|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | European unions have organised a Day of Action, with workers in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal all due to hold protests today
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Weak response by United Nations contributed to 30,000 civilian deaths during final government onslaught against Tamil Tigers An internal United Nations report has strongly criticised its own officials for failing to protect civilians during the last days of the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka, saying it could have done much more to save lives. More than 30,000 civilians died during fighting between militant Tamil separatists from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the country's armed forces in battles that culminated in the total defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The Sri Lankan military has been held responsible for most of those deaths by many observers and is accused of indiscriminately shelling areas where a small number of fighters were mixed with huge crowds of refugees. Authorities deny the charge. The report, leaked to the BBC, is due to be presented to UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on Wednesday in New York. It paints the organisation's Sri Lanka operation as crippled by a lack of experience and susceptible to government intimidation. The UN should "be able to meet a much higher standard in fulfilling its protection and humanitarian responsibilities", it says. According to the BBC, the report says that "many senior UN staff did not perceive the prevention of killing of civilians as their responsibility … and agency and department heads at UN [headquarters] were not instructing them otherwise". There was, it is claimed, "a sustained and institutionalised reluctance" among UN personnel in Sri Lanka "to stand up for the rights of people they were mandated to assist". Former UN officials serving in the Sri Lanka at the time say they were forced to make difficult decisions under great pressure. The report, the work of a panel led by the former UN official Charles Petrie, details how the organisation failed to publicise authoritative data about the human toll of the fighting as casualties mounted. It criticises an earlier decision to withdraw UN staff from zones where much of the killing later took place because the Sri Lankan government said their safety could no longer be guaranteed. The Sri Lankan government, dominated by nationalist politicians from the Sinhalese majority, was determined that international public opinion would not prevent it eradicating the LTTE in a final, brutal campaign that would end the 25-year-old civil war in the island nation. The Tamil Tigers were responsible for numerous human rights abuses in the zones they controlled in the northern part of the country including forced conscription of teenagers for their military. They also pioneered the tactic of suicide bombing. The Sri Lankan government successfully prevented independent witnesses such as diplomats, reporters and representatives of NGOs from reaching the combat zones during the last months of the war. A UN spokesman said the organisation would comment when the report was published in the coming days. There was no immediate statement from Sri Lankan authorities in response to the leak. Though Sri Lanka's GDP rose by around 8% during 2011 and tourism is set to bring in more than $1bn this year, the popularity that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who took power in 2005, won among the Sinhalese majority after the victory over the Tamil Tigers has faded. Rocketing food prices and poor economic management have sapped the president's popular support in rural areas, a key constituency. However new elections are not due before 2016.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pentagon joins president in supporting Afghanistan commander looped into Petraeus scandal as email investigation widens Both Barack Obama and the Pentagon insisted on Tuesday that they were standing by the top US commander in Afghanistan, John Allen, after he became the latest general to find himself entangled in the widening Petraeus emails scandal. Allen is under investigation by the defence department over his communications with Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who sparked the FBI investigation that stumbled across David Petraeus' affair after she complained about "harassing" emails that were traced to his mistress Paula Broadwell. The Pentagon's inspector general was examining 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, including many emails between Allen and Kelley, who has been described as an unpaid social liaison for senior officers at MacDill air force base in Tampa, home of US central command. Asked at a White House briefing on Tuesday if the president believed Allen could continue to prosecute the war in Afghanistan while under investigation, the president's spokesman Jay Carney said: "I can tell you that the president thinks very highly of General Allen and his service to his country as well as the job he has done in Afghanistan … He has faith in General Allen, believes he's doing and has done an excellent job at Isaf [International Security Assistance Force]." A Pentagon official, at a separate, anonymous briefing, said Allen denied having had an affair and that the email exchanges were at worst "flirtatious". Allen had been scheduled to take over as chief of US forces in Europe and as the supreme commander of Nato. That appointment has been put on hold pending a defence department investigation. The disclosures about Petraeus and Allen have disrupted president's post-election plans. Obama was blindsided by the FBI revelations about both men. Although there were potential national security implications at least in the case of Petraeus, Obama was not informed until last week, even though the FBI investigation had been under way for months. Carney told reporters that Obama was first informed about Petraeus on Wednesday, the day after the election, and about Allen on Friday. Carney did not overtly criticise the FBI but he said the president was "certainly surprised" when told Petraeus had decided to resign. He referred detailed questions to either the Pentagon or the department of justice. Asked about the FBI delay in informing the White House, Carney said there were protocols in place the FBI had to follow. He appeared to partly contradict himself later, saying these two cases were "unique". Suggesting a breakdown between the White House and the FBI, Carney said he was "not aware" whether Obama had spoken to the FBI director, Robert Mueller, about the investigation. Carney admitted that he would "certainly not suggest [the president] is pleased" by these events. Asked if they had been unwelcome, he said: "Well, I certainly, I think, wouldn't call it welcome." Allen was to have faced a Senate nominating committee this Thursday after being recommended by Obama as head of US forces in Europe and supreme commander of Nato. A Pentagon official said that Allen had informed the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey, that there had been no affair and no security breach. The emails apparently began in 2010, when Allen was in Tampa as deputy of central command, and continued through to this year. The FBI is facing heavy criticism over its handling of the investigation, not just its failure to inform either the White House but senior members of the Senate and House intelligence committee. Allen could face a difficult time if, after completion of a defence department investigation, he goes in front of a Senate nominating committee over the job in Europe. He is due to be replaced in Afghanistan by General Joseph Dunford and the Obama administration has asked the Senate to agree on Thursday to his nomination promptly. The controversies over the generals have proved a distraction in a week in which Obama had hoped to focus primarily on trying to reach a deal with Congress over debt and spending and a visit to New York still struggling to deal with the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. They also complicate Obama's reshuffle of his cabinet and White House staff as well as filling other posts. Obama's choice to replace Petraeus as head of the CIA could end up delayed amid messy Senate hearings depending on the choice. Although there is a Democratic majority in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans are united in criticism of the FBI. Adding a further complication is that members of Congress, particularly Republicans, are still investigating what happened over the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that left the US ambassador and three other Americans killed. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, wants Petraeus to give evidence about Benghazi even though he has resigned from the CIA. Benghazi could also have an impact on Obama's choice to replace Hillary Clinton, who intends stepping down as secretary of state in the second term. Speculation about her replacement centres on the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, and the Senate foreign affairs committee chairman John Kerry. Rice could face a difficult Senate nominating process because of her involvement in the Benghazi story, having initially blamed the attack on a US-produced anti-Muslim video.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Massachusetts health officialsat a loss to explain why pharmacy linked to outbreak was able to operate despite concerns The top public health official in Massachusetts has admitted that "troubling questions" remain over why regulators failed eight years ago to severely sanction a pharmacy now linked to a fatal fungal meningitis outbreak which has killed 32 people across the US. In September 2004, after product safety and sterility problems at the New England Compounding Center – which included meningitis symptoms in two patients linked to methylprednisolone, the injectable steroid implicated in the current outbreak – the state pharmacy board recommended an official reprimand, three years probation and additional sterility training for Brian Cadden, the firm's owner. The company protested, saying it would destroy its business. In testimony to be delivered to a congressional inquiry on Wednesday, Dr Lauren Smith said that despite interviews with the state pharmacy board and a review of the "limited records" surrounding safety problems at NECC in 2002-3, she has been unable to determine what influenced the more lenient consent agreement resolution "given NECC's track record". Instead, the board, responsible for oversight of compounding pharmacies, entered into a "significantly weaker" consent agreement with NECC in 2006. Smith, who was appointed as the public health department's interim commissioner three weeks ago, added: "I will not be satisfied until we know the full story behind this decision." She concluded that the company linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak that began in September 2012, bears the "primary responsibility" for the health scandal. She said: "NECC knowingly disregarded sterility tests, prepared medicine in unsanitary conditions and unlawfully engaged in manufacturing, endangering thousands of lives as a result. NECC bears the primary responsibility for the harm they have caused with these actions." However, Smith's testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee raises more questions than it answers about why, despite repeated complaints, problems and investigations, the company's license was not revoked or other sanctions imposed. A memo from committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee states that as far back as 2003, the Food and Drug Administration warned about the "potential for serious public health consequences if NECC's compounding practices, in particular those relating to sterile products, are not improved". The memo, released on Monday, shows that after several years of problems, FDA officials in 2003 suggested that the compounding pharmacy be "prohibited from manufacturing" until it improved its operations. But FDA regulators deferred to their counterparts in Massachusetts, who ultimately reached an agreement with the pharmacy to settle concerns about the quality of its prescription injections. The health scandal has raised a number of questions over the monitoring and regulation of compounding pharmacies. In the same memo, published on its website, the subcommittee noted that the FDA said as long as the pharmacies operations fall within the scope of the practice of pharmacy "the FDA will continue to defer to state authorities for regulatory oversight". In the hearing on Wednesday, which will investigate whether the outbreak could have been prevented, legislators will ask FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg why her agency did not pursue enforcement actions and how Massachusetts officials allowed NECC to keep its license. Fred Upton, the Republican chairman of the committee, also sent a subpoena to Cadden after he refused to give evidence. In a statement, the committee said: "Our committee has a long, bipartisan history of conducting drug safety oversight. Since the meningitis outbreak, we have been in close contact with the involved agencies and parties, but many unanswered questions remain. The NECC has a history of problems, some of which were documented in an FDA warning letter in 2006 – we want to know what went wrong at this facility, the views and actions of its regulators, and what steps can be taken to ensure such an outbreak never happens again." The committee will first hear from Joyce Lovelace, whose husband Eric, a Kentucky judge, died from a stroke linked to the meningitis outbreak on 17 September. He was the first person to die as a result of a contaminated steroid linked to NECC. An autopsy earlier this month confirmed his death was connected to tainted steroid shots he received weeks earlier in Tennessee to treat neck and back pain. The Senate's health committee plans a hearing on Thursday. In a memorandum, the committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee listed many of the reported incidents concerning "very similar, if not identical underlying misconduct" at NECC. "Some of the violations observed by regulators as early as 2002 include the company's failure to maintain adequate standards for sterile injectable products – the very issue at the center of the current meningitis outbreak," it said. Since the company's formation, in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration has conducted three inspections, each based on a separate set of allegations or events. The Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy, the main regulatory body in charge of NECC, has investigated at least 12 separate complaints concerning NECC or Cadden and issued at least four advisory letters. On Monday, the FDA released a 20-page report which listed a string of unsafe practices and unsanitary conditions at Ameridose, a sister drug company of NECC, also owned by Cadden. It described the results of a month-long inspection last month. There was rusty and unclean equipment, "penetrating leaks", cracked walls covered with what appeared to be adhesive, gloves and gowns that were not sterile, and insects up to 10 feet away from where sterile products were packaged and stored. At least one bird was found flying around the same area, it said. Inspectors also said Ameridose failed to adequately investigate complaints of serious reactions in patients that might have flagged up drug potency problems. The firm "failed to appropriately classify 'patient response' complaints as adverse events", it said. Complaints in relation to one drug, Oxytocin, included "fetal distress" and "hyperstimulated uterus", five cases of maternal haemorrhaging and "shortness of breath and throat closing", the report said. Problems cited with another drug, Heptarin, included "life-threatening" adverse effects. Patient problems with Fentanyl included those where a patient was "over-sedated, unresponsive" and another in which two patients went into "respiratory distress" after receiving the medication.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FBI agent whose 'world view' was hostile to Obama pushed bureau and Congress to intervene in days before the election Of all the questions swirling around the widening farce of General David Petraeus's downfall, one stands out: who is the rogue FBI agent, now dubbed Agent Shirtless, and why was he so determined to bring down the director of the CIA? Since Petraeus's sudden resignation caught Barack Obama by surprise last week, over an affair with his biographer that the FBI knew about for months, the mood in Washington has swung from regret at the loss of a respected soldier and intelligence chief to disbelief and mirth amid almost daily revelations over the scandal, including the irony of the CIA director being brought down by covert surveillance. Astonished members of Congress have also raised questions about the timing of the resignation. The latest twist has dragged Petraeus's successor as US and Isaf military commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, on to the stage after the Pentagon said he is being investigated for "potentially inappropriate communications" with a woman, Jill Kelley, whose complaint about harassing emails from Petraeus's mistress, Paula Broadwell, set in motion the investigation that forced the CIA director from office. Those communications involved more than 20,000 pages of emails, some of them "flirtatious", and other documents over two years. The White House said Barack Obama retains his "faith in General Allen", suggesting that, for the the moment at least, the administration does not feel there is enough there to warrant his resignation. But Allen's appointment to become the next supreme allied commander of Nato is on hold for the investigation. Some Pentagon officials strongly deny Allen had an affair with Kelley but the sheer volume of emails has raised questions about just what kind of relationship the pair had. The denials did not stop a Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, from attempting to exploit the US army's evident embarrassment. "I can say that this shows how shameless all the American troops are, starting from the top commander to the soldiers. Having unlawful relations with a woman is very normal in America," he said. But, for now, the principal focus in Washington is on Petraeus and the part played by the FBI in his resignation, including why it was the president knew nothing about the investigation until hours before the general quit. The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said the president was surprised to hear about Petraeus's affair and that it was for the FBI to explain why Obama was not informed about the months-long probe of the CIA director until last Wednesday. "The fact of the matter is there are processes in place to handle these kind of things. They are playing out appropriately," he said. The swirl of revelations has left members of Congress dumbstruck and scrambling to understand just what is going on as intelligence committees held closed hearings on Tuesday. "Disturbing is the word that has come to my mind since all of this has come to light," said congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee. "Really, I think it goes without saying if you're the director of the CIA, if you are a four-star general in the United States army, that you have to hold yourself to a higher standard. And you can't put yourself in a compromising position." Petraeus's leadership of the CIA began to unravel when Broadwell, his former mistress and writer of an aptly named biography, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, shot off six anonymous harassing emails to Kelley.
Kelley, described by the military as a civilian volunteer who runs social events for service personnel at a Tampa, Florida, military base, was friends with the Petraeus family. They regularly appeared at the same social and charity events, as did Allen who was serving with Petraeus at US central command. The Washington Post reported that the Petraeuses also attended "intimate family gatherings" at the Kelleys. The CIA director was close enough to Kelley to write a letter in support of her "psychologically unstable" twin sister who was involved in a child-custody fight. A former member of the general's military staff told the Washington Post that Kelley was a "self-appointed" go-between for US central command officers in Florida and Middle East government officials. Kelley and her siblings were born in Lebanon and brought to the US as small children. The same official told the paper that "Kelley's presence was often a bit puzzling to the Petraeus staff but the officer said there was never any indication that her relationship with the general was anything more than social". Broadwell appears to have feared there was more to it than that. One of her messages accused Kelley of touching Petraeus under a table in an intimate manner and warned her to stay away from the general. Kelley turned to an old friend in the FBI whose name has yet to be revealed but which will surely come out. It wasn't clear the emails amounted to the kind of threatening behaviour the agency would investigate but the agent and Kelley had a history. He was so taken with her that some months earlier he had taken a picture of himself topless and sent it to Kelley, a married woman.
Agent Shirtless, as he swiftly became known, pressed for an investigation even though cyber crimes were not his area of authority. The FBI Tampa office began a probe but Kelley's agent friend kept up the pressure to dig deeper, to the point where he was told to back off, according to the Wall Street Journal. The agency apparently trod carefully, mindful of the FBI's long history of effectively acting as a secret police with snooping into the private lives of politicians and activists, and blackmail and corruption, under the four decade long leadership of J Edgar Hoover until the 1970s. But the FBI swiftly discovered Broadwell, who is also married with children, was responsible for the harassing emails and from reading other messages in her account concluded she was having an affair with Petraeus. The pair avoided leaving a trail of emails by sharing the passwords to their accounts, and writing messages left in the draft folder for the other to read but which were never sent. The FBI interviewed Broadwell and discovered classified documents on her computer but were unable to prove they came from Petraeus. The agency concluded no crime had been committed and was apparently content to let the matter drop. Agent Shirtless was not. The FBI agent was himself under investigation over his conduct and warned to stay away from the case altogether after the topless picture incident was discovered. So he turned rogue and went elsewhere. The agent's motives are not entirely clear, but he was described by officials as having a particular "world view" which appears to have been hostile to Obama. He apparently saw an opportunity to embarrass the president shortly before the election and approached a Republican member of Congress, David Reichert, who passed the information to the Republican majority leader, Eric Cantor. Cantor spoke to the agent and then contacted the FBI director, Robert Mueller. "I was contacted by an FBI employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain director Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security," said Cantor. That appears to have forced the FBI's hand. Mueller kicked the matter upstairs to the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, on the grounds that Petraeus's affair could open him to blackmail, as unlikely as that seemed, and was therefore a national security matter. Clapper called the CIA director and told him he had to resign. But that was not until two days after the presidential election. Congressman Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives homeland security committee, has demanded to know why Obama was not notified about the investigation earlier – and whether that effectively amounted to a coverup to save the president from embarrassment before the vote. "It's almost unprecedented for the FBI to investigate the director of the CIA. If they were going to do that they should immediately have gone to the attorney general and also to the president of the United States because David Petraeus was a key part of the president's foreign policy team," he told CNN. King called the FBI "derelict in its duty". No Washington scandal is complete without a conspiracy theory. Broadwell delivered one on a plate last month when she told students in Denver that the death of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi was linked to the CIA holding prisoners at a nearby annex. "I don't know if a lot of you have heard this, but the CIA annex had actually taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to get these prisoners back," Broadwell said. Petraeus had been due to testify to Congress this week over the security failings that led to the death of Stevens and three other Americans, including two CIA security men. Once he resigned, the agency said it would send another official to give evidence. The CIA has since denied Broadwell's claim but it led to speculation that Petraeus may have been the source even though the pair was no longer romantically involved by then. King has questioned whether Petraeus's resignation was intended to undermine the congressional probe into the Benghazi killings which is likely to be highly embarrassing to the White House. The chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, said she will call Petraeus to testify in any case. Within hours of the Pentagon's investigation of Allen being announced, another army general was demoted over extravagant spending and unauthorised expenses. General William "Kip" Ward was tripped of one of his four stars for misuse of military funds when he was head of the US's Africa command. He has also been ordered to repay $82,000.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | French leader asks weary voters to judge him at the end of his presidency, as his approval ratings plunge to record low The French president has vowed to trim public spending and simplify France's huge public sector during a speech in which he told a pessimistic nation "decline is not our destiny". François Hollande, who was elected six months ago after opposing Europe's one-size-fits-all austerity, admitted cuts were needed in the public sector, which comprises more than half of the French economy. Amid rare criticism from the left on public spending, which is among the highest in the continent, he said France "should be capable of doing better, in spending less". At his first official press conference at the Élysée, a set-piece of every French presidency, he urged the nation to stand together during the economic crisis. The stakes were particularly high for Hollande, whose approval ratings have plummeted recently to make him France's least liked president in the half year after an election. Hollande's unpopularity has been triggered by growing public confusion over his political vision amid charges in the press that he was planning a U-turn on his election promises by raising VAT sales tax in order to loosen the tax burden on businesses, something which would hit consumers while sparing the wealthy. The president's approval ratings, which are hovering around 40%, are also the result of France's growing unemployment and the tax rises introduced by Socialists to help lower the deficit. Turning around the country's stalled economy and closing a competitiveness gap with Germany, which is running a huge trade surplus as France sinks deeper into deficit, has become his biggest challenge. The president said he did not fear opinion ratings, or the media using him as a "punching ball", saying it would take time to reform France. He added that he wanted to be judged on the results at the end of his term: "The only question that matters is not the state of opinion today, it's the state of France in five years," he said. "The recovery will take time but I believe we can succeed. I want young people to be living better in five years' time." Hollande denied charges of a policy reversal and defended his decision to raise VAT, despite having lampooned the previous president, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a similar increase, which the Socialists had overturned. While voters fear modest households will be pummelled by the forthcoming tax rises, Hollande said VAT would be raised by only 0.4% – and not until 2014. He added that basic items would be spared the increase in an effort to cushion the poorest households.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Turkana people leave homes carrying possessions as forces gather in province where bandits killed at least 32 officers Hundreds of people fearing a government backlash over the killing of at least 32 police officers are fleeing their homes in north-western Kenya as the military prepares to help police pursue the bandits who carried out the attack, officials have said. Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said a "serious" operation has begun to find those responsible for the deaths of the officers over the weekend. "We cannot allow such things to happen. I think they were testing the waters and in due cause they will know the depth of the river," he said. The national security council, chaired by President Mwai Kibaki, said the military would provide support to the police in apprehending the bandits and recovering stolen animals and arms in Samburu county. Residents in Baragoi, the main town in Samburu North district, said there had been a big build-up of police officers in the town. The police were killed over the weekend after being ambushed by bandits from the Turkana tribe, who are suspected of having stolen cattle from the Samburu tribe. Samuel Letipila, a council representative in the affected area, said the bodies of 34 police officers and reserves had been recovered. Iteere put the confirmed death toll at 32 with several officers missing. Letipila said he lost 112 cattle in mid-October when Turkana raiders stole more than 500 of them. Twelve Samburu warriors were killed on 30 October when they attempted to recover their animals from the Turkana. Those killings led to last weekend's police operation, he said. Francis Karimi, a local government official in Baragoi, said nearly 1,500 members of the Turkana community had fled from Lemerok village fearing the approaching government operation. Karimi said residents had been seen leaving in buses with their mattresses and boxes of household goods. "They are afraid," Karimi said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BNY Mellon unit Ivy Asset Management 'violated responsibility' by advising clients to invest with fraudster Bernard Madoff US authorities have reached a $210m settlement with the BNY Mellon subsidiary Ivy Asset Management for advising clients to invest with the ex-financier Bernard Madoff, whose multibillion-dollar fraud landed him in federal prison. The settlement of suits filed by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, Labour Department and private plaintiffs also provides for about $9m in payments by other defendants. Combined with anticipated future payments from Madoff bankruptcy proceedings, Schneiderman said it expected to return nearly all of the original investments to those who were defrauded, including union pension funds from upstate New York. "Ivy Asset Management violated its fundamental responsibility as an investment adviser by putting its own pecuniary interests ahead of the interests of its clients," Schneiderman said. "Ivy deliberately concealed negative facts it uncovered in its due diligence of Madoff in order to keep earning millions of dollars in fees. As a result, its clients suffered massive and avoidable losses." Between 1998 and 2008, authorities say Ivy was paid more than $40m to give advice and conduct due diligence for clients with large Madoff investments. Michelle Hook, spokeswoman for Schneiderman, said the losses included about $138m by the 78 pension funds, and most would be recovered. Internal Ivy documents showed the firm had deep but undisclosed reservations about Madoff, authorities said. Its clients lost more than $236m after the businessman's Ponzi scheme collapsed. In 2010, then New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo filed a civil complaint, alleging fraudulent conduct by Ivy in connection with securities sales and breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the state's Martin Act. Ivy said its advisers had raised questions about Madoff with clients and urged them to reduce their positions. The Ponzi scheme had cost investors an estimated $17.3bn, according to New York authorities. Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 and is serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, North Carolina. BNY Mellon did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | On visit to Rome, British prime minister stands by threat to veto planned 11% increase for 2014-20 David Cameron and the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, have failed at a meeting in Rome to find common ground on a controversial move to increase European Union budgets. "My view is very clear," Cameron said in a press conference after the meeting. "At a time when governments have to make difficult decisions about spending, we cannot go on increasing EU spending. The EU has got to start living within its means." The British prime minister has threatened to veto a planned 11% rise in the EU's 2014-20 budget, which would take it to €1tn (£800bn). Monti, himself a former EU commissioner, politely disagreed at the conference. "Our positions are not perfectly in line on this," he said. His choice of words, he added, was an example of "British understatement". This drew smiles from Cameron. Monti pointed out that Italy and the UK are net contributors to the EU, meaning they pay in more than they get out of the institution. But he added: "Even if we are a net contributor, we are, however, less convinced than the UK of the need for a consistent reduction in the EU budget." As national governments increasingly handed over tasks to the EU, he said, "it seems natural that the EU should have the resources to carry out these extra functions". Before touching down in Rome, Cameron stopped off in Holland to meet the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, who is also calling for a crackdown on Brussels' spending. The seven-year budget is due for discussion at a 22-23 November meeting in Brussels. Neither did any agreement appear to be in sight on the 2013 budget, despite a deadline of midnight on Tuesday for an agreement. In Rome, Cameron did throw his support behind EU plans to free up €670m to support victims of the double earthquake that struck the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna in May. The UK was among EU member states that opposed the payout. "I am happy that the UK government has given the green light," said Monti.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Shares held by employees and early investors eligible to be sold after end of lock-up period following initial public offering Facebook's beleaguered stock price will come under further pressure on Wednesday as 800m shares held by employees and early investors become eligible for sale on the Nasdaq exchange. The expiry of the lock-up period barring some holders from selling after the social network's initial public offering in May could in theory more than double the number of publicly traded shares, which currently stands at 921m, although not every holder will choose to cash in. In previous waves, executives including chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and general counsel Ted Ullyot have cashed in some of their holdings, and one of Facebook's most prominent backers, the venture capitalist Peter Thiel, has sold most of his stake since the float. "It's impossible to know whether VCs [venture capitalists] and other early investors will sell, but Peter Thiel's sale of more than 80% of his stock is a sign that others may consider doing the same," said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is eligible to sell 504m of his shares, worth $10bn (£6.3bn) at Tuesday's $20 closing price, but he has promised to hold on to them until September 2013 and the securities have not been counted in the totals being released this month. Previous lock-down expiries have helped drive Facebook's share price down to nearly half its $38 IPO level, but there is evidence short-sellers are losing interest, suggesting the drop may not be severe this time. SunGard Financial Systems' Astec Analytics unit says the number of shares being borrowed – an indicator of short-selling activity – has dropped by almost 40% this month, and is at its lowest level since June. Encouraging financial results in October, which showed the company is starting attract revenues from mobile advertisers, may have boosted investor confidence.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | At an Arab League meeting in Cairo, the coalition's new leader, Moaz al-Khatib, called on the EU to recognise the coalition Britain, France, and Germany have hailed the creation of a new Syrian opposition coalition as a major step forward, though only France went as far as recognising the new body as Syria's legitimate authority. At an Arab League meeting in Cairo, the coalition's new leader, Moaz al-Khatib, called on the EU to recognise the coalition and give it financial support. This would allow Syria's opposition to act as a unified government and, most crucially, to acquire arms, he said. EU foreign ministers have warmly embraced the new US-backed group announced in Doha on Sunday. But both the EU and the Arab League have yet to give it formal recognition. Speaking in Cairo, the foreign secretary William Hague said the new body had to prove its democratic credentials and show it enjoyed support from all Syrians, including from the country's ethnic and religious minorities. "This coalition gives the opportunity for a united, inclusive and credible political alternative to the Assad regime." he said. "We urge them to set out a detailed platform for a political transition to a democratic Syria, and to demonstrate that they are acting on behalf of all Syria's communities." France, however, went a step further, with Francois Hollande, declaring: "I announce today that France recognises the Syrian National Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and as future government of a democratic Syria allowing to bring an end to Bashar al-Assad's regime." The French president added that Paris would look at the question of arming the Syrian National Council once it had created a transitional government. A Syria donors' conference will be held in London on Friday. The meeting will discuss how to step up non-lethal aid to the new rebel group headed by Khatib, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. Hague today stated that the "more progress" the opposition makes towards its goals, the "greater practical support" it can expect from the UK. But enhanced diplomatic support falls well short of what the rebels have long been demanding: significant western military assistance to change the dynamics on the ground in Syria. The 20-month uprising to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad has now reached a bloody stalemate, with the regime waging a tenacious and brutal counter-offensive against the lightly armed Free Syrian Army. On Tuesday the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said 2.5 million people had been displaced inside Syria, as civilians sought to escape cities and villages under attack. The figure is twice as high as previous estimates. The UN refugee agency says that the real number of internal refugees could be even higher. Violence continued on Tuesday, with reports that government warplanes had attacked the FSA-controlled town of Ras al Ain near the Turkish border for a second day. Smoke was seen rising from the town. Syrian jets also hit the town of Albu Kamal on the frontier with Iraq. Heavy shelling was reported in the southern Damascus suburbs of Tadamon and Yarmouk. Tension also remained high on the Golan Heights, where Israeli gunners have retaliated against stray Syrian mortar fire landing on the occupied plateau over the past week. The Israeli military fired back on Monday, hitting a Syrian artillery battery and injuring at least two Syrian soldiers. Senior Israeli government officials believe the mortars are "accidental" but say this view will be reassessed if there is further crossborder fire. "I don't think there's a scenario of Assad intentionally provoking Israel, it looks quite far-fetched right now – but as a last resort for Assad in the future, it's a possibility and the Israelis are discussing it and preparing for such a scenario," said Amos Harel, defence correspondent for Haaretz. Six Sunni Gulf Arab states have recognised the new opposition coalition as Syria's legitimate representative. But Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon - the last two with significant Shiite populations - have refused to follow suit. On Tuesday Hague signalled that the UK had virtually abandoned attempts to find a diplomatic solution to Syria, in the face of unwavering support for Assad from Russia and China. Hague said there was little point in trying to reach consensus in the UN security council, following repeated vetoes by Russia and China. The international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has suggested another attempt. Hague said: "There is no indication that the outcome now would be different. In the absence of such progress, we will increase our support to Syrian opposition groups."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Marcus Brauchli is to step down as executive editor of the Washington Post. He is being replaced by Martin Baron, the current editor of the Boston Globe. Brauchli has edited the Post since 2008 after he was forced to resign as editor of the Wall Street Journal following its takeover by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. He will become vice president of the Washington Post Company "with responsibility for evaluating new media opportunities." His hiring by the Post's publisher, Katharine Weymouth, was a break with tradition because he was the first non-Post employee in generations to assume the top newsroom position. His predecessors were Len Downie and Ben Bradlee. According to reports that have circulated for months, Brauchli recently clashed with Weymouth over several issues, including the newsroom's annual budget. Baron will take over in January. He has been editor of the Globe since 2001. He previously held senior editing positions at the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald. Source: Washington Post
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Islamabad, which publicly condemns attacks by US drones on militants in tribal areas by the Afghan border, has built its own Pakistan is on the cusp of joining an elite group of countries capable of manufacturing unmanned aircraft capable of killing as well as spying, a senior defence official has claims. Publicly, Islamabad, which officially objects to lethal drone strikes carried out by the CIA along its border with Afghanistan, says it is only developing remote-controlled aircraft for surveillance purposes. But last week, during a major arms fair held in Karachi, military officials briefed some of Pakistan's closest allies about efforts by the army to develop its own combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). "The foreign delegates were quite excited by what Pakistan has achieved," said the official, who was closely involved with organising the four-day International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (Ideas). "They were briefed about a UAV that can be armed and has the capability to carry a weapon payload." The official said Pakistan wanted to demonstrate to friendly countries, principally Turkey and the Gulf, that it can be self-sufficient in a technology that is revolutionising warfare and which is currently dominated by a handful of countries that do not readily share the capability. "It does not have the efficiency and performance as good as Predator," he said, referring to the US combat drone widely used to attack militant targets. "But it does exist." He gave no details about the capabilities of the aircraft, or even its name. Huw Williams, an expert on unmanned systems at Jane's Defence Weekly, expressed doubts that Pakistan could have succeeded in progressing very far from the "pretty basic" small reconnaissance drones, which the country publicly exhibited at the weapons show, including the Shahpar and Uqab aircraft developed by the state-owned consortium Global Industrial and Defence Solutions. "The smaller systems are not greatly beyond that of a model aircraft," he said. "But the larger, long-endurance drones are a step up in technology across the board." Only the US and Israel are currently believed to have drones that can fire missiles. China and Turkey are also working on large-scale combat drones. Both countries exhibited models of drones at the sprawling Karachi conference centre, which included Pakistani companies marketing everything from guns that shoot around corners to inflatable tanks intended to fox surveillance aircraft. The big claims about Pakistan's developing drone capacity highlights the enormous interest in the technology from armies around the world. "Everyone has been asking us whether our drones can carry weapons," said Raja Sabri Khan, chief executive of Integrated Dynamics, a company that showed off a wide range of small and mid-size reconnaissance drones. "But that's a business for the big boys only." Khan has been deliberately refocusing his company's efforts on smaller drones, many of which are launched by hand, which are mostly intended for civilian use. A Pakistani army colonel attending the exhibition, after recently finishing a tour fighting against militants in the country's border region, said such small drones were a vital tool. "We have these small drones, but not enough of them and we do not always get them when we have operations," said the colonel, who did not wish to be named. "They are excellent for observing the Taliban, their movements and deployments." It was the seventh arms fair hosted by Pakistan intended to show off the country's defence industry. Organisers conceded that this year had not been a major commercial success but were pleased with the turnout after the last event in 2010 had to be cancelled. Several exhibitors said Pakistani companies – many of which are directly owned by the country's military – offered a cheaper alternative to developing countries looking to buy everything from tanks to computer simulators used to train pilots.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brian Flynn, the investigations editor, says paper is turning away stories from whistleblowers following Operation Elveden arrests A senior editor on the Sun has warned that journalists on the paper are now unwilling to launch certain public interest investigations because of a fear of being arrested. Brian Flynn, the paper's investigations editor, said the effect of the arrest of 21 journalists on the paper over alleged payments or knowledge of payments to police or other public officials has already had a chilling effect. "It sometimes feels like I am working in a butcher's deep freeze, rather than a newsroom," he told the Society of Editors in Belfast on Tuesday, according to Press Gazette. Flynn said the paper turns its back on stories from whistleblowers who want payment, even if they are exposing something in the public interest. "Every day, the Sun turns away stories that are in the public interest because of the 2010 Bribery Act. With no public-interest defence, we cannot talk to whistleblowers who want compensation for the risk they are taking," he added. In the past year, 21 current and former Sun journalists and senior newsroom executives have been arrested as a result of police investigations into alleged inappropriate payments for stories. Addressing the final session of the Society of Editors conference in Belfast on Tuesday, Flynn said that the Leveson inquiry had already had a significant effect on freedom of speech in the UK. "So many decent journalists have been arrested under a 1906 act [The Prevention of Corruption Act] that was never applied to journalists before. It was so obscure that none of us had even read about it in our bible, McNae's Law for Journalists," 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.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former vice-president and climate champion urges re-elected president to immediately begin pushing for a carbon tax The former vice-president and climate champion, Al Gore, has called on Barack Obama to seize the moment and use his re-election victory to push through bold action on climate change. The president has faced rising public pressure in the wake of superstorm Sandy to deliver on his promise to act on global warming. But none of those calling on Obama to act carries the moral authority of Gore, who has devoted his post-political career to building a climate movement. Now, Gore said, it is the president's turn. He urged Obama to immediately begin pushing for a carbon tax in negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" budget crisis. The vice-president's intervention for a carbon tax could give critical support to an idea that has gained currency since the election – at least among Washington thinktanks. The conservative American Enterprise Institute held an all-day seminar on the carbon tax on Tuesday. "I think all who look at these circumstances should agree that president Obama does have a mandate, should he choose to use it, to act boldly to solve the climate crisis, to begin solving it," Gore told the Guardian in a telephone interview. "He has the mandate. He has the opportunity, and he has the inherent ability to provide the leadership needed. I really hope that he will, and I will respectfully ask him to do exactly that." Gore will ratchet up his own pressure on Wednesday evening when he hosts a 24-hour live online broadcast from New York city on the connections between climate change and extreme events such as Sandy. The Dirty Weather Report, produced by his Climate Reality Project, will kick off with footage from New Jersey's devastated shore and interviews with governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo. It begins at 8pm eastern time. In terms of policy specifics, Gore said he wanted the White House and Congress to start an immediate push for a carbon tax. "It will be difficult for sure but we can back away from the fiscal cliff and the climate cliff at the same time," he said. "One way is with a carbon tax." It would require a balancing act, but "the most direct policy solution to the climate crisis is a carbon tax, offset by reductions in taxes on wages," Gore went on to explain. "By including the carbon tax in the solution to the fiscal cliff we can [get] away from the climate cliff." Gore's endorsement of a carbon tax comes at a critical time, with less than 50 days left for Congress to work out a budget deal and avoid triggering a set of automatic tax increases and spending cuts. A number of conservatives have also raised the possibility of a carbon tax – even before Obama's re-election – giving hope to environmental campaigners. In the view of Gore and others, Obama's re-election in the wake of Sandy dramatically expanded the scope for action on climate change. So too did the endorsement from New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, which singled out Obama's efforts on climate, such as raising fuel performance standards for cars. American public opinion also shifted, after a summer of punishing drought and record high temperatures. Two-thirds (67%) of Americans now say climate change is real, compared to 57% in 2009, according to a poll last month from the Pew Research Centre. Then came last month's superstorm. A sizeable percentage of voters invoked Sandy as a factor in their vote, according to exit polls. The storm put climate change on the map after an election in which Obama and Mitt Romney went out of their way to avoid even mentioning the words, Gore said. The president also signalled in his victory speech that he saw climate change as one of the top three priorities of his second term. "We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet," Obama said. Gore said it was now up to the public to keep the pressure on. "Many elected officials have been frightened of the reaction should they even talk about the climate crisis much less propose the obvious solution we need to put a price on carbon," he said. "It is just as plain as day. But the only way to give these elected officials more backbone is to ensure that they hear more from their constituents who are deeply and rightly concerned that they are not doing anything to stop this accelerating destruction of the global climate balance." Other environmental leaders are also trying to seize the moment. Activists have called a demonstration at the White House on 18 November to demand Obama block the Keystone XL pipeline, designed to expand production from the Alberta tar sands by pumping crude to Texas refineries. Gore said he supported their campaign. "I do agree with those who are trying to stop the Keystone pipeline. The tar sands are just the dirtiest source of liquid fuel you can imagine," he said. "At a time when we are desperately trying to bend the emissions curve downwards it is quite literally insane to open up a whole new source that is much more carbon intensive and that makes the problem worse." But it is not his fight, he said. "For me, I believe that my efforts are best expended on the central challenge of building a sufficient support for action to solve the climate crisis. It's not that complicated ultimately. We have to put a price on carbon."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ben Affleck's film may depict a barely recognisable Iran but it is a sharp reminder of how young revolutionaries failed their country People usually go to the cinema for entertainment, especially when it comes to Hollywood movies, but when I went to watch Ben Affleck's Argo last week I knew beforehand that it was going to be a rather painful experience. Temptation outweighed the agony, I'm afraid. I had prepared myself. "It's a film, not a documentary," I had tried to remember. But the claim that it was "based on a true story" created greater expectations in me. I didn't try to fact-check – although others have done with some disappointment – but other things caught my attention. First, it was Affleck's desperate attempt to make a film set in Iran without having been either there in person or able to shoot within its borders. Having chosen to film in Turkey instead, Affleck has done his best – well, the best you can when making a film about Iran by shooting in a neighbouring country. To be honest, the locations are not too bad. Buildings are similar to those in Iran, the houses are not that different, the bazaar is quite like the actual shopping centre in south Tehran. Banners, placards and signs are in Persian and many characters actually speak the language, although some with accents. There are silly mistakes, however. In one scene, for example, the protagonist Tony Mendez (Affleck) says "salam" at the end of his conversation with an Iranian official. Salam means hello in Persian, not goodbye. Minor mistakes aside, the film takes a black and white view towards Iranians, like many other western films about Iran. It portrays them as ugly, poor, strictly religious, fanatical and ignorant – almost in line with the young revolutionaries behind the hostage-taking at the US embassy in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, which the film is about. The only nice Iranian in the film is the Canadian ambassador's maid. The whole experience is like asking an Iranian who has never been to the US to make a film (let's say in Cuba) about the Columbine high school massacre. You'll probably end up watching a film in which all Americans are crazy, have a gun at home and are ready to shoot their classmates. As I was leaving the cinema with my Iranian friend (and I assume we were the only Iranians in the room), we were cautious not to speak Persian too loud to be noticed. "Oh my God, they're Iranians," we assumed others would say, as if we were from Mars. But what troubles me most is how the film reminds me of Iran's history, of how a group of my countrymen betrayed Iran, took a group of people hostage and brought pain and trauma to another country for 444 days. For years at school I was taught that the hostage-taking of American diplomats was an act of resistance, heroism on behalf of revolutionaries showing their anger at US interference in Iran's internal affairs. Argo suddenly wipes out all that revolutionary rhetoric and reminds me of the other side of the story. It shows the yellow ribbons in the streets of Washington DC, the anguish and pain caused by the incident, and it makes me regret what happened more than 30 years ago. Affleck's film may depict an Iran I hardly recognise but it is a bitter reminder of how young revolutionaries and their leaders failed their country, putting Iran in a crisis that has had consequences for its people to this day. In reaction to the film, some of the hostage-takers have defended what happened after 1979. But Argo should make them reflect and at least face up to the reality.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Experts blame warming ocean and climate change for rash of storms that farmers fear risk Italian signature crops The floods that have devastated Italy over the past week could become even more severe in the future, threatening food production and destroying the country's natural beauty, experts warn. Storms have battered ancient towns and left large swaths of farmland in Tuscany under water, prompting a warning from the region's governor, Enrico Rossi, that "climate change is making us get used to ever more violent flooding". Three people were found dead on Tuesday after their car fell from a collapsed bridge near Grosseto, while the town of Albinia was under two metres of water. As army units were called in to help locals evacuate, towns in neighbouring Umbria were also put on alert and sections of the main road linking north and south Italy were blocked by water. On Monday a 73-year-old man was drowned in his car by rising floodwaters near the walled town of Capalbio, with residents evacuated near Cortona, the setting for the novel Under the Tuscan Sun. Much of the rich farmland of the Maremma had become a lake of mud. In Venice water levels were receding after the city's sixth-worst flooding since records began in 1872. Leading Italian meteorologist Mario Giuliacci said: "The Mediterranean has warmed up by 1C to 1.5C in the last 20 years, meaning that Atlantic weather fronts passing over it absorb more vapour and more heat, which means more energy. And that means ever more violent storms and more rain when the fronts hit Italy. "An average of 80mm of rain should fall in Italy in November. In the last 40 years it has gone over 100mm 11 times, seven of which are since 1999," he added. Giuliacci said the lower pressure brought by the storms was producing stronger winds. "The Scirocco wind which blew north up the Adriatic this week prompted the unexpected high water which swamped Venice," he said. The sea level rose by 149cm in Venice on Sunday, flooding 70% of the city. Italy is getting increasingly used to disastrous flooding. In 2010, 150,000 livestock were drowned by floods in the Veneto region. In 2009, 31 people were killed by floods and mudslides in Messina in Sicily, while six died last year when floods surged through Genoa. Floods have also been blamed on the number of illegally built homes in Italy which block water courses and prevent natural drainage. However, a clear pattern of climate change is emerging, and affecting Italy's agricultural output, an official from Italy's farmer's lobby, Coldiretti, said. "This year Sicily produced its first crop of bananas, while oil is now being made from olives grown in the foothills of the Alps," he said. "The Italian climate, with ever drier summers and violent rains in the winter, looks set to become more like north Africa than, say, France," added Giuliacci. A hot, arid summer this year, followed by the floods, has ensured that more traditional Italian produce, which finds its way into kitchens around the world, is increasingly scarce, said Coldiretti. Italy's wine harvest dropped 6% to a 40-year low, while the apple harvest was down by 22%, pears by 13%, chestnuts by 50% and honey by 25%. Production of flour destined for making pasta dropped by 12%. Said Coldiretti: "The risk is the increase of imports of ingredients pretending to be made in Italy, like Chinese tomato concentrate and Tunisian extra virgin olive oil."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Authorities made more than 20,000 requests in first half of 2012, with US government making most demands for online details
• Get the data behind this report and charts Government surveillance of citizens' online lives is rising sharply around the world, according to Google's latest report on requests to remove content and hand over user data to official agencies. In the first six months of this year, authorities worldwide made 20,939 requests for access to personal data from Google users, including search results, access to Gmail accounts and removal of YouTube videos. Requests have risen steeply from a low of 12,539 in the last six months of 2009, when Google first published its Transparency Report. Authorities made 1,791 requests for Google to remove 17,746 pieces of content in the first half of 2012, almost twice as many as the 949 requests made in the same period last year, and up from 1,048 requests made in the last six months of 2011. "This is the sixth time we've released this data, and one trend has become clear: government surveillance is on the rise," Google said in a blogpost. One of the sharpest rises came in requests from Turkey, which held an election on 12 June 2011. Google reported a 1,013% rise in requests from Turkish authorities in the latest reporting period, including 148 requests to remove 426 YouTube videos, Blogger blogs, one Google document and one search result. The contested items allegedly criticised Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the first president of Turkey), the government or "national identity and values". Google restricted Turkish users from accessing 63% of the YouTube videos. It did not remove the other content. The US accounted for the most requests, as it has consistently since the report was launched. US authorities asked for private details of Google users on 7,969 occasions, up from 6,321 in the last reporting period. The number is more than a third of the 20,938 requests for users' details worldwide. Google fully or partially complied with 90% of those requests. Over the six months, Google was asked to remove seven YouTube videos that criticised local and state agencies, police and other public officials. It did not comply with these requests. US figures represent a larger share of the requests for a variety of reasons. Google has a larger number of US users, the US authorities are more familiar with working with Google and foreign countries sometimes make requests for information through US agencies. Those queries are logged as US requests, as Google is not told where the query originated from. Europe now accounts for five of the top 10 countries making requests for user data. France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK are all in the top 10 in terms of numbers of requests. The number of requests for content removal in the UK shot up 98% in the UK and 60% in Spain. In the UK, local police authorities unsuccessfully pressed for Google to remove links to sites that accused the police of obscuring crime and racism. The UK is currently considering a bill that would require internet and phone companies to track and store every citizen's web and mobile phone use, including social networking sites, without retaining their content, for 12 months. France and Germany, two countries that have pressed hard for more privacy online, made the most requests out of any European countries in this reporting period. Google complied with fewer than half of all requests in both countries. The top three reasons cited by governments for the removal of content are defamation, privacy and security. Google also reported that it has received a number of falsified court documents calling on them to remove content. "The information we disclose is only an isolated sliver showing how governments interact with the internet, since for the most part we don't know what requests are made of other technology or telecommunications companies. But we're heartened that in the past year, more companies like Dropbox, LinkedIn, Sonic.net and Twitter have begun to share their statistics, too. Our hope is that over time, more data will bolster public debate about how we can best keep the internet free and open," Google said in its blogpost. From January to June 2012, the following countries made the most requests for user data: • United States (7,969)
• India (2,319)
• Brazil (1,566)
• France (1,546)
• Germany (1,533) From January to June 2012, the following countries made the most requests to remove content: • Turkey (501)
• United States (273)
• Germany (247)
• Brazil (191)
• United Kingdom (97)
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Roads leading to Palestinian leader's burial site are closed to ensure privacy before planned exhumation this month West Bank workers have blocked access to Yasser Arafat's grave site before the exhumation of his body this month. The location of the Palestinian leader's remains has been circled with tarpaulin and roads leading to the mausoleum have been closed. Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian Authority had insisted on privacy and did not want the exhumation of its former leader to be observed by the media and others. Swiss, French and Russian experts will exhume Arafat's body to try to solve some of the mystery surrounding his death. A Swiss lab recently discovered traces of a deadly radioactive isotope on clothes said to belong to the Palestinian leader, reviving allegations that he had been poisoned, perhaps by Israeli agents. Arafat died in a Paris hospital on 11 November 2004. The exhumation of his body is scheduled to take place at the end of this month.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Angus Stickler, who researched disastrous BBC report, interviewed by trustees of Bureau of Investigative Journalism The chief reporter behind the disastrous Newsnight report that wrongly linked a former Tory peer with allegations of child sexual abuse was formally questioned on Monday by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's funding body. Angus Stickler, the former BBC journalist who researched and fronted the Newsnight film on 2 November, was interviewed by the bureau's trustees in London. He was asked to provider further information and return for questioning on Thursday. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has launched an urgent inquiry into the Newsnight film, which it says was "100% overseen by the BBC". The bureau's trustees, chaired by James Lee, hope to publish their report by Friday. Newsnight's Bryn Estyn report fuelled false internet rumours that linked Lord McAlpine, a former Tory party treasurer, with allegations of child sexual abuse. McApline has threatened to sue for defamation and Newsnight apologised for the inaccurate report on Friday. The film led directly to the resignation of the BBC director general, George Entwistle, on Saturday night, and the BIJ managing editor, Iain Overton, who stepped down on Monday. The not-for-profit news group has attempted to distance itself from the Newsnight scandal, saying that the BBC had full editorial control over the report. The BIJ, based at City University in London, has confirmed that Stickler has taken a fully paid leave of absence pending the outcome of two separate inquiries into the Newsnight debacle. An internal BBC inquiry by the BBC Scotland director, Ken MacQuarrie, concluded those responsible for the report had failed to make "basic journalistic checks" before it was aired on 2 November. Overton was questioned by the trustees on Sunday, when he formally tendered his resignation, but is not believed to have been asked to return. In a letter to the Times on Tuesday, the BIJ's lead trustees sought to "underline that the BBC did not 'outsource' its reputation to the bureau". The letter was signed by the former chairman of the Financial Times Sir David Bell, journalism professor George Brock, and the bureau's main funders, David and Elaine Potter. It said: "The BBC required, and had, full editorial control throughout the production of the Newsnight film transmitted on 2 November about the North Wales child abuse inquiry ... The Bureau's work has won awards by disclosing important information in the public interest and, with only this recent exception, by maintaining high standards of journalism." Overton sparked an internet frenzy with his tweeted claim, hours before broadcast on 2 November, that Newsnight was about to reveal a "very senior political figure who is a paedophile", although he was not directly involved in the story. The trustees described the now-infamous tweet from Overton as "regrettable". Overton said on Monday night: "I am incredibly sorry that people have had to resign over it. I am incredibly sorry we got the journalism wrong. I am incredibly sorry Steve Messham [the abuse victim featured in the report] must have been to hell and back, and I'm incredibly sorry for Lord McAlpine." The episode could be devastating for the not-for-profit group, which has partnered with a number of national newspapers, including the Guardian, and broadcasters to run investigative stories, some of them award-winning. Since launching in April 2010, the BIJ has received around £2m in grants and is funded by the David and Elaine Potter Foundation. In a submission to the Leveson inquiry earlier this year, the BIJ said that costly legal cover was its main worry and urged Lord Justice Leveson to consider granting charitable status to independent investigative journalism groups. • 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
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Home secretary faces arduous legal process to overturn decision that allows radical cleric back to his London home The radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada has been released from Long Lartin high-security prison in Worcestershire after a British court ruled that he should not be sent back to Jordan to face trial on torture-based evidence. The terror suspect is being driven back to his home in north-west London, where he faces a curfew from 4pm to 8am enforced by an electronic tag and strict restrictions on who he can meet. The details of his bail conditions were expected to be released later on Tuesday. His release came as it emerged that the home secretary, Theresa May, faces a lengthy timetable in her attempt to persuade the court of appeal to overturn the ruling on Monday by the special immigrations appeal commission. She is also making preparations to put fresh pressure on the Jordanian authorities to assure the British courts that the terror suspect will face a fair trial if he is sent back. The king of Jordan is due to visit London later this month. The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, said the government remained "absolutely determined" to secure Qatada's deportation. Qatada was first detained in Britain as a terror suspect in 2002 and has been fighting his deportation for seven years. Earlier this year, May travelled to Jordan and secured assurances that he would not face a trial for bomb plot offences dating back to 1998 on evidence obtained by torture. But Siac ruled on Monday that despite the assurances there remained a real risk that torture-based evidence would be used against him. David Anderson, QC, the official reviewer of the terror laws, said it was a very frustrating episode for all involved but it was not the end of the road. He told the BBC that the key to the case really lay with the Jordanians. "What the judge said, what the court said in terms, was that a simple amendment to the Jordanian criminal code so as to remove an ambiguity that is in it at the moment ought to suffice to make deportation possible, because it would then be possible to say without fear of contradiction that Abu Qatada, if placed on trial back in Jordan, would not be tried on the basis of evidence obtained by torture," he said. Jordan's acting information minister, Nayef al-Fayez, said his government shared UK authorities' disappointment at the Siac ruling and said that the kingdom's constitution and constitutional court guaranteed a fair trial. Qatada's solicitor, Gareth Peirce, has welcomed the Siac ruling, saying: "It is important to reaffirm this country's position that we abhor the use of torture and a case that was predicated upon evidence from witnesses who have been tortured is rejected – rejected by the courts of this country as by the European court of human rights," she said. "We clearly agree with the decision, but it is important to emphasise the fundamental rules of law that we subscribe to. To that extent, it is important for other cases, not just for this case." May could face a lengthy legal process in her attempt to get the court of appeal to overturn the Siac ruling. The Judicial Communications Office said the home secretary had 21 days from the date of the judgment to lodge an appeal on a point of law to the higher court. An appeal court judge will then consider whether or not the home secretary has a case on the basis of her written submissions. If the judge rejects her appeal she can then request an oral hearing in front of three appeal court judges to review the decision. This process is likely to last until well into the new year. If the court of appeal turns down the home secretary, Qatada's lawyers are likely to apply for his stringent bail conditions to be lifted. The home secretary will then be faced with the option of whether or not to impose a terrorism prevention and investigation measures order (Tpim) – called a "control order lite" by some critics – on the basis that he is an international terror suspect. The Tpim can last a maximum of two years, which could mean that Qatada could walk totally free on the streets of London just before the next general election.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Defence Secretary Leon Panetta confirms FBI is investigating US commander over his 'inappropriate' emails with Florida woman The scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus has deepened following allegations that another top US military commander, General John Allen, had sent thousands of "inappropriate" emails to a woman linked to Petraeus. The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, confirmed on Tuesday that the FBI was investigating Allen, the leading US commander in Afghanistan, over his "communications" with a Florida woman, Jill Kelley. Petraeus resigned on Friday over an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. The affair had come to light after Kelley complained of "harassing" emails traced by the FBI to Broadwell. In a statement, Panetta said the FBI on Sunday referred "a matter involving" General Allen to the Pentagon. The Pentagon's inspector general was examining 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, including many emails between Allen and Kelley. Officials quoted by the New York Times said there was a "distinct possibility" the emails were connected to the FBI's investigation into Petraeus. The widening scandal is an embarrassment for President Obama and has engulfed his national security command, with the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and military all now involved. Petraeus is a former four-star general who had Allen's job in Afghanistan before moving to the CIA last year. Allen, who also served in Iraq, is in charge of the 68,000 American troops in Afghanistan and recently submitted proposals on the US military presence after 2014 when most American soldiers pull out. Obama was due to nominate Allen to become the commander of US forces in Europe and the supreme commander of Nato, with the Senate expected to confirm both positions. Speaking on his plane en route to Australia, Panetta said he had recommended the Allen nomination be put on hold, adding that the president had "agreed". In a statement, the US defence secretary praised Allen for his leadership in Afghanistan and said he was "entitled to due process in this matter", the NYT reported. Allen would remain commander of Isaf, the international security assistance force in Afghanistan, Panetta said, adding, he wanted the Senate to swiftly confirm assistant Marine Corps commandant Joseph Dunford, as Allen's successor. The "inappropriate" emails between Allen and Kelley date from 2010 to 2012. Kelley is a long-time friend of the Petraeus family and a volunteer social liaison in Tampa, Florida, with military families at MacDill air force base. She has so far not commented on the allegations. Asked whether there was concern about the disclosure of classified information, the official, on condition of anonymity, said: "We are concerned about inappropriate communications. We are not going to speculate as to what is contained in these documents." On Monday night, FBI agents trawled through Broadwell's home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents entered the house carrying boxes and about four hours later took away what appeared to be two computers and about 10 boxes. During the search, agents could be seen moving through rooms, gathering materials and taking photos. They did not comment to reporters gathered outside the house. Broadwell's family was not at home at the time of the raid. The FBI and a justice department official would not comment on the reason for the raid. The imbroglio at the top of the US army grew even more bizarre after it emerged that one of the FBI agents involved in the case had sent shirtless photographs of himself to Kelley. The photos were sent "long before" the investigation into Petraeus began, a law enforcement official told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Kelley had approached the agent after receiving anonymous harassing emails. The federal agent, a friend of Kelley's, referred the emails to a cyber crimes unit, which began an investigation. According to the WSJ, his superiors grew increasingly concerned and concluded the agent had become obsessed with the matter. Some reports suggest the agent was taken off the investigation, while others said he had never been assigned to the Broadwell case. Either way, the agent grew frustrated at the pace of the investigation and contacted a member of Congress, Republican David Reichert, officials said. Reichert appears to have relayed the agent's concerns to the FBI in Washington. The FBI, by this time, had established that Broadwell was the author of the harassing emails, and had stumbled upon evidence that Petraeus and Broadwell were having an affair. Broadwell used several anonymous email accounts she shared with her husband to send the accusing emails, officials said. The emails between the two women were of a "childish", jealous nature and showed some oneupmanship of trying to come across as being more emotionally important to Petraeus. In one email, Broadwell claimed she had watched Kelley touch "him" [Petraeus] provocatively under the table, officials added. Petraeus and Broadwell communicated with each other using private Gmail accounts, the FBI revealed. Lawmakers and others have questioned whether Broadwell, who co-wrote a biography of the decorated former general, obtained classified information from him or another source. Following several months of investigation, which intensified in early summer, the FBI concluded there had been no national security breach. Panetta said earlier that Petraeus did the right thing by stepping down, given potential security concerns, while admitting he was saddened by the end of the retired general's distinguished career.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Defence secretary Leon Panetta confirms FBI is investigating US commander over his 'inappropriate' emails with Florida woman The scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus has deepened following allegations that another top US military commander, General John Allen, had sent thousands of "inappropriate" emails to a woman linked to Petraeus. The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, confirmed on Tuesday the FBI was investigating Allen, the US's leading commander in Afghanistan, over his "communications" with a Florida woman, Jill Kelley. Petraeus resigned on Friday over an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. The affair had come to light after Kelley complained of "harassing" emails traced back by the FBI to Broadwell. In a statement, Panetta said the FBI on Sunday referred "a matter involving" General Allen to the Pentagon. The Pentagon's inspector general was examining 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, including many emails between Allen and Kelley. Officials quoted by the New York Times said there was a "distinct possibility" the emails were connected to the FBI's investigation into Petraeus. The widening scandal is an embarrassment for President Obama and has engulfed his national security command, with the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and military all now involved. Petraeus is a former four-star general who had Allen's job in Afghanistan before moving to the CIA last year. Allen, who also served in Iraq, is in charge of the US's 68,000 troops in Afghanistan and recently submitted proposals on the US's military presence i after 2014 when most US soldiers pull out. Obama was due to nominate Allen to become the commander of American forces in Europe and the supreme commander of Nato, with the Senate expected to confirm both positions. Speaking on his plane en route to Australia, Panetta said he had recommended Allen nomination be put on hold – adding that the president had "agreed". In a statement, the US defence secretary praised Allen for his leadership in Afghanistan and said he was "entitled to due process in this matter", the NYT reported. Allen would remain commander of Isaf, the international security assistance force in Afghanistan, Panetta said, adding he wanted the Senate to swifly confirm assistant Marine Corps commandant Joseph Dunford, as Allen's successor. The "inappropriate" emails between Allen and Kelley date from 2010 to 2012. Kelley is a long-time friend of the Petraeus family and a volunteer social liaison in Tampa, Florida, with military families at MacDill air force base. She has so far not commented on the allegations. Asked whether there was concern about the disclosure of classified information, the official, on condition of anonymity, said: "We are concerned about inappropriate communications. We are not going to speculate as to what is contained in these documents." On Monday night, FBI agents trawled through Broadwell's home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents entered the house carrying boxes and about four hours later took away what appeared to be two computers and about 10 boxes. During the search, agents could be seen moving through rooms, gathering materials and taking photos. They did not comment to reporters gathered outside the house. Broadwell's family was not at home at the time of the raid. The FBI and a justice department official would not comment on the reason for the raid. The imbroglio at the top of the US army grew even more bizarre after it emerged that one of the FBI agents involved in the case had sent shirtless photographs of himself to Kelley. The photos were sent "long before" the investigation into Petraeus began, a law enforcement official told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Kelley had approached the agent after receiving anonymous harassing emails. The federal agent, a friend of Kelley's, referred the emails to a cyber crimes unit, which began an investigation. According to the WSJ, his superiors grew increasingly concerned and concluded the agent had become obsessed with the matter. Some reports suggest the agent was taken off the investigation, while others said he had never been assigned to the Broadwell case. Either way, the agent grew frustrated at the pace of the investigation and contacted a member of Congress, Republican David Reichert, officials said. Reichert appears to have relayed the agent's concerns to the FBI's headquarters in Washington. The FBI by this time had established that Broadwell was the author of the harasssing emails, and had stumbled upon evidence that Petraeus and Broadwell were having an affair. Broadwell used several anonymous email accounts she shared with her husband to send the accusing emails, officials said. The emails between the two women were of a "childish", jealous nature and showed some oneupmanship of trying to come across as being more emotionally important to Petraeus. In one email, Broadwell claimed she had watched Kelley touch "him" [Petraeus] provocatively under the table, officials added. Petraeus and Broadwell communicated with each other using private Gmail accounts, the FBI revealed. Lawmakers and others have questioned whether Broadwell, who co-wrote a biography of the decorated former general, obtained classified information from him or another source. Following several months of investigation, which intensified in early summer, the FBI concluded there had been no national security breach. Panetta said earlier saidPetraeus did the right thing by stepping down, given potential security concerns, while admitting he was saddened by the end of the retired general's distinguished career.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Thierry Tilly tricked three generations of family into handing over £3.6m, making them believe there was a plot against their lives A self-styled 'guru' has been sentenced to eight years in prison for cheating three generations of an aristocratic French family out of their fortune by making them believe they were under threat from a secret masonic plot. Thierry Tilly convinced 11 members of the De Vedrines family to barricade themselves into their turreted manor house, Château Martel near Monflanquin, a medieval village in the Lot-et-Garonne in south-west France. In what the court described as a "machiavellian plot", he tricked them into handing over up to €4.5m (£3.6m), and eventually made the family flee to Oxford, persuading them he was a former secret services agent and there was a plot against their lives. The family members, aged 16 to 89, described being in his sway for around nine years until 2009. Tilly, 48, who met the family when he worked as an administrator at a school run by one of the De Vedrines sisters, was convicted of psychological abuse and deprivation of civil rights. His accomplice, Jacques Gonzalez was sentenced to four years in prison.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Departure comes two weeks after the launch of Windows 8 amid reports of growing friction between top execs at firm Steven Sinofsky, the head of the Windows division at Microsoft who had been seen by some as a future chief executive of the software giant, is to leave the company. The shock move comes just two weeks after the launch of Windows 8, seen as make-or-break for the company struggling to redefine itself in a world where computing no longer happens on desktop PCs, but increasingly on mobiles and tablets. Sinofsky had been at the company for 23 years, and was one of the people who tipped Bill Gates off to the importance of the internet in 1994 when it had looked as though Microsoft might ignore the rising importance of the network system. But according to reports, there had been growing executive friction between Sinofsky and other top executives at the company. Steve Ballmer, who has been chief executive since late 1999, told staff in a memo on Monday that "Steven Sinofsky has decided to leave the company". In a later press release, he said: "To continue [Windows'] success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings." "This is shocking news. This is very surprising," Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, told Reuters. "Like a lot of people, I thought Sinofsky was in line to potentially be Ballmer's successor." The move comes just weeks after Apple shook up its executive ranks, with Tim Cook dismissing Scott Forstall, head of the iPhone software division amid reports Forstall had been a divisive presence within the company. During his career, Sinofsky had been in charge of the Office suite – Microsoft's other biggest profit earner beside Windows – and was given the specific task of persuading the company's engineers not to move to Google. He took over the Windows division in 2009, and led the development of Windows 8, which unites the visual appearance of Windows and its mobile incarnation, Windows Phone. Sinofsky also pushed through the decision to make Windows available for tablets, seen as a rising threat to Windows on the desktop. His place will be taken by Julie Larson-Green, another Windows executive who has been at Microsoft nearly as long as Sinofsky – joining in 1993 – and will be in charge of hardware and software for Windows, which is one of Microsoft's two key profit generators, along with its Office software suite. Sinofsky gave no reason for leaving, though he commented on Twitter – where he has the username @stevesi – that he was "reading all of these [tweets] and feeling humbled and and [sic] blessed." Al Hilwa, program director for application software at the research company IDC, told the Guardian: "I actually don't expect this to have much effect in the short term. The company is effectively at the tail end of a significant product rollout and if there were going to be personnel changes, this is the time for them. It is akin to cabinet changes after an election. If this had happened before Windows 8 shipped, I would have worried about potential delays." Ballmer has overseen a clearout of a number of senior executives at Microsoft's divisions in the past three years, and also lost one key executive, Stephen Elop, who left the Office division to run Finnish phone maker Nokia – although that move has seen a tieup in the mobile space for Microsoft's software. Microsoft's profits are still some of the largest in the business, but analysts have questioned how it can compete given its relative weakness in search and the mobile space – although Ballmer has worked hard to redefine Microsoft as a software company that offers comprehensive cloud-based services online. Hilwa added: "The strategy of folding PC, tablet, phone and set-top into a single platform and ecosystem is the right strategy, and likely will continue to be the strategy of record. "There are some important decisions that Microsoft has to make going forward that are likely the subject of extensive internal debate, including how deep to get into making its own hardware devices, how to handle ultra-cheap devices from an OS licensing perspective, how to converge phone and tablet more tightly for developers to better compete with iOS and Android, how to drive existing PC and enterprise users to generate more upgrade revenues, or how to make significant software improvements on a more rapid cadence such as six months or a year instead of two to three years. "These decisions may benefit from fresher eyes and ears at Microsoft and require working exceptionally well across divisions." Richard Windsor, former analyst at Nomura Securities, said: "I view Steve Ballmer as an engineering-driven, drill sergeant who can be a bit like a bull in a china shop. "Historically, this approach has been very effective but the new challenges that Microsoft now faces arguably needs a more creative mind to address. "Hence, the idea that Steve Ballmer is staying on is negative to me but will probably please the gents over at [Apple's headquarters at] Infinite Loop."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Further uncertainty for the eurozone as final decision on whether to hand Greece its next aid tranche is delayed for a week
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kevin Clash, 52, denies allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with 16-year-old seven years ago The puppeteer behind beloved Sesame Street character Elmo has taken a leave of absence to prepare "action to protect his reputation" amid accusations of underage sex. Sesame Workshop said in a statement that a 23-year-old man contacted the company in June and claimed that he was 16 when he began a relationship with puppeteer Kevin Clash. Sesame Street said it spoke with the accuser twice and had a meeting with Clash. It also conducted its own investigation of the claims and could not substantiate the accuser's allegations of underage conduct. The investigation did say that Clash "exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding internet usage". Sesame Workshop said he was disciplined for this conduct and Clash has left the show indefinitely following the accusations. "Kevin insists that the allegation of underage conduct is false and defamatory and he is taking actions to protect his reputation," said Sesame Workshop. "We have granted him a leave of absence to do so." Clash, 52, has been with Sesame Workshop for more than 30 years and was the subject of 2011 documentary Being Elmo: a Puppeteer's Journey, which explored his role in making Elmo an integral part of US television. He has won multiple Daytime Emmys for his performances, and published an autobiography about his career in 2006 called My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. Sesame Workshop said: "Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of Sesame Street to engage, educate and inspire children around the world, as it has for 40 years."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Archbishop of Sydney says church will co-operate fully with inquiry but claims extent of problem has been exaggerated The head of Australia's powerful Catholic church has acknowledged the "shame" of child sex abuse among the clergy and welcomed a sweeping inquiry, but also claimed the extent of the problem within his church had been exaggerated. Australia's prime minister, Julia Gillard, on Monday ordered a royal commission, the highest form of investigation in Australia, into how churches, government bodies and other organisations have dealt with possibly thousands of child sex abuse claims. George Pell, Australia's only cardinal, said on Tuesday the church would co-operate fully with the inquiry, which can compel witnesses to give evidence and produce documents, but said he did not believe the Catholic church was the main perpetrator. "We are not interested in denying the extent of misdoing in the Catholic church. We object to it being exaggerated, we object to it being described as 'the only cab on the rank'," said Pell, who is also the archbishop of Sydney. "We acknowledge, with shame, the extent of the problem and I want to assure you that we have been serious in attempting to eradicate it and deal with it," he told reporters in Sydney. Gillard called the inquiry in the face of mounting political pressure after explosive reports that orders within the Catholic church had covered up abuse claims and hindered police inquires over several decades in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia's two most populous states. Pell denied the Catholic church actively covered up any child abuse and said comprehensive procedures introduced in 1992 ensured full co-operation with police and swift action against alleged abusers. "We will co-operate fully. We have nothing we want to hide," Pell said. Pell also said priests should refuse to hear confessions from suspected child abusers to ensure priests were not then bound by the confidentiality of the confessional. "If the priest knows beforehand about such a situation, the priest should refuse to hear the confession, that would be my advice. I would never hear the confession of a priest who was suspected of such a thing," he said. Late on Monday, a former police officer who investigated child abuse for decades, told Australian television the royal commission should examine aspects of the Catholic church such as confession. Former police officer Peter Fox sparked a nationwide outcry last week when he alleged the Catholic church had covered up abuse by priests in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney. His allegations ultimately led to the new inquiry being called. Gillard has yet to announce who will preside over it, or its terms of reference. She hopes to finalise the details by the end of this year but has refused to set a time limit on the royal commission, which could run for several years. The Catholic church is Australia's largest, with 5.4 million followers, representing about one in four Australians.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | General John Allen had alleged 'inappropriate communications' with woman at centre of scandal involving former CIA boss The leading US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for alleged inappropriate communications with a woman at the centre of the scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus, a senior US defence official said on Tuesday. The revelation threatens to fell another of the US military's biggest names and suggests that the scandal involving Petraeus – a former four-star general who had Allen's job in Afghanistan before moving to the CIA last year – could widen further than previously imagined. The American official said the FBI uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of communications – mostly emails spanning from 2010 to 2012 – between Allen and Jill Kelley, who has been identified as a long-time friend of the Petraeus family and volunteer social liaison in Tampa, Florida with military families at MacDill air force base. It was Kelley's complaints about harassing emails from the woman with whom Petraeus had had an affair, Paula Broadwell, that prompted an FBI investigation, ultimately alerting authorities to Petraeus's involvement with Broadwell. Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday. Asked whether there was concern about the disclosure of classified information, the official, on condition of anonymity, said: "We are concerned about inappropriate communications. We are not going to speculate as to what is contained in these documents." The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said in a statement given to reporters flying with him to Australia that he had asked that Allen's nomination to be commander of US European command and supreme allied commander Europe be delayed "and the president has agreed". Allen, who is in Washington, was due to face a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, as was his likely successor in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford. The FBI referred the case to the Pentagon on Sunday. The US defence official said Allen denied any wrongdoing and that Panetta had decided to keep him in his job while the matter was under review. "While the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined, General Allen will remain commander of IASF [International Security Assistance Force)," Panetta said. Only hours earlier, Panetta had said he was reviewing Allen's recommendations on the future US presence in Afghanistan after most troops withdraw by the end of 2014. Commending Allen's leadership in Afghanistan, Panetta said in his statement: "He is entitled to due process in this matter." He also noted that he wanted the Senate to act "promptly" on Dunford's nomination. Evidence that the case involving Petraeus was not fully closed came late on Monday when FBI agents searched Broadwell's house in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents entered the house carrying boxes and about four hours later took away what appeared to be two computers and about 10 boxes. During the search, agents inside could be seen moving through rooms, gathering materials and taking photos. They did not comment to reporters gathered outside the house. Broadwell's family was not at home at the time of the raid. The FBI and a justice department official would not comment on the reason for the raid. US officials had said in recent days their investigation was largely complete and that prosecutors had determined it was unlikely they would bring charges in that case, which started when Kelley contacted an FBI agent in Tampa about receiving harassing emails from an anonymous source. That FBI agent, who has not been identified, has also come under scrutiny after it was discovered he had sent shirtless photographs of himself to Kelley, but "long before" this investigation, a law enforcement official told Reuters. The photographs were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The agent had never been on the Broadwell case, but had taken the information about the emails to the FBI cyber squad in Tampa, the law enforcement official said. The FBI agent who works in the Tampa office apparently became frustrated at the pace of the investigation and complained to a member of Congress, the official said. The FBI investigation of the emails received by Kelley traced them to Broadwell and subsequently uncovered emails that revealed an affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. The emails between the two women were of a "childish", jealous nature and showed some one-upmanship of trying to come across as being more important to Petraeus, the official said. When Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday he publicly admitted to having engaged in an extramarital affair. Lawmakers and others have questioned whether Broadwell, who co-wrote a biography of the decorated former general, obtained classified information from him or another source. Panetta had earlier said Petraeus did the right thing by stepping down, given potential security concerns, even as he said he was saddened by the end of the retired general's distinguished career.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | General John Allen allegedly had 'inappropriate communications' with woman at centre of scandal involving former CIA boss The leading US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for alleged inappropriate communications with a woman at the centre of the scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus, a senior US defence official said on Tuesday. The revelation threatens to fell another of the US military's biggest names and suggests that the scandal involving Petraeus – a former four-star general who had Allen's job in Afghanistan before moving to the CIA last year – could widen further than previously imagined. The American official said the FBI uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of communications – mostly emails spanning from 2010 to 2012 – between Allen and Jill Kelley, who has been identified as a long-time friend of the Petraeus family and volunteer social liaison in Tampa, Florida, with military families at MacDill air force base. It was Kelley's complaints about harassing emails from the woman with whom Petraeus had had an affair, Paula Broadwell, that prompted an FBI investigation, ultimately alerting authorities to Petraeus's involvement with Broadwell. Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday. Asked whether there was concern about the disclosure of classified information, the official, on condition of anonymity, said: "We are concerned about inappropriate communications. We are not going to speculate as to what is contained in these documents." The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said in a statement given to reporters flying with him to Australia that he had asked that Allen's nomination to be commander of US European command and supreme allied commander Europe be delayed "and the president has agreed". Allen, who is in Washington, was due to face a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, as was his likely successor in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford. The FBI referred the case to the Pentagon on Sunday. The US defence official said Allen denied any wrongdoing and that Panetta had decided to keep him in his job while the matter was under review. "While the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined, General Allen will remain commander of Isaf [International Security Assistance Force)," Panetta said. Only hours earlier, Panetta had said he was reviewing Allen's recommendations on the future US presence in Afghanistan after most troops withdraw by the end of 2014. Commending Allen's leadership in Afghanistan, Panetta said in his statement: "He is entitled to due process in this matter." He also noted that he wanted the Senate to act "promptly" on Dunford's nomination. Evidence that the case involving Petraeus was not fully closed came late on Monday when FBI agents searched Broadwell's house in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents entered the house carrying boxes and about four hours later took away what appeared to be two computers and about 10 boxes. During the search, agents inside could be seen moving through rooms, gathering materials and taking photos. They did not comment to reporters gathered outside the house. Broadwell's family was not at home at the time of the raid. The FBI and a justice department official would not comment on the reason for the raid. US officials had said in recent days their investigation was largely complete and that prosecutors had determined it was unlikely they would bring charges in that case, which started when Kelley contacted an FBI agent in Tampa about receiving harassing emails from an anonymous source. That FBI agent, who has not been identified, has also come under scrutiny after it was discovered he had sent shirtless photographs of himself to Kelley, but "long before" this investigation, a law enforcement official told Reuters. The photographs were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The agent had never been on the Broadwell case, but had taken the information about the emails to the FBI cyber squad in Tampa, the law enforcement official said. The FBI agent who works in the Tampa office apparently became frustrated at the pace of the investigation and complained to a member of Congress, the official said. The FBI investigation of the emails received by Kelley traced them to Broadwell and subsequently uncovered emails that revealed an affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. The emails between the two women were of a "childish", jealous nature and showed some oneupmanship of trying to come across as being more important to Petraeus, the official said. When Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday he publicly admitted to having engaged in an extramarital affair. Lawmakers and others have questioned whether Broadwell, who co-wrote a biography of the decorated former general, obtained classified information from him or another source. Panetta had earlier said Petraeus did the right thing by stepping down, given potential security concerns, even as he said he was saddened by the end of the retired general's distinguished career.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Further uncertainty for the eurozone as final decision on whether to hand Greece its next aid tranche is delayed for a week
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Departure comes two weeks after the launch of Windows 8 amid reports of growing friction between top execs at firm Steven Sinofsky, the head of the Windows division at Microsoft who had been seen by some as a future chief executive of the software giant, is to leave the company. The shock move comes just two weeks after the launch of Windows 8, seen as make-or-break for the company struggling to redefine itself in a world where computing no longer happens on desktop PCs, but increasingly on mobiles and tablets. Sinofsky had been at the company for 23 years, and was one of the people who tipped Bill Gates off to the importance of the internet in 1994 when it had looked as though Microsoft might ignore the rising importance of the network system. But according to reports, there had been growing executive friction between Sinofsky and other top executives at the company. Steve Ballmer, who has been chief executive since late 1999, told staff in a memo on Monday that "Steven Sinofsky has decided to leave the company". In a later press release, he said: "To continue [Windows'] success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings." "This is shocking news. This is very surprising," Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, told Reuters. "Like a lot of people, I thought Sinofsky was in line to potentially be Ballmer's successor." The move comes just weeks after Apple shook up its executive ranks, with Tim Cook dismissing Scott Forstall, head of the iPhone software division amid reports Forstall had been a divisive presence within the company. During his career, Sinofsky had been in charge of the Office suite – Microsoft's other biggest profit earner beside Windows – and was given the specific task of persuading the company's engineers not to move to Google. He took over the Windows division in 2009, and led the development of Windows 8, which unites the visual appearance of Windows and its mobile incarnation, Windows Phone. Sinofsky also pushed through the decision to make Windows available for tablets, seen as a rising threat to Windows on the desktop. His place will be taken by Julie Larson-Green, another Windows executive who has been at Microsoft nearly as long as Sinofsky – joining in 1993 – and will be in charge of hardware and software for Windows, which is one of Microsoft's two key profit generators, along with its Office software suite. Sinofsky gave no reason for leaving, though he commented on Twitter – where he has the username @stevesi – that he was "reading all of these [tweets] and feeling humbled and and [sic] blessed." Al Hilwa, program director for application software at the research company IDC, told the Guardian: "I actually don't expect this to have much effect in the short term. The company is effectively at the tail end of a significant product rollout and if there were going to be personnel changes, this is the time for them. It is akin to cabinet changes after an election. If this had happened before Windows 8 shipped, I would have worried about potential delays." Ballmer has overseen a clearout of a number of senior executives at Microsoft's divisions in the past three years, and also lost one key executive, Stephen Elop, who left the Office division to run Finnish phone maker Nokia – although that move has seen a tieup in the mobile space for Microsoft's software. Microsoft's profits are still some of the largest in the business, but analysts have questioned how it can compete given its relative weakness in search and the mobile space – although Ballmer has worked hard to redefine Microsoft as a software company that offers comprehensive cloud-based services online. Hilwa added: "The strategy of folding PC, tablet, phone and set-top into a single platform and ecosystem is the right strategy, and likely will continue to be the strategy of record. "There are some important decisions that Microsoft has to make going forward that are likely the subject of extensive internal debate, including how deep to get into making its own hardware devices, how to handle ultra-cheap devices from an OS licensing perspective, how to converge phone and tablet more tightly for developers to better compete with iOS and Android, how to drive existing PC and enterprise users to generate more upgrade revenues, or how to make significant software improvements on a more rapid cadence such as six months or a year instead of two to three years. "These decisions may benefit from fresher eyes and ears at Microsoft and require working exceptionally well across divisions." Richard Windsor, former analyst at Nomura Securities, said: "I view Steve Ballmer as an engineering-driven, drill sergeant who can be a bit like a bull in a china shop. "Historically, this approach has been very effective but the new challenges that Microsoft now faces arguably needs a more creative mind to address. "Hence, the idea that Steve Ballmer is staying on is negative to me but will probably please the gents over at [Apple's headquarters at] Infinite Loop."
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