| |  | | | | | SHUTTING DOWN Feed My Inbox will be shutting down on January 10, 2013. To find an alternative service for email updates, visit this page. | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Australian radio station 2Day FM phoned King Edward VII hospital to discuss pre-recorded phone call before airing it The head of the Sydney radio station which made a prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying has said the station tried to contact the hospital several times before they put the call to air. Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo which owns 2Day FM, said the station attempted to contact King Edward VII Hospital "no less than five times" before broadcasting the pre-recorded material.
"It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," Holleran said.
"We rang them to discuss what we had recorded," he said. He said this was done before the recorded prank went to air. "Absolutely. We attempted to contact them on no less than five occasions. We wanted to speak to them about it," he said.
Holleran reiterated that he was "deeply saddened" by the tragic events that have unfolded since the call but again said no one could have reasonably foreseen the circumstances. He said the station was happy to cooperate with any investigation into the incident.
The industry-drawn-up Commercial Radio Codes of Practice and Guidelines state that a station must not broadcast the words of an identifiable person unless they have been informed in advance that the recording may go to air. If someone is unaware they are being recorded, the interviewee must grant consent for it to be played, prior to anything being broadcast. Sydney University law professor, Barbara McDonald, who specialises in media law, says Holleran's comments show that 2Day FM knew they should be "getting consent (to air the interview) and they failed to".
"It almost showed they knew (what) they had to and they didn't and then they decided to run the risk," she said.
On Monday, the two DJs, who have been in hiding since Saturday, recorded interviews with two commercial television stations, which will be aired in the early evening.
Channel 9's A Current Affair programme recorded the first interview. The show's presenter, Tracey Grimshaw, tweeted that it had not been paid for. "Neither asked nor offered", she said. Grimshaw told Fairfax Media that the prerecorded interview was "very intense" with a lot of people in the room including radio station staff and supporters. She said she felt sympathy for the DJs.
"They're at a certain point on the food chain. There are other people who made the decision to put it to air, it wasn't live to air, there was a decision made after that prank call was recorded to put it to air, and virtually all the focus has been on them," Grimshaw told Fairfax Media.
"We talked about the process of the prank call, how it came about, what happens after you record something like that, where are the checks and balances, what is the network's policy on prank calls, where do you draw the line," she said.
"We talked about their future and we talked about whether prank calls should be banned."
Channel 7's Today Tonight programme, which will also air an interview on Monday night with the two DJs, tweeted: "On #TodayTonight at 6:30... #2DayFM pranksters tell all on the Royal hoax that went horribly wrong & how their lives have changed forever."
Opinion pieces in Australian media continued to defend the two DJs. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, radio veteran and media commentator, Mike Carlton, hit out at the British press over its attacks on the radio hosts.
"The British gutter press is expert at whipping its readers into a froth of indignation on the smallest pretext. This is exactly what is happening with this wretched business of the Australian radio prank call and the nurse who apparently committed suicide," he said.
"Of course the call was a stupid stunt. That's what 2Day FM does. It makes money, lots of it, by entertaining simple minds. Most of them are young, kids who are endlessly fascinated by the doings of trash celebrities, real or imagined," he said, later adding that the death of nurse Saldanha was "truly tragic".
Shares 2Day FM's parent company, Southern Cross Austereo fell 7.7% in early trading on the Australian stock market before recovering slightly.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | An American doctor kidnapped by the Taliban was freed as a result of mission, says the White House A member of the US special forces was killed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan on Sunday that freed an American doctor kidnapped by the Taliban, the White House has said. "Our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day," the White House said in a statement. "Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honour our troops and military families." Dr Dilip Joseph, the US citizen rescued on Sunday, was abducted on Wednesday in the Sarobi district of Afghanistan's Kabul province, according to Nato-led forces. It was not known how the US service member was killed or if anyone was injured during the rescue mission. US general John Allen, commander of Nato-led foreign forces in Afghanistan, said he ordered the mission in eastern Afghanistan when intelligence showed that Joseph was "in imminent danger of injury or death." "The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip," US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said in a statement released by the Pentagon. "They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Private meeting at White House comes after head of IMF urges Democrats and Republicans to try to find deal President Barack Obama and the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives have met in the latest attempt to break the stalemate in the fiscal crisis negotiations that could propel the US back into recession if no deal is secured by 1 January. John Boehner, the house speaker, joined the president at the White House in a private meeting that had not been disclosed to the media in advance. After the event, the two political leaders remained tight-lipped over the nature of their conversation, which was their first since the Republicans produced their counter proposals on the "fiscal cliff" a week ago. The two parties remain separated by a large practical and ideological gulf in their approaches to taxes and spending cuts. Obama has demanded increases in the tax rate for the top 2% of earners, arguing that he has an electoral mandate to drive that through following the November presidential election. But the Republicans are resisting, offering instead $800bn of extra revenue by closing tax loopholes and deductions. They also want to see a more radical attack on entitlement programmes such as social security and Medicaid than the Democratic party is prepared to contemplate. The fact that the two men met at all, and that they were clearly keen to have the fact known, is an indication of the political high stakes that are being played in the fiscal cliff game of poker. Neither side wants to concede ground on the main negotiating points, mindful that if they do so they will have to face the angry reaction of their own party members, but nor can either political leader be seen to be negligent in trying to avoid an automatic package of $600bn of spending cuts and tax rises that could prove deeply unpopular with voters. Earlier on Sunday Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, urged the Democrats and Republicans to try to find a comprehensive deal to the crisis that would involve a balance of spending cuts and tax rises. Speaking on CNN, she warned Washington that failure to act would hurt America more than anywhere else. The US, she said, can chose to be its own best friend or worst enemy. Failure to find a compromise would see growth collapse to zero and lead to a sharp reaction in the markets, she predicted. There were tentative signs that some senior Republicans in Congress might be moving towards conceding on the question of tax rises for the rich in return for a robust review of entitlements. Bob Corker, a US senator from Tennessee, told Fox News Sunday that given Obama's recent re-election and the fact that he had campaigned on tax increases for the wealthy it might not be sensible for Republicans to resist too hard. "There is a growing group of folks looking at this and realising that we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end," he said. Signs of flexibility on the Republican side are being matched by contrast by notable inflexibility on the part of the White House on the tax rate issue. Obama is playing a far tougher game than he did in the negotiations over the debt ceiling last summer, when he was widely criticised for having shown his hand too early.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi stage rival marches after president rescinds contentious decree President Mohamed Morsi's decision to rescind most of the controversial decree awarding himself untrammelled powers failed to stem the wave of protest against him in the run-up to a critical referendum on the shape of the new Egyptian state. The opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) declared on Sunday night it would boycott the vote on the new constitution, arguing that it was impossible against a background of Muslim Brotherhood "intimidation". The referendum was "grossly irresponsible" and would cause "cause further division and polarisation", it claimed. On Cairo's streets protesters demonstrated continuing defiance with a march on the presidential palace, now heavily guarded by the army and surrounded by a cement wall to keep people away from the perimeter. The opposition called for fresh protests on Tuesday, while insisting it still recognised Morsi as the elected president. Morsi supporters held marches near the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Mokkatam in support of the referendum and a yes vote, a reminder that Egyptian politics remains finely balanced and volatile. "The referendum will cause further division and polarisation and the Front refuses the draft constitution which cements presidential oppression and tramples freedoms and liberties" said Sameh Ashour, head of the Lawyers Syndicate, in a statement on behalf of the NSF coalition. "To have a referendum now with the threat of Muslim Brotherhood militias and threats and intimidation against the opposition, and absence of security is grossly irresponsible. The Front calls on Egyptians to continue to peacefully protest on Tuesday against the constitution and a president who ignores his people." After over two weeks of stand-offs and street battles with the opposition, the government called a dramatic midnight press conference on Saturday to announce Morsi had rescinded his contentious 22 November decree which had given the presidency extensive powers beyond the control of Egypt's courts. A new decree was announced, with many of the most controversial elements absent, but the president's judicial immunity remains. The government insisted that the referendum would go ahead on 15 December as planned, and Morsi issued a decree giving the army powers of arrest and detention of civilians until the result of the referendum is announced. On Sunday Morsi used legislative powers he holds in the absence of parliament to implement tax rises on more than 50 goods, including fuel, electricity, steel, cement and luxury items such as cigarettes and alcohol – a 100% rise for beer and some other beverages. The increases come as part of economic reforms being introduced ahead of the 19 December deadline for International Monetary Fund approval of a $4.8bn loan. Last month's decree granted Morsi and the country's constituent assembly immunity from judicial review only weeks before Egypt's supreme constitutional court was due to give its verdict on the validity of the assembly. It also included a catch-all article giving Morsi authority to take any measure he deemed fit to safeguard national security. Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched to Tahrir Square and to the presidential palace, denouncing the decree as dictatorial. Morsi's supporters insisted it was necessary to safeguard the Egyptian revolution from forces of reaction loyal to the old Mubarak regime. The assembly – then without liberal and Christian representatives who had withdrawn – rushed to finalise the draft and officially hand it to Morsi, who then called for a referendum to take place this Saturday. Further protests and counter protesters by Morsi supporters occurred and violence broke out last Wednesday when Morsi supporters sanctioned by the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, forcibly dispersed an opposition sit-in. The resulting clashes have claimed eight lives with more than 700 injured.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Venezuelan opposition are likely as the government to use fears over El Comandante's mortality to its advantage An alarming new episode in the saga of Hugo Chávez's health has gripped Venezuela since the president announced that he must return to Havana for emergency surgery. The signs are grim but after 18 months of rumours, secrets and premature reports of Chávez's imminent demise, there are also fears the cancer concerns will again be used by both government and opposition for political ends. Since June 2011, when the president first revealed that Cuban surgeons had removed a baseball-sized tumour from his pelvic region, there has been a stream of speculation that he was about to die, had been fully cured – or was faking the illness. Many reports have been dubious and contradictory, but the government failed to quash the rumours as it could have done by releasing Chávez's medical records. In recent weeks, fears about his health have surged to a new height. Chávez, once famed for his weekly televised addresses, did not appear in public for almost three weeks. He rushed to Cuba for what he said was hyperbaric oxygen treatment on 27 November with none of the usual protocols, and on Friday he skipped what ought to have been a triumphant first appearance for Venezuela at the Mercosur summit. Instead, he came back to Caracas for a dramatic late-night announcement. He said he needed to return to Havana for fresh treatment after the discovery of malignant cells in areas where they had previously been removed. More ominously, for the first time he named his successor: the foreign affairs minister, Nicolás Maduro. Chávez has never disclosed what type of cancer he has. Given the urgency of the case and his previous treatments, doctors suggest it is a sarcoma that is spreading. But the overseas experts that have commented on the case do not have his medical files and many previous rumours have proved at least premature and some politically motivated. Chávez, 58, has undergone three surgeries to remove two tumours since June 2011 as well as several rounds of chemotherapy in what he describes as a "battle for health and for life". This has been characterised by courage, obfuscation, emotion and some bizarre twists, including speculation from the president that the CIA might have invented technology to spread cancer because several leftwing Latin American leaders were suffering from the disease. In a year of elections, both the opposition and ruling camp have accused the other of distorting or hiding the truth about Chávez's cancer to score political points. In spring, the information minister, Andrés Izarra, and the head of the national assembly, Diosdado Cabello, dismissed claims that Chávez had returned to Cuba for treatment – only for the president to confirm the reports soon after. Returning from another bout of treatment in Havana in April, the president made a tearful and televised appeal to God to save him. There was a crescendo of speculation about his health in the early summer as the presidential election campaign got under way. Salvador Navarrete, a Venezuelan doctor who claimed to be close to the Chávez family, sparked an outcry by declaring the president had sarcoma and less than two years to live. After intelligence agents visited his home, he fled to Spain. Reports based on sources in Brazil, Russia and the US – who all claimed to have access to Havana's medical reports – said the cancer had spread. In May, the veteran US journalist Dan Rather said a presidential aide had told him Chávez was suffering from metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that had "entered the end stage", which meant he had only a few months to live. Others said he was so debilitated that he was unable to walk. The president's aides said such claims were immoral fabrications. Chávez surprised his critics by walking to register his candidacy for the election campaign. In his latest address, he said he had been given the all-clear at that point. "Starting out the year with a recurrence, which was treated effectively, we finished radiation treatment in May, several days before I registered as a candidate for the elections," Chávez said. "If they had found anything negative then, you can be sure that I would not have stood for re-election." He cut down on TV and campaign appearances, but he still cut a vigorous figure as he walked through adoring crowds and made long public speeches, including one in the pouring rain shortly before his victory. He recently said this left him with swelling and pain. Critics accuse the ruling camp of using Chávez's health as a political weapon. Rather than release the president's medical records to clear up uncertainty, they say Chávez and his aides have drip-fed occasional details to capitalise on their impact. Luis Vicente León, an analyst at Datanalisis polling agency, said: "The secrecy surrounding Chávez's health has allowed them to control what is and isn't said, and when it is said. "On occasions the debate on the president's health has diverted everyone's attention away from other very pressing issues. If the illness was transparent it would lose its ability to influence the public arena by flooding national debate whenever they judge it convenient." With elections for regional governorships looming on 16 December, León said the ruling party may be trying to secure a sympathy vote. But the signs look grim. Other analysts say the biggest issue facing Venezuela is whether the governing block can remain united if Chávez dies or is unable to lead. Javier Corrales, professor of politics at Amherst College in Massachusetts, US, said this is the most serious test for the government since 2004. "Chávez has never prepared his party, let alone his nation, for a successor. "The party leaders are not clear among themselves about whom deserves to be the successor … If he withdraws, no one knows how this inevitable tension will be solved." Until now, Chávez and his aides have stifled discussion about what might happen if the president died. That was largely because this has been an election year and the ruling party did not want voters to think they might ultimately be casting ballots for a second-in-command. But by naming a successor, Chávez has raised the possibility that he might not last another 30 days until his scheduled inauguration on 10 January, in which case another presidential election would have to be called. "It is my firm opinion, my complete and irrevocable opinion, that under this scenario, you should all vote for Nicolás," he said in Saturday's televised address."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Known only as 832F, wolf was a favourite among visitors and researchers trying to understand the species' movements A wolf beloved by visitors and tracked by scientists at Yellowstone national park has been shot dead by hunters, reigniting debate over the targeting of the animal. The alpha female, known as 832F and described by wildlife enthusiasts as a "rock star" due to her popularity, was found dead on Thursday outside the park's boundary in Wyoming, the New York Times reported Sunday. Over the last few weeks, eight wolves that had been fitted with $4,000 GPS collars to help researchers track their movement have been killed. It has led to complaint by animal rights groups and calls for fresh limits to be put in place ahead of the inaugural wolf trapping season, due to come in on 15 December. Naturalists at Yellowstone are said to be dismayed that so many of the wolves they are tracking have been shot dead by hunters. The animals are tagged in an effort to study their habits and population spread. According to the New York Times, researchers at the park found 832F's death especially distressing. The female wolf was one of Yellowstone's most popular inhabitants with tourists. "She is the most famous wolf in the world," wildlife photographer Jimmy Jones told the newspaper. His picture of the animal appears in the current issue of American Scientist. Gray wolves were taken off the endangered species list last year, after seeing population figures rebound since the mid-1990s, following their reintroduction to the Rockies. At the end of 2011, there were at least 98 wolves in 10 packs – plus two loners – in Yellowstone, according to the park's annual wolf project report. The park stretches across Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Hunting, which is legally sanctioned in the northern Rockies, has been defended as a legitimate way to reduce predators to livestock. But anti-hunt campaigners say population numbers are not large enough to support the practice and that the animals bring in tourists to the region. The eight collared wolves killed were all shot outside of the park's perimeter. Data from 832F's collar suggests the wolf rarely ventured beyond the park and then only for brief periods. Alongside hunting, concern is also turning to the effect of wolf trapping in the coming season. Shane Colton, commissioner of the Montana fish, wildlife and parks department, said closing some areas to trapping or setting strict quotas will be on the table during a meeting Monday. "We don't want to close any area off if we don't have to. But if we keep losing collared wolves … management becomes difficult," Colton said.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | There was dismay at news that the 76-year-old seeks an unlikely fourth term – if only to fight court cases Italy woke up on Sunday to discover that politics was once again a world of bitter, personal attacks, sleight of hand, stunning egotism and shocking obsequiousness, meaning just one thing: Silvio Berlusconi was back. Overnight, the calm, grey world of Italy's technocrat prime minister, Mario Monti, vanished after the former EU commissioner said on Saturday he was resigning because Berlusconi, the 76-year-old media mogul and three-time prime minister, had withdrawn his parliamentary support. Hours earlier, Berlusconi had stood outside the gates of AC Milan, the football club he owns, declaring that after much soul-searching he would stand in elections, now likely in February. He boasted that after searching far and wide, he had failed to find a successor as brilliant as himself. Monti's austerity polices, tax hikes and spending cuts had dragged Italy to "the edge of an abyss", Berlusconi said last week, before his MPs were ordered via text to walk out of key votes and his party secretary, Angelino Alfano, told parliament: "We consider the experience of this government closed." Alfano then accused the centre-left Democratic party – currently riding high in the polls – of communist tendencies, jolting Italians back to Berlusconi's heyday of claiming commies boiled babies alive. Gian Antonio Stella, a leading commentator with Corriere della Sera, lamented: "I thought we had got beyond all that; it is so unpleasant to return to the 'You are either for me or against me' version of politics. "Italians are sick of the Guelph and Ghibelline mentality, which cuts off the oxygen from political debate." But for Berlusconi that vitriol is his lifeblood and he now has two months to turn up the heat on his TV channels and persuade Italians to take his side once again, following his resignation in November 2011 in the midst of sex scandals and an economic crisis that threatened to send Italy into meltdown. Monti's plan to resign at the end of the year after he passes the 2013 budget, bringing elections forward a month from March, deftly denies Berlusconi the pleasure of shooting down the government's remaining bills as they struggle to get through parliament. "The big question now is whether Monti himself wants to run as the head of a centrist group in the election," said Roberto D'Alimonte, a professor of politics at LUISS university in Rome. "The Democratic party should win the lower house but may not get an absolute majority in the senate so could form a coalition with a Monti-led centre. Both are pro-Europe, while Berlusconi will attack Germany, and hint that he wants, even if he doesn't explicitly call for, a pullout from the EU." Berlusconi will also argue that Monti's austerity policies may have restored Italy's reputation with the markets but have raised taxes as joblessness soars. "You cannot get by on presumed international credibility," his family-owned newspaper claimed on Sunday, leaving analysts trembling at the idea of a Berlusconi government opening up the coffers. Nicholas Spiro, of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, said: "Italy needs a comeback from Berlusconi like it needs a hole in the head." Berlusconi also attacked hammered Italy's magistrates at the weekend, calling them "irresponsible", raising suspicions that he wants a return to politics after his year on the sidelines to fight the judges who convicted him for tax fraud in October – a sentence he is appealing against – and who may find him guilty in January of paying an underage prostitute, a charge he denies. The woman in question, a Moroccan dancer Karima El-Mahroug, who could be called to court to testify on Monday, also denies having sex with the former prime minister at his mansion outside Milan. Another reminder of Berlusconi's swaggering glory years was the sheer obsequiousness with which the vast majority of his MPs swung back into line when they received their texted orders last week, after many had hinted he should spend more time with his grandchildren. Bouncing back to give interviews was Berlusconi's unwavering acolyte and former minister Sandro Bondi, noted for his poems eulogising the tycoon. Few believe Berlusconi can actually win the election. "If he allies again with the Northern League party he might muster 25%, but the Democratic party won't drop below 30 and will get to 35% if they ally with the Left Ecology Freedom party," said D'Alimonte. But the master campaigner has a deep wellspring of Italian discontent to tap into, as the average, single-income family of four faces a tax hike of €726 (£585) this year, just as the war on tax evaders, which Monti likens to fighting terrorism, frightens the thousands of shopkeepers and small-business owners who have turned fiddling their tax returns into Italy's national sport. "I don't enter competitions to get a good result," Berlusconi said on Saturday. "With my character, I have always competed to win."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fears for fishermen after Typhoon Bopha leaves 600 dead and nearly 1,000 missing as flash floods sweep southern Philippines Nearly 900 people are now missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines, as families and fishing companies report they have lost contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said on Sunday. Fishermen from General Santos City and nearby Sarangani province left a few days before Typhoon Bopha hit the main southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday, triggering flash floods that killed more than 600 people. A civil defence chief, Benito Ramos, said the fishermen had been bound for the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and to the Pacific Ocean. "We have declared them missing," he said. "Maybe they are still alive." Ramos said they may have sought shelter on the many small islands in the Spratlys and the Celebes Sea, and lost battery power and have not been able to call.He said the coast guard, navy and fishing vessels had launched a search. After slamming into the southern Philippines, the typhoon moved out to sea but then veered back toward north-western parts of the country on Saturday, prompting worries of further devastation. Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors and bodies under tons of fallen trees and boulders in New Bataan, the worst-hit town, where rocks, mud and other rubble destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood. Hundreds of refugees, rescuers and aid workers took a break on Sunday to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on a big TV screen, only to be dismayed by their hero's sixth-round knockout. Elementary school teacher Constancio Olivar said people fell silent when Pacquiao, who comes from the southern Philippines where the storm hit, fell heavily to the canvas and remained motionless for some time. "It was like a double blow for me – this disaster and this defeat," said Olivar, whose house was destroyed in the storm. "We were all crestfallen. Everyone fell silent, stunned. It was like we saw a tsunami."Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centres or staying with relatives. President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity on Friday, which allows for price controls on basic commodities in typhoon-affected areas and the quick release of emergency funds.Officials said on Sunday that 316 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 165 in New Bataan, and 301 in Davao Oriental. More than 45 people were killed elsewhere. Davao Oriental authorities imposed a curfew there and ordered police to guard stores and shops to prevent looting. The typhoon destroyed about 18% of the banana plantations in Mindanao, causing losses estimated at 12 billion pesos (£183m), according to Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association. The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying international brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Venezuelan leader designates vice-president, admitting he may be unable to return to office after further operation in Cuba The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has for the first time designated a successor, after admitting he needs to undergo another operation for cancer and may be unable to return to power. Chávez is to return to Havana to undergo surgery for a fourth time and said in a broadcast late on Saturday night that he wished his vice-president, Nicolás Maduro, to be his successor. The announcement comes two months after the charismatic leader, who had declared himself free of cancer in July, was re-elected for a fourth term in October by a comfortable margin. "There are risks. Who can deny it?" said Chávez, seated at the presidential palace alongside Maduro. "In any circumstance, we should guarantee the advance of the Bolivarian revolution." Chávez's announcement of the man he believes should succeed him has raised the question of whether he will return to office. "I hope to give you all good news in the coming days," said Chávez, who kissed a crucifix. "With the grace of God, we'll come out victorious." According to the Venezuelan constitution, if the president is declared unable to govern within the last two years of their mandate, the vice-president must step into their place until the term is over, and elections must be called at the end of this period. The presidential term limit ends on 10 January, when Chávez is scheduled to be sworn in for his fourth term in office. But if the president dies before taking office, a new election must be held within 30 days. "In that scenario, which under the constitution would require presidential elections to be held again, you all elect Nicolás Maduro as president," Chávez said. "I ask that of you from my heart." "He's one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I'm unable to … continue with his firm hand, with his gaze, with his heart of a man of the people," Chávez said. Maduro, whose political career began as a trade union leader for bus drivers in the 1980s, is one of the founders of the Movement of the Fifth Republic – the precursor to today's PSUV, Chávez's political party. He has risen steadily through the ranks since Chávez came to power in 1998. From regional co-ordinator during Chávez's first presidential race to congressman, Maduro subsequently served as president of the assembly until 2006 when he stepped aside to serve as foreign minister. As vice-president, Maduro is seen by some as responsible for some of Venezuela's most radical, anti-imperialist foreign decisions, and strengthening the country's ties with Libya, Syria and Iran. To others, however, the 50-year-old is the gentle conciliator behind the remarkable turnaround in previously hostile relations with Colombia over the last two years. But some feel that if Maduro is to become the next in line, he would need to be legitimised by the party in internal elections and by the voters at the polls. Nicmer Evans, a professor of political science at the Central University of Venezuela, said: "I didn't hear the word successor being used last night. I think this political language is another attempt by the opposition to sell this process as if it were a dictatorship. Chávez made his wishes heard but it is up to the people to decide if Maduro truly has what it takes to continue the revolutionary process that the president began." Javier Corrales, professor of political science at Amherst College, Massachusetts, said: "The fact that Chávez appeared on national television to clearly designate Maduro was his effort to avoid an internal war. He wanted to leave no doubt, for the whole nation to see and for no one to doubt his wishes. "Chávez has saved Maduro from what would have been his first potential crisis – internal competition for the job. The next crisis he will face will be the election. Maduro has never run for office, so we have no way of predicting how he will do. He needs to turn into a presidential candidate immediately." Regardless of who Chávez's potential successor might be, Saturday's announcement marks a defining moment in the country's political future. Evans said: "This is a determining moment. The gravity of his health forces us to hold this debate publicly for the first time. We have to reflect on what will happen if Chávez is not present, and new strategies, directions and leaderships have to be defined within the PSUV. This opens the door so that we may pass from the stage of a one-person leadership to a much more collective vision within the revolutionary process." The transition and the possibility of elections early next year are seen by members of the opposition as their latest chance to come to power. Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, president of La Mesa de la Unidad (MUD), a coalition of opposition parties, said: "We are in a better position than the government. We are better because we have rules and because the MUD has a space where we can reach a consensus. This new cold doesn't catch us without a handkerchief. We are part of a unified front that has a clear goal in mind: the country's future." But whether the opposition will rally again behind Henrique Capriles, the 41-year-old lawyer who ran against Chávez in October, remains unclear. A poll last year indicated Maduro would not win an election against Capriles, but this could easily change if MUD divides. For the time being, Chávez supporters, including Diosdado Cabello, president of the national assembly, whom many had seen as Chávez's natural heir, seem to be rallying unconditionally behind their leader's message. "This is a sad day for all of us, but also a lesson," Cabello said. "We need to be strong and have a lot of faith, like Chávez has said, we must remain alert … "Those of us who love Chávez must do what he says … Our moral obligation is to follow what he says."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | After three-day waiting period, marathon day of same-sex weddings is celebrated in ceremonies across the state Towns and cities across Washington awoke to the sound of wedding bells Sunday morning as hundreds of same-sex couples prepared to tie the knot on the first day they were legally allowed to marry in the state. Some 140 gay and lesbian weddings were scheduled at Seattle City Hall; meanwhile the First Baptist Church was expecting to marry some 50 couples during a joint ceremony. Though gay marriage became legal on Thursday in Washington, the state requires a three-day waiting period before the actual ceremony is celebrated. The first wedding to take place in the state occurred minutes after midnight on Sunday morning when Emily and Sarah Cofer tied the knot. Both primary school teachers from Arlington, outside Seattle, they came together in the chambers of a Seattle judge, Mary Yu, who officiated weddings straight through to 7.30am. "This is what courts are supposed to do, respond to the needs of our community," Yu told USA Today. "We'll sleep later," her bailiff Takao Yamada added. Washington is the first of three states to initiate gay marriages following referendums of their voters on 6 November. The other two, Maine and Maryland, will usher in legal same-sex unions from 29 December and 1 January 2013 respectively. Those states join six others – Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia – that have already allowed gay marriages through court rulings or legislation. The constitutional issue of whether the practice should now be imposed upon the remaining 41 states that do not permit it, or left to the judgment of each individual state, will be settled by the US supreme court, which on Friday agreed to take up the highly contentious issue. "We never thought we'd be part of history," said Sarah, 31. She had a commitment ceremony with Emily, 32, two years ago and they have a nine-month-old daughter, Carter. Over at the Seattle yacht club Monica Rozgay, 29, and Mary Davidson, 27, marked their midnight marriage both dressed in elaborate white dresses. They had coincidentally planned to mark their relationship in a non-legal ceremony on Saturday and then, when Referendum 74 passed with a 54% approval rate, they arranged to make the union binding at on the stroke of midnight. "It's so crazy and amazing," Rozgay told the Seattle Times. Despite the historic nature of the day's weddings, the couples involved still face unequal treatment. Any of those now married to employees of the federal government will be denied access to federal pensions, health insurance and other benefits to which heterosexual spouses. That discrimination, under the Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits federal recognition of gay unions, will also be reviewed by the supreme court.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Researchers use powerful genetic techniques to reconstruct disease's route around the world from North America A lethal drug-resistant bug that spread rapidly around the world and killed tens of thousands of people has been traced to hospitals in the US and Canada. British researchers used powerful genetic techniques to reconstruct Clostridium difficile's route as it circled the globe, and identified four separate waves that brought the bug to Britain. In all but one instance, the pathogen crossed the Atlantic. The detailed map of the epidemic shows that two highly virulent strains emerged independently in North America after the pathogens evolved resistance to a frontline antibiotic in wide use at the time. The genetic sleuthing demonstrates the extraordinary information that scientists can glean from the DNA of infectious organisms. Within the next few years, rapid and real-time surveillance of pathogens is expected to become standard practice. C difficile became the most feared hospital bug in the developed world after the number and severity of infections among patients soared to record levels in a series of countries in the early 2000s. Normal strains of C difficile are found in the guts of a few per cent of adults, but they rarely cause problems because other gut microbes keep them in check. But if a patient with the drug-resistant strain is given antibiotics, it multiplies and makes toxins that cause diarrhoea and other illnesses. Unlike many other bacteria that cause infections in hospitals, C difficile produces hardy, infectious spores that help it spread rapidly and that survive on surfaces for long periods, even when they are cleaned with alcohol. C difficile brought havoc to UK hospitals where poor hygiene and cleaning practices left scores of mostly older patients vulnerable to the infection. The bad handling of an outbreak in 2007 led to the death of 90 patients at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust. More than 30 patients died in two earlier outbreaks at Stoke Mandeville hospital between 2003 and 2006. Although the global rise in cases has abated, the bug has not been beaten. Last year, C difficile killed more than 2,000 patients in England and Wales, and in the US deaths from the infection remain historically high, at 14,000 a year. "This organism went from relative obscurity to the most common and feared hospital pathogen we have within 10 years," said Trevor Lawley, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, which conducted the research. "We wanted to understand what had happened." The scientists created a family tree for C difficile after sequencing the whole genomes of 151 bugs isolated from patients in 19 countries who fell ill or died from the infection between 1985 and 2010. From this, they identified different strains and traced their movements. They tested a further 145 bugs from UK patients to understand how the organism spread once it arrived in Britain. One dangerous strain originated in or near Pittsburgh in 2001 and jumped quickly to South Korea and Switzerland. The other drug-resistant strain appears to have come from the Montreal area in 2003 and spread swiftly to continental Europe, the UK and Australia. Both had gained resistance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. "Since these strains acquired resistance to this frontline antibiotic, not only is it now virtually useless against this organism, but resistance seems to have been a major factor in the continued evolution and persistence of these strains in hospitals and clinical settings," said Brendan Wren, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Having arrived in Britain, the bug triggered outbreaks around the country. According to the scientists, the resistant strain from Canada arrived in three waves that struck Ayrshire, Birmingham and Exeter. The same strain also reached Maidstone from mainland Europe, and went on to cause a large outbreak in London and Cambridge. The details are reported in the journal Nature Genetics. "This gives us a much wider understanding of how these organisms are spreading, not only in this country but around the world," said another of the paper's authors, Nicholas Brown, of the Health Protection Agency. One problem scientists faced before was that their techniques were too blunt to reveal precisely which strains were driving the epidemic. The plummeting cost of whole-genome sequencing means scientists will soon track the spread of scores of different diseases as standard practice. Such up-to-date surveillance will help hospitals prepare for new strains of pathogens, and contain outbreaks more effectively. "Over the next few years we want to do real-time sequencing for the detection of C difficile in hospitals, as well as MRSA and other infections," said Julian Parkhill, another author at the Sanger Institute. "If we can do this work in real time, we can spot the difference between a rise in sporadic cases of an infection, and transmission of a strain within a hospital, which could indicate the start of a new outbreak." Last month Parkhill and others used the same methods to trace the source of an outbreak of the hospital superbug MRSA in a baby unit at a hospital in Cambridge. The team compared the entire genetic code of MRSA viruses from each baby and found them all related and part of a single outbreak. Tests on hospital staff then found one employee who carried the MRSA strain. Treating them for the infection ended the outbreak. Parkhill said scientists want to build databases that hold up-to-date details of emerging strains of C difficile and other pathogens, so that dangerous new strains can be spotted early on, before they spread through hospitals and around the world.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Robert Griffin III went down hurt but the Washington Redskins still completed a remarkable comeback win over the Baltimore Redskins to keep their playoff hopes alive
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Following death of Jacintha Saldanha, officers contact Australian embassy to ensure assistance from 2Day FM presenters The Australian radio presenters whose prank call to the Edward VII's hospital is being blamed for the suspected suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, could be questioned by the Metropolitan police. The Met have spoken to staff at the Australian embassy in London to ensure that police in New South Wales will assist their investigation ahead of an inquest into the death of the 46-year-old nurse. Nick Kaldas, the deputy commissioner for New South Wales police confirmed the request, with a spokesman promising the force would do anything it could to help the British investigation. "It hasn't been indicated to us that an offence has occurred and [the Met] have not actually asked for anything yet," said Kaldas. "They've simply touched base, let us know of their interest and they will get back to us if they actually want something done. Nothing has been requested of us yet." A New South Wales police spokesman added: "As our policing colleagues in London continue to examine events leading up to the death of London nurse Jacintha Saldanha, we will be providing them with whatever assistance is required." The police could be keen to establish whether there are sections of the hoax call that were not broadcast on the 2Day FM show on Tuesday, during which Mel Greig and Michael Christian persuaded Saldanha to put a call through to a nurse who revealed details about the Duchess of Cambridge's health. Greig and Christian initially boasted that their hoax call was a career-defining moment but, after Saldanha's death was reported, they discovered instead that they were at the centre of a worldwide backlash, with social media sites bombarded with abusive and threatening messages addressed to the pair. The presenters have been placed on indefinite leave from the radio station and are said to be receiving "intensive psychological counselling". Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Austereo, 2Day FM's parent company, said there were real fears for the pair following the incident, with particular concern for the mental health of Greig, 30, who is said to be "struggling to cope". "Everyone who knows Mel fears for her mental state," the Sunday Times reported him saying. "There are very real fears she could self-harm, and nobody wants that." The DJs, who only began hosting their nightly chart show two weeks earlier have both indicated that they are keen to speak to the media. A spokeswoman for Austereo, however, suggested the company was keen to keep the pair out of the public eye. She said the timing of any appearance would depend on the presenters' state of mind – currently described as "fragile". "They have expressed a desire to speak," she confirmed. "We haven't ascertained when they're ready for that and how we're going to organise that, but they certainly want to." 2Day FM has also suffered from a wave of revulsion over the consequences of the stunt, with so many advertisers pulling out of their slots on the station that it has axed all commercials for the foreseeable future as "a mark of respect". Austereo held an emergency board meeting over the weekend to consider what action it should take, with chairman Max Moore-Wilton saying they would be considering its response to a letter from Lord Glenarthur, chairman of the hospital, in which he condemned the prank phone call, saying he wanted to "protest" against the "extremely foolish" gag. Calling Saldanha's death "tragic beyond words", Glenarthur said the immediate consequence of the station's "premeditated and ill-considered actions" led to the "humiliation" of Saldanha and another nurse. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which regulates radio broadcasting, confirmed it had received complaints from all around the world. It said it is now considering whether it should launch an investigation into whether the presenters breached the commercial radio code of practice. The chief executive of Austereo, however, insisted that there was nothing illegal about the hoax call. "Our main concern at this point in time is what happened is incredibly tragic," said Holleran, who went on to defend the presenters and suggest they would not be sacked. "We will make sure their well-being is the priority for us," he said. "We have internally made sure that their needs are addressed and counselling is certainly part of that offer." Prank calls have, added Holleran, "been going for decades and decades. They're not just part of one radio station or one network, or one country, they're done worldwide. No one could reasonably have foreseen what ended up being an incredibly tragic and very sad day for us." He said Greig and Christian were "completely shattered", adding: "These people aren't machines, they're human beings." Saldanha was pronounced dead on Friday morning at staff accommodation close to the hospital. She had answered the presenters' call and, believing they were members of the royal family, put them through to another nurse who described the Duchess of Cambridge's condition in detail. The nurse's devastated family were being comforted by relatives and friends at their terrace home at Southmead in Bristol. A friend at the address said Saldanha's partner Benedict Barboza, 49, and their teenage son and daughter, aged 14 and 16, were "very, very shocked and unhappy at the tragedy". In a statement Saldanha's family said they were "deeply saddened" by the death and asked for privacy. They said: "We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha. We would ask that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time." A postmortem examination is due to be held this week and an inquest opened and adjourned at Westminster coroner's court, Scotland Yard said. Saldanha's death is not being treated as suspicious.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rolling report: Can the Washington Redskins keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over their Beltway rivals, the Baltimore Ravens? Find out with Paolo Bandini
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | But foreign minister says 'brainstorming session' with UN envoy does not signal Moscow's support for Assad is waning Russian and American diplomats have met in Geneva to discuss the future of Syria with the UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, according to the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who insisted the meeting did not imply Moscow had softened in its support for the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. Lavrov said the 'brainstorming session' involving Brahimi with senior officials from Washington and Moscow, had been agreed last week when Lavrov, Brahimi and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, met in Dublin. But Lavrov stressed that the agreement to meet over the deeply divisive issue did not amount to Russian acknowledgement that Assad's fall was inevitable. "We are not holding [any talks] about Assad's fate. And all attempts to present the situation in any other way are unscrupulous, even for diplomats from those countries which are well-known for their intention to distort facts in their favour," Lavrov said. The talks took place against a backdrop of intense fighting, with loyalist forces attempting to push back rebels from around the capital, Damascus, and the reported opposition capture of a government regimental command centre in Aleppo province, which relied heavily on fighters from the Jabhat al-Nusra, a jihadist group with al-Qaida tiesthat has been excluded from a western- and Arab-backed opposition coalition. Meanwhile, despite US and allied warnings that the regime appeared to taking preparatory steps towards the use of chemical weapons, a senior Israeli official said he believed there was no immediate chemical threat from Syria. "On these matters, we have to be prepared to protect ourselves, by ourselves," vice prime minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel Radio. He added: "At this time, we see no sign that this weaponry is being pointed at us". The Geneva meetings follow talks between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul last Monday. The talks did not lead to any public breakthrough, but Turkish officials said the Russians were privately admitting that Assad, whom Moscow has backed and armed throughout his 12-year rule, was unlikely to survive in power for long. Lavrov accused American officials of spreading rumours that Russia was softening its stance on Syria. "US representatives started to make statements hinting that Russia is changing its position. This is not true. We have not changed our position, and only on these conditions we agreed to hold the Geneva meeting," the Russian foreign minister said. "We said we would be ready under one condition: that the basis of such brainstorming sessions will be formed by the Geneva document, without any additions, without any ultimatums, without any preconditions like President Assad's resignation." Lavrov was referring to a joint statement agreed to by global powers in Geneva in June, in which the deep differences between them were papered over by an ambiguous use of words. It said any future Syrian transition government "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent". The US and its allies interpreted this to mean a government without Assad, as he would not have the consent of the bulk of the opposition. Russia and China took it to mean Assad could not be ousted without the agreement of the regime.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Seaside homeowners take matter into their own hands after city and county authorities fight over responsibility of 40ft animal For days it stunk up a stretch of beach favoured by Hollywood stars, but on Saturday the rotting remains of a 40,000lb whale were finally returned to the deep, to the relief of Malibu's well-healed residents. Having failed to persuade authorities to deal with the decomposing mammal, homeowners took matters into their own hand and hired a crew to tow the beast back into the waters. It means beachcombers along Paradise Cove and Point Dume – a quiet, scenic spot near which the likes of Barbra Streisand and Matthew McConaughey have set up palatial homes - can once again breath easy. The flocks of seagulls that had been feeding on the remains in recent days are likely to be less pleased. The carcass of the 40ft fin whale washed up on Malibu sands on Monday, presumably a victim of a collision with a ship out at sea, experts say. At first the glistening bluish-grey blubber proved to be a tourist attraction, attracting onlookers who wandered down the narrow beach to gawp at the remains. But wonder turned to revulsion pretty quickly when the nature started working its magic on the remains, resulting in a putrid stench. Scientists removed the animal's internal organs and opened the whale's spine to take samples for a necropsy. But the rest of the whale stayed on the beach, in too bad a state to contemplate its wholescale removal, it was claimed. "It's not physically capable of being moved because of its condition," Kevin Marble, of the LA county fire department, told Malibu Patch. "It's so embedded in sand that they won't be able to get it out. The body will be pulled apart." But that prospect was not accepted by nearby residents, such as James Respondek, who worried that the carcass would draw sharks and pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove. "There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. 'I don't have a boat, I don't have the money, I don't have the resources,' they all told me," he said Friday. A burial on the beach was mooted, as was the burning of the remains. But by Sunday the whale was gone, towed 20 miles from shore by a crew hired by a homeowners' association, Los Angeles County fire inspector Brian Riley said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | On CNN's State of the Union, monetary fund boss says improvements on employment and debt would be negated International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has warned the US it has the potential to be its "own worst enemy" over the fragile economic recovery and that failure to reach a comprehensive settlement over the fiscal cliff could see growth plummet to zero. In forthright comments over the impending fiscal cliff, the IMF managing director said that "if the US economy was to suffer the downside risk of not reaching a comprehensive deal, then growth would be zero". The markets would react quickly, "and the stock market would take a hit," she said. All the current signs of optimism over the economy that she identified – including falling unemployment, the housing sector bottoming out and reduced household debt – would be negated. Speaking on CNN's State of the Nation, Lagarde predicted that the diverse landscape of the US economy "could be significantly improved or worsened by the fiscal cliff, fiscal deficit and the debt of the country that are three topics that can be addressed now in a comprehensive fashion." She added: "The real threat is here, with us, and that can be addressed." The cautionary words of the IMF chief underlined how closely the world is watching the fast-approaching fiscal cliff deadline. On 1 January, if Congress does not act, a package of $600bn spending cuts and tax rises will automatically kick in, sending shock waves around the world that could damage what she characterized as the slow and laborious economic improvements being made across the Eurozone. But the message Lagarde was clearly hoping to deliver was that failure to reach a comprehensive deal on all three factors – the fiscal cliff, debt ceiling and long-term debt – would hurt the US far more than it would hurt anyone else. The US she said "is more exposed to its own difficulties and issues than elsewhere in the world because it is such a big player. We can be our own best friends or our own worst enemy." In October, the IMF predicted that US growth would fall to 2.1% next year, from 2.2% this year. The jobs market remains very tentative, with 146,000 new jobs created in November, enough to push the unemployment rate down to 7.7% but not enough to build real momentum. Talks between the White House and the Republican-led House of Representatives are at a standstill, with the sticking point being the two main parties' inability to reach agreement over raising tax rates for the top two per cent of income earners. President Obama has made clear he is not prepared to budge over allowing the tax rates to rise back to the levels of the Clinton administration, while the Republican leadership says they will support increases in tax revenues from closure of loopholes and deductions but not tax rate increases on any Americans. Lagarde said that the most important thing was for the warring factions to reach a comprehensive and balanced agreement that will work for the long term. Anything less would foment "uncertainty that fuels doubt that prevents investors, entrepreneurs, households from making decisions because they don't know what tomorrow will be." "My view, personally, is that the best way to go forward is to have a balanced approach that takes into account both increasing the revenue, which means, you know, either raising taxes or creating new sources of revenue, and cutting spending," she said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Robin van Persie scored a late winner to decide a thrilling Manchester derby and end City's home record
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Manchester United have moved to a position of strength at the top of the Premier League. They will cherish their six-point lead over the team that caused them so many hardships last season but that tells only a part of the story of a match that saw Rio Ferdinand's eye split open, purportedly by a missile thrown from the crowd, and a Manchester City fan running on to the pitch to try to get to him. Sir Alex Ferguson's team had just reminded us of their remarkable habit for scoring late, decisive goals and it ended acrimoniously. The pitch invader was wrestled to the ground but a Football Association inquiry is inevitable because of the scenes that came after Van Persie's free-kick took a slight yet crucial deflection off Samir Nasri's shin. A team that surrendered an eight-point advantage over the final six games of last season cannot be lulled into a false sense of security, but United are entitled to reflect on a hugely satisfying day's work and their players took great care to make that point. Ferguson and Carlos Tevez, two old enemies, became embroiled in a row at the end, and Phil Jones, already booked for provoking the home crowd, seemed determined to prolong the argument. It was a wild finale to the first Manchester derby of the season, Van Persie dismantling City's 37-match record of not having lost a league fixture on this ground for nearly two years. United had come perilously close to throwing away the two-goal lead Wayne Rooney had given them in the first half. Yaya Touré's strike gave the home side a flash of hope on the hour and Pablo Zabaleta had made it 2-2 four minutes from the end of normal time. Yet Ferguson is probably entitled to think the victory could have been made a lot easier. A trigger-happy linesman denied Ashley Young after he had legitimately made it 3-0, played onside by Zabaleta as he followed up a curling effort from Van Persie which came back off the post. Touré's goal arrived a minute later, the midfielder angling his shot past David de Gea after Tevez and David Silva both saw efforts saved, but United should also have had a penalty four minutes later when the substitute, Kolo Touré, tripped Patrice Evra. As it was, they were indebted to Rooney's finishing on a day when the England striker seemed determined to remind us he is the man for the big occasions. His first arrived on 16 minutes, set up by Young after Van Persie's beautifully weighted chest control. Rafael da Silva created the second, dispatched again by Rooney's right boot, and for all the controversy the result was a just one.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Jacob Zuma visits 94-year-old former ANC leader, who is said to be 'comfortable' in a Pretoria hospital after tests South Africans anxiously awaited word on Sunday on the health of former president Nelson Mandela after he was admitted to hospital. President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela on Sunday at the hospital in Pretoria and found the frail 94-year-old to be "comfortable and in good care", the presidential spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said in a statement. Maharaj offered no other details about Mandela, nor what medical tests he had undergone since entering the hospital on Saturday. The continued uncertainty about Mandela's health saw worshipers gather at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for the leader. The church was a centre of anti-apartheid protests and funerals. "Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," one church-goer, Shainet Mnkomo, said as she left an early-morning service. "He did so many things to the country; he's one of those persons who we remember most." Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup football tournament. Many in this country of 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and an icon of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's increasingly messy politics. Inside the Soweto church, a stained-glass window depicts Mandela, in a grey suit and blue tie, raising his hands to wave at a crowd. His image stands just next to another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was gunned down by police in the black township in June 1976, as students protested peacefully against apartheid. A statement from Zuma's office on Saturday announced that Mandela had been hospitalised for tests and was receiving medical care "consistent for his age". In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, however, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. While South Africa's government has offered no details about who would provide medical attention for Mandela, the nation's military has taken over medical care for the ageing leader since the 2011 respiratory infection. At 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Saturday night, the facility that previously cared for Mandela in February, everything appeared calm, without any additional security present. On Sunday morning, soldiers set up a checkpoint to search vehicles heading into the hospital grounds. Mandela's hospitalisation comes after the crash on Thursday of a military aircraft flying on an unknown mission near Mandela's rural home in which all 11 pilots and passengers were killed. The plane was flying to a military air base in Mthatha, which is about 17 miles north of Qunu. Military officials declined to say whether those on board had any part in caring for Mandela.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Minute-by-minute report: Who will win the first Manchester derby of the season – City or United? Join Ian McCourt NOW to find out
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Family of Chris Wallace was unaware medical report detailing cause of death in the 1997 murder was to be released last week Police detectives apologised to the family of Notorious BIG for failing to warn them about the planned release of his autopsy report more than 15 years after he died in a drive-by shooting, the Los Angeles police department said. The detectives had intended to notify the rapper's family, but the report was released prematurely "due to an administrative error", the department said in a statement Saturday. "Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family (Friday) night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release" said Billy Hayes, who heads LAPD's robbery-homicide division, which is investigating the killing. "Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or other people with information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case." Los Angeles County's chief coroner investigator Craig Harvey said a security hold placed on the report's release was lifted last week. The 23-page report revealed the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was hit by four bullets after leaving a music industry event in March 1997, but one that hit his heart, left lung and colon caused his death. The attorney for the rapper's family complained Friday that he was not given any notice that the report would be released and criticiced police for not closing one of Los Angeles' highest-profile unsolved murders. Both Los Angeles police and the FBI investigated Wallace's killing, which came just months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was gunned down in Las Vegas. The FBI looked into whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved in Wallace's shooting. The deaths of Wallace and Shakur have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives. The one-time friends became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid-1990s. A 2011 book by former Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading claimed both murders had been solved, although no arrests have been made and federal prosecutors in 2005 declined to file charges after a lengthy, bi-coastal investigation. Wallace is from the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jacob Zuma visits 94-year-old former president, who is receiving medical tests at hospital in Pretoria Nelson Mandela is "comfortable and in good care", South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, has said after visiting him in hospital. A statement from the presidency on Sunday offered no further details about why Mandela, who is 94, is receiving medical tests at a Pretoria hospital. South Africa's military has been in charge of medical care for the ageing leader since developed a respiratory infection in 2011. Mandela, who spent 27 years in prisonduring the apartheid era, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in the remote village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup football tournament. Worshippers gathered at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for Mandela on Sunday morning. The church was a centre of anti-apartheid protests and funerals. "Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," churchgoer Shainet Mnkomo said as she left an early morning service. "He did so many things to the country. He's one of those persons who we remember most." Many of South Africa's 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and a symbol of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's increasingly messy politics. Inside the church, a stained glass window depicts Mandela, in a dark suit and blue tie, raising his hands to wave at a crowd. His image stands next to another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was gunned down by police in Soweto in 1976, as students protested peacefully against the white government. In February, Mandela spent a night in hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. Mandela's hospitalisation came days after the crash on Thursday of a military aircraft flying on an unknown mission near Mandela's rural home town in which all 11 on board were killed. The plane was flying to a military air base in Mthatha, which is about 17 miles (30km) north of Qunu. Military officials declined to say whether those who died had any part in caring forthe former president.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Australian owner responds to hospital complaint about 'foolish' prank after crisis talks following death of Jacintha Saldanha The owners of the Australian radio station that made a prank call to the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying have said they will be co-operate fully with all investigations after the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha. After crisis talks on Sunday morning, Max Moore-Wilton, the chairman of Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), which owns the radio station 2Day FM, sent a letter in reply to a complaint from the King Edward VII hospital protesting in the "strongest possible terms" about the hoax call. In the letter, Moore-Wilton describes the events of the past few days as "tragic", saying: "As we have said in our own statements on the matter, the outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable." The letter continues: "It is too early to know the full details leading to this tragic event and we are anxious to review the results of an investigation that may be made available to us or made public. We can assure you that we will be fully co-operative with all investigations. I can assure you that we are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved. "Our company joins with you all at King Edward VII's hospital and Mrs Saldanha's family and friends in mourning their tragic loss." The chairman of the King Edward VII hospital, Lord Glenarthur, had written to the station's owners saying the death of nurse Saldanha, who received the prank call from the Australian DJs, was "tragic beyond words". He said the call "was extremely foolish" and the fact it was pre-recorded and transmitted after the station management's approval and legal vetting was "truly appalling". He urged steps be taken to "ensure such an incident could never be repeated". The board of SCA is not expected to respond to the letter on Sunday. Meanwhile, the two DJs who made the call remain in hiding and have been receiving "intense psychological counselling" according to SCA spokeswoman Sandy Kaye. She said both Mel Greig and Michael Christian were in an extremely fragile state and were being shielded from social and mainstream media. Both were also being supported by family and colleagues. "Both presenters made it clear they would like to express their remorse, but our first priority at the moment is their wellbeing," Kaye said. Asked if Greig and Christian will comment on what has happened, a spokeswoman said: "They have expressed a desire to speak. We haven't ascertained when they're ready for that and how we're going to organise that, but they certainly want to." New South Wales police have been contacted by Scotland Yard in relation to the death of Saldanha. Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said a request for assistance had been passed to the Sydney city central command, the area in which the 2Day FM offices are located. "I have to stress it hasn't been indicated to us that an offence has occurred and they have not actually asked for anything yet. They have simply touched base and let us know of their interest. They will get back to us if they want something done," Kaldas said. Editorials in Australian Sunday newspapers said the DJs were not responsible for the tragic death. "While the prank may have been stupid, Mel Greig and Michael Christian surely did not mean to hurt anyone," said the editorial in the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Telegraph newspaper. "Prank calls are among the oldest tricks in radio. Occasionally funny, mostly cringeworthy, they usually result in mere pointless humiliation of a hapless victim." A columnist for the Fairfax-owned Sun Herald, Peter FitzSimons, said the death of Saldanha was a "tragedy of unspeakable proportions". "But to those – particularly the British media – who are firing vicious epithets at the two radio DJs who are the public face of that prank call, blaming them for the tragedy, please get a grip," he wrote. "What precisely are they guilty of? Making a prank call? Which DJ in the history of the world hasn't' made prank calls? He said there was not a shred of evidence there was any malice in the prank call. "Who could possibly have thought that a silly prank call like that – one of thousands of prank calls, no doubt, made by radio stations around the world on that day – would have led to the young woman taking her life?" wrote FitzSimons. On Saturday, a spokesman for the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, said: "This is a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time." Saldanha lived with her husband, Benedict Barboza, 49, and their children in Bristol, returning to the West Country when she was not working. He wrote on Facebook: "I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances. She will be laid to rest in Shirva (the town where she was born)." • For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Australian owner in emergency talks after King Edward VII chairman protests following death of Jacintha Saldanha The owners of the Australian radio station that made a prank call to the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying have held a crisis meeting to consider a letter of complaint from the hospital following the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha. The board of Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), which owns the radio station 2Day FM, held a telephone meeting on Sunday, against a background of growing international criticism. The chairman of the King Edward VII hospital, Lord Glenarthur, wrote to the station's owners saying the death of nurse Saldanha, who took the prank call from the Australian DJs, was "tragic beyond words". Glenarthur had written to SCA to protest in the "strongest possible terms" about the hoax call. He said the call "was extremely foolish" and the fact it was pre-recorded and transmitted after the station management's approval and legal vetting was "truly appalling". He urged steps be taken to "ensure such an incident could never be repeated". The board of SCA is not expected to respond to the letter on Sunday. Meanwhile, the two DJs who made the call remain in hiding and have been receiving "intense psychological counselling" according to SCA's Sandy Kaye. She said both Mel Greig and Michael Christian were in an extremely fragile state and were being shielded from social and mainstream media. Both were also being supported by family and colleagues. "Both presenters made it clear they would like to express their remorse, but our first priority at the moment is their wellbeing," Kaye said. It is thought the presenters may speak to the media in the near future. The New South Wales police have been contacted by Scotland Yard in relation to the death of Saldanha. Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said a request for assistance has been passed to the Sydney city central command, the area in which the 2Day FM offices are located. "I have to stress it hasn't been indicated to us that an offence has occurred and they have not actually asked for anything yet. They have simply touched base and let us know of their interest. They will get back to us if they want something done," Kaldas said. Editorials in Australian Sunday newspapers said the two DJs were not responsible for the tragic death. "While the prank may have been stupid, Mel Greig and Michael Christian surely did not mean to hurt anyone," said the editorial in the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Telegraph newspaper. "Prank calls are among the oldest tricks in radio. Occasionally funny, mostly cringeworthy, they usually result in mere pointless humiliation of a hapless victim." A columnist for the Fairfax-owned Sun Herald, Peter FitzSimons, said the death of Saldanha was a "tragedy of unspeakable proportions". "But to those – particularly the British media – who are firing vicious epithets at the two radio DJs who are the public face of that prank call, blaming them for the tragedy, please get a grip," he wrote. "What precisely are they guilty of? Making a prank call? Which DJ in the history of the world hasn't' made prank calls? He said there was not a shred of evidence there was any malice in the prank call. "Who could possibly have thought that a silly prank call like that – one of thousands of prank calls, no doubt, made by radio stations around the world on that day – would have led to the young woman taking her life?" wrote FitzSimons. On Saturday, a spokesman for the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, said: "This is a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time." Saldanha lived with her husband, Benedict Barboza, 49, and their children in Bristol, returning to the West Country when she was not working. He wrote on Facebook: "I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances. She will be laid to rest in Shirva (the town where she was born)." • For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Police disperse demonstrators as tensions rise over communist neighbours' claims to South China Sea Vietnamese police broke up anti-China protests in two cities on Sunday and detained 20 people in the first such demonstrations since tensions between the communist neighbours flared anew over rival claims to the oil and gas-rich South China Sea. Any sign of popular anger in tightly controlled Vietnam causes unease among the leadership, but anti-Chinese sentiment is especially sensitive. The country has long-standing ideological and economic ties with its giant neighbour, but many of those criticising China are also the ones calling for political, religious and social freedoms at home. Police initially allowed about 200 protesters to march from the Opera House in Hanoi through the streets, but after 30 minutes ordered them to disperse. When some continued, police arrested about 20 demonstrators and put them into a large bus that then drove quickly from the scene. It was unclear where they were taken, but in the past people detained at anti-China protests have been held briefly then released. As foreign tourists and Sunday morning strollers looked on, protesters shouted "Down with China!" and carried banners bearing the slogan "China's military expansion threatens world peace and security." Using loudspeakers, authorities urged them to disperse and tried to reassure them. "The Communist party and government are resolutely determined to defend our country's sovereignty and territory through peaceful means based on international law," it said. "Your gathering causes disorder and affects the party's and government's foreign policy." A smaller protest also took place in Ho Chi Minh City, according to blogger and activist Huynh Ngoc Chenh. He said he was ordered to leave by police, but about 100 people gathered for 10 minutes before being dispersed. "I'm frustrated," he said by telephone. "There's nothing to ban, the government should allow people to express their patriotism peacefully." Vietnam and China have long sparred over who owns the South China Sea, a dispute to which the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also parties. Over the last two years, America's diplomatic tilt to south-east Asia and energy-hungry China's growing assertiveness has focused international attention on the issue. Vietnam last week alleged that Chinese shipping vessels sabotaged one of its seismic survey vessels in the South China Sea. This week, the government warned Beijing not to do that again and presented a list of its violations in the disputed sea. China recently issued new passports containing a map showing the sea as belonging to China, causing anger in Hanoi and other regional states. In the summer of 2011, there were two months of weekly protests in Hanoi, an unprecedented show of popular anger in the country. Earlier this year, there were also some demonstrations. Police dispersed them, gradually using more force as it become clear they were becoming a source of domestic opposition to the party.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dilip Joseph was captured by Taliban insurgents on Wednesday with intelligence showing he was in imminent danger An American doctor abducted by the Taliban five days ago was rescued on Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, the US-led military coalition said. Dr Dilip Joseph was captured by Taliban insurgents on Wednesday outside the Afghan capital, in the Sarobi district of Kabul province. He was rescued in an early morning operation ordered after intelligence showed that the doctor was in imminent danger of injury or possible death, according to a statement. "This was a combined operation of US and Afghan forces," said 1st Lieutenant Joseph Alonso, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan. "Information was collected through multiple intelligence sources, which allowed Afghan and coalition forces to identify the location of Joseph and the criminals responsible for his captivity." General John Allen, the top commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said the joint force planned, rehearsed and successfully conducted the operation. "Thanks to them, Dr Joseph will soon be rejoining his family and loved ones," Allen said. The statement did not say where Joseph is from, or whether he was harmed in captivity.
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