|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as post-tropical storm Sandy slams into the US east coast
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Interior minister cites 'repeated abuse' of freedom of speech Bahrain is facing international censure after announcing a ban on all protest gatherings and threatening to take legal action against opposition groups that organise anti-government demonstrations. The order, announced by the interior ministry in Manama on Tuesday, is the most-far reaching attempt to quell unrest in the Gulf kingdom since martial law was imposed last year. It is a blow to the hopes of western countries trying to balance their own strategic and economic interests while encouraging peaceful reform. Britain swiftly issued a statement expressing "concern" at what it called an "excessive" blanket ban. Sheikh Rashid al-Khalifa, the interior minister, said that "repeated abuse" of the rights to freedom of speech and expression could no longer be tolerated. In future protests would only be permitted once security and stability were sufficient to maintain national unity. Bahrain, where a Sunni minority rules over a Shia majority, is often described as lying on a sectarian fault line of the Arab world and on the frontline of a tense confrontation between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbours. The interior ministry said that any "illegal rally or gathering would be tackled through legal actions against those calling for and participating in it". Bahraini observers said the move appeared to reflect divisions and hesitation within the government and the lack of dialogue between it and the opposition. "The situation is stagnant and there is no horizon for a political solution," said Mansoor al-Jamri, editor of al-Wasat newspaper. "They are tightening their grip, but this is not a crackdown. That will mean mass arrests and opening the jails and taking senior people into custody." Bahrain has permitted limited protests and marches, but much of the violence occurs outside authorised gatherings. Bahrain's brief chapter of the Arab spring – known to activists as the "Pearl Revolution" – ended last March, when the Saudis and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council intervened to help restore order. But sporadic protests have continued and escalated in recent days. The target of the warning appeared to be the largest Shia political bloc, al-Wefaq, which has organised many marches. Another rally was planned for Friday. Al-Wefaq condemned the interior ministry order as breaching international law and human rights. The authorities had rejected a Wefaq request for a rally on Sunday evening at Akar, a village near the capital Manama where a bomb fatally wounded a policeman on October 18. The opposition movement then organised a licensed demonstration, but when people took to the streets, they chanted "Down with Hamad," a reference to the king. A full crackdown on the opposition would anger the US, Britain and other western allies that have stood by the Bahraini since last year's unrest. The US has important military links with Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet, but it has also called for increased efforts at dialogue to ease the tensions. Britain has repeatedly called on Bahrain to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which issued its report last year. "I am concerned that the government of Bahrain has decided to ban all rallies and public gatherings until further notice," said Alistair Burt, the UK foreign office minister. "We understand the government's concerns about maintaining law and order, especially when faced with increasingly violent protests, but a blanket ban of this nature is excessive. Peaceful protest is a democratic right. I hope the Bahraini government will rescind this measure as quickly as possible. I also call on protesters to desist from violent protest. Violent acts should be condemned publicly by prominent members in society." Shias comprise about 70% of Bahrain's 525,000 citizens, who claim they face systematic discrimination and gerrymandering of constituency boundaries. The monarchy has made a series of concessions, including giving more powers to the elected parliament, but opposition groups say the reforms do little to loosen the ruling family's hold on power. More than 50 people have been killed in Bahrain's unrest since February 2011.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Romney neglects to mention the election during short speech in Kettering, Ohio, but surrogates continue attacks on president Mitt Romney abided by his promise to suspend his bid for the White House for the day in respect for the victims of the east coast disaster, although behind the frontline his campaign kept up its attacks on President Obama through surrogates and media marketing. Romney eschewed an appearance on stage at Fairmont high school in Kettering, on the outskirts of Dayton, Ohio, choosing instead to stand on a humble bench in front of stacks of tinned food, rice and bottled drinks that had been donated by the local community. He didn't mention Obama or the election once, sticking to a script that was patriotic though not party political. "We have heavy hearts," he began, referring in a speech shortened to just five minutes to the devastation in New Jersey, New York and other parts of the north-east. He then praised the generosity of local people which he called "part of the American way." The event had initially been scheduled for Monday as a "victory rally", but was hurriedly shifted to Tuesday and recast as a "storm relief" event when the scale of the damage that would be wrought by Sandy became apparent. "We won't be able to solve all the problems with our efforts this morning," Romney said, "but one of the things I have learnt in life is that you though you can't solve all the problems you do whatever you can." While up front Romney kept to the spirit of the unspoken truce that has been declared between him and his presidential foe in the wake of storm Sandy, behind the scenes an aggressive and at times ugly campaign in the crucial battleground of Ohio showed no sign of letting up. John McCain, the previous Republican candidate to compete against Obama in 2008, was travelling around Ohio on Tuesday appearing at "storm relief" events. But he also went on conservative talk radio on Tuesday morning and accused the president of orchestrating a "massive cover-up" over the killing of the US ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi. Romney's brother Scott and his niece Rhona were campaigning across Michigan; they too went on talk radio, openly criticising Obama's economic policies and advocating Romney's alternative plan without any attempt at restraint. Across Ohio, Romney campaign adverts continued to warn voters that "Ohio cannot afford four more years of this failed presidency". The adverts were being aired with as much apparent frequency as before the storm broke.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BP's 'very patient' shareholders and pension funds get 12.5% rise in dividend – still below payout before Deepwater Horizon BP has rewarded "very patient" shareholders and pension funds buffeted by the group's travails in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster with a double-digit increase in its dividend. A week after announcing the $27bn (£17bn) sale of its 50% stake in Russian business TNK-BP to the Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, the British oil group said it would increase its third-quarter dividend to 9¢ a share – a rise of 12.5% – in a move that goes some way to reasserting BP's status in pension fund portfolios. At its height, the BP investor payout accounted for £1 in every £6 of FTSE 100 dividend payments. But even at 9¢ it remains below its pre-Deepwater level of 14¢ in 2010, after which it was suspended for three successive quarters until its reinstatement in early 2011 at half its previous level. BP shares closed 4.2% higher at 442.85p. The stock remains about 30% below the 658p level that it was trading at shortly before the world's worst offshore spill, which saw 4.9m barrels of oil gush into the Gulf of Mexico. BP's chief executive, Bob Dudley, said the dividend move was a reaction to the Rosneft deal, the development of new oil and gas prospects, and a post-Deepwater disposal programme that has nearly reached its $38bn target. "We recognise that we have had some very patient shareholders. It is a combination of divestments, projects coming on stream and some clarity in Russia, that gave the board the confidence to reward our shareholders this quarter," he said. At 14¢ a quarter the BP dividend contributed around $10bn a year to pension funds, with the new 9¢ representing an annualised payment of about $6.8bn. The National Association of Pension Funds, which represents 1,300 schemes with assets totalling £900bn, said it welcomed the move. "BP is a big company and a key holding for investors, so this rise in their dividend will be welcomed by many pension funds. It is also an encouraging indicator of the long-term health of the company," said David Paterson, head of corporate governance at the NAPF. BP's third-quarter underlying replacement profit of $5.2bn – a figure that strips out fluctuations in oil prices – beat forecasts by more than $1bn, but represented a decline of 5% on the same period last year due to a number of divestments made by BP over the past 12 months. Dudley added that BP was undaunted by a succession of bruising encounters with Russian geopolitics, which include Dudley's experience as boss of TNK-BP in 2008, when he was forced to quit after an "orchestrated campaign of harassment". Dudley said: "We have always had a good relationship with Rosneft … there is a very clear commitment to create and build a modern and efficient, world-class company." BP will emerge from the TNK-BP deal with an 18.5% stake in Rosneft. Acknowledging BP's fractious relationship with TNK-BP's co-owners, a group of oligarchs called AAR, he added: "The relationship seems to have run its course and BP did not want to leave Russia." BP said its results were boosted by a strong performance in its downstream business, driven by improved profitability at its refining units, while its upstream business – oil and gas production – produced a similar performance to the previous quarter. BP's US refineries have struggled for profitability in recent years but problems at rival refiners, including Exxon's Beaumont facility, helped boost profits over the past three months. In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill, which has cost BP $38.1bn so far, the group has outlined a 10-point strategy that includes developing more profitable oil and gas fields. With that target in mind, the majority of BP's significant new projects that are due to come into production by 2014 are in four areas: the Gulf of Mexico, Angola, Azerbaijan and the North Sea. "All of these projects are on track," said BP. As part of its post-spill strategy to slim down the group and raised compensation funds, BP has divested $35bn worth of businesses including $11bn in disposals since the second quarter, led by its Texas City and Carson refineries in the US. BP said it will make a "final" payment of $860m into a $20bn Gulf of Mexico compensation fund. Excluding that $20bn fund, the group has paid out $15bn in compensation and clean-up costs so far. However, it is still negotiating a settlement with the US department of justice over criminal and civil offences. BP said: "Whilst [BP] is ready to settle on reasonable terms, a number of unresolved issues remain and there is significant uncertainty as to whether an agreement will ultimately be reached." According to reports, the DoJ could be seeking a settlement of at least $18bn, while BP is holding out for $15bn.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Newspaper industry awaits judge's recommendations on regulation, as lobbying by politicians and others intensifies Lord Justice Leveson's report on the regulation of newspapers following his inquiry into the culture and practices of the press has been delayed until the end of November. Leveson's conclusions and recommendations on the future of press regulation had been expected initially in October but got pushed back to November and now sources say it will be published at the end rather of the month. The exact timetable to which Leveson is working has been a closely guarded secret. He has always said he would report "in the autumn", leaving newspaper editors and proprietors on tenterhooks for the past two months. Speculation has been rife that the report could be put back to December but sources say Leveson wants to get it out before George Osborne's autumn statement on the economy on 5 December. There has been intense lobbying in the past few weeks by those in both sides of the debate on stricter press regulation. Some newspapers, notably the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, as well as politicians including Boris Johnson, have warned of dire consequences if statutory regulation were to be recommended by Leveson and taken up by David Cameron. The two papers are among those backing a new lobby group, Free Speech Network, which launched last week warning that an "officially regulated press is the glib, easy, dangerous solution". A Free Speech Network pamphlet said: "It would spell the slow, painful death of a raucous, audacious and impertinent press able to speak truth to power on behalf of its readers and entertaining enough to secure their loyalty. We would all be the losers." The Free Speech Network is opposing the Hacked Off campaign for tougher press regulation being fronted by Hugh Grant. Former BBC chairman Michael Grade told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that press curbs would not have stopped the publication of topless photographs of Kate Middleton. Referrring to Ireland where the pictures were published, Grade said: "I doubt it has escaped Lord Justice Leveson's attention that the photographs of the duchess were published in countries with regulatory regimes offered as possible solutions for the UK. "On this evidence, his menu of available options seems to be shrinking," said Grade. Tory politicians also appear to be sharpening their knives for a battle over Leveson. On Sunday, the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, said the government should be reluctant to bring in new laws to regulate newspapers following the publication of Leveson's report. Pickles said the press was working towards a way of offering proper recourse for those with legitimate complaints, adding that the right of newspapers to expose corruption must be protected. He said that ministers must be very careful about introducing statutory regulation if Lord Justice Leveson recommends a new independent watchdog to monitor the press. The Labour party, which helped pressure David Cameron into launching the Leveson inquiry in July last year in the aftermath of revelations that Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked, is likely to back his recommendations "as long as they are reasonable", said one source. This source argued that statues governing issues such as defamation and data protection already apply to the press and there is nothing to be feared from a law that gives legal standing to bodies such as the libel resolutions arm of a watchdog. Lord Black, executive director of Telegraph Media Group and chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance, which funds the Press Complaints Commission, has also been lobbying against any form of statutory-based system, warning it could take three years to establish, and possibly longer because of the threat of a legal challenge. During prime minister's questions last week, Cameron said what mattered was an independent regulator that could impose fines and investigate wrongdoing by newspapers. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Attack in southern Afghanistan appears to be latest in series in which members of national security forces attack Nato personnel A man wearing an Afghan police uniform has killed two Nato service members in southern Afghanistan, according to the international military coalition. The attack on Tuesday appeared to be the latest in a string of "green on blue" incidents that have placed severe strains on the partnership between international troops and the Afghan forces they are trying to train to take over responsibility for the country's security. There have also been cases of insurgents wearing Afghan uniforms when they carry out attacks. The Nato statement gave no further details, saying the shooting was still under investigation. At least 53 international troops have been killed in confirmed attacks by Afghan soldiers or police this year, and a number of other assaults are still under investigation.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Interior ministry order is latest effort to counter anti-government uprising in which 50 people have died since early last year Bahrain banned all protest gatherings on Tuesday and threatened legal action against groups said to be backing escalating demonstrations and clashes. The interior ministry order is the most sweeping attempt to quash the anti-government uprising in the Sunni-ruled kingdom since martial law was imposed during the early months of unrest last year. It sharply increases pressure on political groups from Bahrain's Shia majority, which has led the protests in support of a greater political voice. A crackdown on opposition groups could raise complications for Washington and other western allies that have stood by Bahrain's monarchy during more than 20 months of unrest. The US has important military ties with Bahrain, which hosts the US navy's 5th Fleet, but it also has called for increased dialogue to ease the tensions. Shias make up around 70% of Bahrain's 525,000 citizens, and claim they face systematic discrimination such as being denied top political and security posts. The Sunni monarchy has made a series of concessions – including giving more powers to the elected parliament – but opposition groups say the reforms do little to loosen the ruling family's grip on power. More than 50 people have been killed in Bahrain's unrest since February 2011. Among them were two policemen who died this month from injuries suffered in attacks in which firebombs and explosives were used. An interior ministry statement said Bahraini society was fed up with near nonstop demonstrations and clashes and that "there was a need to put an end to them". Bahrain's government has permitted limited protests and marches, but much of the violence occurs away from the authorised gatherings. It added that any "illegal rally or gathering would be tackled through legal actions against those calling for and participating in it". The warning appeared aimed particularly at the largest Shia political bloc, al-Wefaq, which has organised many opposition marches. Another rally is planned for Friday. An al-Wefaq official, Hadi al-Musawi, struck a defiant tone, saying the interior ministry order was against international human rights. Other Gulf states have placed limits on political expression amid worries that movements inspired by last year's Arab spring could threaten their ruling systems. Last week, Kuwait banned all public gatherings of more than 20 people following opposition protests ahead of parliamentary elections on 1 December.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ri Sol-ju joins Kim Jong-un at concert and football match after two-month absence North Korean state media reported that the wife of Kim Jong-un had made public appearances for the first time in two months, amid speculation that she had been chastised for inappropriate conduct or that she may be pregnant. Ri Sol-ju's once frequent appearances with her husband in public marked the starkest break by the North's leadership from the dour image of Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, who was rarely seen in public with any of his wives. Ri attended a football match and a concert with Kim Jong-un on Monday. Their appearance at the concert "drew a thunderous cheer from the audience", the official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday. Activities and public appearances in choreographed media reports give rare indications of events inside the reclusive state, which is locked in a standoff with its neighbours and the west over its nuclear weapons programme. Monday's events in Pyongyang and Kim's visit to a military college were also his first public appearances in about two weeks. He looked healthy and confident in photos accompanying reports over four pages in Tuesday's edition of the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper. South Korea's intelligence agency had joined the battery of speculation over the sudden disappearance of Ri since early September, saying state elders may have raised an issue over her casual and cheerful demeanour. "The analysis has been that there was concern over breach of discipline [by Ri] among North Korean elders, plus the speculation of pregnancy," South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted the National Intelligence Service as reporting in a closed-door briefing to parliament. North Korea broke the mystery surrounding a young woman who had been seen with Kim in July by saying she was the leader's wife. The announcement itself was part of a trend that Kim has followed to break out of the secretive management style of his father. North Korea's state media have not disclosed when the two got married or whether they had any children.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow how the day unfolded as the Syrian air force attack rebel strong holds with renewed intensities after the failure of the Eid al-Adha ceasefire
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Coalition leaders split as prime minister Antonis Samaras warns of 'chaos' if €13.5bn cuts package is rejected, on day Spain's recession deepens
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | At least two killed during storm as Washington and New York go into lockdown and thousands are forced to leave homes Hurricane Sandy slammed into America's east coast on Monday night, fully living up to its billing as a once in a lifetime storm, clobbering a series of coastal towns before putting a broad swath of New Jersey and parts of lower Manhattan underwater. The storm, with punishing winds and heavy rains that caused flooding along the entire Eastern seaboard, made landfall near Atlantic City at 8pm eastern time. But that was just the beginning of what the authorities warned would be a long and merciless storm. By the time Sandy made landfall, it had already sunk a tall ship off the coast of North Carolina, killing at least one crew member in the storm's first US fatality. Atlantic City's historic boardwalk was submerged, and downtown streets were knee-deep in water. In New York, the city that never sleeps had gone into lockdown. High winds cracked and broke a construction crane perched atop an 80-storey building in midtown Manhattan. By 9pm local time there were reports that as many as five people had been killed, as the city was battered by 80mph winds and water surged into lower Manhattan. One of the victims was a 30-year-old man who was killed when a tree fell on a house in Queens shortly after 7pm. Authorities reported a record surge more than 13ft high at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan, from the storm and high tide combined. Pictures showed extraordinary scenes of cars floating in the streets. In an attempt to reduce the damage from the storm, New York City's main utility company cut power to about 6,500 customers in lower Manhattan. Authorities were working to try and stop seawater from seeping into the New York subway and crippling it. By Monday night there were already reports that both subway and car tunnels had been flooded. More than 3.1 million people were without power , and normal life was suspended for about 60 million people as authorities shut down transport services, closed schools and ordered evacuations. But the storm was reserving its worst destruction for lower Manhattan, Long Island, and parts of New Jersey, which were soon underwater. Water topped the sea wall in New York's financial district, and flooded subway tunnels. Aside from the Empire State building, midtown was in darkness. The storm, an unprecedented cross between a category one hurricane and a wintry northeaster, made landfall earlier than expected, travelling at speeds of up to 30mph. It reached maximum sustained winds of 90mph with gusts of up to 115mph. It headed straight for two cold-weather systems to form a hellish super-storm. Forecasters said the combined "Frankenstorm", as it has been nicknamed, could bring one foot of rain in some places, as well as potentially lethal storm surges, especially in lower Manhattan. High winds could produce power outages that may last for days, while residents of West Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky were told to expect up to 2ft of snow. The storm has killed at least 69 people on its path through the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti.Nine states declared a state of emergency, shutting down transport systems and schools and ordering residents of low-lying areas to head for higher ground. More than 12,000 flights were cancelled across the region, and the main rail service was suspended. In lower Manhattan, New York City's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, warned that the authorities were braced for an 11ft surge of seawater that could leave low-lying areas of the city under water. The city advised some 370,000 people in low-lying areas to evacuate at the weekend. By late morning, the authorities were moving to shut down the tunnels that connect Manhattan to Brooklyn and New Jersey. Subways, buses, trains and schools were shut, as well as the New York stock exchange, and Bloomberg warned normal services should not be expected before Wednesday. In the meantime, Sandy continued to churn up the coast. In North Carolina, crew were forced to abandon the tall ship HMS Bounty after it began to take on water. Coastguards plucked 14 crew from lifeboats. One crew member, Claudene Christian, 42, was killed and the captain, Robin Walbridge, 63, was still missing. The storm also got in licks at coastal resort towns of Virginia Beach, Ocean City, and Bethany Beach. Atlantic City had reports of water three blocks inland, and towns along the Jersey Shore reported record sea surges. "In some places we have 2.5ft to 3ft of water on the ground and this is low tide," the Atlantic City mayor, Lorenzo Langford, told CNN. "When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy," he said. Rolling waves were already washing straight over the promenade wall in Battery Park, Manhattan, on Monday morning. The area – a popular tourist spot with its views of the Statue of Liberty – was part of Bloomberg's mandatory evacuation zone. Away from the water police cars were driving slowly along streets broadcasting warnings that people should leave. "You must evacuate this area by 7pm today. Any person who knowingly violates this order may be charged with a class B misdemeanour," the warning said. The walkway – normally packed with people jogging and cycling – was almost entirely deserted, but Mark Gluck, a professor at Rutgers University, said Sandy was not about keep him from his daily cycle route. "A bit of drizzle, a bit of wind, it's a perfectly fine day to go cycling," Gluck said. He said he planned to cycle to the Upper West Side later in the day for lunch. He had already stocked up his apartment for the storm.For the most, though, it appeared as if residents were heeding the official warnings to hunker down at home. But that created its own sense of dread. In Washington DC, and other cities, many supermarkets ran out of staples such as bottled water and batteries. New York City's mandatory evacuation saw throngs of people crowding into evacuation centres across the five boroughs. Around 80 had stayed overnight at the John Jay high school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with many more expected. They included three dogs, a cat, a turtle, a snake and a mouse. A handwritten sign inside the door divided newcomers into two categories: people to the right, animals to the left. "This time last year we had 1,000 people in here," said one of three officials as he stood outside on a break. "We had two rooms full of dogs and cats too. This year we even got a turtle. And that snake's got his eye on the mouse. It's not gonna happen."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scott Forstall and former Dixons boss John Browett set to leave just weeks after disastrous launch of Apple Maps Apple is losing two of its most high profile executives in the firm's biggest management shakeup since co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down as chief executive. Scott Forstall, senior vice-president of iPhone software and one of the original architects of Apple's OS X software, will leave next year. John Browett, poached just five months ago from Dixons to become head of retail, is also set to leave. Apple said that four key executives — including top designer Jony Ive — would "add responsibilities to their roles." The rare shakeup comes shortly after the introduction of iPhone's latest software was marred by a mapping disaster. Tim Cook, the chief executive, was forced to apologise for Apple Maps, meant as a rival to Google Maps, after it proved inaccurate and incomplete. Last week the company delivered disappointing financial results as iPad sales fell short of Wall Street's targets. Eddy Cue, senior vice-president of internet software and services, will take charge of Maps and Apple's Siri voice recognition responsibilities. The retail team will report directly to Cook until a replacement for Browett can be found. The company said Ive will provide "leadership and direction for Human Interface across the company" in addition to his role as the leader of industrial design. "We are in one of the most prolific periods of innovation and new products in Apple's history," said Cook. "The amazing products that we've introduced in September and October, iPhone 5, iOS 6, iPad mini, iPad, iMac, MacBook Pro, iPod touch, iPod nano and many of our applications, could only have been created at Apple and are the direct result of our relentless focus on tightly integrating world-class hardware, software and services." Browett was appointed just five months ago and was set to receive a $56m pay package over five years. It's not yet clear how much of that will be triggered by his early departure. There have been reports that he clashed with other Apple executives. Forstall has been a major influence at Apple for over a decade. He joined the firm in 1997 and was responsible for several releases of the Mac OS X operating system, most notably Mac OS X Leopard. The company said the management shift would "encourage even more collaboration". Trading in Apple's shares is suspended at present with the closing of News York's stock exchange as the city braces itself for the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Europe divided over German proposals for a 'super commissioner' who could punish nations with large deficits Fresh tensions emerged between Germany and southern Europe as Spain and Italy criticised Berlin's proposals for a European Union "super commissioner" with powers to police national budgets and punish those with large deficits. "This is an idea, that considered on its own, I personally don't like," said Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy after meeting his Italian counterpart Mario Monti in Madrid.Monti claimed not to have read a Der Spiegel interview in which European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi threw his weight behind the super-commissioner idea, but nevertheless recalled that, in 2003, Germany has been one of the first countries to break EU deficit rules. "It doesn't sound very good," he added. "Markets could take this as a sign that current instruments do not work." Both prime ministers claimed their recession-hit countries did not currently need a soft bailout that would allow the ECB to start buying bonds to bring down borrowing rates, though Rajoy was prepared to admit a request might come eventually. "The instrument is there and any country can ask for it if it finds it necessary. And I will do just that," he said. "When I believe that it is in the interests of Spain to ask for it, I will ask for it," he said. Monti said Italy did not need the bailout, but said it was important that at least one country use the eurozone's new soft bailout mechanism in order to prove to markets that the ECB was serious about defending the euro. "It is of paramount importance that the instrument is put to work, that it does not remain theoretical," Monti said, in what seemed to be a reference to Spain. The plan relates to the ECB purchasing a government's bonds, which results in a lowering of that country's borrowing rates in the bond markets. The size of Spain's economic downturn was underscored by the prices at which a new "bad bank", to be set up as part of a eurozone rescue of Spanish banks, will forcibly buy toxic real estate assets from bailed-out banks. The "bad bank", known as Sareb, will take between €45bn and €90bn of real estate with discounts on book value varying from 80% to 32%, according to the Bank of Spain. The minimum discount will still be above the market fall in Spanish real estate prices, which have so far dropped 25% from their peak. But Italy also appeared to be running into fresh difficulties after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, sentenced to prison for tax fraud last week, threatened to withdraw support for Monti's government over the weekend. As Italy's bond yields began to rise yesterday, Monti refused to speculate on whether this was a sign of market fear that Berlusconi would carry out his threat. "You can ask that question to the political parties, and to the markets, but not to me," he said, claiming his duty was merely to keep governing Italy until the spring.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former royal aide says TV presenter would greet young female assistants at St James's Palace by 'rubbing lips up their arms' A former senior royal aide has revealed that Jimmy Savile's behaviour when he visited Prince Charles's official home at St James' Palace was a cause for "concern and suspicion". Dickie Arbiter, who handled media relations for the Prince and Princess of Wales while spokesman for the Queen between 1988 and 2000, said the suspected paedophile TV presenter used to rub his lips up the arms of Prince Charles's young female assistants as a greeting. Savile is understood to have visited Prince Charles's official London residence several times in the late 1980s when he was acting as a kind of marriage counsellor between Charles and Princess Diana. A spokesman for the Prince of Wales confirmed the prince and Savile formed a relationship in the late 1970s after coming together through their work with wheelchair sports charities. Charles led tributes to Savile when he died a year ago. "He would walk into the office and do the rounds of the young ladies taking their hands and rubbing his lips all the way up their arms if they were wearing short sleeves," Arbiter said of Savile. "If it was summer [and their arms were bare] his bottom lip would curl out and he would run it up their arms. This was at St James's Palace. The women were in their mid to late 20s doing typing and secretarial work." Arbiter did not raise his concerns formally and there is no suggestion Savile committed any crimes while on royal premises or when he was with Prince Charles on numerous occasions from the 1970s onwards. But the concern over his behaviour expressed by a senior aide will raise questions over how Savile, who is now under investigation in relation to child abuse involving 300 potential victims, managed to develop such a long-standing relationship with the heir to the throne. Asked about Savile's behaviour with the royal assistants or whether Prince Charles had taken any action to find out if anyone in his family or staff might have suffered any abuse or have any information relating to the criminal investigation into Savile's alleged paedophilia, a spokesman for the prince said: "We have no record of anyone making a complaint." "The prince first met Savile through their shared interest in supporting disability charities [the prince became patron of the British Wheelchair Sports Foundation in the late 1970s] and it was primarily because of this connection that they maintained a relationship in the years that followed," the spokesman said. Arbiter said he thought the women might have thought Savile's greeting was "rather funny", but he said it was a cause for concern and he struggled to understand why Savile was granted such access to the royal family. "I looked at him as a court jester and told him so," said Arbiter. "I remember calling him an old reprobate and he said 'not so much of the old'." Concern about Savile's behaviour at the palace emerged as Sir Roger Jones, former chairman of the BBC's corporate charity Children In Need, said he had been so uncomfortable about Savile that he did not allow him to have any association with the cause. Jones, a BBC governor from 1997 to 2002, said he had "no evidence" that Savile was up to anything but "we all recognised he was a pretty creepy sort of character". "When I was with Children In Need, we took the decision that we didn't want him anywhere near to the charity," he told the BBC. Prince Charles met Savile on numerous occasions. In 1999 he accepted an invitation to a private meal at Savile's Glencoe home which was this week daubed with graffiti reading "Jimmy the beast". Savile asked three local women to dress up in pinafores emblazoned with the letters HRH and Charles subsequently sent the television presenter a Christmas card with the note: "Jimmy, with affectionate greetings from Charles. Give my love to your ladies in Scotland." Charles reportedly sent him a box of cigars and a pair of gold cufflinks on his 80th birthday with a note that read: "Nobody will ever know what you have done for this country Jimmy. This is to go some way in thanking you for that." Savile used to boast of his royal connections, made sure to be photographed with Charles on numerous occasions and ingratiated himself once telling the Daily Mail the prince was "the nicest man you will ever meet". "Royalty are surrounded by people who don't know how to deal with it," Savile said in an interview. "I have a freshness of approach which they obviously find to their liking. I think I get invited because I have a natural, good fun way of going on and we have a laugh. They don't get too many laughs." The day after the meal in Glencoe Savile persuaded Charles to join him for a photo opportunity at his local post office where he went to pick up his pension money. "The post office photo opportunity was definitely [down to] him [Savile]," said Coleen Harris, Prince Charles's press secretary. "You always think that other people are getting more out of these things [than the prince] but on the whole it is for a good reason, for the charities and it is a positive thing." She added: "Personally I always thought he was slightly eccentric, but beyond that I had no idea. He was a slightly odd bloke, but not in a cruel way." Arbiter said that despite Savile's unusual behaviour with the royal administrative staff there was no evidence of any other cause for suspicion. "There was a limit to what he could get away with in the royal household," he said. He also said palace advisers felt the prince's charities might benefit from a connection with Savile, at the time one of the country's most famous TV stars. Perhaps Savile's most unlikely role was that of personal counsel to Prince Charles in the late 1980s at a time when the royal family was in deep trouble. The marriages of Charles and Diana and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were disintegrating. Around new year 1990 Charles asked Savile to help the Duchess of York with what Savile later said was keeping her profile down. Princess Diana was recorded telling James Gilbey on the so-called "squidgygate tape": "Jimmy Savile rang me up yesterday, and he said: 'I'm just ringing up, my girl, to tell you that His Nibs [Prince Charles] has asked me to come and help out the redhead [the Duchess of York], and I'm just letting you know, so that you don't find out through her or him; and I hope it's all right by you.'"
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Storms moving towards east coast force president and rival to cancel immediate events at crucial time before US election The onslaught of Hurricane Sandy has forced both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to suspend campaigning for at least 48 hours – time both teams desperately needed in the crucial final stretch to election day next week. The two presidential candidates cancelled all scheduled events until at least midnight on Monday but there could be further disruption for much of the rest of the week, with flooding and power blackouts also taking their toll on the campaign teams' movements. Early voting has already been suspended in some states – where the Obama campaign had hoped to make crucial gains before the election on November 6. Each team headquarters sent out instructions to switch from campaigning if need be to help the rescue services and told volunteers in affected areas to stay at home. The advice even included small practical points, such as the Romney team advising supporters to remove any election placards that could become flying projectiles in the storm. The impact on the respective campaigns is unpredictable. David Axelrod, Obama's campaign manager, told reporters: "In terms of the logistics, we are obviously going to lose a bunch of campaign time; this is as it has to be and we will try to make it up on the back end. Obama abandoned planned rallies in Florida on Monday morning and in Ohio in the afternoon in order to return to Washington after being told the storm was shaping up to be worse than expected and that if he delayed, they might have trouble getting back to the capital. A plane full of journalists accompanying him on the campaign trail had to be left behind in Florida. Asked later about the impact of the storm on the election campaign, the president presented himself as being above such things as consideration of how it would affect voting. "I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election. I'm worried about the impact on families, and I'm worried about the impact on our first responders. I'm worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation," Obama said. "The election will take care of itself next week. Right now, our number one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives, that our search-and-rescue teams are going to be in place, that people are going to get the food, the water, the shelter that they need in case of emergency, and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track." Obama had to return to the White House to be seen to be on the spot, monitoring the storm and in regular contact with the emergency services. To have continued campaigning while millions of people faced the prospect of costly damage might have alienated voters. Romney's campaign team reached the same conclusion. Having rescheduled campaigning to take him away from states on the storm path, such as Virginia, to Ohio, he too changed his mind and followed Obama in cancelling all events. Romney realised it might appear callous to be seen standing in front of rallies in sunshine, while people on the east coast faced disruption and damage. His vice-presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, also scrapped campaign events. Gail Gitcho, a Romney communications director, said: "Out of sensitivity for the millions of Americans in the path of Hurricane Sandy, we are cancelling tonight's events with Governor Romney in Wisconsin and Congressman Ryan in Melbourne and Lakeland, Florida. We are also cancelling all events currently scheduled for both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan on Tuesday. "Governor Romney believes this is a time for the nation and its leaders to come together to focus on those Americans who are in harm's way." Obama described the storm as "big and powerful" but took solace in the fact that the emergency services have had a few days to prepare. Echoing the Romney campaign about America coming together in time of crisis, he said: "It's going to be a difficult storm. The great thing about America is when we go through tough times like this we all pull together. We look out for our friends. We look out for our neighbours. And we set aside whatever issues we may have otherwise to make sure that we respond appropriately and with swiftness. And that's exactly what I anticipate is going to happen here." Obama said he had spoken to all the governors of the states in the path of the storm to make sure food and water and emergency generation would be available for the hardest-hit. "The most important message that I have for the public right now is, please listen to what your state and local officials are saying. When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Do not delay. Don't pause; don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences if people haven't acted quickly," he said. He told the public to expect blackouts and warned that it might take time to get the power back on and transport restored. Neither side has as yet attempted to make political capital out of the storm. Romney is potentially exposed after saying in a debate during the Republican primaries and caucuses in that he favoured cutting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to help reduce the deficit. The Romney campaign stood by that assessment, saying it was not proposing to abolish Fema, only that decisions about emergency spending should rest primarily with states rather than with the federal government. Ryan Williams, a Romney spokesman, said in a statement: "Governor Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. "As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and Fema." With polls showing the two campaigns tied neck and neck, both Obama and Romney were initially reluctant to quit the campaign trail. Obama, after rearranging his schedule, tried to squeeze in two events before the storm hit, flying to Florida on Sunday evening to be in position for a joint rally with former president Bill Clinton in Orlando on Monday morning. He stayed overnight in Florida, but his team advised him against going ahead with the rally, leaving Clinton to do it on his own.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New company to be known as Penguin Random House will account for about one in four books sold It will now publish Fifty Shades of Grey and Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; Pippa Middleton's recipe and craft book and Nigella Lawson's latest cookbook. Penguin, the most famous name in British publishing, has confirmed its merger with the German-owned Random House, creating the biggest book publisher seen, accounting for about one in four of all books sold. But the news immediately unsettled some in the industry, which has already seen thousands of bookshops close as readers increasingly turn to Amazon for printed and now electronic books. Andrew Franklin, founder of Profile Books, publisher of titles including Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots and Leaves, said the deal was a "great shame" for publishing, and predicted that Penguin would lose its separate identity. "The myth is when you combine two great companies you get one even greater company," he said. "This will end up a complete takeover of Penguin. "It isn't by chance that every Tesco looks the same. [Big publishers] love to promote diversity and localism, but that's not how it works." Authors' representatives were more optimistic. Kate Pool, deputy secretary general of the Society of Authors, said that if the new venture delivered on its promises to continue to invest in content and titles at its current levels, then authors had nothing to fear. "If they keep their promises then it could well be that at the coalface it doesn't feel that different to the average author. If publishers are struggling because the sands are shifting then they need reinforce what they have always done well – good rights deals, good advances. "Given all the other upheavals confronting the publishing industry, this is just a drop in the ocean." Founded by Allen Lane in 1935 to popularise reading with cut-price books aimed at the general reader, Penguin's 77-year independent history came to an end after five months of behind-the-scenes talks involving both corporations. The merged company, to be called Penguin Random House, will be a joint venture in which Bertelsmann, a media conglomerate controlled by the Mohn family, will retain a 53% stake. Pearson, which also owns the Financial Times, will retain the balance, with the two sides pledging to stick together for at least three years. The company will have £2.5bn in revenues and almost £175m in profits. Nevertheless, Franklin did not believe that the creation of such a dominant force would crush independent players, who account for about 44% of the market in the UK. "When you have really huge companies, paradoxically you leave more room for smaller, nimble players," he said. "Look at the film and music industry. It is often the big players struggling, not the independents." John Makinson, Penguin's chief executive, who will head the new company's board, said the rationale behind doubling in size was to help both publishers make the transition from printed word to ebook. Amazon is now selling 114 ebooks for every 100 printed books, helped by the popularity of its Kindle. "We are all worried, as the world moves to a more digital structure for content and distribution, that publishing could diminish, fewer books be published and fewer risks taken," said Makinson. "We hope to be able to offer more to readers and authors. "This will give us resources, capacity and confidence to publish a broad array [of content] and to take risks. That is what good publishing is about." Pearson also rejected a last-minute, tentative proposal from Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp owns rival publisher HarperCollins, in part due to the fact that an outright sale of Penguin has tax implications in the US, where it has two-thirds of its business. Penguin Random House will be run by Markus Dohle, chairman and chief executive of Random House Worldwide. It was not clear what would happen to other high-profile publishing executives, not least Dame Gail Rebuck, the chairman and chief executive of Random House. Both companies promised more details in the coming weeks. The two owners are confident that though they will control more than 25% of the global book market, regulators will clear the deal. In Britain, the two groups' market share is closer to 30%.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tension rises between Greek government and media after TV presenters are suspended over criticism of public order minister Greek journalists have warned that press freedom was under unprecedented attack, with critics being suspended or put on trial by a precarious coalition government struggling to push through an economic austerity programme as a way of attracting foreign funds. The clash between the government and the press appeared to be nearing a crisis with a strike due to start on Tuesday on state television (ERT) over the suspension of two popular presenters for mild criticism of a minister. Meanwhile, the editor of an investigative magazine went on trial on Monday for publishing a list of some 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts who the government has yet to investigate for possible tax evasion. Dimitris Trimis, the head of the Athens Newspaper Editors Union said the current pressure on press freedom was the most intense of his career. "This is a matter of democracy," Trimis said. "The government feels insecure. The only way it feels it can convince society of its policies is to try to manipulate the media through coercion. "This is true of both state television and in the private sector of the media where there has been a large number of lost jobs and wage cuts and so it has become easier to manipulate in the interests of the government and the economic elite." Marilena Katsimi and Kostas Arvanitis were summarily dropped from their morning magazine programme on ERT after discussing the reaction of the public order minister, Nikos Dendias to a Guardian report on claims by anti-fascist demonstrators that they had been tortured by the police. Katsimi said on air that Dendias had not carried out his threat to sue the Guardian over the article because the medical examiners report "shows that there was indeed a crime." She described Dendias's actions as "strange" but did not think he would resign. "About an hour after the programme ended, the director of information called for a transcript. He didn't ask to talk to us. And it was then announced that two other journalists would present tomorrow's show. We were cut," Katsimi told the Guardian. "The style of the programme is very informal. It is a morning conversation over a cup of coffee and it is very popular with high ratings. We have been critical of ministers in the past from all parties, and there have been complaints to the management before but this is new. This is threat to public and private media." Katsimi said the journalists' suspension was one of several "peculiar things" to have happened at ERT recently. "Everywhere in media people are being fired, but at ERT they are hiring. The government want people who agree with their position and they want to hire their friends." ERT journalists are planning an initial two-hour strike from 6am on Tuesday, to be followed by 24-hour strikes until the suspension of Katsimi and Arvanitis is revoked. Aimilios Liatsos, ERT's general director for news issued a statement on Monday claiming that the two journalists had "violated the basic rules of journalistic practice". He added that they had made "unacceptable insinuations" against Dendias without giving him an opportunity to express his view, "while their comments appeared to anticipate the results of a court decision". Another prominent journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis, went on trial on Monday for publishing a leaked list of about 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, who may face investigation for tax evasion. The list was seized from a computer technician at HSBC bank in Geneva, who was suspected of trying to sell it, and was originally supplied to the Greek government in 2010 by the then French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, now head of the International Monetary Fund. However, the Greek finance ministry failed to act on the list for two years before it was leaked to Vaxevanis's Hot Doc magazine. The case has triggered an uproar in Athens, where the speed of Vaxevanis arrest and trial – within three days of charges being pressed – has been contrasted with the many years it has taken the government to pursue rich Greek tax evaders. On emerging from court where the trial was adjourned, Vaxevanis was greeted by cheers from a crowd of about 250, mostly journalists. "I was doing my job in the name of the public interest," the journalist said. "Journalism is revealing the truth when everyone else is trying to hide it." The Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe expressed concern about the Vaxevanis's brief arrest on Sunday. "I am relieved that Vaxevanis was released from custody after a brief detention, and trust that he will now be tried in a transparent manner considering the acute public interest in the case," OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatovic said. "It is the responsibility of media as the watchdog of democracy to disclose information in the public interest, even if it is considered sensitive by some."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Liberal and Labour parties say they have reached agreement to form government, with Mark Rutte staying as prime minister The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte's Liberal party and the Labour party say they have reached a coalition deal, preparing for a pro-austerity, pro-European government to be sworn in next week. Rutte, whose Liberals won the most seats in the election on 12 September, will remain prime minister, while the Labour MP Jeroen Dijsselbloem is tipped to replace Jan Kees de Jager as finance minister. Under Rutte and De Jager, a Christian Democrat whose party lost heavily in the election, the Netherlands has been at the forefront of calls for tight fiscal policies across the eurozone to tackle the region's debt crisis. The parliamentary election was held against the backdrop of the eurozone crisis, rising unemployment, lower housing prices and a stagnant economy. Rutte and the Labour leader, Diederik Samsom, reached a deal more quickly than expected, underlining the urgency of the European crisis and the fragile state of the Dutch economy. Economists say the Netherlands must address structural reforms in housing, the labour market and welfare benefits. Already, the two party leaders have agreed to cut state spending by a further €16bn (£13bn) in the next four years, aiming to eliminate the budget deficit by 2017, newspapers reported last week. "This is a balanced package, a package that will make the Netherlands emerge from the crisis stronger," Rutte said after talking to his party about the coalition deal. The biggest spending cuts will be in healthcare, at €5bn, social security, at €3bn, and government overheads, at €2.5bn, the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad reported, citing sources in The Hague. People with higher incomes will be hit harder by the budget cuts, because they will have to pay more in healthcare, while purchasing power will improve slightly for the lowest income group, the paper said. The Netherlands, one of a handful of remaining AAA-rated economies in the eurozone, is already implementing a €12bn austerity programme agreed in April. But with deterioration in the economic environment, further cuts are needed. "We are in a crisis and we need to take measures to get out of it but it won't be easy," said Edith Schippers, a member of Rutte's party. "It is a very tough package and it will be difficult for lots of Dutch people." In June, the government forecaster and thinktank CPB projected a deficit of 2.6% of economic output for 2017. In his budget presented to parliament last month, De Jager said the economy was on target to grow 0.75% next year with a budget deficit projected at 2.7% of gross domestic product (GDP), below the 3% EU limit. Labour needs support from its members at a party conference set for 3 November 2012 for the deal to be finalised.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa claims rebels are strengthening and foreign intervention would galvanise support Islamist rebels will attack Mali's capital city if international military intervention is launched to regain control of the country's north, a senior member of an insurgent group closely linked to al-Qaida has told the Guardian . Oumar Ould Hamaha, head of security for the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) claimed that rebels have recruited thousands of new fighters and warned that intervention would galvanise the international jihadist movement. "If an international or Malian military force attacks us, we will take Bamako in 24 hours," Hamaha said in a telephone interview. "The international community is slow to strike because it knows that if it does, it will spark a worldwide jihad. "Plans for a military intervention do not diminish in any way our determination to promote jihad," Hamaha added. "We are convinced that with the help of Allah we will defeat any army coming. We have the support of the local people, and we have people from all parts of Africa coming to join us. We are ready to die." The defiant rhetoric from Mujao – which together with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar Dine control the northern two-thirds of Mali, including military bases, airports and several towns – came as US secretary of state Hillary Clinton arrived in Algeria to rally support for intervention. Earlier this month, the UN security council adopted a resolution underscoring its "readiness" to send an international force to drive Islamists out of northern Mali, setting a deadline at the end of next month for a firm plan for military action. Mali is working on plans involving troops from the Mali army and west Africa regional bloc ECOWAS, with training, logistics and intelligence support from France, the US and other countries. But military action would probably require the support of Algeria, which initially opposed intervention. The country shares an 2,000km desert border with Mali – seen as a key route for illicit trade of arms and drugs in and out of Mali – while many insurgents fighting in northern Mali are reported to be of Algerian origin. "There is a strong recognition that Algeria has to be a central part of the solution," said a US official, who added that the situation in northern Mali would be a "central focus" of Clinton's talks with the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The role of the US in combatting AQIM in northern Mali has been a source of controversy in recent weeks. Hamaha told the Guardian the Mujao was aware that US surveillance drones were operating regularly in the region already, and that the unmanned aircraft were having the effect of encouraging support for the Islamist cause in northern Mali. "We see drones passing overhead all the time. This is not something we take seriously – we are not afraid of drones. On the contrary, by trying to intimidate us, the west is only sharpening the sword we will use against it." Experts said rebel threats to attack southern parts of Mali could not be discounted. "I think the claims about Bamako are mostly posturing, but we cannot rule out the possibility of attacks outside of northern Mali," said Andrew Lebovich, a researcher on the Sahel and north Africa. "AQIM and Mujao have operated beyond the confines of northern Mali in the past, and these groups do have the capability to stage attacks elsewhere, although it would be difficult given the attention on these groups at the moment." Hamaha said that there were no prospects of negotiation. "We don't recognise any government in Bamako," Hamaha added. "The minister of defence called me to talk about negotiating towards a secular state. I told him it's sharia or the sword. No sharia, no dialogue. Our mission is straight. There is no negotiation to be had." The Mali government refused to comment on the status of its negotiations with the groups, but the head of the EU delegation in Mali said that negotiations were still considered a potential alternative to conflict in northern Mali. "No one is talking about military intervention as if it is the end of the track," said Bertrand Soret, EU chargéd'affaires in Mali. "We have been pushing for dual track approach – negotiations and building up military force. We are not recommending talking to terrorists, but we are pushing for the Malian authorities to deal with some of the groups from their side."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Opposition activists report 48 air strikes in a few hours, UN reports failure of Muslim truce and Damascus car bomb kills 11 Syrian air force planes have launched dozens of attacks from Damascus to Aleppo as the truce declared for the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday ended as it began – in violence. Opposition activists reported 48 air strikes in a few hours while the UN and Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, admitted that the four-day ceasefire had failed. "The situation is bad and getting worse," he told reporters in Moscow after talks with the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia is Syria's closest and most supportive ally at the UN. Air raids were reported overnight from the Damascus suburbs of Qaboun, Zamalka and Irbin and described by residents as the heaviest since planes and helicopters first bombarded pro-opposition parts of the Syrian capital in August. In Jermana, near Damascus, a car bomb killed 11 people, including women and children, and injured 50 others, Syrian state media reported, blaming "terrorists" for deliberately breaching the truce. Fighting was also reported from Homs, Idlib and Deir al-Zour on the Iraqi border. The truce, for Eid al-Adha, the Muslim feast of the sacrifice which marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, began on Friday morning. An estimated 400 people have died during it. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 110 people were killed on Sunday alone. Of those, 39 were civilians, 34 armed opposition fighters and 35 members of the state security forces, said the UK-based group. Shelling and car bombings resumed hours after the ceasefire had been due to take effect on Friday, with each side blaming the other for breaking it. Its chances seemed poor from the start in the absence of enthusiasm from the warring parties or any independent mechanism for monitoring and enforcement. Brahimi, the veteran Algerian diplomat who succeeded Kofi Annan as the international Syria envoy in September, said he was continuing his mission despite the grim situation. "I have said and it bears repeating again and again that the Syrian crisis is very, very dangerous, the situation is bad and getting worse. If it's not a civil war, I don't know what it is." Brahimi is to go to the UN security council in November with new proposals to push for talks between President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. He is also due to visit China on Tuesday. Beijing has followed Moscow in blocking any action against Syria at the UN. Brahimi had hoped that the Eid truce might lead to a longer-term ceasefire and pave the way for a political solution of the conflict that has claimed 35,000 lives, according to opposition groups. Its failure points to the determination of the regime to continue its security strategy and to what many see as the dangerous fragmentation of the anti-Assad forces. "It's not just about the Syrian military and the army defectors who form the backbone of the Free Syrian Army rebel group anymore," said Hassan Abdul-Azim, of the Damascus-based National Co-ordination Bureau. He told reporters that there were so many foreign fighters and other external actors involved in Syria that only an agreement among international and regional powers could end 19 months of fighting. Lavrov said Moscow was also "disappointed" that the ceasefire was not respected, but said there was no point disputing who breached it. He emphasised Russia's position that the crisis will be resolved once western powers and neighbouring countries such as Turkey start negotiating with Assad, not just the opposition. "Hardly anything will be accomplished without dialogue with the (Syrian) government, and that is the only problem that remains in the path towards a political process," he said. Moscow has repeatedly criticised western powers for what it says are obstructions of peace efforts in Syria. Last week it alleged the US was co-ordinating arms deliveries to the rebels, which the state department has called "ludicrous". Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said he was "deeply disappointed" that the fighting had not stopped. "This crisis cannot be solved with more weapons and bloodshed. The guns must fall silent." Syrian opposition figures, including FSA commanders, started three days of talks in Istanbul on Monday in the latest attempt to unite disparate groups. In a separate development, the Turkish military fired back after a shell from Syria landed near the village of Besaslan in the southern province of Hatay, state media said, amid clashes between Syrian soldiers and rebels in the nearby border town of Harim. Five Turks were killed by Syrian fire on 3 October.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as Sandy beats a path towards the US east coast, with reports of very high winds, significant flooding and thousands without power
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rosario Crocetta, who made his name by standing up to the mafia and surviving three assassination plots, is poised for office A gay man who shrugged off three mafia plots to kill him is poised to become Sicily's first homosexual governor in elections that show the centre left advancing at the expense of Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing party. Representing a coalition of Italy's centre-left Democratic Party and the Catholic UDC party, Rosario Crocetta is leading against the Berlusconi candidate and a contender representing the maverick movement of comedian Beppe Grillo, who trails in third place. Crocetta, a devoted Catholic, has long claimed that southern Italy is surprisingly relaxed about gay politicians, once stating, "There is a great respect for the individual, making it less homophobic than the north." In August he told an interviewer, "After leaving prison in England, Oscar Wilde took refuge in Palermo. Seen like this, there is lot people have to learn about the south." As mayor of Gela, Crocetta persuaded local businesses not to pay protection money to the mafia and claimed that coming out gave him a sense of liberation that allowed him to understand how suffocated Sicily had become under the mafia's yoke. One mob boss who hired a Lithuanian assassin for a failed bid to kill Crocetta was less than tolerant of his sexuality than voters, describing him in a wiretapped call as "this queer communist". A local magistrate said at the time: "The clans may ridicule Crocetta's sexuality, but it's the backing he gave businesses that refuse to pay the pizzo [protection payment] that really drove them mad." Crocetta has suggested that a surprising number of members of Cosa Nostra are themselves gay, claiming, "The idea that the mafia is all church, home and shotguns makes me laugh." Palermo magistrate Antonio Ingroia has said he believes there are a number of gay bosses, adding "It remains a taboo since they are scared of being ejected from the mob."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as Sandy beats a path towards the US east coast, with reports of very high winds, significant flooding and thousands without power
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pro-tourism demonstrators plan rally but locals protest against vessels clogging up canals amid fears of damage and pollution A row in Venice over the cruise liners that clog the city's canals has intensified, with supporters planning a rally to defend tourism and opponents saying the ships are turning the area into Disneyland. Two cruise ships a day currently sail down Venice's narrow Giudecca canal, offering passengers spectacular views as they tower over St Marks Square but, according to protesters, polluting the delicate eco system of the lagoon and shaking the fragile foundations of the city. Local demonstrators who took to the Giudecca canal in small boats in September were confronted by a heavy police presence and buzzed by a police helicopter. In response to their protest, port workers will meet at Venice's cruise ship port on Tuesday in solidarity with the two million tourists who arrive on 650 ships annually. "We want to defend the ships that put food on the table of 5,000 families and boost the economy, given that every passenger spends about €200 in town," said Massimo Bernardo of the Cruise Venice committee. "The cruise ships are helping turn Venice into Disneyland," countered Silvio Testa, spokesman for the No Grandi Navi committee. "Let's say I want to buy a hammer in Venice, all I can find is carnival masks." Testa said the ships not only belched fumes, "but also displace 90,000 tonnes of water, which gets pushed against the medieval city like a piston, to what effect no one knows." Bernardo said the water movement was no different to tidal movement. "The ships also switch to a cleaner fuel when they enter the lagoon," he said. The protest escalated after the crash of the Costa Concordia cruise liner off the Italian island of Giglio in January, prompting fears a ship could one day slam into St Marks Square. "With the two tugs that escort the ships and the two local pilots that go on board, a Captain Schettino would have to convince four people to leave his route," said Paolo Costa, the head of Venice's port authority. The authority has nevertheless proposed an alternative route to the city's port, which would see ships arrive through a southern entrance, follow the route taken by cargo ships to the mainland port of Marghera and then cut across the lagoon, avoiding the Giudecca canal. The plan requires dredging a 4.8km stretch of the two-metre deep lagoon to accommodate the cruise ships, which need 10 metres of water. That would take 18 months and cost €128m. Bernardo said he approved of the plan, but Testa said he would oppose it. "It still means the erosion and pollution caused by these ships stays inside the lagoon, leading to its destruction over the long term," Testa added.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former president fires up college audience by criticising Romney on climate change, student loans and economic arithmetic Bill Clinton spearheaded the drive to get the crucial youth vote out for the Democrats in swing state Florida on Monday, stepping in for the president to fire up a student audience by deriding Mitt Romney over climate change, student loans and an inability to do arithmetic. "I have very strong feelings about this election. I'm not mad at anybody. Shucks, I don't mind Governor Romney for wanting to be president. I did too. But this is not about the candidates. This about you and your future," Clinton told a receptive crowd at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "It's about two very different approaches and which one is more likely to build a 21st century of the American dream." Clinton led the speeches after the president called off an appearance, no doubt aware that knocking Mitt Romney beneath a sunny Florida sky would not sit well next to news footage of much of the rest of the east coast drowning under Hurricane Sandy. Clinton told the students that the US has dropped over the past decade from second to 16th in world in the percentage of young adults with four year degrees. "You know why, don't you? Because the cost of college went through roof and people got scared that if they borrowed the money they wouldn't be able to pay it back," he said. The former president said that the student loan issue alone is reason enough to vote for Obama because he is making them more accessible and reducing the cost. "That means nobody will ever have to drop out of college again because of the cost of a college education," he said. It went down well with a crowd the Democrats need. Obama's victory in Florida in 2008 was delivered by college towns but opinion polls show a sharp fall in enthusiasm among the young compared to four years ago. Among younger voters, Obama crushed John McCain by 35 percentage points. The president still commands the bulk of the youth vote but a Harvard survey showed his advantage has fallen to 19 points. "There really isn't the enthusiasm there was in 2008," said Dan Oldehol. "There isn't as much change need. A lot of policies needed changing in 2008. There was sharper polarisation. He's had an OK four years but he hasn't had a brilliant four years." Still, Clinton hit the right buttons in reminding students that while there may not be the inspiration and vision of four years ago there is still a lot at stake. The former president sneered at Romney for saying he will scrap subsidies for solar companies and wind farms when coal and oil get subsidies that are proportionately just as large. He also took at shot at the Republican contender for questioning climate change. "America is the only major country in the world where any major political party is denying climate change instead of arguing about what to do about it," he said. Clinton also derided Romney for "failing the arithmetic test", saying his economic numbers don't add up and that there was an "unreal quality" to the presidential debates. The former president emphasised solidarity. "Countries that have polices that say we're all in this together work better than countries that say you're on your own," he said. Among those cheering was Steve Johnson, who two years ago was president of the Republican club at the University of Central Florida. Now he is voting for Barack Obama. "I switched because the Republicans are looking after the upper percentile of the nation. Republican politicians just don't allow you to move forward. They say America is the land of opportunity but not with the Republicans," he said. Campus rallies are different. For a start, most others do not have thumping disco music at 8am. And free contraception is not generally a campaign theme hammered by the president's supporters at stops in Florida's retirement communities. Clinton added his own twist, boasting that Arizona, where he was once governor, has the largest mascara plant in the world. But he said he personally has no need of it he's not in a punk band. Clinton ended with a pep talk on the president's healthcare reforms. Obamacare now entitles young people to remain on their parents' health insurance until 26 years old. Clinton said that Romney's claim that people don't die for lack of health insurance is not true. Study after study, he said, shows those with insurance see doctors sooner and live longer. Clinton said Romney wants to scrap the health reforms in order to enrich insurance companies. That's one of the reasons one of the students in the audience, Jonathon Hope, is voting for Obama. "In 2010, 49 million Americans didn't have healthcare. That's what decided it for me," he said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions and allies projected to win 240-260 seats, a result foreign observers call a 'step backwards' Ukraine's president remains on course for an absolute majority in parliament after winning elections that international monitors criticised as a "step backwards". Yanukovych's Party of Regions and its allies were projected to get 240-260 seats in the 450-seat parliament following Sunday's elections, well ahead of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party of the jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. But the elections were also notable for the surprise breakthrough of a nationalist group called Svoboda (Freedom), which achieved 8% of the vote. More predictably, another opposition formation under the WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko won 13%, meaning the boxer will now take his seat in one of the world's most combustible parliaments. The upshot is likely to be a parliament which, though sympathetic to the president, promises vibrant opposition. "Our parliament will be definitely more pluralistic than the Russian one," said Oleksiy Haran, professor of political science at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. But international observers said the elections were not as impressive as the vote two years ago that ushered Yanukovich into the presidency. Observers said the race was unfairly skewed in favour of the ruling party, citing Tymoshenko's absence from the elections, the diversion of government resources to help the incumbents and biased media coverage. "Considering the abuse of power and the excessive role of money in this election, democratic progress appears to have reversed in Ukraine," said Walburga Habsburg Douglas, the special co-ordinator who led the OSCE election mission. Svoboda is believed to have cashed in on residual anti-Russian sentiment, particularly following a language law passed in the summer that gave more status to the Russian language. Many Ukrainian-speaking voters decided to vote for the Svoboda party, thinking it would be ready to protect the Ukrainian culture, analysts said. Oleh Taihnybok, leader of Svoboda, dismissed concerns that some in the party hold extreme nationalist views. "We are no antisemitic, we are no xenophobic party," he told the Guardian. The political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko believes that thanks to Svoboda the new parliament will be even more turbulent than in the past. "This party will add more pepper into the Ukrainian borscht," he said.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastern Las Vegas is a Democratic stronghold but it's also been hit hard by the US economy and Republicans see an opportunity It was not as visually striking as the replica Eiffel Tower a few miles down the road but the office off Eastern Avenue, in the gritty part of Las Vegas tourists seldom see, was just as incongruous. Smack in the middle of a row of Latino-owned stores, many with Spanish names and piped Mexican ballads, a sign on the facade announced its mission in big blue and red letters: Romney. Stencilled beneath it: believe in America. When it first opened it was challenge enough for locals to believe in this apparition. Republicans, here? This, after all, was eastern Las Vegas, a sprawl of nondescript strip malls, dilapidated taco restaurants and low-rise, bleached apartments which immigrants called home and Democrats called a bastion. Republican canvassers were as rare as unicorns. "This is pretty groundbreaking. We've recruited hundreds of volunteers," beamed Elsa Barnhill, 25, the Republican's Nevada state director for Hispanic outreach, seated inside the office. "We are narrowing the gap. We are starting to erode the bad image we had." Four years ago Barack Obama won Nevada by 12 points, the sort of margin where votes are weighed rather than counted, but victory this time is not assured. Polls in the state give the president a consistent but razor-thin lead over his Republican challenger. The reason was visible from Barnhill's doorway: several nearby stores were boarded up and abandoned, testaments to disastrous levels of foreclosure and 12.1% unemployment, the nation's highest, with unemployment among the state's Latinos even worse, at 19%. Nevada has been dubbed ground zero of the economic crisis. A block away Manny and Lilia Ceballos, a Hispanic couple and registered Democrats who run a bail bond business, said they would not vote for Obama again. "The economy has suffered. We need change," said Manny. "To vote for him again and expect a different outcome would be the definition of madness. Republicans are friendlier to small business owners." Emboldened by such sentiments Republicans are raiding this core Democratic constituency, blitzing Spanish language media with adverts, identifying and registering supporters at community events, erecting signs and billboards saying "Juntos con Romney", together with Romney. "Obama tells these good stories but this ain't time for that," said Robert Zavala, 43, a Nicaraguan-born activist who spends his days erecting Romney billboards. "We're like Catholic missionaries. I was in a pro-Obama bakery the other day explaining things and at the end they gave me a cookie. People are waking up to reality." Romney has visited the state six times since becoming the de facto nominee and dispatched his Spanish-speaking son Craig as a touring surrogate. "We've been making important headway in the Hispanic community, which has been disproportionately affected by the president's policies," said Mason Harrison, a Nevada campaign spokesman who also worked here for John McCain's presidential bid. "People are excited. We've made three times as many phone calls and knocked on five times as many doors as we did in 2008. For the first time we've opened an office in east Las Vegas, right in the belly of the beast. As a result, we're much closer to where we want to be. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people with our turnout." 'They're really going for it'If Harrison is right, Nevada, with just six electoral college votes, could prove decisive. Having backed the winner in nine of the last 10 presidential elections it also boasts bellwether mystique: as Nevada goes, so goes the nation. Both sides agree Latinos, comprising 14% of the electorate, are crucial. In 2008 about 70% backed Obama, according to exit polls. Republicans know most will again back the president; the challenge is to whittle the margin so Republican bastions in rural areas, and their apparent edge in Washoe county, which includes Reno, will outweigh Obama's huge lead in Clark county, which includes Las Vegas and accounts for three-quarters of Latinos. Romney, analysts say, needs to bag at least a third of Latino votes to prevail. Hence the Republican outpost on Eastern Avenue and the unfamiliar spectacle of Republican party activists and newly formed conservative groups like Nevada Hispanics canvassing in poor neighbourhoods. "We've seen them out there. They're really going for it," said Leo Murietta, Nevada state director of Mi Familia Vota, a non-partisan group which itself registered 17,301 Latino voters in Nevada. Will the Republican outreach prise this state, and possibly the presidency, from Obama? Jon Ralston, a prominent commentator and analyst, gave a blunt assessment. "Mitt Romney is getting crushed here among Latinos, as he is elsewhere. You can't lose this demographic group by this size and hope to win the race." A poll last week gave Obama 69% support among Nevada's Latinos and Romney 28%. Meaning there are precious few couples like the Ceballos, the repentant Democrats. The bright lining for Romney is Latinos lag other groups in expressed commitment to go to the polls. But in Nevada Democrats have racked up an impressive advantage in voter registration – 120,000 in Clark county alone. "If those voters turn out I don't see how Mitt Romney makes the maths work," said Ralston. With the state's economy so bad Obama should be reeling, he added, but Romney's stance on immigration during the primary campaign, when he tacked right to outflank rivals and opposed the Dream act, sabotaged his Latino outreach. "He took a position that has come back to haunt him. You can't undo that in one election cycle." Latinos routinely rank jobs and healthcare above immigration in a list of concerns, stoking Republican hopes of making the election a referendum on the economy, but immigration was a "trigger issue", said Murietta, of Mi Familia Vota. Jody Agius Vallejo, a sociology professor and author of Barrio to Burbs: the making of the Mexican-American middle class, said latinos were diverse and potentially open to Republican arguments but they felt "villainised" by the party. "Many Latinos, regardless of their national origin or immigrant generation acutely feel the waves of hostility." Romney's Eastern Avenue office was a lonely outpost. Next door Damaris Rosales, 25, had mounted an Obama poster at the entrance to her family's photo print store. Brought to the US from Mexico as an infant, her battle to be allowed to study and legally work had affected her extended family. "They saw my struggle, saw what I had to go through," she said. Obama's support for Dream and his deferral of deportations for young Latinos salved disappointment with his administration's record level of deportations and stalled immigration reform, said Rosales. Diners tucking into $1.49 tacos at a nearby restaurant, Carniceria La Bonita, agreed. "We all have siblings, cousins, friends, someone, who is undocumented," said Olga, 48, a Guatemalan-born cleaner who declined to give her surname. "Walk down the street in Arizona and they can arrest you just for being Hispanic," said her partner, Edgar, 50, a landscape gardener. Neither had papers to vote but they said their children and siblings would vote for Obama. A Salvadorean at a neighbouring table said he "would die for Obama". The diners mocked Romney's Spanish language ads and his apparent spray tan for a Univision interview. "Yeah, and now I'm a turkey voting for Christmas," said Edgar.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Infusion Resource, the latest closure related to meningitis investigation, not affiliated with company linked to source Massachusetts regulators shut down a pharmacy on Sunday after a surprise inspection raised concerns about the sterility of its drugs, in the third such closure since a deadly meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated drugs from another pharmacy in the state. The latest pharmacy to be closed, Infusion Resource, is not affiliated with New England Compounding Center, the company linked to the outbreak, officials said. Infusion Resource in Waltham was closed after inspectors last week found "significant issues" and "expressed concerns for the sterility of products", said Madeleine Biondolillo, director of the state's bureau of healthcare safety and quality. No contaminated drugs were found at Infusion Resource, but 40 patients and their doctors were asked to return any medications they received from the company, she said. Massachusetts regulators have come under fire after contaminated drugs from NECC, based in Framingham, were cited as the cause of the outbreak that has killed 25 people and sickened another 337 in 18 states. The state is conducting inspections of all compounding pharmacies that handle sterile medications in the wake of the deadly national meningitis outbreak. The two pharmacies shut down earlier were NECC, which was closed on 3 October, and a sister company of NECC, called Ameridose, which closed voluntarily for inspections on 19 October. Bernard Lambrese, CEO of Infusion Resource, said in a statement he wanted to reassure "patients and the general public of the safety, purity and efficacy" of solutions produced at his company's Waltham pharmacy. "Patient safety is something we take very seriously," he said. Lauren Smith, interim commissioner of the Massachusetts department of public health, told reporters the ongoing state-wide inspections are part of "a series of aggressive and necessary actions to protect public safety and enhance oversight of this industry" following the national meningitis outbreak. Separately, Smith said a member of the state's pharmacy oversight board with ties to NECC and Ameridose, Sophia Pasedis, has rejected a request by regulators to step down. Pasedis sits on the state's Board Registration of Pharmacy and is vice-president of regulatory affairs at Ameridose. Ameridose has said Pasedis recused herself from any board topics that related to NECC or Ameridose But Smith said a review of the board's minutes "call into question" that defense and fail to provide definitive proof that Pasedis recused herself on certain occasions. "Given the ongoing investigation, we believe it is in best interest of the board to have Ms Pasedis step down," Smith said. "Thus far, she has declined to do so." Ameridose representatives did not immediately reply to calls and emails for comment. The US Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it found "greenish black foreign matter" and other contaminants in an injectable steroid produced by NECC. It also found that vials from the same bin of the steroid contained what appeared to be a "white filamentous material", according to the report released by the FDA following inspections of the facility in October.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | John Makinson says transaction has been signed and publisher could not accept cash offer from Rupert Murdoch's HarperCollins Penguin's chief executive has ruled out accepting a counterbid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns rival publisher HarperCollins, saying that its venture with Bertelsmann's Random House is a done deal. Murdoch is understood to have made a "very general approach" to Pearson when the deal with Bertelsmann was already close to being signed. However, Pearson is understood to have believed an offer from News Corporation to buy Penguin outright would not have been financially viable. John Makinson, who will take the role of executive chairman of the board of the new Penguin Random House, dismissed the chances of News Corp derailing the deal by making a cash offer for Penguin. "There isn't any sort of break clause [with Bertelsmann]," he said. "It is a signed transaction." The Penguin chief said that the board of Pearson had "exhaustively examined" all options for the business before settling on the Bertelsmann deal. He did not directly deny the question of whether this process included having previously held talks with News Corp or HarperCollins. "I'm not talking too much about that," he said. "I don't think we should talk about that, that should be something you ask Pearson." About two-thirds of Penguin's business is in the US, meaning any deal with News Corp would have triggered huge capital gains tax liabilities. This means that Murdoch, or any bidder looking to buy Penguin outright, would have had to have paid an extremely price to make it worthwhile for Pearson – significantly over £1bn. It is not now possible for Murdoch to derail the Bertelsmann deal with a blockbuster offer to shareholders, as the joint venture plan does not require approval by Pearson investors. The deal does not qualify as a class one transaction according to UK listing authority rules on tests relating to market capitalisation and profits. Makinson dismissed concerns that creating a global book powerhouse – Penguin Random House will have combined revenues of £2.4bn – will threaten the independent publishers and vibrancy in the book market. "There will be a high degree of separation and autonomy and continuity in the [existing] editorial structures of the two companies," he said. "From the perspective of a reader, author or agent there won't be very much change in the day-to-day operations of the companies." He also said the strategy behind the deal was not to take an axe to the editorial side of the business, but that there could be savings to be had in the back office. "This is not consolidation being driven by financial cost arithmetic," he said. "In the back end sure, a lot of savings can be achieved in procurement and technology investment." He said that the deal was driven by a need to successfully transform the Penguin and Random House businesses to a world of ebooks, and maintain strength in the face of ever-strengthening online players such as Amazon. "We are all worried as the world moves to a more digital structure for content and distribution, that publishing could diminish, fewer books be published and fewer risks taken," he said. "We hope to be able to offer more to readers and authors. This [deal] will give us resources, capacity and confidence to publish a broad array [of content] and to take risks, that is what good publishing is about." Makinson said he expected to spend more time in New York, where he says he believes the headquarters of the new venture will be based, as well as London. Random House's Markus Dohle has been appointed a chairman and chief executive of the new venture, with Bertelsmann holding five board seats, Pearson four. Makinson said that the decision to strike a deal with Bertelsmann – talks started five months ago – was undertaken with the unanimous backing of the Pearson board. "It has been a very thorough process," he said. "The board of Pearson examined [every option] exhaustively. There was a great deal of analysis of all options available to Penguin. We looked at selling, merging, buying, running it differently within Pearson. We concluded this was the best option for Pearson's shareholders and the publishing industry." Makinson dismissed the view of some analysts that Penguin Random House is likely to run into regulatory issues. "I don't think our combined market share will trigger the need for disposals – 30% is an important number," he said, referring to the acceptable market share bar set by Universal Music's takeover of EMI. "We don't expect to be north of 30%," he added. "In the round we expect to meet the regulatory criteria." He said that in a few "small discrete markets" there may be a need to "have a discussion". However, his legal advice indicates no need for significant disposals in major markets, he added. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Giant storm turns, begins path towards land
• New York City in mass shutdown amid storm surge fears
• Haiti counts cost as death toll rises to 51
• Airlines ground transatlantic flights to US east coast
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Millions brace as Sandy barrels towards US East Coast
• New York City in mass shutdown amid storm surge fears
• Haiti counts cost as death toll rises to 51
• Airlines ground transatlantic flights to US east coast
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Maya Fernández Allende, 41, defeated the incumbent mayor Pedro Sabat in the Nuñoa district in Santiago Maya Fernández Allende, the granddaughter of Chile's fallen socialist president, Salvador Allende, won her first major political race on Sunday as leftwing parties regained lost ground in municipal elections nationwide. Millions of citizens voted for the first time after Chile greatly expanded its electorate, although absenteeism was also high. Fernández, 41, defeated the incumbent mayor, Pedro Sabat of the centre-right National Renovation party, in the Santiago district of Nuñoa. A socialist and a vet by trade, she served on the local council in the district after growing up in Cuba, where her mother Beatriz lived in exile after President Allende was killed during General Augusto Pinochet's 1973 coup. The left's biggest victory was in central Santiago, where Carolina Tohá defeated Pablo Zalaquett of the ultra-conservative Independent Democratic Union. Tohá served as former president Michelle Bachelet's spokeswoman, and her father, Allende's vice-president, died after being jailed and tortured. Tohá had sided with students protesting for free, quality education in Chile, while Zalaquett ordered police to crack down on their demonstrations. "I will be a mayor for all," Tohá said in her victory speech. "Everyone will be listened to. No one will be excluded." For many members of Chile's student protest movement, which burst on to the scene last year with a series of major demonstrations, this was their first chance to vote. The left also won in the capital's upper-class Providencia district, where the community leader Josefina Errázuriz ended retired colonel Cristián Labbé's 16-year-hold on the mayor's office. Labbé led Pinochet's domestic intelligence agency during the dictatorship and has tried to bring Pinochet's disciples back from the political wilderness. Centre-right politicians held on to five other major cities, including Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, La Florida, Las Condes and San Bernardo, but they lost southern Concepción, where the mayor was sharply criticised for her handling of the aftermath of an earthquake. In all, Chileans decided 345 mayor's offices and 2,224 local council seats nationwide. With more than 90% of the vote counted, the ruling rightwing alliance held 37% of the council seats, compared with 43% for the various parties of the left. The former president Ricardo Lagos called Sunday's election, the first since Chile added 5 million new voters to the rolls by automatically registering all adults, the end of an era. By making voter registration automatic, Chile increased its electorate from 8.1m to 13.4m out of a total population of 17m. But with voting no longer mandatory, many stayed home, dismaying those who had hoped that so much social upheaval would lead to bigger changes. The old electorate had moved increasingly to the right as ever-fewer Chileans bothered to register and vote. After Sebastián Piñera's 2009 presidential win ended 20 years of centre-left rule, his centre-right alliance agreed to expand the electorate only if the left agreed to make voting optional. Some analysts say the left's concessions were a mistake, noting that wealthier people are more likely to vote even when it's not mandatory. On Sunday night, the turnout appeared to confirm the left's worst fears. In some districts, absenteeism reached 80%. Piñera called the absenteeism a warning sign for Chile's democracy and pledged that his government will do all it can to increase participation in next November's presidential elections.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastern seaboard shuts down as tens of millions brace for storm's landfall and election run-up lurches into crisis mode
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mario Draghi has warned that European countries must accept the loss of some sovereignty in order to save the euro
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates on the last day of a truce that has been marred by air raids and fighting
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Early results suggest Regions party will retain control of parliament as observers prepare to rule on transparency of vote The Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's party appears to have won parliamentary elections that were tainted by the jailing of the top opposition leader, according to preliminary results. Despite a strong showing by pro-western opposition parties, Yanukovych's Regions party seems set to retain its parliamentary majority, with its candidates leading in individual races across the country. With the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in jail and widespread fears of election fraud, the west is paying close attention to the vote in the ex-Soviet state, which lies between Russia and the European Union and serves as a key conduit for the transit of Russian energy supplies to many EU countries. By Monday morning votes had been counted at 30% of polling stations nationwide, and Yanukovych's party was ahead with 37% in the proportional share of the vote. It was also poised to win about 115 of the 225 seats allocated in individual races, meaning loyalists to the president are likely to hold a majority in the 450-seat parliament. International observers will issue their verdict on the fairness of the vote later on Monday. If the election is deemed undemocratic it could stall Kiev's efforts to join the EU and push it towards Moscow. "We believe that this is an indisputable victory," said the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, after the polls closed on Sunday. "Above all, it shows the people's trust in the course that is being pursued." With Yanukovych under fire over the jailing of Tymoshenko, his main rival, and rampant corruption and slow reforms, the opposition appears to have made a strong showing. The early results show Tymoshenko's party had about 20% of the vote, the pro-western Udar party led by the boxing champion Vitali Klitschko had 13% and the far-right Svoboda party 8%. The Communist party, Yanukovych's traditional allies, appeared to have won about 15% of the vote. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, aTymoshenko ally, said: "This clearly shows that the people of Ukraine support the opposition, not the government." Opposition parties alleged widespread violations such as vote-buying and multiple voting on election day, but an independent local election monitor said it remained to be seen whether the violations would significantly affect the overall elections results. Authorities insisted the election was honest and democratic.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow how events unfolded as violence continued on the last day of a truce for Eid al-Adha
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New York partially evacuated before 'super storm' arrives; US presidential election campaign is also thrown into disarray Tens of millions of people braced themselves for the arrival of hurricane Sandy on Sunday, as the gigantic storm threatened to unleash punishing winds, driving rain, heavy snow and a potentially lethal storm surge along the east coast of the US. The hurricane, which has claimed 65 lives in the Caribbean, is also likely to play havoc with the US election, introducing a fresh element of uncertainty and disruption in the final days of the closely contested campaign. Although Sandy is not expected to make landfall until late on Monday, gale-force winds were on Sunday night already buffeting Virginia and North Carolina. The "super-storm" is expected to veer left towards the east coast, colliding with wintry weather moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic. "It's a very, very large system," Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, told Reuters. "The storm is going to carve a pretty large swath of bad weather, both water and wind." New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Boston all lie in the target zone, but Sandy is likely to cause disruption across much of the US and officials warned it could cause power cuts lasting for days. "The time for preparing and talking is about over," warned Craig Fugate, federal emergency management administrator. "People need to be acting now." Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both been forced to cancel events scheduled for Sunday and Monday, and the Obama campaign's "early vote" strategy is in danger of being thrown into disarray. Instead, the president had more pressing matters at hand, as he signed emergency declarations for the states of New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, ordered the evacuation of some 375,000 people from low-lying areas and public schools were told to close on Monday. For only the second time in the city's history, the subway system is to be closed. "If you don't evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you," Bloomberg said. "This is a serious and dangerous storm."Although similar warnings of serious damage in New York last year turned out to be empty, people are taking few chances. Supermarkets were packed as customers stocked up, businesses closed early and nursing homes were being evacuated. Airlines cancelled more than 5,000 flights and Amtrak began suspending passenger train services across the northeast. Philadelphia also shut down its subways, buses and commuter trains and announced that schools would be closed on Monday. Boston, Washington and Baltimore also called off school.
The US stock markets will close on Monday, and possibly Tuesday, with regulators saying the storm would make it difficult to ensure the safety of employees. Forecasters warned that at high tide, seawater could surge up to 3.4 metres above ground level in New York harbour. In Lower Manhattan water was close to street level. One employee of an apartment building pushed a trolley of sandbags across the road to try to reinforce the defences. Obama urged those in the path of the storm "to take this very seriously" but expressed confidence that all emergency measures were in place. "This hasn't hit landfall yet," he said. "So we don't yet know where it's going to hit, where we're going to see the biggest impacts and that's exactly why it's so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in." The storm posed an additional challenge for Obama, who must balance his duties as president with his desire to get out on the campaign trail. After the US ambassador to Libya was killed in September, Obama was accused of quitting Washington too soon to attend a fund-raising event in Las Vegas. After visiting the federal emergency monitoring agency, he headed to Florida a day earlier than planned to squeeze in campaign stops there and in Ohio before returning to Washington. Romney also abandoned campaign stops on the east coast but without presidential commitments he has been able to rearrange his schedule to continue campaigning elsewhere, chiefly Ohio. Obama's main campaign adviser, David Axelrod, told CNN no one knew how hurricane Sandy will affect the election. "We're most concerned about people. This storm could affect 50 million people," Axelrod said. "The best thing we can do is to focus on how we can help people, and hope it all clears out by next weekend." In New York, the aisles of Whole Foods Market in Tribeca, one of the biggest retailers in Lower Manhattan, were heaving with customers. Grace Lin, who lives just outside the evacuation zone, said she was taking in friends from nearby. "There will be four adults and four children, and we are two adults and two children, so it's going to be pretty cosy," she said. Residents of the area had made similar preparations for hurricane Irene in September last year which ended up sparing New York City and leading to accusations of overreaction. But Lin said this storm appeared to be worse, and that she had particular concerns about power outages. "People are taking it more seriously than last time. The biggest issue for our friends is the elevators not working, not the flooding." Not everyone planned to leave the recommended evacuation areas, though. Kevin Heeney, 28, was stocking up with bottled water, but had no plans to move out. "We're going to stick it out," he said. Emerging from Whole Foods laden with bags of groceries, Danny and Laura Fletcher, a British couple who had just moved to the city, were sceptical of the reaction of New Yorkers. "We've just bought a big roast lunch," said Danny Fletcher. "I don't think it's going to be that bad. But it's panic stations in there," he said. Jonas Clark of Manchester Township, New Jersey – in the area where Sandy was projected to come ashore – stood outside a convenience store, calmly sipping a coffee and wondering why people were working themselves "into a tizzy". "I've seen a lot of major storms in my time, and there's nothing you can do but take reasonable precautions and ride out things the best you can," said Clark, 73. "Nature's going to do what it's going to do. It's great that there's so much information out there about what you can do to protect yourself and your home, but it all boils down to 'use your common sense'." October surprisesHurricane Sandy has injected an element of unpredictability into a US election that had been proceeding along lines worked out by the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney months ago. But it is not the first time in US political history that bad weather or other unexpected vents have changed a campaign's dynamic. US journalists have since the 1970s have come to expect what they have coined as 'the October Surprise', first used in 1972. These October surprises have ranged from the revelation in 2000 of George W. Bush's arrest on a drunk-driving charge, to the appearance of an Osama bin Laden video in 2004. Sometimes the suprises are not confined to October. Romney fell victim just two months ago to a similar hurricane warning when he was forced to cancel the first day of the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida. Given that the convention as a whole suffered from bad reviews in the US media and he received no poll bounce from it, that may have turned out to be a plus rather than a negative. In the run-up to the 2008 election, the sudden economic collapse in September saw Republican John McCain suspend his campaign to return to Washington for an emergency meeting, forcing Obama to return too. That went badly for McCain as he had little to say in Washington. Even a day or two off the campaign trail can have an impact. Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, fighting for the party nomination in 1972, seemed to have Ohio in the bag but may have lost it because of returning to Washington to deal with an issue related to the Vietnam war. No one can predict the impact of Hurricane Sandy on this election. What will play better? Obama being presidential in Washington, seemingly in command of the emergency operations, while Rommey continues campaigning? Or will Obama be unable resist the lure of rushing back to campaigning prematurely? Trouble aheadA stark warning has been sent out by the National Weather Service from Mount Jolly, in New Jersey. Speaking of the extreme danger of the coming storm and the strong possibility of serious damage, the statement said: "If you are being asked to evacuate a coastal location by state and local officials, please do so. "If you are reluctant to evacuate, and you know someone who rode out the '62 storm on the barrier islands, ask them if they could do it again. "If you are reluctant, think about your loved ones, think about the emergency responders who will be unable to reach you when you make the panicked phone call to be rescued, think about the rescue and recovery teams who will rescue you if you are injured – or recover your remains if you do not survive."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Berlin says it will not take losses on its Greek bonds, as the Troika reportedly proposed last week.
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