|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Gulf of Mexico operation was not in production at time of incident that also left 11 hospitalised Two people are missing, feared dead, after a fire broke out on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, the US coast guard said on Friday. Four other workers were seriously injured in the fire on the Black Elk Energy rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 11 were taken to hospital. Reports of the fire immediately recalled the April 2010 blowout of BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 men and unleashed one of America's worst environmental disasters. But the Black Elk Facility – unlike BP's Macondo well – was not a drilling rig, and it was not operating in deep water, which means the potential environmental consequences could be relatively slight. A sheen of oil about 1km long and 200m wide was reported on the Gulf surface, but officials believe it came from residual oil on the platform. Rescuers were still searching for the two missing workers on Friday night. Four of the injured workers were critically ill. Taslin Alfonzo, spokeswoman for West Jefferson Medical Center in suburban New Orleans, told the Associated Press that four workers had arrived with second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies. Lieutenant Commander Solomon Thompson, from coast guard sector New Orleans, said the rig was a production unit used to pump oil to the surface. "There was some construction on board and then the fire may have broken out as a cause of that construction," he said. A representative for Black Elk Energy, based in Houston, Texas, said that a team was en route to the site to investigate. "We're still collecting information and as soon as we get all that we're going to be releasing a press statement," a spokeswoman for Black Elk said. According to Black Elk's website, the company is "an ethical and ecological-minded business". The well, located some 20 miles off of Grand Isle, Louisiana, is believed to be in relatively shallow waters, perhaps 500ft, initial television news reports said. Both those factors mean that it will be far easier to cap the well if there is an oil leak. BP reached a plea settlement for the Deepwater Horizon disaster only on Wednesday, accepting guilt in the deaths of the men and agreeing to pay $4.5bn in penalties. It still faces up to $21bn in civil damages.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fines and compensation are related to mortgage bond losses regarded as the 'ground zero' of the global financial crisis JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse will pay a combined $416.9m (£262.4m) to settle US civil charges that they misled investors in the sale of risky mortgage bonds prior to the 2008 financial crisis, regulators have said. JP Morgan would pay $296.9m, while Credit Suisse will pay $120m in a separate case, with the money going to harmed investors, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said. Both settlements addressed alleged negligence or other wrongdoing in the packaging and sale of risky residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including at the former Bear Stearns Co, which JP Morgan bought in 2008. The banks settled without admitting wrongdoing and in separate statements said they were pleased to settle. "In many ways, mortgage products such as RMBS were ground zero in the financial crisis," SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami said in a statement. "Misrepresentations in connection with the creation and sale of mortgage securities contributed greatly to the tremendous losses suffered by investors once the US housing market collapsed." Goldman Sachs in 2010 agreed to pay $550m, also without admitting wrongdoing, to settle SEC charges that it misled investors in a complex mortgage bond transaction. The enforcement actions are the second and third from a "working group" of federal and state agencies created this year by President Barack Obama to investigate misconduct related to RMBS that contributed to the financial crisis. Khuzami said the working group was investigating other RMBS transactions. The SEC accused JP Morgan of materially overstating in a prospectus the quality of home loans that backed a $1.8bn RMBS offering it underwrote in December 2006. According to the SEC, the largest US bank represented that just four loans were delinquent by 30 to 59 days, when in fact there were more than 620, or about 7% of the total. Investors lost at least $37m as a result, the SEC said. The regulator also faulted Bear's failure to disclose its having arranged discounted cash settlements with originators that left investors stuck owning many problem loans, rather than forcing the originators to buy the loans back. It said Bear reaped at least $137.8m from the practice. Credit Suisse failed to disclose similar settlements, which netted $55.7m, the SEC said. The Swiss bank also misled investors by falsely claiming when it would buy back mortgage loans in two offerings in which borrowers had defaulted on their initial payments, and that "all first payment default risk" had been removed, the SEC added. About $84m of JP Morgan's payout and $39m of Credit Suisse's represented fines. The JP Morgan accord requires approval by a federal judge in Washington DC, while Credit Suisse's case was resolved in an SEC administrative proceeding. JP Morgan had in June 2011 agreed to pay $153.6m to settle a separate SEC fraud case over its sale of mortgage securities to investors, also without admitting wrongdoing.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As tanks gather near border Israeli minister says invasion could come before end of weekend The Israeli cabinet has authorised the call-up of 75,000 reserve troops as fears grow that the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, will order a ground invasion after Egyptian efforts to broker a ceasefire did not make headway and Hamas fired a rocket at Jerusalem. The US was scrambling to prevent a further escalation of what it described as a "very, very dangerous situation" in Gaza. Britain warned that a ground invasion could cost Israel international support. But concerns that Netanyahu is preparing to escalate the assault were strengthened as he held a strategy session with senior ministers. Also, the size of the call up is on a scale comparable to Israel's invasion of Lebanon six years ago, and several times larger than the number of reservists drafted during the last major incursion into Gaza in 2008. Tanks were seen gathering near the Gaza border, and roads in the area were closed to Israeli civilians. Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, told CNN that a ground invasion could come before the end of the weekend if the rocket attacks continue. "We don't want to get into Gaza if we don't have to. But if they keep firing at us … a ground operation is still on the cards," he said. "If we see in the next 24 to 36 hours more rockets launched at us, I think that would be the trigger." Neither side appeared to be attempting to pull back as Israel killed a commander in Hamas' military wing, Ahmed Abu Jalal. Militants in Gaza kept up rocket attacks, including the firing of one Hamas said was aimed at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem which fell several miles short of the city. Israeli officials called that attack an "escalation". Jerusalem is about 50 miles from Gaza – the maximum reach of the most powerful rockets in the Hamas arsenal. As stakes in the conflict rose for the third day, the IDF said about 550 rockets had been fired from Gaza since the start of its military offensive against Gaza, called Operation Pillar of Defence, on Wednesday. A third were intercepted by its Iron Dome defence system. The Israelis hit more than 600 targets in Gaza over the same period. Eighty-five targets were hit in 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday morning in one of the most intensive periods of bombardment since the offensive began. Palestinians said 29 people have been killed in Gaza, including 16 civilians. Among them were eight children and a pregnant woman. Three Israeli civilians have been killed by a rocket. Washington moved to try to prevent a further escalation. The White House said Barack Obama spoke to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish PM, in the hope he could influence Hamas. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, to warn against precipitous action. Clinton also spoke to the Egyptian foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, and other regional officials who might persuade Hamas to rein in the attacks from Gaza. Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that a ground invasion could cost Israel international support. "Israel does have to bear in mind that it is when ground invasions have taken place in previous conflicts that they have lost international support and a great deal of sympathy around the world." But attitudes appeared to be hardening in Egypt where the president, Mohammed Morsi. denounced Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip as "a blatant aggression against humanity" and said Cairo "would not leave Gaza on its own". In a statement which will increase western concern about strengthening anti-Israel sentiment in post-revolutionary Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, he added: "Egypt today is not the Egypt of yesterday, and Arabs today are not the Arabs of yesterday." His prime minister, Hesham Kandil, reiterated the message during a short visit to Gaza aimed at showing solidarity with the people. "The Egyptian people are supporting you. The Egyptian revolution will be side by side with the Palestinian people. The world should take responsibility in stopping this aggression," said Kandil. Their comments came amid growing public anger in Egypt over Israel's military operation targeting Gaza, which was condemned in speeches in mosques and demonstrations. Protesters marched in the country's two largest cities, Cairo and Alexandria, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against Israel. Preaching at the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, the prominent cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who was long barred from Egypt, likened Israel's attack to Bashar al-Assad's use of violence in Syria. "We say to the tyrant Israel, the day of your end is coming soon," he told a crowd, some of whom were wearing Palestinian scarves or carrying banners. Other voices were more nuanced, reflecting the deep conflicts that many Egyptians feel in their country's relationship with Israel, with which it signed the Camp David peace treaty in 1979. Under former leader Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had become used to acting as a mediator between Palestinian groups – including those in Gaza – and Israel, a role the new Muslim Brotherhood-led government has continued to pursue, despite promising to take a harder line. Following the assault on Gaza, there has been evidence that the Brotherhood is being forced to be more assertive. The crisis over Gaza is the first major foreign policy challenge for Egypt's Islamist administration, which is complicated by the Muslim Brotherhood's close historic ties with Gaza's ruling Hamas movement. Since the Egyptian revolution, the Brotherhood has been in a political bind over its treaty with Israel, coming under pressure from more radical parties, such as the Salafist al-Nour party, and secular leftwing groups to get tougher with Israel.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The oddly chaste vampire saga comes to an end with Breaking Dawn - Part 2. We've watched all five films so you don't have to TwilightAwkward, lip-biting teenager Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington, where she falls in love with mysterious, moody, tan-averse Edward Cullen. Who turns out to be a vampire! But, y'know, a vegetarian one: he only eats animals. Edward and his foster brothers and sisters (who, er, also date each other: go with it) protect Bella when some evil vampires turn up. After smelling her. Sexy. Lessons learned ... Men will always be there to save us weak women Whether Bella (Kristen Stewart) is walking in front of cars, falling off motorbikes, getting mugged, or merely condemning her soul to Hell by trying to have premarital sex, there's always a vampire (Edward, Robert Pattinson) or wolf (Jacob, Taylor Lautner) to save her. You know what us silly women are like! Always getting ourselves into situations men need to get us out of… Don't take no for an answer In case you're over the age of 15 and haven't seen the films/read the books/read really involved fan fiction until 4.45am on internet forums, Bella, (a human) falls in love with Edward (a sexy vampire) and spends a lot of time staring at him across the cafeteria. What I've learned is that hot, well-dressed men who have glittery skin might act like they really don't fancy you, but they do! If only I'd known this when I started working in the media and drinking in Soho bars. In a hashtag: #vampirehorn Twilight: New MoonEdward's brother Jasper lets slip he wants to eat Bella (awkward!) so the Cullen family leave town and Bella mopes for months and months. The only person who can cheer her up is her childhood mate Jacob. Who – would you believe it? – is also a werewolf! But, you know, a really sexy one. Lessons learned ... In Hollywood, makeovers and pointless topless scenes aren't just for girls Between Twilight and New Moon, Taylor Lautner clearly hit the gym. In the first film, he wasn't that hot: long hair, bit scrawny, at least a foot shorter than all the other men in Forks. But by movie number two he'd had a haircut, got a tattoo and was ready to take his top off. A lot. In fact, over four films, he has 13 topless scenes, all outdoors. The films are set in Forks, Washington State, near the Canadian border, in winter, and not one character says, "Hang on, aren't you a bit… cold?" There is no plot hole that can't be solved by bringing a character back 'as a ghost' Edward's not really in this book, but everyone fancies Robert Pattinson. What to do for the film? Guess we'll just take a cue from the final Ally McBeal episode and bring him back as a ghost. Even though he's not dead. Yeah, that'll do. Parenting isn't very good in Forks When Bella completely disappears for a few days, her dad Charlie (who's also the police chief in the town) hasn't put out an amber alert or even got upset. He's all: "You're in trouble, young lady! You're grounded! Well, OK, you can go out a bit." Which is like, totally unfair as she had to go to Italy to rescue her vampire boyfriend from a load of other vampires, and DAD YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. In a hashtag: #teamjacob Twilight: EclipseEdward's back, because he just can't live without Bella. But she wants to have sex, and he's not up for it unless they're married. "I want to bond myself to you in every way possible," she says, which is all very well but there's also an army of vampires about to arrive in Forks to try and kill Bella. Keep up. Lessons learned ... The underdog doesn't always come out on top By the third film, it's very clear that vampire Edward and his family are super rich. Nice cars, massive house, private jets – they're loaded. By contrast, wolfy Jacob lives in a tiny hut in the woods with his disabled dad and rides a motorbike rescued from the scrapyard. Whatever poor Jacob does, the rich boy wins. Don't look at this as a depressing message for teenagers. See it as simple economics. Teenage boys are really frigid They won't have sex with you if you're not married first! This isn't quite the way I remember it, but it was a long time ago. The only way that Edward will agree to sleep with Bella is if SHE'S MARRIED TO HIM. He's worried for her soul, you see. Er, if your name is Nick and you were at a house party in Farnborough in 2001, can I have my virginity back real quick, please? Because if not, I'm going to Hell. Which I can only imagine is Twilight films, on loop. In a hashtag: #replacethewordsoulwithvagina Twilight: Breaking Dawn (Part 1)Bella and Edward get married, have a lovely wedding, go on their honeymoon, have THE SEX, but then Bella realises she's pregnant, with a vampire baby and the NHS helpline is no use. She decides that having it is "the right thing to do". Lessons learned ... Feminism is dead Over the 476 minutes of vampires, wolves and long, lingering looks, Bella's life (much like life after 30) is a depressing trudge towards marriage and babies. Meet a man. Do what he says at all times. Rely on him for everything. Have a ridiculously over-the-top wedding even if you don't want one. Have sex (once), have a baby, devote your entire life to said baby, don't mention going to university. Merge your identity with your husband's. Oh, and try and look pretty. Crowd-sourcing opinions on losing your virginity is totally normal Bella wants to have sex with Edward, but he's a vampire, so might accidentally kill her. We've all been there. Jacob has an opinion ("Don't do it") and then all his wolf mates run out of the bushes to give their opinion ("Don't do it"), then Edward's sister throws her thoughts into the mix ("Do it!") and then it's weird. Bella and Edward have sex, and even though they're careful (they got married first!), Bella still nearly dies because her baby is eating her insides. All I've learned here is that I'm never making eye contact with a man ever again, just in case. In a hastag: #YOLT (You Only Live Twice) Twilight: Breaking Dawn (Part 2)The scary Italian vampires have turned up to get rid of Edward and Bella's daughter, Renesmee, because she's creepy. Oh, and they're worried that she'll accidentally tell all the humans they're vampires. Er, hello? Everyone knows about vampires; we've seen the documentary series True Blood. Lessons learned... Kristen Stewart makes everything awkward "I didn't expect you to seem so you," Jacob tells the newly-made-into-a-vampire Bella. And that'd be: awkward. She makes everything uncomfortable. Holding a baby. Kissing Edward. Hugging her dad. Eating a mountain lion. Even the sexy vampire sex, which ends in a glittery orgasm. Never complain that 'nothing happens' in Twilight movies ever again The fifth film will make you look back nostalgically at the lip-biting, longing stares and endless silences of the first four movies. Because this one's brutal. The battle scene is 20 minutes of heads being ripped off, faces being kicked in and at one point, someone throws a baby on the fire and everyone else is all "good move, bro". Shit just got real. In a hastag: #BellaAndEdward4Eva As Edward and Bella bow out, what have we learned from watching Twilight?
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former CIA chief says talking points given to UN ambassador were edited to remove classified information about terror group David Petraeus, the former CIA director, told congressional hearings on Friday that he had always known a terrorist group had been involved in an attack in Benghazi that left the US ambassador and three other Americans dead. According to reports from members of Congress who attended the closed-door hearings, Petraeus said the information had been included in the original set of talking points prepared by the CIA for the Obama administration. But he said it was removed from the one provided to the UN ambassador, Susan Rice, who used it as the basis for a series of interviews on the weekend after the killings. Rice is among the contenders to replace Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state. In a press conference this week, Barack Obama, angrily criticised two Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who threatened to block her nomination if the president put her name forward. Petraeus, who gave evidence to both the Senate and House intelligence committees, said that references to the group alleged to have been behind the 11 September attack were in the CIA's classified talking points, which were classified, but removed from the unclassified memo relied upon by Rice. The reason, he said, was not to tip off the group about what the US authorities knew. Briefing reporters later, Republicans and Democrats on the committees put different glosses on the evidence given by Petraeus, who resigned a week ago over an extramarital affair. Peter King, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, said he was not satisfied with Petraeus's explanation of the talking points. King said: "It is still not clear how the final talking points emerged. He said it went through a long process involving many agencies including the Justice Department and including the State Department. "No one knows yet who came up with final version of the talking points other than to say the original talking points prepared by CIA were different from the ones that were finally put out." Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, accused McCain and Graham of unfairly targeting Rice. Feinstein, who did not refer to the senators by name, accused them of trying to "assassinate her character". She added: "The key is they [the talking points] were unclassified talking points at a very early stage. And I don't think she should be pilloried for this. She did what I would have done or anyone else would have done who was going on a weekend show." A Democratic member of the House, Adam Schiff, said: "The general was adamant there was no politicisation of the process, no White House interference or political agenda. He completely debunked that idea." Petraeus had been scheduled to give evidence on Thursday but after that hearing was dropped after he resigned due to revelations of an affair with his biographer, Paul Broadwell. Some Republicans hinted he had resigned not because of the affair but to avoid giving evidence. Under pressure, he agreed to testify, and the hearings were rescheduled for Friday. To avoid the embarrassment of facing a media scrum, Petraeus was smuggled in and out of Congress. He made only a passing reference to the affair that brought him down, mentioning it only to express regret and to say it had not influenced earlier testimony about Benghazi. A Libyan-based group, Ansar al-Shariah, which the US describes as having loose links with al-Qaida sympathisers in north Africa, is being blamed for the Benghazi attack, which killed the US ambassador, Chris Stevens. Republicans have been relentlessly pursuing the issue for almost two months, suggesting that the Obama administration deliberately played down the al-Qaida link for political reasons. Having claimed that al-Qaida had been largely defeated, the Obama administration did not want to admit that a group with possible al-Qaida links had been behind the killings on the 9/11 anniversary, according to Republicans. Rice, in her interviews, had suggested the attacks were largely motivated by a spontaneous demonstration by protesters against a US-produced anti-Muslim film and she put less emphasis on the attack being organised by extremists. During the hearings, Petraeus – who has once been touted as a possible Republican candidate – appears to have undercut GOP arguments, saying the aftermath of Benghazi had not been a political issue and that there had been no attempt by the White House to distort the talking points in advance of Rice's appearance before the media. Democratic members of Congress had until now largely stayed out of the row about Rice. But they came out strongly in support of her for the first time on Friday, possibly as the result of some behind-the-scenes prodding from the White House.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Software pioneer says he will fight allegations of involvement in death of Gregory Viant Faull 'as long as I'm still breathing' John McAfee, the software pioneer who is on the run from the authorities in Belize, has denied killing his neighbour but ruled out handing himself in, because he believes the police would kill him. In his latest interview with US media since going on the run, McAfee, the founder of the anti-virus company that bears his name, told CNBC that he would fight allegations of involvement in the death of Gregory Viant Faull "as long as I'm still breathing". Faull, an American businessman, was found dead at his home in San Pedro last weekend with a gunshot wound to his head. Police in Belize have described McAfee as a "person of interest" in the crime. The two men are believed to have quarrelled regarding several dogs kept by McAfee at his home. McAfee has said that four of his animals were poisoned late last week and that he now believes Belize government agents or police were responsible. Speaking to CNBC on Friday, the American said that he had nothing to do with Faull's murder, but that he had gone on the run out of fear of his life. He claimed that if he turned himself in to the authorities he would be taken to police cells. "This is where [people] frequently disappear," he said, speaking from an undisclosed location. Asked if he truly believed he would be killed by Belize authorities, he replied: "Absolutely I do." "Things do not operate here as they do in the States. We are living in a near dictatorship where the legal system is subservient to the cabinet." McAfee said that he lived in fear of Belize's notorious Gang Suppression Unit (GSU), an arm of the police that has been accused of abuses. The conversation with CNBC was the latest contact McAfee has had with American journalists since going on the run. Earlier in the week, he told the Associated Press: "The GSU will do what the GSU does, beat me soundly until I confess to a multitude of sins, including I guess the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, and then just execute me." He also claimed that he "barely knew" Faull, the owner of a Florida-based construction business. "He was a heavy drinker and an annoyance. But the world is full of annoyances. If we killed all of our annoyances, there would be nobody left," said McAfee, 67. The British-born computer programmer built up a personal fortune as the founder of McAfee anti-virus software. He moved to Belize in 2008. But it is believed that his wealth has dwindled in recent years. There has also been concern over McAfee's mental health. In the interview with CNBC, he brushed off reports that he had played Russian roulette with a loaded gun. "My point was life isn't exactly what you see," he said. Responding to some of the fugitive's claims earlier in the week, Belize's prime minister, Dean Barrow, said: "I don't want to be unkind to the gentleman, but I believe he is extremely paranoid, even bonkers."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Leaders express hope deal can be reached with Obama administration as rhetoric of talks takes on more conciliatory tone Congressional leaders expressed cautious optimism Friday about reaching a deal with the Obama administration that will avert a debt and spending crisis next year. An hour-long meeting with Barack Obama at the White House, aimed at finding a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, was described as "constructive". Republican leaders, normally vehemently opposed to tax rises, at least for the wealthy, agreed to put revenue-raising measures on the table, though without specifying what they might be. Democratic leaders agreed to spending cuts, again without going into specifics. With the need for a deal in place by 1 January to avoid the automatic imposition of across-the-board tax rises and severe spending cuts, there was a sign of some urgency entering the negotiations. Republicans and Democrats agreed at the White House to continue talking with administration officials through the weekend and into next week, even though Obama will be away on a visit to Asia for most of this time. The aim, said one Republican official, is to have a deal ready to put on the table after the Thanksgiving holiday. The rhetoric from both sides is much more muted and conciliatory compared with last year's all-out confrontation, with the Republicans apparently chastened from their presidential election defeat and Obama in a much more bullish and confident mood. They know that in the worst case scenario that Democrats have the option of letting America go over the fiscal cliff – with a resulting sharp rise in taxes for tens of millions of Americans – and blame Republicans for the outcome. Obama's press spokesman, Jay Carney, said after the meeting: "The president and the leadership had a constructive meeting and agreed to do everything possible to find a solution that averts the so-called fiscal cliff, and to work together to find a balanced approach to reduce our deficit that includes both revenues and cuts in spending and encourages our long-term economic and job growth. "Both sides agreed that while there may be differences in our preferred approaches, we will continue a constructive process to find a solution and come to a conclusion as soon as possible." Stock markets reacted positively to the news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen for three consecutive days on fears that talks were likely to break down. Economists and business leaders have warned that the fiscal cliff threatens to plunge the US back into recession and the Congressional Budget Office has predicted unemployment will spike to 9.1% next year if is a solution isn't found. The Dow and all the other major US exchanges began to rise Friday as a breakthrough appeared to be on the horizon. One of the biggest sticking points is Obama's insistence that Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest will come to an end in January, a move that is opposed by Republicans. But there is room for compromise: Obama could limit any tax rises to households earning more than $500,000 a year rather than the $250,000 a year that he currently proposes. He may also agree that the tax rate for these households could rise to a level lower than the 39.6% he favours. The Republicans, House speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, speaking to reporters after the meeting, put the stress on cutting the deficit, without specifying which areas they have mind, though both have said in the past that healthcare spending has to be curbed. The two Democrats, Senate majority leader Harry Reid and the party leader in the House Nancy Pelosi, put the emphasis on raising taxes. A deal rests on Boehner's ability to control Tea Party-backed House Republicans. He and Obama almost reached a deal last year but Boehner had to back off in the face of resistance from his colleagues. Many of those same Republicans, though subdued for the time being, have been re-elected. But after the White House meeting Boehner stressed he was ready for compromise. "To show our seriousness we put revenue on the table as long as it's accompanied by significant spending cuts," he said. "And while we're going to continue to have revenue on the table it's going to be incumbent on my colleagues to show the American people that we're serious about cutting spending and solving our fiscal dilemma. I believe we can do this and avert the fiscal cliff that is right in front of us today." Boehner's plan is to set long-term targets for revenue and spending and introduce short-term measures this year aimed at meeting them while negotiations continue next year, the Republican official said. Reid, standing alongside Pelosi and the two Republicans, also sounded mildly optimistic. "This is the first time we've dealt with these issues and feel we understand what the problem is. I felt very good about what we were able to talk about in there. We have the cornerstones of being able to work something out," Reid said. "We have arrived at a point where we all know that something has to be done." Pelosi said that without an agreement there will be an economic downturn. "We understand that it has to be about cuts. It has to be about revenue. It has to be about growth. It has to be about the future. So as we cut investments and as we talk about revenue we have do to so in a way that promotes growth and supports our future. It was good." McConnell, who only last week said Republicans had not been sent to Congress to raise taxes, said: "We are prepared to put revenue on the table provided we fix the real problem."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | During talks with Russian president, German chancellor questions prison sentences for anti-Putin protesters Vladimir Putin reacted angrily to the German chancellor Angela Merkel's questioning of the two-year jail sentence for the anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot on Friday, telling her that a member the group had once committed an anti-Semitic act. "I don't know whether the two women should have been sent to a prison," Merkel said during public talks with the Russian president before the two retreated for closed-door talks. "I don't know whether the same would have happened to them in Germany. "It would have generated a debate about whether that should go on in a church, no question. But should you really have to spend two years in a labour camp for it?" Putin retorted sharply by saying: "We hear what our partners say. But do they, being so far away, hear about what's going on?" "Mrs Chancellor spoke about the girls jailed for their performance in a church. Does she know that one of them had hanged a Jew in effigy and said that Moscow should be rid of such people?" Putin asked. "Neither we, nor you, can support people who assume an anti-Semitic position," said Putin, who served as a KGB agent in East Germany in the 1980s. "I ask you to keep that in mind." Putin has repeatedly supported the sentence against Pussy Riot. Three of the band's members – Maria Alyokhina, Nadia Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich – were sentenced to two years in prison in August for singing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" inside a Moscow cathedral. Samutsevich was later given a suspended sentence and released. The Russian president appeared to be referring to a September 2008 performance by the radical art group Voina, of which Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich were once a part. The group staged a mock hanging of five men in a Moscow supermarket as commentary on the city's repressive social policies. "In the light of day, in the lighting department, three migrant workers and two homosexuals, one of whom was also a Jew, were killed by hanging," a description of the performance reads. Moscow has been criticised for failing to protect its many migrant workers from ex-Soviet states, who face regular violence, and has banned gay pride parades for 100 years. Video of the performance shows Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich in the group. Merkel is the first western leader to visit Putin since his contentious return to the presidency earlier this year. The Russian leader's reputation has plummeted abroad amid a growing crackdown on opposition groups. The German parliament has urged Merkel to take a tougher stance with Russia. Speaking to the press following talks with Putin, Merkel said she had raised concerns over a series of new laws. Critics have called out new harsh laws on treason, nongovernmental organisations and the internet. Merkel and Putin have long had a contentious relationship, unlike Putin's chummy ties with former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who joined Nord Stream, a Gazprom-led pipeline project, upon leaving office in 2005. Merkel appeared to urge Putin to take criticism more lightly: "If I were offended every time I was criticised, I wouldn't last three days as chancellor".
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Israel's 'red line' could be hit in June, the point when Iranians have enough 20%-enriched uranium to produce a warhead Iran has expanded its enrichment capacity and is enriching uranium at a pace that would bring it to what Israel has declared an unacceptable red line in just over seven months, according to a report by the UN nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency also found that Iranian technicians had removed the fuel rods from the country's only functioning nuclear power station at Bushehr, suggesting the new reactor has serious problems. Iran did not tell IAEA inspectors what those problems were. The IAEA quarterly report on Iran's nuclear programme was released just days before the expected launch of a new diplomatic initiative to resolve the international impasse over the issue. It also comes soon after Israeli official stated that the red line drawn by Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, during his UN appearance in September, represented 240kg of 20%-enriched uranium, enough to make a warhead if further enriched to weapons grade. The sensitivity of 20% uranium figure is that it can be turned into weapons grade relatively fast and easily. The last time the IAEA inspectors drew up a report, three months ago, Iran had made 189kg of 20% uranium but had used nearly 100kg for civilian purposes, leaving an outstanding 96kg. In the last three months, that stockpile has grown by 43kg and Iran has not diverted any more of it to civil uses. At the current steady rate of production, that would bring Iran to the Israeli red line by mid-June. But it also installed new centrifuges at its underground enrichment plant in Fordow, with which it could double its rate of production if it chose to do so. However, it could also decide to divert more uranium to civilian uses, or – as western diplomats hope – strike a deal, exchanging 20% uranium for sanctions relief, and thus defuse the crisis. Diplomats from six major powers are due to meet next week to discuss a common negotiating strategy as an expected prelude to restarting high-level talks with Iran at about the end of this month.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Amid pro-choice rally at Savita Halappanavar's death, activists reveal the rapes and illness forcing women to seek abortions Hundreds of Irish women, including dozens who had been raped, have life-threatening illnesses or are under the age of 16, have been forced to seek abortions in Britain in the past three years, a pro-choice charity said. As campaigners prepared to gather in central Dublin on Saturday for a rally to protest against the death of an Indian woman who was refused a potentially life-saving termination in an Irish hospital, the Abortion Support Network (ASN) gave an insight into the pressures facing women with unwanted pregnancies. The charity, which issues grants of between £20 to £700 to Irish women seeking terminations, said it had helped 335 women from the Irish Republic over the last three years – including 19 rape victims, 21 with severe health problems and 21 girls under 16. A further six had attempted suicide in the recent past, the group said. It has also enabled 238 women from Northern Ireland to obtain abortions in England. The region is the only part of the UK where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply, although the type of emergency termination denied to Savita Halappanavar is available to women with life-threatening conditions in Northern Irish hospitals. Mrs Halappanavar's death in University Hospital Galway from blood poisoning due to a miscarriage has refocused global attention on the near-total ban on abortion in Ireland. Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, has described how his wife pleaded for a termination in the hospital but was told the medical team could not carry out an abortion as they had detected a foetal heartbeat. When the 31-year-old dentist said she was a Hindu, Praveen Halappanavar said the couple were told: "This is a Catholic country." His wife died on 27 October from septicaemia. He believes it was caused by the hospital failing to abort the 17-week-old foetus, which was already dead. India's ambassador to Ireland said on Friday that Mrs Halappanavar may be alive if she had been treated in India, where abortion is legal if the mother's life is at risk. Debashish Chakravarti said her death had caused great anguish within the Indian community in Ireland and in India. As Ireland's politicians study an expert report into potential changes to the abortion law, the ASN released testimonies from some of the women it had helped. All them asked not to be identified for fear of intimidation or vilification in Ireland. The charity said one woman was seven-weeks pregnant when she asked for the organisation's support in October – the same month Savita died. A recovering alcoholic and drug addict with children in foster care, she has been diagnosed as severely depressed and tried to kill herself to abort the pregnancy. Her family had not been not very supportive and, she said, her ex-partner "doesn't want to know". On contacting the network, she said: "God forgive me for this, but I know I won't." She also had no passport but managed to borrow €80 (£65) from friends that would cover the bus and boat journey to Britain. The ASN had to help her with the funds to pay for the procedure. Another client contacted the ASN in April, just nine months after having chemotherapy for breast cancer. She had three children and no passport. She was struggling financially, describing her situation as "desperate". She's never had a loan, and knows she wouldn't be able to keep up with the repayments if she did. She did not want to tell anyone, and told the charity workers she had no other way to get money for the termination. A third woman contacted the group at the start of this year with this harrowing message: "Please help me. I got your website and I'm in Dublin. I'm four to five weeks pregnant. I was told I cannot get a termination here even though I am on long-term medication for a psychiatric illness since I was 14. I am 26 now. "I'm confused. I'm highly depressed, suicidal and I just need some help – any help! I'm probably not making much sense. I'm upset and confused, feel very alone and my life is a nightmare. I'm sorry, if you could ring or email me soon as you can, thank you so much." The ASN also recorded this message from a member of the Irish Traveller community: "I'm a Gypsy girl and we're not supposed to have intercourse before we get married. "And if they find out they will actually kill me. I'm not kidding." She later told the Abortion Support Network that she was pregnant as a result of rape. Commenting on the fallout from Mrs Halappanavar's death and the numbers of women contacting them, Mara Clarke, director of the Abortion Support Network, said: "I am not an expert on the abortion law in Ireland but I am an expert on what happens to women when abortion access is restricted. The avoidable, disgusting, tragic, heartbreaking story of Savita Halappanavar is what happens. "Even if you take out the other circumstances, at the heart of this story is a young, professional, educated woman who asked her doctor for an abortion – by all accounts begged her doctor for an abortion – was refused, and then she died. "Let's stop talking about whether or not abortion is right or wrong. When you ban abortion, you change it from being an issue of morality to an issue of class. "The majority of the women who have contacted Abortion Support Network were religious women who believe with all their hearts that abortion is killing a baby and that they will burn eternally in hell for having an abortion. And yet they are still having abortions."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Top official at China's £300bn sovereign wealth fund said that the depth of public anger in the eurozone could lead to a 'complete discarding' of austerity programmes Opposition to Europe's austerity programmes intensified on Friday as a top official at China's £300bn sovereign wealth fund warned that the public are at "breaking point" and protesters demonstrated in solidarity against the International Monetary Fund in Manila. Jin Liqun, chair of the supervisory board of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), said that undue harshness risked a backlash which could end with necessary economic reforms being abandoned. Jin, who has previously argued that Europeans should work harder, repeated an earlier warning that governments had spent unsustainably in the past and need to be more fiscally responsible, but added that the depth of public anger could lead to a "complete discarding" of austerity programmes. "The fact the public are taking to the streets and resorting to violence indicates the general public's tolerance has hit its limits," he said. "Unions are now involved in organised protests; demonstrations and strikes. It smacks of the 1930s," he said. "The general public's tolerance of austerity has been stretched to breaking point." Speaking to the Guardian, Jin said the key was to balance fiscal cutbacks with growth strategies. "So there should be some tolerance, but the determination to carry on austerity should not be relaxed." Jin's comments came two days after the eurozone saw the biggest anti-austerity protests since the financial crisis began, with riot police clashing with demonstrators in several cities. Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, received a taste of the global concern over the eurozone during a trip to the Philippines. Protesters gathered in Manila dressed as zombies, carrying placards bearing slogans including "IMF is an economic zombie" and "IMF is dead. A walking dead". Plastered with fake blood, the group lay down on the road outside the presidential palace and said they were acting in solidarity with the people of Europe, The euro crisis overshadowed Lagarde's trip - which is already being truncated so she can return to Europe for another meeting of finance ministers next Tuesday. The IMF managing director said it was essential that the eurozone agrees a way to put Greece on a sustainable debt path. "It is not over until the fat lady sings, as the saying goes," Lagarde told a press briefing. "It is a question of working hard, putting our mind to it, making sure that we focus on the same objective which is that the country in particular." Gary Jenkins, analyst at Swordfish Research, predicted that the IMF and the eurozone will agree a deal to give Greece its next slice of funding, after failing to reach agreement last Monday. "The alternative is to risk a disorderly default and a potential meltdown of the eurozone," Jenkins added. The latest trade data showed a drop in goods being brought into the eurozone, a day after it fell into recession. Imports fell 4% in September while exports rose by 1%, resulting in a euro area trade surplus of €9.8bn (£7.8bn) in September, up from just €1.7bn a year ago.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Gulf of Mexico operation was not in production at time of incident that also left 11 hospitalised Two people are feared dead and two more are missing after a fire on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, the US coast guard said on Friday. Four other workers were injured in the resulting fire on the Black Elk Energy rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Lieutenant Commander Solomon Thompson, from coast guard sector New Orleans, said four people were unaccounted for following the fire. The coast guard was trying to confirm a report that two of the four were dead, Thompson said. Two others are described as missing. There were "approximately 26 people" onboard the platform on Thursday night, Thompson said. "But since the fire broke out they've only been able to account for 22 persons. "We do know that 11 members were taken to local hospitals, and an additional nine members were taken from the one platform to a second platform." Of the four people unaccounted for, Thompson said: "Our initial report was two are deceased. We're still trying to confirm that there is in fact two deceased, two missing, and then 22 that we've been able to account for. We're working really hard to get that number down. "It was an initial report that two were deceased, so we're operating off of two as deceased, two missing and then 22 unaccounted for." He added: "As you can imagine, there's so many people helping so fast, it's great, but it makes it difficult to track sometimes to track the exact number of who picked up who picked up who, what was their condition and checking them off the list." Thompson said two helicopters, two small boats and a fixed wing aircraft were involved in the search. There was still smoke rising from the platform at 1pm, he said, but no flames were visible. The rig was not used for drilling, Thompson said, but was a production unit used to pump oil to the surface. It was not in production at the time of the fire. "There was some construction on board and then the fire may have broken out as a cause of that construction." Thompson said although the rig was not in production, the coast guard had received a report that there was some kind of substance in the water nearby. "We did have one report of a sheen which was a dark sheen, appearing to be oil, underneath the surface of the water, at a 200ft wide by 1.5 mile long sheen, but we haven't confirmed exactly what that sheen is, whether or not it's oil or some other substance. We're assuming it's oil but we haven't confirmed that yet." A representative for Black Elk Energy, based in Houston, Texas, said that a team was en route to the site to investigate. "We're still collecting information and as soon as we get all that we're going to be releasing a press statement," a spokeswoman for Black Elk said. According to Black Elk's website, the company is "an ethical and ecological-minded business". Reports of the fire and the deaths aboard the oil platform immediately recalled the April 2010 blowout of BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 men and unleashed one of America's worst environmental disasters. BP reached a plea settlement only on Wednesday, accepting guilt in the deaths of the men and agreeing to pay $4.5bn in penalties. It still faces up to $21bn in civil damages. Friday's fire still had a heavy human cost. But the Black Elk Facility – unlike BP's Macondo well – was not a drilling rig, and it was not operating in deep water, which means the potential environmental consequences could be relatively slight. The coast guard said there was no evidence of pollution. The well, located some 20 miles off of Grand Isle, Louisiana, is believed to be in relatively shallow waters, perhaps 500ft, initial television news reports said. Both those factors mean that it will be far easier to cap the well if there is an oil leak.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Inclusion of human rights legislation named for Russian whistleblower convinces lawmakers to normalise trade relations Flashing some postelection bipartisanship, House Democrats and Republicans joined forces Friday in voting overwhelmingly to end Soviet-era trade restrictions so that American manufacturers and farmers can take advantage of Russia's expanding and more open markets. The vote to establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia has been a top priority of American businesses concerned that they are being left behind as Europe and China move into Russia's market of 140 million consumers. Russia joined the World Trade Organization in August, a move that requires it to lower tariffs and take other market-opening measures. But unless Congress voted to eliminate a 1974 trade restriction and establish permanent trade relations. The United States would be alone among 156 WTO members, unable to benefit from those new trade rules. The legislation stalled before the election as lawmakers shied away from voting for a measure that might appear to be aiding Russia at a time when president Vladimir Putin's government had become increasingly hostile. Many lawmakers have been mollified by the addition to the bill of a measure that punishes Russian officials involved in human rights violations. The bill passed on a 365-43 vote. The action came on the third anniversary of the passing of Russian lawyer and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison after allegedly being tortured. The human rights bill bears his name. "It is very gratifying that the first item out of the chute after the election is something we will be able to do in a bipartisan way," said congressman David Dreier, the rules committee chairman and a strong advocate of free trade. The legislation, which has the backing of the Obama administration, now goes to the Senate, where the Democratic leadership has indicated it will consider it promptly. Differences remain between the House and the Senate on the human rights part of the bill: the House bill imposes visa and financial restrictions on Russian officials linked to human rights abuses. The pending Senate bill would broaden that to human rights violators around the world. Numerous House members said they would not have voted for the trade bill without inclusion of the human rights measure. "The issue that concerns me and many members is not trade but human rights," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee. The trade bill, unlike bilateral free trade treaties, requires no concessions from the US side. With passage, US companies and farmers would see lower tariffs, better protections for intellectual property and greater access to Russia's service market and would be able to go to the WTO to resolve disputes. The administration and economists have predicted that US exports of goods and services, currently at $11bn, could double in five years if trade relations were normalized. The bill, the White House said in a statement supporting its passage, "is about providing opportunities for American businesses and workers and creating jobs here at home". The legislation would also extend permanent normal trade relations to Moldova, another former Soviet state. At issue is the Jackson-Vanik amendment to a 1974 trade bill that tied trade with the Soviet Union to greater freedom for Jews and other Soviet minorities seeking to leave the country. Since the 1990s, US presidents have annually waived the now-obsolete requirement, but it still must be eliminated as part of a permanent trade relations accord. Democrats who normally take a harder look at trade bills were strongly supportive, with many mentioning the addition of the Magnitsky measure. "It's important to remember that the rule of law in another country is vital, otherwise investment is perilous," said Sander Levin, top Democrat on the ways and means committee. "The Magnitsky legislation was added here in part in recognition that when you talk about trade, you have to look at a fuller picture," the Michigan congressman said. But passage of the human rights provision could spike tensions with Moscow at a time when the United States and Russia already are at odds over issues including missile defense, Syria's civil war and Iran's nuclear ambitions. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that Moscow had prepared a "tough" response to the passage of the Magnitsky bill. On Thursday the ministry spokesman said the measure was an "unfriendly, provocative act". The Obama administration has said that while it does not object to the Magnitsky bill, it would have preferred that the trade legislation be taken up on its own. The White House policy statement on the bill refers generally to the need to promote respect for human rights around the world and says the administration will continue to work with Congress to support those seeking a free and democratic future in Russia.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hamas's long-range missile hits outskirts of city, making ground offensive by Israel in Gaza more likely A rocket fired from Gaza has landed close to Jerusalem, bringing closer the possibility of a ground offensive by Israeli troops in the three-day-old conflict. Hamas said it had launched the long-range missile as air raid sirens sounded across the city at the start of Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath. It claimed it was targeting the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that a rocket struck on the city outskirts – believed to be the settlement block of Gush Etzion – causing no injuries. A photograph published by the Palestinian news agency, Maan, showed rocket vapour trails in the sky above Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. The city, which Israel claims as its "eternal and indivisible capital" and which is home to some of the holiest sites in the Islamic, Jewish and Christian faiths, is about 50 miles from Gaza – the maximum reach of the most powerful rockets in the militants' arsenals. Hamas described the missile as "an improved Qassam" named an M-75. Earlier, sirens were activated for the second day in Tel Aviv and some residents reported hearing the "muffled boom" of an explosion. The Tel Aviv authorities said they were opening bomb shelters across the city. Israel says militant groups in Gaza have taken possession of a large number of powerful weapons smuggled from Libya in recent months, including Fajr-5s, which have a range of up to 50 miles. Last month, a Russian-made Strela anti-aircraft missile was fired for the first time at an Israeli helicopter over Gaza, but missed. As stakes in the conflict rose for the third day, the IDF said about 550 rockets had been fired from Gaza since the start of its military offensive against Gaza, called Operation Pillar of Defence, on Wednesday. A third of the missiles had been intercepted by its Iron Dome defence system. The Israelis hit more than 600 targets in Gaza over the same period. Eighty-five targets were hit in 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday morning in one of the most intensive periods of bombardment since the offensive began. Speculation about an imminent ground invasion mounted as tanks were seen stationed close to the Gaza border. The IDF has begun calling up 16,000 reservists, and the defence minister, Ehud Barak, authorised the military to extend the number to 30,000. Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that a ground invasion could cost Israel international support. "Israel does have to bear in mind that it is when ground invasions have taken place in previous conflicts that they have lost international support and a great deal of sympathy around the world." The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, pledged that his country would "not leave Gaza on its own" and denounced Israel's offensive as "a blatant aggression against humanity". In a statement which will increase western concern that the conflict in Gaza is hardening anti-Israel sentiment in post-revolutionary Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, he added: "Egypt today is not the Egypt of yesterday, and Arabs today are not the Arabs of yesterday." His prime minister, Hesham Kandil, reiterated the message during a short visit to Gaza aimed at showing solidarity with the people. "The Egyptian people are supporting you. The Egyptian revolution will be side by side with the Palestinian people. The world should take responsibility in stopping this aggression," said Kandil. Their comments came amid growing public anger in Egypt over Israel's military operation targeting Gaza, which was condemned in speeches in mosques and demonstrations. Protesters marched in the country's two largest cities, Cairo and Alexandria, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against Israel. Preaching at the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, the prominent cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who was long barred from Egypt, likened Israel's attack to Bashar al-Assad's use of violence in Syria. "We say to the tyrant Israel, the day of your end is coming soon," he told a crowd, some of whom were wearing Palestinian scarves or carrying banners. Other voices were more nuanced, reflecting the deep conflicts that many Egyptians feel in their country's relationship with Israel, with which it signed the Camp David peace treaty in 1979. Under former leader Hosni Mubarak Egypt had become used to acting as a mediator between Palestinian groups – including those in Gaza – and Israel, a role the new Muslim Brotherhood-led government has continued to pursue, despite promising to take a harder line. Following the assault on Gaza, there has been evidence that the Brotherhood is being forced to be more assertive. The crisis over Gaza is the first major foreign policy challenge for Egypt's Islamist administration, which is complicated by the Muslim Brotherhood's close historic ties with Gaza's ruling Hamas movement. Since the Egyptian revolution, the Brotherhood has been in a political bind over its treaty with Israel, coming under pressure from more radical parties, such as the Salafist al-Nour party and secular leftwing groups to get tougher with Israel.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as the Egyptian prime minister, Hisham Kandil, arrives in Gaza for an unprecedented show of solidarity
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cable channel made its early reputation as a niche channel for boxing fans before hitting its stride with original shows Even the most cynical among us have to admit that sometimes a promotional statement gets it right. Take HBO's most famous slogan – "It's not TV, it's HBO" – a phrase that sums up the enduring appeal of the cable channel which was launched on 8 November 1972 and celebrates its 40th birthday this month. Think of your favourite shows of the last 20 years and chances are at least one of them, probably more, is an HBO creation. From Oz to Boardwalk Empire, Sex and The City to Girls, HBO has consistently demonstrated a knack for creating shows people talk about, even if it's only to say how much they don't care. It wasn't always this way. Viewers in the 1970s and '80s didn't have too much to shout about – unless they were into sports and boxing in particular or the mothers of small children grateful for a channel that invested in kids programming – but that all started to change in the 1990s as the cable channel became increasingly invested in original programming. With that investment and under the aegis of Chris Albrecht, president of original programming, came a sea change in the way in which audiences viewed television. HBO and Albrecht, a man who once said he didn't "care if characters were likeable so long as they were interesting" used the liberation afforded them as a pay cable channel to commission dark and daring and boundary pushing dramas, making stars of those involved in the process. It's hard now to underestimate the channel's influence during that period as a host of shows from the Sopranos to Six Feet Under transformed the television landscape, demonstrating that it was possible to transpose the best movie qualities to the small screen. These days when the HBO model has become the norm, the channel is less dominant. That's not to say it doesn't still have some must-see shows, both dramas and comedies, just that it no longer holds the monopoly on quality on TV. Any number of cable channels – AMC, Showtime, FX, TNT, Starz (where Albrecht is currently CEO) – have utilised the HBO model to varying degrees of success while on network television character-driven dramas such as Nashville and the Good Wife owe a great deal to the heyday of HBO. With that in mind here in chronological order is a baker's dozen of HBO's most influential moments: The Thrilla in Manila, 1975The event that first established HBO as a coming force, the third and final fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier is considered one of, if not the, greatest heavyweight bout in history. Thanks to a deal with Don King it was transmitted worldwide using HBO's antenna. It also established the channel as serious about sports coverage. To this day their sporting documentaries remain among the best in the business in particular the stripped down 24/7 documentaries, which follow sport stars behind the scenes. The Kids in the Hall, 1989Speak to any American comedy fan of a certain age and the chances are they'll either quote from this quirky Canadian comedy sketch show or start babbling about the creepy Chicken Lady. Owing more to Monty Python than American comedy heroes, The Kids in the Hall was a co-production between Canada's CBC Television and HBO. It helped established the channel as a home for cult comedy paving the way for later collaborations with everyone from Dennis Miller to Chris Rock. The Larry Sanders Show, 1992 One of the main reasons I've never been able to rave about Ricky Gervais is the obvious (admittedly self-acknowledged) debt he owes to the far more brilliant Garry Shandling. Long before Extras utilised celebrities playing themselves, Shandling featured outrageous turns from the likes of Robin Williams and Dana Carvey in this show about a self-obsessed talk show host. The show's central concept – the pitch-black way in which it dissected television and those who work in it – has influenced everything from 30 Rock to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Best of all it gave the world Artie and Hank Kingsley, television's finest comedy sidekicks. The Paradise Lost Trilogy, 1996-2011HBO has always had a strong documentary strand but few films were as influential as this trilogy made over 20 years about the infamous West Memphis Three which they originally distributed. Moving from straightforward reporting through impassioned plea for the case to be re-examined to sober look at the long-terms effects of imprisonment the Paradise Lost Trilogy is both a wonderful piece of film-making and an important example of the power film-makers can wield. Oz, 1997If ever there was a show that summed up the Chris Albrecht years it's this one. HBO's first one-hour drama series was set in the Oswald State Correctional Facility aka Oz. Written by Homicide's Tom Fontana it was made up of equal parts graphic violence, gratuitous nudity and compelling but crazy plotlines. In other words it was the ultimate HBO show, darkly brilliant, barking mad yet somehow entirely addictive. Sex and The City, 1998Sometimes you have to recognise that a show is influential even if you hate it. I loathe Sex and The City with an unflagging passion but it remains the case that this comedy about a group of friends in New York is synonymous with an era. For almost a decade Carrie and co dictated how women were seen, their show becoming shorthand for an aspirational lifestyle of Cosmos and Blahniks. Today Carrie's heirs are all over television from New Girl's ditzy Jess to Lena Dunham's downbeat Girls. The Sopranos, 1999HBO's golden age makes it very hard to narrow down dramas from this period – we could just as easily have gone for the delightful Six Feet Under. That said from the moment we met the dream-plagued Tony Soprano and were plunged into his world of matter-of-fact violence and existential crisis it was clear this was something new. The Sopranos bought the anti-hero roaring back into television and then made the viewer complicit in his every monstrous crime. It's a model that dominates today from the casual cruelties of a Don Draper to the monstrous manipulations of a Walter White. Band of Brothers, 2001It isn't my favourite HBO miniseries (that would probably be a David Simon face-off between The Corner and Generation Kill) but this detailed, restrained and emotionally rewarding big budget take on the Second World War serves as a master class in characterisation and pacing. Extras points for the way in which its largely unknown cast which included both Damian Lewis as the heroic Major Dick Winters and a young Michael Fassbender as Sergeant Burton "Pat" Christenson went on to become stars. The Wire, 2002When I first watched The Wire it felt like a punch to the stomach. David Simon's downbeat tale of police, criminals and politicians is also a gut-wrenching examination of the slow death of a city. Yes, it has flaws and yes, towards the end Simon's powerful outrage can slip into hectoring but The Wire remains a near perfect example of the freedom provided by cable television: the chance to tell your own story, without heroes and villains, at the pace in which you wanted it to be told. Deadwood, 2004Included because if ever a writer summed up everything that's both good and bad about HBO it's David Milch. With Deadwood he rewrote the western creating a highly stylised, richly detailed world whose influence can still be seen in shows such as Breaking Bad. Then with John from Cincinnati he dented HBO's winning record by putting out a show so willfully obscure that even its creator seemed unsure what his ultimate point would have been. Last year's Luck fell somewhere between the two: more focussed than John, less sharp than Deadwood it was still a vividly realised world populated by characters who could only have been created by David Milch. The writer is now working on a series of Faulkner adaptations for HBO. They may be brilliant, bizarre or both, half the fun will come in the finding out. Lucky Louie, 2006Because sometimes even HBO can't make a hit out of a show ahead of its time. These days we're all used to hailing Louis CK as the future of comedy but back in 2006 his first attempt at reinventing the sitcom the scabrous Lucky Louie was a one-season flop. The idea – a marriage between the traditional sitcom format complete with laughter track and the sort of audacious topics for which HBO was known – was a brilliant one but the show failed to connect with audiences. Undeterred CK went on to hone his act as a stand-up before dropping the lucky and heading to FX with Louie. True Blood, 2008It's not one HBO's greatest shows but this campy, incoherent vampire drama earns its place in the round up because it arguably saved HBO's post-Chris Albrecht reputation. At the time of its debut the obituaries for the channel was half written, the success of Mad Men, a show which HBO had rejected, coupled with the growing strength of rival cable channel Showtime had many people suggesting HBO's golden era was over. The ratings for True Blood said otherwise. While HBO may never recover its 1990s dominance those who wrote its death throes have been proved wrong. Game of Thrones, 2011Because people thought HBO were crazy when they suggested adapting it. Because everybody said it couldn't be made. Because when it was made they said no one would watch a fantasy drama. But most of all because it brought the term "sexposition" to the world demonstrating that 13 years after Oz first aired HBO remains the rackety old aunt of television, all fur coat and no knickers, happily creating hits by marrying compulsive plotting to near-heroic levels of nudity. Here's hoping they're still pulling off the same trick in another 40 years time … So what do you think? Agree, disagree? Feel like shouting about what we missed out – have your say as ever below.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Closed-door congressional hearing unsatisfied with former CIA director's account that consulate attack was work of extremists The scandal-hit CIA chief David Petraeus has failed to satisfy a congressional hearing into conflicting accounts of the attack in September on the US consulate in Benghazi. Petraeus, in his first public outing since resigning from the CIA a week ago over an affair with his biographer, was smuggled into Congress for an early-morning hearing to avoid a media scrum. Appearing before a closed-door hearing of the House intelligence committee, the affair surfaced only once when he was asked if it had had an impact on earlier testimony. He assured the committee it had not. The rest of the 90-minute hearing was devoted to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead. Republicans in Congress have been campaigning relentlessly over discrepancies between the initial explanation provided by the Obama administration that blamed the attack on a spontaneous demonstration over a US-produced anti-Muslim film and a later explanation that blamed al-Qaida elements. Some Republicans expressed suspicions that Petraeus's resignation had not been over the affair but to avoid a scheduled appearance on Thursday before the congressional hearing. Although he is no longer CIA chief, he was asked to give evidence anyway.
The chairman of the House homeland security committee, Peter King, said that Petraeus did not appear to be disconcerted by the loss of the CIA job and the revelations about the affair. The hearing had been cordial and Petraeus had been professional, knowledgeable and strong but overall it had been awkward. "I consider him a friend which makes the questioning tough, to be honest with you," King said. "It's a lot easier when you dislike the guy." A large number of journalists gathered outside the corridor close to the hearing in hopes of snatching an interview with Petraeus, but congressional officials took him through a back entrance. The hearing was held in an extra-secure location several floors below ground level. The main discussion at the hearing was over talking points, compiled by the intelligence agencies, that the Obama administration gave to its UN ambassador Susan Rice ahead of a series of media interviews in September blaming demonstrators. King said: "It is still not clear how the final talking points emerged. He [Petraues] said it went through a long process involving many agencies including the Justice Department and including the State Department. "No one knows yet who came up with final version of the talking points other than to say the original talking points prepared by CIA were different from the ones that were finally put out." King saw a contradiction between the account Petraeus had given to an earlier House hearing and the one he was giving now. "His testimony was he told us that from the start it was a terrorist attack. I told him that was not my direct recollection. The clear impression we were given was that the overwhelming amount of evidence was that it arose out of a spontaneous demonstration and not that it was a terrorist attack." Asked if the affair had come up, King said: "Only in answer to one question when he was asked at the start if it had an impact on his testimony and he said 'No'." King, summing up the Benghazi attack and the conflicting talking points, said it was all "still very vague". He added that he was satisfied the "ultimate conclusion" reached by Petreaus, that the attack had been linked to al-Qaida, but "honestly disagreed with his recollection" of his earlier explanations.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former CIA director grilled during closed-door congressional hearings over conflicting accounts of consulate attack David Petraeus, the scandal-hit former CIA chief, faced a Congressional grilling on Friday over conflicting accounts of the attack in September on the US consulate in Benghazi. Petraeus, in his first public outing since resigning from the CIA a week ago over an affair with his biographer, was smuggled into Congress for an early-morning hearing to avoid a media scrum. Appearing before a closed-door hearing of the House intelligence committee, the affair surfaced only once when he was asked if it had had an impact on earlier testimony. He assured the committee it had not. The rest of the 90-minute hearing was devoted to the various official accounts of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September that left the ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans dead. Republicans in Congress have been campaigning relentlessly over discrepancies between the initial explanation provided by the Obama administration that blamed the attack on a spontaneous demonstration over a US-produced anti-Muslim film, and a later explanation that blamed al-Qaida elements. They have targeted the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, who gave the first explanation in a round of TV interviews a few days after the incident. Peter King, the Republican chairman of the committee, said after the hearing he was not satisfied with Petreaus's explanation of how Rice's talking points were compiled. King said: "It is still not clear how the final talking points emerged. He [Petraues] said it went through a long process involving many agencies including the Justice Department and including the State Department. "No one knows yet who came up with final version of the talking points other than to say the original talking points prepared by CIA were different from the ones that were finally put out." King saw a contradiction between the account Petraeus had given to an earlier House hearing and the one he gave on Friday. "His testimony was he told us that from the start it was a terrorist attack. I told him that was not my direct recollection. The clear impression we were given was that the overwhelming amount of evidence was that it arose out of a spontaneous demonstration and [not] that it was a terrorist attack." Some Republicans have expressed suspicions that Petraeus's resignation had been timed to avoid a scheduled appearance on Thursday before the congressional hearing. Petraeus agreed to appear on Friday instead, even though he is no longer the CIA chief. King,said that Petraeus did not appear to be disconcerted by the loss of the CIA job and the revelations about the affair. The hearing had been cordial and Petraeus had been professional, knowledgeable and strong but overall it had been awkward. "I consider him a friend which makes the questioning tough, to be honest with you," King said. "It's a lot easier when you dislike the guy." Asked if the affair had come up, King said: "Only in answer to one question when he was asked at the start if it had an impact on his testimony and he said 'No'." A large number of journalists gathered outside the corridor close to the hearing in hopes of snatching an interview with Petraeus, but congressional officials took him through a back entrance. The hearing was held in an extra-secure location several floors below ground level.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Closed-door congressional hearing unsatisfied with former CIA director's account that consulate attack was work of extremists The scandal-hit former CIA chief David Petraeus has failed to satisfy a congressional hearing into conflicting accounts of the attack in September on the US consulate in Benghazi. Petraeus, in his first public outing since resigning from the CIA a week ago over an affair with his biographer, was smuggled into Congress for an early-morning hearing to avoid a media scrum. Appearing before a closed-door hearing of the House intelligence committee, the affair surfaced only once when he was asked if it had had an impact on earlier testimony. He assured the committee it had not. The rest of the 90-minute hearing was devoted to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead. Republicans in Congress have been campaigning relentlessly over discrepancies between the initial explanation provided by the Obama administration that blamed the attack on a spontaneous demonstration over a US-produced anti-Muslim film and a later explanation that blamed al-Qaida elements. Some Republicans expressed suspicions that Petraeus's resignation had not been over the affair but to avoid a scheduled appearance on Thursday before the congressional hearing. Although he is no longer CIA chief, he was asked to give evidence anyway.
The chairman of the House homeland security committee, Peter King, said that Petraeus did not appear to be disconcerted by the loss of the CIA job and the revelations about the affair. The hearing had been cordial and Petraeus had been professional, knowledgeable and strong but overall it had been awkward. "I consider him a friend which makes the questioning tough, to be honest with you," King said. "It's a lot easier when you dislike the guy." A large number of journalists gathered outside the corridor close to the hearing in hopes of snatching an interview with Petraeus, but congressional officials took him through a back entrance. The hearing was held in an extra-secure location several floors below ground level. The main discussion at the hearing was over talking points, compiled by the intelligence agencies, that the Obama administration gave to its UN ambassador Susan Rice ahead of a series of media interviews in September blaming demonstrators. King said: "It is still not clear how the final talking points emerged. He [Petraues] said it went through a long process involving many agencies including the Justice Department and including the State Department. "No one knows yet who came up with final version of the talking points other than to say the original talking points prepared by CIA were different from the ones that were finally put out." King saw a contradiction between the account Petraeus had given to an earlier House hearing and the one he was giving now. "His testimony was he told us that from the start it was a terrorist attack. I told him that was not my direct recollection. The clear impression we were given was that the overwhelming amount of evidence was that it arose out of a spontaneous demonstration and not that it was a terrorist attack." Asked if the affair had come up, King said: "Only in answer to one question when he was asked at the start if it had an impact on his testimony and he said 'No'." King, summing up the Benghazi attack and the conflicting talking points, said it was all "still very vague". He added that he was satisfied the "ultimate conclusion" reached by Petreaus, that the attack had been linked to al-Qaida, but "honestly disagreed with his recollection" of his earlier explanations.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Twinkies maker to close 33 plants around the US and lay off more than 18,000 workers after years in financial straits Hostess Brands, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, has sought court permission to close its business after failing to reach agreement with thousands of striking bakery workers. The closure will mean the loss of most of the company's 18,500 jobs and the suspension of operations at the 82-year-old bakery's 33 plants around the United States as the firm moves to start liquidating assets. Hostess, once the largest wholesale baker in the US, has suffered under a series of managements. As its brands, which also include Drake's and Ding Dongs, fell from favour, commodity prices rose and labour relations collapsed. Individual product names, however, are likely to be auctioned by the bankruptcy court and live on under new owners. A "Save The Twinkie" campaign has already been launched by talk show hostess Wendy Williams. The troubled baker's latest owners, a collection of hedge fund investors including Ripplewood Holdings and Silver Point, blamed a strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union for its decision to end its effort to emerge intact from bankruptcy court. "We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we don't have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Gregory Rayburn, chief executive, said Friday. He said the company will "promptly" lay off most of its employees and focus on "selling its assets to the highest bidders". Union president Frank Hurt said the company's failure was the "result of nearly a decade of financial and operational mismanagement" and that management scapegoating workers for the company's collapse. Hurt said financial speculators had mismanaged the firm into collapse. "Six CEOs in eight years, none of whom with any bread and cake baking industry experience, was the prescription for failure," he said. Workers at 24 Hostess facilities went on strike earlier this month as management called for wage and benefits the union calculated amounted to 27%-32% and ended payments to pension plans. The company had given employees until Thursday night to return to work but the union held firm. The company filed for bankruptcy January for the second time since 2004 and has now asked for permission to shut down and sell assets. Hostess has 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores and 33 bakeries. All orders with its suppliers have been cancelled.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Discrepancies reported in former CIA director's Friday testimony that the consulate attack was the work of extremists Former CIA director David Petraeus was sneaked into the Capitol on Friday, away from photographers and television cameras, to face lawmakers' questions for the first time about the deadly attack on the US consulate in Libya just one week after he resigned over an extramarital affair. The retired four-star army general, formerly one of the country's most respected military leaders, entered through a network of underground hallways leading to a secure room. CIA directors typically walk through the building's front door. Petraeus is under investigation by the CIA for possible wrongdoing in his extramarital affair, though that is not the subject of Friday's closed-door hearings. The 11 September attack in Benghazi, which killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, created a political firestorm, with Republicans claiming that the White House misled the public on what led to the violence. Representative Peter King, chairman of the House homeland security committee, emerged just after 9am to say the hearing before his committee was over. He said there were discrepancies between what Petraeus had previously told the committee about the Benghazi attack and what he said on Friday. King said that earlier, Petraeus had said it was principally a reaction to an anti-Muslim video produced in the US; on Friday he said it was an attack by extremists. Five days after the attack, the administration sent UN ambassador Susan Rice on the Sunday news shows to describe it as a spontaneous protest. Rice relied on initial intelligence that proved incorrect, and she is now under attack by some Republican senators who vow to block her if she's nominated as secretary of state when Hillary Clinton steps down. Lawmakers spent hours Thursday interviewing top intelligence and national security officials in trying to determine what the intelligence community knew before, during and after the Benghazi attack. They viewed security video from the consulate and surveillance footage by an unarmed CIA Predator drone that showed events in real time. Petraeus was appearing first before the House intelligence committee on Friday and then its Senate counterpart and was expected to provide more details about the US response. He was not expected to testify about the reasons surrounding his resignation. Petraeus has acknowledged an affair with a woman later identified as his biographer, the married Paula Broadwell. The resignation of Petraeus, a former US commander in both Iraq and Afghanistan, stunned Washington. The FBI began investigating the matter last summer but did not notify the White House or Congress until after the 6 November election. In the course of investigating the Petraeus affair, the FBI uncovered suggestive emails between Afghanistan war chief General John Allen and Florida socialite Jill Kelley, both of them married. President Barack Obama has put Allen's promotion nomination on hold. Top national security officials were on Capitol Hill on Thursday to grapple with fallout from the sex scandal as defense secretary Leon Panetta asked service chiefs to review ethics training for military officers. Lawmakers went forward with a hearing on the nomination of General Joseph Dunford to replace Allen in Afghanistan. But with Allen's own future uncertain, they put off consideration of his promotion to US European command chief and Nato supreme allied commander. Allen had initially been scheduled to testify. Leading administration officials, meanwhile, met privately with lawmakers for a third straight day to explain how the Petraeus investigation was handled and explore its national security implications. Among those appearing before the House intelligence committee were director of national intelligence James Clapper and acting CIA director Michael Morell. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the committee's top Democrat, said after the hearing that he was satisfied that the FBI had behaved properly in not notifying the White House or lawmakers about the inquiry sooner, in keeping with rules set up to prevent interference in criminal investigations. The CIA on Thursday opened an exploratory investigation into Petraeus' conduct. The inquiry "doesn't presuppose any particular outcome", said CIA spokesman Preston Golson. Petraeus, in his first media interview since he resigned, told CNN that he had never given classified information to Broadwell. The general's biographer also has said she didn't receive such material from Petraeus. But the FBI found a substantial number of classified documents on Broadwell's computer and in her home, according to a law enforcement official, and is investigating how she got them. That official spoke only on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The army has suspended her security clearance.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former CIA chief's testimony that attack was work of extremists goes against previous statement about US-made film Former CIA director David Petraeus was sneaked into the Capitol on Friday, away from photographers and television cameras, to face lawmakers' questions for the first time about the deadly attack on the US consulate in Libya just one week after he resigned over an extramarital affair. The retired four-star army general, formerly one of the country's most respected military leaders, entered through a network of underground hallways leading to a secure room. CIA directors typically walk through the building's front door. Petraeus is under investigation by the CIA for possible wrongdoing in his extramarital affair, though that is not the subject of Friday's closed-door hearings. The 11 September attack in Benghazi, which killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, created a political firestorm, with Republicans claiming that the White House misled the public on what led to the violence. Representative Peter King, chairman of the House homeland security committee, emerged just after 9am to say the hearing before his committee was over. He said there were discrepancies between what Petraeus had previously told the committee about the Benghazi attack and what he said on Friday. King said that earlier, Petraeus had said it was principally a reaction to an anti-Muslim video produced in the US; on Friday he said it was an attack by extremists. Five days after the attack, the administration sent UN ambassador Susan Rice on the Sunday news shows to describe it as a spontaneous protest. Rice relied on initial intelligence that proved incorrect, and she is now under attack by some Republican senators who vow to block her if she's nominated as secretary of state when Hillary Clinton steps down. Lawmakers spent hours Thursday interviewing top intelligence and national security officials in trying to determine what the intelligence community knew before, during and after the Benghazi attack. They viewed security video from the consulate and surveillance footage by an unarmed CIA Predator drone that showed events in real time. Petraeus was appearing first before the House intelligence committee on Friday and then its Senate counterpart and was expected to provide more details about the US response. He was not expected to testify about the reasons surrounding his resignation. Petraeus has acknowledged an affair with a woman later identified as his biographer, the married Paula Broadwell. The resignation of Petraeus, a former US commander in both Iraq and Afghanistan, stunned Washington. The FBI began investigating the matter last summer but did not notify the White House or Congress until after the 6 November election. In the course of investigating the Petraeus affair, the FBI uncovered suggestive emails between Afghanistan war chief General John Allen and Florida socialite Jill Kelley, both of them married. President Barack Obama has put Allen's promotion nomination on hold. Top national security officials were on Capitol Hill on Thursday to grapple with fallout from the sex scandal as defense secretary Leon Panetta asked service chiefs to review ethics training for military officers. Lawmakers went forward with a hearing on the nomination of General Joseph Dunford to replace Allen in Afghanistan. But with Allen's own future uncertain, they put off consideration of his promotion to US European command chief and Nato supreme allied commander. Allen had initially been scheduled to testify. Leading administration officials, meanwhile, met privately with lawmakers for a third straight day to explain how the Petraeus investigation was handled and explore its national security implications. Among those appearing before the House intelligence committee were director of national intelligence James Clapper and acting CIA director Michael Morell. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the committee's top Democrat, said after the hearing that he was satisfied that the FBI had behaved properly in not notifying the White House or lawmakers about the inquiry sooner, in keeping with rules set up to prevent interference in criminal investigations. The CIA on Thursday opened an exploratory investigation into Petraeus' conduct. The inquiry "doesn't presuppose any particular outcome", said CIA spokesman Preston Golson. Petraeus, in his first media interview since he resigned, told CNN that he had never given classified information to Broadwell. The general's biographer also has said she didn't receive such material from Petraeus. But the FBI found a substantial number of classified documents on Broadwell's computer and in her home, according to a law enforcement official, and is investigating how she got them. That official spoke only on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The army has suspended her security clearance.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as the Egyptian prime minister, Hisham Kandil, arrives in Gaza for an unprecedented show of solidarity
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Croatia celebrates release of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, but Serbian prosecutor calls appeal ruling 'scandalous' An appeal court at The Hague war crimes tribunal has overturned the convictions of two Croatian generals for the expulsion of ethnic Serbs in 1995, in a ruling hailed in Croatia as a vindication of its war of independence. The court ordered the immediate release of Ante Gotovina, a former military commander, and Mladen Markac, a former police chief, who had been serving jail sentences of 24 and 18 years respectively. And it issued a stinging rebuttal of last year's conviction by the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in one of the most comprehensive reversals of the tribunal's 19-year history. The two generals remained impassive as the verdicts were read out but the decision was greeted with cheers and applause in the public seats in the chamber and with celebrations around Croatia, where Gotovina is seen as a national hero and an embodiment of the country's fight for independence. Thousands of people took to the streets and children were sent home from schools. Gotovina and Markac are expected to leave the detention centre on Friday afternoon and fly back to Croatia. Gotovina's defence lawyer, Greg Kehoe, said the appeal verdict demonstrated that Croatia's Operation Storm in 1995 to regain control over the last Serb-run enclaves on its territory had been entirely legitimate under international law. "This judgment vindicates that operation as a proper and just attempt to bring back that land into Croatia. More importantly, it vindicates what kind of soldier General Gotovina was," Kehoe said. However, the appeal verdict sparked outrage in Serbia, where the headline of the Blic daily's online edition read: "Scandalous decision: Gotovina and Markac free as if there had been no operation Storm." Serbia's war crimes prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, branded the ruling "scandalous", saying it endangered the general principle that war crimes must be punished. By mostly majority verdicts the five judges said the original trial had erred significantly in ruling that Croatian artillery had illegally shelled four Serb-held towns – Knin, Benkovac, Gracac and Obrovac. In particular, it found that the criteria used – that any shell that landed more than 200 metres away from a military target must have been fired indiscriminately – was arbitrary and "devoid of any specific reasoning". As result, the appeal chamber found "that no reasonable trial chamber could conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the four towns were subject to unlawful artillery attacks". The appeal judges also overturned the original trial verdict that Operation Storm had involved a "joint criminal enterprise" to expel ethnic Serbs from Croatia's Krajina region. They said the verdict depended in turn on the ruling that the artillery shelling of the four towns was illegal, which had been found to be unsound. An estimated 600 Serbs died in the aftermath of Operation Storm, some by summary execution. About 200,000 fled their homes. But the appeal chamber pointed to evidence that Gotovina had taken steps to try to enforce discipline among his troops and prevent such crimes. It said the original trial verdict that he could have done more to investigate or prosecute the crimes later on was "terse and vague". "This is not to say there were not crimes after the event. People came back and started exacting revenge. there is no question that happened," Kehoe said. "There were crimes, very heinous crimes that need to prosecuted." But he said that by vindicating the conduct of Operation Storm, the tribunal had "put itself on the right side of the rule of law". The tribunal, set up by the UN in 1993, has been repeatedly criticised for the slow pace of its proceedings. The fact that Gotovina spent almost seven years in prison in The Hague after his arrest by Spanish police in Tenerife until Friday's ruling was likely to bring fresh scrutiny.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | "It is not over until the fat lady sings", says IMF chief on a trip to Manila, ahead of next week's Eurogroup meeting
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | US reportedly looking to move policy debates from the UN's Doha climate conference and towards Major Economies Forum The US is considering a funnel of substantive elements of the Doha Climate Summit away from the UN framework and into the Major Economies Forum (MEF), a platform of the world's largest CO2 emitters, EurActiv has learned. Since 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has provided an umbrella for talks to curb global greenhouse gas emissions, and on 26 November, will host the COP18 Climate Summit in Qatar. But it has been confirmed to EurActiv that Washington is increasingly looking to shift policy action to the MEF whose members account for some 85% of global emissions, and which the US views as a more comfortable venue for agreeing climate goals. If the idea gains traction, it could demote the UNFCCC to a forum for discussing the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions reductions projects, sources say. Michael Starbæk Christensen, the deputy head of cabinet for EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, said he expected the US to convene another MEF forum soon which could be fruitful for discussing raised climate ambitions. "We need to broaden the group to work together on this and whether it is inside our outside the UNFCCC, by all means do it outside," he told a Green Party conference in the European Parliament on 15 November. "Ideally we would like to see as much happening inside the UNFCCC as possible," he continued, "but if we can engage with the US in other forums, it is the action that counts". Brussels sees the MEF as a complement - rather than an alternative - to the UNFCCC, and is mindful of giving the newly-elected President Obama time to finesse his climate agenda. It would be considered a "provocation" if the US was to unilaterally leave the UNFCCC process itself, sources say, and could potentially split the world into rival climate blocks led by Washington and Beijing. The MEF is a successor to the Major Economies Meetings set up by President Bush, and criticised by several governments for undermining the UN process. Its participants include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Uncompromising talk Asked by EurActiv about the consequences of moving climate processes to the MEF, Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC's secretary-general, was uncompromising. MEF forums provided a helpful and informal space in which new ideas put forward within the UNFCCC could be candidly aired and clarified, she said. But "the one and only place where formal negotiations and, above all, decisions take place and where treaties are negotiated is the UNFCCC," she stressed. "Should governments change that, that's of course the purview of government, but I don't see any government - including the government of the US - currently with the intent of changing that," she said. EurActiv understands that Washington would prefer to reach a domestically saleable agreement within the UNFCCC framework but is prepared to ink a framework agreement in Doha with MEF members alone. This could be used as a stick to pressure developing world countries to sign up to an agreement that falls short of expectations on Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), a core UNFCCC principle, centred on the concept of equity between poor and rich nations. Common but different Article 3 of the UNFCCC says that "parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of future and present generations of humankind on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities. Accordingly, developed countries should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof". However this principle was slightly morphed at the UNFCCC's last Durban Climate Summit with a platform agreement obliging all nations to commit to future emissions reductions, within a framework taking CBDR into account. Despite the richer North's historic responsibility for atmospheric CO2 concentrations, China recently overtook the US as the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter yet has no CO2 reductions obligations. Beijing counters that such figures do not reflect its emissions per capita, which are well below the US's, but fast approaching the European average. A consensus holds that if the planet is to keep within the IPCC's target 2 degrees target for global warming, they will need to fall. "Climate change requires all countries to act, but the central question of who should do how much can't be sidestepped by shifting the discussion outside the UN," said Lies Craeynest, a senior advisor for Oxfam. Only a fair deal agreed at the UN could achieve this, she said. "The US should stop seeing the pursuit of equity as an obstacle, and start seeing it as an opportunity to ensure all countries take on greater efforts," Craeynest added.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Customs officers in Hong Kong confiscate 569 pieces of illegal elephant ivory, their second major seizure of tusks in a month Hong Kong customs officers have made their second major seizure of ivory in less than a month after confiscating more than a tonne of the elephant tusks worth $1.4m (£880,000). Officers discovered 569 pieces of ivory on Thursday, weighing 1,330kg (2,930 lbs), in a container shipped to a Hong Kong port. A search of a container from Tanzania yielded 45 bags of unprocessed tusks concealed in more than 400 bags of sunflower seeds, said Vincent Wong, a customs divisional commander. The smugglers used an indirect route, shipping the ivory through Dubai and transferring it from one ship to another. While the container's destination was listed as Hong Kong, officials believe the shipment was intended for another location but did not say where. The discovery comes weeks after customs officers in Hong Kong made a record seizure of endangered species products, confiscating nearly 4 tonnes of African ivory worth $3.4m, which had been found in two containers. Smugglers used plastic and beans to conceal the ivory. Wong said the smuggling incidents did not appear to be related. Wildlife activists blame China's growing presence in Africa for an unprecedented surge in elephant poaching, with most of the tusks believed to be smuggled to China and Thailand to make ornaments. Authorities are investigating the latest ivory haul. No arrests have been made.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As New Zealand gears up for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington on 28 November, the entire country is going Hobbit mad. Details of many of the locations used in Sir Peter Jackson's trilogy are a closely guarded secret, but there are still plenty of places where you can feel the magic of Middle Earth, from the set of Hobbiton to 'Mount Doom' from the Lord of the Rings films
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jin Liqun, chairman of China's $480bn sovereign wealth fund, says latest protests show public tolerance at 'breaking point' A top official with China's sovereign wealth fund has issued a blunt warning that the latest unrest across the eurozone shows austerity has stretched the public's tolerance "to breaking point". Jin Liqun, chair of the supervisory board of the $480bn (£300bn) China Investment Corporation (CIC), warned that undue harshness risked a backlash which could end with necessary economic reforms being abandoned. Jin has been extremely critical of Europe's handling of the debt crisis, warning that authorities have taken a piecemeal approach and suggesting Greece should be given more time to work off its debt. But he has previously stressed the need for Europeans to "work a bit harder … work a bit longer" like Chinese citizens, complaining about "sloth-inducing" labour laws. Speaking at a forum in Beijing on Friday he repeated his warning that governments had spent unsustainably in the past. But he went on to warn that Europe was now seeing social and political unrest across several states. "One commonality is that unions are now involved in organised protests; demonstrations and strikes. It smacks of the solidarity movement witnessed in the 1930s," he said. "The general public's tolerance of austerity has been stretched to breaking point." Jin pointed to the unemployment rates in Spain and Greece and added: "The worst case could be a complete discarding of austerity programmes. The fact the public are taking to the streets and resorting to violence indicates the general public's tolerance has hit its limits." He went on: "The eurozone needs to strike a proper balance between austerity and growth. Austerity without growth is a cul de sac." Jin also suggested that the European Central Bank should launch further unorthodox measures to help the eurozone, which is now officially in recession. "Monetary easing is considered too radical but we believe it to be a practical move. The crisis is pulling the economy underwater. "People need breathing space. People should be helped to implement austerity programmes." Jin told the Guardian after his speech: "European governments should be given some time … If you ask the Greek people to slash their spending by 30-40%, it's not possible. So there should be some tolerance, but the determination to carry on austerity should not be relaxed. It is only the issue of how you can balance one against the other." CIC is one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds and recently bought a 10% stake in Heathrow airport. On Wednesday, Europe saw its biggest ever protests against austerity. There were general strikes in Spain and Portugal, walkouts in Italy and Greece, and demonstrations in hundreds of cities across the region. Demonstrators clashed with riot police in Milan, and rubber bullets were fired in Madrid and Barcelona. • Jin was speaking at a forum organised by business magazine Caixin. The Guardian is a media partner of the event.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Polls suggest Yoshihiko Noda will lose to LDP leader Shinzo Abe, who has promised tougher stance towards China Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has called an early general election for next month, despite polls indicating he will lose. The election on 16 December could damage global confidence in Japan's attempts to steer its economy away from its fourth recession since 2000, and further damage ties to China over competing claims to a group of islands in the East China Sea. Polls show that the Liberal Democratic party (LDP) leader, Shinzo Abe, a hawkish conservative who has promised to take a tougher stance towards China, is tipped to win. Noda, who took office in August 2011 after Naoto Kan resigned, defied fellow Democratic party of Japan (DPJ) members who had urged him to delay calling the election until the party's poll ratings improved. He had promised to dissolve the lower house of parliament after securing opposition support for key bills on electoral reform and budget finance. The DPJ controls the lower house but depends on other parties to get legislation through the upper house. Speculation about the election date began in August when Noda promised the LDP he would go to the polls "soon" after it supported his plans to raise the sales tax. At least nine of the DPJ's 244 MPs in the 480-seat lower house are reportedly planning to defect in anticipation of a heavy defeat, effectively depriving the party of its majority. But it is not clear whether the LDP, which governed Japan almost without interruption for more than 50 years until 2009, will win enough seats to form a government with its traditional ally, New Komeito. Abe could be forced to court smaller rightwing parties to prop up his government, leaving open the possibility that Shintaro Ishihara, the former governor of Tokyo who launched the party of the Sun this week, could return to national office. Ishihara is attempting to create a "third force" in Japanese politics with the populist mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, leader of the newly formed Japan Restoration party. The two met in Tokyo on Friday in an attempt to iron out differences over tax rises and nuclear power, and could reach agreement to merge their parties over the weekend, according to Kyodo. Abe, who this week called on the Bank of Japan to print "unlimited yen" and take interest rates to below zero to boost the economy, described the election as a historic battle. "We must achieve victory," he told party officials. "That is our mission, and it's with that in mind that I will fight this historic battle. The LDP and the public have been waiting three years for this day to arrive." If he wins, Abe, who served as prime minister for a year from 2006, will come under pressure from inside his party to reverse Japan's recent decision to abandon nuclear power by around 2040.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | "It is not over until the fat lady sings", says IMF chief on a trip to Manila, ahead of next week's Eurogroup meeting
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Law allowing flogging and whipping of prisoners is preventing government from ratifying UN torture convention, says minister Jamaica is preparing to abolish a slavery-era law allowing flogging and whipping as means of punishing prisoners, the country's justice ministry has said. The punishment had not been ordered by a court since 2004, the ministry said, but the statutes remain in the island's penal code. It was administered with strokes from a tamarind tree switch or a cat o'nine tails, a whip made of nine knotted cords. The justice minister, Mark Golding, said the punishment was an anachronism that violated Jamaica's international obligations and prevented the government from ratifying the UN convention against torture. "The time has come to regularise this situation by getting these colonial-era laws off our books once and for all," he added. The cabinet has approved repealing the flogging law and amendments to other laws. The announcement was welcomed by human rights groups. "We don't really see that [the flogging law] has any part in the approach of dealing with crime in a modern democracy," said Susan Goffe, of Jamaicans for Justice. However, some Jamaicans felt the authorities should not drop the old statutes but instead enforce them. "The worst criminals need strong punishing or else they'll do crimes over and over," said Chris Drummond, a Kingston resident. "Getting locked up is not always enough." The last person to suffer the punishment in Jamaica was Errol Pryce, who in 1994 was sentenced to four years in prison and six lashes for stabbing his mother-in-law. Pryce was flogged the day before being released from prison in 1997 and later complained to the UN human rights committee, which ruled in 2004 that the form of corporal punishment was cruel, inhuman and degrading and violated his rights. Jamaican courts then stopped ordering whipping or flogging.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Appeal judges at Yugoslav war crimes tribunal order immediate release of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac Appeal judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal have overturned the convictions of two Croat generals for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Serb civilians in a 1995 military blitz. Ante Gotovina, who was a commander in the Split district of the Croatian army, had been sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Mladen Markac, a Croatian police commander, to 18 years. Their supporters in the court's packed public gallery cheered and clapped as the presiding judge, Theodor Meron, ordered both men to be freed immediately. Gotovina and Markac were sentenced in 2011 for crimes including murder and deportation. Judges ruled both men were part of a criminal conspiracy led by the former Croatian president Franjo Tudjman to expel Serbs. But appeal judges said no such conspiracy existed.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rockets fired from Gaza hit several sites in southern Israel, and Israeli air force attacks house of Hamas commander Egypt's prime minister, Hisham Kandil, has arrived in Gaza, as Israel and Palestinian militants continue to exchange fire. Egypt is pushing ahead in efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas, and Kandil said Cairo would "spare no effort" to achieve a ceasefire. But on a visit to a Gaza hospital, he blamed Israel for the conflict. "This tragedy cannot pass in silence and the world should take responsibility in stopping this aggression," he said. Rockets fired from Gaza hit several sites in southern Israel on Friday morning, shortly after Kandil arrived in the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli air force responded with an attack on the house of Hamas's commander for southern Gaza, a Hamas source told Reuters. Medics said the air strike killed two people, one of them a child, raising the Palestinian death toll since Wednesday to 21. Three Israelis were killed by a rocket on Thursday. Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote on Twitter: "Hamas does not respect the Egyptian prime minister's visit to Gaza and violates the temporary ceasefire that Israel agreed to during the visit." Israel had previously said it was prepared to suspend its military offensive during Kandil's three-hour visit if militant groups also stopped firing rockets. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-led government has said a truce is the only option, but officials in Cairo warned privately that there was no immediate prospect of an end to the Israeli operation, saying the conflict could continue for at least another week. Overnight, Israeli war planes pounded Gaza with around 150 air strikes, causing massive explosions in the main cities and sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. The Israeli Defence Forces said it had targeted rocket-launching sites and arms depots, "causing severe damage to terror infrastructures". In a sign that Israel is preparing to further escalate Operation Pillar of Defence, the military said it was calling up 16,000 reservists, after receiving permission to draft up to 30,000. Netanyahu has said a ground invasion of Gaza cannot be ruled out. On Thursday evening, two rockets from Gaza crashed near Tel Aviv, the first such attack on Israel's commercial capital in 20 years. One fell into the Mediterranean Sea (video) and the other in an uninhabited part of a suburb south of the city. Until Friday, Israeli air strikes had killed 19 Palestinians, including seven militants and 12 civilians, among them six children and a pregnant woman. A Hamas rocket killed three Israelis in the town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday morning. The latest surge in the long-running conflict came on Wednesday when Israel killed Hamas's military mastermind, Ahmed al-Jabari, in a precision air strike on his car. Israel then began shelling the coastal enclave from land, air and sea. Israel says its offensive was in response to increasing missile salvoes from Gaza. The bombing has not yet reached the saturation level seen before it last invaded Gaza in 2008. Air raid sirens sent residents running for shelter in Tel Aviv. The metropolitan area is home to more than 3 million people, more than 40% of Israel's population. "This escalation will exact a price that the other side will have to pay," the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, said in a television broadcast shortly after the strike. An Israeli cabinet statement on Wednesday spoke only of "improving" national security. At the same time in Gaza, the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, urged Egypt to do more to help the Palestinians. "We call upon the brothers in Egypt to take the measures that will deter this enemy," he said. The resurgent conflict will be the biggest test yet of the commitment of the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, to Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which the west views as the bedrock of Middle East peace. Cairo recalled its ambassador from Israel on Wednesday. Israel's ambassador left Cairo on what was called a routine home visit, but Israel said its embassy would remain open. The Muslim Brotherhood, which brought Morsi to power in an election after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, has called for a "day of rage" in Arab capitals on Friday. The Brotherhood is seen as the spiritual mentor of Hamas. Israeli war planes have dropped leaflets in Gaza advising residents to stay away from Hamas and other militants. UN diplomats said the secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, would head to Israel and Egypt next week to try to mediate a ceasefire, but gave no further details.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | National Transportation Safety Board investigating crash at railroad crossing in Midland that injured 16 and killed four A float decorated with American flags and carrying wounded veterans and their spouses to a banquet in west Texas took the full force of a train at a railroad crossing, killing at least four people and injuring 16. Some managed to jump clear as the train bore down Thursday afternoon, blasting its horn. Horrified spectators at the parade to honor the war heroes could only watch as the carnage unfolded. "The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one [truck] being right in front of it," said Daniel Quinonez, who was waiting in his vehicle as the parade went by. "It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them." The float was one of two flatbed tractor-trailers carrying veterans and their spouses. Police said the first truck safely crossed the tracks but that the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the train approached. Patricia Howle was waiting in her car at a nearby traffic light as the train approached. "I just started screaming," she said. "The truck was on the other side of the train, but I did see the panic on the faces of the people and saw some of them jump off." Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairwoman, said Friday on NBC's Today show that the train was equipped with a forward-facing camera whose footage could help in the investigation. "That will give us some video images if it survived the crash and we can download it, as well as recorders on the train," Hersman said. "We're going to be looking at the signals … and making sure that the gates and lights were coming down." Late Thursday, Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange said a preliminary investigation indicated the crossing gate and lights were working. He did not know if the train crew saw the float. The black box from the train will determine its speed at the time of impact. Two died at the scene and another two at Midland Memorial Hospital, city spokesman Ryan Stout said. Marcy Madrid, a spokeswoman at the hospital, said one person hurt in the crash was in critical condition and four were in stable condition early Friday. She said 10 people were treated and released and that one woman was transferred to a hospital in Lubbock. Madrid said reports Thursday that 17 people had been injured in the crash were incorrect. Investigators in reflective vests and hard hats remained overnight at the floodlit crash scene that was cordoned off with yellow tape. Federal investigators were expected at the scene Friday. The parade had been scheduled to end at a "Hunt for Heroes" banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip at the weekend. The events were canceled. The events were organized by Show Of Support, a local veterans group. Its president, Terry Johnson, did not immediately return an email for comment and his phone number was unlisted; the phone rang unanswered at the group's offices. Stout, also the police department's spokesman, said he had no information about the individuals who died or the driver of the truck. Lange said Union Pacific is offering help to the community and victims' families, as well as peer-to-peer counseling for the train crew, who did not sustain any injuries. "There is going to be a very thorough investigation," Lange said. "It's obviously a very tragic incident." Secretary of defense Leon Panetta "was deeply saddened by news of the tragic accident involving veterans heroes and their spouses in Midland", Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. "His thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, with those injured in this incident, and with the entire community." Midland is about 320 miles west of Dallas.
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