|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President opens proceedings that will see him hand over power to Xi Jinping with warning that inaction could bring down state China's departing president, Hu Jintao, has warned that corruption threatens the ruling Communist Party and the state, promising political reform as he formally opened a party congress that will usher in a once-in-a-decade leadership change.
More than 2,000 hand-picked delegates gathered at Beijing's Great Hall of the People for the start of the week-long session, held against a backdrop of growing social unrest, public anger at graft and a yawning gap between rich and poor. "If we fail to handle this issue [corruption] well it could prove fatal to the party and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state," Hu warned in an opening speech. "Reform of the political structure is an important part of China's overall reform. We must continue to make both active and prudent efforts to carry out the reform of the political structure and make people's democracy more extensive, fuller in scope and sounder in practice." Nobody expects a move towards full democracy and party spokesman Cai Mingzhao made clear on Wednesday that one-party rule was inviolate.
The party has expelled senior regional leader Bo Xilai and accused him of abusing his office, taking huge bribes and other crimes in a dramatic fall from power that has shaken the leadership transition.
"We must never let words act in place of the law or [personal] power replace the law; nor will we allow the ignoring of the law for personal benefit," Hu said. During the congress Hu will give up his role as party chief to his anointed successor – the vice-president, Xi Jinping. Xi is to take over state duties at the annual meeting of parliament in March.
A few weeks after anti-Japan riots swept city streets following a row over disputed islands, Hu said China should strengthen the armed forces, protect its maritime interests and be prepared for "local war" in the information age. "We should enhance our capacity for exploiting marine resources, resolutely safeguard China's maritime rights and interests and build China into a maritime power," he said.
China is also locked indispute with south-east Asian neighbours on disputed areas in the South China Sea. Relations with the United States have been bogged down by accusations of military assertiveness in the region from both sides. The government has tightened security in the run-up to the congress, even banning the flying of pigeons in the capital, and has either locked up or expelled dozens of dissidents it fears could spoil the occasion. Security was especially tight on Thursday around the Great Hall and Tiananmen Square next door, the scene of pro-democracy protests in 1989 that were crushed by the military. Police dragged away a screaming protester as the Chinese national flag was raised at dawn. Hu said China's development should be "much more balanced, co-ordinated and sustainable", and it should double its 2010 GDP and per capita income by 2020. But China experts say that unless the new leadership pushes through stalled reforms the nation risks economic malaise, deepening unrest and perhaps even a crisis that could shake the party's grip on power. Chinese growth slowed for a seventh straight quarter in July-September, missing the government's target for the first time since the depths of the global financial crisis, but other data points to a mild year-end rebound.
Amid the clampdown on dissenting voices for the congress, a Tibetan rights group reported that three teenage Tibetan monks and a woman set themselves on fire on Wednesday in protest against Chinese rule, bringing to almost 70 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans in 18 months.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Winter storm whips New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with snow, rain and wind, causing more power cuts and flood watch A winter storm has brought snow, rain and strong winds to the north-east of the US, causing power outages in a region where hundreds of thousands are still in the dark following hurricane Sandy. The nor'easter heaped fresh misery on thousands in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut whose homes were destroyed by Sandy on 29 October. About 22,000 homes and businesses from the Carolinas to New York lost power on Wednesday, joining the more than 640,000 customers who still lacked electricity from one of the biggest and costliest storms ever to hit the US. New York and New Jersey evacuated the most vulnerable coastal areas ahead of the storm, which was forecast to bring a high tide about 2ft above normal by early Thursday. The storm also wreaked havoc with the evening commute out of New York City, leading the Long Island Rail Road to temporarily suspend all operations to the city's eastern suburbs and prompting authorities to close Penn Station in New York. No major flooding was reported during the storm's first hours, though New York warned residents whose homes had flooded during Sandy to consider moving to friends' homes on higher ground or to city shelters. Authorities warned weary residents not to ignore this storm's dangers. "You have to prepare for the storm that's coming in a few hours," the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, told residents. "I'm waiting for the locusts and pestilence next," he joked. The low-pressure weather system brought wind gusts of up to 65 miles per hour and could drop between 2 and 4 inches of snow on New York City, the National Weather Service said. Ice pellets hit Long Island and the storm lifted wave heights to nearly 20ft off Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to AccuWeather. Airlines cancelled more than 1,700 flights due to the rain and snow, with Newark airport reportedly facing the most cancellations. New York City authorities said they distributed 1,500 space heaters to residents of coastal Broad Channel and Rockaway, two low-lying neighborhoods that were badly hit by Sandy's storm surge. Many gasoline stations remained shut around the region, complicating residents' efforts to flee the new storm. The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, closed parks and beaches and temporarily halted outdoor construction ahead of the storm.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MPs narrowly approved Greece's new austerity programme, hours after riot police clashed with demonstrators during huge protests against the plan
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mark Basseley Youssef, writer of Innocence of Muslims, found guilty of lying about his identity in violation of probation The California man behind an anti-Muslim film that roiled the Islamic world was sentenced on Wednesday to a year in prison for lying about his identity, which violated his probation stemming from a 2010 bank fraud conviction. US district court judge Christina Snyder immediately sentenced Mark Basseley Youssef after he admitted to four of the eight alleged violations, including obtaining a fraudulent California driving licence. Prosecutors agreed to drop the other four allegations under an agreement with Youssef's attorneys, which also included more probation. None of the violations had to do with the content of Innocence of Muslims, a film that depicts Muhammad as a religious fraud, paedophile and womaniser. However, assistant US attorney Robert Dugdale argued that Youseff's lies about his identity have caused harm to others, including the film's cast and crew. The movie sparked violence in the Middle East, leaving dozens dead. "They had no idea he was a recently released felon," Dugdale said on Wednesday. "Had they known that, they might have had second thoughts" about being part of the film. Youssef's attorney, Steven Seiden, said his client admitted to being the film's scriptwriter, but had no other involvement except what he described as being a "cultural adviser". Youssef, 55, was arrested in late September, just weeks after he went into hiding when the deadly violence erupted in the Middle East. Enraged Muslims had demanded severe punishment for Youssef, with a Pakistani cabinet minister even offering $100,000 to anyone who kills him. Federal authorities initially sought a two-year sentence for Youssef but settled on a one-year term after negotiating a deal with his attorneys. Prosecutors said they wouldn't pursue new charges against Yousseff – namely making false statements – and would drop the remaining four probation-violation allegations levelled against him. But Youssef was placed on four years' probation and must be truthful about his identity and his future finances. Seiden asked that his client be placed under home confinement, but Snyder denied that request. Youssef will spend his time behind bars at a Southern California prison. Youssef served most of his 21-month prison sentence for using more than a dozen aliases and opening about 60 bank accounts to conduct a cheque fraud scheme, prosecutors said. After he was released from prison, Youssef was barred from using computers or the internet for five years without approval from his probation officer. Federal authorities have said they believe Youssef is responsible for the film, but they haven't said whether he was the person who posted it online. He also wasn't supposed to use any name other than his true legal name without the prior written approval of his probation officer. At least three names have been associated with Youssef since the film trailer surfaced – Sam Bacile, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and Youssef. Bacile was the name attached to the YouTube account that posted the video. "This is a defendant who has engaged in a long pattern of deception," Dugdale said. "His dishonesty goes back years." Court documents show that Youssef legally changed his name from Nakoula in 2002, though when he was tried, he identified himself as Nakoula. He wanted the name change because he believed Nakoula sounded like a girl's name, according to court documents. After the hearing, Seiden told reporters he had a message to relay from his client. "The one thing he wanted me to tell all of you is that President Obama may have gotten Osama bin Laden, but he didn't kill the ideology," Seiden said. Asked what that meant, Seiden said, "I didn't ask him, and I don't know."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MPs narrowly approved Greece's new austerity programme, hours after riot police clashed with demonstrators during huge protests against the plan
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Petrol bombs thrown and teargas and water cannons used during protests as draconian cuts pass narrowly It came after a night of rain, tear gas and clashes. But after four months of tortuous negotiations and a rancorous parliamentary debate, the Greek parliament finally announced late on Wednesday night that it had passed the most draconian package yet of austerity measures needed to keep Europe's weakest economy afloat. Following heady scenes inside and outside the 300-seat house, 153 MPs supported the €13.5bn (£10.8bn) package in a vote that will be remembered as perhaps the most electrifying in the history of the three-year Greek debt crisis. Approval of the spending cuts, tax rises and labour reforms was given with a weakened majority – seven rebels voted against the measures – but on trade markets around the world there were signs of relief. Mandarins in Brussels said the ballot would pave the way to the release of €31.5bn in EU and IMF sponsored rescue funds – desperately needed to keep bankruptcy at bay. "Greece today has taken a big, decisive and optimistic step. A step towards recovery," said prime minister Antonis Samaras after the cliffhanger vote. "I am very pleased," he told reporters before emphasising that the "next step" was passage of the 2013 budget in a vote on Sunday. With Greece's future within the eurozone resting on the result, the conservative leader had implored wavering lawmakers to back the legislation as 100,000 protesters braved sporadic downpours to scream "Fight! They're drinking our blood" and other anti-austerity slogans. "The issue is to keep the country in the euro," Samaras told the assembled deputies shortly after violence broke out when a tiny minority tore down a barricade in an attempt to storm the parliament. "These are the very last painful measures," said the leader, whose fragile coalition had faced its greatest test with the vote. "If further fiscal adjustment is needed it will come from clamping down on tax evasion and cutting public expenditure." As street battles raged, authorities used water cannon to disperse demonstrators throwing petrol bombs at police while loud booms and the piercing blasts of stun grenades rang out. The small Democratic Left party, a junior partner in the tripartite alliance, abstained from supporting the bill. Dissent in the socialist Pasok party was such that six of its 33 MPS also refused to put their names to the deficit-reducing measures, with defectors arguing they would drive the country into even deeper recession. An MP in Samaras's New Democracy party also abstained. The seven deputies were expelled from their respective parties within minutes of the roll-call. With the Greek economy on course to contract for a sixth straight year and more than a quarter of the country's labour force out of work, Alexis Tsipras, who heads the radical left main opposition Syriza party, lambasted the government for "leading Greek people to catastrophe and chaos". He said the "absurd" measures would worsen the country's economic death spiral. "Very soon you will be back in this parliament again listening to the programme policies of a new government," he railed, denouncing Samaras for promoting policies he opposed in opposition.On the streets, Greeks reacted with a mixture of fury and malaise with many openly questioning the prime minister's assertion that the measures would be the last to be imposed on a nation that has seen wages and pensions decreased five times in the past three years. "Until now Greeks have been asleep. We haven't really reacted at all," said Kostas Mitas, a 48-year-old tradesman whose views were on display in a T-shirt that proclaimed "fuck off Troika" in an allusion to the country's international creditors. "But Greeks are unpredictable and I'm afraid that they might wake up suddenly. For the moment these measures are just hypothetical but when they start to be felt we could see a lot of violence." The vote came on the second day of a 48-hour general strike, with unionists vowing yet more industrial action in the days and months ahead. "These policies are clearly not working. All they have done is impoverish Greeks and this country and instead of going down our debt is simply going up," said Ilias Iliopoulos at the civil servants' union, Adedy. "People are going hungry, more than two million are unemployed. This government isn't going to last long, of that you can be sure," he added. "These measures may have become law but they won't be able to enforce them." But analysts begged to differ. Fears of Greece slipping over the edge were so strong that the coalition would survive, they said. "Everyone knows that elections would be a catastrophe and nobody wants them, not even the main opposition," said professor Dimitris Keridis, who teaches political science at Athens' Panteion University. "Even if there is a lot of dissatisfaction within the government, this simple fact is Samaras's biggest asset."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes off Guatemala's Pacific coast, shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Guatemala on Wednesday morning, killing at least 39 people, according to the country's president. Otto Pérez Molina told a news conference not all the deaths had been confirmed, but witnesses reported seeing people buried in some of the 30 houses that collapsed in the town of San Marcos, near the north-western border with Mexico, where most of the damage was reported. The quake, which was about 20 miles deep and centred 15 miles off the coastal town of Champerico and about 100 miles south-west of Guatemala City, shook buildings as far away as Mexico City and El Salvador. Survivors on radio and social media talked of widespread landslides and scores of people trapped. But accounts of injuries and deaths were difficult to independently confirm as communication and roads to San Marcos had been severed. It was the largest earthquake to strike Guatemala since 1976, when 23,000 people were killed during a similar disaster in the small central American country. "I've been in Guatemala for almost two years I am used to earthquakes. This was a lot more severe, a lot more shaky," said a Peace Corps volunteer, Adam Baker, 27, of Carmel, Indiana, who tweeted a picture of a small landslide behind his house in the nearby state of Quetzaltenango. "Things fell in my kitchen," it said. Nicaragua's disaster-management agency said it had issued a tsunami alert, but there were no immediate reports of a high sea wave on the country's Pacific coast. People fled buildings in Guatemala City, Mexico City and the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas, across the border from Guatemala. A reporter in San Marcos, a mostly rural region about 80 miles north of the epicentre, told Emisoras Unidas that houses had collapsed on residents, while smashed televisions and other appliances had been scattered into the streets of the main town. The local fire department tweeted that a school had collapsed and eight injured people had been taken to a nearby hospital. Local radio reported widespread power outages and cuts in telephone service. Molina said in a radio interview that the country of 14 million had been placed on its highest disaster alert and he urged people to evacuate tall buildings as an emergency measure. The country's minister of communications and infrastructure told Emisoras Unidas that landslides had cut off several highways in the west of the country, and it would take at least 24 hours to re-establish transport links to San Marcos. A resident, who identified herself as Mrs Baglia, from the small town of San Pedro Sacatepequez near San Marcos, told the radio station that people had fled into the streets after being told of a tsunami alert. "People are in distress and no one can calm down," she said. A spokesman for El Salvador's Red Cross branch said the quake had been felt throughout the country, sending people fleeing their homes in the capital, but there had been no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. He said there had been no local tsunami warning issued. El Salvador's civil protection agency said officials were evacuating some coastal communities as a precautionary measure. No serious damage or injuries had been reported in the city, the Mexico City mayor said, although many people had fled their offices and homes during the quake.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Petrol bombs thrown and teargas and water cannons used as 80,000 protest against proposed austerity measures Violence has erupted on the streets of Athens as a crowd of at least 80,000 gathered to protest against fresh austerity measures being voted on by the Greek parliament. Police fired teargas, stun grenades and water cannons in an attempt to prevent a small group of protesters, some of them throwing petrol bombs that engulfed at least one officer (above), from storming the parliament building. News agencies reported smoke and small fires in the streets near Syntagma Square, the scene of the biggest protests seen in the Greek capital in recent months. The angry scenes came at the end of a two-day general strike called to oppose a €13.5bn (£10.7bn) package of cuts demanded by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in return for a financial lifeline to prevent the government running out of money. Greece's central bank has seen a mass resignation of 45 officials angry at wage caps imposed as part of the belt-tightening. The parliamentary debate was briefly halted when staff and opposition MPs walked out. But despite the protests inside and outside the chamber, the coalition government of Antonis Samaras was confident on Wednesday nightthat it would secure parliamentary approval for the cuts needed to trigger the €31bn bailout.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Gay marriage wins voters backing for first time in US
• Florida margin is close but leaning toward Obama
• Democrats hold Senate majority with 53 seats
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President still has to face Republican-led House as battle looms on 'fiscal cliff' of spending and debt Barack Obama flew back to Washington and his desk in the Oval office Wednesday hours after delivering an election victory speech in Chicago in which he called for the country to unite behind him. Obama said: "You voted for action, not politics as usual," but there was little sign that that call would be answered, with the president facing the prospect of doing business with a hostile Republican-led House of Representatives for at least the next two years and a looming showdown over spending and debt – the so-called "fiscal cliff". Unlike after his election in 2008, the president is unlikely to be given a honeymoon period. Both the Republican House Speaker, John Boehner, and the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, spoke about a need to work together to resolve the crisis, but it could turn into one of the biggest clashes yet between the White House and Congress under Obama's presidency. While Obama easily beat off the challenge from his Republican opponent Mitt Romney, holding swing state after swing state, the election provided yet another reminder of just how divided America remains. While the inauguration is not until January, in effect Obama embarked on his second term Wednesday. Having disappointed many supporters in his first term, he is looking now to establish a legacy that will transform him from a middling president into a great one. As well as overseeing what he hopes will be continued economic recovery, he hopes to address issues ranging from immigration reform to investment in education and climate change, and, in foreign policy, from Iran to Israel-Palestine. As well as comfortably winning more than the required 270 electoral college votes, he also secured a higher share of the popular vote, giving him a mandate for his struggles with the Republican-led House. House Republicans, however, may not view it as a mandate. Boehner, in a statement Wednesday, sounded conciliatory. He cited "the need for both parties to find common ground and take steps together to help our economy grow and create jobs, which is critical to solving our debt". Obama is reported to have phoned Boehner Wednesday to begin negotiation. Reid, so often at odds with Boehner, also sounded conciliatory, saying: "I look at the challenges that we have ahead of us and I reach out to my Republican colleagues in the Senate and the House. Let's come together. We know what the issues are, let's solve them." Obama, in an initially off-the-record interview during the campaign, expressed optimism of a "grand bargain" with the Republicans, one that eluded him last year. The trouble will come when talks move to detail, with the Republicans wanting to protect military spending while the Democrats seek cuts. Obama has called for tax increases on households earning more than $250,000; Boehner has rejected any tax increases. Shares dropped on the Dow in anticipation of continued gridlock. By lunchtime, all the major US markets were down over 300 points. The new House, which will be formed in January, will look much like the existing one, which has a huge Republican majority. The Senate too remained little changed, with the Democrats retaining their slim majority, gaining three and losing one. In the presidential race, Romney won only one of the swing states, North Carolina, while Obama held New Hampshire, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, Iowa and Colorado. As of this afternoon the winner of Florida's 29 electoral college votes remained undecided. With the votes still being counted, the question was whether the result would fall within the margin that automatically requires a recount. Whatever the result in Florida the election was chaotic, with huge lines forming in Miami-Dade – something Obama said needed to be fixed during his victory speech in Chicago. The long lines were blamed on Republican machinations to discourage Democrats from voting. Florida's Republican legislature had been throwing up obstacles with voter ID laws and effectively preventing civic groups from registering voters, both of which were struck down by federal courts. Adding to the delays were the longest ballots in Florida's history after Republicans added lengthy, complicated constitutional amendments. "Our governor and right wingers intentionally made it difficult to vote," Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor said. "We have to change that." In his victory speech in Chicago, Obama referred to the long queues to vote and said there is a need for electoral reform. He returned to the soaring rhetoric that was his trademark during the 2008 election but which he dispensed with in 2012. Amid the disillusionment with his presidency and the tough economic conditions, his campaign team decided it was inappropriate. But having won, he returned not only to the oratory but to famous lines from earlier speeches, reprising once again his 2008 slogan about "hope". Stepping up to the lectern to the upbeat strains of Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours, Obama told the ecstatic crowd of supporters: "Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back. And we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come." In a speech that lasted more than 25 minutes, after paying emotional tribute to his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha – as well as to his vice-president, Joe Biden – Obama returned to the message that first brought him to national attention. "We are not as divided as our politics suggests," he said. "We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America." Obama made clear he had an agenda in mind for his second term, citing changes in the tax code, immigration reform and, as he put it, an America "that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet". Shortly beforehand, Romney had phoned the president to concede. In a gracious concession speech in Boston, Romney told his supporters: "The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work." He continued: "This is a time for great challenges for America and I pray the president will be successful in guiding our nation." Romney paid tribute to his wife, Ann, and running-mate, Paul Ryan, as he said they had given everything to the campaign. "Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign. I so wish – I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction. But the nation chose another leader." The campaign almost throughout has been a referendum on Obama. Although there was widespread disillusionment with the slow pace of economy recovery and a high unemployment level, Americans decided to stick with the incumbent. Historically, it would have been a disappointment for African Americans and many white liberals if the first black presidency had ended in failure, halted prematurely. Romney fought a largely lacklustre campaign, with only one flash, his overwhelming win over Obama in the first presidential debate on 3 October. The Republicans today embarked on a post-mortem that threatens to be bloody.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | History made as first black US president is re-elected, defying jobless rate and assaults of American right The improbable journey goes on. What Barack Obama always regarded as the unlikeliest of political odysseys will now be allowed to run its full measure. By a clearer margin than many of his supporters had dared hope, the people of the United States voted to let their 44th president finish what he had started. As election night brought the familiar, intense focus on this or that county in Ohio or Florida, it was easy to lose sight of the scale of Obama's achievement. Of course becoming America's first black president four years ago was an unrepeatable feat, but winning four more years made history, too. Obama is only the fourth Democrat since 1900 to win two full terms in the White House. Only Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Bill Clinton have matched his achievement. And he did it in the hardest of circumstances. The experts long believed that to win re-election with unemployment at or above 8% was to defy political gravity: no one had done it since 1940. Yet that was the jobless number Obama confronted from the day he took office until two months ago. His approval ratings had struggled to break 50%. He had been on the receiving end of a four-year assault from the American right – the alternative universe embodied by Fox News, which tore itself apart on air as pundit Karl Rove refused to accept the cold, hard facts set out by Fox's own number-crunchers – which sought to "other" the US president, to paint him as Barack Hussein Obama, the Kenyan Marxist Muslim bent on destroying America. Despite all that he won and won convincingly, ahead in the popular vote and taking all but one of the nine key battleground states, with as-yet-undeclared Florida likely to be added to his tally – with no need of recounts and not a hanging chad in sight. It was a monumental achievement, one the renewed president recognised with a magnificent speech. In Chicago before a crowd both relieved and delighted, he spoke with a force, clarity and determination that had scarcely been glimpsed in the 2012 campaign. The rhetoric was soaring – "for the United States of America the best is yet to come" – and moving but it was also rooted in the concrete. He set out the goals of his second term: "Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil." But he also spoke of a danger that had barely featured on the campaign trail, warning of "the destructive power of a warming planet". For his supporters, including those frustrated by the timidity of much of his first term – and the lethargy of his appearance in the first TV debate – this was the Obama they had been waiting for. It brought hope flickering back to life inside Democrats who wonder if, having made history, Obama might now defy it, reversing the usual order and achieving more in his second term than in his first. His healthcare reform, which would have been repealed by a President Romney, will now be implemented, which represents a legacy in itself. If he can somehow negotiate the looming fiscal cliff, bringing tax revenues and spending into balance, that too will endear him to posterity. But the president cannot do that alone. Action on the deficit will require a "grand bargain" with Congress and that means the Republican party, which retained control of the House of Representatives, though Democrats remain in charge in the Senate. The risk for Obama is that, for all his renewed talk of bipartisan co-operation, he might be thwarted by all too familiar gridlock. Yet the night marked more than just the extension of the Obama presidency: it also confirmed the arrival of the Obama nation. For underpinning the president's success was a shift in the very nature of the US electorate, with white voters accounting for a smaller share than ever before. Now 28% of American voters are non-white, a threefold increase over the past four decades. And these rising groups that make up the new America vote Democrat. That much was clear in what analyst John Heilemann called Obama's "coalition of the ascendant". The president could trail Romney among white men because, exit polls showed, he could rely on 93% support among black Americans, 71% of Latinos, 60% of the under-30s and 55% of women. The lift in the Latino vote may well account for Obama's wins in Nevada, Colorado and Florida. And this is no one-off: 50,000 Latinos turn 18 and become eligible to vote every month. That translates into 2.4m new Latino voters able to take part in the election of 2016. The US pundit class is fond of hailing every presidential election as the birth of a new, permanent Democratic or Republican majority. Such verdicts should be handled with care. After all, Romney came within two percentage points of Obama in the popular vote. Nevertheless, the political complexion of the American people is changing. Striking was the passage in three states of measures authorising equal marriage for gay couples. Wisconsin elected the first openly gay senator, Tammy Baldwin. The Obama campaign understood this new electorate and turned out its vote brilliantly. The Republicans are in the reverse position. They lost because they relied on a white vote that is shrinking. What will surely follow is a battle for the soul of the Republican party, realists pitted against purists. The realists will argue Republicans – who have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections – must expand their appeal if they are not to be doomed to perennial defeat. Romney won fewer Latino voters than John McCain, who won fewer than George W Bush. That was partly because, in order to survive the Republican primaries, Romney had to adopt a hard line on immigration, calling on migrants to "self-deport". In that move, the Latino commentator Ana Navarro told CNN: "He self-deported from the White House." Others will add that Republicans have to change the way they speak to women, after two candidates who suggested that women should be forced by law to bear the children of their rapists lost winnable Senate seats. The purists will brook no such change, insisting Republicans must stay true to their small government, socially conservative message. The people will come around eventually, they believe, especially if the party can find an attractive, ideally non-white messenger – say, senator Marco Rubio of Florida. The consequence could well be a Republican civil war, or period of "reflection and recalibration" as Texas senator John Cornyn politely called it. But a change is overdue. Without it, Republicans will surely endure more nights like the one they suffered on Tuesday, when they gathered in a Boston ballroom for what was meant to be a victory party – a glum, all-white group staring at a giant screen, watching TV pictures from Chicago of a crowd of beaming Democrats, young and old, black and white, celebrating a victory that tasted even sweeter the second time around.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Draft law on gay marriage and adoption to go before parliament amid protests and concerns plans do not go far enough Plans to introduce gay marriage and adoption rights have been approved by France amid growing protest from the French right and religious leaders. François Hollande, the Socialist president, had made same-sex marriage and adoption a cornerstone of his election campaign, promising a law before mid-2013. The draft legislation goes before parliament in January. France would become the 12th country to legalise gay marriage – after others such as Canada, South Africa, Spain and Portugal. But with 60 million people it would be the biggest in terms of economic and diplomatic influence. "This would be progress not just for the few, but for our whole society," Hollande told the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. But the plans have proved more divisive than he and the left had hoped. Amid a conservative backlash, Catholic church protests and political squabbling, draft legislation has been slightly delayed and, some gay activists argue, watered down. The new law allows marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation. This would means gay couples – who have had the right to civil partnerships since 1999 – could, through marriage, take their partner's name and gain inheritance and pension rights. Adoption would also become legal for married same-sex couples. This is significant in allowing gay partners to adopt children they are currently co-parenting. Under French law, unmarried partners – irrespective of sexual orientation – will not be able to adopt. The law would also scrap all use of "mother" and "father" in the French legal code, replacing that gender distinction with the word "parent". But rights campaigners have complained that a key element will not be included: the right to medically assisted conception for gay couples, for example a lesbian couple seeking IVF. The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has suggested an amendment can be added later, but some in the Socialist party want procreation rights to be granted straight away, as well as legal recognition of children born to surrogate mothers outside France, where the practice is illegal. The latest Ifop poll for the French newspaper Le Monde showed 65% of French people back same-sex marriage, but parenting rights are more divisive, with 52% in favour of gay couples adopting. The Catholic church in France – a secular republic where attendance at mass has plummeted in recent years – has stepped up its opposition. Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, warned that gay marriage was a sham that would "shake one of the foundations of our society". Jewish leaders and other religious groups have also criticised the plans, although the main representative body of the Muslim faith, the French Muslim Council, said that while gay marriage was not in Islamic teaching, religious rules could not hold sway over the laws of secular France. Key figures in Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing UMP party warned they would repeal the law if they returned to power. The far right leader Marine Le Pen called for a referendum. The UMP senator Serge Dassault told French Radio that same-sex marriage and adoption would be "the end of the family, the end of children's development, the end of education. It's an enormous danger to the nation." One local mayor was roundly criticised earlier this year after he warned legalising gay marriage would open the way to legalising polygamy or incest.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Draft law on gay marriage and adoption to go before parliament amid protests and concerns plans do not go far enough Plans to introduce gay marriage and adoption rights have been approved by France's government amid growing protest from the French right and religious leaders. François Hollande, the Socialist president, had made same-sex marriage and adoption a cornerstone of his election campaign, promising a law before mid-2013. The draft legislation goes before parliament in January. France would become the 12th country to introduce legalise gay marriage – after others such as Canada, South Africa, Spain and Portugal. But with 60 million people it would be the biggest in terms of economic and diplomatic influence. "This would be progress not just for the few, but for our whole society," Hollande told the cabinet meeting, the government spokeswoman said on Wednesday. But the plans have proved more divisive than he and the left had hoped. Amid a conservative backlash, Catholic church protests and political squabbling, draft legislation has been slightly delayed and, some gay activists argue, watered down. The new law would allow marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation. This means homosexual couples – who have had the right to civil partnerships since 1999 – could, through marriage, take their partners' name and gain automatic inheritance and pension rights. Adoption would also become legal for married same-sex couples. This is significant in allowing gay partners to adopt children they are currently co-parenting. Under French law, unmarried partners – irrespective of sexual orientation – will not be able to adopt. The law would also scrap all use of "mother" and "father" in the French legal code, replacing that gender distinction with the word "parent". But rights' campaigners have complained that a key element will not be included: the right to medically assisted conception for gay couples, for example a lesbian couple seeking IVF. The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has suggested an amendment can be added later, but some in the Socialist party want procreation rights to be granted straight away, as well as legal recognition of children born to surrogate mothers outside France, where the practice is illegal. The latest Ifop poll for the French newspaper Le Monde showed 65% of French people back same-sex marriage, but parenting rights are more divisive, with 52% in favour of gay couples adopting. The Catholic church in France – a secular republic where mass-going has plummeted in recent years – has stepped up its opposition. Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, warned that gay marriage was a sham that would "shake one of the foundations of our society". Jewish leaders and other religious groups have also criticised the plans, although the main representative body of the Muslim faith, the French Muslim Council, said that while gay marriage was not in Islamic teaching, religious rules could not hold sway over the laws of secular France. Key figures in Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing UMP party warned they would repeal the law if they returned to power. The far-right leader Marine Le Pen called for a referendum. The UMP senator Serge Dassault told French Radio that same-sex marriage and adoption would be "the end of the family, the end of children's development, the end of education. It's an enormous danger to the nation." One local mayor was roundly criticised earlier this year after he warned legalising gay marriage would open the way to legalising polygamy or incest.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Huge crowds have assembled at Syntagma Square to protest as MPs prepare to vote on Greece's next austerity plan
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New York City – taking no chances after Sandy – closes parks and urges coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground Storm-weary residents in New York and New Jersey were braced Wednesday for further misery, as a nor'easter bore down on the region threatening high winds, rain and sleet. In advance of the fresh wave of bad weather, authorities in New York City were taking precautions including the closing of all parks and beaches, while urging the partial evacuation of coastal areas. Coming so soon after superstorm Sandy inflicted widespread damage across the north east, fears persist over the impact of cold weather and potential new flooding on residents still cut off from power. Last week's storm has been blamed for at least 120 deaths in the US and Canada, adding to the scores already killed in the Caribbean. And tens of thousands of households remain without power, necessitating the establishment of warm shelters to accommodate vulnerable residents in badly hit areas such as the Rockaways in Queens and the borough of Staten Island. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the city has adequate spaces to accommodate all those in need. But given the crippling of New York following the arrival on Sandy last week, officials are taking no chances over the incoming nor'easter. Due to make landfall at around mid-day Wednesday, the storm could bring with it gusts of up to 65mph. City officials warned that tidal surges of up to 5ft could occur – far lower than last week, but still with the capability to bring flooding to low-lying areas. In a bid to mitigate any impact, all parks will be close in the city, and construction work will be halted. In addition motorists are being warned to stay off the roads after 5pm. No general evacuation of any zones has been ordered, but city officials have said that residents in the coastal regions of Breezy Point, Hamilton Beach and Gerritsen Beach should consider looking for alternative accommodation. Aside from voluntary evacuations from a "handful of low lying areas", Bloomberg urged all New Yorkers to take care during the storm. "High winds are likely to bring down more limbs or entire trees," the mayor said Tuesday. "The waves are very dangerous and we don't need to send first responders into the ocean to save somebody who's being foolish." Over in neighbouring New Jersey, mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents in coastal areas left devastated by Sandy. The towns of Brick and Middletown were amongst those in which homeowners were being told to leave. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said it was preparing for the new storm and was "ready to deploy additional resources if needed to respond to the nor'easter." More than half a million homes and businesses in New Jersey and 91,000 households in New York City are still waiting for power to be restored following Sandy-related outages. With overnight temperatures dropping to near freezing, the New York officials said they would deliver 1,500 electric heaters on Wednesday to elderly residents in the Rockaways who have power, but no heat. Meanwhile, many gas stations still lacked electricity or gasoline, and motorists endured long lines at the stations that were open. Fuel rationing was in force in New Jersey, where some residents hired school children to stand in line with gas cans. The regions airports were also being affected by the new storm. United Airlines said it was grounding about 500 flights between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday out of Newark Liberty, JFK and LaGuardia airports.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Colder-than-expected temperatures turn rain into snow as hundreds of flights are cancelled across north-east region Wintery conditions heaped further misery on New Jersey and New York residents Wednesday as a nor'easter brought near-freezing temperatures and snow to a region still recovering from superstorm Sandy. Hundreds of flights to and from the states' main airports were cancelled as officials warned of the need for vulnerable homeowners still without power to evacuate to warm shelters. Rain, strong winds and further snow are expected throughout the day, with gusts of up to 65mph and tidal surges of up to 4ft possible. In itself, the fresh storm would not pose much a problem to a region used to blizzard conditions. But coming a little over a week after Sandy wiped out power to millions of customers across the north-east, concern has turned to those still cut off and how they intend to keep warm In advance of the fresh wave of bad weather, authorities in New York City took precautions including the closing of all parks and beaches, while urging the partial evacuation of coastal areas. Last week's storm has already been blamed for at least 120 deaths in the US and Canada, adding to the scores already killed in the Caribbean. It is feared that with the onset of colder weather, the total could increase further, with hypothermia being cited as a potential risk to elderly and infirm people. Tens of thousands of households remain without power in New York, necessitating the establishment of warm shelters to accommodate vulnerable residents in badly hit areas such as the Rockaways in Queens and the borough of Staten Island. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the city has adequate spaces to accommodate all those in need. In a further bid to mitigate any risk to life, all parks will be closed in the city Wednesday, and construction work will be halted. In addition motorists are being warned to stay off the roads after 5pm. No general evacuation of any zones has been ordered, but city officials have said that residents in the coastal regions of Breezy Point, Hamilton Beach and Gerritsen Beach should consider looking for alternative accommodation. "High winds are likely to bring down more limbs or entire trees," the mayor said Tuesday, raising the prospect of further power lines being ruptured. More than half a million homes and businesses in New Jersey and 91,000 households in New York City are still waiting for power to be restored following Sandy-related outages. With temperatures dropping to near freezing, the New York officials spent Wednesday handing out blankets and around 1,500 electric heaters to elderly residents in the Rockaways who have power, but no heat. Over in neighbouring New Jersey, mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents in coastal areas left devastated by Sandy. The towns of Brick and Middletown were amongst those in which homeowners were being told to leave in advance of the latest storm. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said it was prepared for and was "ready to deploy additional resources if needed to respond to the nor'easter". Along with making conditions on the roads more hazardous, the snow has affected the three main airports servicing New York City. Tracking service FlightAware.com reported the cancellation of more that 1,200 flights Wednesday. United Airlines was amongst the carriers affected, stating that it had grounded about 500 flights between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday out of Newark Liberty, JFK and LaGuardia airports. Confronted with an overnight update on the latest storm, New Jersey governor Chris Christie remarked: "I am waiting for the locusts and pestilence next."
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Prescription aimed at rescuing the single currency is one that other member nations may find hard to swallow Angela Merkel has called for the surrender of key national powers over tax-and-spend policies to Brussels by the 17 countries in the eurozone within three years in order to rescue and shore up the embattled single currency. In a rare landmark policy speech on Wednesday to the European parliament in Brussels, the German chancellor voiced Berlin's absolute determination to stand by the euro and to strengthen the EU through greater integration of policymaking. But her commitment came with a price tag that many others in the eurozone may find hard to swallow. Merkel called for a major centralisation in Brussels of sovereign national powers in sensitive areas of fiscal, budgetary and economic policies, arguing that action already taken during three years of euro crisis had only left the job half-done. "Stronger economic policy co-ordination will also perhaps be needed in areas that affect the core of national sovereignty. I'm thinking of sensitive policy areas such as labour market and tax policy," the chancellor said. "We need solutions creating a sensible balance between the necessary new intervention rights at the European level and the scope for action of the member states and their parliaments. The European institutions must be strengthened to allow them to correct mistakes and breaches of the rules effectively." She added that eurozone governments should strike "binding and feasible reform contracts" with the European commission, which then could be partly financed from a new eurozone budget. The latter ideas were floated last month at an EU summit but no agreement was reached. Merkel said that she wanted her proposals agreed at another Brussels summit next month and that the blueprint for a more solid, stable and more tightly controlled monetary union should be implemented "in the next two to three years". Merkel also called for greater harmonisation in regulation of the financial markets across Europe and supported the contested idea of making the European Central Bank in Frankfurt the new supervisor of the eurozone's banking sector. But she made plain, despite strong criticism from France, Italy, and Spain, that she was in no hurry to see the new banking supervisor established. Stressing the need for "quality before speed", she said: "It's important that we take great care to clarify the complex legal issues, because I want a banking supervisor worthy of the name." EU officials involved in drafting the new supervisory framework admit that the Germans are working hard to slow the policy down and will be able to continue to throw up obstacles over the next 12-18 months. Merkel said eurozone governments had made a good start to compelling greater fiscal rigour in the single currency area by pushing ahead with their fiscal pact, the treaty vetoed by David Cameron last December. But the pact did not go far enough. "I can well imagine going further," said Merkel, "by for example giving the European level real rights to intervene in national budgets when the agreed ceilings [for eurozone deficit and debt levels] are not observed." Merkel's demand for stronger policing powers for Brussels and for the surrender of national budgetary prerogatives will run into strong resistance in France and in other countries such as the Netherlands. The German leader also said the European treaties might need to be re-opened and renegotiated to establish the new stiffer eurozone regime. Many countries, led by France, also oppose opening the treaties as that could trigger referendums in several countries. Merkel dismissed fears that her proposals for a much more integrated eurozone would split the EU between the 17 single currencies and the 10 others outside it. But she added there would need to be new forms of political organisation to legitimise the moves being considered, such as only having MEPs from eurozone countries in the European parliament voting on policies only affecting the single currency area.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Celebrated Panzi gynaecologist Denis Mukwege who fled after armed raid seeks government protection for return to DR Congo A Congolese gynaecologist, honoured for his work with rape victims, says he dare not return home until his security is assured after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt last month. Denis Mukwege was saved by a member of staff who died in the armed raid on his home in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He then left for Stockholm with his daughters, who had been held at gunpoint inside the house. "I can't guarantee my own security," Mukwege told Reuters during a visit to the European commission in Brussels. "As soon as I can guarantee I'll be protected I'll be back." Mukwege, 57, is the founder and medical director of the Panzi hospital, in Bukavu, South Kivu province, where he and his staff treat about 3,000 victims of sexual violence a year. The doctor has won numerous international awards. He said he believed the attackers wanted to kill him but he did not know why. Some media reports have speculated that the attack on his home, which is in one of the most guarded and secure areas of Bukavu, could have had political motives. "Unfortunately, the attack was very fast," Mukwege said. "I would have a lot of difficulty as to say why and who did it. The only thing I can confirm is that they didn't want to steal anything. They stayed in the house for 20 minutes. They were waiting for me." Mukwege criticised the Congolese government, saying an offer by the provincial governor after the attack to assign two police officers to protect him was insufficient. His family were uncertain as to how long he would remain abroad. His nephew, Don Pepe, who lives in Leeds, in the UK, said: "I think he's very adamant that he won't be going there because of the security and there hasn't been any guarantee from the government that he will be protected. "The government is slow in responding and the investigation hasn't been done thoroughly so it's difficult to see him going there right now without reassurance. "But he does want to go back and resume his work at the hospital. It's a question of waiting and seeing where things are going to go." Pepe, 35, who regards Mukwege as a grandfather, was shocked by last month's deadly attack. "It has been very difficult for the family. That's the last thing you expect a family member to go through. He's a church pastor as well as a doctor and such a nice guy." There is pressure within Congo for officials to assure Mukwege safe passage. Agnes Sadiki, head of the Women of South Kivu Caucus for Peace, said: "We call on the authorities … and all those involved in the cause of women to guarantee his security so that he can return to South Kivu and continue to care for women. "If it were just up to us women Dr Mukwege would not leave because after his departure what will become of the many women who have benefited from his medical assistance?" The European commission supports the Panzi hospital, which has been operating for 16 years. The commission said it would launch a €20m euro (£16m) programme to aid female victims of sexual assault in Congo. Andris Piebalgs, the European development commissioner, said: "The EU condemns emphatically the assassination attempt of which the doctor and his family were victim on 25 October, as well as the murder of one of his guards." In a blog post for the New York Times last week, Mukwege recalled the incident: "I found myself with a gun to my head, and just as the gun was loaded and ready to shoot, a member of my staff heroically intervened to save me. "He shouted and came running to jump on this armed intruder, who turned and shot him. He fell down, I fell down, and I can't really remember what happened after that. I realised he was shot, and I saw him give his life for me. The attackers then got in the car and left. "Neither I nor anyone in my family have been questioned about this incident in an effort to find out who is responsible. The lack of investigation is symptomatic of the indifference that prevails in my country."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mark Basseley Youssef will appear before judge in Los Angeles on charges that he violated probation by lying about his identity More details could emerge Wednesday about the US man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to violent protests across the Middle East. Mark Basseley Youssef faces a hearing on accusations that he violated the terms of his probation by lying about his identity. None of the eight alleged violations have to do with the content of the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims, and what prompted Youssef to use at least two aliases after he was convicted in 2010 of bank fraud remains a mystery. The film depicts the Prophet Mohammad as a religious fraud, pedophile and a womanizer The hearing will give Youssef, 55, a chance to challenge any evidence gathered by federal authorities since his arrest in September, just weeks after he went into hiding when deadly violence erupted in Libya, Egypt, Iran and elsewhere in response to the movie. Some Muslims have demanded severe punishment for Youssef, with a Pakistani cabinet minister offering $100,000 to anyone who kills him. Federal authorities are seeking a two-year sentence for Youssef, who remains held without bail. Youssef had been sentenced to 21 months in prison for using more than a dozen aliases and opening about 60 bank accounts to conduct a check fraud scheme, prosecutors said. After Youssef was released from prison, he was barred from using computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer. Federal authorities have said they believe Youssef is responsible for the film, but they haven't said whether he was the person who posted it online. He also wasn't supposed to use any name other than his true legal name without the prior written approval of his probation officer. At least three names have been associated with Youssef since the film trailer surfaced Sam Bacile, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and Youssef. Bacile was the name attached to the YouTube account that posted the video. Court documents show Youssef legally changed his name from Nakoula in 2002, though when he was tried, he identified himself as Nakoula. He wanted the name change because he believed Nakoula sounded like a girl's name, according to court documents. Among the violations Youssef denied were obtaining a fraudulent California driver's license, telling federal authorities that his role in the film was limited to writing the script and using the "Nakoula" name throughout his bank fraud case. Prosecutors recently sought transcripts from a pair of 2009 hearings in the bank fraud case where Youssef told two judges that his true name was Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. "I think the main thing to focus on is that he may agree with some of the allegations but not all of them," said Tess Lopez, a former federal probation officer who now is a sentencing consultant in Northern California "Then prosecutors have to decide whether to drop the remaining charges or find more evidence to prove the allegations are true."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former Penn State president faces charges including perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy Former Penn State President Graham Spanier was arraigned and released on bail at a brief court appearance Wednesday, on charges he lied about and concealed the child sex abuse allegations involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Spanier, who was accompanied by his wife, signed paperwork after his bail was set at $125,000 unsecured. He left a Harrisburg district justice's office where two co-defendants were arraigned last week. Spanier's attorney, Elizabeth Ainslie, proclaimed Spanier's innocence and called prosecutors' claims he was part of a conspiracy of silence "ridiculous". Spanier, 64, was charged last week with perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children, failure to properly report suspected abuse and conspiracy for his actions in response to complaints about Sandusky showering with children. Spanier denies the allegations and has claimed that he is being framed for political purposes. He served as Penn State president for 16 years but was forced out a year ago, after Sandusky was charged along with two of Spanier's top underlings. Spanier is on paid leave as a member of the faculty. Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were arraigned Thursday. Curley, the athletic director on leave, and Schultz, the school's retired vice president, await trial in January on charges of failure to report suspected abuse and perjury. The new charges came almost exactly a year after details of the case against Sandusky sent a maelstrom through State College, toppling longtime head coach Joe Paterno and eventually leading to severe NCAA sanctions against the football team. Sandusky, 68, vigorously contested the charges but was convicted in June of 45 counts of abuse of boys, including violent sexual attacks inside campus facilities. He was sentenced last month to 30 to 60 years in prison. A grand jury report alleged Spanier had testified falsely that he did not know of a 1998 complaint against Sandusky, made by a mother and investigated by university police. "Spanier was obviously kept in the loop on this matter as Schultz copied him in on emails that discussed the status and conclusion of the investigation," the jury report said. It also claimed Spanier lied about a 2001 instance of abuse witnessed by a graduate assistant, when he testified that Curley and Schultz had described it only as horseplay. Email traffic among the men, jurors wrote, "make clear they are discussing an event that involves the abuse of a child". Spanier's obstruction charges involve "numerous lies" and hiding "pertinent files and notes," alleged the grand jury report, known as a presentment. The report described how he addressed the growing scandal last year with the board of trustees, and how he put out statements supportive of Curley and Schultz after their arrest. The jury report said investigators were immediately able to get important records from the university after Spanier was replaced as president. "It should be noted that Spanier continues to mislead with numerous public statements that contain demonstrably false statements," the jury claimed. Spanier's lawyers put out a written statement law week that accused Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when the investigation began, of orchestrating the charges to divert attention from questions about why it took three years to bring charges against Sandusky. They said there was no factual basis for the charges against Spanier. "Spanier has committed no crime and looks forward to the opportunity to clear his good name and well-earned national reputation for integrity," his defense lawyers wrote. "This presentment is a politically motivated frame-up of an innocent man." Attorney General Linda Kelly said last week the three administrators had engaged in a "conspiracy of silence" to hide the truth.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barry Cadden ordered to appear before committee after refusing original invitation to testify about outbreak that has killed 30 The head of a pharmacy company blamed for a meningitis outbreak that has killed at least 30 people in the US has been subpoenaed to appear before lawmakers in Congress after refusing to give evidence voluntarily. Barry Cadden, the co-owner of the New England Compounding Center (NECC) – which is believed to have sent out thousands of contaminated steroid shots from premises in the Boston suburb of Framingham – had been asked to attend a session called by the House's energy and commerce committee along with state and federal regulators. But the chief pharmacist declined, according to members of the committee. "With more than 400 people infected and 30 deaths, it is critical that we hear directly from the head of the facility linked to the outbreak," said committee chairman Fred Upton and Ranking Member Henry Waxman in a statement. "Since Mr Cadden has indicated he will not appear voluntarily, we are left with no choice but to issue a subpoena." On Monday, the committee announced that Dr Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will be testifying before lawmakers on 14 November. As of Wednesday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 409 cases of fungal meningitis in 19 states. The contaminated steroid injections are also thought to be responsible for 10 peripheral joint infections. An update on figures in expected later in the day. Health regulators have formally matched the fungal meningitis to a contaminate found at the premises of NECC in the Boston suburb of Framingham. Agents from the FDA raided NECC last month, as part of a criminal investigation. One of the areas under investigation is whether the company violated regulations by supplying bulk orders to clinics without matching the drugs to specific prescriptions or patients. NECC has a chequered history of violating health and safety standards, having been cited on numerous occasions by the FDA prior to the latest outbreak. The company is already the subject of a number of civil lawsuits brought by people affected by the meningitis outbreak. After it was identified as the likely source of the infection, the NECC recalled all of its products, amid fears that other drugs had been contaminated. Alongside Cadden and Hamburg, the congressional committee also invited James Coffey, director of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy, to testify. It is not yet known if he will appear. Compounding pharmacies fill special orders placed by doctors for individual patients, turning out a small number of customised formulas each week. But some, like NECC, have in recent years grown into much larger businesses, supplying bulk orders of medicines to thousands of doctors and hospitals across the country. House and Senate lawmakers have called for hearings to examine how the outbreak of fungal meningitis could have been prevented and if greater safeguards are needed in the oversight of compounding pharmacies, which operate in something of a regulatory grey area. FDA officials said last month that new laws may need to be enacted, in order to clarify the federal government's role in overseeing the sector.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Gay marriage wins popular vote for first time in US
• Florida margin is close but leaning toward Obama
• Democrats have 53-seat Senate majority
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Execution carried out for 1986 murder despite 56-year-old appearing confused and rambling about presidential election An Oklahoma man who was put to death Tuesday evening despite claims that he was insane spent his final moments rambling about the presidential election and appeared startled when a prison official announced the start of the execution. Garry Thomas Allen, 56, was executed for the 1986 killing of his fiancée, 24-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth, outside an Oklahoma City day-care center. His attorneys had argued that Allen should not be put to death because he could not understand the judgment against him. Allen appeared confused moments after prison officials lifted a curtain separating the death chamber from witnesses. Slurring his words, Allen spoke for two minutes in an address that mentioned Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. His execution was held at 6pm Tuesday, one hour before polls closed in Oklahoma. "Obama won two out of three counties," Allen said. "It's going to be a very close race." At 6:02pm, a prison official announced that the execution was about to begin. "What? Huh?" Allen said. When the drugs began to flow, Allen grunted several times and wiggled his feet. He was pronounced dead at 6:10pm. Titsworth had moved out of the home she shared with Allen and their two sons four days before her death. Allen confronted Titsworth and shot her twice in the chest. She ran with a center employee toward the building, but Allen pushed the worker away, shoved Titsworth down some steps and shot her twice more in the back, according to court records. Titsworth's sister-in-law, Susan Titsworth, issued a statement after the execution, on behalf of the family. "Our beloved Gail, daughter, sister and mother of two young boys, was taken from our family tragically and senselessly due to domestic violence," the statement said. "For over 25 years, we have waited for justice to be served and for this sentence to be carried out. We are thankful to close the book on this chapter today but we will never stop grieving the loss of Gail." A police officer responding to a 911 call tussled with Allen before shooting him in the face, according to court documents. Allen was hospitalized for about two months with injuries to his face, left eye and brain. He entered a blind guilty plea to first-degree murder, meaning he had not reached a plea deal with prosecutors and did not know what the sentence would be. A judge sentenced him to die. Allen's attorneys argued he was not competent enough to enter the plea. They also contended he was mentally impaired when he killed Titsworth, that he had been self-medicating for a mental illness and that his mental condition became worse on death row. The US constitution forbids the execution of inmates who are insane or mentally incompetent. A judge halted Allen's original execution, on 19 May 2005, after a psychological examination at the prison indicated that Allen had mental problems. Three years later, a jury rejected Allen's claim that he should not be put to death. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had voted in April 2005 to recommend that Allen's death sentence be commuted to life without parole. That clemency recommendation was not acted on until this year, when Republican governor Mary Fallin denied it.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Home to titles including the Times, Sun and Wall Street Journal hit by $67m charge relating to phone-hacking scandal Profits almost halved at News Corporation's publishing division, home to titles including the Times, Sun and Wall Street Journal, in the three months to the end of September, during which the company took a further $67m (£41.9m) charge relating to the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. The company's newspaper publishing operation was also hit by an advertising slow down in its US and Australian businesses in the three-month period. Overall, News Corp beat analyst expectations reporting total profits – net income – of $2.23bn in the quarter. This was triple what it made in the same quarter last year, due mostly to the sale of its 49% stake in NDS to Cisco, which resulted in a $1.4bn gain, and $75m from a share buyback programme at BSkyB, in which News Corp owns a 39.1% stake. News Corp's film business, which includes Twentieth Century Fox, also performed strongly. The company cited the success of Ice Age: Continental Drift, a boost in TV production and revenue from content deals with Netflix. Total News Corp revenue for the three months to the end of September rose 2% year on year to $8.14bn. News Corp's publishing division, which is to be spun-off into a separately listed company that will include publisher HarperCollins, reported profit of $57m in the three-month period. In the same period last year the division produced a profit of $110m. The ongoing fallout of the phone-hacking scandal continued to mount up financially, with News Corp booking a $67m charge in the quarter relating to ongoing investigations "initiated upon the closure of the News of the World". News Corp said the declines in the US and Australian publishing businesses were partially offset by an "increased contribution" from its UK operation, thanks to the launch of the Sunday edition of the Sun in February. Book publisher HarperCollins also boosted the publishing division thanks to having acquired Thomas Nelson, a Christian book publisher. News Corp said it took a $5m charge in the quarter in costs related to the proposed separation of the publishing division. The company also took a $152m pre-tax restructuring charge mainly related to its newspaper and digital games businesses. "We are committed to leading the change that the marketplace and our customers demand as the company builds on its success at leveraging multi-platform opportunities for our content," said Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp. "We believe that our ability to do so will be enhanced by the flexibility and management focus that will result from the proposed separation of our entertainment and publishing businesses." He added: "We have made considerable progress in this process and look forward to providing more details by the end of the calendar year." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | With four in five votes counted, the polls showed 46.3% voting in favour and 53.7% against the contentious measure A Californian ballot proposing the labelling of genetically modified ingredients in food products looks highly likely to be rejected by the state's voters on Wednesday. With nine in 10 votes counted, the polls showed 46.9% voting in favour and 53.1% against. The contentious measure, proposition 37, would have required GM labels on food sold in supermarkets, and was seen as a testbed case for the US as a whole. Monsanto and other agribusiness and food companies such as PepsiCo and Nestle spent $45m on advertising and lobbying for the "no" campaign, compared with around $8m for the "yes" campaign, that was largely funded by organic food companies. Before the vote, the prop 37 supporter Andrew Kimbrell had said he hoped it would be the "hammer we needed to break open the federal roadblock". But those hopes now look unlikely with 19,494 of 24,491 precincts in the state having at least partially reported votes. Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Farms, co-chair of the Yes on 37 group, told the San Franciso Chronicle: "Whatever happens tonight, this is a win. Never before have millions of Californians come together to support giving consumers a choice about genetically engineered foods." The yes campaign had attracted several celebrity supporters, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and rap star Pharrell Williams who tweeted on Tuesday night: "vote yes on Prop 37 if you believe you have the right to know what's in your food." Supporters had argued consumers have the "right to know" if GM products are in their food, but corporate opponents said the labels would lead to price rises. Around 90% of US-grown corn and soybean is GM.
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