without a shark cage. Her website reported just before 8am on Tuesday morning that Nyad had been pulled from the water. She had been suffering from swelling to the lips and tongue after she endured two nights of jellyfish swarms, some of them from the potentially deadly box jellyfish. "Diana has been pulled from the water. We'll have more information when it becomes available," said the 7.42am post on Nyad's website. A previous update at 2am said Nyad was 55 miles from Key West, Florida – around halfway through the swim. Nyad set of from Havana on Saturday afternoon and had been swimming for around 60 hours when she was forced to end the quest. Nyad's support team have been regularly updating her blog since Saturday. On the first night she suffered "multiple jellyfish stings, on her lips, forehead, hands, and neck, some of them from box jellyfish", but had swum 21.7 miles since leaving Havana. The second night also proved difficult, with a squall "nearly stationary over Diana" for long periods, according to her team. On Monday Nyad was reported to be "swimming strong" by Dr Angel Yanagihara, the team's jellyfish expert, but Yanagihara said the first night had been a "complete nightmare". "We really [had] a full plate dealing with multiple species of jelly," Yanagihara posted to Nyad's blog. "And our worst case fear was that she would encounter box jelly's going across the Florida straits and she unfortunately did run across them literally. We had to pull a piece of tentacle off her fingers." Jellyfish pose the greatest threat at night, when they can rise to the water's surface. It was jellyfish that ultimately cut short one of Nyad's two attempts at the feat last year, when toxins built up to a dangerous level in her system. Nyad, who was born in New York City in 1949, has been long-distance swimming since the 1970s. Her previous accomplishments including swimming around Manhattan island and journeying from the Bahamas to Florida in 1979. On Monday evening Nyad's spirits had been lifted by a pod of dolphins, which swam alongside her support boat for a period. However she had to endure another night of heavy squalls – "another hold up", her team said – which may ultimately have put paid to her quest.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Reggie Clemons has spent 19 years on death row. Next month his case will be reviewed for one last time in a hearing that cuts to heart of the debate about capital punishment in America Loading... Reggie Clemons has one last chance to save his life. After 19 years on death row in Missouri for the murder of two young women, he has been granted a final opportunity to persuade a judge that he should be spared execution by lethal injection. Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die? That question is as deadly serious as it sounds. One of Clemons's three co-defendants has already been executed, and Clemons himself came within 12 days of being put to death in 2009. The Reggie Clemons case has been a cause of legal dispute for the past two decades. Prosecutors alleged that he and his co-defendants brutally cut short the lives of Julie and Robin Kerry, sisters who had just started college and had their whole adult lives ahead of them. The Missouri prosecutors' case against Clemons, based partly on incriminating testimony given by his co-defendants, was that Clemons was part of a group of four youths who accosted the sisters on the Chain of Rocks Bridge one dark night in April 1991. The bridge, that connects Missouri and Illinois over the Mississippi river, had fallen into disuse, and teenagers used to gather up there to meet, smoke dope or do graffiti. The sisters, and their cousin Thomas Cummins, had gone onto the bridge that night to see a poem Julie Kerry had painted on it, and as they did so they bumped into Clemons and three other young men who were hanging out there. The prosecution case was that the men forced the sisters to strip, threw their clothes over the bridge, then raped them and participated in forcing them to jump into the river to their deaths. As he walked off the bridge, Clemons was alleged to have said: "We threw them off. Let's go." Clemons's supporters have over the years given a different rendition of events. In the racially heated atmosphere of St Louis in the early 1990s, they say, Clemons was made the fall guy. Of the four men who were charged with the murders, the three black men were all put on death row while the one white man is now free on parole. In this account of events, the cards were stacked against Clemons from the beginning. His appeal lawyers have argued that he was physically beaten into making a confession, the jury was wrongfully selected and misdirected, and his conviction largely achieved on individual testimony with no supporting forensic evidence presented. Next month's proceedings will bring these two versions of events head
to head. The hearing will be unique in US legal history in terms of
the open-ended brief that has been assigned to the special master,
appointed by the Missouri supreme court after a federal judge granted
Clemons a stay of execution three years ago. The position was given
the title of special master to denote the unusual legal challenge it
involved. The judge would given full powers to call witnesses, look
through the evidence and eventually recommend to the supreme court
what should happen to Clemons. The hearings will also be significant in a wider sense: in effect, the
death penalty in America will itself be put on trial when the hearing
opens on 17 September. Judge Michael Manners will be confronted by a question that goes to the heart of the debate on capital punishment in America today. Is the legal system so foolproof, so devoid of flaws and inconsistencies, that it can – beyond the shadow of even the slightest doubt – impose the ultimate, irreversible punishment: the taking of a man's life? At the end of what is expected to be a week-long hearing, Manners will draw up his recommendation to the Missouri supreme court that will seal Clemons's fate. The judge will have the full range of options open to him. He could recommend that Clemons be freed on time served; order a new trial; call for his death sentence to be commuted to life without parole; or suggest that a date be set for Clemons to be executed – this time with no chance of reprieve. Clemons is not allowing his hopes to rise ahead of the hearing. He has been through many twists and turns in his legal fortunes already. At one point an appeal court overturned his death sentence, only for it to be reimposed by another judicial panel. After so many years, he has acquired a degree of emotional detachment. "When dealing with the courts, you learn not to have expectations," he said in a Guardian interview from death row at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri. "After 20 years of contemplating my execution, and contemplating my death, I have accepted it." The burden of proof at the special hearing will fall on the defence. In other words, it will be for Clemons and his lawyers to convince the judge that his death sentence for double murder is unsound. To do that, the defence is expected to concentrate on Clemons's confession to police detectives after he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the murder of the Kerry sisters, who drowned in the Mississippi river on the night of 4-5 April 1991. Clemons confessed to raping Robin Kerry, but immediately retracted the statement, insisting it had been beaten out of him during a violent police interrogation. Lawyers on both sides of the legal argument are declining to speak before the hearing. But it is understood that new evidence will be presented to the hearing that supports Clemons's case that his confession was coerced and should not have been allowed to be put before the jury at trial. The Missouri prosecutors are expected in reply to argue that a coerced confession is not proof of Clemons's innocence. The state's star witness at the trial of Reggie Clemons was Thomas Cummins, the cousin of the Kerry sisters. Cummins told the jury that on the night his cousins were murdered, Cummins and the two sisters had been accosted on the deserted Chain of Rocks bridge by four men they encountered there. The sisters were raped and pushed into the river, Cummins said, then he was forced to jump in after them. Cummins's account was initially doubted by police, and they suspected him of causing his cousins' death. At Clemons's ensuing trial, an officer of the Missouri state water patrol raised doubts that anyone could survive a 70ft drop from the bridge into the perilously fast-moving waters of the Mississippi without at least suffering some visible injuries. Cummins told police several different accounts of what happened that night, according to police records. One of the accounts was that Julie Kerry had stumbled into the water by accident after he tried to hug her. But Cummins retracted his statement, saying he had been roughly treated during many hours of interrogation, and later was granted $150,000 by St Louis police to settle a claim for police mistreatment. A couple of days after the sisters' deaths, police dropped Cummins as a suspect and turned their attentions instead to the other four men who had been on the bridge that night. They were: Clemons; Marlin Gray (executed in 2005); Antonio Richardson (currently serving life imprisonment after his death sentence was commuted); and Daniel Winfrey (the only white man among the four, who turned witness for the prosecution and was given a deal under which he received a lesser sentence; he was released in 2007 on parole). After several hours of questioning by St Louis police, Clemons confessed to rape but not to murder. But the next day he, too, retracted the confession, saying it had been beaten out of him. "I remember police mainly beating me in the chest, and that was something that scared me a whole lot. While they were beating me, they were telling me what they wanted me to admit to," Clemons told the Guardian. As Clemons's lawyers have argued, his description of the violent interrogation he was put through is almost identical to that alleged by Thomas Cummins. It took place, according to the complaints of both men, at the hands of the same detectives, in the same investigation and within 48 hours of each other . Cummins was given a $150,000 settlement, and was made the star witness at Reggie Clemons's trial. Clemons, by contrast, had his allegedly coerced confession presented to the jury and used as key evidence to put him on death row. The other area of legal argument that is likely to be central at next month's hearing will focus on a rape kit that was collected after Julie Kerry's body was found 297 miles downstream from the bridge. The rape kit, which is in cold storage with the St Louis police department, appears not to have been disclosed to Clemons's lawyers before his trial. Jeanene Moenckmeier, one of Clemons's two original trial lawyers, told the Guardian that "we should have seen it as part of the evidence we could have considered at the trial." DNA tests have recently been carried out on the rape kit, and on a condom found on the bridge that night, to see whether they can illuminate what happened 19 years ago. The results of those tests are being studied by the Missouri attorney general's office and Clemons's current defence lawyers, and are likely to be the subject of testimony in front of the special master. What, if anything, the tests show, and whether they can cast any light on what happened on the bridge 19 years ago – and indeed Clemons's role in events – will only become clear at next month's proceedings. There are several other aspects of the case that could hold the special master's attention. The prosecution of Reggie Clemons was so riddled by inconsistencies and irregularities that some observers of the case argue he should never have been put on death row in the first place. "There are so many contradictions, so many things that don't add up," said Chris King, editorial director of the St Louis American, that has covered the case in depth over several years. "In capital cases the highest standards of jurisprudence should be observed – because the state is taking a life – but that didn't happen in this case." The selection of the trial jury was conducted by the prosecution in a way that was later ruled unconstitutional. Questions were also raised about the way the prosecution had been conducted. At the time of the Chain of Rocks bridge, Clemons was 19, had just finished high school and was planning to go to college to study engineering. Yet despite the fact that Clemons had no criminal record, the chief prosecutor Nels Moss went in front of the jury and compared him to the serial killer Charles Manson. Moss had been instructed by the trial judge not to refer to Manson - he had played the same trick in the earlier trial of Marlin Gray - and for blatantly disregarding the order was later fined $500 for criminal contempt of court. Two sets of people will be touched particularly intimately by the outcome of the hearing. The first is Clemons's family, particularly his mother Vera Thomas, who has visited him on death row every week almost without fail for the past 19 years. "Every time I visit him I am more aware of the fact that they are trying to kill him. It's like we're living on borrowed time, as far as the system is concerned," she said. The second set of people is the family of Julie and Robin Kerry. They prefer not to speak in public about what happened to their loved ones, and declined to participate with the Guardian. The closest indication of the family's thinking is given in a powerful book written by the Kerry sisters' cousin, Jeanine Cummins, Thomas Cummins' sister. In A Rip In Heaven she writes movingly about the emotional rollercoaster that her family has been on over many years. She says she has no compassion for Reggie Clemons or his co-defendants. "I don't care what happens to them. Julie and Robin aren't coming back." Jeanine Cummins has strong words, too, about the death penalty. She writes that Julie and Robin were both adamantly opposed to the death sentence on humanitarian grounds. Cummins herself gives a different reason for wanting the death penalty to be abolished – because it further alienates and tortures families such as hers who have already suffered so much. "Maybe the death penalty is wrong … because it rubs salt in the wounds of grief," she writes. "Because it trivialises the people who should matter most. Because it allows the murderers the opportunity to wear a badge they don't deserve – the badge of the victim."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Police department admits demographics unit spied on Muslims for six years without triggering a terrorism investigation In more than six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping on conversations and cataloging mosques, the New York police department's secret demographics unit never generated a lead or triggered a terrorism investigation, the department acknowledged in court testimony unsealed late Monday. The demographics unit is at the heart of a police spying program, built with help from the CIA, which assembled databases on where Muslims lived, shopped, worked and prayed. Police infiltrated Muslim student groups, put informants in mosques, monitored sermons and cataloged every Muslim in New York who adopted new, Americanized surnames. Police hoped the demographics unit would serve as an early warning system for terrorism. And if police ever got a tip about, say, an Afghan terrorist in the city, they'd know where he was likely to rent a room, buy groceries and watch sports. But in a 28 June deposition as part of a longstanding federal civil rights case, assistant chief Thomas Galati said none of the conversations the officers overheard ever led to a case. "Related to demographics," Galati testified that information that has come in "has not commenced an investigation." The NYPD is the largest police department in the nation and mayor Michael Bloomberg has held up its counterterrorism tactics as a model for the rest of the country. After the Associated Press began reporting on those tactics last year, supporters argued that the demographics unit was central to keeping the city safe. Galati testified that it was an important tool, but conceded it had not generated any leads. "I never made a lead from rhetoric that came from a demographics report, and I'm here since 2006," he said. "I don't recall other ones prior to my arrival. Again, that's always a possibility. I am not aware of any." Galati, the commanding officer of the NYPD intelligence division, offered the first official look at the demographics unit, which the NYPD denied ever existed when it was revealed by the AP last year. He described how police gather information on people even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing, simply because of their ethnicity and native language. As a rule, Galati said, a business can be labeled a "location of concern" whenever police can expect to find groups of Middle Easterners there. Galati testified as part of a lawsuit that began in 1971 over NYPD spying on students, civil rights groups and suspected communist sympathizers during the 1950s and 1960s. The lawsuit, known as the Handschu case, resulted in federal guidelines that prohibit the NYPD from collecting information about political speech unless it is related to potential terrorism. Civil rights lawyers believe the demographics unit violated those rules. Documents obtained by the AP show the unit conducted operations outside its jurisdiction, including in New Jersey. The FBI there said those operations damaged its partnerships with Muslims and jeopardized national security. In one instance discussed in the testimony, plainclothes NYPD officers known as "rakers" overheard two Pakistani men complaining about airport security policies that they believed unfairly singled out Muslims. They bemoaned what they saw as the nation's anti-Muslim sentiment since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Galati said police were allowed to collect that information because the men spoke Urdu, a fact that could help police find potential terrorists in the future. "I'm seeing Urdu. I'm seeing them identify the individuals involved in that are Pakistani," Galati explained. "I'm using that information for me to determine that this would be a kind of place that a terrorist would be comfortable in." He added, "Most Urdu speakers from that region would be of concern, so that's why it's important to me." About 15 million Pakistanis and 60 million Indians speak Urdu. Along with English, it is one of the national languages of Pakistan. In another example, Galati said, eavesdropping on a conversation in a Lebanese cafe could be useful, even if the topic is innocuous. Analysts might be able to determine that the customers were from South Lebanon, he said, adding, "That may be an indicator of possibility that that is a sympathizer to Hezbollah because Southern Lebanon is dominated by Hezbollah." After the AP began reporting on the demographics unit, the department's former senior analyst, Mitchell Siber, said the unit provided the tip that ultimately led to a case against a bookstore clerk who was convicted of plotting to bomb the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan. Galati testified that he could find no evidence of that. Attorney Jethro Eisenstein, who filed the Handschu case more than 40 years ago and questioned Galati during the deposition, said he will go back to court soon to ask that the demographics unit be shut down. It operates today under a new name, the zone assessment unit. It recently stopped operating out of state, Galati said. "This is a terribly pernicious set of policies," Eisenstein said. "No other group since the Japanese Americans in World War II has been subjected to this kind of widespread public policy." Dozens of members of Congress have asked the justice department to investigate the NYPD. Attorney general Eric Holder has said he was disturbed by the reports. But John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, has said he is confident the NYPD's activities are lawful and have kept the city safe.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Akin tells Mike Huckabee he will not drop out
• Paul Ryan personally calls Akin to tell him to quit
• The Missouri Senate candidate issues apology video
• GOP abortion plank freshly drafted for the Tampa convention does not make an exception for rape
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Akin tells Huckabee, Hannity he will not drop out
• Paul Ryan personally calls Akin to tell him to quit
• The Missouri Senate candidate issues apology video
• GOP abortion plank freshly drafted for the Tampa convention does not make an exception for rape
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Defence lawyer says Maria Alyokhina has already written letter describing harsh and rude treatment from prison guards A lawyer for Pussy Riot has warned that three members of the feminist punk band sentenced to jail last week could face violence and discrimination because of the intense state campaign against them. "For half a year, state-run television has built up a very negative image of them – that they're blasphemers, heretics," said Nikolai Polozov, a member of the women's defence team. "The only source of information in prisons is state-run TV. "We have a serious basis to think they can be faced with physical harm, moral pressure and even violence." Maria Alyokhina, 24, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were found guilty last week of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for a February performance in Moscow's official cathedral criticising Vladimir Putin. Polozov said he would appeal against their sentence – two years in a minimum security prison colony – within two weeks. Alyokhina has already protested against the band's treatment. In a letter handed to Polozov from the detention centre in southern Moscow where they have spent the past five months, she described how prison officials and special forces troops had treated them harshly. "I found this strange, usually they're not so rude with us, so that means they've got an order," she wrote. "I want to believe that all will end well, but everything that's happening points to it being otherwise." Russian opposition activists remain enraged by the sentencing. On Tuesday, hackers attacked the site of the Khamovnichesky court, which hosted the trial against the three women, peppering it with slogans decrying Russia's justice system. The hackers also defaced the site's main page with a video by Azis, a gay Bulgarian singer. As well as exposing the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent, the trial has also shone a spotlight on its increasingly conservative policies, encouraged by the Russian Orthodox church, including repressive anti-gay laws. The trial has prompted criticism from some of Putin's closest allies. Yet many government supporters continue to promote the theory that Pussy Riot was part of a western plot to weaken Russia. "It seems that the planned and well-orchestrated provocation called 'Pussy Riot' succeeded," Vladimir Yakunin, the Kremlin-connected head of Russian Railways and a high-profile supporter of the Orthodox church, wrote this week. The group, he said, was organised in response to growing Orthodox unity. "As a person, I feel sorry for these young women and it's unfortunate that our law enforcement system did not find those who directed this performance, financed it and are now trying to get political dividends from it." Police are searching for other members of Pussy Riot who they believe were involved in the February performance of an anti-Putin "punk prayer" at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. "The necessary search operations are being conducted," a representative of the Moscow police told the Interfax news agency. The source did not detail how many people they were looking for.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | London-listed miner had told 3,000 miners striking over low pay that they would lose their jobs if they failed to turn up for work on Tuesday morning Lonmin has been ordered to drop its threat to sack striking miners who failed to return to work after South African police shot dead 34 of their colleagues. The London-listed miner had told 3,000 miners striking over low pay that they would lose their jobs if they failed to turn up for work on Tuesday morning. But the world's third-largest platinum miner was on Monday night ordered by the South African government to lift its ultimatum. "The president [Jacob Zuma] has declared this week as a mourning week. We want all, including mine bosses, to respect this," police minister Nathi Mthethwahe told reporters in Rustenburg late on Monday, according to the South African Mail & Guardian. On Tuesday, Mark Munroe, Lonmin's executive vice-president, said sacking thousands of workers would not improve the tense situation at the Marikana mine near Johannesburg. "It won't help if Lonmin goes out and dismisses a whole lot of people for not coming to work today," he told South Africa's TalkRadio 702 FM. "It will set us back significantly in terms of violence, in terms of building trust." Some families are still do not know whether their loved ones are dead or among about 250 arrested protesters and 78 people being treated in hospital. The South African parliament will debate the killings on Tuesday. The deaths have sparked a national outcry and are the worst single example of police violence since the end of apartheid. Some miners had said they would rather die than return to work. 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." 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. Lonmin's shares, which have fallen sharply in response to the crisis, were up 2.5% to 625p on Tuesday morning. The Mail & Guardian is live-blogging the fallout from the shooting here.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Two rockets strike aircraft Martin Dempsey had used, slightly wounding two ground staff at Bagram airbase Insurgents fired two rockets at the main Nato airbase in Afghanistan on Tuesday, damaging an aircraft used by US joint chiefs of staff chairman, Martin Dempsey, a Nato spokesman said. The general was not on board at the time. Dempsey arrived in the country on Monday in a C-17 transport aircraft that was parked at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, when two rockets landed late on Monday night, slightly wounding two ground staff. "He was nowhere near the aircraft. We think it was a lucky shot," Nato senior spokesman Colonel Thomas Collins said. The aircraft was only being used temporarily by Dempsey and his staff. The rockets also damaged a nearby helicopter. Dempsey, who had been in the country for talks with Nato and Afghan commanders on a string of recent rogue shootings, left Afghanistan on another aircraft.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fears for stability after PM's 21-year rule characterised by economic growth and human rights protests from international community One of Africa's most powerful and divisive leaders, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, has died of an undisclosed illness, it has been announced. He was 57. During his 21-year rule, Meles turned Ethiopia into one of Africa's fastest-growing economies and proved to be a key US ally in the war on terror. But he was also regarded as an authoritarian strongman whose critics suffered persecution, imprisonment and torture. Meles had not been seen in public for about two months. He failed to attend a meeting of African Union heads of state in the capital, Addis Ababa, last month, raising speculation about his health.He died "abroad" at around 11.40pm on Monday after contracting an infection, state television said on Tuesday. His demise creates a potential power vacuum in Addis Ababa. Expressing concern, Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, told the BBC World Service: "We need a seamless, peaceful, transition of power. The region, the horn of Africa, needs stability." Hailemariam Desalegn, appointed deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister in 2010, will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, said Bereket Simon, the communications minister. "To be sick is human and he has been struggling to be healthy in the last year," Simon told reporters in Addis Ababa. Meles's family were by his side when he died, he said. "He has been diligently delivering on his promises; illness has never been a hindrance." Simon added: "I assure you everything is stable and everything will continue as charted by the prime minister." On Tuesday, state TV showed pictures of Meles against a soundtrack of classical music. Simon called the death shocking and devastating. Born on 8 May 1955, Meles grew up in the northern town of Adwa, where his father had 13 siblings from various women. He moved to the capital on a scholarship after completing an eight-year elementary education in just five years. A hardline Marxist-Leninist and a towering intellect, Meles became president in 1991 after helping to oust Mengistu Haile Mariam's Communist military junta, which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. He became prime minister in 1995, head of the federal government and armed forces. Meles introduced a controversial form of ethnic nationalism and, from 1998-2000, went to war with neighbouring Eritrea, a conflict that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. The countries remain sworn enemies. Eritrea will be watching developments closely. The US has 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. Ethiopia has long been criticised by human rights groups for the government's hardline crackdowns on dissent. During the G8 summit in Chicago last May, Meles was interrupted soon after he started to speak: "You are a dictator! You have committed crimes against humanity!" a member of the audience shouted. The bald, bespectacled politician, visibly shocked at first, tried to continue talking before staring down, stony-faced. Leslie Lefkow, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Africa, said Meles brought Ethiopia out of a hugely difficult period following Mengistu's rule and made important economic progress, but the ruling party has been too focused on building its own authority in recent years instead of building government institutions. "On the human rights side his legacy will be much more questionable," Lefkow told the Associated Press. "The country remains under a very tightly controlled one-party rule and this will be the challenge for the new leadership, to take advantage of the opportunity that his death presents in terms of bringing Ethiopia into a more human rights-friendly, reform-minded style of leadership." Meles's government has been criticised for its use of arbitrary detention, torture and surveillance of opposition members inside Ethiopia. The ONLF, an opposition group that consists mostly of ethnic Somalis, has openly clashed with the government, including in 2007 when Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia to fight al-Shabaab militants. During Meles's 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. Almost the entire leadership of an opposition group that won an unprecedented number of seats in parliament was jailed for life for treason. In 2009, an anti-terror law was enacted, under which more than 100 opposition figures have since been arrested. The government insists it is tackling rebel groups that have links with al-Qaida and Eritrea. More than 10 journalists have also been charged under the law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The group says Ethiopia is close to replacing Eritrea as the African country with the highest number of journalists behind bars. Two Swedish journalists were jailed for 11 years on charges of entering the country illegally and aiding a rebel group. Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner of human rights, has criticised the verdicts, saying journalists, human rights defenders and critics were facing a "climate of intimidation". Meles responded with trademark defiance, labelling the duo as "messenger boys of terror groups". In 2010, Meles won a further five years in office while receiving a reported 99% of the vote in an election that the US and other international observers said did not meet international standards. Meles was the leader of a political coalition known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. He was also the longtime chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front and has always identified strongly with his party. When asked what he thought would be his legacy, Meles once said: "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." Under Meles, Ethiopia recorded improvements in education with the construction of new schools and universities. Women gained more rights. And in the mid-2000s Ethiopia experienced strong economic growth, tripling in size in 15 years, which won Meles plaudits. The International Monetary Fund in 2008 said Ethiopia's economy had grown faster than any non-oil exporting country in sub-Saharan Africa. The prime minister forged close business ties with India and Turkey as well as China, which footed the $200m bill for the sprawling, new headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa. Despite those gains, Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 85% of employment. Per capita income is only about $1,000 – about $3 a day. Meles is survived by his wife, Azeb Mesfin, an MP, with whom he had three children. State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | US president says troops will continue working with Afghan forces despite wave of insider attacks US president Barack Obama declared on Monday that he was sticking to his war strategy of using US troops to advise and mentor Afghan forces, despite a growing number of Afghan military attacks on foreign troops. In the past 10 days, there have been seven "green-on-blue attacks, with Afghan forces killing nine Americans. For the year there have been 32 such incidents, killing 40, compared to 21 attacks killing 35 troops in all of 2011," Obama told a White House news conference. "We are deeply concerned about this, from top to bottom," he added. But he said the best approach, with the fewest number of deaths in the long run, would be to stick to the plan for shifting security responsibilities to the Afghans. "We are transitioning to Afghan security, and for us to train them effectively we are in much closer contact – our troops are in much closer contact with Afghan troops on an ongoing basis," Obama said. "Part of what we've got to do is to make sure that this model works but it doesn't make our guys more vulnerable." As recently as last week, defence secretary Leon Panetta called such attacks "sporadic" and a sign of Taliban desperation. But as the assaults continued through the week, he consulted with his top commander in Kabul and then on Saturday called Afghan president Hamid Karzai to express concern. Obama said on Monday he would do the same. "We've got to make sure we're on top of this," Obama said. Obama said he discussed the problem on Monday with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey, who was already in Kabul to talk to US and Afghan officials about how to halt the killings. Dempsey said on his arrival in Kabul that it was important for Karzai and other top government officials to publicly denounce the insider killings, according to a Pentagon account. Dempsey's office at the Pentagon issued a statement on Monday saying he is convinced, after discussing the insider threat with his Afghan counterpart, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, that the Afghans "understand how important this moment is." "In the past, it's been us pushing on them to make sure they do more," Dempsey was quoted as saying. "This time, without prompting, when I met General Karimi, he started with a conversation about insider attacks – and, importantly, insider attacks not just against us, but insider attacks against the Afghans, too." Most US combat troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rafael Correa says it would be 'suicidal' for Britain to enter diplomatic premises to arrest WikiLeaks founder The Ecuadorean president has warned Britain not to attempt to enter his country's embassy in London to seize Julian Assange, claiming that to do so would be an act of political suicide that would leave the UK's diplomatic premises vulnerable the world over. Speaking on state television days after his government announced it had decided to grant the WikiLeaks founder political asylum, Rafael Correa showed little sign of seeking to ease tensions with Britain, which threatened last week to use an obscure piece of legislation to enter the Ecuadorean embassy and arrest the Australian. "I think it would be suicidal for the United Kingdom," he said, according to the Spanish news agency Efe. "After that, the diplomatic premises of [the UK] in other territories could be violated all over the world." Such a move, he added, would be "disastrous" for all countries, but especially for Britain. Downing Street has said Britain is committed to seeking a diplomatic solution with Ecuador in the standoff over Assange, whom it insists it is obliged to extradite to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies. But last week, as Ecuador prepared to announce its decision to grant Assange asylum, Foreign Office officials in Quito delivered a letter to the Ecuadorean government in which they claimed a legal right under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 to revoke an embassy's diplomatic status. The threat provoked an angry response from Correa. Asked on Monday night whether he thought there was any chance the British authorities would carry out its threat, the BBC reported that the president said: "While the United Kingdom hasn't retracted or apologised, the danger still exists." Assange has been in the embassy in Knightsbridge since mid-June, and, despite Quito's offer, cannot leave for the airport as Britain is refusing to give him safe passage. The interview with Correa opened with a brief report from inside the embassy, showing the 41-year-old Assange embracing his lawyer Baltasar Garzón, minutes before he addressed supporters from the balcony outside on Sunday. Speaking in advance of a meeting of the Organisation of American States on Friday, Correa said he hoped the gathering would provide him with strong backing from regional allies. "Remember that David beat Goliath. And with many Davids it's easier to bring down a number of Goliaths," he said. "So we're hoping for clear and coherent backing because this violates all inter-American law, all international law, the Vienna convention and all diplomatic traditions of the last, at least, 300 years on a global scale."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | State-run television confirms death after leader had not been seen in public for 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 and dissent is not tolerated. During Meles's election win in 2005, when it appeared the opposition was likely to make gains, he tightened security across the country and on the night of the election 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.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 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 Microsoft in 1999. Shares in the tech giant hit a high of $664.75 (£422.50) in Monday morning trading, valuing the company at more than $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 in July 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 5 October 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 company, 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.
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